Male-driven action films have been at the heart of the Hollywood legacy for a very long time. Hollywood action films are usually male-centric and have men as the key driving force. These films require the protagonist who is very well beefed up with his brawns to protect and defend the values. The essence of Hollywood action cinema lies in the action hero who finds himself entangled in action usually for the most trivial of causes, causing massive bloodshed, and will kill many people while surviving the most adverse of situations.
1. Introduction
In recent years, aspects of the genre appear to be devolving; contemporary male-driven action is often characterized by unhealthy, almost carnivalesque levels of hyper-masculinity, de-homosexualized bromance, and an intensified focus on revenge. Revenge in this sense is understood as seeking a reputation for oneself by erasing the actions of enemies, standing as a sign for values (family, moral, social, national as well as global cosmological).
This essay will approach male-driven action cinema from the late 1970s to the present, demonstrating an – apparently – inverse relationship between economic, social culture, and the figure of the male hero. This paper will explore the evolution of the genre in a historical and cultural context and examine its ‘impact’ in terms of a progression, or passing down, of certain values from generation to generation. Hence the title of this intermediary section of the essay: ‘The ’70s Legacy’. The question is whether male empowerment films are purely an aesthetic or commercial phenomenon, a representation serving as a distraction from the crisis of late capitalism, or cultural products constructing gender identities for the male viewing public.
1.1. Defining Male-Driven Action Films
Action films are commonly seen as a “masculine” genre, but for the past several years, male-driven action films have been getting produced and these have been reshaping a typical male action figure by bringing in aspects of fashion, grooming, and body beauty along with the “objectification” of men. According to experts in cinema and gender studies, action films may be inherently hyper-masculine, since they reflect the adrenaline-charged action of video games, the confrontational behavior delivered by military porn, and the illusion of personal security “promoted in terror porn” (Edwards 2010). Although there is some disagreement over the precise definition of male-driven action films, it is widely agreed that for a film to be considered part of this genre, it must feature some of the following elements: an overabundance of fight scenes, evidence or the declaration of superhuman strength, and/or a body count that rivals the gross national product of some countries.
Given the extraordinary lengths that directors and actors will go to make their fight and action scenes as realistic as possible, there has also been renewed interest in the appropriate masculine services of “real-action training” through programs like the “300 Workout.” Get what Gerard Butler got — the Spartan body! These men are not only “real men” but they are also becoming objectified and consumed as “body machines.” According to Gylys and Koy, it seems that “Hercules perfumes will soon follow.” Many stars of these male-driven action films today must also undergo the same rigorous process as Barthes’ “wrestler” performs for the audiences on and off the screen.
1.2. Significance of the Genre
While men have dominated the action film market for the last few decades, the significance of what scholars are calling the ‘male-driven action film’ remains understudied. The genre exceeds the cinematic experience, seeping into popular culture and anxiety regarding gender relations. Hoberman (1977) argues that it is ‘the fact that audiences require heroes,’ and the necessity of a male protagonist seeps into forty percent of the top-grossing movies from 1992-1995. Male-driven action films are often the factor that allows productions to avoid the ‘slump’ (Kuhn, 1999). The action film in general is important to the cinema since they tap into a ‘more essentialist and libidinal dimension of male identity.’ Like all generic manifestations, the male-driven action film is of great interest as it reveals the dominant order at work and because it is so close to ideal form states that it ‘audibly rings the surface’.
Understanding films as cinematic texts is one mode of understanding a film’s impact. Films also have a significant impact within popular culture due to the attention they receive by social intermediaries. Understanding different modes of legitimation is as important as understanding a genre’s cinematic manifestation. The action film, in general, became popular because of post-1970 cultural fragmentation and the desire for ideas of universal appeal. The stars of this genre have transcended the midpoint of genre – people want to see Arnold, not a philandering cop. This focus allows a more detailed and complete discussion of the mechanics of cinematic chauvinism than a more general approach to the action film. The male-driven action film is concerned with the utopian function, the manipulation of ‘the politics of gender difference,’ and the tendency, stemming from both filmmaker concerns and new-male groups, of aligning white masculinity with stardom, thus projecting the latter the ideal.
