“You know, for a clownfish, he really isn’t that funny”: Implications of Grief and Masculinity Through a Narrative Analysis of Finding Nemo

UC 331

Cultural norms make up a dominant narrative of bereavement which assumes individuals detach from the deceased and eventually “get over” their grief, among other expectations. This narrative has yet to evolve despite recent theories that suggest grief is a lifelong experience that involves continuing bonds with the deceased (Dennis & Kunkel, 2012) and ongoing processes of meaning making (Neimeyer, Klass, & Dennis, 2014). The dominant narrative is perpetuated largely through prominent rhetoric, such as film and media. Further, the dominant narrative is gendered by appropriating expected ways of grieving to women and men. For example, emotional expressions of grief (e.g., crying) are often deemed feminine expressions in Western society, therefore stigmatizing men who express their grief emotionally and, therefore, influence men to be stoic, grieve in solidarity, or grieve through more action-oriented processes (e.g., adventure seeking).

Through a narrative criticism of Disney and Pixar’s Finding Nemo (Walters & Stanton, 2003), I illustrate that the film perpetuates the dominant bereavement narrative. Specifically, I critique Finding Nemo as a grief narrative that appeals to hegemonic masculine ideals of bereavement and perpetuates Western norms surrounding masculine bereavement among its audiences. I draw from the work of Fisher and McClure to conduct this analysis. Fisher (1984) introduces the narrative framework, including a concept of narrative rationality that assumes persuasive narratives constitute a coherent story that rings true to audiences’ real experiences. McClure (2009) critiques that framework to suggest it is an extension of Burke’s theory of identification, introducing the notion that persuasive narratives create means of identification for audiences.

Focusing exclusively on Marlin’s storyline in Finding Nemo (Walters & Stanton, 2003), I emphasize character traits implicative of grief when paralleled to findings in grief research and theory. Marlin’s narrative rings true to audiences due to the humanistic identification with the non-human characters that evokes audience responses as if the characters were indeed human. The characters communicate linguistically, participate in human practices such as attending school, and experience profound emotions such as excitement, love, fear, and grief. Additionally, by upholding the dominant narrative of grief, the narrative allows for greater identification from audiences, though to the disidentification of others.

Marlin’s style of grieving upholds a hegemonic narrative of male grief by suggesting that grief is an unmascuiline experience. This narrative disenfranchises the real bereavement experiences of many men. Given the popularity of Disney films and the opportunities for identification presented throughout the film, this rhetoric is extremely powerful and, therefore, not without rhetorical consequence. Perpetuating these ideals closes conversations about what bereavement is actually like for those experiencing it. Finding Nemo perpetuates hegemonic masculine ideals of grief by insinuating that grief is not a masculine trait at all, which has detrimental effects against the effort to expand the dominant narrative beyond one that is unmasculine, linear, and temporary.