Lisel Bond Film Theory, 12/15/2010

male representation1. Women are seen as desirable objects, as per scopophilic analyses, and the men are the actors, the ones who literally take action. Concerning the male ensemble that makes up characters, director and camera gaze, Teresa de Lauretis comments that the desire to solve riddles is a male desire par excellence, because the female subject is herself the mystery and one of the functions of narrative, de Lauretis argues, is to 'seduce' women into femininity with or without their consent2. Women were then sadly misshapen figures, promoting an idea of sexuality for an audience without delving Masquerading into a true female psyche of desire and physicality. Women were purposefully kept obscure for that riddle-solving

As feminist film theory develops in tandem with the patriarchy. portrayal of women on the screen, the more the issue of gender is interestingly redefined. In the 70s, the theory of sexual difference dominated most queries in relation to female vs.
Hoofd, Ingrid. Using Early Cinema in Reassessing Feminist Theory. 1996. http://www.klari.net/ingrid/articles/earlyci.html 2 Smelik, Anneke. Feminist Film Theory. The Cinema Book. London: British Film Institute, 1999. http://www.let.uu.nl/womens_studies/anneke/filmtheory.html
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In these present times, with significantly more agency, women have been further characterized, and thus, further defined in their many roles. For, as Lauretis commented, now the focus is not so much sexual difference, but rather the delineation and a better understanding of the difference of women from Woman, and that is to say as well, the differences among women . Of course, when female characters first began testing the limits of their mold, the attempt was said to be a masquerade. Drawing on the psychoanalytic work of Joan Rivire, Doane understands the masquerade, not as crossdressing, but on the contrary as a mask of femininity. Rivire had noticed in her clinical observations that women who find themselves in a male position of authority put on a mask of femininity that functions as compensation for their masculine position . In this light even when women are no longer
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mysteries, they are projected as cheap imitations, represented as representation2. Who said any authority at all had to be male? That dominance of gaze, that gaze at all, be masculine? Not only are the supposed roles of gender changing in film theory, but so is the definition of a masquerade. Women used to be primarily typecast as the victims. The existing argument continues to tackle the roles of victim vs. hero to some degree it is rarely anything between1. However, it has often been thought, as previously demonstrated, that women need to assume masculine methods or behavior to become the hero of the act. As I see it, when female characters present themselves as stoic, as calmly in control, as tough, they are reacting and protecting themselves from an enemy, seen or unseen. The reason this is first thought to be a manly endeavor is left to historys allowance of male exclusiveness to problemhandling, to that almost-duty of tackling and battling. In most of cinema, women needed protection; they were not the ones
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De Lauretis, Teresa. Aesthetic and Feminist Theory: Rethinking Womens Cinema. Duke University Press, 2010. http://www.peripatetic.us/womenFILM/deLaurentis.pdf
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self-defending, much less defending others. Yet, now we consider the alternative, the very real alternative of a woman who needs to fight, who needs to save others in a way past social pleasantries. This requires altered emotions, thicker skin in some ways, a mask. Movies now explore those heroes who assume obscure identities, who can have authority by simply having purpose. Women are no longer a mystery for the sake of men. Instead, when they are, as masquerade or not, personal motive comes into play, along with a promise of development. The Vigilantes There are some protagonists who are not so much heroes as vigilantes; hence the distinct forms of masquerading in Kill Bill, Kick-Ass and Hard Candy. All three are capable of facing danger in one way or another, and express a consistent sense of purpose throughout their respective movies. Indeed

they are all on missions, exacting their sense of justice as they see fit. That kind of decisiveness, that determination makes them the doers, regardless of gender. And if what theyre doing isnt masculine, isnt that label, and if theyre not simply a noman1, what makes them feminine? Well, they are women/girls. They are solitary females, ultimately fighting alone, but they stand for those women of all kinds, and those associative roles: the mother, the daughter, and any woman who was ever hurt for being a woman.