2. Historical Overview
If we are to track the development of male-driven action films chronologically, we can start with the early pioneers of the action genre. Biblical titles like The Ten Commandments (1923, DeMille) and historical actioners, such as Burnett’s Napoleon (1927), made the best use of large-scale real and scaled-up naturalistic locations, massive gimballed sets, crowd scenes, and dangerous stunts, produced from pre-production through to the conclusion. By 1926, The Great K & A Train Robbery (1926, Seiler), Hell’s Angels (1930, Hughes), and the Fleischer brothers’ Old Ironsides (1926) made grandiloquent trains, silent-era F/X aeroplane dogfights, and period ships under smoke and steam a major part of the spectacle. But the repeated success of tropical-themed Tarzan actioners as well as Fairbanks’ and Flynn’s costumed lightweight action adventures made naturalistic locations less important to action-adventure cinema later in the 1930s, and the types of films that would be recognized as the male-oriented action genre would not flourish until the 1960s.
The real roots of the Euro-American male action film should be traced to the German “mountain-film” as well as the Weimar-era manly-objector workouts of genius German silent-era director Leni Riefenstahl or Arnold Fanck’s and Osowik’s male sportsmen mountain-climbing epics. Still, the real imaginative history of the emphasis on manly physical brio of the male-driven action film of accented genre can be more fully traced to the contemporary male-oriented Accented Genre Art-thrillers of classic and tetchy 1950s Warner Brothers, Paramount, and MGM hard-boiled procedural gangster (or faux-gangster) films in the US. These Lorraine and George dialectical, manly, hardboiled noirs substitute sexy dolls with gutsy gals and high yahoo Brios. The US legacy of peddling solid mit-biff manly action hasn’t stopped between 1930 through to 1965. From CI-(dusting)5H-to the alpha males Cagney, Robinson, Raift, Lil’, Pidgeon, and Baldwin, Hollywood’s gangster fils were tinged with a solid ochre of man. And the soup has never altered. With amusing bouts of authentic man-sensible fare going deeper with 1920 millionaires to FBI strutters to Dick Maimes’s sun mother boss man vs. salami whisper Edison “Hardwired” and Frank Soros’ defiant rogues in Sores and Strife’s grand man-jousts in places from the inner sanctum of holistic international thieves. Welfare’s crusade in Afabara allows for Chuck to resource dragon lances with sniper-precision. Repeater bullets blown by Freundlian contempt. His 1957 Latin voice can blister anyone.
2.1. Early Pioneers
Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, action in film consisted of staged short films capturing footage of human hearts animate and swimmers speeding across the screen, encyclopaedic series lectures, and titillating fantasy sequences. Titles included The Gordon Sisters Boxing Chris Lyman (1894), Boxing Match (1896), “A Dash with a Mail Train” (1897), A Daring Daylight Burglary (1903), and The Great Train Robbery (1903). The majority of these early “story” action pictures were mostly enactments like The Gordon Sisters Boxing Chris Lyman and wrestling matches or historical sequences featuring cross-country races, train robberies, and prison escapes. The films from 1894–1903 were all under two or four minutes long with groups of men as performers in the various science and stunt films. The impact of American and international cinema and exhibition proliferation, particularly the Ford film movement and Griffith Griffith-isation of narrative and spectacle through conservative escapades; helped commodity early and late silent film.
Most film historians identified the one sensation films of the rough silent era to celebrate the exuberance of primitive blood sport and criminal prison action, like The Gordon Sisters Boxing Chris Lyman, The Great Train Robbery, Roscoe Arbuckle, or The Baseball Drama (1910). Five years prior to the Great Train Robbery, producers such as S. Lubin and Edison films also saw the missing production-value potential in films where a death or a train robbery occurred, but the result was mostly a spectacle showing men in distress before de-escalating back to reality and slightly ribald entertainment and early exposure. D. W. Griffith was the sole American genius visionary of the rough silent era that counteracted the men in action films, that would prepare the cinematic audience that cathartic spectacle and narrative fiction were not always credible but tangible.
