Blog Prompt #3 - Steven Scherer

2009 Award-Winning Disney/Pixar Production: Up

It’s interesting to consider Disney/Pixar’s Up through the lens of gender and sexuality because of the broad range of related matters it encompasses: father/son relationships, being an old man, a love story, and many others. I find most interesting to consider how the film portrays masculinity (and even femininity) because the story is so centered on the grandfather/grandson relationship as well as adventure.

Right at the beginning of the film, the love story between aspiring adventurers Ellie and Carl both contrasts femininity and masculinity and sets the background for the rest of the movie. Carl’s commitment to Ellie is the driving force behind his every action in the film. It is interesting how the young Carl has feminine characteristics such as excessive shyness and young Ellie is an eccentric, agressive tomboy.

When Carl is much older, he has masculine “grumpy old man” traits. He is quite stubborn, critical of new development, and not very friendly to those who are not in line with his interests, much like a stereotypical elderly male.

Carl meets Russell while Russell is trying to earn his final merit badge (assisting the elderly) for Wilderness Explorers, an organization that appears to be analogous to the Boy Scouts of America. The situation is quite ironic because Russell is not depicted as a very masculine boy; he is quite heavy with no defined muscles. Russell unintentionally becomes part of Carl’s adventure when he is on the porch as Carl lifts off. Carl and Russell spend the rest of the show bonding and exploring the outdoor world together, a trait often associated with masculine relationships.

Dug, a dog that discovers Carl and Russell in the story, also adds to the masculine element. The common cliché “dog is a man’s best friend” is reinforced in Up; Russell quickly attaches to Dug and Dug quickly becomes obedient to Russell and Carl, despite his pack leader’s wishes.

At the end of the story, Russell tells Carl that his father will not be at the ceremony to watch Russell receive his final merit badge and become a Senior Explorer. Carl, continuing and fulfilling the grandfather/grandson relationship, attends the ceremony to present Russell his final merit badge as well as the “Ellie Badge.”

In my opinion, the story frames adventure as a trait of masculinity, even though Ellie was quite an adventurer herself. Carl and Russell build an instant grandfather/grandson type relationship over the common interest of adventure (although Carl was quite stubborn at first). Perhaps Carl sees someone like the younger version of himself in Russell and feels obliged to appeal to Russell’s sense of adventure.

Prompt #1 - Steven Scherer

Hello everyone,

My name is Steven Scherer and I am from Continental, Ohio. Continental is a rather small village in northwestern Ohio. In northwest Ohio, potholes are hills and river valleys are about as close as we get to mountains. I sleep less than a hundred feet from a cornfield (or soybeans, wheat, and other crops) when I am at home. Probably the worst thing about my hometown and the surrounding area is driving. Scenery: cornfields.

I attended Continental High School before coming to The Ohio State University to pursue a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering in the Honors program. After attending a high school that was less than a half mile from where I live, long campus walks at Ohio State are something I am definitely not used to. I was active in many organizations at my high school and enjoyed being a leader in some of them. As time goes on, I am slowly becoming more and more involved here at Ohio State. I attend Real Life OSU on Wednesdays and Thursdays. I'm also becoming more involved in the Design, Build, Fly group here at Ohio State.

With a major like aerospace engineering, you might be able to imagine that I am quite passionate about things such as aviation, space, and cutting-edge technology. I enjoy launching model rockets, flying remote-controlled aircraft, stargazing, watching meteor showers, and playing ultimate frisbee. In May 2010, I was lucky enough to watch the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis for the STS-132 Mission. In the summer of 2011, I was selected for a pre-college internship at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

If you ever really got to know me, you would quickly learn that slightly behind my aerospace fascinations and passions are my interests in Apple, Inc. and Starbucks. Okay, I know what you're thinking. Hipster? Freak? Fanboy? Cult follower? No. It's not the same. Unlike most Apple "fanboys," I tend to actually know what I'm talking about most of the time. I know that sounds pretty horrible or maybe downright mean, but I don't like Apple, Inc. because they are Apple, Inc. I don't like Apple, Inc. because I was a past follower of Steve Jobs. I have a deep respect for their design engineers and the crazy success of the company. I don't like everything Apple does and I don't proclaim every Starbucks drink is unrivaled (although many are). I happen to like coffee. I also happen to like espresso beverages. Coincidentally, I like Starbucks espresso beverages better than any other I've ever had. Oh, and all that money I paid for the perfect latte? It goes to one of the few companies in the world that pays for health insurance and gives pretty decent benefits to their part-time workers. I think it's well worth it, but many people don't hold the same opinion, and that's just fine with me. We are who we are. We might as well Think Different.