Jason Silver

Saturday, February 7th, 2004

The Yearling

Watching The Yearling tonight with my family I was struck by a simple and sad truth... we're probably never going back to the way it was-- and that's a sad thing. What am I referring to? It's going to sound patronistic, but I'm not apologizing. I wish we could go back to a culture when movies are made with men we want to aspire to emulate; not because they're sexy, sneaky, sarcastic or sensitive, but because of their demonstration of benevolence, bravery, and brawn-- without apology or embarrasment. The father in this film tenderly and masculinely supports a bitter wife and wisely directs his growing boy through 'coming of age.' There is nothing in this film which is correct politically, and I can imagine men walking out of the theatres in 1946 with their shoulders back and their heads held high. There was no male feminization then-- being a man was cool. We could be assertive, aggressive and affirmative without worrying that someone would "report us" for not being sensitive. I'm not bitter-- I'm going to be what I am and I don't care what anybody says... as long as that's okay with my wife... **wink** ~Jason
Tags:movies ↑