Why is everyone being weird about David Corenswet?
David Corenswet and Jonathan Bailey did an Actors on Actors interview together. And a fairly reasonable observation came up and many online were mad that…Corenswet pointed out that Bailey maintained his masculinity while being held by Cynthia Erivo?
Before we dive in, Corenswet was making a good point. Did he word it strangely? Sure. But when you actually think about what he is saying, it makes sense. Corenswet compared both Superman and Wicked: For Good through their kissing scenes. Both Superman (Corenswet) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) as well Elphaba (Erivo) and Fiyero (Bailey) have kisses while they’re levitating.
In Superman, it is Clark who is carrying Lois. In Wicked, it is Elphaba. So Corenswet was pointing out that Bailey did an incredible job in maintaining his masculinity in Fiyero in that scene where Fiyero has no real power. He’s fully being taken and carried by Elphaba and it doesn’t dismiss his agency either. It is why I love things like Wonder Woman carrying Steve Trevor like a bride in the comics. Diana is the strong one and he recognizes that and it doesn’t make Steve any less of a man.
Corenswet was, in my interpretation, simply saying that maintaining that agency isn’t easy in film. He called it the “bigger challenge.” But went on to say how Bailey’s performance defies what most men would see as emasculating. “Sexiest Man Alive, you are carried by Cynthia. She’s levitating you. Every man out there would think there’s no way you can look masculine and powerful and in control when you’re being levitated by a woman,” Corenswet said.
Many online are taking Corenswet’s comments negatively and I just don’t think that’s the case. And it doesn’t seem like Bailey was that pressed by it either as he dismissed it being “hard.”
There is such thing as being too woke
Many of the jokes online about the aftermath of this have been about people being too online for this conversation. To be fair, I do think that we have seen so many actors bury themselves making comments about masculinity and allowing women to be the heroes in things. In this case, I just think that Corenswet was complimenting Bailey for finding Fiyero’s own strength within that moment, especially when he’s not the one that is powerful.
This is, unfortunately, an issue that happens online a lot. Someone will say one thing and they all infer something completely different out of it. What Corenswet said is that Bailey made Fiyero look strong and powerful in a moment where he was not the most powerful person in that space. That’s it.
Is that what I was thinking about while watching “As Long As You’re Mine”? No. Is that something we think of when it is the flip? Honestly, yes. I did think about how Brosnahan’s Lois was confidently in Clark’s arms and wasn’t weak and nervous but comfortable and confident and it is, in its own way, the same thing.
So if you want to know why everyone online is suddenly mad at David Corenswet, it is because no one gives anyone the benefit of the doubt anymore.
(featured image: Variety)
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