The Book of Life: A More Complex, Balanced Portrayal of Heterosexual Relationships

        

            Many films in today’s society are filled with underlying messages and ideologies that influence us in ways that we might not be aware of. This is especially true of romance films where people take information from the media on how to act in heterosexual romantic relationships. Guillermo Del Toro’s newest animated film The Book of Life is one example where it tells a story about three childhood friends (Maria, Manolo, and Joaquin) whose fate becomes entwined when two powerful beings, Xibalba and La Muerte, place a wager on who Maria will choose as her future husband when she’s older. Maria, Manolo, and Joaquin are like the three musketeers, with Maria in the center holding the group together. Joaquin is the titular masculine figure that tries to persuade Maria through his power and strength, but Manolo, who is sensitive and loving, is the one that is in Maria’s heart. But when Xibalba plays unfairly behind La Muerte’s back, it leaves Manolo with a task of doing things beyond his ability in order to reunite with Maria. The film’s main focus is Maria and Manolo’s relationship in which Manolo goes through trials and tribulations in order to be with Maria.

            One of the instances that feature Manolo and Maria’s relationship is when Maria is forced to leave the town due to causing trouble in the town. Manolo promises Maria that he will wait for her no matter what. The next montage is of Joaquin and Manolo growing older and training their skills as they sing the song “I Will Wait For You” by Mumford & Sons. 

Based on Manolo’s behavior, this clip communicates that perhaps women want men to love them so much that they are willing to wait and build their skills and abilities. Manolo’s devotion and his growth in abilities for Maria shows the extent of love that he has for her. Manolo's action communicates that many women want men to be steadfast in their love and become strong, talented, and successful for the women. This scene is related to the idea that myths can be communicated through popular love songs. According Anne Bader’s article “Love Will Steer the Stars”,  “generally simple lyrics are played repeatedly, enhancing the likelihood that they will be quickly learned and long remembered,” (146) and thus could increase the probability that adolescents listening to this music could be influenced by the myths communicated in these songs. In the song “I Will Wait for You”, it communicates the myth of “Your perfect partner is cosmically pre-destined, so nothing/nobody can ultimately separate you,” (149) through their lyrics: “But I’ll kneel down, wait for now…know my ground, and I will wait, I will wait for you,” (Mumford & Sons). The song perfectly communicates Manolo’s devotion and dedication to Maria that transcends the fact that they are separated for years. Through the song, it implies that he believes that nothing can ultimately separate them apart. This is in line with what the article states about love myths being communicated through song, but this scene takes it further and combines music and visuals to communicate this idea that their love can never be separated.

Another instance of Maria and Manolo’s relationship is in the scene where Manolo woos Maria by

decorating the bridge with lights and serenading her under a tree. 

He then professes his love for her, telling her that he only has love for her. Based on Manolo’s behavior, this clip seems to be communicating that men are supposed to do this when they are wooing a woman: to be romantic and perform grand gestures of romance in order to secure a woman’s heart. Their interaction implies that men are supposed to be the initiators of showing love, and women are supposed to wait and only show hints of favor. Then, once the man fully expresses his love through a grand gesture of romance, the woman can confirm her feelings for the man as well. This scene relates and coincides with the study From Sex to Sexuality: Exposing the Heterosexual Script on Primetime Network Television it states, “men use active and powerful strategies to win a women’s affection…men were open and assertive about their romantic interest in women,” (152). This picture of the man being active in his strategy to win over women in heterosexual relationships communicates identically to how Manolo interacts with Maria in this scene. The man is the one being active and pursuing the relationship, where the woman is seen as the gatekeeper of her love and perhaps her sexuality as well. Maria doesn’t truly express her love to Manolo until he performs this act of love to her, just like how men are expected to do the same in their relationships in the study. This examples of Maria and Manolo’s relationship goes with the codes we’ve seen in class in a way that is normative in heterosexual relationships.

            A final instance that shows Maria and Manolo’s romantic relationship is when Manolo fights with Joaquin over Maria after Joaquin proposes to her with her father’s blessing. 