2.2. Golden Age of Action Films
Following the establishment of the genre and the release of the first ever films known to have used filmed action sequences, action as a film genre felt more comprehensively established. World War I would also have a significant influence on the action sub-genre. German studios developed a newly-elevated, hyper-stylized form of cinematic action designed to swoop and terrify audiences, while Hungarian and Austrian studios developed a dark, fantastical kind of action film.
After a two-decade innovation period, a “Golden Age of Action Films” emerged that was greater and more innovative than anything seen before in the genre. This occurred after a prolonged period of war and economic hardship, as the world sought escapism and entertainment, resulting in a large number of action blockbusters. This era saw the development of series and formulas, of live-action stunts and special effects, and everything in between. Directors like Howard Hawks and John Sturges, all famous action filmmakers in their own right, excelled at “male-driven” storylines that preserved the social power structure of the day. World War II allowed men to take the military back to the preconceived American model of 1950s suburbia where a charismatic dad commands his minivan to soccer, and his less charismatic kids ready to join the army. Rocky, The Godfather, and Apocalypse Now are generally regarded as examples of the best movies ever made because “they are timeless and tell the story of Man, which goes far deeper than individual accomplishment.” Although five Steven Spielberg classics from the 1980s are filled with action scenes from beginning to end, they “epitomize the Man motif, reflecting deeper truths about human nature and society, truths that can transcend any era.”
3. Characteristics of Male Protagonists
Exploring the ways in which the male superhero—the male protagonist—reflects certain idealized values ascribed to man, one important characteristic about the male body is its association with physicality and strength—particularly in action films, which are known for, of course, the large amount of action and physical combat present within the narrative. For example, the male superhero is typically portrayed with a muscular physique that symbolizes a sense of power and strength. Despite the noticeable physical prowess of action film protagonists, an interesting current trend in action films is the use of a flawed man as the main character, reflecting a certain emotional depth of masculinity which has started to appear and is supported by the viewpoints of Greven and Danesi. It is important to define that there are certain characteristics that go along with the male archetype—be it hero, protagonist, or simply any male lead, who propels the story forward and often make them more appealing to audiences. Given that the majority of action films found on the previously mentioned list were made during or since 2001, mass-market audiences’ tastes and opinions of masculinity have seemingly changed to represent a more caring and sensitive male with “un-heroic” characteristics, which allowed these films to be successful.
In action movies, men tend to perform a physical and emotional display seen through the protagonist’s movements and facial expressions, which suggests that the male hero has indeed become more complex as Greven asserts. From twitching his pointer finger to shooting his rifle and smirking and flashing those pearly whites to today’s women (and gay men), “he’s a boozing, pistol-whipping Peter Pan, insouciant and sometimes lethal.” Nor is he in touch with his emotions. The sensitive warrior and the wise self-mocking man are the roles now assigned him. To determine whether the male protagonist of action films has in fact evolved and how his character characteristics affect the portrayal/representation of men, first, the nature of the flawed protagonist in action films will be explored based on a theoretical approach of heroes and their development.
3.1. Physicality and Strength
Male protagonists have always been a central figure in action films, and love for action, adventure, suspense, and thrill, heart-thumping beats, chases, and swoops have been the manifestation of men and their physicality and male-oriented story. In the international market, there is a wide-ranging category about action movies (viz. Action Comedy, Action Adventure, Sci-Fi Action, Action Thriller, Action Drama/Romance, War Action, action fantasy, etc.) where the male characters are central to all genres.
3.1. Physicality and Strength Male heroes are often depicted with physical strength and attributes. There is less evidence to show them as weak. It has a growing impact on the film’s narrative as well as on spectators. Their physical strength is one of the key attractions of such films. There are some highly successful rugged male superstars such as Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Steven Seagal, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Bruce Willis. Since the film industry is associated with health, fitness, and body, a male-oriented film generally sparks interest among the audience. These male characters have been analyzed in perspective of their physical strength and refresh a theoretical tradition which celebrates the deeds of performing men. The majority of such films are visual-centric. As per the analysis of the movie Casino Royale, “Daniel Craig’s raw energy, strength, good looks, and Brit-man’s charm make him a perfect Bond for today’s mocha chino mojito crowd, as well as the über and Guinness-macho leatherneck folks”
3.2. Emotional Depth
The typical action hero – man as maiden – is a strong protagonist, capable of withstanding both physical and emotional hardship while being involved in many heroic feats. Often seen as simple brutes, these characters are actually the tools to explore emotional storytelling in cinema. Looking at characters from action films, there is an emotional complexity that is not often discussed. In John Milius’ Red Dawn (1984), the Wolverine leader, Robert, is given a moment of reflection. Here we view him from his perspective, concerned about his friends and family. He is acting in a way that emphasizes his inability to cope or replace the psychological well-being of his father. It is a rare occasion that these iron-jawed men are shown in a vulnerable state. Paul Meehan, author of Cinema of the Psychic Realm: A Critical Survey, argues that those leading the group must not be frightened. Even in John Ford’s The Searchers (1956), John Wayne’s Ethan Edwards leads his party of rescuers from behind, breaking his followers’ bicycles in attempts to prove to himself that these are not his kidnapped family members.
