Archetypes of Masculinity That Our Culture Has Quietly Retired

Sergio Leone created a gunfighter who requires no backstory or emotional interiority to be an effective protagonist. Clint Eastwood played the character as a figure of pure competence and a complete absence of personal neediness. He moves through a violent world with a cynical detachment that became a global cinematic icon. This archetype stripped masculinity down to its most basic elements.