The article suggests that how films dignify and celebrate the suffering and striving of their leading men may be quite centrally indicative of durable sensibilities regarding the qualities and virtues seen as defining manliness and that some of the more drastic reaffirmations of rugged masculinity in recent films are in reaction against instabilities in current notions of masculine gender identities. It is in such aspects of representation, and what they suggest about the appeal of such films to their audiences, that one should now locate discussions of the social influences of screen violence. In addition, those who view such films could fruitfully reflect on what aspects of their own identities are satisfied or gratified by Hollywood's muscular masculinities. It is still uncertain whether such stories script the activities of individuals who take the more dangerous paths in life, who undertake violent or criminal behavior for the sheer thrill of the sensation of living intensely. References