La Ron S. Readus
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The Manhood of Mario (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2023-05-31 20:00:02 +0000 UTCReaders, I have no problem admitting that I originally wasn’t all that excited for the Super Mario Brothers movie
Not only was I irritated with Universal sidelining Charles Marinet -- the original voice of Mario -- in favor of Chris Pratt
But due to life y’know...life-ing, I had no choice but to wait for it to come out on digital to see it while everyone else had the opportunity to see it in theaters.
The important part though, is that I saw it. And I thought it was pretty good
Yes, I expected it to be an isekai. Yes, I expected Jack Black to blow it out of the lava as Bowser. Yes it was INCREDIBLY refreshing seeing Princess Peach not be a damsel in distress.
But while all of that was true, there were some things I noticed as the movie played out that, surprisingly enough, just so happened to affect a lot of the leading male characters in the film that I believe was done purposefully.
And for today’s lesson, I wanna go over exactly what that thing was, how it affected Mario, Donkey Kong and even Bowser in both similar and different ways, and why Luigi was immune to it. Let’s begin.
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Hey, Readers. La’Ron here. Offering you analysis and perspective on your favorite bits of geek and pop culture media
If it wasn’t obvious from the intro, this video will in fact contain spoilers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Universal and Illumination. It’s currently available to rent or own digitally and will be available to stream on Peacock in late summer early fall, so give it a watch before continuing here if you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want me to spoil pivotal points of it for you in this video.
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That’s the syllabus. Now onto the lesson.
Let’s Start With Bowser
Because thanks to certain members of the Mario Brothers fandom for the past 8 or so years shipping him with the likes of Luigi -- first starting off as a fun little thing on Tumblr that blew up into pretty much a character study exploring other ways he could handle his toxicity...
Seeing how they were going to handle Bowser’s development for this movie was one of my main curiosities.
/Especially since the first full trailer for the movie seemed to tease that they were gonna give the Bowser/Luigi shippers a bit of fanservice./
Those of us who saw the movie know that wasn’t the case. That bit of fanservice was the ONLY bit of fanservice, thanks to it being the only solo interaction Bowser and Luigi had over the course of the movie.
Instead, the film had Bowser focus on his traditional role in a more modern take of the concept of “Big Bad kidnaps the princess;” a trope that while Mario games didn’t invent it necessarily, it definitely perfected.
/In it, Bowser -- as you’d expect -- is obsessed with Princess Peach, and instead of kidnapping her outright like in the games, he sought the Super Star to try and impress and convince her to marry him./
Now while this slight shift in the usual formula of Mario narratives was done as a way of giving agency to Princess Peach, making her more capable and self-reliant as opposed to the usual damsel in distress that Mario has to save, it actually adds a lot of depth to Bowser as a result.
/Because now instead of following a stereotypical formula, we get to see WHY Bowser is so relentless in winning the heart of Peach; something that even the Koopas can’t help but question/ (but she hates you. That makes me love her even more)
As the movie goes on, you begin to see why the confusion in the Koopas was present in the first place.
All of Bowser’s actions up until the movie’s finale -- his Academy Award qualified song Peaches, Kamek being his Yes Man, and even his envy toward Mario just for being in Peach’s inner circle -- don’t come off as genuine for someone that has feelings for someone else.
This is to be expected because Bowser is a villain, but it even affects his reason for villainy, not wanting to rule the Mushroom Kingdom just to rule it, but only as a last resort if she denies his hand in marriage.
/Which she does twice./
However, everything begins to make sense not just for Bowser’s development in this movie, but for a good amount of the leading men in it as well by the time we get to its climatic battle.
/Because after the wedding’s been ruined, the hostages saved, and Bowser encounters the source of his envy on the streets of Queens, he says this/ (I was FINALLY gonna be happy)
It took a minute after I finished watching the movie, but it did click: As far as this iteration of him is concerned, Bowser was NEVER in love with Princess Peach. He was in love with the IDEA of BEING in love with Princess Peach.
