Day 4. Heroes- From matinee idol to rough trade

A Streetcar named desire. One of the first films in the 50s that had a blue collar hero. Marlon Brando. Stanley Kowalski married up. Actors like Brando were actually nice middle class boys projecting blue collar workers. His sexual confidence is emphasised by the contrast of Blanche's insecurity.

American Gigolo. Richard Gere. Scene. Seminal moment in the history of menswear. See him dressing for a date. 80’s. los of gadgets. Bachelor pad. Man showing off his body. This was the first movie that really used the traditional masculine ideal, of a man in a suit, but constructed the man as fashion conscious and self aware. The film did this while retaining his masculine appeal. Gere's torso is tanned, which portrays the use of solariums and grooming as enhancing masculinity, rather than a solely homosexual or feminine representation.

Thelma and Louise. Normally hollywood sex scenes focus on the woman’s body, this is mostly Brad’s body. Lit as if he were a statue in a museum. Exotic southern accent. This film sexualises the 'bad boy.' Pitt is a thief, and a liar, yet his brooding sexuality is clearly emphasised. Although he is presented as enjoying clothes and dressing, the film uses traditional masculine physical appeal to engage to audience. This harks back to the traditional blue collar worker and the way he has been physically sexualised.

The question remains: since the masculine ideal has shifted to include fashion as an element of masculinity, how have male versus female dynamics been changed? Men were previously presented as the brains, women as the aesthetic other. If, now, men are more aesthetically pleasing, could women be presented as the brains?

Brokeback Mountain, proves how far cinema has come, that a film can win Oscars when it is about gay men.

Rambo, rocky, diehard, the terminator. Lethal weapon. Are all examples of a brutish masculinity.

Wild at heart.

Laura Mulvey- visual pleasure and narrative cinema.

Woman are constructed as image, conversely, man were simply seen as bearer of the look.

Masculine: activity, voyeurism, sadism, fetishism, story. Feminine: passivity, exhibitionism, masochism, narcissism, spectacle.

2 types of men- phallic, muscly OR slender fashion boy.

First male cinema pin up Son of the sheik. Young rajah.

Cary Grant. North by northwest. 1959. Very elegant stylish man.

Great male renunciation. Flugel, psychology of dress 1930. Hollander Sex and Suits.

American Psycho. Parody of male grooming.

1950’s. demographic changes, young people!! Youth cultures! Serious questioning of traditional gender roles.

James Dean. Rebel without a cause. Church-Gibson recommended to watch it!! He was in touch with his feminine side, he showed vulnerability. Rebellious romantic masculinity. This links to an early metrosexual identity. East of eden. Giant.

The young lions 1958. Guys and dolls.

‘50s. the age of the chest. Male torso fetishished. Streetcar, From here to eternity. 1953. Burt Lancaster. See more of his body in the ‘sex’ scene. Picnic 1955, William holden. Cat on a hot tin roof. Plaein soleil. 1960. French cinema. Alain Delon.

Steve McQueen, was actually a working class boy.

1977 sat night fever. Hairy ideal.

Top gun 1986. About a love affair between men.

Gangster film and the suit. If suits were too spiffy, they were usually bad guys. Casino. Good fellas. Pulp Fiction.

homospectatorial gaze. Men can look at other men.

80s. menswear revlolution. Mens shops, more design. Men went shopping. Grooming products. Men in ads, billboards stemmed from Calvin Klein ads.

The new man. Levis 501 ad 1985. The most successful ad campaign ever. Increased sales 200%. John Hegerty.

80s/90s. new lad.

Then rise of metrosexual. men became aware that they were being judged in the same way women were. This a very important point in tracking the development of the masculine ideal.

Oceans Eleven. Pitt always eating junk food, spiking up his hair. Out of sight. Only movie George Clooney has ever gotten naked in. 300 2007. Spartans. Persians presented as the ‘other’

Couples retreat. Forgetting sarah marshall. Juno. No longer have to live up to these expectations. This is related to the current lifestyles of men. More computer jobs, so a more sedentary lifestyle equals a less sculpted body. Could this mean that our contemporary masculine ideal will shift to accommodate the lifestyle shift. Is there any chance a fat man will be fetishised, in a throwback to pre industrial times?