Race and Gender Representation theories in The Book of Eli (2010)

In Corrigan & White (2009), it gives a definition for “representation” as this: “[...]the aesthetic sense, whereby we may speak of representation of African-Americans in the films of Spike Lee versus those of Gone With the Wind[...]” The book notes that these types of movies explores stereotypes in their films, and The Book of Eli (2010) is no exception. For example, in the beginning of the film, Eli is seen sitting in an old, run-down shed after he survives a supposed nuclear war and an apocalypse.

He is seen sitting and preparing his meal for the night, which was a cat he had killed previously. Before he eats he prays, and after he has his meal, he turns on some old school R&B music; Al Green’s “What Mends a Broken Heart?”. Even though it’s true that many African-Americans are religious in the sense that they are either Christian or just very spiritual, they also relate to, and love R&B music, as this was the type of music we had back in the day that we could relate to; it was “ours” in a sense. I noticed the music he played because I, myself, love old school R&B music, including that song, so it stuck out to me. To me, the musical aspect occurring early in the film is a valid point the book makes in its text below.

“Cultural studies models are flexible enough to address racialized images, such as stereotypes and their reception by diverse audiences, as well as how discourses of imperialism, colonialism, and nationalism, often related to racial representations, are embedded in film stories genres, and star images. (Corrigan,Timothy500)”

Eli (Denzel Washington) is an African-American man, and the star image of the movie. Being that most African-Americans listen to R&B music (“black” music), they also pray a lot; they are generally very religious people, even if the character Washington is playing is not of the Christian faith, my point is still clear. The whole movie is based on religion, and so is the black community’s many ways of living and getting through life, so we are basically dealing with a stereotype; a generalization. I know I just made a few generalizations, but so did the movie, and that was my point.

The movie also deals with a post-apocalyptic man who hears a voice telling him to return his book to the West Coast, and along the way, he is reciting bible-like verses, scriptures and prayers. At the end of the film when Carnegie gets the book, to his surprise, it is written in another language deeming it useless. Because the book is not written in English, it is unknown to us viewers if the book was a bible, or just a diary; a brief history of Eli and his past (The Book of Eli).

Besides race, we also have a gender representation issue occurring in the film. Before I end my blog, I wanted to point this out in the film; the point when Solara is asked by Carnegie to go into Eli’s room to try and seduce him, and where she then finds the book (The Book of Eli), I found myself becoming rather annoyed at her and the directors. This is also the same emotions I felt when the film showed women getting gang-raped by ugly, dirty old men. Anyway, I felt this way because in today’s movies, the woman is seen as simply a sex object and nothing else. All an actress today has to do is dress and behave in a disgusting manner and she has the part, because apparently, talent and respect is “so 1950s”. The woman today, like in music and TV, is merely an object of pleasure for the man, and these actresses, unlike the actresses from yesteryear’s classic films, don’t hold a more respectable, talented and meaningful role in film anymore. This disappoints me.

Back then, in the movies, the woman didn’t have to dress, behave or speak in an easy, loose way to be considered attractive, desirable and “sexy”. A few select films back then will show this, sure, but today it completely dominates film (e.g. Transformers). “Sexy” is not “slutty”, and many films today lack an understanding of that. The actress playing the female who is ordered to act like a slut does a bad job at coming off attractive at least, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s no wonder why the man turned the poor girl down.

In all seriousness though, this film, like many others in today’s time, lacks a main actress who can act well, look desirable to men as a woman should, naturally, yet at the same time still look classy and respectable. It’s sexist, and women and men alike today just don’t get it, and it frustrates me every time I watch a post 2000s film. To end with, since the book brought up gender and representation, I felt obligated to note this, for it is very relevant to this blog’s content, and likewise the film: word to Solara.

 Works cited:
Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. The Film Experience. second ed. Boston: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN, 2009. 499-500. Print.

The Book of Eli. Dir. Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes. 2009. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2010. DVD.