Autumn Razzi-Madden

ENG 2150

Dr. Blankenship

3/08/16

Paper 1: Rhetorical Analysis of a Cultural Artifact

 

Dear Dr. Blankenship and Writer’s Group,

 

I am analyzing the television series Sons of Anarchy. I am analyzing it from the rhetorical aspect of how the show appeals to men, and how this affects women. The title for my paper is ‘Sons of Anarchy: Women from the perspective of male writers – Misogyny or Feminism?’ I chose this topic because I wanted to write about a work of fiction that I truly enjoy, that is complete, and that I think has a lot of substance and messages, and frankly, something that has a lot of flaws. My process in writing this draft was to first just jot down ideas, as many ideas as I could in bullet points. First, I analyzed the purpose of the show and what it seeks to accomplish, which I came to realize was appealing to men in the form of a sort of machismo soap opera. Next I looked at the implications of what this masculinity and patriarchy meant for women both on the show and in society. Then I looked at it from all angles and opinions, the misogynistic opinion, the feminist opinion, and the somewhat neutral opinion. Next I grabbed these ideas, and dropped them in appropriate sections, under intro, Paragraphs 1, 2, 3 etc. and conclusion. Then I began to write, in actual sentences. My thesis is that Sons of Anarchy appeals to men because it caters to the idea of the male fantasy. I support my thesis by providing significant evidence from the show, men’s involvement on the show, displaying demographics and people’s opinions on these events. I organized these by first introducing people to the show itself. I explain the appeal of the show to men, and why this could be bad for women. Then I apply some analytical tests to see if the women on the show are portrayed as being independent from the men in any way by having some demonstrated thought process that does not directly or indirectly involve a man. I then give specific examples of things that have happened to the women of the show, and how it was the direct consequence of something that their partners, Sons or friends have done. The audience in my mind as I am writing is my professor, my peers, and also fellow women and men who may agree with me, or people whose minds I have yet to change. The biggest challenge is due to the broadness of a television series, and the abstract nature of the ideas being represented. It was difficult to represent these ideas through a structured analysis, and present it step by step. What I think is going well is the amount of content in the paper. I feel that I have a lot of knowledge on the subject, and being a woman it may be easier for me to see when women are being misrepresented than if I were a man, simply because I live it. I also enjoy the show and I think passion is very important.

 

Sons of Anarchy: Women from the perspective of male writers – Misogyny or Feminism?

 

Sons of Anarchy is a guilty pleasure of mine. I use the term guilty pleasure not because it is a cheesy, low budget, or frivolous show, I say it because I am a woman. My being a female viewer of the show says a great deal about how I view it. It is a show about a biker gang and their plights and schemes, set in the fictional town of Charming, California. It has been described as ‘Biker Hamlet’ and a ‘West coast Sopranos’. This show has been described as representative of the male ideal. Their lawlessness, their money, drugs, drinking, and women are attractive to much of the male population. However, when it comes to women on Sons of Anarchy, they suffer because they are sexualized and deprived of their autonomy to control their own destinies.

Sons of Anarchy was one of FX’s biggest successes, getting more and more popular as the series went on, peaking in its final season. It is one of few scripted dramas that has a predominantly male viewer base.1 It is riveting, interesting, dramatic, and it is the American male’s fantasy. The characters are not just your typical macho, hyper-masculine, show no emotion types. There are many, many, moments in the show that are truly heartfelt between the male members. There does not seem to be a trace of homophobia, or fear of looking vulnerable when it comes to feelings and closeness. So with this progressive attitude towards the male characters and their relationships in the show, one wonders where the writers went wrong in terms of female roles in the series.  The men in the show explore the perks and problems of masculinity, hurting nearly everyone in their path along the way. Women are among those who are casualties of these events. In a show that is depicted as an ideal or hedonistic fantasy for men, why are women treated so badly? Why is this something that men are being told to idealize?

