The Boromir death scene of the Lord of the Rings revives the gentle masculinity with a kiss

It’s one of the most noticeable moments in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Boromir, impaled by three huge arrows, lies dying in the forest. When Aragorn finds him, Boromir sobs and confesses that he tried to take the ring from Frodo and that he fears the worst. Aragorn helps Boromir bring his sword to his chest and gives him the peace of mind of a warrior who has fallen in battle. And then, in a tightly framed shot, Aragorn cradles his fallen mate’s face and kisses his forehead.

Boromir’s death sticks with new and old viewers, unforgettable in his performances and his deep emotions. When I first saw the scene in front of an enthusiastic audience at the midnight premiere, I remember my surprise that no one was laughing or joking with embarrassment. It was gratifying and shocking to see this level of masculine tenderness on screen, let alone in one of the greatest films of the decade.

It would have been easy to follow the example of other blockbusters from the early 2000s for the Lord of the Rings trilogy To be adapted to the times and become a turn for the confident, self-embarrassed, and overtly homophobic. But with the silent power of Boromir’s death scene, Jackson and Co. gave the die-hard 2001 mainstream audience a different idea of ​​what masculinity could be – and did older Idea. Based on a strong mix of Arthurian legend, Tolkien biography and the mannerisms of Hollywood’s Golden Age, the filmmakers created one of the most heartbreaking moments in the Lord of the Rings series. They also provided an expression of the deepest male vulnerability and, well, camaraderie that had all but died out in the surrounding big-budget landscape.

The making of an action hero

While there are many reasons for the shifts in male representation in the 20th century, one of the most blatant and obvious seems to be one of the most glaring. For decades, Hollywood had grown a shadow and a threat to the mainstream: homosexuality. As awareness of queer existence increased in the public consciousness of the Cishet – not least due to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s and the increasing visibility of queer activism – Hollywood became increasingly reluctant to portray closeness, physical contact, and emotional vulnerability between male characters .

The box office hits of the action films of the past few years Community‘s release – including the first installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise, the first of the Raimi Spider-Man films and The mummy returns – give an overview of how adult masculinity existed in popular consciousness. Masculinity meant male heroism and the heroism of a lonely man. He might be the de facto leader of a team, but when he had his kind, they were coded as antagonists, rivals, or at least a source of gruff tension within the group. The hero probably had a female love interest (probably the only woman with top bill), but no close male friends to share his inner life with, and certainly not one that he would touch longer than it takes a fist to make contact .

On the face of it, the Lord of the Rings trilogy seems to fit the picture of what might be sold to an audience in the early 2000s. In contrast to the fairytale meandering of The Hobbit– The Lord of the Rings series is very much a war story, and war stories are traditionally full of camaraderie and rivalry between men. But the film trilogy, as text, if not production, is as detached from Hollywood concerns of the 2000s as New Zealand is from any mainland.

The hands of a king are the hands of a healer

In building an alternative Anglo myth, Tolkien relied heavily on the imagery of masculinity as found in ancient and medieval sources. He was also consciously inspired by his time as a soldier in World War I and embellished the picture-book knights and warriors of bygone times with the friendship and close ties that he experienced in real battlefields. This merger creates a complex update of a worn archetype and, as interpreted by Jackson & Co., gives us a multitude of heroic types in Community alone. But his Aragorn and Boromir are most likely to stick to the blueprint of a knightly knight.

More than any other male character pair in the trilogy, the two are a study at eye level. They both belong to the human race and are seasoned warriors. Aragorn is the soulful, poetic knight, brave but melancholy, respectful of history, gallant and chaste towards women. Boromir looks like the role, laden with the props of a round table champion, and is bolder, driven by a chivalrous desire to protect his homeland. Both are suspicious of the other. The quality in question is not whether the other is one manbut whether he is noble and worthy enough to be the leader of Gondor, the figurehead of the people.

From their first, tense introduction to Community, Boromir and Aragorn are reflections of each other, reflections that contain both valor and darkness. Aragorn, an outsider raised by elves, doubts he should accept his royal birthright, while Boromir’s princely trust and pride in his homeland make him fall victim to the ring’s promise. In their own way, they seek salvation that only the other can understand and give. But to get it – and for Boromir’s death to have a cinematic effect – they must first have revealed their flaws to the other. Aragorn and Boromir need to be physically and emotionally close without the self-reflective twitches their audience would expect.

The legacy of the war film

Whether it was deliberate planning or an unconscious association by Jackson and his staff, much of The Lord of the Rings reflects the same on-screen language as Golden Age Hollywood – where masculinity is gentler but its references are incontestable. The classic war image is a direct ancestor of the framing, sincerity, and outrageous touch of Boromir’s death scene and the like. It’s a cinematic evocation that allows the films to bridge the gap between audience expectations of the early 2000s and Tolkien’s more archaic references and preferences. By signaling that what is shown is part of the cinematic and literary past, the film offers the audience space to engage with the scene on their own terms, not on the 2001 one.

During this respite, the audience was able to absorb the many layers and lessons of the scene. Eminently flawed, but noble, masculine characters in the LOTR trilogy are known through their actions towards others. Tenderness is an actionthe scene seems to be saying. Forgiveness is an act.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy resolves the rivalry between its two classically masculine members of the community not through male struggle, but rather by carefully uncovering their mirrored doubts, worries and fears about the future. To really be a hero – to be a man, the film says – one cannot carry one’s burdens in the poisonous cloud of loneliness. This is how the ring grabs you. You must be brave enough to share your doubts, hold on to one another, take turns seeing and being seen.

Aragorn takes Boromir’s hand as he dies and takes his first real step to claim his birthright: “I swear to you, I will not drop the White City.” With a relieved look, Boromir replied in the affirmative: “I would have followed you, my brother. My captain. My King. “This simple statement says it all: I accept you, I recognize you in turn, thank you.

You’re not alone.