Real men are protectors. Real men don’t ask; they tell. Real men are dominant.
ANGEL: I need you to be out of here.
NINA: That’s typical. You sleep with a guy and he sends your entire family out of the country. No, wait, that’s actually not that typical at all. You couldn’t just not call?
ANGEL: It’s not safe here.
NINA: Is it ever? I want to be with you if there’s trouble.
ANGEL: You don’t want to be with me. You don’t want to be near me.
NINA: Because I might get hurt?
ANGEL: Because I’m the thing that’ll hurt you.
NINA (holding up plane tickets): What do you call this?
ANGEL: How can I convince you that I want to be with you?
NINA: Show me a fourth ticket.
ANGEL: Okay. If I get through this intact, I’ll come for you. We’ll have time.
NINA: You’re the most amazing man I’ve ever met, but you’re a crappy liar.
ANGEL: Go. I’m not asking.
NINA: I’ll go. Why on Earth would I stay?
“Power Play”, Angel season 5, episode 21, May 12, 2004.
Real men are protectors.
Our professorial president is no feckless W., biking through Katrina. He is no doubt on top of the crisis in terms of studying it top to bottom. But his inner certainty creates an outer disconnect.
He’s so sure of himself and his actions that he fails to see that he misses the moment to be president — to be the strong father who protects the home from invaders, who reassures and instructs the public at traumatic moments.
RUSH LIMBAUGH: So President Obama was quick to claim that it cost U.S. taxpayers a billion dollars for every thousand soldiers sent to Afghanistan, remember this? And he has yet to mention how much it costs to send a soldier to Haiti. He has not even—in fact, it didn’t even matter to him. But it was a factor in sending soldiers to Afghanistan. That’s about U.S. national security. This is about domestic U.S. politics. Haiti is about U.S. domestic politics, in addition to the humanitarian effort that is behind this. Of course, we are not suggesting that we shouldn’t send soldiers to Haiti. Do not misunderstand. But why is there no concern about the cost from the White House, when there was so much concern about Afghanistan? After all, isn’t the job of the U.S. military first and foremost to protect the national security and interests of the United States? No, it’s not. The U.S. military is now Meals on Wheels. It always is with democrat presidents.
—“Limbaugh: ‘The U.S. Military Is Now Meals on Wheels. It Always Is with Democrat Presidents.’”, Media Matters for America, January 15, 2010 (available at http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201001150025).
Real men are protectors.
[WOMAN and MAN are in a cabin in a downpour.]
MAN: In all the years we’ve been coming here, I’ve never seen a storm like this. [Lightning flashes. WOMAN throws herself into MAN’s arms. MAN laughs.] I’m right here. [MAN pulls out a jewelry box.] And I always will be.
NARRATOR: The new Love’s Embrace collection from Kay Jewelers. Now you can surround her with the strength of your love. [A large silver CGI necklace surrounds MAN and WOMAN.] Give her diamonds in a design that captures the comfort found in each other’s arms! One more reason Kay is the number one jewelry store in America.
WOMAN: Don’t let go. Ever.
[MAN and WOMAN kiss. JINGLE plays in the background.]
DALE: So we could’ve elected a new guy, so to speak. Or we could just fend for ourselves, make our own decisions—do whatever when things had to be decided—play it by ear, y’know. Nobody went for that, surprisingly. We picked something more democratic. Four guys with equal votes.
RICK: No women?
DALE: No. That’s how they wanted it. Patricia said something. She wanted Lori on the committee instead of you. Of course, as soon as she realized no one else, including Lori, agreed with her—she shut up. I don’t know how Michonne really feels about it. She’s just happy to be here. She went through hell out there a lot longer than any of us. Lori, Carol, Andrea, Maggie—they all said they wanted us in charge. They figure the four of us have pretty much been making the decisions anyway—but making it official would lift some of the burden off you. But yeah, they’re fine with us making the decisions. Truth be told it’s not just the women. Glenn feels the same way. I think they just want to be protected.
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead: Book Two, 2008.
Real men are protectors. Real men are primitive.
“They sat without saying anything for a little while. Beverly felt safe. Protected. The images of her father’s face and Henry’s knife seemed less vivid and threatening when they sat close like this. That sense of protection was hard to define and she didn’t try, although much later she would recognize the source of its strength: she was in the arms of a male who would die for her with no hesitation at all. It was a fact that she simply knew: it was in the scent that came from his pores, something utterly primitive that her own glands could respond to.”
—Stephen King, It 899 (Signet 1987).
Real men are protectors.
EDWARD: I feel…very…protective of you.
—Twilight, Summit Entertainment 2006.
Real men are protectors.
ANGEL: Have you tried the police?
RAVEN: Oliver’s been after me too, but then I’d just be hand-feeding the story to the Enquirer. No thanks.
ANGEL: How do you know I won’t do the same?
RAVEN: I don’t. But I do know that you came out of nowhere and saved my life last night. I know that you didn’t ask for anything in return. And I know I feel safer in this office than I do in my own home.
—“Eternity,” Angel season 1, ep. 17, Apr. 4, 2000.
Real men are protectors.
NATALYA RUDAKOVA: Odessa, Frank. My country. You take me home. Thank you. What happened to Bucharest?
JASON STATHAM: Change of plans.
NR: It’s good change. I prefer Odessa.
JS: Yeah. I was looking forward to that fish with the carrots myself.
NR: Oh, it’s much better here. You know chicken Kiev?
JS: I do.
NR: I know restaurant here. Best in the world. The chicken’s so fresh. And the butter, when it’s coming out….like you cannot believe, it’s so nice. You know what I feel like now?
