Top Gun (1986) starts with Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and his partner Nick “Goose” Bradshaw on the USS Enterprise. During a flight, Maverick, Goose, and their wingmen run into enemy jets. Maverick scares the enemy off by flying upside down over one of them. The wingmen panic from the encounter and can only land after Maverick talks them through it. They end up quitting, so Commander Stinger sends Maverick and Goose to Top Gun, a top-level Navy flight school. At Top Gun, Maverick starts a rivalry with another pilot, Tom “Iceman” Kazatsky. Iceman thinks Maverick is wild, unsafe, and only cares about himself. During a training mission, Maverick and Iceman both chase the same target. Iceman won’t move out of the way so Maverick can take a clear shot. Maverick sees that Iceman is trying to keep his high score and stay number one. Maverick pushes Iceman to pull away, but when Iceman finally moves, Maverick flies through his jet wash, causing both of Maverick’s engines to fail. Maverick and Goose must eject. Goose hits the canopy on the way out and dies instantly. Maverick blames himself and thinks about quitting flying for good. Soon after, Maverick and the other pilots are sent back to the Enterprise for a real mission. Maverick teams up with Merlin to support Iceman against several enemy jets. During the fight, Maverick hits jet wash again and is reminded of Goose’s death, but he manages to stay in control. Maverick and Iceman work together, shoot down the enemy jets, and return safely. They finally respect each other, and Maverick starts to accept Goose’s death. After the mission, Maverick decides to return to Top Gun as an instructor. There, he reunites with the woman he fell in love with.
Paramount’s Top Gun was released May 16, 1986, making a staggering $8,193,052 on Opening night. Director Tony Scott was known for his efforts in action films like The Hunger (1983) up until his last film Unstoppable (2011). [1] Scott’s action films had a strong pull for audiences due to the hyper realism audiences felt watching the film. Scott had not only mastered the use of Mise En Scene but also the art of audio, mixing great soundtracks with the sounds of jet fighters in battle. This creates a feeling of presence for the viewer, causing them to “stay Cool” which in essence accelerates their heartrate but gets them hyper focused on what is going on in the film. [2]
1: Michael Loren Siegel, 5.4 Ride into the Danger Zone: TOP GUN (1986) and the Emergence of the Post-Cinematic, P. 666
2: Michael Loren Siegel, 5.4 Ride into the Danger Zone: TOP GUN (1986) and the Emergence of the Post-Cinematic P. 671
At 1:32:14 Maverick takes off to fight the six enemy fighter jets partnered with Merlin to wingman Iceman. This scene has a subtle soundtrack in the background which if not paid attention could go unnoticed. This subtle soundtrack is a high paced beat which unconsciously increases a viewer’s heartbeat. The main camera shots are set in four places, a shot right outside the cockpit looking into the person inside, a wide angle inside the cockpit looking directly at the pilot, and lastly a free shot of the jets maneuvering in open sky. Firstly, the shot set outside of the cockpit looking in takes a parallel angle in which it makes the viewer feel as if they were flying side by side with the other pilot. The camera has a significant shake as if one was trying to fight the G force the jet would be pushing on one’s head. The audio heard is a mix of heavy jets and the voice of the pilot the camera is facing is heard through a radio as if we were right next to them in battle. The second shot provides the feeling as if we were to be in Mavericks shoes. The outside sounds are muffled out and all we hear is the deep breathing through the oxygen mask. The last shot gives us an outside perspective of what is going on. It creates the feeling as if we were to watch the battle from a far. The shots are so fluid especially with the audio mixing in so well it feels as if there was no camera at all.
If this movie was made so well, why is it not rated as highly as expected? Critics have ripped into the movies misogyny, stating that a character’s masculinity is constructed. [3] it is said that the characters in the film portray unhealthy physical standards for men, as in one scene Iceman and his partner play Maverick and Goose in a beach volleyball game where they show their true competitive sides, but they are all shredded to the point where it looks like they have been dehydrated for days. This creates poor standards for men as they see the character act as if it were to be the norm to have such a physique. [4] critics believe Top Gun’s masculine representation was due to the Reagan era.[5] At the time this film was created Ronald Reagan was in presidency and it had been discovered that he would misrepresent feminist politics [6]
3: Ms. Sandra Jacob & Dr Talukdar Hoimawati, Performing Masculinity Through Sound: A Critical Analysis of Gender Performativity In The Top Gun Franchise, CHRIST University. Delhi NCR, P. 2
4: Ms. Sandra Jacob & Dr Talukdar Hoimawati, Performing Masculinity Through Sound: A Critical Analysis of Gender Performativity In The Top Gun Franchise, CHRIST University. Delhi NCR, P. 4
5: Michael Loren Siegel, 5.4 Ride into the Danger Zone: TOP GUN (1986) and the Emergence of the Post-Cinematic P. 669
6: Kellie Bean, Post-Backlash Feminism: women and the media since Reagan- Bush, P. 8
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