New Comm Ave

Helen Situ is a full-time student who is majoring in Sociology. She enjoys spending her days as an artist, a philosopher, a conversationalist, a friend, a lover, and a learner. One of her life’s simpler desires is to take a road trip full of favorite songs and unforgettable conversation up the California coast to explore each and every beach’s pier. Riveted by the charm of contradictions in all aspects of life, she is a lover of city lights and starry nights.

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An author of Film Genre Reader, Andrew Tudor, noted that the cycles and transformations of genres could be seen as responses to political, social, and economic conditions (Chandler). Films are studied in the context of their genre and as historical phenomena, this suggests that there is evolution within genres while certain conventions persist. Going to the movies was originally intended for fun and entertainment, nevertheless “semiotically, a genre can be seen as a shared code between the producers and the interpreters of texts within it (Chandler).” Genres help viewer’s select films in familiar themes, settings, and plotlines. Because genre films are created and geared toward specific audiences, the producers may also begin organizing and delivering certain aspects in their films to better suit and attract their consumers. When there is awareness of these unspoken codes between the producer and the consumer, do texts within genres embody the moral and social values of a culture that convey their production time’s needs, desires, and fears? Is there a reciprocal relationship between a genre changing according to social conditions and the genre and texts influencing and reinforcing social conditions (Chandler)?

Action genre films, a persisting popularity from the early 20th century onward

In 2008, behind comedy, the second most popular film genre was action based on the US box office’s top grossing movies (Recapping 2008). The beginning of this genre was in the silent era’s classic action-western The Great Train Robbery (dir. Edwin S. Porter, 1903), which was the first narrative film and innovative because of the cinematography and plotline. In fact, it was based on a true event where bandits blew up the safe of a mail car to escape with about $5,000 in cash (“Greatest Films”). In the traditional action films, many of the stories and action plotlines revolved around realistic events such as robberies and fight scenes; they were depictions of real-life action. However, the emergence of modern action genre films filled with shootings, sex, suspense, and secret agents stemmed from the James Bond series (1962-2010), which is, to date, the most profitable film series of all time. In the past decade, we’ve seen many action/thriller films with subtext within its plots suggesting changes in this genre. Fight Club (dir. David Finchers, 1999), The Matrix (dir. Larry Wachowski and Andy Wachowski, 1999), and Wanted (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) are three films that all depict a fantasized transformation and “wake-up” from the protagonists’ mundane life into an exciting and meaningful living. This change in the action genre seems to suggest that there is a growing idealized dream and desire within our society for the meaning of really living. Diminishing independence in choices, abilities, and opportunities because many workers today are one part of the divisions of labor, may be leaving their potential confined within one specialized field. It can be assumed that many modern American workers are feeling trapped and in a sense, even owned, by major corporations, businesses, and money. This heavy dependence seems to imply a depleted sense of worth and persisting sense of boredom in ways that may be temporarily satisfied with the 2 hours spent under the power of escapism in films.

The psychological crime thriller packed with action

Action films are often hybrids with thrillers and are known to have continuous high energy, lots of physical stunts and fights, and adventurous heroes such as the 2008 film, Wanted (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008). Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, it is a film that is associated with the action, crime, and thriller genres. However, there are underlying societal representations, desires, and themes in addition to its guns and gore. The protagonist, Wesley Gibson is a young man, ridden with anxiety and enslaved by debt to work in a hated office job. He lives a monotonous life confined to a cubicle and surrounded by superficial relationships, when suddenly he meets a mysterious woman who tells him that his father was an elite assassin in The Fraternity, a secret society, who has been killed the day before. His destiny and mentality is then changed and he is trained to follow in his destiny; the footsteps of his father. The psychological motivations and emotional relationships of the protagonist, Wesley Gibson are navigated through the plot of this film. It’s box office earnings closed on the weekend of September 14, 2008 with a gross of $134,294,280 alone in the USA. Wanted’s (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) tagline was “choose your destiny.”

A representation of “fate” in modern day America may be the choice to attend higher education. Some people are self-taught, especially in the digital age there is easy access to an abundance of information via the Internet. This has transformed teaching and learning in a way that it can now, more than ever, be done alone. Knowledge can be accumulated in an environment of yourself and your computer that is nearly just as beneficial (online courses offered now and interactive/collaborative informational sites such as Wikipedia) as that of some universities without the costs that usually rack up tens of thousands of dollars in debt and student loans. However, in order to secure higher paid occupations, one must have a degree, if not multiple ones. Our fates and destinies today seem to convey what the capitalist American society dictates for us: go to college (and most likely be indebted), secure a job (wherever is most paid highest), and make lots of money (build your American Dream). This generates questions of how many aspects of our lives are truly in our control and by our choices and not society’s implications?

