Kontextmaschine

18th September 2018

Post with 30 notes

With Kavanaugh in the news seen a few takes on “what (handsiness/“taking advantage”/date rape) meant in the early ‘80s” that key off period teen movies - Grease, Revenge of the Nerds, Sixteen Candles

Know what I haven’t seen mentioned but’s pretty interesting to think about in that context? Back to the Future

Where it’s clearly presented as a wrong, but specifically a wrong of already-obsolete 50s masculinity in the figure of Biff.

And a matter between male peers – it’s an explicit, central plot point that interrupting Biff’s attack on Lorraine with violence is how Marty’s dad becomes a proper man, who earns a happy marriage with her

A proper new-model man, not a businessman or engineer but a media creative, not a swaggering jock or cringing geek but a smooth tennis player

And then the ultimate resolution to the saga where Marty himself earns his girlfriend by giving up his hothead ways and not getting in ~~car racing~~ dick measuring contests, while Doc finds an intelligent professional woman to be his equal while also bearing him 2 sons

That’s pretty much the story of Gen X pop-masculinity right there