Sexualized Saturdays: Attack the Block’s Performance of Masculinity

As we’ve previously covered, the 2011 sci-fi Attack the Block makes some fantastic points about racism and racial inequality. Equally as important, though, is the script’s focus on performance of masculinity. Attack the Block has a mostly male cast, and each of them starts out acting very stereotypically masculine—they curse at each other; they rob people; they use weapons; they buy, sell, and use drugs. They believe that behaving this way will naturally lead to respect and acknowledgment from their peers and from society. However, over the course of the movie, each character learns to perform masculinity in a way that’s less harmful and more responsible.

Spoilers for Attack the Block below.

“In the Streets It’s Getting Hot”: Attack the Block and Racial Inequality

Over the weekend, in a spectacular use of time that only goes to show how very impressive my decision-making skills are, I revisited a lot of my favorite Simon Pegg and Nick Frost collaborations. Eventually, through gratuitous use of Wikipedia, I happened upon a lesser-known film called Attack the Block, the 2011 directorial debut of Pegg and Frost collaborator Joe Cornish. Did I watch it? Yes, I did. Like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, Attack the Block is in many ways a send-up of a popular genre (this time, alien invasions). It’s suspenseful, engaging, and hilarious. Most of all, it’s thought-provoking: it has a level of diversity that is rarely found in sci-fi, and uses its cast to make some pointed racial commentary.

Spoilers for Attack the Block below.