How Literal Suppression and Figurative Expression Forge the Parr Family’s Identity

Image 1 - Family dinner scene, The Incredibles , 2004

Through the depiction of the Parr family arc in The Incredibles (2004), the film transcends the action-packed family genre. By unraveling how the consequence of law-enforced concealment of superheroes becomes literal suppression of true self-identity, it “dramatises this lost, suppressed identity by juxtaposing it with depictions of everyday, humdrum, middle-class American life” (Herhuth, 2017, p. 124). Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) is forced into a mundane suburban life that suppresses his true identity. His secret attempt to reclaim his glory days leads his family, who are similarly concealing their powers, to abandon their masks of normalcy and unite as a superhero team to defeat a common threat. This analysis will argue that only the family’s eventual figurative expression of their powers allows them to abandon fighting against each other and finally achieve unified familial dynamics through self-realisation and acceptance.

The central theme is the depiction of a typical suburban American family, where the superhero genre explores tensions of family life (Herhuth, 2017). The façade necessitates each Parr member to conceal their most vital self, creating a dual-identity that acts as a barrier to genuine familial connection. This suppression is most clearly illustrated during the family dinner scene (image 1) at the beginning of the film, where immediate internal conflicts surface. As the Parr’s attempt to perform the roles of a "normal" family, their suppressed truths fracture this façade. Bob's explosive rage, Dash's uncontrolled hyperactivity, and Violet's desire to become invisible are all instances where the characters fail at “impression management”, or putting on a “mask” (Goffman, 1956, p. 132). Their super-selves cannot be contained by the enforced social role, and the pressure causes immediate role strain, resulting in the family fighting against each other's genuine selves. Moreover, Goffman suggests that expression is often the “communicative role it plays during social interaction and not … consummatory or tension-release function it might have for the expresser” (Goffman, 1956, p. 160). This concept is highly relevant to the depiction of the Parr family and their forced expression of the ordinary citizen so that they appear non-threatening, becoming inauthentic and causing friction and tension within their familial unit.

Helen Parr enforces the domestic discipline as being a stay-at-home mother, and struggles to contain Dash’s hyperactivity, which is the manifestation of his suppressed super-speed, and dismisses Violet’s quiet, self-consciousness and insecurity, which is an extension of her unstable powers of invisibility. Ironically, Helen, whose power is an exaggeration of her character type, and was once Elastigirl in her heroic days, “has nearly infinite stretching capabilities” but, “becomes a mother stretched to care for four other people” (Herhuth, 2017, p. 134) as she imposes the family's separation and compliance by using her powers to keep the family apart during an argument. Simultaneously, Bob Parr, experiencing a “repression of their desire to achieve recognition through their talents and crime-fighting heroics” (Herhuth, 2017, p. 124), seeks to reclaim his former glory as a lone superhero and neglects his role within the family. This dual tension of suppressing their powers while struggling to relinquish their former heroic identities creates underlying conflicts rooted in the unsustainable "normal family" façade.

Helen Parr initially functions as the enforcer of the family's literal suppression, driven by fear of exposure. Her power of elasticity is ironically suppressed and replaced by behavioural rigidity, prioritising control over genuine familial expression. This defensive role blinds her to her children's and her own true potential, resulting in a disconnected, fear-based household. Her pivotal arc occurs when she chooses to re-engage with her superpowers out of necessity, to locate her husband, and rescue her children. This transforms her defensive identity into the ultimate expression of her self-identity as a protective guardian. As Elastigirl, she literally embodies the necessary glue of the family: she becomes the vessel, the parachute, and the bridge, physically holding the family together and guiding their movements. By instructing her children to use their powers collaboratively, and praising them when they do, she acknowledges that their extraordinary identity is not to be hidden, but a strength to be leveraged. Her ultimate motive is the preservation of the nuclear family, which can only be achieved by functioning as a unified, coordinated team where her flexibility ensures every member becomes an essential cog in the family mechanism of self-expression. The exposing rather than suppressing of identity in a world that fears them, to a world that glorifies them, reveals their true abilities and identities to each other, promoting “family as a source of understanding, support and love” (Nguyen, 2004).

Bob Parr’s physical appearance functions as a constant visual metaphor for the literal suppression of his heroic identity. His superhuman scale, representing his Mr. Incredible persona, is "athletic, strong, disproportionately muscular," and he "literally struggles to squeeze his body and his ego into the settings of home and work" (Herhuth, 2017, p. 135), rendering him a misfit in his suburban confinement. This physical mismatch in his mundane life is a cinematic statement that his extraordinary identity cannot be contained by the safety of his false, civilian role. This daily suppression diminishes his self-worth, motivating his secret lone heroics, which actively disconnect him from his family. The film’s resolution, however, reveals the critical flaw in this belief: his immense super-strength, which tragically failed him when he needed it most, ultimately proves ineffective. His salvation drives the recognition that his true power and self-realisation are formed upon the protection of his family. His dual-identity finally unites through the figurative expression of his desires, transitioning from secrecy to an essential, collective role, confirming that his strength is regained not through solitary effort, but with his family in shared, self-expressed power, showcasing the “importance of sticking together and paradoxically supporting individualism” (Garson, 2005).

Ultimately, the family evolves from fighting with each other to fighting together, transitioning from suppression to expression. When the Parr’s finally embrace the figurative expression of their powers, they achieve not only the necessary tension-release and self-realisation but also the ultimate communication and, thereby, unified their authentic familial identity to themselves and the world. This powerful shift not only reveals a deeper connection and understanding of one another, but by navigating the world together, their family bond is fundamentally strengthened and unified through the open embrace of their true selves.

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