“Read stories of restless people who always end up alone and hate being alone because it’s always themselves they can’t stand being alone with…” (Aciman p.96) Men always have to prove others that they have the power to do everything alone, that they don’t never need anyone to help them, to encourage them, to love them… Elio in Call me by your name  by André Aciman is always caught between the ideals of what a man should be and his own impulses on what he wants – to be loved and acknowledge by another person. Elio, while it may sometimes be hard for him, tries to never hides his feelings and dependence from Oliver; going in the direct opposite of what a European man in the 1980’s should be doing, acting and feeling. Throughout the story his dependence to Oliver grows stronger and stronger, but just as every good thing as its end, Oliver must go back to U.S. leaving Elio alone in the town where their wildest dreams became reality. In the movie version of this story directed by Luca Guadagnino, the story ends in the ultimate display of expressiveness, a long scene where Elio is shown crying by the fireplace. Crying because of the realisation that the relationship between him and Oliver was simply a summer dream come true. Expressing the sorrow of the loss of all the dependence and love he felt towards him trough his tears. Elio clearly defy the main idea itself of what it is to be independent and inexpressive where “men should be strong, sturdy, independent, and in control of themselves, even in the most difficult of situations”.

The theme which was assigned to me was adventurousness. For this theme, I chose Olaf from the movie Frozen as he is known to be a funny and humorous character from the movie. He has a great adventurous side to him throughout the movie. He likes to have fun and is always in a positive move through any adventure that he goes through. At the beginning of the movie, when Elsa runs off into the hills, Anna meets Olaf in the snow. When she first meets him, she becomeS friends with him right away and he insists that he joins her and Kristophe on their journey to find her sister. Although Olaf is very adventurous, he also is a realistic thinking character which does not like to take too many uncalculated risks. This does not stop him, however, from always wanting to travel and join them on their quest.

I chose Olaf to represent adventurousness because he is a character which was placed in the movie to comfort Anna and Kristophe and to take them on an adventure. Without Olaf, the movie would fall flat and there would be no main plot.

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Thanos

According to the text Intro to Mens Studies, “men should be strong, sturdy, independent, and in control of themselves, even in the most difficult situations”. (Kilmartin 6) The first guy who comes into my mind following that statement is Thanos. For those who don’t know who Thanos is, he is a malicious man in the Avengers who succeeded to destroy half of the population with the snap of a finger, literally.

Going back to the text, it is also declared that, men should not show any symptoms of weakness and must act stubborn at all times. In the movie The Avengers: Endgame, Thanos physically felt weak after destroying everybody because he almost died. However, instead of taking charge of powerful acts with half the population, he moved far away to a different planet where he can be a nobody and not show that he is incapable of being who he anticipated to be.

It was also stated that, strength is another quality that makes a man, a man. Thanos attempted to show physical strength but fighting superheroes and stealing each infinity stone to destroy people. This being said, he fits the theme because he is the epidemy of strong and stubborn

Bibliography

Farokhmanesh, Megan. Avengers: Infinity War’s big bad Thanos is getting his own origin story. 2018. the verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17243794/avengers-infinity-wars-thanos-origin-story-marvel. Accessed 5 February 2020

Kilmartin, Christopher. “Defining Mens Studies”. Intro to Mens Studies. Accessed 5 February 2020

Joe Hogan is a male African American nurse who lived in Columbia, Mississippi who stood up for his rights and what he believed in. He already had an associate’s degree, but he wanted to further his education to get his bachelor’s degree. The closest co-ed university was 147 miles away, so he applied to an all-girl’s university, Mississippi University for Women (MUW), that was in his hometown. He was denied admission based on his sex, despite the fact that he was otherwise qualified. Hogan sued the school on the basis of the violation of his 14th amendment rights (the Equal Protection Clause), and in 1982, the courts ruled in favor of him, ending school sex discrimination in publicly funded nursing schools throughout the country.

Joe Hogan has the qualities of a hard-working, headstrong man, and is a good counter example because he does not fit the description of a man in Defining Men’s Studies. In this chapter, the status and achievement of men is described as being, “successful in everything they do, especially in sports, work, and sexual ‘conquest’. Powerful men earn respect and admiration of the others”. Hogan is working in a field that is dominated by women, and he has faced much opposition as it is rare to see a male nurse. The reason he was not accepted to the MUW was only because of the fact the his sex was not female, yet he has shown that with perseverance, you can do whatever you dream to, even if male stereotypes and the law is against you.

