How does the Scottish film

negotiate and represent the discourse of masculinity in crisis?

 

National  identity  • Scots are seen as ‘Others’ which significantly contributes to the protagonists’

status as social outcasts. Renton’s (Ewan McGregor) rant about the colonisation by England illustrates his attitude towards being a Scot and his deterministic set of mind.

• According to Patricia Horton “The threat the characters pose is inextricably linked to their working-class status and their Scottish identity” (Horton P., 2001, p. 221). So the national identity of the protagonists plays a crucial part in the way they are perceived by an audience and the way they behave, thus significantly contributing to the discourse of masculinity in crisis.

 

Gender  construction  • According to Michael Kimmel “Gender is constructed from cultural and subjective meanings that constantly shift and vary,

depending on the time and place” (Kimmel, M, 1995, p. 254). • In the film the image of the male protagonists is worsened when compared to women in the film who are more independent and

responsible. For example, in Tommy’s (Kevin McKidd) relationship his girlfriend is dominant and is the one to break up after the tape incident. As the film progresses Tommy’s life goes downhill as he cannot take proper care of himself.

• Similarly Diane (Kelly McDonald) is the one deciding for Renton (Ewan McGregor) to move to London and start a new life.

Society  • The other possible reason for the crisis of masculinity is the social status of the male

protagonists: all of them are unemployed and irresponsible drug addicts. • The Thatcherist government has left uncertainty and at times inability to have a stable job for

the working class British. However in Trainspotting the Renton and his friends seem to enjoy the way it is.

• The male protagonists also fit into Connel’s and Messerschmidt’s concept of complicit masculinity, where a male character receives the benefits of patriarchy without enacting dominance (Connell R. W. and Messerschmidt J. W., 2005, p. 832).

In conclusion we have briefly looked at Trainspotting and analysed it in terms of masculinity in crisis. As seen from above, indeed the film indicates a certain paradigm of male behaviour which was influenced by the post-Thatcherist situation, instability and unemployment for the working class, as well as the protagonists’ Scottish identity and the portrayal of women as a comparison.

References: Connell, R W, and Messerschmidt, J W, (Journal, 2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept; Gender and Society. 19 (829) Horton, P, (Journal, Autumn 2001), Trainspotting: a Topography of the Masculine Abject. 50 (1) Kimmel, M, 1995. Manhood in America: A Cultural History. Free Press, New York. Trainspotting, 1996. Film. Directed by Danny Boyle. UK: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Ilya  Melnikov  

Ilya  Melnikov  12809532