This week, we viewed three films that portrayed the apocalypse through the lens of a post-modern director. They all have hints and obvious influences from the perennial apocalyptic tale, but at the same time tell a story that is much more individualized and complicate traditional gender norms.
As Professor Quinby points out, there are specific social critiques throughout Children of Men that overplay the traditional apocalyptic narrative – namely the persecution of “illegal” immigrants. More specifically, toward the end of the film we see Arabic-speaking people emerging in strong protest. This sudden Arab revolt is foreshadowed in the scene when Theo and Kee first enter the refugee prison and the words “Uprising” in English and “Intifada” in Arabic are painted over a wall. The uprising clearly has begun after we see tanks and officers fighting civilians and we hear men and women shouting “Allah Akbar” which in Arabic means “God is the greatest.” It is not entirely clear to me why the Arabs in Alfonso Cuaron’s 2027 world, specifically, are revolting, however the sentiments portrayed can resonate with any contemporary American. Since the 9/11 attacks, the West and Arabs have made enemies of each other and each side sees the other as attacking core values central to their political or religious belief systems. In the movie, although the Arab uprising gets some attention from the viewer and race is very much in our faces, it is still not central to the movie’s message. By the end of the film, Cuaron has created a post-modern adaptation by having Theo and Kee escape the apocalyptically-scaled fighting and persecution with their own individual (albeit ambiguous) endings. In terms of gender roles, Kee seemed to be the most passive out of the three film’s female characters and relied on the other characters to navigate her way to the Human Project. This is most likely due to her young age and naivety, but it is nonetheless noteworthy.
With very minimal dialogue in Apocalypto, viewers are forced to focus on the actor’s bodies either as they are running away from a jaguar or giving birth in flooded waters. While Kee shows her stomach once in Children of Men in an iconic revelation to Theo, Seven’s pregnant belly is actively displayed throughout the movie. As the male heroes save their impregnated female counterparts, one cant help but think of the woman clothed with the sun in the Book of Revelation. It is an obvious and purposeful connection that I’m sure both directors chose to make. Moreover, although Seven is not simply a damsel in distress she is still portrayed as being physically weaker than Jaguar Paw. She defends herself and her children from a jaguar, however it is a baby jaguar which is contrasted with the large jaguar that chases the men through the forest. She tries to climb out of the hole she was left in, but fails midway. If Jaguar Paw didn’t come to “the rescue” at the end, we could assume that Seven wouldn’t have made it with two children in the flooding waters. The point here is that although Seven is a bit more nuanced than the traditional female caricature, she still ends up being limited by norms associated with her gender. Even in the final scene, it is Jaguar Paw who chooses her individual end by telling her not to go to the white men and instead “Let’s go to the Forest to seek a new beginning.”
Out of all three movie’s female characters, Selena in 28 Days Later is the most aggressive and heroic. From the beginning, she is the one who saves Jim. She kills her partner after he is found to be infected. Even in the scene when they are running up the stairs of the tall building to reach Hannah and her father, she outruns Jim and yells for him to hurry up. Selena clearly breaks the perennial gender norms. Yet, as professor Quinby points out, when in West’s mansion Selena is subjected to a sexualized role along with Hannah. The mansion filled with male soldiers reminded me of the 100,000 men who are not “defiled by women” and will be saved in the Book of Revelation. Although the sexuality of women is seen as dangerous in this book, women’s fertility is seen as salvation in all three of the films. Furthermore, much like the other films, the ending of 28 Days Later is purposefully ambiguous. Although the green landscape and healthy Jim resemble somewhat of a New Jerusalem, we are reminded that there are still many Infected left to die. Even as the plane passes them by, Selena smiles and chuckles as she asks “Do you think he saw us this time?” Although it is quite sadistic to be laughing at the fact that they haven’t been saved yet, the smile on all three of their faces made me feel as though they found a uniquely comfortable end for themselves.
The general trend for the women in these films was for them to cling to the men around them to lead them to safety. It’s an interesting portrayal of women, and it reinforces some of the old world traditions we see in Revelation. I found Selena’s role in 28 Days Later interesting. As you point out, she’s the most “heroic” female character we see throughout the three films. What I found important, though, was that all of her acts of survival, make her seem to be lacking strong morals. In fact, I think it could be argued that her acts of self-defense are portrayed as violent, cold, and irrational, even when her actions are undoubtedly the same as, if not more mild than, those of some of the male characters in the film. All three films seem to emphasize the impossibility of women surviving the end without the help of male counterparts, and often the danger that male characters find themselves in is “because of” the women they have to risk their lives to protect, or perhaps to maintain their male power in the face of a loss of agency in their lives.
Because of her most obvious gender role reversal, as you mention, Selena was my favorite character from 28 Days Later. Her role in the beginning of the film as the heroic, skilled slayer of the infected people reminded me of Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. Also arguably a post-modern, post-apocalyptic film, Kill Bill follows protagonist Beatrix on her violent quest for revenge against the people who killed/destroyed everything in her life. However, the difference between this film and the three we viewed this week remains in the fact that in the end (SPOILER ALERT!), Beatrix prevails as the supreme hero, never letting her female sexuality leave her vulnerable. She is never made out to be the damsel in distress, even as Bill constantly tries to assert his masculine authority over her and their relationship. And yet clear similarities to the films we viewed this week also resonate. Fertility plays a role in this two part series, as Beatrix’s quest turns into a search for the daughter she thought had died in the massacre. It’s really fascinating to see these themes of fertility and sexuality appear in all these post-modern apocalyptic films, which supports Professor Quinby’s statement that these films help us “forge new ways to imagine actions of courage and conviction that have been too narrowly defined under the traditional romance of the hero.” (16)