To (hated) jobs that pay the bills and rent

There seems to be potential and strengths of many modern American workers that are left unused in the confinements of repetition in cashier, retail, and office positions. “Want to hear something sad? I need an ergonomic keyboard to keep my repetitive stress injury in check, just the fact that I repeat something enough that it causes me stress is fucking sad (Wanted 2008).” Wesley Gibson’s lines here generalize a perspective upon many of today’s jobs such as cashiering. Type into Google “repetitive stress injury” and over 17 million results come up in less than a quarter of a second. His workplace can be defined as a computer and a cubicle with the addition of a tyrannical boss. He hates his job. Why does he stay and continue to work there despite his obvious unhappiness and disgust of his situation? Money has become his motivation, and this portrayal of him in such a successful film, Wanted (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) implies that it may be the driving motivational force for many people in American society. This can be such a strong drive because it is seemingly intangible with ATM and credit cards today and yet it is the representation of a possibility for anything that is objectified.

Wishes for the “ABC’s of Getting Out of Debt”

In a beginning scene from Wanted (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) Wesley Gibson has a panic attack at his work and while scrambling through his drawers for his medication, reveals a book titled the “ABC’s of Getting Out of Debt.” The book’s placement onscreen filling up ¾ of the scene seems to indicate the modern American worker’s greatest stressor: debt. There appears to be a relationship between Wesley’s workplace, panic attack, anti-anxiety medication, and this book. His debt and need for money are two things that tie him to his despised job. How is someone bound by financial enslavement able to escape his or her situation of necessity and desperation?

In director, David Finchers’ adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Fight Club, one of the main characters remarks that we’re all “working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.” Although it may seem that our money is not wasted, it is however, often spent on toys, gadgets, and (sometimes random) products that entice you through carefully constructed marketing campaigns and demeaning advertisements. They work to create an illusion or mindset towards the direction of making the consumer think that they need their product. Permeating every source of media, advertisements combined with credit cards seem to work together in contributing to rising debt and then binding and enslaving them to stay at their jobs to fight the uphill battle of repaying debts and interest rates.

Dreaded monotony and reliance on anti-______ medications

“I'm finding it hard to care about anything these days. In fact, the only thing I do care about is the fact that I can't care about anything. Seriously, it worries me.” Wesley Gibson’s voice over says this at the beginning of the movie, feeling positively that tomorrow starts over, but negatively because it restarts in monotony. Already knowing what to expect and knowing the general routine of his future on the daily has made his life into a steady drone. This dissatisfaction and apathy toward his life seem to lie in the lack of excitement and a repetitive schedule which appears to be relatable to many modern American workers. Although these lines convey ambivalence and dislike for his life, later when he is in a life-threatening situation, he yells, “Please understand, that I care about my life (Wanted 2008).” In this dialogue, he communicates that he does in fact care about something, his life. This seems to express the deep desires to make something out of ourselves that is passionate and loved. However, it also addresses a conflicting feeling of ambivalence toward 21st century existentialism. The philosophy of existentialism—that an individual must “make meaning from a chaotic and empty universe,” lies in both Wanted (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) and Fight Club (dir. David Finchers, 1999) (Zachary). Both of these films pursue the journey for the protagonists’ motives and future in their at first, disappointing and ordinary lives. There seems to be so much unused potential that is left out of the equation of living at times because of the financial needs to survive in American society today. In a capitalist nation, its citizens cannot survive without capital; without ownership of things greater in worth than our lives and knowledge, and so we are forced to chase our financial “dreams.” They are “dreams” because the chase of money is a necessity to feel comfortable and situated amidst a culture that competitively and consistently represents the sayings of “bigger is better” and “you can never be too rich.” It may be interpreted that today’s workers hate their lives that they’re carrying out and “living”, but it can be understood that they do not hate the gift of life itself because it seems individuals are capable of understanding the worth of just being alive and human in this world.

