१७ जून, २०२२

2 images of male beauty — side by side this morning on the front page of the New York Times.

I found this juxtaposition entrancing:

  

We see the idealized domesticated males, together, with idealized dog, on a park bench, looking simply and virtuously for a modest home. And we see the ominous male, heterosexual, standing in the dark next to an empty space where there once was a woman. Somehow his very looks have brought on madness! He — standing alone — is proof of the causal connection between male beauty and madness.

 

I've read both articles, but let's take a closer at the one about Johnny Depp, which is titled, when you click in "Johnny Depp Through the Looking Glass/Examining the madness that male beauty elicits." This is an opinion piece by Rhonda Garelick, School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons/The New School:
Mr. Depp, like many Hollywood megastars, has long benefited from his striking good looks, which clearly played a role in the enormous social media support he garnered during the trial....

Garnered. They called my name.

Beauty remains a subject reserved largely for and about women.... Women, metaphorically, occupy the realm of faces and bodies. Men are presumed to live in the realm of ideas and action. So, according to conventional thinking, to focus on a man’s beauty (as opposed to, say, his virility), or use it to adjudge his character, risks emasculating him, depriving him of his inner value, his spirit, strength or accomplishments. 

And so we shy away from mentioning male beauty very much. Mr. Depp proves an exception to this rule. In his middle age, he still possesses an unusual, arresting facial beauty. A beauty that exceeds conventional handsomeness, and — especially in his youth — wandered into a kind of feline, even feminine territory....

Yes, the NYT displays 1989 photograph of Depp. He was the kind of man about whom people used to say — quite commonly and openly — He would have made a beautiful woman or Too bad such looks are wasted on a man.

And that specter of Mr. Depp’s striking earlier beauty hovered over him in that courtroom like a protective force field, impossible to dispel.... 

In the end, while Johnny Depp was declared the victim of defamation, and garnered sympathy by implying he had been physically abused, he has emerged more able than ever....

Whoa! We have sighted the rare second "garner." For Johnny Depp and Johnny Depp alone there is the madness that manifests itself in the form of a double "garner." We have surely lost our mind!

He's so beautiful he must have won the lawsuit because of his beauty. Well, the woman is beautiful too, but it was some sort of battle of the sexes... or rather, beauty contest of the sexes. Who was more mesmerizing? Who drove us more mad?

The alternative theory is that the jury followed the instructions and perceived her to be lying and him to be telling the truth. But wasn't comparative beauty part of that perception? Even if looks inevitably influence how we weigh credibility, it's not madness. It's the human mind, being human. When you look at a face and perceive beauty, isn't part of that an intuition about the soul within the face?

५७ टिप्पण्या:

rhhardin म्हणाले...

I haven't noticed Depp was beautiful. Just another actor. Nor for that matter, the females, who are generic in films. I can identify only about three of them by sight.

Leland म्हणाले...

Is that Depp standing in front of the Capitol? Is he participating in an erection as Schumer may call it or insurrection?

There was the point in the trial when the played the audio tape, recorded the last time Depp and Heard where together, when he said he would never look at her again to deny her to see his eyes. This article seems like a "gotcha", we will take you picture, plaster all over the NYT, and Amber can look any time she wants. Anyway, the big news is that you by a sufficient dog house for $400,000 in Upper Manhattan.

ConradBibby म्हणाले...

Seems kind of bold for the Times to accuse a guy of "madness" who just won a $10 million defamation suit.

gilbar म्हणाले...

seems straightforward
Gay==GOOD!!!! WONDERFUL!!! AWESOME!!!!
Straight==BAD!! Twisted!! EVIL!!!!

no wonder you like the NYTs

Cappy म्हणाले...

What?

Tripp Hall म्हणाले...

Male beauty, madness, and 1989. Has Camille Paglia somehow taken over the Times? (Her article would have been much less heavy going.)

rrsafety म्हणाले...

I'm always perplexed by the silliness urban liberal elites buy into. 99% of normal Americans would laugh aloud at that Depp headline and yet the NYTimes believes the idea is worthy of serious thought. Strange.

Amadeus 48 म्हणाले...

More hysteria from the NYT.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

While you focus on "garner" the real problem is "theory."

"O Theory, what crimes are committed in thy name!"

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

Elicit madness = "not her fault" for lashing out with physical violence in a fit of rage.

*See Heard's history with many of her relationships.

rhhardin म्हणाले...

Garner isn't as out of place as Althouse thinks. It means get with a certain amount of effort, and means to highlight ,the effort even if you have to identify it yourself. As in having to harvest the corn in the granary. It didn't just drop in there.

Xmas म्हणाले...

"...by implying he had been physically abused..."

Showed pictures, put witnesses on the stand to give direct testimony of, played an audio recording of Amber Heard directly saying she hit him.

"implying"

traditionalguy म्हणाले...

