I AM JACK'S SCENE ANALYSIS

 

FEMINIZATION OF CULTURE & REFERENCES TO WOMEN

Scattered throughout the movie are references to women and the negative effects that they've had on the lives of men and their perceptions of masculinity. They are expressed without hatred, but in a way that portrays men as defeated and disillusioned by the onslaught of feminist ideology that has pervaded society's values and norms that men are conditioned to subject themselves to and live by. One may notice that there are few women characters in the movie, and the ones that do appear meet 'unfavorable ends' or are portrayed in a less than positive light. Marla Singer the main female character is the acknowledged downfall of Jack (DVD TIME CUE 2:57) and is portrayed as mentally unstable and disturbed throughout the movie. Bob or 'Robert Paulson' is a 'feminized' man, he has 'breasts' as the result of steroid use, has had his testicles removed due to cancer, expresses his emotions and cry's in therapy. Bob is the only member to die when he's shot by the police during operation 'Latte Thunder'. Allusions to the effect of women on men's lives and their contribution to the current state of repressed masculinity are expressed subtly and overtly at various points in the film (DVD TIME CUE 29:10). For instance, Tyler in response to Jack expressing a sense of loss after he loses all his possessions when his apartment explodes: 'well it could be worse. A woman could cut off your penis while your sleeping and toss it out of the window of a moving car', in reference to the Bobbitt 'event' [See "Bobbitt vs. Bobbitt"]. This alludes to a woman removing a defining characteristic of a man and all that it represents. Other instances follow:

DVD TIME CUE 29:35 - When talking about his lost possessions Jack says he was close to being complete. Discussion then turns to how 'guys like you and me' shouldn't know what a duvet is. In the hunter-gatherer sense of the word we've become by-products of a lifestyle obsession. This refers to the fact that modern day 'men' are expected to posses knowledge and show interest in what was traditionally the domain of women, the home and it's furnishings.
DVD TIME CUE 30:21 - 'Martha's [Stewart] polishing the brass on the Titanic. It's all going down man'. Allusion to how feminist consumer culture will be our downfall.
DVD TIME CUE 39:38 - Tyler and Jack talking about how they never knew their dads. Their lack of a father figure, and thus a lack of a direction. Jack mentions how he can't get married because he's a '30 year old boy' to which Tyler responds 'We're a generation of men raised by women … I'm wondering if another women is really the answer we need'.

So the way women are portrayed and their lack of prominence in the film, combined with the vivid and blatant portrayal of traditionally masculine behaviors in direct opposition to the general socially accepted norms is a statement in itself of masculinity lashing out or revolting against the circumstances under which it is held 'captive' and against those that are responsible for their condition. In this case the feminist movement and the effect the relative success of that movement has had on changing gender roles and subsequently societal norms and values.