 

Let’s start with how this show appeals to men. The Ethos, or credibility is writer Kurt Sutter. Kurt Sutter has worked on various television programs, and to the average American, we have a certain amount of respect for what makes it onto television, specifically to be successful programs. When someone raves about a show to you, you watch it, and you try to appreciate things about the show. What makes it so great? Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t, but either way you are listening. The fact that we listen so intently shows credibility. There is a word of mouth element from man to man, telling their friends about the show, and you are more likely to listen to your friend or someone you trust.  Also, in the fictional world of the show, the gang members themselves are a take no prisoners, live by our own rules sort who demand to be listened to. Whether we think they are despicable or not, many of us still root for them. In our society men are told to be strong, assertive, and aggressive. These men are representative of that kind of masculinity. Pathos appeals to your emotions. Kurt Sutter is no stranger to emotions. Many character deaths and unfortunate situations have led to heartbreaking episodes. Many of these men show real human moments, breaking down, being vulnerable, asking for help, and defending their women and children. These moments redeem them in our eyes for the time being. They aren’t that bad right? Similar to Apple’s 1984 commercial2, Sons  uses Pathos quite a lot to its advantage. While Sons  gets an hour a week while this commercial got about a minute, it is still mostly visual cues and things represented rather than explicitly stated. Sons  is a show for men to watch, and for men to feel. Men see the strong hyper-masculine men on the show feeling and embracing emotion, which causes them to do the same, and to feel okay about it. The Logos appeals to our intelligence. The show uses logic and reason in many ways to explain the happenings of the world of Charming. There is a certain code of ethics between the brothers of the Sons  of Anarchy and their rival gangs or business dealings. Maybe it isn’t the law of the land, but it is their law, and they punish those who do not adhere. Nothing is done on the show for seemingly no reason. The message of the show seems clear, boys will be boys, and we bet you wish you could be one of them. The scary implications of this for women, when you look at the show, is that this is how men ideally want women’s positions to be, this is how they want to treat them. While this may be an over dramatization, it is still damaging. The male audience in mind is what fuels the show and they eat it up. Culture and television has some of the most powerful influence on young men and even adult men in society, and this is what they are seeing on their favorite shows.

The women of Sons progressively turn more dark and hopeless as the series goes on, and by the series close, are almost unrecognizable from their origins. Women on the show are mostly portrayed as somewhat depraved characters. Even if they start out as ‘respectable’ people, they soon turn to delinquency. This obviously has a great deal to do with the women’s involvement with ‘the club’ as it is referenced to in the show. Getting involved with the Sons  is like falling into quicksand; you just sink deeper and deeper in to your own demise and if you struggle or fight back you will only sink that much faster. The men in the show often make disparaging remarks against women. Calling them sluts, whores, bitches, you name it. Some women are even reserved only for sex by the members, and would never be taken seriously. This misogyny spreads to internalized misogyny. The men of the show are not the only ones guilty of this crime. The women themselves call each other sluts, bitches and whores. The women with the more ‘respectable’ professions look down on other women in the show such as sex workers or porn stars, and don’t even want them around. Any other woman who is sleeping with one of the guys that isn’t a ‘regular’ is treated with immense disrespect and disposability. The highest form of honor or dignity that a woman can seemingly achieve in the world of Sons  of Anarchy is to be deemed an ‘old lady’. An old lady is the wife or steady girlfriend of a club member. These women tend to have the most say or influence in the show and on the men, and they don’t let anyone else forget it. This is another example of the sexism present, seeing how the highest honor or status a woman can achieve on the show is only with respect to a man’s position, and her status in his life. The women in the show are completely okay with this. There’s not to say many men haven’t also lost their lives or been horribly disfigured throughout the series. However many if not most of these men have had some hand in their fate. They hurt someone else, someone got revenge, they got into a fight, or it was just club disputes. However most of the women on the show were bystanders, who don’t have a say in the decisions that the club makes, and they suffer the consequences on their behalf.

