What it means to be a man
What does it mean to be a man? Does driving a Hummer make you a man? Do you have to be physically strong to be a man? Successful? Do I have to watch football to be a man?
Cicero wrote that “a man’s chief quality is courage.”
I bring this up because I watched one of my favorite movies, Harakiri, last night for the third time.
If someone were to ask me, “What does it mean to be a man?” I would refer them to this movie.
Movies like this are rare nowadays. Most men in movies today are hardly masculine, in my opinion, no matter how physically strong or “tough” they may seem.
It seems that director Masaki Kobayashi and star Tatsuya Nakadai must really understand what it means to be a man. How else could they portray it so perfectly?
In my opinion, neither your physical strength, your sexuality, or even your gender defines your masculinity. Courage, honesty, compassion, mental fortitude and discipline are characteristics that anyone can strive for and achieve.
If you want to see a real man, watch Harakiri.
