Homies In Hollywood: Masculinity On The Silver Screen

Homies in Hollywood:Masculinity on the Silver Screen. How Hollywood Films Depict Masculine Affections

Film, since its beginning in the early 20th century, has long been a mirror held up to society. They show us the ideals that people favoured at the time, and teach lessons of morality and belief. Masculinity has many different definitions, depending on culture and upbringing, and in the film industry, one is able to see the standards men have been held too for many years. Often ‘favourable’ traits tell us that men should be fierce, the protector. They can be soft and tender but only with women and only behind closed doors. They have to, in the face of adversity, stand strong and be courageous. Male intimacy has been represented

Would seeing two men showing intimacy to one another outside of the camaraderie of war or sports (seeming exceptions to this rule, as the masculine pursuits outweighed the unmasculine behaviour) imply a romance between two men, and offend the sensibilities of the audiences? Or was there a less defined fear, a fear that the ideals of masculinity were being challenged and subsequently lost. Male intimacy on screen has been subject to the whims of male ideals. Changes to what defines men as masculine can be seen in movies of the period. But films also show an idealised version in many cases, and fears of homosexual behavior affected how male intimacy was portrayed. Films influenced public opinion and affected everyday men, giving unrealistic standards to live up to. In this essay I will be arguing that the idealised image of masculinity in films, influenced by fears of erosion of masculine ideals and homosexual behavior, affected men across North America and affected male intimacy in real life, and has had ramifications into the modern

The protector, the fighter, the breadwinner, the strong father and many more. There are many expectations placed on men. But, as evident in films of the early twentieth century, standards of male intimacy are very different. (For the purpose of this essay, from hereafter male intimacy refers to platonic male/male affection). Compared to later years, touch was allowed, and prolific in films. It wasn’t always this way, but in many cases it was more accepted, at least what can be seen on early films. For example, the Dickinson Sound Experimental film, as mentioned earlier, featured two men holding each other quite close, and dancing, swaying to the violin music. This was an experiment on sound only, and the clip lasts only eighteen seconds before ending, but in those few seconds, the audience is shown how different male intimacy is, and how much it has changed. How often in films do two men dance together, held close to each other, swaying to music. Unless there is homosexual relation between the two men, or the scene is being played as a joke, there is few times in modern films that such easy intimacy is scene. It is important to take into account the era of the clip, it was produced in 1894, and relations between men and women were not as they are in modern society. Men and women dancing together, chests pressed against one another as they