Where You Goin'?

In…

I’M GOIN’ IN!

Ah… the fearless white male.

I can’t say how many times I’ve heard the cliché line, “I’M GOIN’ IN.”  But, trust me, its been lots of times.

One of the reasons this blog was conceived was because of some of the disturbing images in film I have observed over the years. Naturally, during those viewings, I wasn’t exactly sitting down with a pen and pad. 

Now that I publish the blog, I am trying to recall some of the films that I’ve seen which contain various unpalatable images. This article discusses, in particular, the utterance of the ubiquitous, sanguine decree, “I’m goin’ in!”  Because my memory fails me, I am unable to present specific examples of films in which I’ve heard this.  Can you?

That damn fearless white male, again. LMAO. Of course, as you know, I’ve touched on these matters before. See the White Way category. 

“I’m goin’ in!” is a decidedly overused phrase –- so much so that sometimes, in anticipation of the actor speaking the words, my friend and I actually voice the words before the actor does. I think there was a time or two when we hit it on the mark... when that archetype of the grand species whitis malis actually said the words after we did! But often, we just say the phrase, even when the actor doesn’t. The other recurrent pattern is when instead of voicing the words, the actor executes the action instead.

Are you guys aware of the frequency with which the white male hero character utters these words? Have you ever noticed it? It’s quite common, actually. 

The prevailing attitude and underlying message is, “Bring it on. No problem. Whitis Malis can handle it. Soooooooooo…

• Open the door – even though a 200 foot tidal wave awaits you
• Turn the corner – even though there are 4,238 people shooting, armed with Uzis
• Jump into the water – even though it’s shark-infested
• Enter the room – even though it’s filled with poisonous gas and you have no mask
• Run into that building – that flame-filled, smoke-filled building
• Crawl through that air conditioner shaft…

ROTFLMAO

Didn’t Jason Patric repeat the cliché in Speed 2:  Cruise Control (1997)? I don’t remember where he was going, but he was “goin’ in” to save the world… okay not the world -– the people on the ship. But still. And of course, he saved them.

Am I hallucinating or did George Clooney or someone else say it in The Perfect Storm (2000)?

Ah… the forever fearless… triumphing in spite of the odds… courage… bravery… confidence… unswayed… decisive…  determined…

Martyrs. LOL. No, that’s not true really. It would imply suffering. These dudes don’t even break a sweat. And that’s part of the point of this article. Not only are they completely unafraid, but when they do “go in,” once they’re “in” it all goes so smoothly. No scratches. No sweats. No trembling in terror. No inability to breathe. No racing heartbeat. No knees buckling. No tears. No second guessing.

ROTFLMAO.  :)

Image, y’all. Image.

And so there she is, that 8-year-old Japanese girl in Tokyo –- marveling at the manliness of the American whitis malis. Yes. Yes. She marvels. And she probably still marvels when she is 15 and 20 and 35. But that’s another story.

Anyway, can you think of at least one movie in which whitis malis says, “I’m goin’ in”? I’d love to get a list going.

Comments

[Mes Deux Cents]

Hi TBA!

Welcome back! I missed your interesting posts.

The first film that came to mind was Airforce One with Harrison Ford. I'm not sure if he ever used the phrase I'm going in but there were quite a few times when he very well could have.

The thing about film that many people forget is that it's propaganda. In this example the message is that White men can handle anything. And it's worth noting that there are very few situations like that in films starring Black men.

Also this is a gender thing because women don't usually end up in those situations in film.

Yay you're back!

[theblackactor.com]

@ Mes Deux

Hiya, Mes Deux: Thank you soooooooo much for the kind welcome and the kind words. :) And yup, you make a very interesting point -- on film, women never end up in situations like that. So true. Black men rarely do, either.

[Nikki]

But How many times have a Black man or woman been the star of an action movie? When they are, they say something similar as well, Will Smith, Sam Jackson , Jodie Foster etc. It's all cliche. This is more of a problem with
the screenwriters IMO.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Nikki

Really? I don't recall the constant repetition of this from other (white women and black men) action stars.

Could be I haven't paid attention.

[Nikki]

I think the problem lies within the casting and the writing. There aren't really that many Black men and White Women that are stars in Big Action movies. I can name numerous films

The Last Kiss Goodnight, Sam Jackson and Geena Davis.
Thelma and Louise
Flight Plan-Jodie Foster
Black actor in Saw ( the last one)
Will Smith- Independence Day, probably more just can't remember them

Almost any action film there's a line like that where the main character says that in a very dangerous situation.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Nikki

Okay. Point taken. :)

[LaJane Galt]

I feel like I heard this in Die Hard.

Does Ripley in Aliens count?

[Shion]

Funny, I remember watching "Tales From The Hood" a couple of years ago the last segment starring Lamont Bentley as this gangbanger who gets captured by a mad female scientist. She gives him a choice about participating in an experiment.Without asking any questions, the mofo says "Let's Do This"......ol' boy ended up dying!!?!!
In a real world instance, I heard during 9/11, some of the passengers that tried to overtake the plane from the terrorists said "Let's Roll"

[Nikki]

But I do agree with the Great White Male syndrome, that's why they're cast in these type of roles more often than Black Men and White Women.

[theblackactor.com]

@ La Jane

Die Hard sounds like a good movie to have heard this in. :) But I don't remember. Ripley counts if it's a man.

@ Shion

Thank you, Shion!

@ Nikki

I'm just tiring of seeing this white male syndrome and bothered by the deeper meaning of its imageery. Oh well.

[aulelia]

great post. this is jokes. it is all about power and the obsession for looking powerful!

[theblackactor.com]

@ Aulelia

They are powerful. They know they are powerful. This power reveals itself in many ways -- in the corporate world, in the sports world -- hell, in the whole world. So, it's no surprise this should show cinematically.

[Orville]

Remember Hollywood is dominated by white heteosexual males. Hollywood revolves around white male dominance so of course they are going to make sure they are the most powerful, successful men. It is also the reason Asian American men are depicted as inferior and emasculated consistently in Hollywood films.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Orville

Orville, I totally agree.

[Dana]

Didn't Wesley Snipes mine this genre pretty thoroughly in his day?

People forget about him, but he could deliver the goods as the muscle flexing, grimly determined action hero.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Dana

Yes; I think he held his own for a minute there.