1. Gone Girl: A Misandry Tragedy
The lost modern man, his absentee father and the rise of the angelised woman.
Written by Sebastian Angborn

2. On October2, 2014 DavidFincher’sfilm-adaptationof the well-lovedbook GoneGirl hitthe
Australiancinema.Thisfilmcontinuedthe thematiccanonof Fincher’swork.Itexploresthe
gynocentrism whichhasbeenreplacing androcentrismsince the early90s1
,andit doesso by
followingamale protagonist spawnedfromanabsentee fatherwhoisill atease withthe worldin
whichhe lives2
.By doingso, the filmoffersadeconstructionof the modernman,andan insightinto
rise of cultural misandryandthe angelisationof the woman.Consequentially,one couldclassify
Gone Girl as a misandrytragedy,inwhichthe modernman – robbedof a fatherfigure – istrapped
by hisowninabilitytoacclimatizeto aninformationbasedeconomy,and soforsakes histraditional
masculine behavior.Thisjournal will setoutthe reasoningforthisclassification.
Firstly,howdowe classifya tragedy?Aristotle describedthe tragicheroastryingto do the right
thingina situationwhere the rightthingcannotbe done. The Aristoteliantragicherodiesatragic
death, be it literal ormetaphorical, havingfallenfromgreatheights afterhavingmade an
irreversible mistake.The heromustcourageouslyaccept thisdeathwithhonour.3
NickDunne clearly
fitsthisdefinition,havingmarriedhiswife outof motivatedhubris,embarkinguponthe questto
clearhisname of her murder,before acceptingandsuccumbingtohisfate of marital entrapmentby
meansof her carryinghisunbornchild.
Accordingto Nathanson,P& Young1
,“misandry,the sexistcounterpartof misogynyhasbecome
pervasive inthe popularculture of NorthAmericansociety.”Seemingly thiscrisisof masculinity lies
lessinthe economic,political,andsocial conditionsof capitalismitself, thaninthe rise of a culture
of consumption,inwhichmenare allegedlydomesticated,renderedpassive,softandemasculated4
.
Thispassive emasculationisdemonstratedconsistentlythroughNickDunne’snarrativejourneyin
Gone Girl.
In WesternSociety,masculinitycanbe thoughtof as the sociallyagreed-uponexpressionof
“manliness”orgender.5
Withthisinmind, Nickforsakesthe use of hisgarage.Thisabandonmentof
the traditional masculinebastion6
iswhateventuallyleadstohisownentrapment,allowinghiswife
fill the space withmaterial goods chargeduponhiscreditcard.Charges, whichdue to the cultural
assumptionof consumption,the police donotquestion.
ThisentrapmentisforeshadowedbyNick’s indulgence inthe purchasesof videogames earlierinthe
narrative timeline. DrGrahamMatthewsarguesthat, “videogamesreplicate the structuresof desire
1 Nathanson,P, & Young, KK 2001, Spreading Misandry : The Teaching of Contempt for Men in Popular Culture,
MQUP, Montreal.
2 Ramey, Mark. Studying Fight Club. Pp70. Columbia University Press.
3 Changingminds.org, Tragic hero as defined by Aristotle.
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/characters/tragic_characters.htm accessed 7th Nov 2015.
4 Giroux,Henry. Private Satisfactions and Public Disorders: Fight Club, Patriarchy, and the Politics of Masculine
Violence. JAC: A Journal of Composition Theory, v21 n1 p1-31 Win 2001.
5 Various.Sex and Society, Volume 1. Marshall Cavendish,2010
6 Heynen,H, Baydar,G. Negotiating Domesticity: Spatial Productions of Gender in Modern Architecture. Routledge.
2005.

3. whichguide everydayexperience.7
”Thisisaninterestingargumentwhenone considersLeslie
Fiedler’snotionthatnewmaniskeenoncastingoff adulthood,andfollowingapost-modernist
trendof shunningmasculinity8
.Thereby,Nick’smanifestationinvideogamingasa suppressed
frustrationathis lackof employability functionsasaliteraryfoil forthe vexationfelt athisown
perceivedlackof manhood.
Thisshunningof masculine responsibility leadstoscornfulness fromAmy, ascornwhichresultsin
motivatingherinenactingthe aforementionedentrapment.Thisscorn alsoprovides afurther
demasculinization9
of Nick’srole inthe marital relationship,andheightenshisapatheticrelationship
withthe male genderrole,workinginperfectrelationtothe structural functionof “experimenting
withnewconditions”10
atthe start of the 2nd
act.
