Gentlemanly Development or Cartoon Refinement?
Stumbled across From G’s to Gents on the weekend without knowing what it was. After watching a bit, it all seemed a bit ridiculous and melodramatic with the “Gents” themselves seemingly defining the style of masculinity being pursued. Today, James Hannaham investigates at Salon:
“From G’s to Gents” shies away from using similar American archetypes as models for manhood, though. Perhaps the dandy’s too effete, the old boy of the Ivy League too elitist and the Southern gentleman too problematic for angry men of color. With no real standard to shoot for, the question hangs in the air the whole time: What the hell is a gentleman, anyway? And what self-respecting G would aspire to his elusive standards? Instead, the show attempts to instill a cartoon version of refinement in the guys, picking and choosing from a variety of sources — betting that neither the contestants nor the MTV audience will know the difference.
Hannaham is actually pretty sympathetic to the role model-starved “Gents” and their desire to change their lives. I gotta say, however, that I find the retrosexual masculinity of Mad Men, as Andrew Potter called it, and the Art of Manliness to “these unsocialized macho men.” But I’m intrigued enough to keep watching anyway, just to see how MTV defines gentlemanly behaviour nowadays.
3 years ago