“ “Frank Castle died.” He walked up to her, placing his hands
right next to her cutting board. Elektra looked up from the cheese she was
preparing, and without looking down stabbed one on the end of her knife and
brought it to her mouth.
“Well I hope he’s not dead,” She said
with a smile, “Because I’m going to need his help.” ,,
I’ve been
wanting to dump all my thoughts about this into a post for a while now and #tpappreciation
week is giving me the kick in the butt I need to finally do it.
So. Here it
goes. In honor of day 6: a theme or a
parallel, my favorite thing about The Punisher:
it’s (not
so) secretly a violent takedown of toxic masculinity
I know that
sounds crazy about a show that’s so brutal and bloody and—well, hello—violent,
but if you think about it for longer than a second, it’s almost glaringly
obvious.
And—cause
I’m a corny ho like that—it’s also one of the things I think makes it so
special.
Here’s what
you expect when you press play on The Punisher: Frank taking down bad guys,
Frank throwing punches, murder, torture, blood, bullets, aggression, rage
yelling, violence, enough guns to outfit an entire global military, Men Being
Men™
And sure,
you get all those things, but here’s what you also get:
an intimate examination of the mental health of veterans
**bonus points for a not-so-subtle critique of the lack of both resources and opportunities available for veterans upon leaving the service**
**double bonus points for an accurate representation of the people who serve in the military, i.e. a large number of poc/not just men**
group therapy
frank (ba dum tss) discussions of the importance of mental
health and group therapy
“we’re gonna need a lot of therapy”
seriously, this show loves therapy
men reading
men choosing analytical, long-game strategies over immediate,
aggressive, violent tactics
men cooking
Frank, at his most unhealthy/unhinged, eating beans out of a
mcfreaking can with a KNIFE, I mean come ON
men sharing
men opening up to each other about their wives and their
families and their feelings
two men having a conversation about sex and it never?? turns
into locker room talk?????
a heterosexual couple that splits the Thanksgiving cooking—a domestic responsibility—EQUALLY
I quote, “50/50”
a father acknowledging his 12-year-old son is still a baby
and NEEDS HIS FATHER and almost
throwing his mission and blowing his cover because he’s DESPERATE to take care
of him
men showing emotion
men admitting fear
“I guess, if I’m gonna be honest, I just…I’m scared”
death to the I-hate-my-wife trope
men missing their wives
loving their wives
their children
their friends, including
other men
the number!!!!!!! of male tears!!!!!!!!! over other
men!!!!!!!!
David crying over Frank’s almost-dead body
Frank and Curtis crying together
physical affection and closeness between men!!!!!!!!
Frank and Curtis resting their foreheads against each
other!!!!!!!!!
this update: men can be squeamish about blood without it
saying anything about their masculinity
terms of endearment
David “me, too, little bunny” Lieberman
Frank I-casually-call-children-sweetheart-because-I-just-can’t-help-myself
Castle
Leo Lieberman, actual icon and future engineer
poetry
a book by Oscar Wilde
And I don’t
think any of this is by accident or some elaborate series of coincidences. Giving
toxic masculinity the middle finger isn’t just something The Punisher does, I’d argue that it’s part of its
central thesis: Traditionally accepted male behaviors and masculine stereotypes
are confining, dangerous, and ultimately lethal.
Putting the
rest under the cut, cause ya girl’s about to pull some receipts.
I have a special gift, too. I’m impervious to bad attitude. So you can throw your self-pitying bullshit at me all day, and I’ll still be standing right here.
RandomFandom 