Male Movie Stars Are Unrealistically Buff

[+ quoththeraven]

Hi, I'm here to cause mayhem! Here's the thesis statement.

 

https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/zac-efrons-muscles-are-way-too-much.html

 

Excerpt:

 

In 2011’s Crazy Stupid Love, Emma Stone’s character said that Ryan Gosling’s body looked like it had been

The joke seems practically quaint now; Gosling’s toned and tan body looks like just another Instagram thirst trap. Stars like Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman have simply been forced to go even further to separate themselves from the pack, to the point where their bodies look truly unreal. We’ve entered a reverse uncanny valley where the real looks unreal: Flesh and blood human celebrities now sport the vein-popping, skintight muscles comic-book artists could once only conjure in their imaginations. It’s as though the moment you thought that you could do it too, Hollywood moved the goalpost further away. Trying to keep up with the superheroes and the Chrises who play them is like running for the horizon: You can always do a little bit extra, be better than the next guy. But where does it end? Does the muscle bubble pop? I’m worried about the effect Hugh Jackman’s vascularity has on the Scruff community. I’m worried that the Hollywood Chrises are just one scoop of protein powder away from total renal failure. But most of all, I’m worried about Zac Efron, you guys.

 

Argue away, but keep in mind, you're not arguing with me (I see and agree with his point, but I don't watch enough movies, let alone superhero movies, to care), you're arguing with E. Alex Jung, who happens to be a Columbia-educated gay man who grew up in Florida and writes about pop culture (TV and movies mainly) for Vulture.

 

Have fun!

[+ WilliamM]

In trying to think of film dudes I have met, or at least seen in person, like, Robert Redford, Keanu Reeves, Jeff Bridges: All Good

 

But not High Jackman. Ugh

 

Even liked Jonathan Groff in The Little Shop of Horrors and Spring Awakening more

[+ Pensant]

Hi, I'm here to cause mayhem! Here's the thesis statement.

 

https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/zac-efrons-muscles-are-way-too-much.html

 

Excerpt:

 

In 2011’s Crazy Stupid Love, Emma Stone’s character said that Ryan Gosling’s body looked like it had been

The joke seems practically quaint now; Gosling’s toned and tan body looks like just another Instagram thirst trap. Stars like Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman have simply been forced to go even further to separate themselves from the pack, to the point where their bodies look truly unreal. We’ve entered a reverse uncanny valley where the real looks unreal: Flesh and blood human celebrities now sport the vein-popping, skintight muscles comic-book artists could once only conjure in their imaginations. It’s as though the moment you thought that you could do it too, Hollywood moved the goalpost further away. Trying to keep up with the superheroes and the Chrises who play them is like running for the horizon: You can always do a little bit extra, be better than the next guy. But where does it end? Does the muscle bubble pop? I’m worried about the effect Hugh Jackman’s vascularity has on the Scruff community. I’m worried that the Hollywood Chrises are just one scoop of protein powder away from total renal failure. But most of all, I’m worried about Zac Efron, you guys.

 

Argue away, but keep in mind, you're not arguing with me (I see and agree with his point, but I don't watch enough movies, let alone superhero movies, to care), you're arguing with E. Alex Jung, who happens to be a Columbia-educated gay man who grew up in Florida and writes about pop culture (TV and movies mainly) for Vulture.

 

Have fun!

You acting the provocateur makes the site all the more interesting and fun!

[MscleLovr]

What’s the problem? I enjoyed The Politician (Netflix) where all the 16 year old characters were played by fit, athletic 26 year olds.

[+ oldNbusted]

I read it as a tongue-in-cheek reminder that no one should be looking to professional entertainers for body composition standards.

[+ WilliamM]

What’s the problem? I enjoyed The Politician (Netflix) where all the 16 year old characters were played by fit, athletic 26 year olds.

 

Luckily, people who are quite successfully on Broadway for years don't have time to spend on all that.

[+ quoththeraven]

I read it as a tongue-in-cheek reminder that no one should be looking to professional entertainers for body composition standards.

I thought he was making a more serious point than that: looking like a bodybuilder and being shredded trumps any sense of realism (e.g., swimmer's body vs. Crossfit body) and has also reached an outer limit. Where do they go from there?

 

But yes, E. Alex Jung is notoriously a smartass, as a look at his Twitter will disclose.

[TruthBTold]

Hi, I'm here to cause mayhem! Here's the thesis statement.

 

https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/zac-efrons-muscles-are-way-too-much.html

 

Excerpt:

 

In 2011’s Crazy Stupid Love, Emma Stone’s character said that Ryan Gosling’s body looked like it had been

The joke seems practically quaint now; Gosling’s toned and tan body looks like just another Instagram thirst trap. Stars like Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman have simply been forced to go even further to separate themselves from the pack, to the point where their bodies look truly unreal. We’ve entered a reverse uncanny valley where the real looks unreal: Flesh and blood human celebrities now sport the vein-popping, skintight muscles comic-book artists could once only conjure in their imaginations. It’s as though the moment you thought that you could do it too, Hollywood moved the goalpost further away. Trying to keep up with the superheroes and the Chrises who play them is like running for the horizon: You can always do a little bit extra, be better than the next guy. But where does it end? Does the muscle bubble pop? I’m worried about the effect Hugh Jackman’s vascularity has on the Scruff community. I’m worried that the Hollywood Chrises are just one scoop of protein powder away from total renal failure. But most of all, I’m worried about Zac Efron, you guys.

