your views...should you chose to express them

[stokerw]

Hi Shane mate,

Thanks a mil for the welcome message. as per the rest of the new members, I am equally massively impressed with all of your work. Since seeing Romeo Brass years ago when inadvertently renting it by mistake thinking it was something else, I have been hooked!
I am studying drama and film at Trinity College Dublin and am beginning to write a dissertation on you (pretty chuffed about that id say...!) I know that you are inherently a filmmaker that works form the heart, trusts his gut instinct when making any directorial decisions and doesnt like to analyse his films to read stuff into them that mightnt even be there.....but, could I ask you a bit of a pain in the arse question?

what do you think your films say about the state of British masculinity in this current climate of social change?

I only ask because each of the male characters go on their own very individual journey from the opening shot to the closing- each of them has undergone a transition whether it is a journey of self-discovery (Romeo, Shaun) or a descent into sudden, sickening violent acts that leave them broken (Morrell, Darcy and Richard to a certain extent) or redemptive act that reinforces one's faith in humanity and masculinity at its most raw (Romeos dad in the final scene).

Would you say that you address a current 'crisis' in masculinity?
and if so, do you think that you offer a clear route out of this crisis in the majority of your films?

Im sorry if thats a bit heavy, but I would just be interested in your opinion- but I understand that buckets, beaches and grandpas come first in steamy Thailand at the mo, so I'l not expect a speedy reply!!

Your work has inspired me to finish this dastardly degree on a high and not just write about any old tried and tested academic-friendly bollocks- nice one.
All the best,
Will Stoker

[RichK]

Hi,

I think you'll find this thread gets moved to the "educational study and discussion" section where I'm sure that other members of the forum will add some thoughts.

I think character transition of some form or other is inherent in virtually ALL films, in fact, it is a notable exception when a character doggedly remains the same through the course of a film.

I think the perceived "crisis" in masculinity in this country is not a crisis at all, merely an adjustment of behaviour being made in the light of increased political correctness. I sense a capping of the pressure cooker of masculinity by increasingly strict laws governing the public behaviour of people.

The result is that the violence expressed nowadays is lesser in volume but greater in severity.

I'd like to write more.. but I'm out of time I'm afraid.

[stokerw]

Cheers mate for those helpful words.
however, im a bit inept/inexperienced w forums and the like so im not sure how to transport my rambling message above into the 'educational/study' category rather than the 'welcome' one...how do you do it?!

[Dave]

Welcome!

Only a couple of people can move messages to different parts of the forum... like me!

[RichK]

Thread moves are done by magic. Dave has to stay up until midnight, then kill a canary and smear it with Lyle's golden syrup (nb MUST be Lyles). Holding smeared canary over the computer he summons the thread to move.. et voila.

This explains why canary prices in the Bristol/Bath area are so high.

Returning to the original question:

I think the crux lies in what is meant by masculinity. Taken at face value, this means aggression, testosterone-fuelled Saturday nights throwing stellas down your neck with a greasy kebab as the main course and some casual violence for afters if you're lucky. Is this a display of masculinity? It's what I think when I hear the word.

I think Shane's films are a lot of the time about containment. Containment of this potential for aggression in the face of social conventions, the family, not in front of the children. It instills tension, a driving force to the story. When the tension finally breaks and the tipping point is reached, characters finally show their true colours. There is a grim inevitability to much of this violence, with the only route out being some form of redemption after the act of violence has been committed. Redemption does not always come though.

***MINOR SPOILERS***

Darcy - feeling of impotence at inability to change the lives of the lads - single act of aggression - reduced to a shell of his former self. Never recovers.

Morrell - inability to be loved by Ladine - rampage of aggression against Darren and Bill - exposed for the coward he is. After effects not seen but suspect he recovers and almost certainly repeats his actions elsewhere.

Dek - feeling of impotence after being turned down by Shirley, unable to face up to Jimmy and act like a proper man - single act of aggression - and this time it actually works! Solves the situation.

Richard - feelings of guilt arising from incidents some 8 years prior to the start of the story - acts of aggression as apparent solution, as the way out - but no, they don't work. Only option left is to.. well.. not going to over-spoiler this thread.

Combo - unable to adapt to the tide of a changing society, complex issues in his past, and also inability to be with the one he loves - acts of aggression culminating in a major one - after-effects never seen but suspect that either like Darcy he will disappear off the radar, or like Morrell, he will lick his wounds, then go and find a new crowd to impress, and repeat.

So on balance, I'd say no. Shane's films do not offer a "way out" of a masculinity crisis. Only in Midlands is the way out clear, and this as we know is the slightly odd one. Laying them out like that, it does make you wonder how, at the end of Midlands, things might have turned out if Jimmy had beaten the living sh*t out of Dek.. I don't suppose the execs would have entertained that idea though..

[jill]

I personally think that how Shane portrays masculinities is one of the most interesting aspects of his films, though there's a dearth of serious literature on this with regard to Shane's films specifically. If you take the view that masculinity(ies) is a social construct, you'll find tons of material in the academic literature (both in social science and films studies), but it'll be largely left to you to do the work in applying it to Shane's work. 24/7 and TIE are going to be particularly good sources, I think, although the central relationship between the young boys in Romeo is also useful. Since 24/7 and TIE both explicitly contextualise the lives of the youths in the changing social and economic climate, I personally think the 'crisis of masculinity' thesis does apply. Anyway, good luck with it....sounds interesting and potentially original.

Edit: maybe one way to cut into this would be to contrast Shane's approach to the (largely unreflective) portrayal of masculinities in the earlier-late 50s/early 60s-British social realism films??? Just a thought.

[anonlytwin]

just about all british social realist cinema of modern times deals with this subject mate- so you have chosen a rich field of research... many many academic books on this subject to... good choice!

shanes apporach to masculinity in crisis, for me, is both a celebration and a critique of british working class masculinity today