This is an admittedly unusual format for this sub, but I think it’s very much in keeping with the themes discussed here.  I’m going to briefly review the 2019 movie “The Art of Self Defense” (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7339248/) and discuss how it relates to RP principles, issues of modern masculinity, and how these topics can be depicted in the current media environment.   Mainstream reviews of the movie rightly pointed out the tension between the apparent redemption of the lead protagonist, Casey, by reclaiming his masculinity but balancing this against the dark, abusive mentor known only as Sensei.  This is definitely not a RP movie, but it touches on some of the themes that lead men to RP. And all of that is more important than pill color in any case.

The movie begins with a series of cringey examples of the thoroughly desmasculinized Casey drifting through a life seemingly devoid of passion, connection, fortitude, or even base-level engagement with the world around him.  My reaction, and I suspect the reaction of many men who watch this film is something like – “That’s pitiful…..I’m not like that…..Am I?”. It’s a timely movie that, amazingly, acknowledges that there is a real crisis of masculinity in some men and that the solution isn’t necessarily to become more deeply connected to their feminine side.  

We are shown a fairly two-dimensional image of a lifeless Casey acting out a vague, anonymous, lonely, unremarkable existence.  He is an outcast at work. His boss is saccharine nice but this seems to add to his isolation. He lives by himself with his pet dachshund.  He is learning French and dreams of going to France but we sense that this is a dream that will die with him. He’s a wimp. He’s a child.

He faces his RP moment one night when he is physically assaulted by a biker gang and ends up hospitalized and out of work.  This could just as easily be finding out his girlfriend cheated or his crush hooked up with the starting nose tackle on the football team.  The trauma of the experience sends him deeper into fear and isolation. He’s trapped. He’s a child. There’s no cavalry coming to save him.   

Long story short, he discovers Karate as a way of reclaiming his masculinity and therefore his life.  The motion, the physicality, the connection, all resonate with something that is missing inside of him.  He becomes physically stronger and more confident. He develops a sense of identity and belonging in Karate.  The physical blows seem to invigorate him rather than deplete him. This is because he is a man. And that’s how men work.

The obvious analogy is the focus on lifting in RP circles.  There are long-term RPers who say things like “80 % of it is lifting”.  Really, they are promoting a rough discipline that suits masculine growth.  Physical activity, contact with other men, a willingness to face fears, and the guiding hand of a mentor are all important ingredients to Casey reclaiming his masculinity.  Women are conspicuously absent from this path. This fact is lampooned in the movie, which is necessary, a point I’ll return to in a minute. However, it is fitting that a woman does not figure significantly in this journey and it is something that sets it apart from other films.  This may seem to be at odds with the RP focus on pickup artistry, dating, spinning plates and the like. But ultimately, RP is a piece of the larger journey of the boy becoming a man.

   One goofy scene that sticks with me is one day at work his boss comes to his desk to invite him to a dinner party with his family.  Casey punches him out using his new-found Karate, that’s the dark comedy part, but then he says “Stop trying to be my friend.  You’re my boss. That’s not how it is supposed to work.” Boom. Then we are punched out and it isn’t dark comedy this time. It’s actually a stunningly accurate indictment of the work culture developing around us.  The loss of hierarchies has not resulted in greater freedom, but a deeper trap. Why aspire to be the boss when all it does is trap you into accepting bullshit from your employees? Everyone is supposed to be friends, right?

The rest of the movie is equally fascinating, although not worth describing in detail here.  The Sensei turns out to be a dark, sadistic character. Casey is drawn into a world of violence, misogyny, light homoeroticism, and outright villainy.  I say this is fascinating because it provides a clue about how a positive message of masculinity needs to be delivered in our culture. The logic of the masculine journey needs to be balanced by an anti-hero that embodies all of the cultural sensitivities of 2019.  That is, it needs to be obscured by a storyline that seems to say “just kidding, get in touch with your feminine side, haha”. 

  But, any man watching this movie who is drifting through life unfulfilled, isolated, scared, and smothered by the friendly, saccharine bosses won’t remember the ridiculous parts of the story.  What will stick with him are the scenes of masculine energy in the dojo and the tiny flame of life ignited inside the protagonist.