 

Argue away, but keep in mind, you're not arguing with me (I see and agree with his point, but I don't watch enough movies, let alone superhero movies, to care), you're arguing with E. Alex Jung, who happens to be a Columbia-educated gay man who grew up in Florida and writes about pop culture (TV and movies mainly) for Vulture.

 

Have fun!

 

I have heard a couple of "stars" had trained for specific roles in film but then were very happy to go back to more realistic body types. I heard Hugh Jackman speak of this. Obviously he kept some of the muscle he put on.

[hypothetically]

I thought he was making a more serious point than that: looking like a bodybuilder and being shredded trumps any sense of realism (e.g., swimmer's body vs. Crossfit body) and has also reached an outer limit. Where do they go from there?

 

But yes, E. Alex Jung is notoriously a smartass, as a look at his Twitter will disclose.

 

Coming from a certified PT and someone who has lived in several very superficial cities, I wouldn’t consider any of the aforementioned actors in those specified roles to be “bodybuilders” or “shredded,” but rather “fit.” In a city like New York or Los Angeles, that aesthetic is the bare minimum for a gay or straight man that would like to have a sex or social life. No one in New York would flinch at the sight of Zac Efron’s body if it wasn’t on Zac Efron. It’s hard to read the author’s tone and the takeaway. Sounds resentful.

 

But I will say, it does feed one’s body dysmorphia and is maybe an aggressive visual for someone who isn’t submerged in gym culture.

Edited December 19, 2019 by hypothetically

[+ poolboy48220]

I have heard a couple of "stars" had trained for specific roles in film but then were very happy to go back to more realistic body types. I heard Hugh Jackman speak of this. Obviously he kept some of the muscle he put on.

Taron Egerton talked about getting very fit for the first Kingsmen movie. I can't remember if he was happy to go back to his normal body.

[+ E.T.Bass]

Ryan Gosling referred to having a muscle suit as if not all that thrilled by it.

I don't appreciate the exaggerated look, especially when the pecs look like breasts.

I like a tight flatter chest and broad shoulders that taper down to a slim waste.

[MscleLovr]

I like a tight flatter chest and broad shoulders that taper down to a slim waste.

 

I too like that shape. I don’t know your age @E.T.Bass but I wonder if your preferences reflect the desired body-shape when you were growing up?

 

I’m in my 60s now, but when I was in my early 20s my first boyfriend had that physique. He was athletic but also he had helped out on the family farm from the age of 10. Lifting and stacking things, as well as being involved in the harvest, caused him to have broad shoulders, a long upper body with a tight narrow waist.

 

I recall a BBC documentary concerning Gore Vidal in which he talked about the bodies he saw in early porn films. He observed that the muscles were gained from physical exertion, and that the men had flat chests, then and so were very different from the aerobicised bodies developed in the gym now.

[+ WilliamM]

I would gladly have accepted Keanu Reeves as he was in the 1990 with his band Dogstar.

[+ quoththeraven]

Coming from a certified PT and someone who has lived in several very superficial cities, I wouldn’t consider any of the aforementioned actors in those specified roles to be “bodybuilders” or “shredded,” but rather “fit.” In a city like New York or Los Angeles, that aesthetic is the bare minimum for a gay or straight man that would like to have a sex or social life. No one in New York would flinch at the sight of Zac Efron’s body if it wasn’t on Zac Efron. It’s hard to read the author’s tone and the takeaway. Sounds resentful.

 

But I will say, it does feed one’s body dysmorphia and is maybe an aggressive visual for someone who isn’t submerged in gym culture.

E. Alex Jung lives in New York City. Perhaps what you are detecting is his disdain for what he views as superficial criteria for attractiveness. He has been open about finding New York gay culture close-minded when it comes to the attractiveness of gay Asian Americans like him.

[+ oldNbusted]

[+ Coolwave35]

Ryan Reynolds told me that after filming blade trinity he didn’t think he’d be able to maintain that body, because it was unrealistic and the training and discipline needed to achieve it seemed unsustainable. I was shocked that he kept it as long as he did, and I think that’s a testament to his ambition to become and sustain a list status.

[+ poolboy48220]

I can't remember hearing whether or not Ben Affleck bulked up to be Daredevil. But I do remember his next movie, Jersey Girl, where his wife dies in childbirth and he's raising a little girl alone. The shot of him standing over the crib, right after the mother dies, is a strangely superhero pose.

[+ sync]

Again, it's in the eye of the beholder. I, personally, have never been taken by the ripped, vascular appearance. Give me the fit, "juicy" look: