Movies

I recently came across this little opinion piece:
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/9904278/Why-cant-men-just-be-men-any-more.html

The writer here laments how in today's world, actors who have invested heavily on getting their bodies into peak physical shape are more popular than men of the average body. He does acknowledge that what is happening to the male actor and in turn, the social pressures on men, is something that women have had to contend with for generations already. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to sympathize his lament because of the fact that instead of saying, we should celebrate the average person's looks in every age and gender, he is nostalgic for the days when average-looking Roger Moore can still get hot chicks younger than his daughter.

It's true that I find it disturbing that instead of having more average and healthy-looking women be the norm in Hollywood, they are re-making the image of men into something equally unattainable. On the other hand, Hollywood is all about the fantasy and the unattainable. It isn't exactly known for its faithful representation of facts and/or reality. The way I see it, I have less of a problem with movies featuring handsome, shirtless men with gorgeous, well-endowed women than I do with movies featuring old, paunchy men sucking face and pawing at a hot, nubile woman young enough to be his granddaughter. Honestly, Hollywood is still casting actors and actress like that and it grosses me out, despite the fact that we're supposed to just ignore the obvious age disparity and pretend that the 20 year old woman is really supposed to be a 35 year old mom and that 50 year old dude is really supposed be a 40 year old who is not single because there is something wrong with him, but because he just hasn't found the right woman yet. Blech!

So to the author of that article linked above, I have to say that although I understand that you don't want our boys to chase after an unattainable goal for themselves, I do not like how you seem to have no problems with the fact that women have been faced with this to the point where we have terrible illnesses like bulimia and anorexia. When you ended the article saying you'd still watch Roger Moore if he were still around, lamenting how Daniel Craig have sort of ruined the fun of Bond movies for an old man like you, I feel no sympathy. Obviously you'd like watching the average old, balding man with a belly get a hot girl because you can then go home and feel good about yourself, rather than go home, look in the mirror and feel dejected. How do you think thousands of women feel? Instead of saying you want the old Bond movies back, how about you saying you'd like to see more movies of old, not-so-pretty women, getting a young, hot-blooded dude, and more movies of average-looking men like Roger Moore getting paired up with women who look his age and are just as average-looking in body size and weight.

So yes, Hollywood is finally getting around to cashing in on the idea that hot dudes bring female audiences to the theaters, and they are being well-rewarded for their efforts. Considering how long men have had eye-candy to stare at, I say if we can't improve things so that both men and women can celebrate the average body and face, then I'll settle for gender parity where women can get their eye candy too. Maybe this way, men will finally get the idea that being objectified and constantly looked at takes its toll on a person. Maybe this way, some men will learn to show a little friggin' compassion towards women's struggle against body image issues. In the author of the above article's case, there is apparently no hope he'll ever "get it."