The noted cultural critic talks about evolving images of masculinity.
Alyssa Rosenberg has a very interesting article over at The New Republic, talking about the evolving images of masculinity on television, as demonstrated in the original programming at FX. She makes the case that men are undergoing the kind of gender reevaluation and transformation that feminism provided for women, and that FX’s nuanced, intelligent men’s programming, such as Louie and Sons of Anarchy, is a reflection of that.
She also cites the Good Men Project as a similar endeavor, characterizing us thusly:
As a network, FX is the televisual equivalent of publications like the Good Men Project—a self-proclaimed effort to foster “a national discussion centered around modern manhood”—but with a healthy dose of bad and struggling men in the mix.
That’s about right, yeah. We will continue to be a strong voice in the evolving conversation about what it means to be a man, and what it can mean. As Ms. Rosenberg points out, we are not alone in wanting to explore these issues.
I won’t get into the title of the Rosenberg piece, but I’ll just note the blind spot she apparently have when she describes the scene where Louie receives oral sex from Laurie (Melissa Leo) as Laurie demanding oral sex in return and Louie considering the one-sidedness of his expectations. Laurie’s behaviour is whitewashed by Rosenberg in this article. So that part I would certainly not consider “insightful”. The scene clearly depicts a violent rape of Louie by Laurie as can be seen from the 4:40 mark in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhF7-QreW2I&list=UUf7G_gKaSEn_8xMr-ldZvHA&index=6 Laurie tries to convince Louie to return the oral sex,… Read more »
And thank goodness GMP is one of the places where this exploration can happen without it turning into a pastor pulpit for preaching at men!!!
Amen (he said ironically). For too long, discussions about gender issues were dominated and directed by the female perspective, with men given the option to “shut up and support us, or get out.”
Glad to see that alternatives like TGMP exist.