“Masculinity is a pose, a performance.” –Jackson Katz
In October
of 2015, actor Grant Gustin took a moment to tweet out to the world a message
for body-shamers: “F*ck off.” Having taken on the role of Barry Allen, the lead
for the show The Flash, Gustin
received backlash and comments on his lean build. Fans claimed he was far too
lanky to pass as a superhero, and Gustin was having none of it.
Although a seemingly aggressive response, Gustin opened up a
conversation that rarely occurs. As a receiver of the shame himself, he spoke
directly on his experience while simultaneously standing his ground and
educating his audience on body-shaming. It’s true Gustin is identified as a
cisgender, heterosexual, wealthy, white male, which can make relating to him
feel out of reach, but Gustin touches on a deeper subject in his response –
image in Hollywood. At the time of Gustin’s tweet, he was known for his small
role in the television show Glee and
his new starring role in DC’s The Flash
on CW. As a public figure, his words hold weight, but most importantly, as a
model of Hollywood elite.
In analyzing where issues of
masculinity and body image comes from, it’s easy to blame consumed media. What
we absorb is chosen by someone and likely altered by someone before being put
out to its audience. The media and its tools (aka models and actors) perpetuate
images of perfection by referring to it as art. However, when a model/actor
speaks on the pressures he or she faces, it lifts a veil in a world that
mainstream audiences only see the surface of. Actors like Christian Bale are
noted for their methods and intense skills, but especially for the dedication in
transforming themselves physically to play characters.
Most
recently, Bale’s portrayal of Dick Cheney has concerned the general public with
his rapid weight gain. As a portlier man, articles criticize the former-Batman for his rounder figure and bald
head. It’s not unlike Christian Bale to transform himself for a role. In 2004,
he took drastic measures to drop weight for his film The Machinist. Jared Leto is also noted for taking his method
acting to these extremes. However, not many discuss the same physical abuse
actors endure when they’re told to get fit for a role. Chris Pratt, star of Guardians of the Galaxy, lost 80 pounds
for the role of Starlord. Jonah Hill is constantly in the news for his personal
struggle with weight. For actors who seem to have always been in shape, such as
Chris Evans, the same can be true in their experiences. For his role in Captain
America, Chris Evans expressed feeling nauseous from the intense training he
had to do for the film. As most have seen in the film, his build matches that
of fictional comic book characters, dubbed “the dorito” (because of the shape
of his figure).
There is a
clear pattern of peddling fictitious images of masculinity to the general
public, but it has progressed to affect us as individuals. Men feel obligated
to live up to images that have been attached to standards of what it is to be a
man. These images have become further integrated into what we consume and have
further extended into individuals mutilating themselves or torturing themselves
to achieve what was once a fictional construct. This has been a constant for
Hollywood, it’s true, but this mutilation is no different than injecting botox.
It all comes down to a pressure to look like and be something perceived as
perfect. Actors are pressured to meet standards and consumers are pressured to
look like and be the same way. This cycle of standardized masculinity continues, even under the guise of heroics. However, the mindset we need to achieve is, as Gustin says, "Lemme do me. You do you."
Related Sources:
Film
– Katz, Jackson. “Tough Guise 2: Violence, Manhood, &
American Culture.” Kanopy, 2013
Article (Grant Gustin's Tweet) - https://moviepilot.com/posts/3589470
Article (Christian Bale's Weight Gain) – http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/christian-bale-dick-cheney-weight-haircut-backseat-adam-mckay-movie-a8053721.html
Article (Chris Evans' workout)– Fowler,
Tara. “Chris Evans: ‘Captain American workout made me want to vomit’.” Digital Spy, 20 July 2011. http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/the-avengers/news/a330834/chris-evans-captain-america-workout-made-me-want-to-vomit/
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