Advice For Men From TV's 'Hercules': Bring Back Masculinity
Authored by Randy Tatano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
In mythology, Hercules is a hero famous for his strength and bravery. A protector. A classic man’s man who, back in the day, every little boy would admire and want to emulate. In real life, Hercules was played on television by actor Kevin Sorbo, who says it’s time for guys to start acting like real men again. So he’s producing movies and books to get that message across.
Sorbo, who left woke Tinseltown behind for Florida saying, “Truth is kryptonite in Hollywood” talks about how the portrayal of men on television doesn’t exactly inspire guys to be masculine. The liberal narrative is very evident in many current television shows. “Every sitcom seems to have a fat, lazy husband.” And over the years, the media’s promotion of the sensitive “beta male” has seeped into our culture.
But he feels that the decline of masculinity has a root cause that can be traced to the way children are raised. His own upbringing included exposure to old-fashioned hard work by his family. “I had great examples from my grandfather and father. My father was an only child on a farm in Iowa. And I didn’t have teachers telling me how to vote or how to think. Everything starts with parents. It’s important to have a dad and a mom raising children. Kids watching TV think dads are not important in a family,” he said.
His wife, Sam, echoed that sentiment as she talked about raising their own children. “We need to empower children to be courageous. We raise them in truth, we raise them to defend the truth. When your children are grounded in truth they are strong.”
So the Sorbos (Sam is also a veteran actress) are using media to remind people about the traditional roles of men and women, producing both movies and a children’s book. Their latest film, “Miracle in East Texas,” is a true story about a couple of flim-flam men during the Great Depression who make a living conning widows into buying shares of bogus oil drilling ventures. The men act like normal men and the women are portrayed as traditional women.
Written by award-winning writer Dan Gordon ("Rambo: Last Blood," "The Hurricane," "Wyatt Earp"), this very enjoyable movie takes a twist you might not expect. When asked what he hoped people would get out of the movie, Kevin simply said he wants moviegoers to be entertained without a political or social message buried in the plot: “I hope they have fun. I like to do movies the way Hollywood used to, where the good guys win and the bad guys lose. We’ve been doing movies that have more of a positive nature.”
Sam took things a bit farther: “We like doing movies about real people doing miraculous things ... it gives people hope.” In addition, "Miracle in East Texas" is being released as a book.
Kevin Sorbo is also taking a literary approach to teach boys about masculine roles. He has written a children’s book which includes traditional male values. “The Test of Lionhood” is a Christian children's book that teaches kids about masculinity, with lessons about bravery and perseverance. “It’s pro-child. It’s a story about a little lion cub who saves his sister,” he said.
And while Kevin Sorbo may be physically built like a mythological hero, being masculine doesn’t require a guy to look like Hercules. He said masculinity is not about physical appearance, but traditional values.
“Being a guy who is a provider and a protector for the family, with strong moral guidelines, being a loving husband, a loving father, a good neighbor,” he said.
Sam added that women are not immune from the liberal portrayal of men: “We tend to fool ourselves into making poor choices, thinking that we’re not giving up anything by settling for second best. It’s become very difficult for women to admit they want a manly man.”
She said that people must be selective about media. “Support good quality films, but I caution people about allowing poor stuff into your brain, because that’s the degradation of our culture. You are what you consume with your eyes, your ears, and your heart.”
And as far as the transgender “trend” to eliminate masculinity, Kevin Sorbo has no patience for parents who allow or encourage young children to identify as a different sex. Just because a little boy might try on his mother’s shoes doesn’t mean he wants to be a girl or should transition into one with hormones or drastic surgery.
“What they’re doing to kids is wrong. Let kids be kids ... these children can’t make up their minds at that age,” he said.
And Sam said it’s crucial that parents monitor what their children see and hear. “Be careful of who you allow access to your child.”
Like many conservatives who are baffled by this war on masculinity, Kevin summed things up with a simple wish: “Make being normal, normal again.”
