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Death Of The Working-Class Leading Man?

Started by MortSahlFan, April 18, 2019, 11:22:10 PM

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MortSahlFan

I'm reading Steve McQueen's biography, and the author mentioned how most of the heroes were working-class... Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Cagney, John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen himself and others...

I can't think of any in my lifetime (almost 40 years).. I'm referring to on-screen, and not their upbringing..

Bogart wasn't working class, he was the child of an heiress! John Wayne also, solidly middle class. Eastwood's parents were country club people living in the wealthy part of Piedmont

MortSahlFan

I just edited to clarify I wasn't talking about their upbringing, but on-screen roles.



Tom Cruise plays a working class guy in 'War of the Worlds', Al Pacino plays working class in 'Frankie and Johnny', Tom Hardy plays working class quite a bit, etc. etc.

It's difficult to know what 'working class' even means in the context of cinema

mothman

I think to really justify your argument by saying you mean roles not actors, then you need to not list (potentially) working-class actors, but the wc roles instead. And even then it's not really true. De Niro has played wc roles. Tom Cruise has. The role that introduced Jennifer Lawrence to the world was wc.

mothman

(funny, I was thinking of WotW too when I listed TC)

mothman

(and yes JL isn't a leading man but I'm being inclusive)

greenman

There are certainly a few around, Cameron's two biggest blockbusters of the last 25 years both feature one but perhaps Heir Potter and the "chosen pure blood special one" syndrome has had a factor?

Mister Six

#10
Marvel's maintained the working class backgrounds of its characters for television and film. Captain America was from a lower-class Brooklyn suburb. The new Spider-Man pointedly protects his mixed-class Queens neighbourhood (but it's clear he's from a lower income family, being raised by just one woman). Ant-Man is working class. Daredevil's whole persona is based around him being a working class guy uncomfortable with his ascent into the middle classes.

DC's big names are a bunch of toffs, admittedly.

EDIT: Except Superman (although I suppose he moved into the middle classes when he became a reporter).

Mister Six

And let's think, 40 years ago was 1979. Luke Skywalker. Han Solo. Rey and Finn in the new Star Wars films. John McClane. Whatever the bloke's called in Unbreakable. Crocodile Dundee. Rocky (well, very slightly outside that, but the Rocky films continued for years afterwards). Wolverine. Eddie Murphy in practically anything except Coming to America. Will Smith in about a quarter of his films. The Blues Brothers. The family in Logan Lucky. Nic Cage in Mandy. Probably most of the characters in the Fast and the Furious films?

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: Mister Six on April 19, 2019, 06:23:27 AM
Rocky (well, very slightly outside that, but the Rocky films continued for years afterwards).

John Rambo is working class too. Stallone's characters were/are almost always blue collar guys.

MortSahlFan

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on April 19, 2019, 10:12:37 PM
John Rambo is working class too. Stallone's characters were/are almost always blue collar guys.
Rocky was the epitome of blue-collar, working-class.. It was made 43 years ago, though, and I don't think I'm far off by saying this is "dying out" in modern cinema.

Yeah I think you might be though

There's plenty of recent examples of blue collar leading characters, this observation literally only makes sense if it refers to there being fewer and fewer working class actors in leading roles, which is actually true. I'm convinced that the thread was started on that very premise as well, and that the volte face was somewhat dishonest

Ballad of Ballard Berkley

Quote from: MortSahlFan on April 19, 2019, 10:21:33 PM
Rocky was the epitome of blue-collar, working-class.. It was made 43 years ago, though, and I don't think I'm far off by saying this is "dying out" in modern cinema.

Rocky is still around, though, he's the main supporting character in the very successful Creed films. What's more, the protagonist in Creed was raised as working class.

As others have said, there are numerous prominent blue collar characters in modern cinema. There always have been and there always will be, they're not dying out at all.

Quote from: Monsieur Verdoux on April 19, 2019, 10:22:50 PM
There's plenty of recent examples of blue collar leading characters, this observation literally only makes sense if it refers to there being fewer and fewer working class actors in leading roles, which is actually true.

Agreed. Apollo Agreed.

Danny Dyer played working-class garden in sub-Guy Richie lad films.


Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Pretty much every character played by Mark Wahlberg, and Jason Statham is by default. The lead character in Kingsman and its sequel is very pointedly working class. Attack the Block, Pirates of the Caribbeans. British kitchen sink drama is still a thing.

If it is true, there's probably some link to the decline of manufacturing type industry in the West.

Skidz and Mudflap from the Transformers movie.

Shaky

Many Mike Leigh films feature working class leads.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Also Ken Loach (obviously) and Shane Meadows.

Eminem's character in 8 Mile. If I remember rightly, he wins the final rap battle by revealing that his opponent is upper crust.

Lost Oliver

Yeah, I don't think this is true. Probably more true about their being no working class actors but even that's false. I think you're probably right in that they're under-represented but films reflect society. Also, it heavily depends on what type of cinema you watch.

Sorry, I'm tired. I reckon I've made a decent enough point to post though.

MortSahlFan

Quote from: Shaky on April 20, 2019, 09:37:09 AM
Many Mike Leigh films feature working class leads.
Yes, he and Ken Loach.. My favorite English directors.

Blumf

If you look closely in I, Daniel Blake, you'll see that the main characters are all wearing top hats and monocles. At the pivotal court scene, you'll notice the judge happily clearing Blake's name because of his Charterhouse school tie.

Sebastian Cobb

Although actor and role are two different things both working class actors and working class roles got fucked over by mccarthyism.

Most mainstream films are aspirational, they're just vehicles for more consumption. If you want working class heroes and underdogs then exploitation cinema is full of them.

Paul Schrader's directorial debut was Blue Collar, what an entrance.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

You'd think there would be more, considering how strong the unions are in Hollywood. I suppose it's a bit close to the dreaded socialism for many Americans, although plenty of films extol the value of teamwork.

'Saturday Night Fever' had a working-class central character.

But Hollywood is about pretending that class does not exist, in the main.


nw83

Quote from: Ballad of Ballard Berkley on April 19, 2019, 10:31:20 PM
Rocky is still around, though, he's the main supporting character in the very successful Creed films. What's more, the protagonist in Creed was raised as working class.

As others have said, there are numerous prominent blue collar characters in modern cinema. There always have been and there always will be, they're not dying out at all.

Agreed. Apollo Agreed.

Doesn't the protagonist in the Creed films have a really good job in finance, and at one point you see his mum's house and it's a big mansion? I think Tony Bellew's character also points this out during a press conference, to put himself over as the real tough working-class guy.