Masculinity in cinema

Masculinity in cinema is certainly not a topic as detailed documented or discuss as feminism in cinema. It really wasn’t until both the feminist movement and the gay movement begin, and the rise of the underground movement of gay filmmakers calling themselves queer cinema. 
That starting rising the question of the representations of men on screen. Before this the topic was really not really talked about or analyzed fully. Heterosexual masculinity has always been seen more as the society norm compared to the representation of gays and woman. But Sometimes cinema acts as a mirror reflecting the changing mood of society over the years. As so each decade has changed it view on masculinity and the imagery and what would be referenced to it. Between the hard boiled dick Tracy’s of the 30’s and 40’s to the muscular super solider Schwarzenegger’s of the 90’s.

 All the changes ideas made about masculinity where due to changing moods of society (manly the society changes in Americans then anywhere else). During the 80’s and 90’s mainstream media especially cinema became oversaturated with the invincible strongman image. Really kicking off in 1983 with the success of Ted Kotcheff’s first blood staring Sylvester Stallone and John Milius Conan the barbarian staring Arnold Schwarzenegger. First blood was made when American was still working on overcoming there defeat in Vietnam and economic problems. In the movie Stallone plays the role of John Rambo a Vietnam veteran who goes to war with the society that marginalized him. But instead of a martyr like how most movies would depict soldiers from the Vietnam War. As victim of the mistake the government made. Kotcheff instead created this fictional super trooper, an unstoppable focus of nature. And in Conan the barbarian former Mr. Universe Arnold Schwarzenegger plays an almost completely silent warrior who lets his sword do all the talking. This movie would clear the way for Schwarzenegger to be immortally in the movie terminator. A film where he plays an almost completely silent super solider robot from the future that lets his gun does all the talking. Nether Rambo and Conan are characters that battle for good or bad, just survival. Which set up this image of a manly man that became unstoppable in there goals and come always out on top. Later on more movies would pop up showing a more  patriotic standpoint, the CIA agent (speed), the police officer (die hard) the former solider the haven’t lost his faith in the red white and blue. (Road house and some of the chuck Norris movies). It’s believed that these representation of males where seen as a way of boosting a sense self through a society that where not confident in the government. Be it economic issue involvement in wars overseas. It well noted that when American get involved in a war the number of actions movies featured patriotic manly Heroes fighting terrorist go through the roof.

Its believed that socially constructed males would identifying with male heroes this is not really true.

Then why are these male charteher not perv on by the audience, like female characters as luran Mulveys  believed when she wrote her essay on the representation of woman in cinema. When she stated that woman in films at subjected to the male gaze “some thing nice to look at” put it harshly. Well it can be said that male characters are perv on just on in the same way woman are. Its more of a sign of identification involved as the male spectator identifies with the main male protagonist. Not as an erotic object of there gaze but more the building up of the ideal ego copy the protagonist glamorous characteristics and project a sort of narcissistic identification. It something to feed the ego basally. With the male viewer taking in the idea for creating a view about themselves to create an idea of boosting self subconnssion. This would explain why action movies are popular during times of war for Americans Vietnam, the gulf war, and most recent military action going on. And when ecomic problems grip a country

The main problem with action hero is they can be some over identification for them. Rambo can only be Sylvester Stallone and the terminator could only see as Arnold Schwarzenegger. There are a few characters that come from other sources like books, old radio shows and cartoons. Where they can be chop and change to meet the reflecting mood and view on masculinity.

Batman would be the prefect example of this idea cause batman is comic book character that he doesn’t have a set in stone image a so he can be cut and change to fix the idea of what society or decade what from there view of masculinity are. From the gothic gunslinger killer he was in the 20’s and continuing till the 40’s remember American was going through both the Wall Street crash and world war two. There was only one movie of batman made it this era. But that is counter with a very successful radio drama series. The he was tone down in the 50’s and 60’s to what would later be known as the Adam west batman. He was more of a camp character but still was able to lay a beat down on anyone and taking time to woo the ladies. This era also only produced one movie from a very successful TV series. With the 70’s and 80’s seeing the return of the gothic dark theme batman more of a cursed soul then caped crusader, and then the 90’s and 00’s going deeper down the darker knight route with animated series, animated movie and several live action movies ranging from the over the top camp from Joel Schumacher to dark and moody from Tim Burton. 

Bibliography

Masculinity as spectacle by Steve Neale, with John Ellis and Andrew Higson

Visual pleasure and narrative cinema by Laura Mulvey

Cinema year by year 1894-2003 by David Thomson

The compete history of batman. By Les Daniel