Two men enter - no men leave

(Written Spring 2009)

I recently watched an old Mel Gibson classic entitled, Mad Max - Road Warrior. This movie depicts the world in a post nuclear war setting where technology and modern sciences have been destroyed and a primitive way of life has been readopted. The people in the movie are forced to fend for themselves as far as food, water, and resources are concerned. There are no fast food restaurants, convenience stores, or supermarkets for them to frequent- just miles and miles of heat and desert.

As I watched the film, I began to think about our society's current state of being. The hypothetical question arose: “Could the members of our current society, engulfed and overwhelmed by the convenience of one-click pizza orders and McDonald’s cheeseburgers, take on the role of the aggressive hunter-gatherer in the times of a post nuclear war?

I received my answer as I recalled a video we watched last semester in Comm. 290 (Intercultural Communication). A family of five from New Jersey went to Africa and lived with a primitive village. The family took on the lifestyle of the villagers and was subject to the everyday hardships of technology-free self-reliance. At one point in the film, the villagers killed a goat by cutting its throat in a very specific spot. The incision wasn’t graphic by any means and the villagers went on to explain how grateful they were for this animal's sacrifice. It was by far less bloody than any Terrintino film. But as the incision was taking place, the majority of the kids in the class cringed, turned away, and made noises of unease. (I wondered to myself how many of these kids left the classroom and went home for a deli cold cut sandwich or to the closest KFC for a zinger twister wrap?)

The point of this comes from a discussion about masculinity. Masculinity has been redefined by our culture. The idea of self-reliance through aggression and primitive behavior has replaced by Mario Lopez and his ability to dance well. To me, masculinity is the ability to protect, provide, and progress, whether it be for oneself or one’s family using the elements of any given situation. That’s the mentality that should remain. Instead, we see two guys at the bar fighting, not because one person tried to steal the other persons buffalo carcass, but because one of them got a mai-thai spilled on their favorite designer shirt.

As the concept of masculinity begins to take on a softer side, we need to ask ourselves the question,  “If it was all taken away and all that remained was myself and a deer, could I fend for myself, or would I whither away much like the technology I was so reliant on?

I’m not asking anyone to go out and hunt animals if that's not the way of life you've chosen to live. I certainly think that it’s ok to be sensitive and compassionate as well. But this comfort level has only been around for a couple hundred years and if it were the case that we reverted back to what is now referred to as “primitive culture”, would we as individuals be able to survive? The answer is scary, but what is even scarier is how possible this reality is.