In a scene of Wanted, (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) the shot zoomed in on the sleeping face of Wesley and in the foreground, there is a bottle of medication on his bed stand. It is slightly out of focus, but directly in front of his face. In this frame, the inclusion of the medication in such a prominent center appears to be intentional. Wesley has been dependent on his psychiatric medication for some time until being recruited into The Fraternity, where he is then able to work through his anxiety and panic attacks to maintain a hold of control over himself. It may be noted that it was not through the medication that his psychiatric condition was lifted, but by the power of himself. This plays on an implication that although medication is the norm and common for treatment in psychiatric cases, some people may already hold the power to overcome their struggles.

In Fight Club (dir. David Finchers, 1999) the main character has insomnia and is denied by his doctor for sleeping medication. However, after creating the Fight Club, which is a secret society where physical fights exist to desensitize its participants from their daily lives’ frustrations and restrictions, the protagonist is able to get the best sleep. By taking control of his life and situation into his own hands, he was able to find a way to exert his energy and “beat himself” into the greatest sleep. The initial problem is solved within himself. These portrayals of the disconnection between a “cure” and medication seem to imply the question of: does medication really help? Or does it act as a cover-up of the depression and anxiety and as a diffusion of responsibility to look within themselves and reflect to understand why and what they can do to help themselves?

Disconnected within a society, depersonalized transactions in a digital age

A reoccurring aspect through many action films is the lack of and desire for father-son relationships. It is apparent in films throughout multiple decades of this film genre such as Top Gun (dir. Tony Scott, 1986), Fight Club (dir. David Finchers, 1999), the Star Wars series and the Harry Potter series. These persisting interests of the genre’s film seem to indicate that the gap between this longing and reality are still at a distance with one another. It may also be interpreted to include a larger realm revolving around our lifetime searches for consistency and intimacy in our relationships.

In the 21st century’s digital age, many of our simpler interactions have been replaced with machines and technology, consequently being depersonalized. In the busy lives of American society’s members today, many of the frequent interactions throughout the day are done in an assembly line style or automated through machines. No longer are there many family-owned local delis because they’ve been replaced by major corporate franchises. Ordering a cup of coffee can be done quickly through drive-through. The goal is efficiency. It is achieved, but at the loss of human interaction, a necessity to establishing meaningful connecting ties to society. Is the product of this efficiency worth the cost of personality?
Wesley Gibson’s coworker “best friend” sleeps with his girlfriend. Barry, “the other man,” is noted in a scene that he missed work to go to the dentist when the camera then abruptly cuts to a sexually explicit scene between the best friend and the girlfriend on Wesley’s kitchen table. What does this representation of labeled relationships express when they are in actuality superficial? The people in Wesley’s life do not live up to their titles, they’ve been labeled but seem oblivious to his feelings. Through this, there may be a connection between the superficial relationships portrayed in this film and the ones being creating today.
Facebook, a form of communication and building of friendships that was widely introduced in 2005, has revolutionized social networking. Through this online webpage, everyone you know is an additional number on your list of “friends.”

As new users are younger and younger, this may implicitly affect our interpretations of what a friend is. The relationships forged over the Internet may still be personal and revealing but they seem to fall short in intimacy when compared to those relationships created face-to-face. Because of the straining demands of school, work, and family, online social networking has become attractive to all age groups and internationally as well. This seems to reflect a growth in relationships created and strengthened by Facebook. Although this is an “efficient” way to maintain contact with people you know, it substantially takes away from the warmth and affection of enjoying someone’s company. In the midst of American society, there seem to be feelings of disconnection and detachment. This can be found through the continual focus of desires for intimate relationships regardless of differing production time periods and changing social, economic, and political events.

Underlying frustrations of the modern American worker according to Wanted

In the closing scene of Wanted (dir. Timur Bekmambetov, 2008) Wesley Collins’ lines indicate a newfound ownership of his life, and the individual control he has over it. “This is me taking control from Sloane, from the fraternity, from Janice, from billing reports, from ergonomic keyboards, from cheating girlfriends and sack a shit best friends. This is me taking back control of my life (Wanted 2008)." This power of choosing a destiny for himself had completely transformed his persona from someone fearful and neurotic to someone at ease, confident, and driven. A moral of this film seems to be that a key to happiness is doing what you feel driven, passionate, attracted toward. Choosing a career for chasing money may be the self-made choice of enslaving yourself in a cycle of mundane, repetitive work, consumerism, and paying the bills. The inescapable factor in modern American society is that we must secure our financial needs as a factor of survivability and take the time to build meaningful relationships with those around us. However, through these reoccurring themes in action film genres, it can be taken that we must embrace the inescapable. Pursue what you love and learn to love what you chase.

• 2010 Spring
• Film Analysis