 

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In the above image of the main characters of the show, we can observe the image and look for rhetorical symbols. Everything has rhetoric. Gemma, a prominent female character on the show, is actually given some serious importance and respect by being placed front and center. However, they have her kneeling on the floor, while the men stand. Even as she is the focal point, and quite possibly the glue that kept the club together for many seasons, she is second to the men. Tara, on the far left, is another prominent female of the show. As Jax’s girlfriend, she sits on the back on his bike, holding on to him. While they are certainly lovers in the show this depiction makes it hard to envision Tara as a separate entity from Jax. In the show, Gemma and Tara are portrayed as strong, independent women, but are they really? A lot of Gemma and Tara’s intelligence and fierceness comes off as a good effort from the male writer, Kurt Sutter, to create fleshed out, layered, and strong female characters. It often comes up short when it comes to their actions, their dialogue, their treatment by others, and their thoughts on other women. While I do think some of the sexism was unintentional, there is definitely an element of masculine power and brotherhood in the series that thrived on male camaraderie; and while this can definitely be a show for women, it has never been a show about women.

In the case of women in Sons, the exigence or the problem that I am addressing is the underlying sexism of a popular show among young men and how it harms a movement for equality. The audience, technically, is millions of viewers. However, the audience that Kurt Sutter had in mind may have been specifically white males. The show is about men, so it appeals to men, but also women. In today’s world, a show about men is just a show, but a show about women is a ‘chick show’. When men are the default, both genders can be interested. The Sons is a racially exclusive club, meaning white men only. They do business with many other gangs of other colors, including ‘the Chinese’, the Mexican Mayans, and the Black Niners. Not only was this show mostly male skewed, but it was one of FX’s most successful shows. If you have not watched Sons, you have probably heard of it. A constraint the show faces is the fact that they know many males would be watching. Knowing males will be watching, of any color, could lead to some of the more gratuitous sex and violence, also known as ‘fan service’. There may have been certain things that the creators or writers wanted to do with the show, but second guessed it because of how many males watch for that hedonistic escape, and they have to deliver.

There is something called the Bechdel test that gives a three prong analysis about women in cinema and television. The first requirement is that there must be at least two women in a work of fiction. The second is, do the two or more women interact? Do they talk to each other? The third is if they do talk, do they talk about anything other than a man? According to statistics, only about half of all films meet this requirement. It is used to indicate the active  presence of women in works of fiction and to point out sexism. So where does Sons stack up with the Bechdel test? It very narrowly passes. Throughout the entire series the women that talk to each other only talk about men. When I realized this, I almost could not believe it. Six seasons of women and their only discussion pique was about men. That is, with one exception. The only other thing that women on the show who speak to each other speak about other than men, are children. There is a great deal of discussion about children. They talk about caring for the children, custody of the children, the children’s safety, and who can and cannot see them.

When researching for this paper I took multiple approaches, to see the show from all angles. I wanted to see views from people who agreed that the show had many sexist tones. I wanted to see views from people who thought that the show was secretly feminist, or maybe even overtly feminist. Also, I simply wanted to see what happened when I searched Sons of Anarchy – keyword: Women. It was a hot topic. Many argue that Sons isn’t as sexist as people crack it up to be. I will admit it has some redeeming moments. But I’m not convinced. The women in Sons have no real say in any of the decisions being made by the men. Yet the women are some of the people who suffer the most from these decisions. In the first season, Opie Winston’s wife Donna was shot and killed by a member of the club accidentally. Donna had been driving the car of the intended victim, and an innocent life was loft. She left two children behind. Gemma, the mother of Jax Teller, wife of club president Clay Morrow, was raped. Gemma was raped as a warning to the other club members to stop doing business with a certain group of people. Gemma doesn’t tell the guys for a long time, insisting that the perpetrators plan would only have worked if she did. Even Gemma puts the needs of the club before herself. She was used as a pawn in the game, a way to hurt the club. Tara, wife of Jax teller, was kidnapped and almost murdered multiple times, until her death at the hands of another woman, Gemma (but more on that later). A club member’s daughter was burned alive in front of him as revenge. The list goes on, and on.