Furtheringthisreading,the notionof consumptivepacificationcanalsobe seenin manyof the
supportingcharacters. OfficerJamesGilpiniseffeminate inhismanner,andconsistentlyciteshis
wife’sopinionuponthe case asa meansof compellingargumenttohisfemale superior,Detective
Boney.11
Similarly, Amy’sfatherRand holdsthe aestheticof the uppermiddle class AmericanWASP.
He isof slightbuild,wearspastelsand hissole meansof income isdependentonhisauthorwife.
Due to hiseconomicdependency Randisbothtimidandfearful of confrontation.
The lossof the productionbasedeconomyanditsimpactuponthe masculine identityof Americais
expressed visually too. SimilarlytoFincher’searlierfilm FightClub, where distinctvisualizationsof
masculinitylostappearinthe formof menwithliteral breastsorgroupsof mensobbing12
,GoneGirl
visuallyrepresents the notionthatwhite working-classandmiddle-classmenface alife of increasing
uncertaintyandinsecurity. The filmsetsthe landscape whenit openswithshotsof emptyfactories
and boardedupshopfronts,followingwhichNickDunne’scharacterisintroduced by pullingoutthe
garbage and lookinglostashe stares intothe middle distance of hisfuture world. Simply,the visual
notionisthat new millenniumofferswhite,heterosexual mennothinglessthanalife inwhich
domesticationdefinestheireverydayexistence4
.
No doubtthisiswhyFincherhas chosentohave NickDunne appearonlyinsweatpantsanda faded
T-shirtduringhiseverydaylife,notdonningasuituntil hisfailedattempttoregainhisgoodname
and the powerof hissituation. The divisionof clothesintogenderedcategoriespresentsitself as
natural to a modernaudience,andbybasicapplicationof semiotictheorymeaningderivesfrom
7 Matthews, Graham. Desire, Enjoyment and Lack: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Computer Games.
https://gameconference2011.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/matthews-philosophy-computer-games-2011.pdf.
2011.Accessed 7th Nov 2015.
8 Srivastava,Prem.Leslie Fiedler: Critic, Provocateur, Pop Culture Guru. McFarland.2014.
9 Demasculinization. Merriam-Webster Dictionary.2015.
10 Huntley, Chris.Christopher Vogler: The Hero’s Journey. Dramatica.Unknown.
11 Fincher,David. Gone Girl. 20th Century Fox. 2011.
12 Fincher,David. Fight Club. 20th Century Fox. 1999.

4. difference13
. Assuchthe appearance of Dunne ina traditional suitisa significantmomentinthe
film,signifyinghisproactive clutchastraditional masculinity.
The divisionbetweenproductiveworkand reproductivework findsitssymboliclegitimacyinthe
modernoppositionbetweenthe domesticsphere andthe publicsphere13
.Thisargumentfurtherads
to the visual significance of the suitasa symbol of Nick’smasculine identitysince the narrative
significance of Nickchanginghisappearance isthe momenthe decidestotake control of the public
sphere bystrategicallyattendingafemale-hostedtalk-show.11
By the attemptof controllingthe environmentaroundhimDunne takesaproactive stepawayfrom
the portrayal of the normal modernmanas representedinFincher’sfilm.The archetypal role of the
mentoringfatherisabsentinboth GoneGirl, servingasthe reasonfornot onlyNick’sowninability
to model himself of amasculine ideal,butalsoservesasa motivatorfromwhichcharacter
dimensioncanbe modeled.
In the film,one of the majorflawsconstructedbythe narrative for Dunne ishis sexual infidelity with
a studentoutside the confinesof the marriage.Psychologistshave recognizedforaconsiderable
amountof time nowthatchildrenwhogrew upwithouta fatherare prone to AbsentFather
Syndrome,the essential feature of whichisbothriskyexpressionof sexual behaviorandviolence14
.
Thissyndrome,one couldargue isnow in the WesternSocietal zeitgeist, andplays strongly uponthe
narrative conclusionsof guiltthatDunne faces andfurtherfeedsintothe cultural stereotypeof low
masculine impulse control.Consequentially,notonlydoesNickdeal withazeitgeistalconclusionof
guiltbutalsoof social stigma,whichforaforementionedreasons,he is utterly ill-equippedtodeal
with.
