Modern Florida Man Odyssey

July 11, 2018 10:28 AM

Helena Fitzgerald on how Magic Mike XXL both follows and transcends Joseph Campbell’s traditional Hero’s Journey: Campbell’s hero appeals both to capitalism and to the misogyny built into our capitalist society and others like it. Magic Mike, on the other hand, is a story about men doing great things that manages to avoid all the traps of the great man narratives, and the specific ways in which it deviates from these narratives demonstrates exactly what is so useful and maybe even revolutionary about it... Magical Michael is but a simple furniture maker, trying to run a business, attempting to gain enough financial stability to provide healthcare to his one employee. But then — he hears the call.
posted by ChuraChura (21 comments total)

" [B]ecause Magic Mike XXL cares about joy instead of victory." Yup!
posted by MonkeyToes at 10:39 AM on July 11, 2018

This article is a thing of wonder. Thank you for posting it.
posted by tofu_crouton at 10:45 AM on July 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

MAGICAL MICHAEL
posted by poffin boffin at 10:47 AM on July 11, 2018 [6 favorites]

FanFare XXL.
posted by MonkeyToes at 11:00 AM on July 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

Yes. YES.
posted by Kitteh at 11:05 AM on July 11, 2018

This is giving me LIFE today. Thank you.
posted by Medieval Maven at 11:06 AM on July 11, 2018

it is simultaneously so wonderful and so difficult to read stuff like this: wonderful should speak for itself, and difficult because i will be forced throughout life to read lesser things, written by men, whose opinions become more and more meaningless to me by the hour.
posted by poffin boffin at 11:14 AM on July 11, 2018 [26 favorites]

Imagine if, instead of the interminable, lugubrious 14 hours of endings at the end of the Lord of the Rings movies, there was just a hot dance-freaking scene of comparable length.

Loved this. Thank you!
posted by materialgirl at 11:18 AM on July 11, 2018 [4 favorites]

Made my day and lifted me from the Existential Pits.
posted by Peach at 11:35 AM on July 11, 2018

Instead of a comment, sexy dancing.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:37 AM on July 11, 2018 [17 favorites]

I, just this very week, in a particularly hard day in a particularly hard month, watched both the MM movies for the first time. And those movies were an unexpected balm. Especially, especially MMXXL! I have spent the last two days essentially evangelizing to my friends about the glory of this movie and demanding they watch it making several of these very same points. And then today, there is this FPP on the perfect article (excepting Roxane Gay’s) this years old movie that helped get me through this week. It is a hell of a coincidence, but I will take this tiny moment of feeling seen. And I am so glad that the movie hit such sweet spot for so many. Heh.

I would link to Gay’s article, but I am on my phone. But you can find it in the fanfare thread linked above.

Thanks for this post and article!
posted by Hopeful and Cynical at 12:31 PM on July 11, 2018 [5 favorites]

I hit subscribe SO FAST. More like this please, both the movie and the essay.
posted by Space Kitty at 12:43 PM on July 11, 2018

The Hero With A Thousand Faces remains as popular with high school English classes as it is with men in Reddit forums who think the fall of Rome is somehow illustrative of why women won’t sleep with them.
posted by supermedusa at 2:05 PM on July 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

Imma gonna leave y'all some links from YouTube and Graham Norton:

Channing Tatum dance moves on Graham Norton
Anne Hathaway Loves Magic Mike with Michael McConaughey
Channing Tatum on Magic Mike 2 Secret Moves
Matt McConaughey on stripping on Magic Mike

Really, there seems to be alot of YouTube interviews with the Magic Mike cast... I will leave you to that...research.
posted by jadepearl at 4:41 PM on July 11, 2018 [3 favorites]

Magic Mike’s road trip to a Myrtle Beach stripper convention is a story for our time to rival The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Lord of The Rings, and Star Wars. In fact, it could probably replace any or all of these things and the culture would benefit.

Quoted for truth.

Mike is called — to dance. He cannot help but dance, his nigh-magical skill at sexdancing taking over against his conscious wishes.

Sexdancing, huh?

Imagine, for a moment, that all the big traditional Hero’s Journey stories replaced their turgid third acts with a extremely adult and incredibly joyful extended sexdance sequence. Imagine if instead of everyone growing up to be some kind of resigned 35-year-old cop, the Harry Potter books just ended abruptly a few chapters into Book Six and everything else was replaced with pointless sexy dancing.

The fanfiction almost writes itself. Though it really ought to be "joyful" instead of "pointless".
posted by Margalo Epps at 5:28 PM on July 11, 2018 [2 favorites]

I'm amazed the event this was told at existed. I wish I could have gone.

MAH PONY.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:56 PM on July 11, 2018

Why is the advertisement being shown to me, while reading this article, is the choice between a catapult vs. mfa with catapult being the winner? The next bubbly line is about courses in writing held in NYC. But I chose catapult for this hero's journey, man! I don't need no education just sexydancing, according to the article, a blow against Campbellian narrative. Also, it is a pity Northrop Frye does not get some residuals from all the Archetype and hero talk.
posted by jadepearl at 10:31 PM on July 11, 2018 [1 favorite]

Metafilter: an extremely adult and incredibly joyful extended sexdance
posted by otherchaz at 8:49 AM on July 12, 2018

Oh, I watched the entire video of this show and it was comedy gold, y'all.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:08 AM on July 12, 2018

I am reminded if this lip sync battle.
posted by gryftir at 11:04 AM on July 12, 2018

I have an unashamed love for Magic Mike XXL, I think it's better than the first one. It just is what it is, with no pretensions, no shame, pure joy and gyrations. It's so surprisingly respectful of everyone involved, particularly all the women and I just LOVE the ending that's basically "And a Good Night Was Had By All The End" focused on friendships.

Ah why haven't I gone into the FanFare thread for this movie?? Squee!
posted by like_neon at 7:41 AM on July 17, 2018 [1 favorite]