Manly men?

I’m trying to make a conscious effort to reduce my intake of media that depicts men in an unflattering light. I know, I know—since when do the boys need a break? But really. Everywhere I turn lately, men are portrayed as creepy rapists (Dollhouse, Watchmen, Towelhead, even Slumdog Millionaire), sicko killers, crooks, or lazy, incompetent schlubs. The first 2 categories are making me particularly crazy, causing my blood pressure to rise when I so much as pass a male alone on the street these days. So that’s where the idea for exposure-reduction began.

In real life, I am exposed to good examples of males all the time—my fiancé, my brothers, my father, etc. But for some reason, I am letting the media’s depiction of men taint my perception of the ones I don’t personally know. Some amount of suspicion/distance is just smart in a big city, but it can lead to being just plain suspicious. Or worse, fearful. And that’s no way to live.

In old movies, there are lots of men portrayed as heroes (but the obvious problem there is that the female characters are often helpless). So, what’s going on these days? Where are our modern honest, hardworking, heroic male TV/movie/literary characters?

Any suggestions? Where my boys at?