Bromances and the Action Film

Over the month just passed I got to see the action film Expendables 2 with a group of friends of mine. I even got to Leicester Square to see the stars go along the red carpet. Action films are a guilty pleasure of mine, and among a certain group of friends of mine, provides a forum for male bonding and lots of laughter.

Action films are lowbrow, sometimes misogynist and even have subtle right wing political angles to them. But we still somehow choose to ignore these things. I think films such as these are often described as ‘leave your brain at the door’. I hardly watch action films these days, or any films for that matter on a regular basis. But there’s something about the camaraderie of being among old friends that makes the action film a centerpiece of our amusement.

This month I reconnected with a friend of mine who I haven’t seen in years. I guess you could also say we have a bromance thing going on as well. It’s perhaps no coincidence that a certain group of my friends enjoyed watching the Expendables, which was a film about a diverse group of men who laugh together have bizarre conversations and their own odd conception of masculinity.

What I enjoyed about the Expendables were the non-traditional aspects of macho masculinity that were displayed by some of the characters. Dolph Lundgren’s ‘Gunnar Jensen’ has a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering and was a Fullbright scholar. Randy Couture’s ‘Toll Road’ is ‘college educated’ and displays a degree of vulnerability about his character, less vocal than the others and often seen reading in the background than conversing. Maybe I’m reading too much into a brainless film. Maybe I’m reading too much into a brainless film.

I’ve been thinking about the idea of a bromance lately. With friend I reconnected with, I really enjoy his company. I loved playing with him in our jamming session. I loved going out to a club with him. I loved sharing war stories and talking about our dreams and hopes. My other friends just aren’t like that.

I think there is a moral about the tale of modern masculinity. It acknowledges that it is a parody of what the notion of masculinity should be, but there is also genuine affection in it too. Men seem to bond better by doing than talking. I think I certainly do anyway.