Hey everybody, Trace here with another episode
of the DNews Screening Room.
Today, I sat down with a cold craft beer.
And I watched the latest Morgan Spurlock flick.
It's called Mansome.
If you haven't seen this one, then sorry for the spoilers.
But you could watch it if you go to Netflix.com/dnews,
sign up for Netflix, and support the show.
First month of streaming is free, guys.
I'm just saying.
The algorithm that guesses my rating
said I would give it three stars.
And let me tell you, it was right on.
I did not love it.
I did not hate it.
I watched this whole movie, and, at the end,
I was not clear on the definition of masculinity.
I was sure that would beards factored into it, though.
I was sure of that somewhere.
But masculinity in general, no not really.
Firstly, why was Will Arnett and Jason Bateman in this movie?
It was just like celebs for the sake of celebs.
Some of them had great input-- Paul Rudd,
looking at you, buddy.
Great job.
But a lot of the rest was just like, meh,
why are you guys here?
What are you doing?
I think the documentary was too narrowly focused.
If we believe that masculinity is only defined now,
in today's world, then that would be fine.
But what about the generations of men that came before us?
Did they live in a world ignorant
of what it meant to be a man?
Of course they didn't.
Make up, wigs, high heels-- masculine or feminine?
Answer?
Depends on the year.
Throughout history, men wore all of these things.
High heels made people taller and more attractive.
Wigs were used to show authority and social standing.
And make up was pretty much universal
because, let's face it, guys.
Good complexion is seriously important for both men
and women who want to do some breeding.
Were the dudes who built the pyramids and the Colosseum
somehow less manly because they weren't
wearing flannel, or supporting the right kind of stache,
and didn't have a favorite football team?
Of course they didn't.
Now some of this was touched on in the film--
the idea of a hair piece, a beard, personal grooming.
But I posit that without historical context,
we've got no idea of knowing what masculinity
is at the end of movie.
By the late 19th century, the US Army
wore frock coats and paper collars to define their waste
and stiffen their neck-- something that now we
associate with femininity.
But back then, that wasn't the case.
So perhaps all this new wave of grooming, and creams,
and manscaping, that's actually just to recovery
after World War I, World War II, the depression
and all of these strange fashions of the 20th century.
Overall, I think this movie was--
it just was a resounding meh.
It wasn't great.
But I do have to say, I've been talking a lot about it
with my friends.
And it's been really fun, lots of great conversation.
And you know what?
I honestly did laugh out loud in the movie a few times.
If you do want to check it out, make sure
that you hop on Netflix.
And if you don't have it, get a free month of streaming
and help the show by going to Netflix.com/dnews.
But let's put this out to you guys.
One, if you saw Mansome, what did you think of it?
Give us your review.
And two, what is masculinity, seriously?
It's not lumberjacks and car repair.
So what does it actually mean.
And we'll see you in two more weeks
with Lacy's review of Asexual.
This is going to be super fascinating.
I might just have to go watch this one right now, actually,
too.