Drinker's Chasers - The Emasculated Male Lead
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- čas přidán 16. 03. 2023
- The recent admission by the writers for Dungeons and Dragons that they intentionally emasculated their male leads, really just shines a light on something that's been going on in Hollywood for years now. Why do modern writers hate men?
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Jennifer Lawrence is the original strong male lead.
Id agree she has a firm ass.
Its my understanding she was the first strong male lead in the history of movies.
Are we still dissing her?
*Alan Rickman voice: Obviously
She invented breathing air.
What modern Hollywood is failing to realize is that a strong male lead is a double impact.
Women want them, and men want to be them.
Oh, they know. They've known forever. That's why the attack on the fans happens before any of the fans say anything.
and the *best* strong males are more like "men write them love letters and women name their vibrators after him"
@@InfernosReaper DId you got inspired by Jason Momoa's Aquaman?
@@VVabsa
Ocean-man 🎵🎶
@@grandmufftwerkin9037 Fish boy.
It's not about equality. It's about revenge.
And eventually domination. Won’t end well for them.
If a Rats back to the wall can bit a cat, they don't want to know what men back to the wall can do to the human race.
@@crazyralph6386 cus they'll be the ones in the gimp suit and chained up and ball gag being whipped to no end....
revenge is a dish best served cold....hold the mayo! [slaps the server silly] i didn't mean literally jeez!!!
All wokeness, everywhere, is perceived revenge against people whose predecessors are perceived to have done wrong.
Two wrongs make a right
Imagine if someone said, "We thought it would be fun and interesting and fresh to make our female leads wimps."
Would love that just play all the talking points they use to defend the crap and see the WOKE crowd's brain implode as they're delt a spoon of their own nonsense.
they used to do that once upon a time...
it was called damsel in distress LMAO!
@@judgedrekk2981 So it's fine to do it men now?
@Nachtmahr22 How so?
@@judgedrekk2981 Even damsels weren't portrayed as stupid or incompetent, they just got captured by violent criminals who overpowered them. When kids get kidnapped in a movie do you find yourself saying "God why are those kids so stupid, why don't they just beat up all those armed criminals and escape."
Everyone forgets about Wesley Snipes portrayal of Blade. Chadwick boseman was not as groundbreaking as everyone likes to think. There were black superheroes on screen before him.
Snipes Blade revitalized the comic book movies when they were crashing...those blade movies will always be my all time favorite...
Nothing but facts I actually didn’t enjoy black panther and I still don’t think it deserves the hype
@@nsikanumoh9273 black panther is enjoyable. It’s a good film, about a good superhero played by a good actor. But that’s it, nothing more. Nothing worth retiring the character over.
There's also Spawn. I mean the cgi now seems goofy but the hbo cartoon was fairly close to Berserk level stuff at the time plus the Demonology of the comics. I think marvel/dc-heads aren't as well-read as they'd like to believe. Nobody even acknowledges the creative 2099 stuff.
Spawn. I read all them comics in high school. And I'm a straight white dude. Those comics illustrated in great detail that skin colour doesn't matter since we are all red on the inside.
"The Emasculated Male Lead" is indeed one of the most tired trope I've seen in Hollywood movies during the last 5 to 10 years.
Its been going on a lot longer than that. I remember sitcoms from 20 years ago that had dumb guys married to smart women that had to save them from everything.
Yes, it goes back before that.
And it's not only in the movies, it's everywhere. In the ads, the dads are almost always shown as incompetent or stupid and it's that way since mid 2000's.
@@SvendleBerries heck, Simpsons is that, and it wasn't the first series to do it. Movie wise we've had a lot of comedies where that is the premise
Look at the Flintstones or other shows we grew up with
@@defeqel6537
Yeah, thats true.
You can have male leads be "funny" without making them look like morons. Han Solo, Indy Jones, Jack Burton are all male characters that had funny sides, but were all still...men.
Remember "The Mask" with Jim Carrey? Another perfect example. Dude went from emasculated to a hero by the end. Sure there were powers involved, but at the end, without the mask, he was still heroic
I agree, we need young Harrison Ford back.
ah yes, the 80's, when men were men.
THEY DO NOT WANT REAL MEN. Period.
@@johnwakefield4473 and sheep were nervous. Sorry had to steal the Wyoming State motto.
One of the biggest hypocrisies in TV and movies is how a woman threatening to remove a mans genitals is played for laughs. Even a kick in the bollocks is played for laughs, despite it being incredibly dangerous and cause some serious injuries which cn affect fertility.
Can you imagine what would happen if the roles were reversed? A man threatens to slice off a woman's breasts just to stop her being cocky, or kicking her between the legs and shouting 'no more babies for you lady'?
Or a woman gets annoyed by man and slaps him in the face. How often do you see a woman getting similar treatment?
@@edenbreckhouse You are both completely correct, but no one even mentions this obviously egregious hypocrisy. The double standard is *standardized* and normalized and celebrated and no one is willing to acknowledge how disgustingly sexist this is. Male characters have no personal boundaries and no bodily autonomy the same way female characters have (violation of female bodily autonomy will be met with a swift punishment while, as you mentioned, physical trauma or abuse of a male by a female will be treated as just/hilarious).
Not to mention jokes about small penises. How massively damaging do you think that is to young men...
If you're going to do Bill Burr bits at least give him his credit
@@G-regTaylor Years ago, I went to a local standup comedy night. A female comedian (who was actually pretty good) was making jokes about men, including her “disappointment” when a penis did not meet her expectations.
The women in the crowd were having a great old time mocking men and laughing along. The next comedian was a man and he started out by saying he knows how the female comedian feels, because he gets the same disappointment when he finds out his date had stuffed her bra.
The women weren’t laughing anymore, and started shouting her was a pig and they were attacking his masculinity (little dick syndrome, he’s never seen a woman named obviously, etc). Not a single of one those women realized what they were doing.
My cousin's son is definitely pointing this out more and more as he gets older. When he was quite young, he adored Thor. That was his absolute hero. Then fat Thor in Avengers ruined the character for him and he wanted to find someone else, but his mother tells me that he just can't find anyone. Spider-Man kind of got his attention for a bit, but not in the way someone like Thor did, and his mom tells me that he thinks Spider-Man whines too much. She shows him older shows and movies, and he likes a lot of the characters from those, but he needs someone to latch onto for his generation. I feel bad for the kid.
My kid really likes Luke from the original trilogy. He also really likes captain Rex, but that's also a show that is 20 years old
Perhaps try giving him old Thor comics or some books on Norse mythology. There’s lots of good Thor stuff out there.
I can’t see the appeal of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. He gets so much handed to him, he’s supposed to be a self made hero and not a tech billionaire’s fanboying acolyte. He’s been reduced to an old skool comic books teen boy sidekick. The plan is clearly to hit the reset and sever him from being propped up by Stark Industries, but I’m not sure how well course correcting his character is going to go
Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry/Dollars Trilogy).
