The article under consideration is “Heroes, Metanarratives and the Paradox of Masculinity in Contemporary Western Culture” (2005) by Kevin Alexander Boon, which was written in The Journal of Men’s Studies in 2005. The article dwells upon the qualities of great ancient mythological heroes in the modern world.
Remembering Hercules, Theseus, Odysseus, or Perseus, a magnificent power appears in the mind. Male divine power was their main restrictive feature, moreover, simple people were also endowed with heroic powers what showed that men were the king of the position, that they ruled the world and everybody worshiped them. Male divine has always been the feature of masculinity and what happens in the modern world? From the very beginning, a man was endowed to be brave, powerful, fearless, and ready to protect women every minute. The divine characteristics of men are not so urgent today as women want to see tender and sweet men near them, but not powerful machines that can only fight. The culture of the modern world is a little different as men are not perceived as divine anymore, furthermore, their divine power is not so great and unconquerable as it was in ancient times and as ancient Gods were characterized. A Boon (2005) says, “Contemporary American men are caught in a paradox”: from one side they are not expected to b so powerful, from the other they are blamed that their power is not so great.
So, the attitude of modern people to the male divine power remains different, as, on the one hand, women do not want men to be so powerful and care about fights, their anomalies, and other things which are.connected with battles, they want them to be mild and tender. On the other hand, women blame men that they became so weak and apprehensive, they want them to be as powerful as Hercules or Theseus. In such conditions, men should be able to be flexible, to be calm and caring when women want it, and to remember their divine power when they are asked, as that great power should be in their blood as was in the blood of their ancestry.
Reference List
Boon, K. A. (2005). “Heroes, Metanarratives and the Paradox of Masculinity in Contemporary Western Culture.” The Journal of Men’s Studies, 13(3)