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Matthew Cummings
ENC 1101
Professor Lehn: M/W 3:35

The Changing Modern Male Iconoclast

You have to be a man before you can be a gentleman. John Wayne believed that men
are born and gentlemen are made. But what exactly is a man to begin with? It seems that
regardless of what era, society has essentially a face, or multiple faces, of manhood. Even if the
view is skewed or incorrect and unrealistic to some, celebrities and public figures alike form our
modern perception of the true man.
Teenage guys see countless TV ads for companies like Calvin Klein and Polo that show
images of men who are chiseled and well dressed. Even commercials for protein powder and
supplement pills that have men who are unbelievably muscular in comparison to the average man
have become commonplace in todays media. This idea is equated to Victoria Secret models
bodies for women. Social media however has taken over as the largest influence on the
perception of this idea. You can follow a famous actor or athlete and see whatever they choose to
show the world. Whether it is that he is insanely wealthy, muscular, or an amazing pro athlete,
you get a glimpse into his life. Because it is only a glimpse and only what they want you to see,
it still makes you wonder why you cant be like him too. One man that comes to mind because he
has personally affected me is Dan Bilzerian: the Ultimate example of being a mans man.
Dan Bilzerian is the envy of men and the fantasy of women. A muscular bearded ex navy
seal, professional poker player, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist known for posting pictures to
his Instagram page that show his extravagantly lavish standard of living. From yacht parties with

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a hundred girls where he arrives in a helicopter, to poker games with buy ins for upwards of
$500K. He is also extremely fond of fully expressing his second amendment rights with
everything from .50 caliber rifles to fully automatic grenade launchers and even running over
cars with tanks. As a teenager looking at this Instagram profile, you instantly wish you were this
guy. Being surrounded by beautiful women, multi-million dollar boats, helicopters, planes,
luxury cars, extravagant parties, and absurd amounts of money just sounds like the American
dream for almost every male. Now, me as a college student living on a college budget, I envy
this man more than any other. He makes millions every year while getting to do literally
anything and everything he wants. You could argue that people like Mark Cuban, with a net
worth of $2.6B, could do the same sort of reckless spending and freedom but something about
Dans pictures scream, This is what being a true American man looks like. At the end of the
day monetary freedom is something that is a vital part of the American Dream. On top of the fact
that he is just plain crazy and interesting, his rebellious demeanor and attitude of just living life
the way you want to speaks directly into the ears of my generation. Dan can get up every day and
just live his life the way he wants to live it. As some may not agree with what he does and his
somewhat hedonistic image, we all want to be able to roll out of bed and do whatever it is that
makes us happy regardless of gender or age.
Put yourself in my shoes. At nineteen years old, sitting in class every day, earning a
degree, Dans life has an effect on me. I see what he does and who he is and I think, That is
who Im supposed to be! Thats what a man is! Dans lifestyle and how he portrays himself
makes me and other guys my age step back and look at ourselves. We look in the mirror and
wish we were even a piece of Dan Bilzerian. Is it because we envy him? Absolutely. Is it because
he is saying, Every man should be like me? No. Its because when us teenage guys see him with

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a huge beard sitting on a 12 million dollar yacht surrounded by 15 girls while he smokes a cigar
while holding a sniper rifle, we think That is what being a man looks like. We can talk all day
about how being a womanizer is not truly being a man and how beards dont make you a man
and how money does not make you a man. But in a society that is surrounded everyday with
images of money, excess, and sex, how do we not look at people like Dan Bilzerian and say,
Thats how it should be? These images have been shoved in front of my face since I was a kid.
Men make money. Men own guns and hunt and Men build things and fix things. Men are tough.
Men are supposed to be muscular. These ideals in themselves dictate how we grow up into the
men we eventually become. Dan Bilzerian just happens to be all those things wrapped up into
one person representing how todays adolescent males see what masculinity truly is.
Nevertheless, Dan Bilzerian is not the only iconoclast for masculinity. Even things as
simple as the Old Spice man in the smell like a man commercials serve as a common image of
manhood and masculinity. For years in America throughout all different eras and forms of media
we have had man after man that embodies what being a man truly is. It all depends on what era
we are talking about. The 40s and 50s gave us Frank Sinatra, a man of class and sophistication.
In that time everyone was always dressed formally with a jacket, shirt, tie, pants and nice shoes.
A man meant that you were respectable to all women, and knew how to dress yourself. Frank
Sinatra was the face of man hood for that time frame. He was truly the undisputed modern man
and every man envied his talent on stage and his charismatic effect off the stage. Surrounded by
women, Frank was always seen keeping a cool head with a smile on his face proving the point
that a man knows how to carry himself in any situation. In that time you would see pictures of
Frank preformed all over the world including the likes of Tokyo, Australia and even in the White
House for president Nixon. His smile lit up a room and his charisma warmed the hearts of all