Additionally, the absurdly named characters of 1980s action movies, such as Dutch and Matrix from James Cameron’s Commando (1985), Public Enemy No. 1 and Dirty Harry and others, wield hyper-masculinity to offset very deliberate sexist imagery. In part, this toxic male behavior in post-Weinstein cinema is meant to exaggerate the man’s ugly face, but also reveal that within anyone could exist an angel or, in the case of action heroes, an inner child crying for attention. Male role emancipation is a subversive theme of a few films. Even when it is the main focus of a narrative, Hollywood works against giving it authenticity. Given the social climate of the time, the attempts to reach male viewers in the way films make movies is not disingenuous. No actor can even try modern feminist values without facing backlash. Even in clear examples of patriarchal values, women are focused. This portrayal of masculinity in characters comes out as exaggerated, toxic, and hyper-emotional in the post-Weinstein film market. They pose the traditional perception of women while exemplifying sexist values held by the action genre.
4. Themes and Messages
Not all male-driven action films are as profit-driven as their critics might claim. Throughout the long history of the genre, many have focused on themes of heroism, self-sacrifice, and nobility of spirit – clear indicators of the Western film morality that the same critics value. The hero-oriented film serves a dual function: they offer a cathartic outlet and a site of release of the overwhelming emotional burden that many of these men carry. These films also act as a method of encoding value systems and expectations.
Though there are an infinite number of variations on these four themes, such as how revenge can be displaced by a desire for justice, for clarity’s sake, all the themes discussed in this paper will be narrow in scope, touching on just one of their many variations. Over the years, there have been changes in how violence has been glorified in action films, but the basic messages born of the use of these seven themes have remained intact for 50 years, with minimal deviation. These basic messages are a strong reflection of the value systems that analysts claim underlie human society. Since it has changed so little over time, the longevity of the message raises a question as to the possibility that those values actually underlie human society (or at least society’s power-elite) at some level.
4.1. Heroism and Sacrifice
Whilst sleeping, his act of heroism during the pivotal bank robbery scene may be undermined by it occurring under the influence of alcohol and not being implored to do so. The outcome is the same, given most of the intentions employed by Joshua at this moment in time. It seems distinctly inappropriate to interpret these actions as sacrificial, yet his perceptions of his involvement shift to accommodate guilt and moral conscience. Heroes embark on salvage missions to make a positive or steer away from a negative or destructive outcome. M Jonsson and Karsten Runquist recognize the attractive qualities in heroes, including altruistic goals which stimulate and measure moral actions (2018, p41). Heroes endure arduous tests to prove their worthiness; they let their actions achieve the outcomes and allow their behavior to define them. They complete selfless acts which require sacrifice in a particular time of need, leading to personal salvation. J Kamm Petersen argues there may be “close associations between Gretchen-Heroic and self-sacrificial salvation” (2005, p85). These heroic male characters often receive special powers, virtues, and mentor assistance (Runquist, 2018, p44).
