Repackaging Patriarchal Ideologies
The Kill Bill films palpably communicate postfeminist and postmodern aesthetic and structural messages. We find these messages to be dangerous because they superficially allow audiences to be pleased with women’s and people of color’s “positive” presence in 21st century film. In essence, this simplistic conclusion serves as a façade for modern patriarchal ideologies embedded within the texts including the reproduction of hegemonic masculinity, rearticulation of gendered stereotypes, co-option of hypermasculine violence, and representation of a superficial politics of difference.
Although viewers may be lured by the promise of empowerment proffered by postfeminist portrayals and postmodern aesthetics, they ought to be wary of such dangerous offerings, which merely repackage traditional ideologically patriarchal fare. Clearly, postfeminist representations of powerful women serve as a marketing ploy (Sklar, 1994). Despite the increased number of female-bodied assassins in Kill Bill, the quality of portrayal matters more than the quantity. They definitely have power, but they are certainly not empowering. Gilpatric (2010) concurs that female-bodied action heroes do not provide ideal feminist role models. “The majority of female action characters shown in [U.S.] American cinema are not empowering images, they do not draw upon their femininity as a source of power, and they are not a kind of ‘post woman’ operating outside the boundaries of gender restrictions” (Gilpatric, 2010, p. 744; also see Chapters 5 and 6).
Focusing specifically on Beatrix, we note that she is a lone warrior lacking care or concern from others. The saga that unfolds in the Kill Bill films detail how Beatrix responded after her professional organization, much like a sisterhood, was dissolved. Rather than relying on other women to complete her mission, Beatrix and the other DVAS members turned on each other in reaction or support of male jealousy. What was once a band of women became a fragmented display of petty jealousies and catty behavior. Unlike most heroic protagonists, Beatrix is denied a sidekick and turns on other powerful women who were once her compatriots, thus supporting the patriarchal notion of competition rather than support and camaraderie.
Comparing Beatrix further with traditional male heroes, she even lacks someone to save. Instead, she engages in a “roaring rampage of revenge.” As she informs viewers at the beginning of Volume 2, “I roared, and I rampaged, and I got satisfaction.” Thus, her quest is presented as selfish revenge rather than serving the greater good—narratives more typical in superhero epics. ←37 | 38→Clearly, this postfeminist message suggests that women are defending themselves and making a statement based on their biological status as mothers and gendered status as wives and lovers rather than their concern for the greater good.
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