MASCULINITY IN FILM

The portrayal and ideology surrounding masculinity is an element of film that is definitely to be questioned , the underrepresentation of homosexual men within film and expectations surrounding  men created by various film is what I shall attempt to explore within this analysis, looking particular at four focus films that I personally believe exemplify various aspects of masculinity within film, the major influence of film as a form of media consumption being an element I will focus on in exploring the film industries extremely traditional stance revolving male sexuality. The definition of 'masculinity' states ; 'possession of the qualities traditionally associated with men', these so called qualities are created and portrayed to be essential to all men through various media sources, the hypodermic needle theory illustrating exactly how this information is received. Being received 'wholly' causing people to automatically assume this is the only option , in this example the constant injection of media which only represents and portrays heterosexual relationships leads people who may differ in sexuality to feel rejected by society due to the fear of not being accepted, acceptance being a universal theme almost all humans strive for in life. The traditional dominant masculine character evident in most mainstream cinema may be a contributing factor surrounding the stigma of homosexual relationships in the modern day, this due to many people in society today consuming film from a young age, the combination of constant implication of heterosexual relationships and underrepresentation of homosexual relationships possibly responsible for this ancient stigma. The dominant ideology of both the UK and USA undoubtedly in control of and extremely influential in this particular industry, using media texts as a social mechanism to frame how the majority of people constantly consuming the media think , this power passively effecting most people who are unable to escape the projection of the media. Due to the dominant ideology of both major countries being white,straight, and male ,it seems the storys in much of mainstream film seems to reflect this demographic , concluding in the majority of western cinema possessing common traits, common traits that may subconsciously form ones opinion or leave a person feeling a particular way.