RESTORING THE BIOLOGICAL FAMILY AND THE HUMAN FAMILY:
RESTORING THE BIOLOGICAL FAMILY AND THE HUMAN FAMILY:WHITE MALE HEROISM IN THE PATRIOT, GLADIATOR, AND AMERICAN HISTORY XRecently Karen Schneider has argued that in the second half of the 1990s, the genre of "action-thrillers" changed. Whereas in the 1980s the white male hero of such films was pretty much a loner, now he strives to restore "the traditional-white, bourgeois, patriarchal family" (1). The violence that traditionally figures in this genre also takes on a new function: it "puts families at risk only to bring about their salvation" (2). Yet Schneider comments, too, that sometimes the hero's efforts fall short: "[a] complete family does not always result" (2). Furthermore, she notes, several of these films verge on ideological contradiction. Because they go extraordinary lengths to reaffirm the family, they wind up suggesting that it has become much harder to justify and save. Three recent films tend to bear out Schneider's argument about today's action-thrillers. Each features a white male protagonist trying through violence to re-establish and guide a family torn apart by violence. Moreover, each suggests that reconstructing the patriarchal family can be quite difficult. Yet the three films treat the di
" Of course, in the Revolutionary era, blacks working for Southern landowners were quite likely to have been slaves. Hence, for us as viewers the question arises, "Why must Maximus die?" One possible answer is that the image of his previously ideal family would be tarnished if, now that they are dead, he is free to marry someone else. Perhaps the filmmakers even want us to associate Djimon Hounsou, the actor playing this character, with his earlier role in Amistad. As he discovers when he arrives at his estate, Commodius's soldiers have killed his wife and son. If Karen Schneider is right in observing that white male heroes in today's action-thrillers are not always capable of restoring families, American History X is an extreme demonstration of her point. In our post-industrial age, she argues, these men wind up assuming mere facades of masculinity while lacking the truly productive and meaningful jobs that their fathers held. American History X may not be easily classified as an "action thriller" as The Patriot and Gladiator are. Ultimately, Maximus kills Commodius in gladiatorial combat and reunites with his family. Moreover, after committing this violence, Benjamin admits to Gabriel that he was similarly monstrous as a participant in the French and Indian War. But an important difference arises. Once his actions earn him a prison sentence, Derek is in no position to help his family. Yet this film does feature action as well as thrills. Several other films, such as Mississippi Burning (I would add The Matrix), suggest that blacks have not freed one another; rather, blacks have needed whites to free them. The argument can be made that American History X winds up still glorifying the white male hero. At one point, the film does acknowledge the existence of more troubled race relations, when a white colonial soldier makes racist remarks about a black recruit.
Common topics in this essay:
American History,
Patriot Gladiator,
Ultimately Maximus,
War Nevertheless,
Karen Schneider,
Rome's Emperor,
British Moreover,
Instead Danny's,
Susan Faludi,
Nevertheless Schneider,
american history,
white male,
patriot gladiator,
male hero,
benjamin's family,
white male hero,
wife son,
patriarchal family,
human family,
blacks whites,
family american history,
personal relations,
violence benjamin's family,
benjamin's black workers,
benjamin's family suffered,
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Acceptance Essays
