ABSTRACT

This article examines the representation of masculinity in the animated Disney film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). Popular reviews of the film focused heavily on critiques of toxic masculinity. Often associated with homophobic and misogynistic speech, the concept of toxic masculinity ultimately serves to reinforce and rescue elements of hegemonic masculinity by painting “toxic” male behaviors as something that can be “cured” or “fixed.” To probe the troubled concept of toxic masculinity as seen in animated media, this article demonstrates how Ralph Breaks the Internet reifies a false dichotomy of healthy and toxic masculinity. Through examining the ways Ralph’s physical appearance, his behaviors, his manipulative relationships with women, and the film’s ultimate resolution reflect the current crisis of masculinity, this article argues that while reviews claim the film critiques toxic masculinity, the film itself actually reinscribes qualities of hegemonic masculinity. By invoking toxic masculinity in scholarship and reviews, critics obscure other critiques of masculinity films may put forward—positive and negative.

摘要

本文探讨了迪斯尼动画电影《拉尔夫打破互联网》（2018 年）中男性气质的表现。这部电影的热门评论主要集中在对有毒男性气质的批评上。通常与恐同和厌恶女性的言论有关，有毒男性气质的概念最终通过将“有毒”男性行为描绘成可以“治愈”或“修复”的东西来强化和拯救霸权男性气质的元素。为了探究动画媒体中令人不安的有毒阳刚之气的概念，本文展示了拉尔夫如何破坏互联网物化了健康和有毒的男性气质的错误二分法。通过考察拉尔夫的外貌、行为、对女性的操纵关系以及电影的最终解决方案如何反映当前男性气概的危机，本文认为，虽然评论声称这部电影批评了有毒的男性气概，但电影本身实际上重新赋予了霸权的品质。阳刚之气。通过在学术和评论中引用有毒的阳刚之气，评论家掩盖了可能提出的其他对阳刚之气的批评——正面的和负面的。