Or Christian Bale's Batman.
Alita Battle Angel
The Kenshin movies.
One Punch Man.
Believe in the Asian cinema...
As a black guy, I wouldn't have been upset had Tchalla got recasted. Like the old saying goes, the show must go on. IMO, not recasting Tchalla is an example of pandering.
Also a wasted opportunity for a new actor to step up and show what they've got. Imagine Jonathan Majors or Aldis Hodge as the Black Panther.
I mostly disliked Disney as a child because of the pandering. Even as a small child I could tell when I was being treated with disrespect, and pandering IS a form of disrespect.
The only period of Disney I have enjoyed was when they nearly went bankrupt in the 70s/80s and it led to them bravely branching out and making some very dark, weird films. Stuff like Something Wicked This Way Comes, Watcher in the Woods, The Black Hole, The Black Cauldren, Return to Oz, and Tron.
Should have had him played by a white guy, you know, just to keep things even.
Yeah, which is why I couldn't support the sequel. Not many masculine black leads in Hollywood these days, hell we just lost one in Lance Reddick today :-(
@Morpheus oh? How did we lose him?
Edit: nevermind. Just saw. 😭
The "emasculated male lead" has become as tiresome and frustrating as the "helpless, brainless, hysterical, female sidekick" trope.
How many examples can you name of the hysterical female trope though? There was the female lead in Temple of Doom...and that's the only one coming to my mind. I'm sure there are others, but was it ever so prevalent as the emasculated male lead is now?
But I don't think we've seen her since the 80s. Indy Jones and the Temple of Doom is the most recent example I can think of.
@@phluphie There are probably other examples, but I can't think of any. At least of hysterical female leads. I can think of a few passive female characters, beautiful, not too bright, and in need of saving. Buttercup from the Princess Bride, for instance. But at least she's brave, not a coward or a jackass
@@robertabrahamsen9076 Shang-Chi
@@anthonyoer4778 I'll have to take your word for it.
Strong male lead characters don't diminish strong female leads. Well written strong female leads don't diminish strong male leads. When it becomes a contest no one wins except bad writing.
Wonder Woman movie did it well - she had the physical prowess because, well, Zeus's child would be a demigod but Trevor had the courage to fight the good fight and sacrifice himself to save others.
@@shrikeofterven6006 too bad wonder woman was an annoying Mary Sue for the whole film.
Agreed. It's like how an expert pilot doesn't diminish a champion marksman. What you do is create a story in which the skills of each character shine.
I think The Mummy (1999) was a perfect example of what you mentioned in the 7 min range Drinker. You have Rick who is badass, quippy, and action packed... but then Jonathan is the emasculated comedy. A nice balance. And even though he bumbles, he does still get his moments to help or do things right.
How would The Mummy (1999) be if rebooted again today? haha
If they made the mummy today, every male would act like Beni
We already did woth Tom Cruise.
He was helpful at times, and not to mention it was contrasted with the villain getting a guy who was also kind of bumbly and clumsy but yet on occasion relatively useful.
It would be ghey
Evelyn would be the explorer, soldier, smart librarian who can read and speak ancient Egyptian better than ancient Egyptians and never be under threat of psychical assault.
"We're subverting expectations!" ... nope, by now we expect lazy storytelling, boring characters and "THE MESSAGE" so they aren't subverting anything. They're doing exactly what we thought they'd do and tanked another property.
How can anyone claim to be subverting expectations when they keep doing what everyone expects?
"But its not woke!" - from the article 🤣
@@Havic1137 Oh sure, and according to Kathleen Kennedy, "Rey isn't a Mary Sue"...LOL!
My expectations are only ever subverted on the rare occasions when I see a movie come out that's actually well written and enjoyable.
Agreed, figured out. Losing money. Same BS over and over. They are so toast !
The Last Wish featured Puss in Boots being emasculated and brought low, but it was done as a necessary part of his character arc. It was done _correctly_ and the fact that it was done correctly is part of what made the movie so good. The important thing though is that he used the experience to build upon and came back a better, stronger character because of it. So it can be done in a meaningful way, but 99% of the movies doing this are doing so just because "destroy the patriarchy".
I recomend you watch "the night agent"
The main character being a white man gave me the same feeling I had when I went to play the game Jedi Fallen order, that the chance of a good story was greater because a protagonist being a white man is a sign that quotas and being "politically correct", wasn't as high of a priority and they ended up with it, spending more energy on the quality of the story. It's sad, but in the "diversity, inclusion over quality" world, a straight white male becomes a sign of product quality and creates justified distrust of the groups it is supposedly wanting to promote. We kept warning about this consequence of the quotas and affirmative actions. Now the fruits are being reaped
I replied to your comment but my comment is gone so i'll say it again.
This series is really good. They did not emasculate the main character, nor made him a brute, and left him with a cool protective and MASCULINE personality. That is a breath of fresh air these days. The story and the character are well written and 2 of the bad guys are a gay couple (it could be seen as wokeness bc now they NEED to put LGB... characters, but as part of the package they can never be evil so...🤷🏼♂). There are 2 things that can be seen as politically correct like the president being a woman and in today's world i doubt it was bc the best actor on both sexes to play this character was a woman, and a huge proportion of non caucasian characters wich makes me suspect there was a "quota filling" thing. But none of that interferes in the story and again, the mere fact that the story is good, and that the main character is a white male that is masculine, cool, protective and with personality is a breath of fresh air in the anti man world these days
Yeah, Puss is actually more masculine in the end than at the beginning. He is now really brave, really caring, not just pretending to be.
@@fruzsimih7214 he also straight up fights Death so he still retains his badassery, but now he’s got character growth
He was emasculated by an even stronger Male character. Death.
I recall my dad saying all the way back in the 70s/80s that he noticed that father figures were being made weaker every year in popular entertainment.
Well the kinda dopey husband with the strong smart hot wife was literally the formula for decades on every sitcom. The lovable TV dad whose not that super manly has been around forever. The reason I think people get mad about the ides today is that on those shows the couple was a team where now its played as the male is useless so thank God the woman is here so we're not completely screwed. I think it's more about the sorta anger behind the writing
He wasn't wrong. This kind of thing has been going on for a long, long time. It's just now people are noticing it as it reaches critical mass.
My dad pointed that out to me in the 60’s.
Women aren't buying the "strong female characters".....men don't want that or emasculated men.....who is this crap for??
Twitter crowd, and literally no one else
twitter rats and themselves. it's insane and it can't last
Their goal is to piss men off, now they even telling men they are doing it in purpose. This will end up in Hockey mask time at some point.
For the very very tiny minority that Hollywood is stupidly pandering to. Because of that their financial and cultural downfall has already begun.
It's not for anyone. It's about pedaling propaganda and poisoning the cultural well.