Exploring the American hero, Brad Lockner divides the heroes in American cinema into maintainers and reformers. He writes, “for the reformer, history is malleable, subject to that which he feels compelled to shape,” whereas the maintainer “has implicit faith in how things are, deriving from his faith in the inherent meaning of the given order.” This male American hero demonstrates masculine characteristics through the process of becoming a hero. A brute, braver character altered by competition. A greater machismo or reign over numinosity, a driving life force. Walt undertakes a hero mission in prison which becomes the driving force for his reformer philosophy and deeds. During Gretchen’s initial meeting with the man operating on their house, an all-male discussion underlines Walt’s struggle to sacrifice his masculinity for the good of his family and supports virtues men take for granted. Walt’s increasingly altruistic missions and inherent calling as a reformer Jay Carter interprets as “possessing the moral certainty of a knight,” “Indeed, community freedom becomes a reality only through a sacrifice by the individual for the whole.” He connects heroism with a specifically male sacrifice, suffering, and self-salvation, while Gretchen only makes the females suffer.
4.2. Justice and Revenge
Justice and revenge are two cornerstones in the moral dilemmas that are presented in male-driven action films. Often, the protagonist is driven by the quest for retribution, which forms a central tenet of this genre. In this dissertation, I will argue that it is the decision to take matters into their own hands, so to speak, that divides the characters portrayed and marginalized by Eastwood and Willis, and those embodied by those Smith plays. There are clear ethical undertones in the motivations for the characters portrayed below. However, what differentiates the actions of the protagonists is not public reaction or ethical acceptability, but the characters’ personal motivations and understandings of the key culpability in the crime committed.
For example, at the heart of Dirty Harry’s vigilantism lays the quest to properly fulfill his duty as a cop. At the start of the narrative, the sniper has shot victims who are known to us to be bad, not because he knows they are bad, but because they are the intended targets of the kidnapping plot. A certain ethical high-ground has been established at the get-go because the criminals become victims, and of course, the opponents remain villains. When the sniper’s motivations are revealed, so is the ethical path that he has taken. The justice that Harry initially defends with the use of his standard issue sidearm is not justice to be blanketed over just any old problem because the law says it’s right. The sniper compares Harry’s motives with the rose on his chest. In Harry’s own utilitarian/Rule of Law lexicon, the undercover wail makes his place on 2212 “cool”. At least until Scorpion crosses the ultimate line, which is indeed the child.
5. Cinematic Techniques
Stunt work and practical effects offer a great insight into the craftsmanship of these films. Knowing that an actual person put his life on the line and that built objects or futuristic environments are not CGI, it helps in linking the fictive content with reality. Of course, those techniques are also responsible for spectacular cinema before the 1980s date. Still, male-driven action films of that era also relied a lot on them to attract audience.
Sound design and music play a huge role in elevating the scenes in those movies. This extends from using diegetic sound to amplify the grandiosity of destruction (especially analogue destruction), to having the sound effects of countless footsteps across metal catwalks or punches into concrete as iconic identifiers of a specific franchise. I think it’s safe to say that more and more techniques used in exploitation and “trash” cinema are being recognized for their own auteurism. In 2018, Jack LaViolette wrote his master in Musicology in which he argues that Jerry Goldsmith should be recognized as the author of Konami’s Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) (rather than Sylvester Stallone or the American war propaganda, which is usually contextualized for analyzing this specific series and era). Going through this zeitgeist and utilizing devices created for kitschy horror or eroticism in a film about a reluctant superhero, I hope to transform something generic into something unique, filled with love. Still under that “trash” banner, the production of masculinity will show signs of toxic hegemony, touching on discussions from before.
5.1. Stunt Work and Practical Effects
Male-driven action films are a tantalizing mish-mash of adrenaline, testosterone, and technical showmanship. These films trade in fantasy, but they are not fantasies; they are the result of labor and inspiration that is both visible and tangible, leaving an impact to be scrutinized by critical and academic eye. Many actors list the making of stunts as their favorite part of production. Many more crew members are specifically dedicated to the capturing of the filmmaking process and often elevate the moment of the stunt to a form of performance art from the inside. Action filmmaking is as much about the talent and training of individuals from a specific sub-arching branch of cinema studies as it is an inside look at the collaboration between multiple arts, crafts, and trades, such as blacksmithing, glass blowing, carpentry, textiles, even food and cooking.
