Men's Love for Men: Contrasting Classical American Film With The Crying Game

At the 1992 Academy Awards show, “The Year of the Woman,” the consistent lament by female actresses was that there are few good roles for women in contemporary film. Indeed, despite a long tradition of screen goddesses in America, movies have been primarily financed and directed by men and in recent years have starred male actors in the best roles. The popular action genres of gangster, crime, cowboy, and war movies can be seen in part as indirect expressions of the fascination that men have in being in intense engagement with each other. Women, the manifest romantic interest, often are the excuse for the portrayal of men in action with one another. In film the leading men, whether good or evil, are frequently depicted as powerful and independent. Men's relationships to one another are almost never pictured as overtly sexual and normally are not based on manifest emotional dependency. The basis of the relationship is task oriented and usually focused, as in competitive sports, or victory over another man or group of men. A closer examination of the relationships between men in movies and in team sports reveals considerable mutual attachment and affection. This is rarely made explicit except through actions taken to rescue, help, or defend one another, or during the shared celebration of victory over an enemy. In many films of these genres, one strong “good” man and one strong “bad man” dominate their respective charges, who in turn may idealize them and display masochistic obedience and loyalty. Other films depict men in pairs, a hero and a sidekick, who are often closer with each other than the leading man is with the leading lady.