Drinker makes a great point about people to look up to, my son is 7 and if someone asked my son which actor or character of the movies you look up to, I’m sure he couldn’t tell. When I was 7-years old, there was Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Conan, Ghostbusters, Clint Eastwood in almost every role, Ripley and Sarah Connor, strong people who overcame and triumphed. Now, there is nothing, well Mavirck but yeah
Mine doesn't look up to any of them. He's barely interested in the current era of western media.
If you looked up to Ripley, Sarah Connor or Dirty Harry when you were 7 I’d suggest you needed parents who’d not allow you to watch such mature material. I saw Alien when I was 11 and I had nightmares for weeks. None of those characters are suitable for minors.
@@JelloTR well, I have older brother so you know… 😂
@@JelloTR I'd argue the opposite. I watched all mature movies as a kid - Batman Returns, Heart & Souls, To Wong Foo..., Interview with the Vampire, etc - and while some jokes flew over my head, I understood life, death, etc. People were more "real" back then in movies. Ya just don't have that anymore...
@@shawnm1902 agree
Fun fact: the Irish did try and form their own Empire at one point, they invaded Scotland and conquered a good third of it, hence where the Gaels Scots come from. The Irony is those same Gaels Scots were then used to colonise northern Ireland by the English Crown.
#FreeIreland
#FreeScotland
Well some of them (of us) were Border Reavers. Because we could be counted on to make Ulster a shithole and make Irish islanders not want to go there.
We weren't really Gaels, or really English or Norse or anything. My running theory is that we were just bears who somehow evolved to look human
celtic-->slavic "of glory"
LMAO! no shit? dayum man that's hilarious....
@@zimriel Love your theory!
The ideal male lead, especially in super hero movies, is best represented in this quote from Jor-El in Man of Steel: "You will give the people of earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you. They will stumble. They will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."
We need heroes to embody the ideals we aspire to someday reach. We cannot lower the bar of those ideals to make us think we're good enough as we are, or worse yet, even better off with our obviously harmful faults.
Very good point. People keep being told theyre good enough now instead of being encouraged to improve
That dialogue was just fluff written for the 2nd trailer to get everyone hyped. Whoever directed that trailer deserves an award because it does such a great job promoting a film that doesn’t even exist. The finished film didn’t come anywhere near close to replicating that optimistic, hopeful, altruistic tone of the trailer.
He doesn’t do any of that in the film or that dreadful sequel. He’s either moping, doing the angsty teen-style raging out, or staring at Lois Laine. It just felt so hollow. Like a drama facade.
That’s what Zak Snyder wanted though. He has this weird male muscle fetish that takes precedence over telling a story that captures the tone of the very trailer that was made to promote the movie.
Society doesn’t need superhero movies to tell them how to live. That’s just pathetic 😂
@@CursedWheelieBin Actually, they do. Especially if they don’t have religion. Without ideals based on solid, time-tested principles you will have makeshift morality based on the whims of the mob, which is what we are seeing with cancel culture and virtue signaling today - people bashing each other over arbitrary and superficial “morality.”
That quote was in the movie itself, not in the trailer.
Modern storytelling is Marxist. Individuals cannot be heroes. They must be cut down, so the collective mind and narrative can be the winner.
I love the work Antonio Banderas has done. He was amazing as Zorro and in Evita. I have been wondering for over a decade why he isn't a leading man in more films.
Some people make their money in Hollywood and can then afford to be picky about what they star in or what projects they join.
"Look at you. You are *too* good looking to retire." - Puss in Boots
Health issues. He was doing cheap action movies for a while because he couldn't do anything too physically taxing and needed an easy paycheck. I think Puss In Boots will be the first step in the upcoming Banderaissance.
And he's also done 'women on the verge of a nervous breakdown.' He has range.
@@ArcherSuh4721 Banderaissance is a forcedmanteau if I ever saw one XD
I find it funny, and appropriate, that the D&D movie is partnering up with Old Spice for promotions and commercials. Old Spice, the company whose commercials used to represent manliness, now features a man who cries when his body wash is stolen, goes to therapy with his wife, constantly is sad and pathetic, etc…
The older Old Spice Guy commercials are eternal classics.
@@lightpoint4426I love the old Bruce Campbell Old Spice commercial
Yea... I wouldn't not buy their product any more. I don't buy gillette either.
@@lightpoint4426
Even then apparently there was some sussy shit going on behind the scenes.
The old spice guy had to take it up the ass for his role, and when he tried to bring it up with the whole pound me too movement he learned the hard way that it only counts when women are being taken advantage of,
Is that because he's not "manly" without his old spice?
Another thing about the British villain is due to the popularity of one James Bond, alot of people associate Britain with suave and sophistication, which in turn makes them a great antithesis to the everyman hero.
@treeghettox Apologies if you did not understand what I had said. I will try to reiterate it.
Because suave and sophisticated James Bond is popular, it creates the stereotype that British people are suave and sophisticated.
Because suave and sophisticated Britains has become a thing, it in turns makes them convienient to use them as an opposing force to the not suave or sophisticated everyman character.
@@riduckulus1574 this can apply to Germans as well. Case in point: Hans Gruber versus John Wayne I mean McClane.
@@TheRealNormanBates a marvelous example
I'll throw a spanner in the works here. I think that Owen Grady from the Jurassic World movies is one of the few strong, confident male heros that we've seen in modern movies. Say what you want about the movies, they certainly are not perfect, but Chris Pratt is amazing in them. Owen is strong and confident but he's also very intelligent while also keeping his emotions in check most of the time. Especially in Jurassic World 2, he truely feels like a throwback to more classical heros. He beats up goons, uses guns like a boss and always has a witty comeback. But on top of that, he is truely protective of the women in the movies. He always puts himself between them and whatever dinosaur is trying to eat them. Even when we get to Jurassic World 3 and the new character, Kayla, she never emasculates him. She does save him but he saves her right back. Jurassic World might not be the best movie ever made, but it did give us one hell of a male hero to look up to.
I disagree with you on one point, Drinker: I don’t NEED role models who look like me. Heck, my favorite show growing up was “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and there weren’t exactly a lot of straight white men in that show. What I need are virtuous, heroic characters who nevertheless must strive (struggle) to do what’s right, and that’s what’s missing from modern entertainment.
But you would never see a strong male figure like Iroh done these days, god forbid any straight male characters actually be a source of wisdom and inspiration in the modern era.
We need characters who inspire us.
Because what if I don't like me? Why on each would I want to see a "me" on screen? 😂
The point of the characters aren't that they look esactly like us. The point is that they act in a way they inspire us to want to imitate them.
Toph was by far the best character. I watched the show with my nephew and loved it. A blind little girl who overcame her disability, small stature, perceived weakness, and became arguably the strongest earth bender in history was a great example of how you write a female character. They didn't really get into sexuality until the legend of korra which I found inappropriate for a childs show. There were a few hints in aangs show but nothing a kid would notice. Korra made it clear sexuality and gender identity was something kids picked up on.
