Gender representation in the adventure genre: Male

The male representation theory: Stereotypically, the male gender is often seen as the dominant one, especially in adventure movies, as they usually have a solution to the challenges that they face in the movie. Typically men are also represented as being the ‘saviour’ of the movie and usually working alone, implying that they are capable of handling any situation on their own (e.g. James Bond). 

Men, especially the main character, of action/adventure films are normally portrayed as ‘metrosexual’ and tend to look very muscular physique and are stereotypically attractive, this is done by the casting director to make the audience more likely to want the character to succeed, this could also be pandering to the female gaze to make the film more accessible to everyone.

The 'Boys to Men': Media Messages About Masculinity report states that there are 7 stereotypical representations of masculinity in the media: The Action Hero, The Big Shot, The Strong Silent type, The Metrosexual, The Jock, The Joker. 

Earp and Katz also produced a theory stating that ‘while the media are not the cause of violent behaviour in men and boys, they do portray male violence as a normal expression of masculinity’ which could mean that the portrayals of hyper-masculine men in the media could be causing boys to think that violent acts are normal for men.

Three Kings (1999): 

An example of a male character that conforms to these stereotypes is Archie Gates from the 1999 movie ‘Three Kings’. Throughout the film he leads the team of soldiers and has a solution to every problem that team faces, he also conforms to the ‘alpha male’ stereotype that is often seen in action/ adventure movies, as he is consistently sure of his actions. He is also very active in the conflict of this movie which is also very stereotypical. 

However, there are other male stereotypes in this film, as Conrad Vig is the movies comic relief, this also conforms to adventure film stereotypes as there is normally one character who's purpose it is to relieve tension throughout the film, the comedic character also normally dies sometime before/during the climax of the film as they motivate the main character to fight the antagonist. This is usually done by the casting director so that the audience will be more passionate about the antagonist of the film being destroyed, as the comic relief character is normally more loveable and innocent than the other characters which makes the audience fonder of them and want the main character to avenge their death. 

Scott Pilgrim vs. the world (2010):

However an alternate lead male to Archie Gates would be Scott Pilgrim, who is not the stereotypical lead male of an action/ adventure movie and does not conform to the hyper-masculine themes that are normally seen however his character does align with the ‘joker’ stereotype from the 'Boys to Men': Media Messages About Masculinity report as he is often used to diffuse the tension in the movie, Scott also defends the female characters in the movie when they get into trouble and ultimately saves and ends up with the leading lady (who is shown as a ‘prize’ throughout the movie). 

However Scott is shown to be the underdog of the movie, as he has to defeat Ramona’s ‘7 evil exes’, this could be done to make Scott more relatable and make it easier for the audience to root for him and be on his side as he battles the antagonists.

Moreover the movie presents Scott as a ‘beta male’, a man who avoids risk and confrontation. He also lacks the physical presence and confidence of the Alpha male. This could also help the audience to relate to Scott, as because he is not hyper-masculinised, he can be portrayed as more like some of the viewers,this could aid the audience in escaping the problems of their lives by making it easier to imagine themselves in the movie. 

Alternatively, another character in the film, Lucas Lee conforms to the alpha male stereotypes that are common in the action genre, this is because he is sure of his actions, confident and acts alone, which shows that he is capable of handling any situation. The casting director could have done this because the target audience from this film could see alpha males in their real lives as antagonists, which could also add to the films objective of taking their audience out of their world and making the characters relatable so that the audience can imagine themselves in the movie more easily. 


This will help me to create my production as I am now more familiar with the stereotypes of the male gender in my chosen genre, therefore I can more easily avoid or conform to them.