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In Kill Bill, following the quote on revenge, the audience sees a brutalized Bride (she remains unnamed in this first movie) on the floor, mockingly tended to by her assailant, Bill, someone she knows intimately. She is the victim of an attack, but hardly the victim of her own narrative. Even as shes trembling, covered in blood, she forces a hard truth onto Bill, that hes the father of her child a truth he cuts off with a gunshot to her head. In a voiceover she announces he only put her in a coma. Next, she states her motive: she will kill Bill. She wakes up startled from her coma, immediately sensing something is missing she searches her stomach: shes lost her baby. She now seems physically and emotionally devastated. However, a male interns perverse intentions serve as an instant focal point for her grief. She incapacitates the intern and his accomplice, the retaliation serving as a precursor to numbered marks, in every sense of the mob term, the Bride

explaining what happened that day of her wedding; she gives her reasons, but more importantly, the flashbacks fuel a burst of willpower: the legs, numbed after her four-year coma, come alive as the Brides big toe moves, just as she ordered it to do. Interestingly, the Brides only rivals in this movie are all women: Vernita Green, Elle Driver and O-Ren Ishii. They also have aliases having to do with snakes: Copperhead, California Mountain Snake, and Cottonmouth, respectively. The Bride is Black Mamba, what the world considers to be the deadliest snake4. Yet, Bill codename says it all Snake Charmer. The Bride does not meet with Bill until the second part, but we see her streak of vindictive calculation throughout the first movie, so viewers never doubt her momentum towards her last target. For all intentions, she will be the one to resist Bills charm and demote him.

literally lists. The true battle begins after she finishes

Black Mamba. National Geographic, 1996-2010. http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/black-mamba/

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men are: as lacking sexual objectification5. In Kill Bill, the protagonist lacks this brand of objectification never does the movie encapsulate her image or her actions to prove nothing but an attractive quality. Even in casual clothing, when she is not brandishing her sword, the Bride does not pose for male attention, not in dress nor dialogue. Unlike Buck, she is not there to f**k6. And why had Bill recruited only women? Maybe the charm only worked if he had power as the only man. After all, there is a dangerous chemistry between women and men of high rank; its a power play that teases loyalty and clearheadedness. When Bill denies the Bride her re-initiation of life, detail the viewer garners is enough because we understand the the charm wears off, however, and she becomes his greatest Brides actions, her purpose. Her identity leagues to that risk yet. No longer is it Man and Woman, but enemy vs. enemy. motive, remaining feminine in nuance and in role as avenger of Laura Mulvey commented that in order for the female character to be taken seriously, women must be portrayed as her supposedly unborn child.
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Her masquerade is her lack of name, her suit that pays homage to Bruce Lee, yet remains her own to taint/revitalize with blood. She exists in reference, as a result of compiled memories and steps taken to meet with her victims. What little

Feminist Film Theory. Wikipedia, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_film_theory 6 Tarantino, Quentin. Kill Bill. Miramax Films, 2003. 13:30

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Kick-Ass and Hard Candy both feature young girls, both just beginning their teenage years. Mindy dresses as a super-hero in Kick-Ass, donning an actual mask and costume, and goes by the alias of Hit-Girl. Trained by her father, she is an unforgiving vigilante who inherits and internalizes her fathers ambition to seek retribution against those who broke their family apart years ago. Mindy proves to be the leading combatant, the reinforcement, and the altogether savior/destroyer, completing with the most action.

Twice the viewers are poignantly reminded of the contrast Mindy represents. She is the little girl, but she is by no means defenseless or nave. When her father shoots her and we find shes wearing a bullet proof vest, we realize their routine of training, of de-sensitizing to pain. Their plan involves nothing short of surviving and succeeding. During a particular scene, the following dialogue envelops a necessary code of self-defense:
Damon Macready: Now Hit-Girl, we always keep our backs where? Hit Girl: To the wall Daddy, I know.7

In a scene prior to the climactic battle, Mindy enters a lounge, fully taking advantage of the deceiving appearance shes able to brandish: that of a lost child, someone whos lost mommy and daddy7, because there is nothing more innocent

Vaughn, Matthew. Kick-Ass. Marv Films, 2009. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/quotes

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than a young girl who needs help, it seems. Before a thug lets her into the building of her nemesis, a fellow thug questions her appearance at their door. The first man, however, states the obvious, Its a little kid whats the matter with you? before letting her in and therefore, sentencing everyone to their doom. Their guard is down, not hers. Mindy changes into her costume in the elevator and becomes Hit-Girl, ready to get the bad guys before they get her. Of the characters in the movie, Mindy could be the most efficient and cut-throat of them all; she doesnt hesitate and she doesnt blunder as she rescues others. Yet when she acts as the leader to Daves truly lost character, the difference is not gender-based; she has the experience and the mentality of a person ready to combat a criminal. She explains rules to him, telling him never to reveal his identity, but he looks for a more casual, more personal side to her. He asks for her name, wonders what she will do now that her father is gone, and she

replies, Look, I can take care of myself. Her moments of vulnerability are few. In fact, some of the camera views enforce the particular distance Mindy maintains as either a body or a ready weapon precede her actual appearance. A weapon superimposes upon a mask which superimposes upon a young girl, who, consequently, few know.