This is one of the reasons I went over to anime, men aren’t shit all over at every opportunity
I hate that so many people have to pretend bards are the joke of a party. Give me a metal dwarven bard any day of the year.
Everybody makes fun of bards...until they need them. Ive played games where the bard ended up being my favorite healer/support character.
Bards can be either lol. I've played campaigns with bad ass bards and comic relief ones.
@@SvendleBerries need them to seduce the dragon, right?
I kid. They're the only class memed on more than druids, rangers, elves as a race, and anything attempting to dual wield scimitars.
Bards are force multipliers and crowd control specialists, they punch so far above their weights it's crazy, they make everyone else around them better, you know, like a good hero should.
Unkillable half-human/half-water elemental Bard. massive charisma, multi-lingual. The DM swore I had loaded dice when I rolled her up. And yes, she did seduce a dragon... well, charmed a newborn white to raise as a pet.
It’s crazy how people have forgotten that even prior to Chadwick Boseman’s passing there had been rumors that the studio had been looking to have Tchalla take a back seat and somehow have Shuri become the Black Panther. I don’t think those rumors got the reaction they were looking for so the idea was abandoned.
While I would never say that they were happy that he passed, I definitely believe that it was a situation that allowed them to move forward with an idea they had wanted to do from the jump. Ryan Coogler stating that the story in Black Panther 2 was radically different from the one he had written originally just confirmed that.
Wouldn't surprise me at all.
Whaaaaaaa?????? You would suggest that companies ‘leak’ and ‘rumor’ intentionally to generate intrigue?
They tried to replace T'Challa with Shuri in the comics around 2010. It sucked.
Almost all of these mantle passings Marvel is trying in the movies have been tried in the comics and failed. I honestly think part of the reason why the movies currently suck is precisely because they aren't adapting successful stories from the past anymore. As soon as I saw Thanos I knew he was going to end up with the Infinity Gauntlet and snap away half the life in the universe. That's story happened decades ago in the comics and was *awesome.* People still read it today. We know people will like Captain America (Steve Rogers), Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Black Panther (T'Challa) because they've already stood the test of time. Not only have characters like America Chavez and Riri Williams not done that, they've actually been tried and found wanting.
Nice to see Baggage Claim on the panel. I always enjoy when content creators from different corners of CZcams come together to hang out.
Is she drinking wine out of a bottle ?🎉
@@djblc2201 Oh really? Lol, I thought that was beer. I think I like her a little bit more now...
She's great, enjoyed her content since her Captain Marvel videos and she's clear proof that women don't want this bullshit the studios think they want.
Not just our heroes, even the male villains are emasculated now and the female villains are seen as heroes now... it's pathetic, honestly.
edit: Task Master, Scarlett Witch, the orgasmically charged girl from Halo, the girl who was trying to kill Kenobi (forgot their names, that forgettable lol), The eternals' leader(she was responsible for multiple Earth-like planets dying and oh no she's sorry now, Icarus kills her for it and he's the evil guy... "but she cried" yeah, tell that to the planets she led to ruin willingly... at least, the other eternals had to be memory wiped because they had compassion... She made Thena? think she was crazy ffs!), The curly hair terrorist girl from Falcon and Winter soldier, The other Loki who was a woman literally freed all these Kangs and the TV series praises her for it(M-power)...
Apparently, all female villains are actually heroes who have a hobby of wanting to destroy the world for selfish reasons.
I never thought I could even remember most of these trash characters (I had forgotten they even existed)😂😂 There's more but I think the point is clear.
Bro, they emasculated KHONSHU-a whole Egyptian "god" just so the Crocodile lady could argue her way to humanity being annihilated. Crazy! 😂
Which is just another reason why modern movies fail so much. Even a _good_ protagonist is _nothing_ without an equally good _antagonist_
"Has a hobby of wanting to destroy the world" 😂accurate
Drinker, I have to agree with Baggage... I'm tired of the emasculation of men...
You're not denigrating women in your stories, why should Hollywood get away with denigrating men in theirs?
Baggage Claim mentioned ‘Women Talking’ which sounds like a horror movie by feminists for feminists. Instead of zombies or alien monsters, they have adult human males.
Why? Because men are the enemy, haven't you been paying attention?
@@OvalRock Not the first, second or even 100th time misandric feminists put their sadistic and gruesome fantasies onto film, proving to us they need to be in a padded room for their protection and ours.
Feel free to find a nice tall bridge.
John Wick is the only male hero of recent times apart from Maverick that I can think of that hasn’t been ‘deconstructed’ or ‘emasculated’.
Careful. With the continental coming out soon, who knows what will happen. I don’t think they’ll go down that path, but better not to speak of such things
Reacher was also good.
To be fair, bard characters have never been staples of unrivaled masculinity, that being said, you don’t have to emasculate him to that degree
Jaskier in Netflix' the Witcher was definitely a blight on that show (one of several). But that "toss a coin to your Witcher" song was catchy, I'll admit.
@@snakedogman damn it, now that song is now stuck in my head again
@@snakedogman Did you even read the books? That was exactly how Dandelion (I refuse to call him Jaskier as the game and books called him Dandelion before Wokeflix came along.) is.
Interestingly, there is a character in the Silmarillion called Maglor who is one of the greatest elven singers but he certainly isn’t lacking in masculinity.
He and his brothers unfortunately swear a terrible oath and commit heinous acts but Maglor takes Elrond and his brother Elros as his adoptive sons to make up for what was done.
You know whats fucking annoying? In D&D, both sexes are literally equal in terms of abilities. You can easily have Female Half-Orc barbarians cutting shit up, with prissy male bards running around and old wizards hiding behind rocks. But what makes it actually fun and D&Dish, is that you want *EVERYONE* in the party to have a role. So that prissy male bard that hides and just sings in combat? He can walk into a ballroom, charm the pants of every single person there, find out everything your party needs and leave on a goddamn song Puss in Boots style.
That wizard hiding behind a rock? He can bend the very laws of reality to his whims as he summons arcane constructs, or slows the very fabric of time for enemies, or just blows a lot people the fuck up.
This D&D movie could have been a super fun ensemble movie where each member of the party is just as important as the others, but could shine in different scenarios. Hell, just look goddamn Vox Machina where you have so many scenes where guys are being 'emasculated'. But when it's time to step up, every one steps the fuck up and its great.
At this point Matt and Critical Role should make a D&D movie.
D&D is actually the pinnacle of equality in cultural terms. Being 57 I'm old enough to have lived through that fabulous time. Women weren't tearing men down, blacks and whites didn't have a beef and no one gave a rat's posterior if you were gay or straight we literally all just got along. I hate all this stuff so much - I would have LOVED a good D&D movie but I already know I won't be watching it. I detest the "strong, female" and emasculation of men rubbish the most - because I'm a woman and I know it's just NOT TRUE for 98% of my gender. I would never rely on a woman especially if my life depended on it. Sad fkn times.
Especially with a title like "Honor Among Thieves", you would've expected something like Ocean's Eleven with swords and magic.