 

In this show it is very clear that women are afterthoughts. Sure the more prominent women get special treatment but it’s pretty far from being able to vote at the table with the members. If this was just an innocent guys club, for guys to hang out and enjoy their motorcycles and some beers, I would in no way have an issue with the men only members rule. It is so much more than that. It is dangerous, and it is bigger than just the members. People’s families are involved. Their lives are in danger. Not only are the women not allowed to contribute to decisions but they are also incredibly sexualized. There has not been a single woman on the show who has been introduced without someone trying to sleep with her.  In one season, a club member Jax Teller, almost sleeps with his half sister (unbeknownst to him) before being stopped by their parents. This is awkward yes, but mostly an eye rolling moment. Of course Jax would meet his half sister and try to sleep with her. It could have been any woman. Seemingly no one is spared. Shockingly, the violence against the women does not only come from outside sources. At one point in the series, Clay Morrow beats his wife Gemma Teller within inches of her life. This domestic dispute came about because Gemma had discovered some activities that Clay had been secretly planning and participating in. Now to be fair, this was not accepted behavior by anyone on the show. Every single person who found out was disgusted and agreed it was horrible; yet Clay is still a character, written by Kurt Sutter, causing severe harm yet again. As the series came to a close, the ultimate and final acts of violence brought down the two strongest, fiercest, and important female characters on the show. Tara, dies at the hand of Gemma. After years of feuding over custody and visiting rights of Tara’s children (Gemma is the grandmother), fighting over affection of Jax, who is Tara’s husband and Gemma’s son, and fighting over the unspoken position as head female of the club. Upon learning this, after everything that Gemma has done in the series, and after the completely dark character transformation of Jax Teller, he shoots his mother dead. These two women, after everything they had been through, did not make it out of the series alive.

Because the show is visual, fictional, and depicts many intimate relationships between characters, one can recreate the feelings inflicted upon reading a letter. There are countless moments on the show that are intimate, important conversations between two characters. There is no one else around, just the two characters, and you. You are let in on a personal moment, like a secret, and it can evoke something within you. Having this power has an effect on those who watch it. As perfectly summed up in Bolin Carroll’s Backpacks vs. Briefcases, “Media is constantly asking you to buy something, act in some way, and believe something to be true, or interact with others in a specific manner”.3 Sons  is sending a message to act like these masculine men, in more realistic terms. They want you to believe that these men are the epitome of contemporary masculinity, that they’ve got the right idea.

Sons of Anarchy, misogyny or feminism? It depends on who you ask. Many modern women, though they may put aside their feelings to enjoy the show, are fully aware of the rampant sexism in the show. Certain other, possible more traditional women, or women with different values may see the women’s lack of decision making ability as okay or normal, or they may not even notice it at all. Some men would say that there are plenty of strong, intelligent women on the show who kick ass; and that there are. Yet it doesn’t change how they are treated, how they treat each other, and the struggles they endure. This male utopia of sorts can be a nightmare for women. Just because the women are not in fluffy dresses, or portrayed as meek, depressed housewives, doesn’t mean that it is not sexist. Strong female characters can be victims of sexism as well. It is that less overt sexism that is important to point out and identify, because it helps society grow. The cultural values are ever so slowly shifting, to be more politically correct, more sensitive, and more aware, but we still have a long way to go. A television series is hard to analyze because it is so broad, yet because the series has ended, it is now a completed work of fiction, of art, and can be appreciated and analyzed as such. These views on women are not explicitly stated; rather they are shown to us in a visual rhetoric; a rhetoric that seeps into the minds of the audience and makes you questions the position of women’s roles in society today.

 

Works Cited

Mcnutt, Myles. “Demographics of Anarchy: Netflix, Afterword, and Gender.” Cultural Learnings. N.p., 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

Apple. 1984. Television.

Carroll, Bolin. “Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps towards Rhetorical Analysis.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. N.p.: Parlor, n.d. N. pag. Print.

Sutter, Kurt L. “Sons of Anarchy.” Sons of Anarchy. FX. 3 Sept. 2008. Television.