Manuel Betancourt, Author at Public Seminar

Interviews

Excavating Diverse Masculinities with Manuel Betancourt

The film critic reflects on his childhood obsessions with animated heartthrobs, queer-coded villains, and Pedro Almodóvar’s violent men in his first essay collection, The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men

June 5, 2023 • by Manuel Betancourt and Madeleine Janz

When journalist Manuel Betancourt started writing his new essay collection it was simply about the writer’s early fixations, from Disney’s 1997 depiction of Hercules to Mario Lopez’s performance of A. C. Slater in Saved by the Bell. As he continued writing, it became obvious to Betancourt that he was hyper-focused ...

Excavating Diverse Masculinities with Manuel Betancourt

An excerpt from The Male Gazed: On Hunks, Heartthrobs, and What Pop Culture Taught Me About (Desiring) Men

Unlike the more straightforward concept of horniness (whose own mythic visual iconography is rife for analysis), thirst is more visceral, a physiological need....