Have you seen the movie? Because Edgin the Bard might be not much of a warrior but its clear his persuasion and deception are through the roof. He might have some stealth skills as well. Pretty much what a classic D&D Bard is like. He is also unmistakably the lead. Its his story more than anyone else. He is the one driving the plot ahead. He is likable and relatable. In short, a way better lead the Rey was in Star Wars.
Go watch the movie. its a pretty accurate depiction of what an average D&D game is like.
The reviews are really positive, so maybe watch it first before judging?
The world is hungry for stories about strong men and feminine women. Now more than ever...
There seems to be a pact between the big studios that prevents this, which only solidifies Drinkers “The Message” theory? Also seems that making money is no longer a motive?
We need Conan on our screens. The real Cimmerian.
@@crazyralph6386 The people who own Pedowood also print the money so no, they're not too concerned about making a profit.
@@donkeysunitedThere was a Jason Momoa version in 2011...
@@user-xx6vy9ri8p - The script, and notably the dialogue, was crap in the Momoa film. Doesn't help that Momoa can only act like Momoa. Pretty sure they only picked him because he looked physically close to the character, and little about his ability to act the part.
The few films I enjoy where the male is emasculated in a film is arguably Big Trouble in Little China but Kurt Russell is also trying to be the masculine hero who fumbles all the time. Even so, the main thing is that he was down for his friend and every now and again he'd get his time to shine (it's all in the reflexes scene and catching the knife at the end).
Jack Burton was a badass and don't let anyone tell you different
yes sir, ol jack went and fought the devil on a dark and stormy night, looked ol Lo pan in the eyes and said, it's all in the reflexes!, jack fought legends and broke a curse, how many men can claim that?
so yeah, next time the thunder cracks remember ol Jack is out there....
The whole point of big trouble in little china was that it was told from the comedic side characters perspective. If you pay attention to the movie Kurt’s Chinese friend is actually filling all the hero tropes being the accomplished bad ass that has to go home to save his childhood sweetheart.
While Kurt Russel’s character is idiot friend who tags along for the adventure, helps the mc with his objective, and spends most of the big fight at the end unconscious after he knocks himself out by unloading his gun into the ceiling above him.
@@kyriss12 agreed with Kurt acting as a vehicle for the audience who are just as clueless as Kurt Russell about what's going on.
It's arguable that his character gets emasculated throughout the film but it's never outwardly spoken, more so the actions he takes and the events that happen because or to him. He tries to be the action hero of the film but his buddy who we believe to be the side character ends up acting as the main hero but still values Kurt Russell.
Kurt is the fish out of water, way outside his field, getting into situations he doesn't understand, looking like a buffoon; but still valued and I'd argue half the reason for that is the same as above. He's the friend that doesn't have anything to do with it, willing to put his life on the line and embarass himself unintentionally or not (the nerdy guy at the brothel) all for his friend.
@@judgedrekk2981 even more so that despite the film making him out to be a buffoon and way out of his league, ol' Jack still comes out looking like a bad ass in the end
@@kyriss12 Yep. Something people don't realize, though he does take out the big bad. Through trickery rather than raw power
My sister shared news of this film just recently because she knows I’m a DM and a fan of RPG’s.
With this news my interest has definitely decreased exponentially.
I REALLY think Disney ALWAYS intended to replace Chadwick with Letitia, even had Chadwick not died...this was just an easier way for them to do it since they no longer had any pushback since Chadwick was gone
Don’t be surprised if they turn the next avengers into A Force which is just all female avengers
@@KarateWrestler205 I don't need to imagine, they made it PRETTY clear that's what they want to do with their cringy "all women in one scene no matter how far apart they actually are" scenes in some movies
And blame us when it doesn’t make money.
@@Avalon64 yea you have girl Hawkeye iron heart I mean yea they have black captain america but they kinda pushing for captain carter black widows sister shuri black panther misandrist she hulk I mean it’s all there funny I remember when women used to make fun of men for watching and reading this stuff and called it boy shit now I have to completely shit on all of it because the women wanna be apart of it too hilarious
@@KarateWrestler205 the problem is the industry is full of idiots who think if they take what worked and appealed to men and just GENDER swapped all of that, it would suddenly appeal to this BIG women crowd they seem to envision exists...but here's the F'ing problem...women have their own set of interests just as men have theirs, instead of going with what worked like before...like doing big explosive action movies for men...or some heartfelt emotional drama/romance for women...they insist on shoving square pegs in circled holes...I'll never understand why these fake diversity activists can't understand men and women ARE different and you can't just insert one into the other when its convenient for you...and there's NOTHING wrong with having these differences but Holloywoke is trying to convince the younger generation that somehow that is something to be ashamed of...but again there's nothing wrong with different people having different interests
Another movie I’ll be skipping! 🍿
It looks funny, don't be a sheep
@@MorrisseyMuse sheep mindlessly consume
@@MorrisseyMuse none of these movies have earned my time or money and I’m under zero obligation to give them the benefit of the doubt
@@MorrisseyMuse lmao dude says don’t be sheep but sheep consume as person already state, why the hell should anyone give this movie a chance when they literally confirmed they wanna emasculate men?
@@MorrisseyMuse yeah har har, watching movies in which men slap women around just a bit is funny also huh
What I find concerning lately is the war between the sexes being pushed. In both Women talking and the Olivia Wilde movie(I forget the name) it pits all women against all men. First it does not allow for nuance in character and conflict as well as it is totally fictional that people would default to sex group think over family group loyalty.
It's not a war when one side is expected to surrender from the start. It's women and leftist men who have already been emasculated who are demanding surrender.
Nice to see Baggage Claim back for another. As for Irish representation as villains, the one off the top of my head would have to be that rogue group from the IRA in Patriot Games. Actually, that and Clear and Present Danger would be a great subject for a stream perhaps?
I can see next years Academy Awards introducing the award for Best Emasculated Male Lead.
Or roll the female and male categories into one and see men walk away with all the prizes.
Best Actperson
Best Man Hater should be one aswell. Brie Larson would win the first year obviously.
What I don't understand is, do they not know who their audience is? The entire point of dungeons and dragons is, it's usually men, of nerdy persuasion, role playing as a hero or an adventurer. That is their core audience and they decide to make fun of them. Great plan.
They think their core audience is toxic and that if they pander to the twitter crowd they can replace the fanbase with the twitter crowd. Problem is that the twitter crowd still doesn't go out and support them so they just lose money but they don't care because getting THE MESSAGE out is even more important
I thought that until I tried to get into the new baldurs gate game. That Reddit looked like drag time story hour.
One of the head honchose of WotC recently talked about hos this core audience are just a bunch of white basement dwellers who should leave the hobby
But there’s a LOT of guys who like roleplaying cowardly rogues and bards as well. It actually gets boring when everyone wants to be the hyper competent action hero.
