Gladiator Russel Crowe[/caption]Carol Forsloff - A group of women were overheard at a Portland restaurant to be discussing what they wanted in a man. The word “manly” was shifted around, each woman with her own definition of what that might be. So what do the rank and file of folks consider manly and what movies attract the definition? And what place stands out as one to avoid in the search for that “real man?”
In an attempt to entice men to fashion that reflects the manly look, a company in the United Kingdom called Bluebeard’s Revenge, gives the results of their survey of what constitutes those manly traits in film.
Russel Crowe is on the winning team at #1 with the film “Gladiator.” Those who have seen the movie will recall the strong, courageous, gladiator who fights for justice, specifically the killing of his wife and the ruination of his people. He conquers all, to be consequently lauded by Rome, then killed as is the destiny of those whose sole purpose is in the killing as entertainment.
A press release quotes the Bluebeard Revenge company spokesperson, Nick Gibbens, as saying,: “Gladiator will go down in history as one of the greatest films ever produced. The film was nominated for and won multiple awards, particularly five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards including Best Picture. It’s certainly a deserving winner of the coveted title ‘world’s manliest move’.
The top two runners up to the most manly of men were Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone. Willis is known for his “Die Hard” films and Stallone for “Rocky” and “First Blood” and other epic action-adventure films that feature leaps and bounds by the principals in the films, where the hero alone is able to vanquish great hordes of folks in frequent scenes of violence. The women in these films are strong, yet in need of protection from these very manly men.
A group of counselors give advice on what women want in a man. What they say at the outset is that women deal with their emotions more than men do in answering the question and that these emotions fluctuate a good deal. What seems to stand out on the list of the manly qualities is not penis size and sex but more the characteristics of a man who knows what he wants and how to get it. In other words, psychological strength is key to that manliness.
Now where would you find the least “manly” of men? According to the review that includes a Washington Post article, that would be Washington D.C. where “[A] bevy of questionable superlatives don’t speak highly of the region. In addition to having the nation’s worst traffic congestion, D.C. has been named among America’s ugliest, rudest, most caffeinated, and least manly cities.”
The qualities of tenderness, kindness and helpfulness are often on those lists of what women want, but that venue requires a selection where women significantly dominate the numbers in relationship to the availability of men, but the tough guy veneer with the quality of protecting the female remains the dominant image in what represents a true man.
