Susan Bordo's Philosophy Applied to The Pursuit of Happyness

Susan Bordo and Feminist Cultural Theory

Susan Bordo is a contemporary feminist philosopher who focuses on cultural study linking modern consumer culture to the idea of gendered bodies. Her particular research focus is describing the manner in which popular culture — especially film — impacts the complex nature of how women and men view themselves, their bodies, and their place in the world. From an academic standpoint, she sees the power of cultural phenomena as forming a societal hierarchy and template for ways of behavior, interpretation, and indeed of being, that become preferable to reality for many people (Bordo).

Chapter 3 of her book Twilight Zones is an essay entitled "Braveheart, Baby and the Contemporary Body." In this essay, Bordo argues that in contemporary American culture, all that is required is to "stop whining, lace up your sneakers, and forge ahead, blasting your way through social limitations… and even the laws of nature" (p. 30). Thus, the worst thing for anyone is to be told what to do — to be reactive instead of proactive, and to be inadequate because you, as a thinking individual, failed to take the reins and act appropriately.

Braveheart and the Will-to-Succeed Narrative

In the movie Braveheart, the men of the Scottish Highlands are initially victimized in a rather Marxist view of materialistic history, with the women serving as even more marginal figures. Still, the story is inspiring: the English under Longshanks fail to win the day despite William Wallace's public execution. It is Wallace's "eyes on a prize, [with a] will so strong, so powerful, that he is able to endure anything to achieve it. The man has the right stuff" (p. 30). This theme is repeated again and again across popular films, and along with stirring music — as in Rocky or Rambo — audiences are made to know clearly with whom they should identify.

Babe and the Power of Nonconformity

Babe, a 1995 Australian film directed by Chris Noonan and adapted from the 1983 novel Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith, tells the heartwarming story of a pig who wants to be a sheepdog (Chanko). Ironically, while Babe was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, it lost to Braveheart. For Bordo, Babe is also a success story, but one with a difference.

Babe is supposed to be just a pig — yet, much like Ferdinand the Bull, Babe yearns to be something grander and to prove the power of difference, or, in Bordo's terms, of nonconformity. In the world of sheepdogs and collies, it is considered ridiculous to think that a sheep would ever take orders from a pig. However, as the mother ewe observes: be polite, ask nicely, and don't be a dog — be yourself. Once Babe finds that voice, success becomes possible. Meanwhile, the other farmers are filled with amusement — representing the outside world's skepticism — that Farmer Hoggett, a well-respected member of the community, would even think of upsetting the social order by disrespecting tradition so thoroughly.

Conclusion: Resistance, Identity, and Self-Actualization

Babe and Gardner both resist the world of rigid stereotypes and form a unique inner passion for success — and, in turn, achieve their own individual self-actualization. Bordo's cultural framework, applied across these three films, reveals how popular cinema both reflects and reinforces social values around identity, the body, and the limits of individual agency. Where Braveheart champions an almost mythological force of will, Babe and The Pursuit of Happyness suggest that authentic success requires not the obliteration of difference, but the courage to embrace it.

References

Babe. Internet Movie Database. (2010).

Bordo, S. Twilight Zones: The Hidden Life of Cultural Images from Plato to O.J. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

Chanko, K. "This Pig Just Might Fly." Entertainment Weekly (August 18, 1995).

LaSalle, M. "Review — The Pursuit of Happyness." The San Francisco Chronicle (December 15, 2006).