Dominance Manhood
None
Traits of dominance-based masculinity present in the media.
Questioning of Dominance
Some
Characters questioning or suffering from dominance norms.
Relational Manhood
Many
Traits of relational, connected masculinity.
A Real Pain is one of the most complete expressions of Relational Manhood in American cinema of recent years. It’s a film whose entire dramatic logic rests on the willingness of two men to care for each other with honesty, tenderness, and great difficulty. The film is structured as an antithesis of Dominance Manhood. What makes it unusual is that it achieves this without naming or debating masculinity at all. It is a portrait of what it looks like when men simply don’t have masculine norms to deal with, and just engage in matters of the heart.