Representation of men 30 mark question

the representation of men in the media has morphed over the past 3 decades with many archetypes such as the 'male action hero' taking a backseat in mainstream entertainment. One group of texts that represent this societal shift is 'The hunger games' set of films in which the male lead Peeta is put under immense emotional stress and sometimes requires saving by the female lead Katniss, who is given the spotlight and becomes the driving force in the plot. that is not to say that strong male characters have completely evaporated and there are numerous examples that show a stable balance between emotional brooders and mindless killing machines. The 3 characters that I  am showcasing this are Joel from 'The Last of Us', Samwell Tarly from HBO's 'A Game of Thrones' and the representation of Andre 3000 of Outkast in the music video 'Hey ya!'.

'The Last of us' is a video game released on the PS3 and eventually the PS4; It follows the protagonists' journey through the world after the outbreak of a zombie-like infection breaks out.  The game's primary Protagonist Joel is a middle aged man who tries to get by after the death of the daughter. He shares common characteristics with the traditional 'gruff male protagonist'. He does engage in conversation but doesn't showcase the vast amount of what he is feeling after the death of his own daughter, but unlike a traditional representation his bond with the game's female lead Ellie (a young teenage girl who is immune to the infection) Develops and their relationships strays from being like a father and daughter to that at partners. However Joel still maintains some traits from the 'action hero' archetype  such as his ruthlessness when killing people that he comes into conflict with and being skilled in the crafting and use of fire arms despite only being a smuggler in this world. However the game subverts our expectations as while Joel does save Ellie in the end from the antagonists it came at the ultimate price as Ellie was the source for the potential cure and Joel just destroyed any hopes of that ultimate happy ending from coming to fruition.

Samwell Tarly from HBO's fantasy drama TV programme 'A Game of Thrones' is a fairer portrayal of a male supporting character that doesn't fall directly into a standard male archetype. At the beginning of the series Sam was even below the status of an underdog; he was shown to be immensely overweight when compared to the physique of Jon Snow (one of the show's protagonists) or any of the other members of the Night's Watch, this isn't complemented well with his almost constant whining. However as the show progresses passing conversations are included to show Sam's intellect and ability to retain information. In addition to this he is the one who saves a female character in Gilly (an outcast girl within a group known as 'wildlings'), a posistion you would expect to find Jon Snow in however he ends up being captured by a woman. In the pinnacle of his development he goes from being comic relief or pity for the audience to being a hero as he kills a white walker and discovers their weakness to dragonglass/obsidian. A Game of Thrones successfully subverts this troupe by turning this otherwise weak, pathetic male character into an intelligent and potentially brave hero.

Out of these three representations, The way Andre 3000 represents himself in the Outkast video 'Hey ya!' is probably the most traditional representation. in this video there is a prologue which demonstrates that the fate of the fictional band 'The Love Below' depends on how they perform here; but this potentially serious tone here would contrast with the upbeat and energetic nature of the song so the rest of the performance has comedic elements and upbeat imagery to counter this. This may indicate that Andre is carefree and thrown these concerns out the window. this carefree, almost irresponsible attitude matches well with the song's message of promoting casual romantic relationships. this carefree representation of a successful man is further implied with his appearance as he is wearing bright green clothing. as the video progresses it is implied that his success has garnered him sexual attention from attractive women as they make up all of the audience at the performance. This perhaps connotes that attractiveness in heterosexual men relies heavily on wealth.