The article I have chosen deals with the masculine identity of contemporary movie stars today in Hollywood. The author of the article, Christopher Goodwin, suggests that the old idea of masculine male leads in films is over. Instead of the well built, good looking and rugged classic Hollywood stars, a new breed has began to take over, mainly encouraged by film makers such as Judd Apatow, through films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshell and Superbad, as well as his cult TV show, Freaks and Geeks. These new male leads, such as Jonah Hill and Seth Rogan are as far away from Marlon Brando and John Wayne as you could get, yet they are making it acceptable for out of shape geeks to be a new kind masculine and to get the good looking girls. The females that these stars are being paired up with are also some of the more typical good looking up and coming female stars, such as Emma Stone and Mila Kunis. While in the past the characters who "get the girl" would typically be portrayed as good looking and masculine, the current trend is beginning to bring about the idea that being manly is not necessarily cool, and that masculinity can be achieved by anybody. These movies show that in contemporary America, the old ideals of how a man should act and behave in order to be respected, are quickly changing.
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