The first time I saw Charlie Chaplin was in the 1931 film City Lights. In my ignorance, I thought that the particular scene was a strange one, the Tramp was in a locker room with a brutish boxer towering above him. Chaplin, in an attempt to make nice with the thug, avoids an aggressive demeanor. He opts instead to smile and actually cuts eyes at him in a flirting manner. Since I did not know about Chaplin’s life or his infatuation to many young women (his true downfall), I figured that he was, bluntly put, gay.
I had missed the point. After Rudolph Valentino’s adrogynous appeal took the nation by storm, Hollywood presented a new sort of hero, one that could simultaenously be masculine and feminine, attracting both sexes. This tradition has definitely continued throughout the twentieth century mainstream culture, and without much uproar from gender role traditionalists. James Dean, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presely, David Bowie and Mick Jagger all manage to be both pretty and manly. The attraction here is sexual for both male audiences and female.
I think the most notable Feminine Male of today is Brando’s protege Johnny Depp. Audiences were delighted and won over with Depp’s portrayal of Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Carribean. If Sparrow is not bisexual, he is just a tease for Orlando Bloom. And one can see a connection in those action movies we viewed in class Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse and Son of the Sheik with a rip roaring adventure on the high seas. The hero is able to show his dainty side, but can also throw a punch to balance it out. As for Chaplin, he’s not exactly an action star, but breaking past gender roles often gets a laugh…except for you Mel Gibson. What Women Want? Give me a break.