Dropping Like Flies

I understand Sean Connery means something to people who have very specific, terrible views of “masculinity,” but he truly was a very bad actor despite all the roles considered iconic by people who have very specific, terrible views of “masculinity.”

He was the Will Smith or Zack Braff of his day — he isn’t acting. He never played a character. He just showed up and was Sean Connery even in the times where he was regrettably cast in a role that required him to play someone other than Sean Connery.

Well I don’t know about his acting chops….always hard to gauge


I loved his portrayal of Bond but as I got older I began to think about his depiction and characterization of masculinity… is there anyone that did more to cement the idea of modern manhood? And if so, looking around the world today… it would seem there may be a lot to answer for…

In the case of the UK the importance of the movies in recasting britannia away from the stodgy failed and poor post WWII state it languished in until the early 60s towards “Cool Britannia” cannot be overemphasized…I believe there is even a book about Bond titled the man who saved Britain


But again as I became a more developed adult I began to be troubled by Connery’s depiction of manhood… slapping women around, treating them as disposable meat, the lack of empathy , the closed off ness, the drinking etc. I don’t think anyone watching the early Bond understood just how damaged the man was instead stooping to hero worship and emulation…is Connery responsible for failing to translate on screen the nuance of Fleming’s 007? Does he unwittingly play a hero as opposed to the antihero? It may have all been accidental! When we look at the US today it’s not overstated to say toxic masculinity is the number one issue and then ask “how did we get here?”

Typical conservative…blame all of societies' ills on Hollywood.

Just kidding, I actually came back to say the thing I'll remember most about him is he sure knew how to slap a woman.

One less a-hole in the world. Three more days, he'll be in the ground and Trump will be buried, fingers crossed.

I wasn’t even trying to comment on the impact of his characters or his personal behavior, although these are ample fodder for conversation. I am just saying he is so fondly remembered by a certain subset of people yet he objectively was a terrible actor. But tell this to the mouth breathers who think Hunt for Red October is a high point in cinema, and you’ll probably be challenged to a fistfight.

The comedy AND virtue on the board is amazing today
I still think his times on Jeopardy were some of his best moments

https://youtu.be/cMRgv11fIjA

Like this is sharknado level acting. I AM FROM SPAIN AND HERE IS MY SPANISH NAME AND I WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO DO A CATALAN ACCENT. This guy never even damn tried.

Hutch, I read the last part of your toxic masculinity rant to my wife. She disagrees. She thinks wealth inequality is the biggest problem in society. And she'll sit there in her $200 Bernie hoodie and filibuster her point down your ass.

Ok but it wasn’t at all a rant!


Have you seen the male vs female numbers for Trump?


Something has gone wrong with American men.

bitter wrote:
Ok but it wasn’t at all a rant!


Have you seen the male vs female numbers for Trump?


Something has gone wrong with American men.

Are men supporting Trump in greater numbers than they did other Republican candidates? I know I could look this up but I'm tired from running and raking leaves.

Dude way more..  Trump represents the  apotheosis of the male American asshole.

bitter wrote:
Something has gone wrong with American men.

Sure, but we began our moral freefall way before 2016.

I agree… like 1981…
Maybe earlier


But when did it become a majority of white men?

StoneTheCrow wrote:

bitter wrote:
Something has gone wrong with American men.

Sure, but we began our moral freefall way before 2016.

let's see…Dr. No came out in 1963.  I think we all already agreed it started then
Beatles showing up in 64 defiantly pushed things over the edge into the freefall that hasn't stopped tearing our moral fibers and away from the church

Laugh all you want….

Movies can impact (and reflect) culture….

But obviously the point was never that Connery or 007 did anything singlehandedly…

But changing culture takes decades… it’s a processs…no one thing does it By itself


I think we need to try to understand why so many American men want to vote for Trump… and it’s not enough to say they had a tough time dealing with economic dislocation.. there is something deeper at work… the assholeization of America… and it’s disproportionately men


Someone I know once told me the day Bush threw that strike after 9-11 was the day he was proudest of America

Speaking of assholes and Sean….as if on cue makes and it about him (and 100% fabricated is my understanding, by what use are facts for the POTUS)

The legendary actor, 007 Sean Connery, has past on to even greener fairways. He was quite a guy, and a tough character. I was having a very hard time getting approvals for a big development in Scotland when Sean stepped in and shouted,“Let him build the damn thing”. That was……..all I needed, everything went swimmingly from there. He was so highly regarded & respected in Scotland and beyond that years of future turmoil was avoided. Sean was a great actor and an even greater man. Sincere condolences to his family!

Donald J. Trump


I think jules will like this SC quote: "Perhaps I'm not a good actor, but I would be even worse at doing anything else."

I do like that quote. Julian always awards plaudits for self-awareness

Did Trump misspell "passed" or did you?

Space wrote:
Did Trump misspell "passed" or did you?

Trump did
I intentionally left it.

so one thing i'm not getting about this toxic masculinity discussion y'all are having: you make it sound like men in this country were once good, and recently we've become terrible.

i would counter and say that men have always been terrible.  in fact this country has been steadily - but very slowly - making progress.  sometimes it was big things like the 19th amendment (which many men didn't give up willingly), other times it was smaller steps.  but the patriarchy has been, and continues to be, alive and well in this country.  a #metoo hashtag or a few women on the supreme court haven't changed this.

does anyone here believe that gender equality had been achieved, and now we're sliding back?