The undeniable hotness of Adam Brody's "connected" masculinity
And other important news in the Monday roundup
If you were anywhere near ovulation in the early 2000’s you had a crush on Seth Cohen, also known as Adam Brody—right?
I was obsessed with the popular teen drama The OC for many reasons, including the soundtrack (which holds up, imo), but mostly because I loved Seth and Summer—the couple played by Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson. There was no Ross and Rachel for me. Only Seth and Summer.
There is a lot of commentary on the new hit Netflix rom-com series starring Brody, “Nobody Wants This,” and one of the leading arguments is that it models a healthy relationship.
My big smart addition to this conversation is that Seth and Summer were the original healthy relationship, and I’m merely re-living it decades later through Seth-Cohen-as-Hot-Rabbi. (Unpopular opinion: I don’t love Kristen Bell’s characters, who always seems to be a mean-ish, un-aware blonde, but for the sake of an Adam Brody rom-com I’ll allow it!)1
Twenty years ago, all I wanted was a cute, nerdy boyfriend with excellent banter who was vulnerable, who thought I was smart and capable, who had a close relationship with his parents, and would do a little sexy role-playing as Spider-Man.
What do women want? If Adam Body’s characters are any indication, this is it.
Brody’s romantic leads seem to get it when they are dating up, and they act like it. They feel lucky to be in a relationship with a capable woman.
They celebrate women’s successes and express what they have learned from women. They know how to apologize. They are self-reflective. They know how to be in conflict without being angry.
It doesn’t hurt if they also have great hair, cute scruff, and bonus: perhaps a handsome friend who lives in their pool house (OC reference) who represents a more conventional/toxic version of masculinity, but which is not threatening to them. Instead of trying to become that more traditional version of masculinity, Brody’s character remains confident in a more vulnerable version and uses that vulnerability to connect to the other male characters, too. This puts me in mind of
‘s work and the idea that we need to help boys and men find more human connection.I’m not going to say that either show is a feminist masterpiece, but the female directors can maybe send a message to Hollywood that we would like to see more supportive, reflective, sensitive men represented. (And more Adam Brody, pls.)2
And all the conservatives writing books and wringing their hands over modern masculinity and declining marriage rates and what do women want anyway could tune in, too. It’s maybe not really that hard!
More “Nobody Wants This” discourse and other good stuff from this week in the links!
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