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Madison Chiu

Dr. Tabitha Clark

ENGW1111

April 18, 2022

Societal Change Through the Lens of Men In Black

Black suits, black ties, black sunglasses, and a neuralyzer in hand They are the Men in

Black. The Men in Black franchise is based off the science fiction comic book written by Author

Lowell Cunningham, but movie adaptation trilogy is considered a classic film series in American

culture directed by acclaimed director Barry Sonnenfeld (“Men in Black.”). There have been

three releases in the trilogy since the first release in1997, but it should be noted that changes

from the 1997 release to the 2002 release are significant as times changed. Men in Black is a

private non-government agency that surveillances extraterrestrial activity on Earth. The movies

follow the missions of veteran agent K and newly recruited agent J. The 1997 release had

engrossed a total of $589,390,539 worldwide, well received during opening weekend

(“Men in Black.”). Ed Solomon articulates the 1997 release as “Men in Black is not out to

change your life, but in a time of shoddily made clone jobs, escapism crafted this artfully

deserves a ‘bravo’” (James). The 2002 release also garnered a gross total of $445,135,288

but was not as well received as the original (“Men in Black II.”). A stark contrast to the

reviews of the 1997 release, Anna Hornaday describes the release as “More Ick to the

Inch but a Pale Imitation to the Original” (ANN). Because of the franchise’s ability to

capture the audience’s attention, the franchise has managed to stay relevant for two

decades, managing to have a Universal Studios ride dedicated to it and other additions to
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the franchise. Thus, allowing an examination of the shift in the themes of race and gender

during each release times.

The theme of race is significant, especially seen in portrayals of certain races, in

the Men in Black I compared to Men in Black II and noticeably reduced.. The films are

reflections of society especially in their re-storytelling of racism, stereotypes, and other

exclusionary methods mainly in a human vs aliens manner. An example of this can be

seen in the first scene of the Men in Black I. A peak into the red van driving in the night

through the Arizona desert are Spanish-speaking people dressed in unfitted and worn

clothing packed together with no room for personal space ( Men in Black). Their staging

and costuming suggest that they are illegal immigrants, playing into the stereotypical

depictions of illegal immigrants. Another portrayal of stereotypes is seen in the latter half

of the film highlighted through costuming. When Edgar runs after stealing the galaxy on

Orion’s belt, he hijacks a taxi, throwing the taxi driver onto the ground ( Men in Black).

The taxi driver dons a turban, insinuating he is Sikh, an Indian religion, playing into the

stereotypical taxi driver trope. In addition to the costuming of depictions of certain races,

the characters’ dialogue and action add to the film’s themes of racism. This is displayed

in the interaction between Agent K and Jack Jeebs, the owner of a pawn shop. Agent K

confronts Jeebs, deadpanning “Why do you lie to me? I hate it when you lie.” and then

Jeebs in the head (Men in Black). Throughout the confrontation, Jeebs noticeably becomes

nervous and starts stuttering, indicating his fear of K. Suggesting that K has shot his head

multiple times previously without flinching, thus treating Jeebs as less than human. To

further reinforce the theme of human vs aliens can be seen in the dialogue being used to
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describe aliens in the opening scene. Agent K explicitly uses the language “protecting us

from dangerous aliens,” which is the first characterization of aliens that the audience

receives (Men in Black). Thus, enforcing a boundary between aliens and humans.

On the other hand, themes of race are noticeably reduced, but it is still prominent. The

film was released a year after the 9/11 attacks which severely impacted the lives of millions of

Americans, thus the need for the plot shift became apparent. It shifts the focus from action

against aliens to living amongst them and their more human side. This can first be seen in the

costume portrayal of aliens. To convince post-neuralyzed Agent K to work for the organization

again, J reveals the identities of his coworkers (Men in Black II). In this scene, the aliens take

their realistic human masks off and reveal the diverse races of aliens working in the post-office.