/Bowser let himself become such a victim of personal expectations for himself because of who he is, what he rules, and what he represents, that he thinks that all of whatever it is he’s dealing with will be solved if he marries Peach, regardless if it’s reciprocated/
While it wasn’t necessarily covered in the movie thanks to time being used to focus on the likes of /Mario, Luigi and even Peach’s backstory.../
/The personal expectations Bowser feels he has to achieve are more than likely due to societal expectations that were placed on him at a young age that he decided to personalize as he got older. Which is very similar to how said expectations for men play out in the real world./
Because something tells me that if Bowser did successfully marry Princess Peach, with or without Mario’s interference, he’d more than likely be just as angry, depressed and frustrated with himself because nothing about the core of him changed.
/That despite getting everything he “wanted,” he’s still miserable/
And while I agree that this is a great lesson for Bowser to learn with him being the villain of this movie, with the possibility of it being explored later on thanks to certain creative decisions that would keep him in the franchise for a while...
I have to be the one to say that how men internalize societal expectations into personal ones is one of the prominent themes in The Super Mario Bros. Movie...
Because They All Have That In Common.
Mario, surprising no one, is a perfect example of experiencing the weight of said expectations. He and Luigi both being from our world means that what he’s going through is a tad bit more relatable and easier to pinpoint.
This isn’t to say that what Bowser is going through regarding Princess Peach isn’t, but the connections that Bowser’s insecurities have to the likes of heteronormativity make it a bit more difficult for certain -- ie, straight -- individuals, already living within its boundaries...
/To notice that the personalization of the societal expectations placed upon him make him a few steps closer to identifying as an incel about to take the Black Pill./
Mario’s burden, however, isn’t linked to that of “I, as a man, should want a woman for the sake of finding validation in my manhood and masculinity” like Bowsers is. Instead, it’s linked to him proving that he has the means to be unique in a world where nobody challenges the status quo for the sake of security and survival.
/He and Luigi making the decision to go into business for themselves, breaking away from their incredibly successful former employer in order to do so, is a decision that despite the majority of their family refusing to admit, they did not agree with. Well, that’s not entirely true; his dad was very willing to let Mario know that he fucked up/ (I think you’re nuts. You don’t leave a steady job for some crazy dream. And the worst part; you’re bringing your brother down with you)
Now I’m sure lots of you have experienced a form of this from someone in your life before, especially if you’re a creative.
Thanks to how capitalism is enforced here in the states, said individuals had to sacrifice their own desires of making something of themselves with their talents and prowess for the sake of making sure rent was paid and food was on the table for those they provided for.
This was done at such a ritualistic pace, that some individuals never pursued their personal interests as a result.
Thanks to that enforcement, it’s become such a way of life for them, that seeing any deviation from what they experienced within their own offspring and kin, makes them worried that seeking their personal pursuits will cost them said security and survivability when they go out to the world themselves, despite the system being set up to the point where none of that is ever guaranteed.
The way this is handled for Mario is yet another example of a societal expectation being made personal. Mario’s father subconsciously channels this societal expectation that capitalism initially forced on him via judgment of Mario’s decision-making process.
/This causes Mario to translate the lack of faith his father has in him as the last straw before personalizing the expectations in order to prove not just his father wrong, but also his previous boss telling him and Luigi that they can’t make it in the plumbing business on their own. And it’s because of Mario internalizing the projected societal expectations and acting in this way, that he and Luigi end up in the Mushroom Kingdom in the first place./
Donkey Kong, despite his limited screen time, isn’t exempt from this conditioning either. We’re given plenty of context clues over the course of both his social and private interactions when it comes to how he internalizes the societal expectations that are placed on him as the prince of the Jungle Kingdom.
/The source of it -- and the one thing he has in common with Mario as it turns out -- is his relationship with Cranky Kong, who is his father in this universe./
/According to the dialogue he has in the movie, Donkey Kong has been constantly trying to gain the love, respect and admiration of Cranky to no avail/(at least you’re not gonna die with your dad thinking you’re a joke).
/So instead, he filled the void with the love, respect and admiration of his fellow apes via celebrity and constantly displaying his feats of strength. All while hoping that gaining the hearts of his constituents would be enough to gain the heart of his father, even though it’s not/ (stop showboating)
However, in becoming the apple of the entire Jungle Kingdom’s eye in an attempt to win his father over, a societal expectation of Donkey Kong being the leader of the bunch that’s the big, fast and strong ape ready to kick some tail...
