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Spider-Man (2002) More at IMDbPro

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Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is a nerdy high school senior in New York City. His parents are
dead and he lives with his Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) and Aunt May (Rosemary Harris). He
has a crush on his next door neighbor, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), who is also one of
the few classmates who is nice to him. Her boyfriend, Flash (Joe Manganiello) and his
buddies pick on him. Peter's only friend is Harry Osborn (James Franco), who, though rich
and good-looking, is similarly an outcast. Harry, however, is somewhat jealous of the
affection his father, Norman (Willem Dafoe) shows Peter. Norman, the head of weapons
contractor Oscorp, appreciates Peter's scientific aptitude and can barely conceal his desire
that Peter was his own son.
Peter's science class takes a field trip to a genetics laboratory at Columbia University. The lab
works on spiders and has even managed to create new species of spiders through genetic
manipulation and combination. While Peter is taking photographs of Mary Jane for the school
newspaper, one of these new spiders lands on his hand and bites him. Peter comes home
feeling ill and immediately goes to bed. At the genetic level, the venom injected by the spider
bite begins to work strange magic on Peter. Meanwhile, General Slocum (Stanley Anderson)
visits Oscorp to see the results of their new super soldier formula. When one of Norman's top
scientists, Dr. Stromm (Ron Perkins) warns him the formula is unstable, General Slocum
threatens to pull all of the military's funding from Oscorp. Later that night, Norman exposes
himself to the formula. He gains superhuman strength and agility but is driven insane. He
kills Stromm and steals two other Oscorp inventions, an exoskeleton and jet glider.
Peter wakes up the next morning feeling better than ever. He also learns his scrawny physique
now ripples with muscles and his eyesight is perfect. At school that day, he learns he can
shoot webs out of spinnerettes in his wrists. He demonstrates his own new agility by catching
Mary Jane and her food tray when she slips at lunch and then beating an enraged Flash in a
fistfight. That night, he and Mary Jane casually flirt across the fence separating their
backyards, although Flash breaks this up when he arrives with his new car. Peter believes he
needs a car to impress Mary Jane but knows neither he nor the cash-strapped and retired Ben
and May would be able to afford one.
One night he spies an advertisement in the paper. A local professional wrestling league will
pay $3000 to anyone who can survive three minutes in the ring with their champion, Bone
Saw (Randy "Macho Man " Savage). Peter designs a suit and heads out to the arena, telling
Ben and May he is going to the library. Ben and May are worried about the changes in Peter's
personality and Ben insists on driving him to the library. He tries to explain his and May's
concerns. He encourages Peter not to get into any more fights; he might have the power to
beat the Flash Thompsons of the world, but "with great power comes great responsibility" --

the responsibility to know when and how best to use that power. Peter reacts badly. He tells
Ben he is not Peter's father and should not act like he is. Peter not only survives the wrestling
match, he defeats Bone Saw in two minutes. But the promoter pays Peter only $100. Angry at
being gypped, Peter stands aside as an armed robber (Michael Papajohn) holds up the
promoter. However, when he gets out to the street, he discovers the robber fatally wounded
Ben and stole his car. In anguish, Peter chases down the robber and beats him. The robber
falls out of a window where his body is recovered by the police. That same night, a menacing
figure wearing the stolen Oscorp exoskeleton and riding the jet glider attacks a weapons test
at Quest Aerospace, Oscorp's chief competitor. Their prototype is destroyed and General
Slocum is killed.
Peter is inspired by Ben's admonition to use his spider powers for the greater good. He
designs a new costume and swings around New York, foiling petty robberies and muggings as
the Amazing Spider-man, a name he borrows from the announcer at the wrestling match. This
does not endear him to J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), the editor and publisher of the
Daily Bugle, New York's leading muckracking tabloid. However, when he learns Spider-man
sells newspapers, he puts out a call to photographers for better photos for his front page.
Peter, Harry and Mary Jane graduate from high school and move to Manhattan. Peter and
Harry get a loft together and attend classes at Empire State. Mary Jane works as a waitress
and struggles to get acting auditions. She and Harry also begin seeing one another. Harry
apologizes to Peter but points out Peter was always too shy to make a move himself. Peter
struggles to hold down a job. Norman offers to help him find one but respects Peter's desire to
make his own way in the world. Peter sees Jameson's advertisement for good photos of
Spider-man and, webbing his camera in convenient places, gets excellent photos of his own
heroic actions. Although Jameson doesn't pay well, he agrees to buy more of Peter's photos.
Norman is also happy; Quest has to reorganize after the debacle that killed Slocum, Oscorp
has more government contracts and the company's stock is soaring. He is crestfallen to learn
the Board of Directors has chosen this moment to accept a buyout offer from Quest. His
insanity manifests itself in a split personality: the driven yet confused Norman, and the
murderous, scheming villain who will soon become known as the Green Goblin. As the
Goblin, he attacks Oscorp's annual Unity Day street fair and kills the Board of Directors. His
attack also endangers Mary Jane. Spider-Man fights off the Goblin and rescues Mary Jane
when she nearly falls to her death. Mary Jane finds herself falling in love with Spider-Man, a
feeling only reinforced when he saves her from some rapists a few days later during a rainy
night. This time, she thanks him with a deep kiss. She doesn't know he is really Peter.
The Goblin decides he and Spider-Man should be partners. He attacks the Bugle office to lure
Spider-Man into a trap, using knock-out gas to subdue him, and then gives Spider-Man a few
days to think over his offer of partnership. He warns Spider-Man the city will eventually turn
against him, and that they should rule it together. A few days later, on Thanksgiving, Goblin
stages a fire in an apartment building to get an answer from Spider-Man. Spider-Man refuses
to join with Goblin, and the two fight. Spider-Man receives a bad cut on his arm. As Norman
and Peter, the Goblin and Spider-Man are due at the loft for Thanksgiving dinner. They each
race back separately. When Peter arrives to dinner with fresh blood from the cut on his
sleeve, Norman realizes Peter is Spider-Man and hastily leaves. On the way out, he insults
Mary Jane and she leaves, hurt that Harry didn't defend her. That night, Goblin attacks Aunt
May at home, sending her to the hospital. While visiting her, Mary Jane reveals her crush on
Spider-man to Peter but they wind up having an intimate moment themselves. Harry sees this
and knows his relationship with Mary Jane is over.