@@theguileraven7014 problem is we barely get competent male action heroes anymore
What I found interesting about Helen Mirren's first outing as DCI, Jane Tennison, was that it took the ladies in the dept to figure out the serial killer because he was studying women's habits and schedules to select his victims. A key item turned out to be a product from the states called "Nu-Nails" a more user friendly form of false nail for busy women.
Tennison was flawed, didn't have a perfect personal life, but knew how to investigate. Thats what I liked, a good, interesting story.
They can do the same with men, and have done. All the more shame idealogues have taken over storytelling, and ovbiously learned nothing from Mirren's Prime Suspect series.
Loved that series - excellent storytelling and flawed heroes are the best.
You get that alot from brittish cop dramas
By chance, I managed to catch an episode of Airwolf the other day. Lovely to see 'String' just shake off the female terrorist who tried to strong arm him into a room. You just wouldn't get that now - she would now have the power to restrain him easily, in any modern flick/series.
Great stuff it was too. If anyone wants me, I'll be back in the 80s watching beautifully ropey tech, some reasonably good acting, and programmes that can still engage with a story - and minimal preaching.
The 80's was definitely the BEST decade!
AIRWOF WAS THE BEST!!!!
This is one of many reasons I only see maybe 2 new movies per year at the most for the last 6 years or so, compared to before that when I was excited to go see a new movie at least once a month. How can Hollywood not understand that hyperfocusing on the market demands of roughly 10% of all potential customers leads to heavily decreased ROI?
Because same people are running Hollyweird and Vanguard, Blackrock and Federal Reserve Bank. "Money" is just number for them.
It's not about money… its about sending a message.
Thank God that movies like John Wick are still being made. Stylistic gun violence & badassary beats emasculation & misandry all day.
Agreed
For 1 movie/show positive masculine traits, you have 50 preaching hate on men. John Wick wins a battle but it's not the end of the war. We're losing 50 battles for 1 win.
Don't rejoice before we win and stay alert (with your wallets !).
@@ryostu1 At least those few victories tend to be far more significant than the many "loses" we simultaneously get. However, can they really be considered lost battles if the only ones losing anything are the studios once those other projects crash and burn?
I grew up watching Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson etc. I CRAVE strong men on screen - because I'm a woman who doesn't hate men - they aren't my enemy. John Wick combines my love of badass men and Keanu Reeves - it's like mana from heaven for me.
Mission: Impossible and Top Gun as well
Antonio Banderas is not doing a "hispanic" accent though, (which is not really a thing btw), he is using his real Spanish accent from southern Spain, not only in English but also in both Spanish versions for Spain and Latin America.
and btw, the whole he is "hispanic" and not white, coming from a Scottish guy, was really weird.
@Alf Gui very good point!
Spanish people are clearly not "white" though. The iberian peninsula was ruled in one way or another by arabs for almost 800 years. Spainards skin colour reflects that.
@@guyverjay1289 Nope, the Reconquista reverted that genetic impact, (which was north African, not Arab) as the Christian north repopulated the south. Iberian Muslim descendants were finally expelled to North Africa in the 17th century. Southern Europeans are darker than northern Europeans, especially in the summer, you just discovered the wheel, congratulations. The main genetic difference between r1b western Europeans like the British or the Spanish is the amount of genetic pool from Neolithic populations, which is higher in Spain.
@@guyverjay1289 How many Spanish people have you actually seen?
Here's the thing. This sort of started with Joss Wheadon's make leads (yes it's older but that's where I really saw it take off). The problem was he understood his characters were strong depending stand up guys and treated them with respect, until it was time to knock them down a peg or keep them from taking themselves to seriously. He still glamorized those characters for their strengths, their character, and treated them with respect. These hacks following on just don't seem to understand the balance.
Women will always want the dashing, hunky male lead to be their fantasy hero. Men want to cheer that on too. For centuries, stories have been told of the HERO not the butch woman. Until Hollywood remembers that the vast majority of us aren't watching 'Disney Sparkle' (copyright Film Threat), they'll never be profitable again
Now the folks at Hollywood have evolved from that. And in the Worst. Way. POSSIBLE.
Yeah that's why shazam 2 and Ant man 3 are underperforming at the box office right now huh? lmao Women don't give a damn about hunky male lead that's just nonsense
As a fan and player of OG D&D back in the day, I would normally be interested in a film like this....but how on Earth do the filmmakers think that this kind of messaging is going to attract fans of the game ? A lot of people who play are still dudes. Going to give this one a miss, and probably laugh a bit when it fails to make money.
Activists have invaded WotC. That is why we're getting this. Plus black Aragorn in the LotR Magic the Gathering.
Sad it makes the earlier D&D look better. It was just dumb. Not insulting.
this is attempt number 3 to bring D&D to the big screen, al 3 attempts have now failed....
honestly attempt number 1 has some redeeming qualities but ultimately is still a bad movie, attempt 2 was just bad bad bad all the way through, no redeeming qualities and I fear that will not change with attempt number 3....
I like D&D, played it when I was a teen, played many videogames based on it, this movie is gonna be the film version of Dark Alliance from 2020 that utterly flopped....[i mean it will flop like dark alliance did, not that it's an adaptation to be clear]
Hasbro doesn't _care_ about the fans. They want to use this MCU-ified movie to try and turn D&D int a multi-media lifestyle property.
@@judgedrekk2981 Well, the one with Jeremy Irons is a guilty pleasure at least.
I appreciate how eloquent and calm you all discuss this. It adds more credit to your points! Keep it up!
I just saw DND with the lowest of expectations. And I have to say, the filmmakers chose a terrible word with emasculation.
This is a terrific film. Yeah Chris Pine isn’t the team muscle, but he’s not a coward, nor an idiot, nor useless. He’s both the brains and backbone of the team.
No sign of The Message, a ton of humor, a splash of heart and character arcs that really work.
Stand by to be surprised by Dungeons and Dragons.
I don't mind if a hero is a under dog or 'unlikely hero.' But I don't agree with removing all masculinity. I mean not a lot of people have Dante/Leon Kennedy hair. But thier features are extremely masculine.
Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in LIttle China qualifies as a demasculated hero, but it worked back then because it went so much against the norm. Essentially, the goofy sidekick became the hero and the badass hero was reduced to being the sidekick.
@@derkeheath5172 he did have his reflexes though. Don't forget, "it's all in the reflexes"
RRR is by far the best movie of 2022. Went straight into my Top 5 favourites of all time.
Everything Everywhere At At Once was my favourite. It's a toss up between RRR and All Quiet on the Western Front for second place, maybe Pearl as an outside shot. Great year for movies
God bless baggage claim for her patience. Every time she said something, critical drinker seemed to be kinda dismissive and rude, but she kept her smile and composure.
Remington Steele was an early example of this. Majority will remember this show as Pierce Brosnan's career boost because he would later be 007, but true fans will know that Laura Holt was actually the lead of that show.
