Hegemonic Masculinity in Disneys Hercules:

How Going the Distance is Respected and Expected in the Modern Era

Kira Bakst
ARH4884: Walt Disney and the American Century
Robert Neuman
17 November 2015

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Introduction
In todays modern society there is a fairly small number of people who can claim to have
never heard the term feminism. The number of individuals who can be said to not truly
understand what this term means, however, is much, much larger. According to the Miriam
Webster online dictionary, feminism is defined as the belief that men and women should have
equal rights and opportunities.1 Essentially, it is the belief that everyone in the world should be
treated fairly regardless of their biological sex or chosen gender. As a result of the continuing
fight for womens rights, more and more people are coming to grasp this concept every day.
Simultaneously though, more and more people also seem to be forgetting the other half of the
equation: that men, like women (though on a completely different playing field), are currently
fighting their own battle against societal pressures as well.
Scholar Michael Kimmel describes the societal pressure placed on men as hegemonic
masculinity. This term, from Kimmels book The Gendered Society, is meant to illustrate the
ideal image of masculinity for a given era that it is the job of all other men in that era to emulate
as closely as possible. 2 For example, in the current era men are expected to be physically fit,
physically attractive, intellectually capable, and either musically or athletically talented (if not
some combination of the two). They must have a particular kind of personality, a good sense of
humor, and be able to fit into the right groups seamlessly. Most importantly a true man must
never show emotion, for it is akin to weakness. All in all just as with women the standards for
what makes up the ideal man are growing endlessly to more unrealistic heights, and thus are
becoming increasingly difficult to actually reach. Nevertheless, when one looks at a man on the
street, on the screen, or even within the home, these are typically not the first thoughts that
come to mind. In his book Kimmel phrases this phenomena as follows: When we study men, we
study them as political leaders, military heroes, scientists, writers, artists. Men themselves are

Commented [KB1]: Some may consider the repetition of

this phrase to be just that: repetitive, and therefore
unnecessary. However, the parallel structure also serves to
bring attention to the point being made, and for that reason
I chose to leave it as it stands.

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invisible as men. Rarely, if ever, do we see a course that examines the lives of men as men.3
Even in the magical world of Disney men can seemingly not escape this fate.
Hercules, released in theaters in 1997, is an animated film about how a young godturned-mortal struggles to regain his godhood and return to his rightful home on Mount
Olympus. Hercules begins this quest at what appears to be age sixteen, and only reaches his goal
upon reaching young adulthood (sometime between the ages of eighteen and twenty) (Figs. 1.1
and 1.2). Despite this long period of time and the great deal of growth both physically and
mentally that Hercules goes through during this time, he still experiences the same old
problems that he is said to experience prior to the films story. That is, he is constantly, by at
least one person or group of people, being told he is not enough regardless of his efforts to
please them. It is not until the end of the film that Hercules achieves his societys version of
hegemonic masculinity, and throughout the movie he is shown to be struggling with the fact that
he is seen as less than rather than as Hercules. In this paper I argue that the thoughts and
actions of the various characters of Hercules show their subscription to the ideas behind
hegemonic masculinity, and that these ideas can greatly affect the self-perceptions, thoughts,
and actions of men living in such a society. To accomplish this, I will examine the three most
influential groups and individuals of the film: the general populace of the movie Hercules, the
gods of Mount Olympus, and Hercules female cohort, Megara.
The General Populace
In this world where everyone is told to stick to the status quo, it is not at all uncommon
for those who deviate from the norm to suffer from a wide range of consequences. In the world
of men in particular, deviants can be made to endure a great deal of pain both psychological
and corporeal for showing any sign that they do not prescribe to their cultures agreed upon
version of masculinity. That is, the cultures hegemonic masculinity. Despite his attempts to
prove otherwise, it is clear that Hercules is situated right in the middle of this group of deviants.