One of the substantial differences between male-driven action films is the emphasis on editing as a medium for projected mastery. Nearly all traditional action films in both genres feature some sort of contact. Whether it is an explosion, handshake, or slap, edited contact is real. Craft all over the board is pivotal to the successful communicative narrative of the action of male-driven action films. The tradition of editing on action-heavy films (with the exception of Edgar Wright, Michael Bay, and a host of less stable artists) typically includes a heavy emphasis on providing a point of view to the audience of where the cut occurred and what the narrative value of the cut is, that is to say where the impulse of the edit occurred and why we are being shown it.
5.2. Sound Design and Music
Sound design and music serve key roles in every film, amplifying its impact by resonating with the content of the shot, the emotion of the characters, and the underlying message of the film. In his analysis of Inception, Lewis (2017) also relates the concept of “estrangement” to sound design. He notes how Inception establishes a new baseline of concepts and integrates musical scores and lighting “to maximize the emotions of each scene” (Lewis, 2017, p. 24). Our investigation into the social impacts of a film (5.4) presented the ability of a musical score to sell negative content on screen (“fodder for the artistically credited” (Lewis, 2017)), but within cinema, it is typically used to further increase the immersion of the audience, to keep them hooked inside the world rather than as a post-event trigger.
Soundscapes are seemingly more impactful in the reduction of distancing at the start of scenes when the audience must acclimate to a new state of the film. Music, on the other hand, doesn’t draw attention away from content as much. It is used to set a baseline of emotions and response in a scene itself, rather than for the film around it. Lewis (2019) writes, “as a character reacts, so too do we.” However, sound design creates as a film starts or moves between scenes, and through properly doing this, the audience is tricked into considering it “part of the wallpaper” (Lewis, 2019). It is a minimization of this simultaneity that allows for a film to be viewed, rather than as a space for deep emotional introspection. Both serve a purpose of pulling the individual in, although for different reasons.
6. Impact on Popular Culture
Male-driven action films have had a massive impact on popular culture, both high and low. Merchandising for such films has included posters, toy lines, tie-in video games, and comic book series with accompanying figures that are treated with high levels of enthusiasm by adult collectors. The characters from many of these films and their sequels have become franchises in and of themselves, with the actors, directors, and screenwriters associated with them in indelible ways. Expansions to comic enterprises, such as the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Hulk series, have been constructed around the popular characters often portrayed in these films. Finally, comic enterprises have embraced the male-driven action as a genre, spinning off limited and ongoing series integrating the characters featured in them. Nonetheless, the impact of male-driven action extends beyond connotations to other portions of low culture and into the actions and sentiments of even the regulated, thinking, economically-empowered fan.
The prevalence of such movies nowadays indicates that they have a powerful and wide-ranging pull. As was mentioned in the methods, this genre of film was rare in the 1970s and virtually non-existent throughout the 1980s; it was only with movies like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon that the genre truly expanded to its present levels of recognition or “cult status”. This suggests that the male-driven action franchise is still enacting various cultural desires, possibly even artistic ambitions, and this franchise, too, impacts the themed and mainstream industries of comics, toys, games, t-shirts, stationery, party decorations, and more.
6.1. Merchandising and Franchises
The merchandising and franchise phenomena of action films starring male movie actors situate such films and their stars as key commodity subjects in contemporary popular culture. In his study of early 21st-century American film genres, Steve Neale claims that film marketing has taken on an increasingly nuanced and global ‘packaging policy’ that generates cultural meanings across popular texts. In part, it is the discourse of marketing that can enable us to think about how and why the male-driven action film is franchised and marked across multiple consumer, industrial, cultural, image-producing, and production practices. Certainly, it has been the use of such packaging policies and ‘industry research’ that have extended the reach and consumer base of male-driven action films domestically and internationally, along with the overall box office revenue they can generate. To those invested in dissecting and marketing such films, they are not simply products that have a single stream of financial persuasion, but commodities that require expansive or multi-platform merchandising and franchising.
The process of ‘branding’ refers to the expansion of a marketable item or product regardless of its simple base as a commercial model. Theo Ingel argues that the basis for branding occurs when “a unique symbol…[is] added to a product, promising new experiences to recipient” and that this can create “immense surplus value when this service becomes linked to the production of culturally meaningful products”. The process of franchising considerably expands the brand and of the origin process and then distributes it. In the end, products are labeled under the same theme, whether it be a pitcher’s glove, a car, or a place to field said car. Controversial in itself, as it seen as commercial exploitation, franchising is an effective method of exposing a product to a much larger, more diverse audience.
