WHY MALE VICTIMHOOD SELLS?

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding a recent Tamil movie for its diabolical portrayal of the female protagonist. In the film, the female lead falls in love with the male protagonist and proposes to him who dismisses her initially. But when he falls back in love with her 6 months later, she is already with someone else who soon gets pregnant with his child but is now forced to marry the male protagonist owing to circumstances. The hero is well aware of her situation and still proceeds to “fake marry” her so that he can unite the lovers silently later while sacrificing his love. And then, he is heartbroken. At the end, the heroine lives a life she always needed but at the cost of his. Now do you see where all the problems started? Don't you? 

 

The movie could have silently portrayed the struggles of both protagonists as they navigate life through this complex situation. It would have been widely accepted and also would have served as a solution for the modern-day problems. But instead, do you know what the movie does? It portrays the hero as the saviour—the martyr who gives up his life for the sake of his love and works on getting his “fake wife” married to her lover later. The heroine’s initial heartbreak is portrayed as a joke, her choices demeaned vulgarly and her love and wishes dismissed. But the hero! Oh, dear lord. He is the ultimate man who gets his heart broken by a vile woman whose heart has turned into stone. Now insert some feminist dialogues and anti-caste notions to make the hero look better so people can overlook what he actually tries to portray.

 

I heard the film is already nearing a 100-crore collection despite the outrage. Because a part of the society is enjoying and praising the movie for its “realistic” portrayal and outstanding performance. Seriously? Why do such movies get celebrated in the first place? You know why? Because pleasing men is relatively simple. It just needs a simple recipe - either insert a heartbroken helpless man who is cheated by the girl or a man with gravity-defying combat skills who saves the woman. Oh God! Don't they watch themselves on screen though? And still love playing the saviour all the time? Or a victim? 

And did I mention the hero always looks like the boy next door who is in his natural skin tone with shabby hair who manages to woo the fair-skinned heroine who is multitalented. It is even portrayed as their achievement. Because what else is a woman for if a man cannot “win” her? 

Most of the men who watch movies see themselves in these alpha men, and they love watching their fantasies come true on screen. Their egos are satisfied, their dreams fulfilled, and their so-called martyr complex is validated. It becomes so easy for them to believe and identify themselves with such men rather than accepting a woman who is confident and comfortable in her own skin. When women in real life know their worth and do not give them this much-needed validation, they resort to movies to seek it themselves. And filmmakers have always worked on this formula and have succeeded too. 

 

The solution, you ask? Well, unless we have enough women filmmakers, who will break the pattern and give us something that is real and anti-hero worship, this journey is going to be a struggle we will have to tolerate. But at least we can raise our voices and boycott such projects, so they know that this won't sell anymore. What are your thoughts?

 

 

This is a part of #BlogchatterHalfMarathon 

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