In this episode, Dara is trying to get his head around the obnoxious appearance of Conor McGregor at the White House over St. Patrick’s Weekend. Trump’s presidency seems to function as a magnet for a particular type of male performance, greenlighting as it does a validated version of masculinity that revels in belittling others, trash talking enemies, and leering, swaggering braggadocio. It is definitely connected to a particular understanding of straight maleness as being under attack and needing to reassert itself as aggressively as possible. But is it also a product of the tech age when the perception of consequences has been skewed by the amount of time spent in online spaces?
Billy Corgan, the frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins, articulates something very insightful about his personal experience that resonates deeply with Dara and confirms his belief that success and professional fulfilment are no guarantee of contentment. It gets to something extremely important at the heart of masculinity that could go all the way back to infancy and relates to the male need for love, connection and validation.
Dara identifies that need in two prominent entertainment figures from the mid-20th century – Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. are the focus of a brilliant podcast series that explores their lives and careers and their proximity to and partnerships with contemporary stars like Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis. Men of a certain time and age, they encapsulate a masculinity that permitted little room for manoeuvre, but their frailty and vulnerability was visible in everything they chose not to show.
Dara concludes the episode with sharing some love and care input from a group of young boys he is working with at the moment. Perhaps the future of men is in good hands after all…
Karina Longworth’s You Must Remember This podcast where you can find her excellent treatment of Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin: https://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2021/12/sammydinoarchive21
Billy Corgan being interviewed by Leah Rose on Broken Record: https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/broken-record/billy-corgan