Analysis of Sam Spade Essay -- sexual maturity, masculinity, film

There a many definitions of anthropoidness and those definitions are heavily influenced by culture, environment, media, and the childs parents. When young men start to reach their sexual maturity, they have to crap their own definition of what it is to be a man. The idea of masculinity creates a lot of questions, because there is no resource that go forth give a young male the answer. Due to this, young males learn what it is to be a man from a grab bag of possibilities. Eventually, the young male will have accumulated traits, appearances, bearing, and so on that defines what it is to be a man. With a new sense of self, the young male transforms into his idea of masculinity. In the Maltase Flacon, masculinity is defined through the actions of Sam nigger whom demonstrates the masculine principals of making his transaction of alpha male status a top priority, aggressive behavior, avoiding universe feminine, homophobic, and restriction of his emotions (Meek) through his interacti on with some(prenominal) characters through bring out the film. Through out the film, Sam coon has a constant extremity to prove to himself and new(prenominal) people around him that he is an alpha male. This need is triggered when Sam Spade feels intimidated or challenge by another male. Sam Spades alpha male status is challenged when he is taken at gunpoint by Wilmer Cook to see Kasper Gutman. Sam quickly rises to the challenge and manages to take Wilmers guns extraneous from him (Falcon). Considering that the gun is a phallic symbol, whiz could interpret that when Sam took away Wilmers guns he symbolically took away Wilmers masculinity as punishment for challenging his alpha male status. Sams action of emasculating Wilmer inflates his ego and reinforces his masculinity though his achievem... ...ith several characters throughout the film. This particular definition of what it is to be a man is presented to the man in the form of media. It is possible that this film cou ld serve as a guide for how young men of the past, present, or even future should roleplay in order to be considered a man. In this film, the femme fatale sexuality is censored, but the ideals that acting violently towards people who are homosexual, constantly fulfilling a need to achieve dominance through aggressive and violence behavior is the pagan norm of what it is to be a man. This film demonstrates people acceptance of this behavior and acts as propaganda. Works CitedMeek, Dr. Will. Psychology of Men. Ed. Dr. Will Meek. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. .The Maltese Falcon. Dir. rear Huston. 1941. Warner Bros., 2000. DVD-ROM.