DEUS EX ALLEN: THE MYTHS OF MASCULINE AUTHORITY IN WOODY

ALLENS MIGHTY APHRODITE

Nina Legesse
Classics 102: Greek and Roman Mythology
March 24, 2016

Woody Allen's 1995 film Mighty Aphrodite is rich in parallels that emphasize
themes and tropes that have been retained from ancient myths and plays. By featuring a
Greek chorus that narrates the story and compares Allen's main character with Oedipus

and Pygmalion, it provides a large space for discussion about reinterpretation. It also puts
into question whether or not mans obsessive pursuit of control is legitimized or criticized
by Allen. Moreover, scholars have observed that the famous Greek tragic heroes show
us how to behave properly by spectacularly failing to do so1. The question here is this:
through his contemporary resurrection of these mythical characters, is Woody Allen
showing us what he believes is the correct way to perform masculinity by creating a selfreflexive character that exhibits extreme moral failings? Or, is the plots representation of
his hubris as productive rather than fatal Allens way of confirming the intrusive male
authoritys positive role in society? To put it more simply, are we to believe that Allens
mockery is criticizing the ways of his protagonist or validating them? To further
complicate the issue, the film draws on the narrative of Pygmalion, whose story stresses
the man's ongoing role in shaping Galateas self-perception and identity (through a
process of purification involving forms of patriarchal violence). Through a close reading
of the characters and plot structure, I will argue that the ways in which Mighty Aphrodite
parodies myths and Greek tragedy validates the contemporary mans role in shaping
feminine subjectivity.
Reinterpretation of the myth of Pygmalion is the most obvious direction for the
film at the outset. It follows the premise of George Bernard Shaws famous play,
Pygmalion, though it is important to note that this play is only loosely based on the actual
Greek myth. Further, via placement of a Greek chorus in some liminal space between the
diegesis and the fourth wall, Mighty Aphrodite introduces the narrative of Sophocles
1 Thomas Van Nortwick, Imagining Men: Ideals of Masculinity in Ancient Greek Culture

(Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008), xii.

Oedipus the King. Bringing forth a tale as Greek and timeless as Fate itself2, this
chorus highlights not only Allens tongue-in-cheek comedic style, but also uses the most
mutable historical genre to exemplify his use parody and metafiction, which Allu calls
characteristic of his style and essential to his self-exposing storytelling3. Allens unique
style of reinterpretation establishes his artistic persona, authority, and trademark
authorship, therefore legitimizing his role in contemporary cinema. Furthermore, Allens
romantic comedies are evidently powerful in the ways that they simultaneously mime and
influence dating culture; this sort of film can be seen as a postmodern conduct book4
that, by enacting our pre-existing beliefs about romance, shape the behaviours and
subjectivities of their viewers. So, to preface my argument, the influence of Allens
artistic authority and his style both allow his faithful audience to accept this interpretation
of Greek myths as legitimately reflective of many social norms and values that have
lasted from ancient times.
Next, the characterization of Lenny Weinerib shows us the ways in which Greek
tragedys tropes of male sexuality are used to support Allens ideals of patriarchal
masculinity. An author can render a character trope legitimate in their work insofar as
their narrative draws on a collectively defined, recurrent theme. Most notably, the
2 Woody Allen, Mighty Aphrodite, Film, directed by Woody Allen, (1995; Burbank:

Miramax Films, 1995.), Film.

3 Sonia Baelo Allu, Parody and Metafiction in Woody Allens Mighty Aphrodite

(Zaragoza: Universidad de Zaragoza, 1999), 405.

4 Dennis Allen, Why Things Dont Add up in The Sum of Us: Sexuality and Genre

Crossing in the Romantic Comedy (Colombus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 1999),
71.

concept of hubris appears in significant ways. Analyzing the way Lennys fatal flaw is
portrayed is crucial to understanding the construction of masculinity in the myths, and its
migration to the screen. At the very outset, the chorus introduces Oedipus/Lenny as a
lost victim of bewildered desire5. This idea is problematic for two reasons. First, it
victimizes masculinity to some external force, rather than attributing sex drive to a
gendered system of violence in which male desire is used in violent ways to dominate the
submissive female. Second, it reduces him to a buffoon with no concept of the
consequences of his actions. Even before we can see him onscreen, Lenny is absolved of
all blame. While Allu argues that it is curiosity that leads Lenny towards his tragic
ending6, she fails to identify Lennys ideological fault of creating a self-satisfying,
gendered ideal in order to escape from the banality of his married life. What's more, Allen
makes Linda lust after an older, bumbling man, which is played quite humorously.
Although this dynamic may be used just for laughs, it reveals a more profound cultural
trope wherein a hypersexualized young woman provides the outlet for a sexually
frustrated middle-aged man to escape his marital banality and explore the potential of an
extramarital affair.
The relationship also naturalizes the male gaze, which denotes the binary roles of
active male and passive female7; this trope is as ancient as the myths of Pygmalion and
5 Woody Allen, Mighty Aphrodite, Film, directed by Woody Allen, (1995; Burbank:

Miramax Films, 1995.), Film.

6 Sonia Baelo Allu, Parody and Metafiction in Woody Allens Mighty Aphrodite

(Zaragoza: Universidad de Zaragoza, 1999), 395.

7 Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (New York: W.W. Norton &

Company, 2010), 2088.

