A few days ago the actor Sam Elliott made headlines for criticizing “The Power of the Dog” for what he said was a poor portrayal of what life was really like for American cowboys.
The ‘1883’ actor not only criticized details such as the costumes of the protagonists or that it was not shot in the United States, but also complained that the Jane Campion film had certain allusions to homosexuality. Reactions to these comments have lasted all week, but benedict cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee They have finally answered Elliott’s inaccurate criticism.
The American West and Toxic Masculinity
Elliott’s homophobic comments have been the talk of the town this week. benedict cumberbatchwho leads the cast of ‘The Power of the Dog’ as Phil Burbank, took advantage of a BAFTA Film Session online event to respond to criticism and defend Jane Campion’s western.
“There’s still a lot of bigotry around the world against homosexuality and against accepting others and any kind of difference,” Cumberbatch said. “This is just a snippet of what is expected of men in the Western archetype of what masculinity should be. It’s not a history lesson, it’s deconstructing that through Phil.”
Cumberbatch also discussed how standards of masculinity forced men like Phil to fit into a particular mold, preventing them from living their lives fully and freely.
“This is a very specific case of repression, but also given the intolerance of this true identity that Phil cannot fully have. The more we look beyond toxic masculinity to find the root cause, the better chance we have of dealing with it.” when he shows up with our kids,” the actor continued.
For its part, Kodi Smit-McPhee He has decided not to comment too much on the subject and has only wished Elliott good luck, since he does not seem to want to dedicate his energies to entering into any controversy or dealing with this type of comment.
Kodi Smit-McPhee’s response to Sam Elliott’s criticism of #ThePowerOfTheDog? “Nothing. ‘Cause I’m a mature being and I’m passionate about what I do. And I don’t really give energy to anything outside of that.” https://t.co/Ga9t3fqQgc pic.twitter.com/csAaXI25N0
— Variety (@Variety) March 8, 2022
“Because I’m a mature person and I’m passionate about what I do, I really don’t spend energy on anything else outside of this. I wish him good luck,” Smit-McPhee said in response to Elliott’s criticism.