It is then her own power to reveal her identity. She decides she can trust Dave as a fellow superhero, as an equal of sorts in manner of willpower and promise of potential. Mindys

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masquerade momentarily ends as she meets with her main purpose of avenging her parents and finds someone she can trust. In this moment, she can exchange names with Dave, remove her mask and be just a girl, though the heroic image only seems to grow stronger in Daves eyes as hes finally allowed to shake her hand and light seeps through the clouds behind Mindy.

the movie progresses, these styles display a means of protection. The hair is not long enough to grab and entangle, the clothes comfortable enough for mobility and standard appeal Hayley designs her own appearance for practicality and survival. Curiously, Hayley discusses the nature vs. nurture argument as the pedophile, Jeff, struggles to continue any hopes of mind games against her. She casually says its all a mystery. As the audience, we could say Hayley recognizes the biological disadvantages of her young, female body by packing accessible tools and weapons to fight Jeff. Social construct dictates that as a woman, she should be the more intuitive, perceptive one. As such, she does not perform physical torture (not as capable, perhaps), but a mental lockdown of sorts for

Hard Candy stars as a 14-year-old girl, Hayley, who initially projects an androgynous image with her short, contained hairstyle and her plain clothes. Initially, yes, but as

Jeff until only one escape is left for him

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The torture seemingly culminates as Hayley maneuvers the prone body of Jeff onto a table so she can proceed with a self-taught procedure castration. She makes him beg, regress and break down completely in the midst of her calm, even mocking demeanor. With a final taunt, she leaves to shower, leaving him unsupervised. He cuts loose and finds out the whole operation was a ruse, leading to an upheaval of rage that pushes him to attempt an attack on Hayley. Nevertheless, she had pre-meditated this as well and stands prepared to electrocute him as he falls under the spray of water. He falls into another one of her traps, her ploys, her masquerades of control. The game had mostly occurred within the house, a space of pale lighting, clean-cut angles, hollowness, and lack of depth. Yet, especially during the chase scenes in and out of corridors and the house, the space remains maze-like in its simplicity, in its blur of dimensions. This space and color of

the narrative slowly and literally become darker in two of Hayleys scenes. While toasting, Hayley mentions carpe omnious, take it all Her face and tone darken in shadow as she says this, but Jeff and the audience think shes awkwardly teasing. Then, in Hayleys first scene as the captor, there is no mistaking the change as she says, I, on the other hand was your play. Light dims as a sheen of gray passes over her face and shes thundering and haunting without the storm. She wears Daves clothes and glasses as she straightforwardly calls him a pedophile; what is supposed to be a masquerade that creates distance instead becomes a disregard for Jeffs own personhood. Through her, he is his own sabotage. Out on the roof, under the sun, both characters take a different light. Jeff partially admits to his murder crime, and Hayley declares shes every little girl [Jeff[ ever watched,

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touched, hurt, screwed killed8 With urgent, yet twisted reassurance, she gives him two options: suicide in exchange for arranged dignity, or getting caught and letting his true love find out about his secrets. Ultimately, the choice is not his at all. She taunts him with this last hope for grace while really giving him complete control over his self-destruction, so she is not to blame. Hayley proves to win her round of masquerade as she makes Jeff believe shell in some ways be merciful, a promise she retracts as soon as she realizes hes jumped off the roof. The rope grows taut over the rooftops ledge and she gives the famous or not retort to undue her promise. When she leaves that house, she has her jacket back on and she looks to be traveling. More than anything, though, she looks like a version of Little Red Riding Hood a version that kills the wolf on her

own before it reaches her grandmother or the huntsman. Hayley is the version that can see past the villains own masquerade and make hers superior for the sake of survival and retribution.

These protagonists, as similar or different as they may be in comparison, prove that power comes with purpose, not with assigned gender roles. With the lack of objectification, the women in these movies are consummate doers, actors.

Slade, David. Hard Candy. A Vulcan Production, 2005. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424136/

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