Modern action films fetishize the body even as they desexualize it

This was a fun read, especially as someone who grew up with those 80s and 90s movies. That said, and as the author touches on, the action/super hero of today is a PG-13 one. Studios need to reach the widest audience possible to make the most money, so it's a safer bet. Sure, back in the day studios had the same imperative, but the licensed toy game was still young, so they didn't realise that maybe if they made Die…

Personally I feel like the reason behind the change is obvious. Pornography is everywhere. People don't get their kicks from 1970s movie love scenes anymore because hardcore fetish videos are a few clicks away. The same way boys no longer lust after the lingerie section of the Sears catalog. But the culture carries this at-will objectification as bleedover into everything else. And I think it's also why the youngest generation right now is fixated on knowing their exact, granular label…

So what is the unmet need behind an obsession with sexless/child-like figures? My guess is unfulfilled (genetic) longing for a "real childhood", where a child does not have to take on adult roles. This means available, stable, supporting and functioning parent figures. Not having fully experienced that leads to "holes in roles", which want to be addressed and re-nurtured one way or the other.