Toxic Masculinity

There are timeless films we were all shown as children that we can relate to and remember. Star Wars Indiana Jones, Beauty and the Beast, etc.

A random selection of films, but they all share a commonality. A key character representing toxic masculinity, but being presented in a way that portrays them as acceptable or even heroic.

I could mainly make this about Harrison Ford, as we did in class. Countless times Hollywood has called on him to aggressively force himself onto an actress in a would-be emotional film scene. It's the opposite of that, it's quite disturbing.

There is no question that in our country's history there's been clear divides between men and women, for most of history it's sadly been that way. These themes appearing throughout comic and film history only prove the fact that it exists and is still at large.

One can argue that some of these characters are fitting an archetype for the sake of storytelling. My opinion is that it must serve the purpose of the story and have and end goal determined. If it's shown for the sake of it being shown- for example Deckard practically raping Rachel in Blade Runner -then it's entirely unnecessary and just pushing the envelope. A character can be the most racist homophobic chauvinistic bigot on the face of the earth, but if there's a point to it and it is an actual factor to the story later on then I'm absolutely fine with that. Films and comics were meant to tell stories, stories about all types of people, and hiding those stereotypes is only worse, as it censors the public from the inconvenient truth.

Personally, living in 2018, I feel more vulnerable for being called out for being a white man than ever before. I'm not okay with it, but at the same time with how often I see it appearing in films, on television, and in books, I understand why.