Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Final Project
We’re Men, We’re Manly Men
Currently, it seems as though the world has only one thing on its mind. No, it is not Global Warming or the War in Afghanistan, this world wide phenomenon goes by just one name: Twilight. Ah yes, Twilight, a modern day spin on the age-old strong, strapping man protects and defends meek and cowering girl (Dargis). More specifically, Twilight is the tale of Bella Swan, a human, who moves to a little town called Forks, Washington. Upon arrival, she meets the dashing Edward Cullen who later turns out to be a vampire. The plot revolves around the pair struggling to make their cross-species relationship work (Dargis). How is it that in a world where a woman can be Speaker of the House or the Chief Financial Officer of a major, multinational corporation that such a prosaic, and old-fashioned story line can rake in $140.7 million in 2008 on opening weekend in North America alone (Barnes)? Twilight, however, is not alone in its traditional, strong man storyline. The recent blockbuster 300, which features 300 well-toned Spartan warriors traipsing around the Greek coastline defending their freedoms and their leather briefs from an invading army of slaves from Persia (Scott) is another such tail of “men’s men.” A.O. Scott, a movie reviewer for the New York Times, summarizes 300 best in his article “Battle of the Manly Men: Blood Bath with a Message” when he writes, “Hot Gates, indeed! Devotees of the pectoral, deltoid and other fine muscle groups will find much to savor as King Leonidas leads 300 prime Spartan porterhouses into battle against Persian forces commanded by Xerxes, a decadent self-proclaimed deity who wants, as all good movie villains do, to rule the world.” Simply put, it is this age old idea of the “real wild man” that keeps Twilight and others like it on the best-sellers list. Clearly, the rugged man sells with American audiences, but what is it about these strong-jawed woodsmen that has the power to captivate millions?
It is first necessary to understand what precisely it means to be masculine, to be a rugged man. Robin J. Ely of Harvard University and Debra E. Meyerson of Stanford University define masculinity asserting that, “Conventional masculinity is associated with power. In its idealized and stereotypical forms, it connotes aggression, autonomy, strength, heterosexuality, rationality, a facility with tools and technology, emotional detachment and more generally, the reverse of anything that smacks of femininity.” Therefore, what many popular books, such as Twilight, and movies, like 300, present as personality traits of their male characters are traditional qualities associated with conventional masculinity. Such characters have appeared in literature since man first began to put pen to paper. Tales from Homer’s Iliad to the Bourne Series by Robert Ludlum tell similar stories of real, wild men. The names of characters and the settings of the stories may differ greatly, but this classic plot of the rugged man remains untouched.
Sure, for a while it was popular for men to be feminized. The trend even gleaned itself the title “metrosexual” and was popularized by the likes of soccer stud David Beckham whose glowing skin and perfectly coiffed hair put many women to shame. Daniel B. Wood, a writer for Christian Science Monitor wrote in his article “Manly Man? Girly Man? Oh, Man!” explains this short-lived phenomenon saying:
It turns out that the postfeminist sensitive male thing has gone a tad too far...Even the “metrosexual” seems to be more five minutes ago than the phrase “five minutes ago,” or at least not market enough for Condé Nast, which just pulled the plug on "Cargo," the men's shopping and lifestyle magazine that catered to the well-moisturized and accessorized urban male. Neither man-zine, nor makeover TV ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy") - nor even man-diatribe ("Are Men Necessary?" by Maureen Dowd) - have been able to undo the ubiquitous hominus-doofus image that American husbands and fathers continue to endure in such sitcoms as “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “King of Queens,” and “George Lopez.”
The end of the world’s short-lived love affair with the metrosexual man has ushered in a return of the manly man of yesteryear. Undeniably, the wild man persona holds a certain je ne sais quoi that compels writers of all mediums to return to the character time and time again.
The main cause of the resurgence of the “man’s man” are the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Patricia Leigh Brown, a writer for the New York Times, addresses this very belief in “Ideas & Trends; Heavy Lifting Required: The Return of Manly Men.” In her article, Brown claims that, “Of course, war has traditionally brought out America's inner Schwarzenegger.'' She also cites the words of the editor in chief of Esquire magazine, David Granger, as stating, “Before Sept. 11, ruggedness was an affectation you put on like an outfit…Now there's a selflessness being attributed to rugged men. After a decade of prosperity that made us soft, metaphorically and physically, there's a longing for manliness. People want to regain what we had in World War II. They want to believe in big, strapping American boys.''
