Hey there, fellow movie enthusiasts! I’m on the hunt for films that portray positive masculinity. We often see movies with traditional, stereotypical portrayals of masculinity, but I believe there’s a world of cinema out there that can challenge these norms and offer a fresh perspective.
So, I’m turning to you, the experts of Lemmy, to help me discover hidden gems and well-known classics that showcase men in a positive light, breaking free from the clichés. Positive masculinity can encompass a wide range of qualities such as empathy, vulnerability, strength in character, and emotional intelligence. I’m interested in any genre – from drama and comedy to action and sci-fi – as long as the films make us question what it means to be a man.
Let’s curate a list of films that define positive masculinity in cinema.
Dune. Maybe it doesn’t focus enough on what you’re looking for, but I was happy to see Paul so readily showing affection for his friends (like Duncan and Hawat), receiving affection in return, and the genuinely loving relationship between Paul and his father.
I especially liked how Paul’s father reacted when Paul said he wasn’t sure he could be Duke: “You’ll still be the only thing I ever needed you to be - my son.”
It’s worth noting that I genuinely liked Duncan, not because he was tough, “cool”, or a good fighter (although he was all of those things), but because he was a good person. I was actually sad when he died. By contrast, a lot of movies make you root for a character because they’re a badass who cracks jokes, and leave it at that.
I also appreciate that positive masculinity is normalized in several brief scenes, rather than an obvious, clumsy, heavy-handed delivery.