Come on man. The NYT can’t admit a straight white man from Kentucky is smarter than women….it’s his feminine appearance that won, not an intelligent straight white man’s ability.

He out worked them all. And his money made him a target for a trophy wife. His only mistake was loving and trusting her. And that lesson was so clear that the Feminists have to blow smoke and create a mirror to reverse what our eyes witnessed.

rcocean म्हणाले...

I never found his looks "striking". I'd call Tom Cruise handsome. Or maybe Cary Grant or Tyrone power or James garner (there's that word).

Kate म्हणाले...

But Johnny Depp isn't beautiful.

This is the NYT? Were they bought by Marie Claire?

Birches म्हणाले...

Depp used to be quite attractive but he looks like Diane Keaton in that thumbnail picture.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"Male beauty, madness, and 1989. Has Camille Paglia somehow taken over the Times? (Her article would have been much less heavy going.)"

Ha ha. I was thinking the same thing: Where's Camille Paglia? This is her work.

Jaq म्हणाले...

Female hypergamy, it's the fact that he can be the center of attention, for instance as Jack Sparrow. Looks are secondary. I bet John Lovitz has no trouble getting laid, for that matter.

Narr म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Stephen St. Onge म्हणाले...

        The real reason male beauty was seldom spoken of or written about was because the word “beauty” was almost exclusively used for women. Men were “handsome,” not “beautiful.” It’s increasing use is a result of feminism.

I’m surprised I have to point this out.

Narr म्हणाले...

Ha ha ha! Rhonda has a crush on John-nee! Rhonda has a crush on John-nee!

Personally, I never thought John C. Depp, (Jr of Kentucky--thanks Wikitube?) was all that, either in the looks or talent department. Then again, I'm not really the audience.

Camille would have been interesting; this woman is just a crank.

Anthony म्हणाले...

rrsafety said...
I'm always perplexed by the silliness urban liberal elites buy into. 99% of normal Americans would laugh aloud at that Depp headline and yet the NYTimes believes the idea is worthy of serious thought. Strange.


Althouse is the LibsofTikTok for the media.

Narayanan म्हणाले...

what is the difference between /garner/ and \eke\

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

Somebody, maybe Siskel, maybe Ebert, said that Rob Lowe wasn't handsome so much as he was beautiful. Maybe all this started way back then with him.

Johnny is more masculine-looking than young Rob was, but there's a sad, little boy lost aspect to him that appeals to some women.

John Holland म्हणाले...

The person who wrote this article must be young, naive and kinda smart-stupid, the latter due to that special kind of articulate, cultivated ignorance that one can only garner from a modern American college education (hah! see what I did there?)

When she went on about male beauty being 'emasculating', it's as if she had never heard nor seen the last 60 years of rock star celebrity, a field packed with feline, feminine men who were widely admired, emulated and envied by other men.

For most of his adult life Johnny Depp has wanted, more than anything, to be a rock star. He even started multiple bands (including one with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry), and took up the same nasty habits of his rock heroes. He wanted to be Mick Jagger, and his Jack Sparrow character is an actor's riff on Keith Richards, the most famously drug-addled rock star of them all. In his choice of clothes, friends, cronies, parties and women, Depp deliberately presents himself as not just a star, but a Rock Star.

An intelligent observer might be able to put together a coherent "theory" about Depp's rock'n'roll fantasy, and how that might have played into social-media reaction. But evidently "The New School for Social Research" isn't aware of anything that has happened off-campus in American society since, oh, 1965. Or maybe 1925.

typingtalker म्हणाले...

He's so beautiful he must have won the lawsuit because of his beauty.

Law and Facts and Reason are so Old School.

PM म्हणाले...

Never underestimate a good voice, which is essential, which he has.

wendybar म्हणाले...

He needs a bath.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

I personally do not think Depp has aged well.

Wilbur म्हणाले...

I wouldn't know Johnny Depp unless he walked up to me and introduced himself.

But I was watching a few minutes of Match Game'74 ('75?) yesterday on GSN and was struck by one of the panelists, maybe the best looking man I've ever seen. I did a little search and found out it was one Robert Urich.

Whoever the hell he was.

retail lawyer म्हणाले...

Now do Clint Eastwood, the ultimate male beauty, IMHO.

Hubert the Infant म्हणाले...

I am having a really difficult time thinking of the picture on the left of a gay couple as one of male beauty. I am perfectly fine with saying that some people are born homosexual, and that they should have the same rights and be treated the same as their heterosexual fellow Americans. However, that is not the same thing as saying that homosexuality is not only normal but should be celebrated. Yet, that is what the NYT and most other mainstream media, Hollywood, large corporations, and the federal government do. Why?

Anthony म्हणाले...

For most of his adult life Johnny Depp has wanted, more than anything, to be a rock star.

Someone once said that all rock stars want to be actors, and all actors want to be rock stars.

Kate म्हणाले...

Robert Urich was on Match Game? Wow, hahaha!

