The Decline of Masculinity - Iron Man

How does the Iron Man film series illustrate the decline of masculinity? Enough time has past that you cannot be mad about spoilers from the films. So leave now if you've been in a coma all this time.

The first film is a great comeback story. There's ingenuity, guts, and the right amount of bravado. This film represents entrepreneurship. Tony Stark is left for dead. Thanks to his excellent MacGyver skills, he cleverly builds his first Iron Man suit to escape from his captors. Also included in this film are sleeping with hot chicks and fast cars. Any straight man would love to have a car garage, build a badass suit, and then unload on babes.

The beginning of Iron Man 2 is a continuation on this theme. The government wants Tony Stark's Iron Man technology for fear other countries will develop it. Tony Stark has the perfect response.

You want my property? You can't have it. But I did you a big favor.

Sorry you can't have it. You should be thanking me not trying to control me. I did this country a great service. It is my favorite quote from the series. What makes the government so sure it can do better with the technology than Tony? What business is it of the government to control the life of an entrepreneur.

Unfortunately, this is where the cracks of Iron Man begin to show. Tony Stark is dying. In response to his impending departure, he makes his former assistant the CEO of his company. He decides to drive in a Formula One race. Then he gets drunk at his birthday party and gets into a brawl with his best friend. Despite the fact he almost died in the first movie, he handles his mortality pathetically in the second movie. Thanks to his dad, he gets another chance at life.

I'm putting the Avengers in this discussion because Tony is a big character in this film. One quote that stands out.

You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.

Funny enough, I like Captain America more and more as his film series progresses. More on this later. The call for sacrifice is easily abused by the Left. Sacrificing your values, your livelihood, your identity will not appease the Left. They will always want more.

Isn't the point of an entrepreneur to take risks and make sacrifices? Tony Stark faced death twice already. Iron Man was built on plenty of blood, sweat, and tears. In fact, this reminds me of Trump haters. They view him as a narcissistic profiteer who only sacrifices others. And naturally, they don't believe this quote is genuine and heartfelt.

Nevertheless, I take all of these slings and arrows gladly for you. I take them for our movement so that we can have our country back.

I can't help but chuckle at ordinary people criticizing the minds of billionaires. Billionaires aren't idiots, and you don't make that much money by being an idiot.

Iron Man 3 simply put was pathetic. Somehow the events from the Avengers have triggered PTSD in Tony. By this point, Tony has escaped death 3 times, but only now he has nightmares. He is a shell of his former self. In a display of foolish fake bravado, he gives the antagonist his home address, putting the life of his girl, Pepper, in danger.

And he doesn't build anything useful on screen. Much of his time spent is on... recharging his suit. Why doesn't his arc reactor work? He has made plenty of Iron Man suits at this point, but he has a power issue. The nail on the coffin for this movie was the fact that he didn't even defeat the antagonist. Pepper does.

The movie was devoted to Tony Stark's fear of losing Pepper. His woman has become his number one priority which is a mistake. He doesn't do anything useful in this movie. And in the end, he watches on the sidelines as Pepper finishes the job. It is a great way to show the decline of masculinity.

Avengers 2 continues the fear theme. Tony Stark's fear has gotten the best of him and causes the events of the movie to unfold. He has the dream of using his Iron Legion combined with Ultron AI to maintain the peace.

I see a suit of armor around the world.

This is incredibly controlling and totalitarian. The idea of controlling people to make them safe has turned Tony into the thing younger Tony Stark would have hated.

Captain America Civil War completes the 180 degree turn of Tony Stark.

We need to be put in check. And whatever form that takes, I'm game. 

Tony Stark advocates for a government panel to keep the Avengers in check. Go back and read Tony Stark from Iron Man 1. This movie made me Team Captain America all the way. Unlike Tony, Steve Rogers always advocates for the individual and having the individual take responsibility for his actions. He does not believe in passing on this responsibility to a government entity.

If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't let us? 

Tony Stark no longer embraces the masculine spirit. He is afraid and wants someone else to tell him what to do. This loss of masculinity is evident in Hollywood, universities, and politics. Too much catering to "victim" groups. Too much defensiveness to not offend anyone. Too much hesitation to venture into the unknown and create something.

Which is why Trump won. The counter movement has begun. Masculinity will be celebrated again.