The Decline of the Hard Bodied Action Hero

- or Peter Parker as a Contemporary Action Hero in Marvel's Spider-Man Far From Home (2019)

Abstract

Over the last few decades, action cinema has become more technologically and narratively complex, allowing for more extraordinary on-screen spectacles that leave audiences at the edge of their seats. However, throughout all these transformations, one aspect of the action film has always remained consistent: the emphasis on the strapping male hero. The fearless male heroes we know today, like Rambo and John McClane, were developed during the 1980s and 1990s pure action cycle, where heroes had to embody idealized qualities of masculinity, such as physical strength, courage, and determination. These hard-bodied heroes established a generic standard for decades, creating an unattainable and disconnected standard of masculinity. Contemporary action films, like Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), have begun countering these exaggerated portrayals of masculinity, presenting new action heroes who deviate from the generic convention to embody more nuanced representations of masculinity.