Since this was brought up toward the end of class on Friday, there wasn't much time to talk about. After seeing the film and reading the article on shame it seems like we could connect Dix to a type of person talked about in the article..maybe the best fit would be Dix as someone trying to exert their masculinity..? Or other ways he could be seen as someone 'shamed'? (reminds me of the Ressentiment article)
Here's just some things I noticed in "In a Lonely Place" that could be tied to Dix trying to fulfill the masculine role.
- obviously his anger/aggressiveness-especially the scene when he almost hits the guy in the car. His first response to situations is anger.
- The part when he wants breakfast, and just yells to Laurel what he wants without even thinking twice about it
- He attempts to make breakfast one morning- but he's so awkward at it; bending the grapefruit knife back to the shape of a normal knife- shows his lack of domesticity. But, he's trying to change it seems-
What other things did anyone notice about Dix and masculinity?
I was thinking that too, how he offered to make Laurel breakfast, but he didn't know how to cut the grapefruit with the correct knife. He was overall a really aggressive, tough guy, but I couldn't tell if part of the time, he was just putting up a facade to hide his inner feelings? I feel like he did care about the people, especially the women, in his lives; he just couldn't seem to put his tough mentality aside and break down his barrier.
ReplyDeleteDix seemed to encompass the classic "bad boy" character. He is always getting into fights, is irreverent with authority figures (such as the police), talks tough, and just generally projects a loose-canon persona. Of course, this story is about how Laurel tries to change the "bad boy," thinking that she is the only one who can see into his deeper, sensitive soul and it is her duty to get him to open up and love him. Throughout the movie, this actually seems to be working, but then by the end, Laurel realizes that she cannot change Dix; Dix has to decide to change for himself. However, by the time Dix decides to change (which is at the very end), it is already too late and he has revealed to Laurel that his violent internal self could break through at any moment. It seems that Dix wants to be the sensitive guy, but he must become a hypermasculinized aggressor since everyone is trying to destroy his peace of mind in the movie. Either way though, he probably has some serious anger management issues he needs to address.
ReplyDeleteThe most obnoxious people are generally the most insecure ones, in my experience. Dix's aggression is clearly a cover-up for whatever made him the way he is, or else he wouldn't come on so strong. Sure, the violence is a dead giveaway too, but more likely than not I think it's his overwhelming masculinity that is the exact proof of his insecurity.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that makes sense. I just think he's portraying his manliness so obviously because he wants to make sure everyone sees it; there are clearly traits about him that would make him undesirable, including his violence, but it's for that exact reason that he needs something to compensate with. I think it happens to be his tough-guy appearance.