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As
we entered the nineties, a more complex vision of masculinity emerged, and
it was one that increasingly concentrated less on the physical attributes
of the hero, and more on the psyche itself. The growing developments in
scientific research, particularly in the field of genetics, opened up new
possibilities for the bodybuilder stars. Where
before they had been presented as 'normal' men whose strength and combat
skills were being put to the test, they were now being cast as men whose
minds had been artificially manipulated or constructed. 'Total Recall' and 'Universal Soldier' both explored the question of memory and identity, placing the hero in a situation where his battle lies in regaining his own reprogrammed mind. |
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Similarly,
in 'Demolition Man', Stallone plays a man from the present day who wakes
up to find himself forty years in the future, having been frozen and programmed
with 'feminine' impulses, to curb his violent tendencies. The result is
that he's still macho, but he can't stop knitting. Whilst this is not exactly
the most progressive way of imagining such a scenario, it does at least
represent an attempt to question the stability of those things that make
men masculine. And if we are increasingly seeing masculinity in terms of
psychological rather than physical make-up, then this is certainly a positive
shift in awareness. Continues on next page |
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1 I Part
2 I Part
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