{"id":4260,"date":"2018-07-28T13:20:23","date_gmt":"2018-07-28T17:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=4260"},"modified":"2023-03-28T19:22:14","modified_gmt":"2023-03-28T23:22:14","slug":"marty-woke-in-the-50s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/marty-woke-in-the-50s\/","title":{"rendered":"Ernest Borgnine’s Marty rejects toxic masculinity, long before we had a name for it"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span>\u2b50<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\n\n\t\n<\/svg>\n<\/span><\/span>Rating: 4.5 out of 5.<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n

In Delbert Mann and Paddy Chayefsky’s Marty<\/em> (1955), Ernest Borgnine plays a basically decent man, trapped in a kind of stasis by social forces that are only more amplified today: misogyny, distrust of the educated, racism, and classism. Even the changing economic landscape looms over him, as corporate consolidation threatens his dream to own a small business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One or two more generations, and it’s easy to imagine Marty’s family chanting “lock her up” at a MAGA rally, and his friends as incels trolling women on the internet. His family exemplifies a moment of social transformation between extended families living together and a trend towards isolation and nuclear families. His mother and aunt spent a lifetime working until they couldn’t work any more. In their old age, they are left with nowhere to live and nothing to do. His cousin is transitioning towards the American Dream of a house and child, but the accompanying burdens and anxieties outweigh any happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ernest
In the language of today, we would say that Marty needs to ditch his toxic friends.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Outside the family tumult, his circle of friends is adrift in an increasingly isolated social world of movies, bars, and dance clubs — all in the pursuit of women that they seem to desire and loathe in equal measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I cannot tell you how utterly relieved I was when Marty made that last-minute phone call. I think I would have been devastated if he hadn’t.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Delbert Mann and Paddy Chayefsky’s Marty (1955), Ernest Borgnine plays a basically decent man, trapped in a kind of stasis by social forces that are only more amplified today: misogyny, distrust of the educated, racism, and classism. Even the changing economic landscape looms over him, as corporate consolidation threatens his dream to own a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4666,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,2],"tags":[1697,1696,1698,1695,1699],"class_list":["post-4260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-4-stars","category-movies","tag-1697","tag-betsy-blair","tag-delbert-mann","tag-ernest-borgnine","tag-paddy-chayefsky"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/marty-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-16I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5715,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-sour-overpowers-the-sweet-in-about-last-night\/","url_meta":{"origin":4260,"position":0},"title":"The sour overpowers the sweet in About Last Night…","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"??? Even though I think I have to casually give Edward Zwick's About Last Night... only three stars here, there's a lot to commend it. There's no high concept or clever hook to slap on the poster: no one falls in love with their maid or the magnate destroying their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Demi Moore, Rob Lowe, Jim Belushi in About Last Night","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/about-last-night.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":783,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-departed-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4260,"position":1},"title":"Martin Scorsese remakes Internal Affairs as The Departed","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Martin Scorsese works almost constantly, even keeping busy with documentaries between each higher-profile feature film. But the frequency of his fiction films is far enough apart for them to remain much more hotly anticipated, and every year that went by with him being passed over by the Academy Awards only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/departed-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/departed-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/departed-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/departed-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/departed-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3539,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/mann-public-enemies\/","url_meta":{"origin":4260,"position":2},"title":"Relentless Withholding: Michael Mann’s Public Enemies","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Khoi Vinh rightly observes in Minimalism, Michael Mann and Miami Vice that \"Mann has produced a taut, stylistic and often brutally impersonal filmography that seems most interested in the concept of work\" (via Daring Fireball). I wholly understand and laud the aim of a minimalist, \"relentlessly withholding\" narrative, but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Public Enemies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3519,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/mann-miami-vice\/","url_meta":{"origin":4260,"position":3},"title":"Which Way Is Up: Michael Mann’s Miami Vice","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The simple truth is that I hated Michael Mann's Miami Vice on first viewing. On a technical level, it was marred by hideously poor sound -- for which I blamed the particular theater I happened to see it in, but a friend of mine had the same complaint about a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":961,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/last-of-the-mohicans\/","url_meta":{"origin":4260,"position":4},"title":"Daniel Day-Lewis is Natty Bumppo in Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This blogger is a longtime fan of director Michael Mann, counting Heat, The Insider, and Collateral among my favorite films. But I still can't find much love for what is probably his most popular movie, The Last of the Mohicans, which seems to lack his typically intense focus and clarity.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Last of the Mohicans","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5703,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/l-a-takedown-is-the-rough-draft-for-michael-manns-masterpiece-heat\/","url_meta":{"origin":4260,"position":5},"title":"L.A. Takedown is the rough draft for Michael Mann’s masterpiece Heat","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I finally, finally,\u00a0finally\u00a0had the opportunity to cross L.A. Takedown off my movie watchlist \u2014 a largely unavailable holy grail that I've been desperately curious to see for\u00a0years. If director Michael Mann had not reworked this material into the masterpiece Heat, L.A. Takedown would probably be pushed so far down his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"L.A. Takedown","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4260"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8489,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4260\/revisions\/8489"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}