Some people may believe that women cannot fulfil men qualities as great as men themselves. In fact, women has gravitated and became more dominant in gender roles that only men can accomplished. Watching the two films, Zootopia and Wonder Woman both depicts the nature and characteristics of women with hegemonic masculine bodies. It gradually paints a picture to their position in the society and the gender inequality portrayed within a society. Clearly, the essay answers the understanding of how women are subjugated, the components of masculinity and the hierarchical dimension of women in the society.
Hegemonic is definitely present in both films, in which is something that the directors maybe intended for the audience to realize and think back to how it actually exist in reality. According to Bird, “Hegemonic masculinity…is ‘constructed in relation to women and to subordinate masculinities’ [which] shapes the overall framework of gender relations (Connell, 2016, 263).” This statement supports how Diana in Wonder Woman portrays some elements of hegemonic masculinity. For example, her fight in the league of justice on the mysterious island of Themyscira, is where she experienced the arrival of a suspicious man. Diana did not hesitate, but rather realized that she needs to protect anybody that pleads for help.
For this reason, she approached Ares confidently for war against humanity and to restore peace, despite, Ares being the God of war. Moreover, Diana shows how her overall performance revealed her physical strength and courage as the strongest woman ever, while helping her framework towards being a women in a male lead. In the Zootopia film, hegemonic masculinity is depicted when Judy is denied the opportunity of becoming a police officer, since there has never been a rabbit police officer. Instead, they are used for food to large herbivores and predators with hegemonic masculinity becoming police officers.
Analyzing the two films, it seems as more women are subjugated in Wonder Woman by Diana than Judy in Zootopia. For instance, she puts women under safe control as she fights the war against Ares who is the God of war. Prince Diana exemplifies leadership qualities as she takes a stand to kill Ares, even though Steve doubted her as a superhero. Therefore, women have subjugated themselves under leadership and protection from Prince Diana.
The ideology of the mass media was to see if the audience accepted Diana presents as gender roles may differ from the norms of society. However, the film Zootopia, Judy is subjected to consistent repellant from a fox who is her enemy, but seems to make a great partner. The fox often control the rabbit since it is always the predator. Obviously, the rabbit feared the fox from the beginning.
According to Lull, social consent is a powerful part of hegemony because it means that people allow themselves “to be governed by principles, rules and laws they believe operate in their best interests, even though in actual practice they may not (Lull, 2016, 54).” This statement explains how society can help alter one decision based on the feelings of others. It makes overall framework of gender relations the same in every aspect. In addition to Wonder Woman, the components of masculinity are reinforced by Diana as she is confronted to kill Ares, the God of war. This is because Prince Diana society blames Ares causing war waged against a human. Her masculinity enables her to thrive successfully and become a superhero. In Zootopia, the components of masculinity are reinforced by the predators. Predators can eat all animals, especially prey.
Women have created ways for gender inequality to come to an end, whether it is proven their abilities to be equal to men. For instance, Diana in the film Wonder Woman has reinforced gender inequality based on the ideal that Steve, who has been against the motive of women empowerment surrendered, and, witnessed her killing Ares. However, Diana reveals a hierarchical dimension when she thrives as the superhero and gained respect from her fellow women. This has also prompted her to believe that it is her sacred duty to protect the world.
On the other hand, in Zootopia, Judy restored gender inequality when she became a police officer, a position that was preserved for strong male predators and large herbivores. The predators reveal hierarchical dimension based on the motive that they are the prey and most masculine. In fact, this factor explains how the awareness of hegemony apply to society as a whole.
In conclusion, women that excel in hegemonic masculinity can help achieve the overall balance of whether society has reached harsh proportions towards gender inequalities. Are there really successful ways to help reshape hegemonic masculinity or is this something the mass media portrays in films among the society.
