Gen Z and Gen Alpha have already reshaped culture so much in recent years, some for the better and some for the worse. Such is the lot of every generation in some way, shape, or form. But according to a recent study, they also want to change the way masculinity is portrayed on screen (despite the fact that what they’re looking for is out there).
1,500 young adults ages 10-24 were surveyed by the Center for Scholars and Storytellers at UCLA, and their findings claim this demographic is more interested in seeing the male characters of film and television “moving away from isolation and other masculine stereotypes” and “towards vulnerability and connection” than the reliance on masculine stereotypes that have been prevalent throughout the industry for years. The study was conducted by Yalda T. Uhls, who founded the CSS at UCLA.
Her team has determined newer generations “are asking for a reimagining of how men show up in the lives of others,” according to the published study. “Whether it is a father, mentor, coach, or teacher, the message from the audience was the same.”
The study, which is quite literally named “Evolving Masculinity,” showed that this demo — which consists of young people born between 1997 and 2025 — wants to see fathers “enjoying parenting” by “showing love to kids” in films and television, particularly the youngest of this group (of course, with the lowest participant age being 10).
With parenting comes emotional responsibility — especially for yourself. It turns out 46% of the survey participants want to see “men asking for help, including with their mental health” in films and television, which means almost half of those surveyed see this as a fundamental part of storytelling that they aren’t getting enough of.
“There’s not enough nuance or authenticity in the way that these men show the full range of their emotions,” Uhls told The Hollywood Reporter recently. “Young people are going to make fun of it or reject it.”
Unsurprisingly, some folks have been poking fun at and rejecting something online — this study. The Hollywood Reporter used the 1982 action hit First Blood, starring Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, as the face of their coverage of this study, and that has led to some ribbing jokes on Twitter/X.
“First Blood ends with Rambo sobbing over his PTSD from the Vietnam War,” one user wrote, while another added, “Rambo sequel for Zoomers, in which the VA tells him his PTSD isn’t service-connected.”
But on the whole, fans (presumably belonging to older gens, but who’s to say) came out to defend the Rambo franchise for having emotional resonance that would actually make it fit this new gen criteria for masculinity after all.
“The climatic scene in First Blood (where Rambo never kills anyone) is Rambo breaking down crying with grief over his dead friends in his surrogate father’s arms,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter. “Isolation is basically the villain of the film. But, importantly, he still looks cool and shoots a big machine gun.”
In response specifically to the part of the study that noted the young gens want to see men dealing with their mental health, several users noted that the use of Rambo as a poser child for what the kids don’t want is actually contradictory. “THAT’S WHAT FIRST BLOOD IS ABOUT,” one fan wrote, while another added with wit, “They don’t want Rambo, they want Rambo.”
The researchers pointed to TV shows Heated Rivalry and The Pitt as examples of the “better dads” their respondents say they want to see more of. “For decades, media has relied on the ‘stoic provider’ or the ‘distant hero’ as the default for adult men,” the report says. “Our data shows that by primarily showing men in positions of power or physical strength, we ignore the roles that young people value, defined by empathy, patience, and emotional availability.”
Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.
