Kevin Sorbo Explains How Media Impacts the Masculinity Crisis
By Movieguide® Contributor
In a recent Fox News interview, Kevin Sorbo argued that the portrayal of men in media in recent decades has devalued their role in society and caused families to suffer.
“I look at a lot of things that have been coming out lately in the movies and television, where they constantly just make men kind of wimps,” Sorbo told Fox News Digital.
“To me, it goes back to even sitcoms,” he added. “You look at sitcoms over the last 30 years, the guy, the husband’s always kind of fat and dumpy, the mom’s kind of hot. And then they got the teenage kids, and all they do is belittle a father. It’s this whole attack on fathers—a whole attack on a man being a man.”
Another trend he’s noticed in media is that of the “antihero.”
“Our movies and TV are filled with sex and violence and evil, and the celebration of evil, the celebration of the antihero. It’s weird to me,” Sorbo told the Washington Examiner. “So, we’re raising up a whole generation just looking for a reason to complain and looking for a reason to point a finger for their own failures.”
“Children now witness movies, TV shows, books, and even their own parents promoting a narrative that chivalry is dead, feminism is in, and God is canceled,” a statement from his publisher read.
To combat this narrative and begin to restore the value of male roles, Sorbo wrote “The Test of Lionhood,” a children’s book that celebrates the difference between boys and girls. The book responds to society’s “attack on toxic masculinity.”
“This book is really to be read to children, boys and girls, young age, and say, look, there’s a difference between men and boys and girls,” Sorbo said. “There’s a difference between male and female. They both have their part in the world. They both have things they can do better than the other one.”
“But I think to sit there and take away the masculinity from men, the men that are supposed to be the providers, the hunters,” he continued. “And I’m not saying women shouldn’t be, because my wife certainly throws in more than her two cents. So to me, it’s like, my goodness. Why is there such an attack and such – to break the family unit, which they’ve been doing for a long time now.”
“We need men to start being men and realize that God never promised us an easy life. We have to find a way to get past all the hardships in life because we’re always going to have hardships,” he added. “You got to suck it up and take responsibility for yourself.”
“I think this book, hopefully when they’re read to kids, will make them… I don’t know. I think, I hope there’s a lot of positiveness coming out of it,” he added.
In addition to writing books, Sorbo and his wife Sam also created a movie studio that focuses on family-friendly, faith-based content. Their latest project, MIRACLE IN EAST TEXAS, is set to release on October 29.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Kevin Sorbo celebrates masculinity in his latest book, “The Test of Lionhood.”
“For starters, I think this is long overdue—and I’m actually quite thrilled that I was asked to be part of this,” Sorbo explained to Fox News. “The attack today on masculinity today is a call for us to stay vigilant right now, given what Hollywood’s been doing to the movies and television.”
He continued, “I’m just hoping that people wake up a little bit and realize, Let’s let boys be boys and let girls be girls. And let’s stop this whole thing about chopping down the men in the world.”
Sorbo emphasized that everyone “has a place in this world” and that “The Test of Lionhood” is meant to show boys that “being brave, and being manly, is not a bad thing.”