Will it take a zombie apocalypse to fix masculinity? The thought occurred while sitting in a theater taking in Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later the other day. This intense, gory, nudity-laden flick was also one of a surprisingly heartwarming journey for a young boy, Spike, who doesn’t buy into his community’s view of the world. Everyone around him is fearful, incurious, and readily accepts convenient and clear falsehoods about their lives. Spike seeks hope, even if it requires him to face the violent, cruel, and potentially fatal real world off his island.
Without spoiling too much in the way of the plot, the way the story speaks to masculinity—wading through lost men, toxic lies, and not-so-symbolic alpha males in the form of one truly terrifying zombie—is thoughtful and fresh. In the context of the cultural landscape for boys and men today, it is the kind of exploration we could really use.
This cultural soul-searching is not confined to the silver screen. Two months ago, Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at NYU and media tour de force affectionately known on his podcast as Prof G, took to The View to talk, as he does so often, about masculinity.
"I like the idea of restoring an aspirational vision of masculinity," he said to a room that seemed, a bit surprisingly, in total agreement. "I don’t think there’s anything wrong with leaning into your femininity or masculinity if it feels natural."
In his view, this vision of masculinity involves three foundational pillars: provider, procreator, and protector.
When it comes to the role of the provider, Galloway argues that every man at the outset of his career should take economic responsibility for his household. Sometimes that means getting out of the way of a more successful partner, he says, and other times it means stepping up to meet the financial demands of family life. For procreation, he suggests that society should channel that fire of desire in the right ways to make men better—kinder, stronger, thinking about how they dress, and showering, for God’s sake.
Finally, he maintains that in an aspirational vision of masculinity, a man’s default operating system should be protection. This is a much more gentle and empathetic pillar than it might sound on its face. A lot of women do not feel safe on the subway, he explains, or when they see men walking down the street, they cross the sidewalk. This discomfort is often due to men eschewing their duty as protector. And it is not just physical, he continues. When you see a group being demonized, your default setting as a man is to move to protection.
In 28 Years Later, young Spike finds himself chasing this exact view of masculinity headlong. He acts as the provider by chasing the health care his mom needs that his dad ignores. He acts as the protector by shielding her from zombies and keeping himself safe from the surrounding indoctrination. While he is not exactly chasing procreation given that he is only 12 years old, he actively rejects his father’s philandering example. The fact that he lives in a post-apocalyptic landscape in many senses brings absolute clarity to his vision. When there are no worldly comforts to distract from moral realities, moral clarity naturally arises.
Danny Boyle and Prof G share a common thread in their respective domains: they are both speaking to the broadest possible audiences about things that so many men primarily discuss with, well, other men. With 28 Years Later raking in over $100 million at the box office already and The View’s audience being, well, The View’s audience, it is refreshing to see such a critical discussion spilling out into the broader public consciousness rather than remaining siloed in academic or niche internet spaces.
Masculinity is making a comeback in public discourse. It is time to talk about it openly, honestly, and with an eye toward what healthy, aspirational manhood can look like in the modern world.