She always wanted to be a private eye but of course she couldn't because times were different back then so she creates a fictional character named Remington Steele who's her boss, but then mysterious man (who's actually a swindler) walks into her life & assumes the role of Remington Steele going through redemption arc.
Around first season he was kind of a buffon & butt of jokes & relying always on Laura but as the show goes on he becomes & more & more competent of course not perfect but again no one was.
Now imagine all of the above I said applied to modern day reboot. Will they do it right ? I highly doubt that.
Yeah, my mother loved that show. The same writers tried to reboot the style concept with Nathan Filion in Castle. Too bad for them it was a different era now and Filion and his leading lady hated each other.
Fantastic show 👌
The craziest thing about that movie Women Talking is that the runtime is only 104 minutes.
banderas was born and raised in Spain, he's actually European. Loved him in desperado
Goes well with "Men are Terrible and Will Hurt You" on Lifetime.
I remember when some of the women I know, including my own sister, went to cinema to watch Aquaman because Jason Momoa is masculine and they find him hot as fuck. I mean, they literally mentioned it to me, and I believe that's a completely valid point.
In what clown world do people think the audience wants to watch "emasculated male characters" instead of alpha-tier men?
John Wick has managed to keep his cojones out of a purse for 4, very successful, movies. What blows me away, is that they insist on continuing to woke, even though the most obvious benchmark of movie success...ticket sales...proves that they are committing financial suicide. Maverick was a record breaker. John Wick 4 might even do better. And when you look at who plays D&D...geeks who want to be magical superheroes...they even want their elves and wizards to be bad asses. If more than a dozen women around the world see D&D, I'll be shocked.
So the western studios are trying to appeal to an audience that doesn't exist. Nobody who gets off on watching emasculated men, will pay one cent to see an emasculated man on film. Chicks don't even go and watch movies that feature superhero chicks and pussy dudes. Marvel knows that at least...which is why Thor can't manage to keep his shirt on for more than 5 seconds.
I doubt female D&D players want to see this movie either.
It’s never going to be justifiable financially, it has to be driven by the subversive ideology of deliberately demoralising white men. I just can’t see any other credible explanation
@@lightpoint4426 I do not and will not.
Well Hollywood is dying by and large.
(((They))) have plenty of money. They want to punish white men, nothing more
Kind of reminds me of mando S3, how Din is easily ambushed and captured while Bo-Katan sees right through the trap and rescues him. Can't believe it's the same character from S1.
Your podcast makes me want to see the movies. Amazing guests. Amazing talks. Thank you very much
Watching this video, I’ve realised something. With new movies being so bad, I watch old films with my children (so do my friends)
We’ve not watched any of the new marvel films or shows, not watched any new star wars or lord of the rings but we have watched old Star Wars, Peter Jackson’s lord of the rings, and all the 80s classics. We’re now watching the old rocky films. I imagine this is a trend with all classics being readily available on streaming platforms
Yep.
New movies’ dialogue is being written in a way that closely resembles the way dummies interact across social media ie. Using woke buzzwords, and memes. Way too much talking. People not talking like actual people
Yep! Since 2020, I've been watching A LOT of film noirs from 1930s-1950s. As a woman, I like the thrillers, the way women dressed, how the romance was serious & well...romantic 😊. I also like the mysterious w/actor Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. Many oldies but goodies are free on YT.
Love the utter lack of criticism of TLOU for clearly doing this to Joel. Self-doubt, fragile ego, and straight up panic attacks. But yeah what a faithful adaptation. What a triumph… smh
Guess you never played the game huh?
I was able to see the movie yesterday because of free promotion the WotC did for tabletop stores in my area. While the number of men who were utter pansies was fairly distracting, I did end up enjoying the movie a fair amount, as a lot of the comedy was fairly well done, it knew when to be serious, and the main male leads actually improved from where they started, getting their own times to shine and gaining more confidence. Guess I wish it was similarly mirrored by the female cast, but overall, not the worst thing I’ve seen.
Drinker, I’m a huge fan of yours. But, I just watched the movie: “D&D: Honor Among Thieves” and I hope you’ll watch it with an open mind. I do think the producers stuck their heads up their rears by saying Chris Pine’s character was “emasculated”. But, honestly that did not come across to me that way. He did not contribute in any major way regarding combat but he was everything else the movie needed…a leader who gave them purpose but also an incredible amount of wit and humor along the way.
Emasculated men being pitched as a "fresh" idea? They out here just straight up lying now 😂
I will say BULLET TRAIN was amazing!
Going back to good old fashioned action movies. Miss those days. 😿
I wonder if that new sci-fi dinosaur movie with Adam Driver will be like that.
BAGGAGE CLAIM AND CRITICAL DRINKER TOGETHER-the crossover of the century!
After having seen Dungeons and Dragons now, Baggage Claim was right, the black guy was not only NOT emasculated, he was OP. He was flawless. He could only be in a short part of the movie because if he was around for the final battle, he'd have run right through the enemies so there wouldn't have been any struggle for the heroes to overcome.
Drinker it's been like 30 years of this. It was slow and subtle but Homer Simpson was one of the first
I thought Gilligan was one of the first...
I never understood why Dnd can't seem to get a good movie. It has so much story in all the campaign settings with hundreds of Novels across Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun etc. Yet the best we could do is that one with I think Damon Wayne in it which was only loosely tied to the setting in a generic fantasy way.
The people making these movies generally don't care enough.
And whatever writer they've hired probably doesn't feel like adapting an actual story / adventure module since that means _someone else_ might get the credit, and mayhaps even a share of the money.
So in the end it's just a generic fantasy thing with faint D&D trappings.
In India Hollywood movies have almost completely lost their market. Yesterday I went to see Shazam 2 in cinemas but the show was cancelled bcuz of low sales and in the pastI have seen that theatre open for 12 people.
All that means is Indians have good taste in movies.
@@dominysynclair Shazam was actually pretty enjoyable, though. It wasn’t perfect but it was a hell of a lot better than much of what has been offered recently. You could tell the actors had a lot of fun and if people bothered paying attention most of the plot holes and complaints people had were addressed. The writers didn’t try to shame anyone or “put anyone in their place.” Overall, it was a fun feel good movie. Nothing wrong with that.
Edit: I know you’re talking about Hollywood in general and not specifically Shazam 2. Shazam 2, seems to getting dunked on way more than necessary, so I decided to give it a little pat on the back.
Can anyone imagine a movie like Gladiator being made today??? Now... THAT was a MEN and a fucking HERO!!
Imagine 300 if it were made today...
D&D already seems like it’s DOA
honestly that's probably too generous, more like DBA
9:07 I disagree. I am a Westerner through and through. In my line of work a slap on the shoulder, pat on the back, hand shake to a hug are very common among platonic men and women. It’s all about knowing the person beforehand
Love Baggage Claim! Happy to see this collab. 😊
I'm so glad Despot has arrived I've been watching him for a while now and he is absolutely hilarious and insightful. If you haven't seen his channel, I'd highly recommend it.
