Popular media today has plenty examples of toxic masculinity as well as toxic femininity; the latter being mostly just internalised misogyny. There's been a significant rise in recent years of more feminist content (which, honestly, should just be considered regular content), portraying strong and healthy female characters.

What is sorely lacking, however, is a portrayal of a healthy masculinity. It exists, but is extemely rare. Men are often portrayed to have a surplus of machismo, anger, rage and irrational decision-making romanticised as masculinity. When male characters are shown to be taking sensible, rational decisions, they are portrayed to be a side-character, often used for comic-relief. This character is usually framed as a buzzkill or a doormat that people walk over, only for the protagonist to come in and save the day.

Now, healthy masculinity isn't non-existent. My favorite examples of healthy portrayals of masculinity come from MIchael Schur's shows: Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-NIne and The Good Place, for example. Adam Scott's Ben Wyatt in Parks in Recreation is one of my favorite portrayals of healthy introversion in popular media: a geeky introverted person who is not a bumbling idiot but actually a well-integrated individual, with just as many strengths and flaws as any other character - well-qualified with a solid job and a stable love life. Introversion and geekiness just happen to be certain parts of his personality.

A while ago I stumbled across this amazing video: The Fantastic Masculinity of Newt Scamander. It is well-made video essay about Newt Scamander - the protagonist of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and how unusual it is to have a male lead hero in an fantasy action adventure thriller to be kind and sensitive, and who's strength comes from his empathy and love for everyone in general and animals in particular.

Timothée Chalamet's character in Wonka (2023) reminded me of the same. It was pleasantly surprising to see the male lead of a fantasy movie be portrayed as kind and loving, without compromising on his confidence, agency or respect. It is refreshing to see, and in my opinion, quite necessary.

Popular media should not settle merely for criticism of toxicity. It's a good start, but not enough. What we need is big budget mainstream portrayals of what of what it's like to be kind, sensitive, caring, loving and vulnerable, without compromising on ambition, confidence and the ability to affect change. Wonka is not without it's flaws, but I greatly appreciate it, just like Fantastic Beasts, to show that the aforementioned qualities can not just co-exist, but that their co-existence can actually be a strength if nurtured and expressed well.