Goblin decides to strike at Spider-man through Mary Jane. He kidnaps her, then sabotages a
trolley car along the Roosevelt Bridge. When Spider-Man arrives, Goblin gives him the
choice of saving Mary Jane or the trolley car, then drops them both from the bridge. SpiderMan manages to save both, with an assist from a passing barge and pedestrians on the bridge
who pelt Goblin with debris and delay him from his attempts to kill Spider-man. Goblin
instead grabs Spider-Man and throws him into an abandoned building.
The two fight, and the Goblin overpowers Spider-Man, even throwing a pumpkin bomb
directly at Spider-Man's face, heavily damaging Spider-Man's mask and wounding him. As
the Goblin holds back Spider-Man and is about to kill him with dual blades, he makes the
mistake of threatening Mary Jane. Enraged at this, Spider-Man beats Goblin senseless,
overpowering him, but stops when the Goblin unmasks to reveal himself to be Norman. Peter
is shocked that Norman is the Goblin. Norman then tries to reason to Peter that all of the
actions that had occurred were from the influence of the Goblin's persona upon him. As
Norman talks to Peter, asking for forgiveness, Goblin's jet glider appears behind Spider-Man,
and the Goblin persona takes over Norman. Goblin tries to use his jet glider to kill SpiderMan, but he leaps out of the way just in time; Norman is impaled and killed. As he dies,
Norman asks Peter not to tell Harry about the Green Goblin. Spider-Man takes Norman's
body back to his penthouse apartment. Harry sees them and blames Spider-Man for Norman's
death. At the funeral, he vows revenge and thanks Peter for being such a great friend.
Peter goes to visit Uncle Ben's grave. Mary Jane finds him there and confesses her love for
him. She kisses him tenderly, passionately. Peter wants to tell her the truth but can't. Instead,
he tells her he can never be more than her friend. Mary Jane has an inkling that she might
have kissed him before but Peter walks away, knowing both his blessing and his curse in life:
"Who am I? I'm Spider-Man."
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A critical analysis of masculinity portrayals in film : definition, ideal, and possible

solution
Flook, Christopher A.
Advisor: Chesebro, James W.
Date: 2007
Other Identifiers: LD2489.Z72 2007 .F59
CardCat URL: http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1379432
Degree: Thesis (M.A.)
Department: Department of Telecommunications
Abstract:
The purpose of this thesis is to critically analyze masculinity portrayals in film at
the turn of the Twenty-First Century. Specifically, the films Fight Club and
American Beauty are analyzed to determine how these films define masculinity
and render the ideal male. This analysis finds that the portrayal of men in these
films closely matches the perception of a masculinity crisis. The films also offer a
solution to the crisis that follows the philosophical theories suggested by
Friedrich Nietzsche. It is concluded that masculinity is a social construction that
needs new ideals and definitions to more accurately fit the environment of
American men in the new century.
https://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/handle/handle/188311 9:20/25-01-2016