He dies beautifully by Robert Duvall's hand in "Lonesome Dove". And then, sadly, he died in real life at too young an age.

Narr म्हणाले...

My wife and her coven have wide-ons for Sam Heughan, who is indeed a fine figure of a man.

Redford was the sine qua non of male comeliness for lots of women back in the day, and whatzisface -- Beatty.

Sic transit gloria.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

The dog is the beautiful one, and she's a bitch, so she brings her own madness.

mikee म्हणाले...

John Holland, how could you note that Depp fashioned his Sparrow character on Richards, without noting the role of Sparrow's father was played so excellently by the worn old rocker? Nobody knows who played the role of Sparrow's mom, as her shrunken head appeared only momentarily and garnered but a casual reference.

Jupiter म्हणाले...

"We see the idealized domesticated males, together, with idealized dog, on a park bench, looking simply and virtuously for a modest home."

Idealized they may be, but domesticated they are not. The dog is domesticated. The humans are failed organisms, evolutionary dead ends.

Ralph L म्हणाले...

Sam Heughan, who is indeed a fine figure of a man

I hate to burst her bubble, but according to the gossip sites, he'd be in the left photo. But they say that about nearly every gorgeous actor, including the married ones like Paul Newman. It would not surprise me if Rob Lowe, or more likely his agent, released his sex tape to stop rumors.

Howard म्हणाले...

Johnny Depp would be better off if he was a Christian Scientologist.

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

"Garner isn't as out of place as Althouse thinks...."

Exactly how "out of place" does Althouse think it is?

(Straw man alert.)

n.n म्हणाले...

they should have the same rights and be treated the same as their heterosexual fellow Americans. However, that is not the same thing as saying that homosexuality is not only normal but should be celebrated. Yet, that is what the NYT and most other mainstream media, Hollywood, large corporations, and the federal government do. Why?

Leverage. A lot of people are either politically congruent ("=") or subscribe to the Pro-Choice "ethical" religion.

JaimeRoberto म्हणाले...

Next time my wife is angry at me I will tell her that she's been driven to madness by my male beauty. Though that might garner me a night on the couch.

effinayright म्हणाले...

The word "Depp" is (or used to be) German slang for a fool.

For years I've wondered how Krauts react when they see Johnny's name in bold letters on movie marquees.

Narr म्हणाले...

No bubble burst, Ralph!

I rag her now and then about his confirmed bachelorhood and longtime companions.


Narr म्हणाले...

"Depp is German slang for a fool."

I resemble that remark.

To Germans, Laurel and Hardy were Dick und Doof--Fat/Thick and Stupid. Now I know where 'doofus' came from.

rcocean म्हणाले...

I always thought James Donald in the Great Escape was a handsome fellow.

effinayright म्हणाले...

It's worth reminding that the homosexual bonding the NYT celebrates is a Darwinian dead-end.

(Unless, of course, one of those guys has secret female genitalia and the hormones and eggs to go with it. I'm told by reliable "woke" sources this is indeed very common.)

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

This is hilarious...in Depp's most famous roll ('Pirates') he plays his character like a slightly gay Keith Richards.

His 'male beauty' exited stage left at least a decade ago...

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'Johnny is more masculine-looking than young Rob was, but there's a sad, little boy lost aspect to him that appeals to some women.'

I've always felt sorry for any actress who played opposite from a young Ashton Kutcher.

He was prettier than all of them...

FullMoon म्हणाले...

Whoa! We have sighted the rare second "garner." For Johnny Depp and Johnny Depp alone there is the madness that manifests itself in the form of a double "garner." We have surely lost our mind!

That right there is funny!

FullMoon म्हणाले...

None mentioned so pretty as our Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Rachel Levine.

Narr म्हणाले...

"None mentioned so pretty as . . . Dr. Rachel Levine."

Hubba-hubba!

(Apologies for multi-posts. Blogger is being a dick today.)

Fred Drinkwater म्हणाले...

Joe @5:02 gets it. "Pretty", not beautiful. A useful but oft neglected distinction.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

Now I want allaya to know, that in America, there is no male beauty, or male ugliness. But only a man that stands between the forces of the day. There are always such forces, that want to take from your father, and mother, your brother, and...your sister.

These demons are many. They lust for your property just as slavers of old lust for your labor. They are not racist or categorical. They want from all.

As a rattlesnake is best killed in its leathery egg, male beauty is best left to languish as a secondary instrument, useful only for influencing pre-pubescent girls.

lane ranger म्हणाले...

Anthony said
Althouse is the LibsofTikTok for the media.

I literally laughed out loud. And then wondered whether my own theory - that Ann is just trolling us because it amuses her - was in fact wrong.

Tina Trent म्हणाले...

Whenever I feel down, I read the Times' house hunt section and laugh myself silly at the idea of paying half a million dollars for a crappy walk-up smaller than my kitchen.

Maybe that's mean, but nobody held a gun to their heads. At least probably not during the closing.