Prompt: Compare this film as a representation of postwar masculinity to The Manchurian Candidate. Consider its model of masculinity in relation to Playboy discourse.
The notion of masculinity here seems clear cut and set at first glance, but then when observing the character that Sinatra plays, Dave Hirsh, I realized that masculinity in this film is in fact more nuanced and complicated than I first thought. It seems that the picture of postwar masculinity that is painted in this film follows along some stereotypical themes; a love of drinking, drinking excessively, being tough and getting into fights, and spending time with lots of women, some with less respectable reputations than others. While Dave Hirsh partakes in all of these activities, he is a much more complicated and mixed up figure. We also get a picture of a returning GI who seems to be beaten down by his life experiences, and now is not really sure what to do with his life or where to go since returning. Dave alternates in being extremely caring and eloquent, while other times he is very introverted and reflective. Just like Major Bennett Marco reaches out to Rose for stabilization and comfort when trying to assimilate back into 'normal' society, so does Dave try and reach out to Gwen French to help him move on towards a 'normal' and settled life, but unfortunately she is too stubborn and pigheaded to let down her barrier so that she can love him and help him.
Underneath Dave's heavy drinking exterior he is really quite sensitive and caring, and desperately wants to find someone to spend the rest of his life with. He thinks he has found that person when he falls in love with Gwen and she finally lets down her barrier and tells him that she cares for him too, but that happiness is short lived; Gwen repeatedly pushes Dave away and then tells him that she cares for him because she is scared of her feelings for him as well as his lifestyle and she can't make up her mind about what she should do. Eventually she shuts Dave out for good, which pushes him right into the arms of Ginnie Moorhead (Shirley MacLaine), a less than respectable woman who is completely in love with Dave. I became extremely annoyed with Gwen during all of this and think that she acted in a completely stupid and childish manner; she is always so condescending and cold towards Dave, but if she would have just gotten off of her high horse for a minute and talked to Dave about her reservations with regards to marrying him they could have worked everything out. Gwen was definitely my least favorite character in the film and most of the time I just wanted to tell her to stop being so dumb.
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