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women. Just look at the famous image of him exiting a running helicopter with a whiskey on the
rocks. What could be more suave than that? Being the envy of most men, especially young men,
you can see his influence on the schema of what it means to be a man. 3Frank in newspapers and
magazines, and hear his music on the radio any day of the week. A prime example of this
influence is a Chesterfield cigarette ad that features Frank with the text saying, Man-size
satisfaction. The ad is playing off of Franks likeness and impression of manhood to convey the
idea that smoking cigarettes, specifically Chesterfield, is the manly thing to do Just look at
Frank, he loves them.
Going back a little further in time to World War II we can observe how the Government
even used what the country thought being a man meant to their own advantage to recruit troops.
Images of muscular men prevailing and emerging from the smoke and debris of the Axis powers
saying to enlist today and be a real American man and serve your country. The Army even plays
on the idea that a real man enters the war for his country and gets surrounded by girls because
girls like a real man in uniform. The specific text from the particular ad says, He volunteered
for Submarine service with an attractive woman admiring his uniform and pins. No man at this
time would want his manhood questioned so he may enlist purely to prove to himself to his
family, his better man, and country that he truly is living what it means to be a man. Is it wrong
of the government to do this? Maybe but the point it that the government knew exactly which
male schema would attract more young volunteers. Even posters saying, There is a mans job to
be done completely prove that the US wanted to inspire young men. What the government may
or may not have realized at the time, is that they basically gave an image to the youth of America
defining masculinity through wartime efforts of recruitment.

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However as time progressed we see a change in the idea of manhood, the idea of what a
man does everyday and what is expected of him, has changed drastically. Actors have always
been able to influence young men about what a man looks like. Actors like John Wayne that
were tough and rugged gave the idea that a man does not take anything from anyone and should
live by his own moral compass. That idea of freedom speaks to men cross generationally
especially in America. Men do not like being told what to do and seeing someone on the big
screen constantly take matters into his own hands live by his own law is very inspiring and we
take pieces of that into our own lives. Im not taking nothing from nobody and thats that
because thats what a real man does.
Modern actors as well embody what society sees as a man. Look at actors like Bruce
Willis and Denzel Washington. In every movie they are constantly fighting and taking bullets
and having to save the day and put the bad guys in their place. I think any guy can relate to
wanting to be the one that saves the day and be admired and recognized for it. Jason Statham,
Liam Neeson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, the list goes on of actors that just
exemplify being a complete bad ass that can hold his own in any situation whether it be gunfire,
women, money, fist fights, or planes falling out of the sky. Now this portrayal of sheer hardcore
manliness is not necessarily a way of saying that as a society, Men should be like crazy heroes in
the movies, but rather that those men show traits that we can collectively agree create a man.
One prime example is James Bond. Although fictional, there is a lot a man can learn from
Bond even in a fictional setting. His ability to woo women can easily be his most memorable
trait. In every movie, whether it is Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig, Bond was a well-dressed
lady-killer. Every guy wants to be the one that women are attracted to like moth to a flame (also
note that most men I have mentioned thus far have this same women attracting ability). I