Galatea, and Zeus active conquests of passive young women. In the end, these tropes
determine the way that Linda perceives herself. Lennys obsessiveness blinds him from
the fact that his interference in Lindas life imprisons the woman between the control of
an abusive pimp and a strange man who tries to tell her how to live her life. In this way,
Linda is stripped of her agency, and her naive submission upon introduction to Kevin
makes her even more malleable to the wills of the men around her.
While Oedipus is known for his pride, overconfidence, and for being the
perpetrator of incest and patricide, Lennys lack of self-restraint from his curiosity and
(eventually) sexual desires is presented less as a fated flaw and more of an autonomous
choice. Contemporary American reinterpretations of the Greek myths tend to focus on
current, neoliberal values, such as free will and individualism. Where in the myths, the
gods are decisive8 and wholly involved in the lives of the mythical humans, modern
retellings obscure the relationship between human and the gods. Although the films
resolution is incited by deus ex machina, the gods involvement in the story goes
unacknowledged by the protagonist, who arbitrarily makes the free choice to return to his
wife, Amanda. This deviation from the trajectory of the tragic hero is a crucial element
for understanding the message of Mighty Aphrodites storybook, comedic ending.
In order to fully grasp the films message, one must examine Allens subversion
of the Greek tragic structure. Mighty Aphrodites prologue shows us the chorus
introducing Lenny as the reincarnation of Oedipus. The first episode reveals Lennys

8 Martin Winkler, Greek Myth on the Screen (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

2008), 459.

curiosity and begins his journey to gain knowledge and control. In the following two
stasimons, the masked men warn Lenny of his imminent downfall, while in the episodes
in between, he continues his search for Linda Ash. After the blind prophet gives the gods
final warning to the tragic hero, Allen drops the structure and subverts the tragic hero.
Lennys sexual experience with Linda consummates the marriage of Allen to his parody
art, and the plot consequently deviates towards a happy ending, where Lenny chooses to
return to his home life and Linda is happily married. For Lenny, the oracles prediction of
the futility of his pursuit is ignored throughout. Consequently, Allens authority
successfully overrides the values of the chorus (who resurrect the moral standards of
ancient Greek society), and his narrative creates new meaning out of the persistent desire
of the contemporary man to control the behavior of the women around him. Allens thesis
could be summed up by this statement: albeit foolish and obstinate, the contemporary
mans pursuit of knowledge and control ultimately benefits the women in his life. As the
end of this tragedy is warped into comedy, so is the classical lesson against hubris
warped into a modern lesson about the need for a man to interfere in a transgressive
womans life in order to reform her into societys ideal.
To test out this thesis, let us explore how the myth of Pygmalion supports Allens
masculine subjectivity and ideals of femininity. To frame this argument, Amandas voice
of reason frames this argument in this quote to Lenny: "you have exaggerated notions of
your son's mother"9. Men in contemporary romantic comedy typically idealize a certain
woman (whether that be their dream woman or someone they knew from long ago).
9 Woody Allen, Mighty Aphrodite, Film, directed by Woody Allen, (1995; Burbank:

Miramax Films, 1995.), Film.

Analyzing parallels between Mighty Aphrodite and the myth of Pygmalion and Galatea
can show us how Allen enforces the collectively constructed male characteristics of
obsessive, possessive and controlling. Lenny, in search for the biological mother of his
adopted son, falls in love with the ideal he has fabricated based on his sons favourable
characteristics. In the midst of his search for this woman of fantasy, he finds himself
sifting through the names and files of porn stars and sex workers, much like how
Pygmalion desires a virgin woman while he lives among Cyprus the prostitutes of
Cyprus. Next, the sculpting of Galatea can be charted in the major plot points of the last
two parts. First, Lenny puts Linda Ash through a date with a hypermasculine, violent
Kevin. The two coerce her into behaving like a wholesome, prudent, ideal American
housewife. Lenny does it by ideological coercion and Kevin, by using violence when she
deviates from this ideal. Kevin can be compared to Pygmalions sculpting tool, first in his
date with Linda, and next in his use of violence against her. Ultimately, the only plausible
explanation for her choice to marry the stranger who came down from the sky in a
helicopter is that, after Lennys persistent nagging for her to live a more wholesome life,
and after her being assaulted by Kevin, Linda has completely reformed her image of
herself. In the end, she accepts and becomes Lennys idealized vision of a woman.
Finally, Allen's sculpture of his perfect woman comes to life through marriage and by
adopting the conventional woman's role as mother and homemaker. Lennys treatment of
Linda validates the way in which Pygmalion projected a narcissistic ideal onto his

sculpted woman10. In other words, the man elevates himself by acting as divinity to create
a human of his own, who is perfect and submissive to his wills.
If there is anything for classical mythology scholars to take away from this
analysis, it is the tendency in contemporary [writers]to turn to Greek tragic plots to
reflect on the relation between twentieth-century reality and an unrecoverable past, on a
failed aspiration to civilization11. For film critics, it helps to be mindful of the evolution
of tropes to understand film today. The ways in which Allen draws on the myths of
Pygmalion and Oedipus, and parodies Greek tragedy, can inform us of how the tropes of
ancient Greek stories are retained and manipulated to support ongoing systems of
oppression. Fortunately, the postmodern film movement is increasingly focused on
female characters resisting the male gaze and forming their own identities. Perhaps if
more films adapted the myths of Hera and Artemis, Greek mythology could be used to
question gendered authority and produce progress.

Bibliography
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