Ray Winstone as Beowulf and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's Mother
When I saw this ad on a billboard for the movie 'Beowulf', (directed by Robert Zemeckis 2007) I just had to see it. This film was created with digital animation and the whole thing has the look of a video game. I enjoyed it; no great work of art but it's kind of fun. Ray Winstone must have found it very flattering to have his short, stocky physique transformed into a buff nordic god.
However, the Beowulf story is evidence that the devouring female versus passive victim dichotomy is not confined to classical mythology alone. (This was discussed in an earlier post 'The Rock of Doom') .
Angelina Jolie appears nude as Grendel's mother in Beowulf
In Beowulf, Angelina Jolie plays the monster Grendel's mother. She appears nude except for a thin coating of liquid gold. She has a tail and sexy high heels (I didn't know you could get shoes like that in 6th century Denmark!). She is the archetypal femme fatale; half alluring woman, half devouring beast. She proves to be the nemesis of King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) and then to Beowulf himself. The 'woman as victim' is Queen Wealthow, played by Robin Wright Penn. She endures a loveless marriage with a much older man (King Hrothgar) and then endures marriage to a husband (Beowulf) with a younger and publicly acknowledged mistress Ursula (Alison Lohman).
Norse god: monster slayer Beowulf
The real Ray Winstone: a bit of a monster
13 comments:
These storied are really interesting, I love this different kind of entertainment news you write.:)
Thanks very much, glad you liked my articles. You have the honour of posting the first comment on this blog! You've made my day.
Grendel's mother as 'femme fatale' is the creation of those who hold the purse strings for making the film. In the Old English poem, Grendel's mother is described as a "brine wolf" having "grisley claws" but Hollywood dishes up Angelina Jolie as a seductive human lizard covered in gold paint (last saw that in Goldfinger), sporting high heels and a fabulous bosom ! Unfortunately Hollywood will never discard the "archytypal femme fatale" for the money this stereotype generates.
i think that yes, you are correct about how the women in this movie are not shown as equals to men, but i also think that this isn't really an issue anyway. everyone recognises that around 500AD when beowulf was set, the world was a very sexist place, the fact that this element of historical culture is included in a modern motion picture doesn't mean that in the 21st century women don't deserve equality. we as a society tend to read to much into issues of identification, race, gender, religion etc, and we are in the situation of a modern day witch-hunt, to name and shame anyone and everyone that may or may not be prejudiced. not all people are respectful, and unfortunately, we do have sexists, we do have racists, we do have biggots, but that doesn't mean that everything in modern society has underlying meanings, or is a metaphorical representation of, such issues.
i think that yes, you are correct about how the women in this movie are not shown as equals to men, but i also think that this isn't really an issue anyway. everyone recognises that around 500AD when beowulf was set, the world was a very sexist place, the fact that this element of historical culture is included in a modern motion picture doesn't mean that in the 21st century women don't deserve equality. we as a society tend to read to much into issues of identification, race, gender, religion etc, and we are in the situation of a modern day witch-hunt, to name and shame anyone and everyone that may or may not be prejudiced. not all people are respectful, and unfortunately, we do have sexists, we do have racists, we do have biggots, but that doesn't mean that everything in modern society has underlying meanings, or is a metaphorical representation of, such issues.
I don't think Robert Zemeckis was very interested in underlying meaning when he made this version of Beowulf. He wasn't too worried about being faithful to the orginal story either; it's supposed to be a fun and entertaining film and I think it is. Beowulf and Grendel (2005) is much more realistic and faithful to the original but is boring by comparison.
The point I'm trying to make in this article is that mythology is part of our collective subconscious, and that mythology tends to be fundamentally patriarchal and sexist. Thus, mythology influences current social attitudes.
Recognising this is not necessarily calling it a negative; I'd much rather see Angelina Jolie in layer of gold paint than as a 'brine wolf'.
Btw, krem de kremlin; very cool name comrade.
if you look closely you can see that she isnt wearing high heels. she has a dragons toe with a long claw sticking out of her heel. this toe goes straight down and gives the impression of heels :P
really great article btw :)
kudos to you
Thanks Lash for pointing that out, glad you enjoyed the article, thanks for the comment.
What, specifically, is wrong with 'sexist' 'patriarchy'?
"Good point! Patriarchy is of course sexist by definition."
So is Matriarchy. The point you made in this article is moot. The male characters are just as stereotypical as the female characters. Beowulf = alpha male, Hrothgar = repentant sinner, Unferth = envy incarnate. These stereotypes (or archetypes) are what mythology is about. It has nothing to do with gender. The characters are merely devices through which a story is told.
The male characters may conform to those archetypes to some extent, but the males tend to be subject to more character development. The male characters are complex and flawed. Female characters tend to be presented in a more stereotypical fashion; that was the point of the article.
I must say that despite the obvious stereotypical theme of the 2 dimensional female characters, the story does convey an overall theme of the flaws of patriarchy and the weakness of (some) men, particularly those 'great' men of power. In fact, there are hints that the whole conflict of the story is basically Grendel's Mother waging a war against patriarchy in general and the foolish kings who claimed her land specifically. Although she is described as a 'water demon', I can't help but think she may be some sort of archaic goddess who ruled the land before it was taken over by man. She uses these mens' weakness of lust and thirst for power against them as well as turning the very patriarchal tradition of male succession against them as well (son vs. father) or their "shame". As such, I find the character of Grendel's Mother more interesting than any of the other characters including Beowulf himself. Certainly the female characters including Queen Wealthow had more prominence in this movie than they did the original epic.
Of course; the sexy demon/creature devouring females are always more fun than the virtuous heroines.
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