Marshawn Lynch, also known as “Beast Mode”, is a professional football player for the Seattle Seahawks. He is know for being a fearless running back in the NFL, often running through people to get into the back of the end zone. The many qualities used to describe this man are as follows: Fearless, Disrespectful, Rebellious and Focused. Beast Mode exemplifies this with his play on the field and off the field.

According to Robert Brannon and Deborah David’s book, they say that: “Masculinity is characterized by a willingness to take (physical) risks and become violent if necessary.” Beast Mode was exactly that kind of guy, doing anything and going through anyone to get a TD. Marshawn Lynch is undoubtedly one of the all-time greatest running back that the NFL has ever seen because he simply wouldn’t go down. He is nicknamed “Beast Mode” for a very obvious reason. According to Patriots Linebacker coach Pat Graham: “You have to want to tackle[…] That’s really what it comes down to. When you face someone like him, there are no tricks. There are no little secrets where I can say to someone, ‘OK, you just do this and you’ll bring him to the ground.’ You have to want to tackle.” He holds many records such as the Cal school record with the most 100 yard rushing TDs. His very aggressive play really exemplifies the adventurousness and aggressiveness demonstrated in the article.

According to Robert Brannon and Deborah David’s book and the same quote mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are many interpretations of that quote such as “Some authors interpret this tenet as authorizing cheating, while discouraging respect for authority and rules.” He is notorious for being a reckless and disrespectful person by racking up many fines over the years because he wouldn’t attend mandatory press conferences and getting in trouble with the law. At Super Bowl XLIX Media Day, Marshawn sat down with reporters that threw 25+ questions and he responded with the same answer: “I’m just here so I won’t get fined […] I’m just here to play football.” Also, he ran into multiple legal troubles in 2008 and in 2012 where he committed multiple hit and runs, got his license provoked, pled guilty and served 2 years probation (2008). His bad behavior off the field also really exemplifies the adventurousness and aggressiveness demonstrated in the article.

Leonidas I was a warrior king of the Greek city-state of Sparta. Also the 17th of the Agiad line; a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus.

He is mostly know for the battle of Thermopylae where he leaded a small group of only 300 Spartans to face the Persian army invasion of two million strong.

Before the battle, the oracles predicted that his army had no chance of winning. Leonidas took his shield and spear up and bravely faced the challenge.

Obviously, they lost pretty hard. But they held back the army for so long and reduce the army so much that their became legendary.

As described by Kilmartin and Smiler in their textbook The Masculine Self, a man should show no emotion, no care about fashion and have a manly job.

King Leonidas I is the prefect example of anti-femininity. We can easily see it in the movie “300” where he is the main character.

Show no emotions: Through the full 2 hours of the movie, he display only emotions, humor and anger. The rest of the time, he is stoic as a rock.

No fashion sense: The only clothes he wear are a cape and a underwear. Oh right! Also a shield, a sword and a spear. Very fashion.

Manly job: Is there any job more manly (anti-feminine) that being the king of the greatest military force of all Greece.

The Spartans were know for one primary thing. Being warriors.

According to Deborah David and Robert Brannon, there are four main characteristics found in American masculinity. One of these is a man’s willingness to perform risks that could lead to violence or physical pain.

A man with this trait ignores rules and has little to no respect towards authorities. This characteristic does not necessarily have a goal behind it; it is more of a guidance as to how a man can attain certain goals. America’s society has painted an image where “[…] bravery is prescribed for men while caution and cowardice are proscribed.” (6) At an extereme level, men of this nature condone violence and are more willing to take physical risks.

A fictional character that opposes this trait is Shaggy Rogers from Scooby-Doo. The protagonist is well known for his cowardliness and effort to avoid the adventures at all costs. He prefers to eat over solving mysteries and runs away from anything that scares him. Shaggy is the exact opposite of aggressive, being a slacker and trying his best to stay away from physical activity. Despite his lack of aggressiveness, he is kind and caring to his group of friends, especially his best friend Scooby-Doo.