Judith Butler, Alec Baldwin, and the Implications of Sex and Capitalism

In "Imitation and Gender Insubordination", Judith Butler states that "gender is a kind of imitation for which there is no original; in fact, it is a kind of imitation that produces the very notion of the original as an effect and consequence of the imitation itself".  In Glengarry Glen Ross, Alec Baldwin seems to portray a masculinity that, in fact, has no origin.

The famous monologue has Baldwin's character using foul-language and a stern voice, all in an attempt to get the salesmen, played by Ed Harris and Jack Lemmon, to start "acting" like men.  Beyond that, it seems that the salesmen just sit there and take it -- accept it, really.  Is this how men should behave, then?  Or only those in power that need to motivate other people to act upon something?  After all, Baldwin's character is also working for an unseen boss and is expected to perform and get results.

The entire speech, in addition to Baldwin's word-choice, which include many queer-related phrases, seems to emasculate the salesmen.  He feels he must belittle them in order to get them to act, and to a businessman, it could be argued that this is the only way to go if you want to make money.  Thus, the notion of capitalism penetrates the whole scene, from the watch, to the mention of the car, to the obvious fact that their jobs revolve around the free market.  In addition, feelings make humans weak and irrational, so men must keep themselves emotionless -- apparent in the fact that neither of the salesmen really react to Baldwin's yelling, besides their meager attempts to verbally fight back.  Just from watching this one famous scene from Glengarry Glen Ross, it is clear that the idea of masculinity is still that men must be tough, strong, even vulgar if the occasion calls for it.

Butler, Judith. "Imitation and Gender Insubordination." Literary Theory: An Anthology. Ed. Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan. Malden: Blackwell, 1998. 722-29. Print.