We all know her as Mrs. Incredible, but before that, Helen Parr was known as Elastigirl. I found a very interesting article that discussed her change in identity from an individual superheroine to a supermom (http://www.heroinecontent.net/archives/2010/09/the_incredibles.html). The author argues that Elastigirl was stripped of her individual identity after her marriage:"Elastigirl, you see, has adapted perfectly to her role as housewife and mother. As the film begins, we hear her say, "Settle down? No way! Leave the saving of the world to the men? I don't think so." But then she is tamed by marriage. She even becomes "Mrs. Incredible", not only in the advertisements (because of rights issues with Elasti-Girl), but also for the film proper - it's the Incredibles, after all, not the Elastics."
For most of the movie, Helen is portrayed as a typical mother who stays at home to take care of the family. When she realizes her husband Bob has been using his powers secretly, Helen's whole world falls apart and she starts to sob uncontrollably at Edna's. It is Edna who has to tell Helen to pull herself together and remember that she is Elastigirl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLDWhn8HZfY&feature=related). Only after this instance does Helen seem to finally show signs of her previous fierceness as Elastigirl, boldly saving the world and actively fighting for herself, and now her family as well.
The physical differences between Elastigirl and Mrs. Incredible is also notable, for Mrs. Incredible is portrayed with a more typical "mom" hair along with a wider figure. The article notes that Mr. Incredible changes drastically physically, while Mrs. Incredible doesn't- showing that it's more acceptable for men to lose their shapes but not women. I wouldn't go as far as to say Mrs. Incredible is sexualized, but she is definitely portrayed in a better light physically than Mr. Incredible.
The overall portrayal of Helen Parr seems to be that of a selfless mom willingly to sacrifice all for her family. Despite the article's argument, I personally think that overall Helen was a relatively strong female character who learned to balance her individual identity with her family role. It's true that Helen's name and identity as Mrs. Incredible will forever put her on the sideline, but she definitely showed that she had the same spunk Elastigirl once had by the end of the movie with her quick reasoning and innovative skills. Helen came to save both her husband and her family with her powers, and proved that even a mother can still be an awesome superheroine.
I never thought of it as losing her identity before, but I can see that now.
ReplyDeleteI thought Helen was crying because she thought Bob was cheating on her (like she found a strand of blond hair on Bob's shirt). However, I do agree with you that she felt resentful at the moment because she has set aside her former glory and power as Elastigirl to live as someone's wife and mother. Bob (Mr. Incredible), unlike Helen, sucks at coping with his current role as the head of the family and as a father, and all he does is looking back at his glory days in his room full of posters, thank-you notes, and former uniform. He does not try as hard as Helen does to make the family work and help their children grow up as normally as possible. He has difficulty suppressing his desires to use his power, getting fired at work and forcing the family to relocate. I think this could be related to his big ego issue, and because of this, he comes across as an inflexible person, the opposite of the Elastigirl, who is all about flexibility.
ReplyDeleteI think that Mr. Incredible losing his shape was to poke harmless fun at him. However, Mrs. Incredible retaining her figure was more towards women's empowerment saying "I'm a stay at home wife with kids but I still look great." I think our society has an impression that mothers tend to lose their figures and begin to look dowdy. This movie, however, shows the opposite.
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting. I never thought about her this way because she always seemed like a strong character to me. I also think they might have not made her lose her figure is because for some reason, the way our society views it, it's funnier to laugh at a larger man than it is a larger woman. At least, that's what it seems like to me when I see how things are portrayed in comedy and the media.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about this either. I think Elastigirl retaining her figure may fall in with her superpower though. Also, Helen supporting her family may be a stronger sign of women's strength. Bob's inability to move on could be seen as a weakness. I think the story arc is trying to show that Helen forgot who she was for a while, but Edna, and an oncoming crisis helped her to remember. I don't know if this is anti-feminist because this does happen in real life. Elastigirl ended up finding her own identity as a wife and mother and being the hero. One thing I dont like is the name changing. Elastigirl is who she is, it is her secret identity. Not only is her identity changed by marriage, but her secret identity is too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone's comments. I had never seen it until now. She assumes the position like any other typical wife would by being referred to as Mrs. Incredible and being somewhat "tamed". However besides all that I still feel like she doesn't ever lose who she is and her personality as well. Marriage doesn't exactly mean completely forgetting who you are as is perceived.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about Elastigirl/Mrs. Incredible this way before I just thought that she had just aged and had a family, but its true in time she loses sight of who she really is in order to accommodate her husband.
ReplyDelete