Each human costume and alien is unique and differ in race. Subsequently, the portrayal of

different races working together represent the diversity in the workplace, which is a stark

contrast to the first film’s stereotypical portrayal of workers. Although a more diversified cast

and reduced amounts of stereotypes, remnants of a divide of “us vs. them” remain. This can be

seen in a scene where Agent J and K open a locker filled with tiny aliens. The aliens are filmed

from a higher angle, looking up to both agents, and chant “All hail Jay!” (Men in Black II);

whereas when Agent J and K are filmed, the angle is lower and they tower over the alien

population, implying that there is a power dynamic between the two. Although far from being

representative of our society, its improvement is still significant.

Another apparent theme that can be seen in the franchise is the portrayal of gender roles

and the differences between MiB I and MiB II are significant. In the MiB I the portrayal of

women can first be determined in the scene where the mortician is being held in place by the
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main antagonist, Edward. In the scene, she is unable to explicitly ask for help and instead resorts

to a flirty, “I don’t know where the cat is right now…but maybe you could take me with you”

(Men in Black). As she is the only prominent female role, this characterizes her as both helpless,

fitting the “damsel in distress” trope. Her trope of being helpless is reinforced when she is taken

captive and thrown over Edgar’s shoulder and only saved when Agent K and J intervene (Men in

Black). This dynamic also characterizes men in the “hero” role, reinforcing that men are needed

to save women. This dynamic is then shifted at the end of the film through its staging, although

not as impactful. In one of the last scenes, Agent K and Agent J are ultimately saved by the

mortician (Men in Black). After blasting the alien, she is filmed from a lower angle standing

above both agents while they are on the ground. This slight shift in dynamic represents the

everchanging gender roles from the 1990s to early 2000s.

MiB II not only becomes diverse in its cast, but in the ways that gender roles are

portrayed—specifically women. In one of the first scenes, Laura is given characterized by her

job at a dingy pizza place, soft pixie cut, and casual clothing. She earns “employe” of the month

and her moment is immediately shut down when the owner orders her to “bring up a case of

mountain dew from the basement” (Men in Black II). This portrays her as a person unable to

stand her ground, similar to the mortician in MiB I. This portrayal is then shifted when she gets

interrogated about the death of the pizza store owner. When J enters the store, he is greeted by

the site of other agents trying to piece together the story of the crime, while Laura is defensively

arguing, “I won’t answer any more of your questions until you answer mine” (Men in Black II).

The shift in her original portrayal allows her character to have more depth from early-on into the

story. Instead of being helpless, she doesn’t back down when confronted, which demonstrates
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her strength and strong-will, unlike the first film. Ultimately, the plot of the film is resolved

when she chooses to return to her home planet to save the Earth from destruction, once again

reinforcing her free-will and the ability to make her own decisions.

Despite the short 5-year time span between the two films, there were significant changes

and improvements to themes of race and gender reflective of society progressing to be more

diverse and traditional gender roles beginning to change. Although the films aren’t perfect in

their representation of these themes, the overall growth of society is portrayed, which is

incredibly apparent when comparing the MiB II to MiB I. After the release of the two films, there

have been an addition of two more films to the franchise, with significant changes to the

characters to reflect our everchanging growth in society to be more inclusive and diverse.
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Works Cited

Hornaday, Ann. Special to The,Washington Post. "A Waste of Slime: 'Men in Black II': More

Ick to the Inch but a Pale Imitation of the Original." The Washington Post (1974-), Jul 03 2002,

p. 2. ProQuest.  Web. 30 Mar. 2022 .

James, Christine. "REVIEWS: MEN IN BLACK 1/2." Boxoffice. Aug 01 1997:

48. ProQuest.  Web. 30 Mar. 2022 .

Brennan, Judy. SPECIAL TO,THE TIMES. "'Men in Black': Color these Guys Green: Box

Office: The Sci-Fi Comedy Pulls in $18.8 Million in its First 28 Hours, a Little Short of 'ID4's'

Holiday Mark." Los Angeles Times (1996-), Jul 04 1997, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. 30 Mar. 2022 .

“Lowell Cunningham.” IMDb, IMDb.com, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0192384/.

“Men in Black II.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 3 July 2002, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120912/.

“Men in Black.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 2 July 1997, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119654/.

Men in Black. Sonnenfeld, Barry, director. Columbia Pictures. 1997

Men in Black II. Sonnenfeld, Barry, director. Columbia Pictures. 2002