Be a man!

Kiss of the Spider Women (1985)

Director: Héctor Babenco

Against the backdrop of a despotic Latin American regime and people's uprising, this story looks not at the cruelty of man against a fellow man but at the question of what makes a man a man. 

Two men of opposing characters are confined in the same cell. The characters reflect what society defines men then and now, biologically or psychologically, or in modern terms, assumed gender! Is a man judged by his character or words based on a handshake? 

 

Valentin is the epitome of machoism as defined by society. He is a tanned, hirsute, testosterone-driven hot-blooded member of the revolutionary resistance who is caught for subversive activities against the military dictatorship. The authorities are trying very hard to infiltrate his movement but in vain. 

His cellmate is Luis Molina, an effeminate man, an unabashed homosexual, and a window dresser, who was arrested for corrupting an underage youth. 

In the beginning, Valentin cannot stand the sight of Luis being pushed over, not being assertive, having no self-respect as a man and being quite apathetic about politics. He thinks Luis is a hopeless romantic living in a make-believe world of celluloid characters, as they frequently converse about movies he has watched. 

Meanwhile, Valentin is slowly being poisoned by the authorities to help Lios build a bond and retrieve valuable information about Valentin's underground movement. And Luis has cut a deal with the jailers for freedom in exchange for information about Valentin's movement's next action plan. 

As the story progresses, both men slowly understand each other's situation. Being a man is not all about being macho but is a composite of many things. One must be man enough to do what is right, stand up for his beliefs, and fight against atrocities. Being a man is about something other than being gung ho with action-packed manoeuvres; he can also do it on the sly without much fanfare.

P.S. "Kiss of the Spider Woman" has nothing to do with the Spider-Man franchise. It is not only about the changing nature of the relationship between two very different, totally opposite men in every way who have been locked together in the same cell. Day-to-day experiences open their perspective of the other and develop a common bond.

P.S.S. Thanks to @Tutu Dutta for the introduction to this movie.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

What were they thinking?

The whole nation has been hit by a spate of bullying, of late.Youngsters, without batting an eyelid, have no remorse to resorting to violence to assert their authority over the others whom they perceive as weak, disadvantaged or just different. perhaps, they are just apeing their role models, their parents or even leaders.

In the latest incident, the nation is reeling from the death of a 19 old boy who never gained consciousness after being hit on and sodomised for being effeminate. Although the information is patchy, the gist of the string of events is that a quarrel ensued over a heckling which progressed to a lopsided fistfight and bashing of the victim and his friend by four other teenagers.

Looking at the faces of the helpless relatives, one can just wonder at the meaning of this violence. Forget the fact that we should all live within our boundaries, live and let live.There are people that who are different from us for us to learn and appreciate but not to change them to follow our path.

Imagine what would have gone through the minds of the perpetrators as they pounced and punched with the anger so intense to make a pulp out the boy, all because he was not 'man' enough! The pictures of the accused which had been circulating in the social media just show faces of regular guys whom you would not give a second look of suspicion if you had seen them on the street. Telltale signs of scarred face and triad tattoos are conspicuously missing.

It is not that their minds are so juvenile or primordial that they are unable to differentiate what is right, virtuous and hurtful. Is there a competition for territory, mate or food? Just perception of what is right and should be accepted as the norm! This, fueled by the pleasure of power and control in a mob-like situation in the company of the herd, the reptilian brain took charge. Here we see an interesting interplay between the pre-frontal cortex which is the new kid on the block which processes thoughts with emotion and the lurking primitive feelings of the archaic reptilian brain.

This whole scenario reminds of the case of Leopold and Loeb in the US Courts in 1924 in which two highly intelligent young men decide to do the perfect murder, just for the heck of it, because they could. The trial was dubbed the trial of the century and for the first time brought in experts in the field of forensic psychiatry. They were incarcerated with life imprisonment.

If there is any way of destroying hatred and all that goes with it, it's not through evil and hatred and cruelty, but through charity, love, understanding. (dialogue from 1959 Hollywood blockbuster 'Compulsion'.)

http://famous-trials.com/leopoldandloeb

Welles delivers a stirring plea for the lives of Leopold and Loeb in the climax of the 1959 film Compulsion. 

      The final summation is taken directly from the transcript of the real trial. As good an oration against the 

death penalty as you'll ever hear.