U Not Gonna Like This

This column from the archives of Men's News Daily (link):

February 20, 2002 by Louis Chandler, Ph.D.



American Feminists, abetted by a fawning media, and emboldened by cowed and spineless politicians, have managed to cobble together a new male image: a feminized male, safe, de-sexualized, and emasculated - a eunuch of the Alan Alda variety. Camille Paglia said it well: "American feminists fear and despise the masculine. The academic feminists think their nerdy book-worm husbands are the ideal model of human manhood."



The picture of what some consider as an appropriate sexual identity for the modern male is becoming clear. He is "sensitive," a sissy who happily joins the growing legion of victims, whiners, and complainers. Tom Purcell has aptly called him: "the pathetic male." But if the pathetic male is the embodiment of modern, politically correct thinking, what are those traditional male values that such women seemingly despise?




A list might arguably include: virility, vigor, potency, masculine pride, assertiveness, rugged individualism, stoicism, a sense of duty, personal integrity, honor and responsibility, and a striving for achievement. Many of these are qualities that feminists both despise (in males) and paradoxically admire when adopted by females. Thus the feminists' hysterical shriek to curb male aggression is placed beside the image of the heroine of the modern Hollywood action film: a karate-chopping, kick-boxing female who, after making mince meat of a gang of tough guys, sends them fleeing in terror.



As has long been the case, it is in the movies of Hollywood that we find the embodiment of our modern myths, of the ideal -- for men, and for women. With a few remarkable exceptions, like Mel Gibson's The Patriot, Hollywood has embraced the perverted, politically correct view of men. But it was the Hollywood of a different era who gave us some of our finest examples of the masculine ideal.



It was in 1952, in the golden age of the western, that High Noon was released: a classic western, and so much more. As a story, it is about a quiet hero who must overcome his fears to stand alone squarely facing a gang of killers. As a morality play, it is the classic fight of good versus evil. As a film, it is stark, spare, and elemental.



Marshall Will Kane (Gary Copper) his gaunt face set in lines of stoic resolve, grimly walks the streets of his frontier town, trying to enlist the townspeople in the coming fight. But one by one, they abandon him until, in the end, he is left alone to face the man who has vowed to kill him.



The townspeople keep urging the Marshall to gather up his new bride and run away before the killer arrives on the noon train. But he knows he can't do that. He has to stay and see it through. For him, there is no choice. The showdown is taut, suspenseful, and masterfully done.



You're not too likely to run into many "Will Kanes," in this, or any other, age. But he remains an icon - a reminder of what every American boy might grow up to be.

(End of article)