The typical action film centers on the perspective of a white male hero. In this way, non-white, non-male characters are generally depicted as "other." The heroes of action films are also typically heterosexual and "straight" in terms of their sexual preferences. Thus, the films generally show people of alternate sexual orientations in roles that are negatively stereotyped. The treatment of characters that are identified as "other" might be seen as a reflection of the beliefs and fears of mainstream society. In addition, this treatment tends to perpetuate the marginalization of women, nonwhites, and people who are not conventionally heterosexual. This paper will explore this issue by analyzing the racial, sexual and gendered dynamics among the characters in three popular action films: True Lies, The Searchers and Gladiator.
Gender stereotypes are expressed in the 1994 film True Lies, which was directed by James Cameron. The main character of the film is Harry Tasker, who seems to be a normal husband and father but is secretly a spy. A key development occurs when Harry worries that his wife, Helen, might be having an affair. With the help of his fellow secret agents, Harry has Helen captured so he can interrogate her from behind a mirror while using a fake voice. When Harry finds out that Helen wants more excitement in her life, he sends her on mission to meet an arms dealer. Helen does a strip-tease dance for the arms dealer, who is actually Harry with his face covered in darkness. In a commentary on True Lies, Jami Bernard notes that the film is focused on Harry's point of view. On the basis of this viewpoint, Helen is stereotyped as a combination of the two types of women that men fantasize about: the "mother" and the "whore." In the words of Bernard, "once Helen is certified as virginal (that is, faithful to her husband) through interrogation, the plan is to make her sexually palatable again within the confines of marriag...