The sequence is Wild at Heart in microcosm, with the AM stations representing treacherous pitstops on the lost highways between a deep south correctional facility and sunny California, where Sailor and Lula hope to carve out some place for themselves. Romance pokes through the violence and discord like a bloom through cracks in the pavement. And then suddenly, the adrenalized thump of Powermad’s Slaughterhouse fades out and the lush strings of Richard Strauss overwhelm the soundtrack. As the two thrash along in the embankment – Sailor, with his karate-kick dancing style, seems like a terror in nightclubs – Lynch’s camera cranes upwards to a magic-hour sunset across the field. “Sailor Ripley, you get me some music on that radio this instant!” she screams, and he obliges, scanning past more talk-radio mayhem before landing, improbably, on a track by the Minneapolis speed metal band Powermad. We don't smoke, drink, or swear that's what makes us *men*.Lula pulls the car over in disgust. That's what we hold up as models of Christian maturity: Really Nice Guys. But, if they will try real hard they can reach the lofty summit of becoming … a nice guy. The problem with men, we are told, is that they don't know how to keep their promises, be spiritual leaders, talk to their wives, or raise their children. When all is said and done, I think most men in the church believe that God put them on the earth to be a good boy. Christianity, as it currently exists, has done damage to masculinity. How can a man know he is one when his highest aim is minding his manners?Īnd then, alas, there is the church. The result is a gender confusion never experienced at such a wide level in the history of the world. *You asked them to be women,* I want to say. "Where are all the *real* men?" is regular fare for talk shows and new books. As though if a man were to truly grow up he would forsake wilderness and wanderlust and settle down, be at home forever in Aunt Polly's parlor. Having spent the last thirty years redefining masculinity into something more sensitive, safe, manageable and, well, feminine, it now berates men for not being men. “Society at large can't make up its mind about men.
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