Commented [KB2]: Repetitive phrasing; consider revising

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The cruelty those around him exhibit towards him, therefore, is the result of his inability to
grasp the concepts of masculinity that his town believes in.
Hercules human parents, though they try their best to be supportive and clearly do love
their adopted son, let their own prejudices slip into view at multiple times during the first parts
of the film. This is shown in ways both large and small. For example, when Hercules and
Amphitryon first arrive to the market in chapter seven of the film a great deal of information is
provided within a very short amount of time. At first Amphitryon thanks Hercules for pulling
the cart, stating that when ol Penelope twisted her ankle back there I thought we were done
for. Immediately afterwards, however, he nervously requests that Hercules remain by the cart
instead of going to interact with others in the town square. Not only this, but he releases a sigh
of relief after Hercules agrees to not wander off. Amphitryon, though he loves his son, is keenly
aware of the fact that his son does not exactly fit into society in the ways that he should. By
telling Hercules to stay with the cart he is not only putting societys concerns above his son, but
showing that he even agrees with society to some extent. When individuals do not fit in,
isolation is a very common technique used to try and get them to conform or at the very least
to keep them out of trouble. By keeping Hercules with the cart, Amphitryon is exposing himself
as one who prescribes to the idea that men should behave in a certain way, and also as one who

Commented [KB3]: Deviants are by definition those who

do not fit in, and so the use of the term individual more
closely attends to the intended meaning of this sentence
Commented [KB4]: The referent here was unclear, and so
I replaced it with the noun itself

believes that, whatever that way is, Hercules is certainly not following it. This is why he breathes
a sigh of relief upon Hercules consent: because it will keep both society out of Hercules hair
and Hercules out of society. Even later on in the market scene, after the marketplace has been
destroyed, Amphitryon begins to ask Hercules what he has done rather than attempting to
comfort him, and only comes to Hercules defense after the townspeople begin their antagonistic
assault. Weakly, Amphitryon claims that the damage is only a result of the fact that Hercules
just cant control his strength. In reality, he is saying so much more. He is admitting that,
despite being a man, Hercules has no idea how to act like one. Numerous jibes by the
townspeople further the idea that Hercules is an other as a man: Nice catch, Jerkules!, That

Commented [KB5]: Here, using names rather than

pronouns helps limit confusion about what character is
doing what

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boy is a menace!, and Hes too dangerous to be around normal people! are but a few. The
latter two of these examples are even paired up with a literal pointed finger, drawing the blame
to Hercules and ridiculing him for not managing to be one of the many (Fig. 2). It is after this
pivotal scene that Hercules admits to Amphitryon that he feels he does not belong, and dreams
of finding a place where he does. Hercules despair mirrors the feelings of millions upon millions
of men around the world. He cannot seem to fit into the mold that society has made for him, and
thus he feels inadequate and inferior to those around him. As a result, he strives to do
everything he can to better fit that mold by changing his attitude, his home, and, most
noticeably, his physique to try and become the man that others want him to be. At no point in
time is it considered that Hercules simply as Hercules is enough. Scenarios like these occur not
only in Hercules teenage years, but reoccur numerous times during his transition into
adulthood as well.
After Hercules and Phil descend upon the city of Thebes, they almost immediately
encounter a group of men and women lamenting the recent string of disasters that have befallen
their town. When Hercules approaches the group upon hearing the citizens desire for someone
to save them, he gestures to himself while saying that it seems like the city could really use a
hero. Hercules literally presents himself as a new and improved man a bona fide hero but
despite his new wardrobe and enhanced build the townspeople of Thebes refuse to acknowledge
him. In fact, the only response he gets is a rather rude Yeah, and who are you? Several of
members of the group even go as far as to laugh at his proclamation. He has never saved a town
or reversed a natural disaster, and is therefore nothing but a chariot chaser. He is not truly a

Commented [KB6]: This makes it sound like the

townspeople of Thebes have met Hercules before, which
they have not
Commented [KB7]: Chronologically in the film, this
moment occurs before the citizens rude comment, and so
having it come afterwards in this paper doesnt work very
well. This is why I somewhat re-ordered this section.

hero not truly a man. When Hercules saves the two young boys from the rockslide, he is only
rewarded with a small round of applause from a few scattered members of the audience. It is not
until he defeats the Hydra that he wins over their approval. Rather, it is not until he meets the
townspeoples version of what constitutes a hero that Hercules is seen as one. Hercules becomes
a man not through being a good person, but by following the rules of society and aligning

Commented [KB8]: This phrase is repeated several times;

