May 25th, 2006

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The Charm and Homoeroticism of He-Man

If you’re a male of a certain age, you probably recall He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It was a highly derivative half-hour ad for Mattel products that ran from 1983 to 1985.

I recently listened to a great, observant article by Sam Anderson about He-Man. You can read the piece, but I recommend listening to it (MP3). As always, Andy Bowers is a great reader, and it features some snippets from the show:

In the ever-growing lineup of “outed” classic superheroes, He-Man might be the easiest target of all. It’s almost too easy: Prince Adam, He-Man’s alter ego, is a ripped Nordic pageboy with blinding teeth and sharply waxed eyebrows who spends lazy afternoons pampering his timid pet cat; he wears lavender stretch pants, furry purple Ugg boots, and a sleeveless pink blouse that clings like saran wrap to his pecs. To become He-Man, Adam harnesses what he calls “fabulous secret powers”: His clothes fall off, his voice drops a full octave, his skin turns from vanilla to nut brown, his giant sword starts gushing energy, and he adopts a name so absurdly masculine it’s redundant.

He’s got a good point (and he goes on from there). He-Man was pretty gay.

In terms of shows that most impacted my world view, nothing was more influential than Robotech. It had more of a Japanese femme thing going on, though I’m sure there’s some suggestive material if you dig for it.
This is my second Slate reference of the week. Can you tell I’m catching up on podcasts after The Da Vinci Code marathon?

Comments: 9 Responses so far

Todd
May 25th, 2006
7:40 am

A great choice - I thought this was probably among the best of the Slate podcasts to date, and I listen to them daily. Bowers is truly a great reader - I’d buy audiobooks quite freely if his was the voice behind them.

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-j.
May 25th, 2006
9:12 am

I wonder if He-Man’s…idiosyncrasies can explain (although never justify) his incredibly neglectful family and friends. I mean, your own SON gets a tan and speaks in a slightly different register and you don’t even recognize him?

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Jeff
May 25th, 2006
9:26 am

I thought that the Cheat Commandos bit on Homestarrunner was a hilarious take on the whole Cartoons as ads bit that ran rampant in the 80’s
http://www.homestarrunner.com/commandos3.html

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Andrea
May 25th, 2006
10:09 am

Funny, I always saw it that way, too.

What do you think about the communism undertones in the Smurfs?

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Jordan
May 25th, 2006
3:48 pm

Anyone remember The Mighty Hercules? Some might say he was a bit fruity too. I didn’t make the connection when I was a kid. The only thing I really hated about the cartoon was the fact that the monsters all made the same sound (kind of like Donald Duck on acid). Oh, that and the fact that no matter where Hercules was, his little sidekick Newton could always get his big club out from behind a nearby tree. Come to think of it, though, I always thought there was something fishy about Newton.

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Jeff
May 25th, 2006
5:00 pm

“OOOOOlympiaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

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Patty - UBC
May 25th, 2006
9:04 pm

Actually I watched a lot of cartoons in University, as an excuse not to study. And considering that I lived in an all-girl dorm you may be surprised that we all watched He-man! I rather liked skeletor. The movie version was a bad attempt, but you can see Courtenay Cox star in one of her first films. Robotech was a fave too although a bit more of a soap opera. Lazer Tag Academy was another.

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alexis
May 25th, 2006
9:44 pm

A friend of mine once sent me a little video of He-man rocking out to Four Non Blondes “What’s going on?” It was scenes of the cartoon set to the song, and it really highlighted the campiness of the cartoon.

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alexis
May 25th, 2006
9:51 pm

http://www.whoomp.com/articles/163/1/He-Man-does-4-non-blondes

That’s it. It’s not the most amazing thing I’ve seen, but it does make a point.

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