Wartime is certainly a logical genesis for the rebirth of the wild man movement. When headlines report battles, what man on the street would be caught sporting a fresh mani-pedi? Rather, it seems as though during times of conflict men revert back to their childhood notions about war and want to embody what they associate with fighting for one’s country: brawn, bravery, and biceps. Manly men are to the military as guns are to ammunition. So the next time you're at the movie theater and having your ear drums assailed by the earth shattering shrieks of hundreds of Twi-hards, think about the global reason behind Edward’s persona. The hearing loss that will no doubt ensue leads one to consider the merits of world peace.
Works Cited
Barnes, Brooks. “Twilight Dawns Bright at the Box Office.” New York Times. 22 Nov 2009. Web. 2 Dec 2009
Brown, Patricia Leigh. “Ideas & Trends; Heavy Lifting Required: The Return of Manly Men.” New York Times. 28 Oct 2001. Web. 2 Dec 2009
Dargis, Manohla. “Abstinence Makes the Heart…Oh, You Know.” New York Times. 20 Nov 2009. Web. 2 Dec 2009
Ely, Robin J and Debra E. Meyerson. “Unmasking Manly Men: The Organizational Reconstruction of Men’s Identity.” Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Web. 2 Dec 2009 < http://sloanweb.mit.edu/osg/pdf/Ely.pdf>
Scott, A.O. “Battle of the Manly Men: Blood Bath with a Message.” New York Times. 9 Mar 2007. Web. 2 Dec 2009
Wood, Daniel B. “Manly Man? Girly Man? Oh, Man!” Christian Science Monitor 98.92 (2006): 20. Web. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 Dec 2009.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Krista: Mining the Blog
Krista:
Hi! It’s so nice to be in a group with you again!
Your post “In a Materialistic World” was great! You used such awesome support from that article to back up all of your points. Not only did you use great quotes, but you integrated them very well into the overall post. I thought that the way that you brought up America’s current debt crisis in your blog was very interesting. If you went on to develop this into an essay, I think that you could pull up a lot of information on this and have a great paper. I think that the way that you pulled in the idea of what you would save in a fire was fantastic! It’s such a classic question that fits in perfectly with the theme. It also supports your point perfectly and in an innovative way!
“Moving Forward” is another fantastic post. I liked the way that you started off your post by comparing and contrasting the immigration of Europeans and Asians with that of African Americans forced displacement to America. I really liked how you pulled in statistics about current demographics; it set the stage for the modern day very well. I also thought that bringing up education statistics was an innovative and such a great addition to the prompt. Education and economic condition are so closely intertwined! The way that you tied in the recent Presidential election to close out your article was great. It highlighted your point about how African Americans have struggled since first arriving in America and are really just beginning to recognize how integral they are to the American economy.
I also really enjoyed your post “Some Kind of Purple.” I liked the way that you applied the old adage “to much of a anything is never a good thing” to the government. Even better was how you pulled in the Patriot Act! Wow, it’s so relevant but also very innovative. You did a great job providing an overview of the Patriot Act as well as what it means to American Citizens. I thought that your point about having to “give to get” was really powerful. I also really liked your cry for both sides to “meet in the middle.” It’s so true, and I like that you presented it so simply! Really a great post.
Susan: "Mining the Blog"
Susan:
Hi! I don’t know if you remember me, but we were in the same group for Understanding the Culturally Diverse Child last semester! Thanks so much again for bringing in those cupcakes at one of our group meetings, they were delicious and just what we needed to push through!
I really liked your post “I Still Believe!” You did such an amazing job of mixing your own life and views with those presented in the assigned readings. The quotes that you used really worked well and were integrated seamlessly into your post. I just thought that you brought a really interesting aspect to the prompt. You also presented your views in a strong and clear way, however they never felt “preachy” which can be difficult with a topic such as this.
Another post of yours that I thought was great is “Move Over Miley.” Again, you put a really interesting and innovative spin on the prompt. By pulling the “teeny bop” phenomenon into your post you took the prompt to a whole new level. I also liked the way that you brought in the importance of image in the music industry today. The tone is really great and your voice came across very powerfully. I just really liked this post, good stuff!
“Is Governmental Intervention the Way to Go?” was another awesome post! You consistently go beyond the surface level of the prompt and take your post to another level. Incorporating the JFK assassination and September 11th conspiracy theories, as well as America’s general obsession with scandal, into the post was fantastic. You brought up some really amazing points! The way that you presented your own feelings on the issue was very skillfully done. Once more you made your views clear, but I never felt like you were presenting them in an aggressive way. This is a very difficult thing to do, but you seem to pull it off with ease and style.