I just replaced it with another transition of similar meaning
to help limit any repetitive feeling

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himself with the specific hegemonic masculinity of the city. Later on in the film, during the
Cyclopes attack on Thebes, the townspeople are shown to be cowering in fear asking themselves
about Hercules whereabouts. The oldest member of the group expresses a feeling of certainty
that Hercules will come to their rescue, but in doing so he references a statue of our hero rather
than just making a statement of his confidence in the man (Fig. 3). By doing this he emphasizes
the idea that it is not really Hercules that the city admires; it is the idea of him that they hold
dear. Hercules has finally achieved the ideal of hegemonic masculinity, and in doing so has
become its new model at the cost of losing an identity to call his own. He has become Hercules
the Hero, but has yet to find a place where he is loved and respected as a normal person. In this
way it can be said that even Hercules himself prescribes to the concept of hegemonic
masculinity, as he allows the thoughts and beliefs of the citizens of each city that he lives in to
shape and dictate his thoughts and actions so that he, too, can be just like everyone else.
The Gods
If anyone at all in this movie can be said to prescribe to the concepts of hegemonic
masculinity it is the Gods of Mount Olympus themselves. The main plot of the movie is
unmistakably driven by the fact that Hercules cannot return to his home on Mount Olympus
until he restores his godhood. Read another way, Hercules cannot find the place he truly belongs
until he becomes what the Gods define as a man. When Hercules meets with Zeus for the first
time, their conversation quickly veers away from the happy tones of reunion to the more somber
tones of Hercules insecurities. He asks Zeus why he was left on Earth if he was meant to be on
Olympus, and all Zeus can say in response is that Hercules status as a mortal prevents him from
returning to his birthplace. It is also important to note that when Hercules asks if Zeus and Hera
had loved him, Zeus responds in the past tense: Of course we did, your mother and I loved you
with all our hearts. But someone stole you from us and turned you mortal. This gives the
implication that not only is Hercules not enough to return to Olympus, the loss of his godly

Commented [KB9]: Stylistically, because the term

godhood was used earlier on in the paper, that should be
the form that stays consistent throughout the rest of the
paper as well

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status is what served as the cause for the loss of his parents support in the first place. He is not a
God, and thus is not the ideal, and therefore must work to become one in order to reach his goal.
Again, it is not about accepting Hercules for who he is, but rather forcing him to become
something he is not in order to be accepted.
Throughout the film the terms hero and God can easily be replaced with the term
masculinity and the meaning would essentially remain unchanged. Until Hercules reaches the
point at which the Gods see him as man enough based on their own version of hegemonic
masculinity, he is seen as nothing but someone who should be working harder. Zeus even tells
Hercules that there is nothing he can do personally to assist Hercules on his way; it is
completely up to Hercules to become a true hero, though he is given absolutely no context as
to what that might mean. Hegemonic masculinity works in a very similar fashion. Each society,
culture, and sometimes even generation has their own concept of what the ideal man is, and
while that ideal is toted around on a pedestal for everyone to see there is not a single average
male citizen that is given a clue in regards to how to achieve it. Those men are instead ridiculed
for not grasping the concept sooner. Further on in the film, following Hercules rise to fame, he
returns once more to meet with Zeus to ask to return to Olympus. Zeus once again denies him
access, stating that while Hercules has been working very hard he is not quite at the level that
the Gods expect him to attain. At this Hercules becomes agitated and begins to bring up all of his
achievements to date as well as his great amount of popularity, but Zeus awkwardly stands his
ground, leaving the temple with only the words look inside your heart.
Immediately after this, Hercules falls to the ground in anguish (Fig. 4). There seems to
be nothing he can do to achieve the ideal he is looking for despite all of his work to appeal to
others. He is utterly distraught by this fact, and his feelings of inadequacy in his own masculinity
compared to the supposed ideal of the gods can be seen in how his form is juxtaposed with that
of Zeus statue. Hercules is small and hunched over while Zeus sits proud and tall (Fig. 5). Even

