Core Response: Big Men Masculinity and Genre

In reading Steven Cohan's argument, he brings up the societal standards that men had to deal with in the fifties demonstrated by Cary Grant in North by Northwest. He indicates that the poster portrays the femme fatale, Eve, in a domineering position over Cary Grant. He then points out that that snapshot calls attention to that particular scene in the movie in which the audience can realize that Eve is not who she says she is, but a representation of both good and bad in the male counterpart.

Eve represents both dangerous seduction and also the pathway to success for Roger Thornhill. Cohan argues that Hitchcock makes their relationship an example of marriage in the fifties. He also highlights how the movie focuses on the "togetherness" of couples and how the two need one another to be strong and successful. Without Eve, Roger Thornhill is emasculated and has a long list of failed marriages to prove his lack of responsibility. It is only till later on that he is able to prove his masculinity by rescuing Eve from a dangling ledge and then proposing to her.

What I found interesting in this article was the fact that Cohan's argument examines the societal pressures put on men in society, reflected in cinema. Hitchcock shows us the chaos that surrounds Roger Thornhill when challenging the societal standards of the fifties. Hitchcock's reflections are what audiences take away from the movie and then, in return, expect of men in society.  Do men have to be the bread winners? Do men have to be married to be considered interesting? Hitchcock also portrays Thornhill as weak when it comes to sex, meaning he bends at anything when tempted by a female. Cary Grant in that sense is representing the flaws and weaknesses of the male and how it ultimately can get him into trouble.

Finally, I find it interesting that Cohan places the emphasis on the expectations of the male in North by Northwest rather than the female. The conclusion of the movie involves all of Roger's lost manhood being revived. This is only accomplished by Roger finally allowing himself to follow the standards that were expected of men in the fifties: finding a woman he can become married to, thus demonstrating that he is no longer boring and complacent to society, further, proving his masculinity.