So happy to see despot on the screen with drinker and mauler.
RRR is so refreshing because those men are MEN: they are the sequoia trees that their loved ones stand underneath for protection. The women in their lives love and support them, and the men honor and cherish the women right back.
Has anyone else noticed how over the last few years the old spice commercials have been emasculating the men in the commercials.
No spoilers from my end, but I did see the movie, and -
I LOVED this movie so much. And I don't think, that just because Chris Pine's character wasn't the best fighter in the movie, he was emasculated, instead, the movie chose to focus on other aspects of masculinity with him, which is not alway being the most physically strong. This movie in it's core tackled through him how men's urge to provide for their family, and give them even more than they might need might lead to said family's downfall, and lead to more pain. It showcased a father doing his very best trying to get back to his daughter. It is so important to show that being a man is more multi layered than just cutting people down with swords. He used his wit and charisma and personal beliefs to get out of situations. He was by no means incapable, just not THE strongest. I never for a second got the impression that the writers "hated" men.
I love how fucking Puss In Boots has a more masculine male lead than most MCU films
The irony of Drinker saying he could listen to Antonio Banderas reading his laundry list, while I could listen to Drinker read his laundry list
Coming from the future. DND the movie turned out to be really truthful to the game and vibes, and as a keen TTRPG player I'm happy to have it in our pop culture!
When I was a preteen, early teen, I read some speculative fiction and a lot of old timey adventure type stories, a lot of 1950s Hardy Boys, and then 1980s remakes and so forth (this was the late 80s, early 90s, I was born in the mid 1970s). Then I got into fantasy, and one thing that I really got sick of seeing was the subversion against the male characters. This stuff was allegedly written for boys, but what we were being told was that the women were always smarter, that even when the male character was the hero, he was in some way unworthy of, or lesser than, the females. And this kind of mirrored my experiences in school, where the boys were looked upon as the source of trouble, the disruptive ones, the ones who were just not as neat and not as good as the girls.
Then, in my early teens, I read a fantasy book series that was making a real effort to deconstruct the genre tropes and cliches. It started out a lot like Lord of the Rings, if the Hobbits were human teenagers and half of them were girls. And I was so gratifying, because while men were the underdogs in the story, in a world where men were forbidden to use magic because of a curse on the male magic power, and the world in general shaded slightly to female domination, the main characters were men, who had to push back against the system, and constantly had women condescending to them, and taking them for granted and dismissing them and "male" interests or issues as frivolous or stupid. It was all the same sort of things the heroines were saying in Ursula LeGuinn or Anne McCaffrey, or David Eddings or Lloyd Alexander ... except the clear connotation in this new series was that _this was not okay_ and that men and women were equally important and should work together instead of trying to bully or belittle or serve the other sex. This was not a MGTOW or incel thing, the narrative rebukes male characters for both seeking out hedonism and self-indulgence and for being self-sacrificing to an extreme degree. It portrays a man who absolutely refuses to hurt a woman or send a woman into danger or allow a woman to be harmed for the greater good (i.e. on a battlefield, he might ignore his own duty to rescue a female combatant in danger). There were women who were badass mages and badass warriors, but there were also conventionally feminine women, female healers and rulers and scholars, who were not just there to do those things to support the men and be eye candy.
To someone who felt the unfairness of subtle anti-male tropes, this series that upheld both genders, and did not denigrate either or say their traditional roles were of lesser importance or that the other sex could do them better, the series was a revelation and reshaped how I looked at speculative fiction, including sci-fi and other media, such as movies and television. It sparked my interest in history and military affairs, and politics, because of ways the series made me look at things. And then years later, I went online, and discovered people talking about the same series, including young women who were very devout feminists, who *had the exact same experience* as I did, reading the books. That women were allowed to be women and be cool and awesome and accomplished, without their lives revolving around the male characters, and they loved the series for this, in spite of its flaws (of which there are many).
Then, in 2021, they adapted the series to the screen, for Amazon Prime. They changed the lead character from the young farmboy into the middle-aged female wizard. Instead of a male character growing into his role as the prophesied figure, the focus is on the woman trying to figure out which young person (2 white, 3 PoC candidates) is the prophesied figure, with all three male candidates stripped of any real achievements or abilities which might have given the game away to a savvy audience. They went out of their way to make the female characters more prominent, to have moments of awesome on-screen and to face trials and problems that are Relevant To A Modern Audience, and in the process, stripped one female character of power, another of agency and drive and ambition, and their lead character was made objectively more incompetent. The female-centric setting is said by characters to place obstacles in young girls' way and punishes girls who try to be powerful, *while retaining the female monopoly on magic from the books* and not bothering to show that the realm in which most of the first book takes place is ruled by a queen, where only women are eligible for the throne!
Amazon took a story about gender equality in a setting with empowered female characters, and gutted its worldbuilding and female leads, solely for the purpose of dragging down the male characters with them!
Don't forget Ethan Hunt. Tom Cruise, whether you like him or not, is the last proper leading man left in Hollywood.
I just wanna see a ridiculously fun action movie like "True Lies" or an awesome espionage movie like "The Winter Soldier".
the winter soldier is not modeled after 80 action movies but spy thrillers like tree days for condor
Glad there are still projects out there like Tulsa King and JW4 that show just how good a strong male lead is when done right. Hopefully the popularity of these two properties as well as Top Gun 2 signals some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.
We heard it wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. We were pleasantly surprised. All of the cast felt layered and full of flaws they have to work to overcome throughout the movie. It felt like a dungeons and dragons campaign. It didn’t feel preachy either, which was a huge relief.
I find it amazing that someone can outright say I wrote a specific group of people in a humiliating and weak way to make one other group of people look better in comparison and everyone is just seemingly okay with letting this show in theaters but had it been some dude writing a girl that looks anything but awesome and you'd have Twitter attempting ban all screening and have the man who wrote and said that fingers removed
The NorthMan is the movie yall were looking for
NO WAY! BAGGAGE CLAIM AND 0CRITICAL DRINKER!!! My two favourite youtubers
By definition, the "hero" should have a reasonable degree of competence. Unless it's a comedy like the Pink Panther, where the Inspector's incompetence is the point of the joke.
I think it would be actually fun, interesting and fresh to have female characters who have human emotions in a well-written story that doesn't sacrifice internal logic for cgi shitfests and empty spectacle.
I feel like Noomi Rapace has done a number of good movies in recent years
I hate to say it, but it seems like all the good Indie type moves are being made by Amazon and Netflix. They picked up the baton on movies that don't end up with a "Universe"
I wonder if Edward Norton somehow knew that Bruce Banner would get emasculated in the MCU? Could that have had something to do with him being difficult to work with as far as Disney thought?
THIS
Nope. He's just an asshole and terrible to work with apparently.
Awesome to see Despot. Love his channel!
I saw the banner for dungeons and dragons movie all over, and I could already tell Chris Pine's character was gonna be handled in such a manner.