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though Hercules is supposed to be able to reach Zeus godly ideal, he is lost without anywhere to
go and no one to truly turn to for help. In the real world many men also feel this way, as the
hegemonic masculinity of the modern era often prevents men from expressing how they truly
feel.4 Men, Hercules included, tend to follow the examples of those before them in order to
determine how they should act, think, and live, but the result of this is that they often are seen as
the act they are putting on rather than the person they truly are. In Hercules case, this faade
only breaks when the size of the task in front of him becomes fully apparent: no matter what he
does he will never truly be able to reach the standard the Gods are looking for. In the next scene,
Hercules literally exclaims Whats the point?! to Phil while Phil reads off the teams newest
daily schedule. He is so overcome by grief at the thought of never being able to become what
others want that his repressed emotions actually explode out of him. For the briefest of
moments the Hercules inside the hero, the Hercules inside the faade of hegemonic masculinity,
becomes apparent. This moment quickly vanishes, however, when he is reintroduced to Megara,
causing his outer shield of manliness to reappear almost instantaneously.
Megara
Across space and across time, men have always acted differently around women than
they have around each other.5 Oftentimes this is a direct result of the hegemonic masculinity in
play: men cannot act freely around women because they have to prove that they are masculine
enough to be worth a second look. Evolutionarily this makes sense because the goal of the
human race has always been to survive, but in modern times there is no real threat of mass
extinction and thus there should be no real reason to act in an over the top manner in the
presence of the opposite sex. Regardless, many men fall into the trap of hegemonic masculinity,
and though he isnt real Hercules shows us that he is unable to escape the traps pull either.
Hercules and Meg first meet while Hercules is en route to Thebes with Phil and Pegasus.
Meg has found herself in an altercation with a river guardian, and Hercules sees it as his duty as

Commented [KB10]: Do you have a source to back this

claim?

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a hero (man) to help this D.I.D (damsel in distress). He walks up to the pair in an exaggerated
manner, forces his voice deeper, and puffs out his chest, demanding that the river guardian set
Meg free (Figs. 6.1 and 6.2). As this is his first real act as a full blown hero Hercules actions are
stiff and obviously rehearsed. He is still playing the part of the hero by acting as he has been
taught a hero should. To be more precise, he is emphasizing his masculine attributes (his body
and voice) to try and prove that he is aligned with societys idea of what a man should be. His
performance is briefly cut off when Megara tells him to leave, causing him to deflate slightly and
his voice to return to his normal pitch, but he quickly remembers his training and puts the mask
of masculinity right back on (Figs. 7.1 and 7.2). In this short exchange one can clearly see the
effects of hegemonic masculinity. Hercules sticks to a very strict script of proper speech and
action, and is thrown off when he is faced with something that doesnt go along with the ideas of
masculinity that he has brought himself into alignment with. The idea that Hercules journey
towards masculinity is one he must walk alone is accentuated again after Hercules is sent flying
by the river guardians punch. Pegasus, Hercules trusty steed, immediately attempts to go help
in the fight, but Phil forces him to stop and says that Hes gotta do it on his own. It is not only
in Hercules actions around Meg that we see the effects of hegemonic masculinity, however. Meg
herself has a deep rooted belief in the idea that all men act and think a certain way, and it is not
until nearly the end of the movie that she overcomes this sort of thinking.
It is revealed to us during the course of the film that Megs previous love left her behind
for someone else after she quite literally gave up everything to save him. As a result her opinion
of men in general is quite negative, and she refuses to see Hercules as someone who is his own
person. She is not striving to meet the expectations of masculinity herself, but is nonetheless
convinced that such expectations exist and therefore cause all men to act in certain ways. Meg
refers to masculinity in an extremely sarcastic way throughout the film. To try and take Hercules
down a peg she repeatedly refers to him as Wonder Boy, showing that in her eyes, despite his
clear physical strength, he is no more a man than she is. Other examples of Megs casual digs

Commented [KB11]: Consider your audience: will

Everyone know that this is a play on words based on a direct
quote from the movie? Or only experts in the field?

