In the 1930s and forward to the 1960s, the presentation of masculinity shifts. Men now seem to have a unbreakable moral compass. They know right from wrong and are unbelievably loyal to their causes. The men only resort to violence when absolutely necessary. This kind of uprightness can be seen in the films Test Pilot (1938) and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Casablanca (1942), On the Waterfront (1954), Twelve Angry Men (1957), and In the Heat of the Night (1967). What connects all of these films together is that the masculinity being presented is rooted in political morality. The best example of this is in the films Casablanca and In the Heat of the Night. In Casablanca, Bogart’s character Rick, refuses to be involved in any sense until…show more content… In both of these films, the main character feels like he has been wronged in some way. To “get revenge” on society, both Luke and McMurphy break every rule possible, and once again, live by their own moral code. Both Luke and McMurphy are in the situation that they are in because of a violent action put them there. But because they believe that they are above the rules and above punishment that everyone else receives, they think very highly of themselves. Throughout the plots of both of the films, the characters test the limits of authority ultimately leading to both of their demise. In Luke’s case, he makes the conscious decision that he is going to make a choice that will ultimately kill him, and in McMurphy's case, he makes choices that lead him to a lobotomy, and also no longer is able to make choices. Both of these characters have a “pathological impulse behind the drive for pure liberation, a self absorbed quality that ignores the destruction that ‘liberation’ can bring upon the more fragile souls” (Bingham 138). This masculinity is not desirable because it only focus’ one individual's wants with total disregard to how it would affect anyone else. In these films the construction of masculinity is completely unattainable. The demeanor of these characters are very similar to that…show more content… When the male spectators are watching these violent, detrimental and overall unattainable version of masculinity, it only makes sense that they would strive to attain the same sensibilities as these characters. But if all males were to act in the same way that these film stars portrayed masculinity, complete chaos would ensue. The masculinity constructed by the films that we have seen this semester are dramatizations of what masculinity of the time actually meant, but none the less, are very harmful to what the general population of men were seeing. Either men would have chosen to rise up to the level of absurd masculinity the films they were demonstrating, or would feel lacking if they did not necessarily fit into what construction of masculinity was being shown. It’s a very useful skill to be able to look back on what Hollywood films were showcasing as ideal masculinity and realize that the constructions that were shown were not something to strive for. By reflection as film progresses we are able to approve these destructive and unattainable constructions to something
