Why do 80s actions stars exploit their bodies a lot more?

Not that I am against it but if you watch Schwarzenegger or Stallone in the 80s, the directors like to show off their bodies for sure, and even Van Damme, for example, compared to today, where Jason Bourne or Jack Bauer are not required to work out near that hard. Daniel Craig did it a little with Casino Royale, but not that much compared to the 80s action heroes.

So why was that so popular in the 80s, any reason?

The 80s had a shift in "heroes" that stems from Schwarzenegger.
Think we spoke about this before with Arnie in another thread. In the 60s and 70s, the tough guy was Eastwood and Bronson. Hard-faced tough guys who would grimace and growl when they spoke.


Then Schwarzenegger and Stallone came along with their muscles-out action hero personas... Schwarzenegger was first with his Hercules movie, and though it was pretty crap, nobody had ever seen anything like it before.
Stallone picked up the mantle with Rocky and Rambo, with Arnie then coming along with stuff like Commando and Terminator.


There was a shift in movie ratings as well in the 1980s, where showing off your body on film was allowed more.
Look at 1960s and 70s movie stars, not just action stars... walking around with your top off, was a rarity. It did happen, but not as often, and it was down to the rating system.

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U saw in the 80s that most stars would show their back side aswell, as their was a competition for best male back side...sorry for the this discussion

Steroids.

Quoted for truth.

Really, Iron, that's pretty much it. It seems flippant, but that's the whole decade encapsulated.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

True to an extent, Bruce Willis was quite the action star too but without the incredible body of Stallone/Schwarzenegger so its not like you had to have that super physique.

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Yep for sure, I just wonder why the super physique was so popular. I thought maybe it was to entertain the women moviegoers in the audience, but when I asked me women friends, they said they do not find the Mr. Universe type look to not be attractive at all, so maybe that's not why then?

An excellent physique was a status symbol in the 1980's, that's all.

What Mister B. said.

Also, tastes change.

They all say that, then they touch a bicep of one of these guys and it looks like someone left a bath running

On the female side: it seemed that the 70's was an era where it was a prerequisite to have a topless scene in every non-"G"-rated movie!

He was a bodybuilder. Shirts not required.

He played a boxer. Shirts not required.

He was a martial artist. Shirts not required.

They played government agents in political thrillers. Shirts required.

Shirtless Mode becomes unlockable after you get named "Sexiest Man Alive" in a gossip magazine.

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It was a great era.

Yeah to be honest, I'm so pleased I grew up in the golden age of 80's and 90's action heroes and had Arnie, Stallone and the best, Van Damme my childhood hero, tearing **** up rather than the today with the likes of Jeremy Renner, James McAvoy and Chris Pine flexing their puny muscles... when they are not making a drama that is

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Do you know what a roller pigeon is, Barney? They climb high and fast, then roll over and fall just as fast toward the earth. There are shallow rollers and deep rollers. You can’t breed two deep rollers, or their young will roll all the way down, hit, and die. Officer Starling is a deep roller, Barney. We should hope one of her parents was not.

This applies to many things, but the advertising industry is the industry that most takes advantage of this fears, they are the ones that create most fears and insecurities.

I remember listening to Marlon Brando, someone I don't really like as an actor, but I like as a person and he said:
Nowadays they use different techniques, they try to make you fell you have a connection with the character, the hero, not in a artistic way or a poetic way.

Technically Jack Bauer and Jason Bourne are always breaking their governments rules and going rogue though. So surprised they would care to follow the shirt rule.

Jack Bauer - Naked At LAST

Matt Damon is Shirtless in 'Jason Bourne' Super Bowl Commercial