Trashing Men in the Movies

Trashing Men in the Movies
This photo provided by Lucasfilm shows Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca and Harrison Ford as Han Solo in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," directed by J.J. Abrams. Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote the screenplay with Abrams. The movie opens in U.S. theaters on Dec. 18, 2015. Film Frame/Lucasfilm via AP
Bettina Arndt
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Commentary

We’ve come a long way from the days when female reviewers grumbled that men won all the star parts in movies whilst female characters were one-dimensional props to hero males.

Many of the producers and playwrights churning out today’s entertainment display total indifference to making male characters believable.

One of my favourite movie performances is Bill Murray in “Lost in Translation.” He plays a fading movie star stuck filming in a Japanese hotel who befriends a young woman, played by Scarlett Johansson, portraying an equally lost soul.

He’s in a troubled marriage, and she clearly has the hots for him, yet he resists temptation, valuing their growing friendship. It’s a complex, touching story celebrating male restraint and kindness.

That was in 2003 before the rot really set in. Over the next couple of decades, men were pushed ruthlessly from their pedestals.

By 2020, Sophia Coppola, the producer of “Lost in Translation,” again called upon the talented Bill Murray, this time for her comedy “On The Rocks,” where he portrays a philandering father whose daughter fears her husband is having an affair.

In this supposedly jolly romp, dad drags his daughter around town spying on the husband, indulging her paranoia with crass comments about “that’s the way men are.” No moral complexity here—just degrading stereotypes about men who can’t control themselves. Yawn.

American actor Bill Murray attends the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on March 27, 2022. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)
American actor Bill Murray attends the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Calif., on March 27, 2022. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
Many commentators have picked up on the male heroes’ fall from grace in the movies. There’s a funny rant by Scottish YouTuber Critical Drinker. It’s called “Why modern movies suck—they’re destroying our heroes.”

He’s acerbic about the latest “Star Wars” sequel. He points out that Han Solo “started out as a selfish smuggler who only cared about Number 1 but over the first three movies transformed into a smart, resourceful, brave fighter, and protector for Princess Leia, ready to risk everything for the sake of his friends. Pretty cool, right?”

The YouTuber then describes the sequel set 30 years later, where Solo is “a cynical, self-absorbed smuggler". A deadbeat dad who’s abandoned his wife and son, and an incompetent criminal who’s made enemies across the galaxy.”

Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) in a scene from the 1977 "Star Wars" movie released by 20th Century-Fox. (AP Photo/20th Century-Fox Film Corporation)
Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) in a scene from the 1977 "Star Wars" movie released by 20th Century-Fox. AP Photo/20th Century-Fox Film Corporation

Solo is supposed to be in his 60s, yet he is “somehow less experienced, competent, and mature than when we first met him. All his experiences, his character development, and achievements have been rendered completely moot.”

A fitting epitaph, perhaps, to the fate of generations of once-competent men in this feminist world?

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Bettina Arndt
Bettina Arndt
Author
Bettina Arndt is an Australian writer and social commentator on gender issues. She was the country’s first sex therapist and feminist, before focusing on men’s rights. She has authored several books and has written for major newspaper titles, magazines, and has featured regularly on television. She received the Order of Australia in 2020 for her work in promoting gender equity through advocacy for men. Find her online at her blog, BettinaArndt.substack.com.
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