Paul Blart-Race and Gender Cop

Well, Paul Blart Mall Cop is another reminder that I should watch everything, regardless of my uniformed assessment of its value to society.

Honestly, I responded to the previews by laughing over some of its stupid jokes around masculinity, size and racial stereotypes, but was not going to spend $10 dollars to see it. Fast forward to my flight home from Germany. It was on, my sister was watching it, and I think the recycled air started to loose some O2 because I decided to give it a whirl.

Don't get me wrong. The movie endlessly reproduces stereotypes and jokes but there always seems to be a flip side to them, which is what makes this film refreshing.

In terms of race: While the film is dominated with white characters (except for one important one I'll get to in a second), there is a whole cast of supporting characters of all colors. And the people of color aren't just criminals (although some of them are), we also see men of color as police officers. Paul is also seen socializing with men of color outside of work. Women of color are hard to come by in this film, but there is one imporant exception.

Paul Blart is a single father (that's right-a single father...he's living with his mother who is clearly the head of the household...but he's still a single father and a good one a that!) to a girl who is biracial: white and Latino. And she looks Latino too! The character Maya (played by Raini Rodriguez) is the product of Blart's relationship with a Mexican woman who for some reason was not allowed to stay in the US (I think...I was in the bathroom for that part of it). CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! A white man with his daughter of color?! I know, I was excited. And while Maya mentions something about her mom not being able to be with them, they don't have long conversations about the race thing, which in this film, makes interracial families normal. And that's cool.

The largest (in terms of most screen time, not physical size-that is an important distinction to make in this film!) Asian character, Pahud (played by Adhir Kalyan) speaks with a stereotypically heavy Indian accent and we see him in a bedroom filled to the brim with what Americans have been told are 'Indian' (posters and art of Hindu gods, Indian looking women in belly-dancing like costumes, etc). Of course Pahud could live in a room like that, there are people that do, but this screemed STEREOTYPE. That being said, Paul Blart meets Pahud when he (Blart) confisakes Pahud's ex-girlfriend's phone at the mall, which Pahud calls to attempt to get his ex back. In that moment, we see Pahud morn the loss of the relationship. I don't remember enough to know if he just talked about his ex's beauty, but the emotionally vulnerable image of an Indian man isn't one I had seen before Slumdog, and I liked seeing it here.

In terms of gender, there are stereotypes and not all around. The main female character of the film, Amy (played by Jayma Mays-who is also a staple of my soon-to-be-new-favorite-show Glee), is quite and passive and painted as the princess who needs to be rescued. But her foil is clearly Maya Blart, who at the tender age of 14ish is strong and smart. A close evaluationg of Amy's nonverbal actions reveals her resistance to the parade of slimy men vying for her attention, but I wouldn't call her a feminist's role model. And not to ruin the ending, but of course she and Blart get married, as if that is the ultimate happy ending.

Masculinity is a huge part of this film, and at the end of the day, I think PBMC effectively questions what we value in a man. There are all types of men in this film-big and little, white and not, 'sexy' and not. They are pretty much all ridiculed at some point and that forces us to thing carefully about what is really important in a friend, husband and father. There is the country club blond daddies boy who bullies everyone around him, but when he is held hostige we seem him crack rediculously soon under the pressure. We have the cops that make fun of Blart because of his size, but they end of being the bad guys. We even have a nice guy, but he also ends up being not so nice. Then there is Blart. A man with low self esteme who we laugh at while he blubbers like a baby, but he uses his intelligence (and size) to save this mall, and the women, he so desperately loves.

At the end of the day, Blart's mustache still bothers me. But if I were teaching in the fall, I would pull this out. There is clearly an overarching message that relies on stereotypes and conventions to tell its story, but there is enough gray there that I think it lends itself to a minute or two of reflection. And unlike Harold and Kumar there is actually a point to the film, a point that may persuade me to buy it. If its on sale.