Andrew Fahey
October 28, 2013
ENGL 313
A Meeting with Pop Culture Works
Goof afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is my understanding that the five of you are looking for a film to put together for Pop Culture Studios. If you will allow me, I would like to present you with a pitch for a story that I think you will be interested in. Now, before I begin, let me recognize how honored I am to meet with you. I know that Pop Culture Studios are only interested in films that do important cultural films, as well as films that force the audience to rethink their relationship with themselves and the rest of the world. That being said, may I present to you: Death by Sweat. Death by Sweat is a comedy film, intended to be parody on the current trend of home fitness workout videos, such as P90X or Tae-Bo. Although it pokes more than enough fun at home fitness tapes, it also tackles the subjects of homosexuality, accepting one’s sexual identity, where a person’s identity comes from, and society’s relationship with the idea of sex. Before we elaborate on how Death by Sweat addresses those topics, however, you should know what Death by Sweat is about.
Death by Sweat is the story of Trey Williams, and how his path to finding the key to ultimate fitness actually led him to happiness, love, and self discovery. It revolves around three characters. There is Trey himself, who I feel would be portrayed well by Ben Stiller in a way that is similar to his character in the movie Dodgeball. Coincidentally, Trey’s training partner Garth Masterson would be represented well by Vince Vaughn, although Garth wouldn’t behave in nearly as silly of a manner as Vince’s character in Dodgeball. Trey’s fiancee Gretchen would be played well by actress Jane Lynch, who is excellent with aggressive female characters.
The story begins with Trey and his fiancee filming what he feels is his Magnum Opus. He has been creating and selling in-home work outs to the public for a number of years, and now he is confident that this next routine, which he refers to as Death by Sweat: In Home Murder Edition, will catapult him into fame and respect. His fiancee, Gretchen, has pushed him to be a successful businessman for their entire relationship. She loves him for his drive, and feels that his becoming famous will allow for her to build an empire of her own. What she doesn’t know, however, is that although Trey has agreed to marry her, he is actually in love with his training partner and life-long friend Garth Masterson. Garth is also a fitness guru, and has volunteered to demonstrate Trey’s new workout tape for the world to see. Garth is also in love with Trey, however the two of them keep their feelings to themselves, lest the fitness community find out and shun them. Before the taping of Death by Sweat begins, Gretchen poisons Garth’s water, which results in him nearly dying halfway through the workout. Ashamed by his failure, Garth leaves town and goes into hiding.
The story progresses and by the time the third Act begins, we find that Garth has been training rigorously in order to exact revenge on Trey and Gretchen, who he believes have been using his near death experience to promote Death by Sweat. Trey has returned to America from the highest peak of Mount Olympus where he had gone into hiding in order to cope with what he thought was the death of his best friend and lover, as well as to unlock the key to true fitness (which he does: the ability to burn body fat with only his mind). Gretchen has been publicizing Death by Sweat, and put together a press conference for Trey to unveil his new power to the fitness community. There is a confrontation between Trey and Garth where they fight, and Trey comes out victory. The fight, however, shows him that there is no key to ultimate fitness, or that if there was a key, it wasn’t for the door he was trying to open. He confesses his love for Garth at the press conference, and the story concludes with the two of them hosting their own health food channel on YouTube. Gretchen, who is still spiteful towards Trey for what he’s done to her, swears revenge against the two men.
There are a handful of themes in this film, but the theme that stands out the most is self acceptance. In order to accept one’s self, a person needs to have an idea of who they are. How can they accept something that they don’t even know? Where does one’s identity come from? In Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice, Chris Barker describes identity as being “constituted, made rather than found, by representations, notably language.” In Death by Sweat, Trey Williams’ identity is made by how he is seen by his peers. He behaves in a way that he feels the people he associates himself with would want him to behave. By watching this film, audience members will be forced to consider how they’ve come up with their own identity. Are they being the kind of person that they want to be, or are they being the kind of person that they believe will fit into society best? Is there even a kind of person who fits into society best? If so, how can we ensure that everybody sticks to the template of what the ideal person is? In Foucault’s Panopticism, Michael Foucault describes a type of “prison” called the panopticon where inmates are aligned in such a way that they are constantly being watched by the same guard. As soon as one inmate steps out of line, it is not the guard who uses corrective action but the other inmates who take the initiative to regulate that rogue inmates behavior. It is the fear of being punished by the guard that allows all of the inmates to agree to conform to the prison’s operation. In Plato’s Republic, the character Glaucon states that the only reason people don’t step out of line is “out of fear of being punished for injustice. The law is a product of compromise between individuals who agree not to do injustice to others if others will not do injustice to them.” Foucault’s panopticon example is used as a parallel to how society operates in that we, as members of society, regulate one another in order to not disrupt the guard, which is a symbol for what we have agreed is “The Social Norm.” In Death by Sweat, “The Social Norm” is to be straight, confident, and fit. Therefore, Trey disregards his natural urges and behaves in a way his peers would agree is normal.
As a result of trying to create an identity that copies what he sees in others, Trey finds himself stifling his own sexuality in order to fit in. In The Social Construct of Sexuality, Steven Seidman writes that, in a Marxist society, “anything that interferes with maximizing production, such as emotions or erotic feeling, is an impediment to effective production.” By displaying his sexuality, Trey Williams would be making it clear that he is ineffective, and therefore no good to work with. If that were to happen, Trey would be ruined. As well, in Trey Williams’ world, the fitness community is dominated almost entirely by men, creating a very masculine atmosphere. Chris Barker writes, again, that “traditional masculinity has encompassed the values of strength, power, stoicism, action, control, independence, self-sufficiency, make camaraderie/mateship and work, amongst others. Devalued were relationships, verbal ability, domestic life, tenderness, communication, women and children.” Ernest Hemingway’s “code hero,” who is synonymous with the definition of what a man should be, is described as “isolated, stoic, brave…and must perform gracefully under pressure” (Gizzo). To demonstrate the slightest bit of femininity would put Trey at a serious disadvantage in the fitness world. Others may see him as being weaker, or less superior. By watching Death by Sweat, audience members are forced to ponder how their sexuality affects their social status. A man acting more feminine goes against the social norm that men should be masculine, and a woman acting more masculine goes against the social norm that women should be feminine. By reversing roles, homosexuals disrupt the panopticon of society, which makes people uneasy.
Not only should watching Death be Sweat be an enjoyable experience, filled with laughter and knee-slaps, but it should also open the audiences mind to what their identity is. Can a person be happy if they are not content with their own identity? Trey Williams thought that he was happy originally, but it wasn’t until the near death of Garth when he realized that he couldn’t be happy unless he were true to himself. Even Gretchen, who was engaged to Trey, is merely using him to achieve her actual life goals. Despite all of the questions concerning one’s identity, sexual orientation and how it affects society and social norms, the moral of Death by Sweat is still quite simple. If you are true to yourself, then you will be more content with your own identity. Audience members will see this message, and apply it to their lives. That being said, I hope that all of you here at Pop Culture Works will take this story into consideration. Death by Sweat is a moving tale of finding your own identity in a world where social norms and panopticism make it nearly impossible to express yourself.
Works Cited
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. 4th ed. Los Angeles: Sage, 2012. Print.
Foucault, Michael. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of The Prison. New York: Vintage Books, 1977. Web.
Gizzo, Suzanna Del. “Ernest Hemingway: Machismo and Masochism.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 1.2 (2008): 290-95. Muse.jhu.edu. The John Hopkins University Press, May 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
Plato, Republic. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1992. Print.
Seidman, Steven. The Social Construct of Sexuality. Albany: W.W. Norton & Company: New York. Web.