10
at masculinity include sarcastically asking if Hercules had a name along with all those rippling
pectorals, telling him that Phil (an older man) can explain what she means when she says men
think no means yes and get lost means take me Im yours, and saying that shes a big tough
girl when Hercules asks if shell be alright walking by herself (Fig. 8). In each of these instances
Megara is drawing attention to a different aspect of masculinity. She comments on how mens
physiques are most often their defining feature, that it is the duty of men to know and explain to
others how sex works and to actively seek it out, and that being big and tough are really the only
things men see as important. To her, these expectations for manhood are ludicrous and thus she
treats them as jokes by using a dry and sarcastic tone of voice. Nevertheless, she still believes
that they are present because every man that she meets is similar on some level to every man
that she has met before. This is why she refuses to believe Hercules has honest intentions
towards her until they spend an entire day alone: she cannot trust him because all men have an
unspoken code that they must behave a certain way. In the end this is likely why she continues
to call Hercules Wonder Boy even though he has proven himself as a hero. Boys, as they are
not full grown men, have yet to fully embrace the ideas behind hegemonic masculinity.
Hercules, in spite of his countless attempts to do so, remains true to himself throughout the film
and is unable to ever fully reach the masculine ideal until he abandons all pretense and acts
based on his own feelings. In doing so he shows that he, like the boy he was in the beginning of
the film, has yet to solidify his spot within the realm of hegemonic masculinity. For Meg this is a
good thing as it shows he can be trusted, but for Hercules himself and for many men in the real
world the dichotomy between the self and the ideal is almost too much to bear.
Conclusion
The main theme music of Hercules is the song entitled Go the Distance. In this song
Hercules discusses his feelings of isolation from everyone else and how he would go most
anywhere to find where he belongs. He is desperate to fit in and find his place in society, and

Commented [KB12]: Awkward phrasing, consider

revising

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feels that the only way to do so is to follow the ideals that hegemonic masculinity has set out for
him. He becomes the physically strong hero that the people around him desire, and he
eventually becomes the emotionally strong hero that the Gods of Olympus desire, but it is not
until the very end of the movie that Hercules is truly accepted. Even then, while it is true that
Hercules has finally achieved a place in society, it was only after he followed the rules of others
that he was able to do so. Hegemonic masculinity prevents men from ever truly acting as
themselves or being seen as anything but a player in the larger game of life. It gives them a strict
set of rules that absolutely must be followed in order to prevent all sorts of penalties. Hercules
experiences this sort of world first hand, as the thoughts, actions, and beliefs of those around
him dictate his own thoughts and actions throughout the film. Fortunately, societys views are
beginning to change. Men are still expected to act in certain ways, but the consequences for
deviating from those norms are slowly decreasing in severity. To go the distance has become
more about being a decent person than about being the perfect man. By the end of the film
Hercules is beginning to grasp this concept, and with any luck men in the real world will come to
grasp it more strongly in the coming years as well.

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Notes
1. Miriam-Webster, s.v. feminism, accessed November 11, 2015, http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/feminism
2. 1. Michael Kimmel, The Gendered Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 10-11.
In his book Kimmel presents the arguments that the differences among men and women are
much greater than the differences between the two, and that gender differences are the outcome
of gender inequality rather than the other way around. To do so he brings in data from a variety
of sources and applies it in a variety of different way, including using the concept of hegemonic
masculinity to describe the reasons behind male actions and beliefs.
3. Michael Kimmel, The Gendered Society (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 5-8.
4. Brett A. S. Martin and Juergen Gnoth, Is the Marlboro Man the Only Alternative? The Role
of Gender Identity and Self-Construal Salience in Evaluations of Male Models, Marketing
Letters 20 (Dec., 2009): 353.
In this article the researchers quote both their own research with male models and the research
of others with other types of men to prove the idea that men undergo a great deal of societal
pressure which can cause them to think, act, and feel in certain ways.
5. I make this statement in accordance with the actions and feelings of the majority of the male
group. However, this statement in no way represents the totality of man.

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Bibliography
Kimmel, Michael. The Gendered Society. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Martin, B. A. S., & Gnoth, J.. (2009). Is the Marlboro Man the Only Alternative? The Role of
Gender Identity and Self-Construal Salience in Evaluations of Male Models. Marketing
Letters, 20(4), 353367.
Miriam-Webster, s.v. feminism.

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Illustrations

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2
Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

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Figure 6.1

Figure 7.1

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 6.2

Figure 7.2