/Becomes something that he internalizes and feels obligated to keep up for the sake of appearances, even if that’s not all of what he is. Because as we learn in the movie/ (I am more than a guy who smashes things).
So it’s not just Bowser. It’s both Mario and even Donkey Kong that prominently find themselves internalizing very specific societal expectations that are presented to them over the course of the Super Mario Bros. Movie that just so happen to reflect certain aspects of their characters, personal developments, and even their relationships with each other over the course of it.
However, you’d be surprised to know that it’s specifically these three men that actually feel and carry that burden, despite there being four male main characters. Which leaves one to ask one very specific question:
What About Luigi?
When it comes to Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong and Bowser, Luigi is the healthiest out of all the male main characters in this regard, due to his ability of not letting himself be hindered by societal expectations.
It can be hard for people who are immediately drawn to personality traits in a character over how social norms AFFECT said characters for them to see it, considering how much they’re ingrained within us and how much deprogramming some people need in order for them to become visible. Especially when certain individuals use said traits to regularly judge and rate a man’s overall level of masculinity ACCORDING to said social norms.
For example, in an attempt to link Luigi’s character traits to that of his video game counterparts like Luigi’s Mansion...
/The untrained eye is immediately drawn to what many consider his cowardice and how he naturally likes to avoid confrontation/ (Luigi, c’mon; you know you can’t be scared all the time, Mm, you’d be surprised)
Dudes heavy into the whole Manosphere schtick as well as those looking for someone to pick on because they’re actually insecure about themselves would have a field day with Luigi, because according to them, he’s soft. He’s scared all the time, lets people walk all over him, and doesn’t stand up for himself.
/And as a result, he’s been the butt of a lot of Mario jokes in various video games from other men who’ve been programmed to think this way, manosphere bros or otherwise/ (Use Paper Mario footage from GameGrumps)
But where a lot of individuals miss the point in Luigi’s character -- especially how it’s done in the Super Mario Bros. Movie -- is that while aspects about these character traits are true and unique to him, the others that they see as a hindrance are actually his strength.
He doesn’t let people walk all over him, he’s unaffected by the opinions of others and instead chooses to spend his energy being supportive of the people he loves, like Mario. This is why he was unaffected by both his immediate family critiquing him and Mario’s commercial, and why it didn’t affect him when his father blamed Mario for bringing Luigi down.
But you know who he noticed his dad’s words DID affect? Mario.
/And because of his empathy and the unconditional love he has for his brother, he did what he could to assure him that what their dad said to him wasn’t true; that his actions in supporting his big brother were his own./
His ability to not internalize the opinions and the societal norms that others have and follow respectively of what it means to be brave, be successful, or even be a man allow him to stay true to who he is and be the best Luigi that he can be across his own personal spectrum.
/100% authentic and 100% healthy./ (Nothing can hurt us, as long as we’re together)
Conclusion
Now I want it on record that I’m not the only individual who came to this conclusion about Luigi in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, or about how the other male main characters internalize the societal expectations placed on them.
If anything, because of how limited their screen time together was, I’ve seen creatives who also noticed this about Luigi use it as a way to help combat Bowser's toxic internalization of his expectations displayed in the movie via fan fiction comics, adding more fuel to the fire of their ship as a result.
But while individual expression is important, it’s just as important that these aspects are being noticed in these beloved characters in the first place.
Because depending on the person, the moment someone can identify said problems that Mario, Donkey Kong or even Bowser are going through, the easier it’ll be for them to realize that they’re going through a version of the exact same thing.
/And once that realization happens, they can take the necessary steps to either be more like Luigi, or be appreciative of the Luigi already in their life./
But, I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:
Write in the comment section below what you thought of The Super Mario Bros. Movie if you’ve seen it.
Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, a film or tv show you’ve seen that you believe does a great job at showing how men negatively internalize the expectations placed on them by society.
Whichever question you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.
/A HUGE shoutout to my Patrons both big and small for helping make this channel possible.
Make sure you check out the card at the end of the video to join, or click the link to it or any of my affiliates in the description box below.
But until then, this is Readus 101. Class dismissed./
