According to Kimmel, manhood is in crisis for a number of reasons, including the realization that the masculine mystique is an impossible combination of ideals and the perceived oppression men suffered as a result of the rise of feminism. The crisis, then, arises when men are put under pressures and held to expectations that they cannot conceivably meet. The myths and illusions created by cultural elements practically shoved in a man's face from boyhood lead to what Bruce Springsteen's experience symbolizes (and what Kimmel documents in the close of chapter 9): "America let[ting] him down" (236). And eventually, Kimmel argues, this results in a kind of escapism that defines the crisis of modern American masculinity. Ultimately, escaping the domestic will inevitably lead to further discontent as a man.
I looked up the "Born to Run" song (I'd never heard it before), and found this skit. It's sort of long but worth it because it has Jimmy Fallon in it and is (mostly) free of Bruce Springsteen, who, let's be honest, can't really sing (sorry, Springsteen fans): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2d9UecusfQ
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