The Loves of Hercules

Abstract

Hercules (Francisa, 1958) constructs femininity in terms of distraction, incomprehension and danger. This representation of sexual difference is problematic on multiple levels, Maggie Günsberg slates that patriarchy associates ‘the feminine, domestic, familial, heterosexual sphere with passivity and inaction’ (Gunsherg, 2005, p. 111). The early scenes of Hercules seem to validate this conservative and somewhat simplistic representation, the princess Iole depicted as a figure of vulnerability, fainting into Hercules’s arms. Her slender ligure, pale make-up, tailored white tunic and gold ornamentation stand in contrast to Hercules’s muscular physique, black hair, tanned skin and dark animal-fur garment. The casting of a bodybuilder as Hercules serves to emphasise the difference between male and female, Anne Bolin argues that bodybuilding ‘exaggerates Western notions of gender difference—muscles denoting masculinity and signifying “biological” disparity between the genders’ (Bolin, 1996, p, 126). A strong, muscular figure can only be male, as women, by their nature, cannot attain this form, although there are female bodybuilders and, moreover, a physique achieved through bodybuilding is itself hardly natural. Hercules and lole are the first characters to interact, and the repeated comparison of their bodies marks them as the film’s dominant masculine and feminine forms. Male strength, power and activity are contrasted with female weakness, powerlessness and passivity.