6.2. Influence on Other Genres
This male-dominated genre has also had a significant influence on other genres in film. By becoming the “manliest” of film genres in terms of revealing the norms of the male body, male-driven action films offer one of the most reflexive looks at the construction of masculinity through appropriation. Importing generic “masculinity” from the male-driven action film to other genres through the star persona creates a more complex interconnection between action stars and other genres—more than simply home, the generic persona of the action star has had a significant impact on other external generic worlds. The star persona associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger does not stay in the Schwarzenegger action film.
There are potentially a number of reasons why the “genre” of action cinema produced specifically by “males” has resonated in so many other domains. Western masculinity is still often seen as a “universal” norm, and filmic looks at other “norms” are still often critiqued as transgressive (which can be quite different from being alien). These action films are often concerned with presenting “new” weapons, vehicles, costumes, and battle techniques. These overall presentations are concerned with providing a list of details and are often more interested in the resultant spectacle of the film, as seen during, for example, heavily voiced-over sequences that demand the attention of the viewer by announcing the presence of a spectacle. More recent action films carry the spectacle over from perception to palate—many are now a menu of qualia, featuring special F/x with which one can almost be fed with a spoon.
7. Conclusion
Overall, the essay has demonstrated that post-classical action cinema is very much a result of the unique circumstances of its time and its relentless drive to innovate and develop new entertainment for audiences. Many of Hayes’ points regarding the films are valid ones, with the movie industry changing rapidly from the days when James Bond as a lone hero could easily navigate his environment. The old-school charm and cocky-smug sense of subtle masculinity prevalent in the cineplex companion series were lost in a jaded pivot toward international geopolitics and increasingly blunt male icons. Although the cultural politics that permeate male-driven action films may be mired in dated humor and formulaic safety, the franchise succeeds in securing a reflective mirror-image critical stance on a post-September Eleven culture-warped society.
The threatening aliens in Iron Man (2008) and The War of the Worlds (2005) represent how these films reflect masculine anxiety and approaches towards modern incongruity. Hollywood’s male-star deaths were introspectively assimilated so as to enable a resonant picture of gender in the twenty-first century. Each film displays an iconography of masculine rage, trauma, and redemption. Subsequently, audiences in the post-Golden Age of International Terrorism are urged to reconsider film action and violence as part and parcel indicative of its evolutionary scope. Emily Rainsford from Mel magazine perhaps provides the sting-in-the-tail trend-finalism the title of the 23rd James Bond film needs, writing that, “Male insecurity and science fiction have coexisted hand in hand for decades.”
7.1. Legacy and Future Trends
The call-and-answer response of 1971’s Hollywood Blockbusters signals a lowly genesis and a high-standing creation story; they both attest to the undeniable universal impact of two eras of male-driven action films. When the research for 1971 began in late 2018, Hollywood studios were increasingly investing in generalized test films based on comic books and dying investments in original high-concept blockbusters. Even when I finished writing in early 2020, Marvel studios usually make new high standard all of a piece entertainment product, often bloated with special effects, with some form of comedic irony in nearly all of their dialogue. Hollywood productions had begun to be written according to a Marvel formula. If ever there was a time to look back at the films that, alongside Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977), changed the industry, it was before they slipped out of view.
For all the harm that these films have done, they retain a central place in cultural conversation – as this paper has borne witness to. This will be the peace with which 1971 concludes: anticipating future decades of development in the field that the Basses and my own work has spawned. Our more recent attitudes and insights into these films are due to the incredible amount of hard work and meticulous attention to detail accomplished by others, in particular by scholars Kristen Whissel, Devin Orgeron, Nina Cartier, Christian Kieme, Canty & Stratton Grab, and Brooker, as well as journalists and cultural commentators such as Sneed and Rosen, Sandford and Thompson. Their work has animated this paper and given the male action film its due credit not only as the inspiration for auteurist contemplation, but as central to the 20th and 21st-century cinema-going and film-watching experience. They should each be really, really proud of what they have achieved in expanding appreciation for this work.