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challenge you to find one guy that would not want to be James Bond in a tuxedo with a 9mm in
his jacket pocket. His intellect, suave language, lone wolf spirit, and ability to prevail against all
odds make him such a likeable personality in film based entirely on the fact that women love him
and men want to be him.
As little kids weve always grown up wanting to be the hero and save the day. The one
that solves problems and saves the day so all the innocent citizens of Gotham and New York
City can cheer our names. Every Halloween we dress up as Superman and Batman and
Spiderman just to play the hero for at least one day. As a young impressionable mind we see all
of these cartoon movies and comic books where the hero fights the bad guys and gets praise for
it. Young boys admire the super heroes. It seems like there is nothing that can stop them. They
arent afraid of anything. As a kid its such an inspiring thing to see. You start thinking you can
be a super hero too and how if superman isnt afraid of anything then neither should you.
But why is it that no matter what era, or what part of the world, there is always a guy than
completely exemplifies manhood. Across media and technology there has always been a way for
a celebrity of sorts that is the dictionary definition of manhood. In ancient cultures people were
told stories of Hercules and Odysseus, men that were strong and persistent. Whether the stories
were true or not the message was the same. A man is a person who leads and takes control of a
situation and against whatever obstacles he encounters he overcomes.
For example in the Odyssey, Odysseus encounters mythical monsters such as one eyed
giants, the epic sea monster of Scylla, evil nymphs and many more. But somehow over years of
hardship and battle he returns home after the Trojan war to his wife that he has remained faithful
to. The story is meant to teach a lot of things but I cant help but think young men especially
soldiers would hear this epic and admire Odysseus masculine traits and want to be just like him

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on the battle field. Stories like this have been told for hundreds or years whether true or not the
effect was the same almost every time on the youth of the era. One story that comes to mind is
Paul Bunyan. Although just a somewhat humorous tale of brute strength and giant blue bull, the
idea of being big and strong and completely seemingly impossible feats is the same.
Now there is a huge problem as well with this ever-changing idea of manhood and how it
is presented to us. Is any of it accurate, or is it all just a big trick of smoke and mirrors?
Everywhere from ads for clothing and commercials for investing for retirement show images of
men with huge muscles and men with a wife kids and nice house. Men with tattoos playing
instruments and men that only go to the gym. Which is correct? It is extremely difficult to say
which personification of a man is correct whether it be a Rebellious playboy like Dan Bilzerian
or a cool headed talent like Frank Sinatra. I believe that throughout time, society will always find
men that personify different views of manhood and that no one view is correct.
Men like the idea of improvement and getting better no matter what it is be a job, sport,
hobby or just self-improvement. All of the men I have explained exemplify those ideas of being
something better than you are now. I doubt any men look at Dan Bilzerian and dont think they
wish they were him or admit they arent like him at all. Just like most men would tell you that
they arent as suave as Frank Sinatra or Elvis and any man that says he is, is lying. Men in
ancient times always envied the heroes in the epic poems and tales of bravery and valor. No man
in those times could try to say he held himself to the same regard as Hercules or Odysseus. I
guarantee you though that any man seeing a guy like Frank Sinatra on TV or Dan Bilzerian on
their iPhone, looks in envy and wishes he could do whatever it took to be that much of a man.
Every soldier in ancient times wishes they could be as powerful as Hercules.

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As most of these portrayals of manhood are skewed based upon fiction or deceit, we still
look in awe at these guys and aspire to be like them. Just like women with clothing models and
actresses. The women know that some of the pictures are too good to be true and that the models
bodies are extremely unrealistic to want to be like. Us guys are the same way however. We see
men that are at the extreme of masculinity because that is what is shoved in front of our faces
every single day. We also believe that that is the norm, which isnt always a bad thing because it
makes us want to improve ourselves more.
All of these men have greatly impacted the male perception of manhood regardless of
controversial actions like those of Dan Bilzerian or suave, elegant and cool headed like Frank
Sinatra. The important thing to look at here the common similarities amongst them: Most of
them have jobs that any man would be jealous of. If you could play poker for a living like Dan,
that would not be such a terrible workday and your work environment would be basically an
adult Chuck E. Cheese. Or look at Frank Sinatra who gets to woo women every night dressed to
the nines like a gentlemen with every woman in the room wanting you. A more widespread
similarity between all of these masculine iconoclasts is their ability to look the part. In every
movie ad, such as the John Wayne excerpt I have below and even the Dan Bilzerian image, they
fit the stereotype of the rugged badass mans man. Frank even comes off as the mans man just by
being charismatic.
The main reason why all of these men alter or rather reinforce this modern idea of
manhood (even the men from WWII and ancient stories) is because the visuals are so engraved
in our brains every single day. Television, movies, newspapers, whatever medium it is there is
some sort of image being thrown in our face with common icon to alter our perception. Ad

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companies, the film industry and Television all know what will draw us in and who to use. The
only thing they might be unaware of, is that they are creating expectations for future men.

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