Why We Can’t Stop Making Parodies of ‘Deliverance,’ A Cultural History of the Marlboro Man and Keanu Reeves Does it Again

Fuckin’ a — just when you thought Keanu Reeves couldn’t flex on the rest of us any harder, he goes and does something like this:

An already lovable icon of cinema who’s the embodiment of modern masculinity and doesn’t take himself too seriously hooking up with a cool-as-shit, age-appropriate artist girlfriend with incredible style?

You win, Keanu. You win.

Must Read

“The Male Rape Scene in ‘Deliverance’ Was so Jarring, It Gave Us a Half Century of Jokes”
The blunt impact of plenty of older movies has diminished over time, but that’s not the case with Deliverance. The film’s brutal rape scene still has the power to unnerve, in large part because we’ve never, as a society, completely grappled with it. Tim Grierson writes that, rather than confronting the scene’s terrifying implications (for dudes at least), we’ve spent decades parodying it — often with disastrous results. READ MORE

Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em

Before we knew just how bad cigarettes were for our health, the Marlboro Man was as revered a fixture in American culture as John Wayne. But if, for decades, the leathery-skinned, ever-stoic figure captured the romantic ideal of the American dream, the Marlboro Man ultimately came to represent its much darker side, inextricably linked to the product being sold and countless deaths. Brian VanHooker spoke to researchers, journalists and a few of the Marlboro Men themselves about how it all came to be.

When a Bush is Just a Bush

It stands to reason that no matter how you identify, if you have a bush down there, it’s a bush. But to go by some of our online etymology and slang resources, “bush” still clings to its feminine origins — an attitude that Miles Klee thinks is in line for some serious adjustment.

Home Depot Vibes

Turn up the volume, because that Home Depot theme song is a bop. So much so, that there’s an entire world of Home Depot memes circulating on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and perhaps most importantly, TikTok:

It’s not just the song, though — the beautiful thing about Home Depot is that everyone can enjoy it: Gen Z, millennials, even Boomers. Maybe we’ve found intergenerational common ground once and for all?

Going Solo

Adventuring by yourself is not just fun, it comes with advantages that you can’t have when you’re compromising with others, whether that’s the pace of the trip, where you go or whom you end up meeting. No stranger to the occasional solo mish himself, Eddie Kim put together a guide to exploring the world by yourself when wanderlust calls to you on a weekend with no commitments.

Only The Most Expensive Cuts

For lots of guys, spending as little as possible for a haircut is a point of pride. It says they’re easygoing, fiscally responsible and not too vain. Take Republican Scott Walker, for example:

But what about the guys who dare to spend over — eek! — $50? What do they know that the Supercuts guys don’t? Could the experience at the fancy salon actually be worth it? Quinn Myers cuts through the fuzz.

*Nods*

The head nod isn’t just a passing acknowledgment of another person. For African-American men, it’s a distillation of what it means to be a black — and a brief moment of joy, pride and shared confidence that comes from seeing another brother in the street.

On Dogs Humping

Why do dogs — male, female, whatever — insist on humping everything in sight? We asked an evolutionary biologist, a veterinarian, an animal psychologist and more to explain this very strange canine behavior.

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Jeff Gross

Jeff Gross is MEL’s senior editor for social media and content marketing. His daily ICYMI column, which chronicles all things meta on the site, is the quickest way to catch up on MEL, and the funniest thing you’ll read all day. Follow him on Twitter.