The absentee fatherof Nickisalsovisuallyexploredsymbolicallyasthe motivatorforhisdownfall.
WhenAmyhidesherdiary,she doesitin the abandonedhouse of Nick’sfather –scorchedinthe
longdisusedhearthof the homestead.The visualsemioticsare significantinvisuallyrepresenting
the absentee fatherhoodwhichisatthe core of Nick’snarrative dilemma.
Furthermore,the same readingof AbsentFatherSyndrome canbe attributedtothe character of
Amy.Her fatherbeinginactive inherownupbringing –a fact she speaksaboutopenlyinthe film –
leadstoher behaviorof violence andresentmentof men. Anotherlandmarkcharactertraitof
AbsentFatherSyndrome inwomenisanearlyimpulsiveinterestinmen, butcoupledwithalow
willingnesstomaintainalongemotional relationshipwithone14
.A traitalsocoveredinFincher’s
film.
Amyhas no problemsinusinghergenderas a meansof causingmental or physical painuponthe
malesaroundher.Dr AnthonySynottwritesinPsychologyTodaythat,“Thepolitical demonization of
men is complemented by theangelization of women in a moral bi-polartotally sexist evaluation of
13 Otnes, Cele C., and Zayer, Linda Tuncay, eds. Gender, Culture, and Consumer Behavior. Routledge, 2012.
14 Chisholm,James. Death,Hope and Sex: Steps to an Evolutionary Ecology of Mind and Morality. Cambridge Press.
1999.

5. gender.”15
Fincherexploresthisangelizationof womenthroughAmy’shistoryof entrappingher
sexual partnersthroughthe accusationof violence orsexual assault.
Thisideaof female angelizationcomestoitssemioticconclusion withthe murderof Desi Collings,Amy's
ex-boyfriend.Itisonlythroughthe act of actuallykillingamanthat that Amycomesto returnto her
house infull control of the situationaroundher. Bythe act of murderAmy hasself-embodiedandthus
conqueredthe dualisticanthropologyassociationof womanasthe creator and fostererof life while man
functionasthe mechanizeranddestroyerof life. InMarxisttermsshe has killedthe symbol of her
oppressorandso she is no longergenderbound.
Furthermore,the factthat thisDesi Collingscharacterisplayedbywell-knownhomosexual actorNeil
PatrickHarris16
servesasFincher’squipto the notionthat, heterosexual desire isnotfundamental to
male identity,butratherconventionsof active male sexual desire,whetherheterosexual orhomosexual,
fulfil the contractbetweenmale identityandsexuality. Thisquipfurtherstrengthensthe implication
that itis not the traditional masculine identityAmyhasslain,butrathermankindingeneral.
It shouldbe notedhoweverthatFincher doesn’taimtodemonise womenthroughhisfilm.There are
sympatheticfemale charactersinthe narrative.Nick’ssisteroffersthe nurturingcharacteristicsof the
traditional feminine genderrole,and furthersympathytoNick’shelplesscause isprovided asthe
leadingDetective Boney –duringthe scene of tryingtoraise doubtsabout the validityof Amy’salibiina
room full of male FBIagents – realizestoherdismaythe dangersposedbyangelisingthe statusof the
moderndaywoman.
In conclusion,withhisworkin GoneGirl, andbuildinguponthe explorationsof masculineidentityin
FightClub, Fincherportraysa future where traditional patriarchal system whichhas beenreversed.
Gone Girl commentsat a cultural shiftawayfromthe masculine cultural constructsof WesternSociety,
and hypothesizesastowhere contemporarygenderrolesmayleadus.While the directordoesn’t
demonize women,he doesstronglycriticizethe lackof active paternal role modelsandwhatthe
removal of a masculine force in contemporarylifemayechoinsocietyatlarge. It isan importantnote to
make that the argumentraisedisnot an argumentagainstfeminism, butanargumentagainsta
radicalizeddualisticperspective of gender.Assuch,the filmis animportantwork,andcertainlya
theoretical discussionworthhavingthroughanartisticmediumaswidelyconsumedasthe cinema.
15 Synott, Anthony. Why Some People Have Issues With Men: Misandry. Psychology Today. Oct 6, 2010.
16 Quince, Pete. Neil Patrick Harris Declares His Happy Homosexuality.Cinema Blend. 2004.