Later in the scene, Maria stops their fight herself using a sword, and leaves the scene because of her disappointment in them for acting that way. The way Manolo acts in response to Maria being proposed to communicates that men are expected to and perhaps want to protect the women they love and fight for her hand when another man is trying to take her away from them. But despite their actions, Maria leaves in frustration. This communicates that women want to have in relationships, that women can make their own decisions and can say what they want to say in terms of who they want. This goes against the article Gendered Relationships on Television: Portrayals of Same-Sex and Heterosexual Couples it explains that in terms of characters on TV, “women are seen as passive, nurturant, and dependent, and men are seen as aggressive, competitive, and independent,” (172). While this does support the way Manolo and Joaquin are portrayed in this scene, it goes contrary to how Maria is depicted. The men are aggressive and competitive for Maria because they feel challenged by each other. But Maria does not act passive or dependent and instead shows her frustration and stands up for her own choice and independence. Maria goes against the grain of typical gendered relationships on TV by portraying a different way of how women can respond when their partners are acting aggressive.

            The overall narrative of the film is interesting in that it portrays both typical heteronormative behaviors such as men professing their love first and serenading women with music, but then it also shows women empowerment through the female characters in the film. Based on La Muerte, Maria, and Manolo’s mother, it shows that women in relationships want equal treatment as well as to be treated as able beings that can keep up if not succeed men in times of trouble. This is the opposite from the way Holz Ivory, Gibson, and Ivory describe in their article: “television…portray men ‘as directive, venturesome…and pursuing engaging occupations…in contrast, women are usually shown as acting in dependent, unambitious, and emotional ways’,” (177). In particular, Maria shows her pursuit of engaging occupations through multiple occasions where she reveals that she can fight alongside the men, lead the group, and firmly tell Manolo and Joaquin that she belongs to no one. In fact, towards the end of the movie, Maria is the one who rallies the people to fight with her against the enemy with charisma in ways that Manolo and Joaquin have not shown. 

But despite these women’s personalities and their fresh views of ability and courage, the reality in the film is that they are still treated in very traditional ways where the men second guess the women’s abilities and despite their abilities, they sometimes still need saving from the men. In one example, Maria is able to fight the monster as Manolo is also fighting other enemies. But when the enemy captures Maria, Manolo says that he’ll save her. This causes Maria gets frustrated and says “Men, typical”. Nevertheless, Manolo goes to save her, and instead of pushing her aside, the two of them dance a romantic dance while comically destroying the giant enemy that is fighting with them. This complexity of portrayals paints a clearer, perhaps more real image of women in today’s society: where women have the ability and mentality to be equals in their relationships with men no matter what the situation is, and yet because of the nature of society, they are still sometimes put in helpless positions where the men have the save them. The difference is that Manolo respects and works with Maria when they are fighting. It paints the picture of a healthy relationship between couples despite the reality of living in a patriarchal society. Manolo still has that desire to save Maria and protect her, but he discovers that he doesn't need to because he sees Maria’s ability to step up in combat and work with him.  In many ways, they show a relationship where the power is more balanced than more traditional relationship dynamics.

            In this film, there are many complex portrayals of men and women in relationships. Some aspects of these relationships show typical heteronormative behaviors between the man and the woman such as serenading the woman, fighting for the woman, and going after the woman for her love. But there are also other examples to combat those examples such as showing competent women fighting alongside their lovers as well as having women expecting respect and fair treatment in wagers or deals and not backing down from a challenge that their lovers put in front of them. All in all, The Book of Life portrays a complex depiction of romantic relationships that leave the audience with strong female characters that encounter frustrating sexist situations, but they are at least aware of them. While we can’t say for sure that the men fully respect these women as their equals, it does show the self-awareness that the women have and their fierce never-ending struggle to be seen as equals in everything, especially in their romantic relationships.

           

Resources

Bader, A. (2007). "Love will steer the stars" and other improbable feats: media myths in popular love songs. Critical Thinking About Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

Collins, K., Kim J. L., Schooler, D., Sorsoli C. L., Tolman, D. L., Zylbergold B. A. (2007). From sex to sexuality: exposing the heterosexual script on primetime network television. Journal of Sex Research. 44 (2), 145-157.

Gibson, R., Holz Ivory, A., Ivory, J. D. (2009). Gendered relationship on television: portrayals of same-sex and heterosexual couples. Mass Communication and Society. 12 (2), 170-192.

Mumford, M. (2012). I wait for you [Recorded by Mumford & Sons]. On Babel [Digital download]. Island. 

Del Toro, G. (Producer) & Gutierrez, J. R. (Director). (2014). The Book of Life [Motion picture]. USA: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.