The Masculine Urge for Naval Warfare
How communal struggle forms men and an epic at sea that makes the case
You peer out over the vast south Atlantic, feeling the spray of sea foam pelt your face as you try in vain to discern Cape Horn. You’re bobbing in 50-foot swells at the tip of South American in a 3-masted wooden ship. Thankfully as the storm subsides, you soon feel the warmth of a well-sanded deck under your feet, the breeze cutting through your lightweight cotton trousers. In another moment, the acrid smell of gunpowder smoke touches your nostrils. The clang of cutlasses announces your best mate’s struggle to the death with some nameless French sailor. You are in the fight. You’re part of the crew.
Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is the archetypal epic-at-sea film set in the Napoleonic age of wooden ships and iron men. It has gained a cult classic following, rightly deserved, but one noticeably imbalanced in terms of gender. As Aubrey says in the book series the film is based on, “judge the pudding by its fruit.” The fruit of Master and Commander is due to the male hunger for the sort of adventure it displays: an arduous adventure with much risk, much reward, undertaken with beloved fellows against formidable competitors.
And a lot of people don’t get it. Ian McNabb is one of them, apparently. Upon publicly voicing his lack of understanding in 2021, none other than the film’s lead actor Russel Crowe delivered a withering broadside in response:
There is something enticing, something deeper going on with this film. 20 years later, people are still talking about it. Partly this is due to its excellence as a film. The scenery is epic. The score is somehow even more epic. Past the cinematography and all that, many of you fellows start to feel, even to wish that you were really there. No bank account, no car insurance, no rent, dispense with the comforts of a bed and fresh food, just give me the rolling sea, a jolly song, and a deadly mission with 196 of my best friends.
In 2023, GQ published a 20th Anniversary nod to the roaring high-seas flick asking the real burning question: “Why are so many guys obsessed with Master and Commander?” The reason for its gravity is the degree to which it pulls its male viewers into the HMS Surprise crew’s struggle against the Acheron. Especially today, this speaks directly into the male soul.
Gabriella Paiella’s aforementioned GQ article from 2023 quickly uncovered this sentiment:
“Despite any surface-level irony, everyone I talked to adopted a tone of reverence and awe when speaking about the movie. They would get a misty, far-away sound in their voice, almost as if they were on the bow of a ship, gazing out over the open ocean, ponytail flapping in the breeze.”
The film pulls you into the crew’s mission. It builds in you a romantic sense of belonging. You get to take part in their deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the Acheron. You get to witness the development of the young officers under the glinting eye of Captain Aubrey. You get to experience the tension of two men who despite mutual love and admiration, maintain their differences in the Great Cabin.
Men bond in war as the film shows. Similar bonds can be formed through experiences with more ‘artificial’ stakes. This is how most of you modern men will experience it, in something like team sports, business, or forming a club even! It’s how men connect. Shared experiences increase understanding. You learn a lot about others by going through something with them. You see how they react to the same circumstances you’re reacting to. This doesn’t have to happen in the context of warfare, but the intensity and deadliness of war certainly intensifies those bonds to an extreme degree.
In fact, competition rightly ordered must first consider cooperation. I mean that for a man to compete justly, he should compete for something greater than himself, whether that be the good of his shipmates, the financial security of his family, or the pride of his team. At the center of competition ought to be the cross, the Christian theme of self-sacrifice on behalf of the community. This is a theme Master and Commander explicates: as Crowe put it, “service, regardless of the cost”.
Master and Commander taps into that natural propensity for cooperation and competition with other men. It is opportunity for the sort of posturing to friends and foes alike through which men achieve social acceptance in their group, self-confidence in their ability, and strength in the estimation of their enemies. These opportunities are lacking in today’s world, so seeing them on screen draws you in especially.
Just before the final battle with the Acheron, Aubrey addresses his crew. This scene is the culmination of all they have been through together. He reminds them why they fight, contextualizing their coming sacrifices:
“England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship, is England”
The Surprises have something to fight for. It is clear who they serve and why. Through the best and worst episodes of the story, they learn to rely on one another. The crew is obviously more unified and hardened in this scene than throughout the events of the film as they learn how to live with one another and how best to encounter struggles.
They trust their leaders, even when outnumbered, to overcome the challenge ahead. You see this in the crewmen, the young officers, and even between Aubrey and Maturin. You get a sense of absolute trust and reverence for "Lucky Jack” Aubrey, wonder at Doctor Maturin’s skill as a physician, and absolute obedience to the officers from the Captain down to the 13-year-old officer Midshipman Blakeney, who happily leads men 3 times his age into battle.
The heart of Master and Commander, hidden among its other obvious themes- authority, sacrifice, leadership, and duty- is this intense animus of male competition and cooperation. It’s something you know you need, but not exactly why or even how to get it. The world of 2024 is more peaceful and relaxed than that of 1812, and thanks be to God for it. Still, men naturally desire adventure, struggle, comradeship, and competition. That is what Peter Weir offers with his film, and that is what keeps you coming back.
Whether it’s learning to sail, climbing a mountain, getting into a competitive sport, starting a business, or some other adventure, seek something arduous and uncomfortable. Seek an arena where you can cooperate with other men against worthy challenges. Embrace the Jack Aubrey lifestyle; find a Dr. Maturin to lean on during your trials, find a crew to back you up, and chase an Acheron with all you have.
I saw it in theater with my then fiancee and future wife. She hated it and fell asleep. That was b4 the reclining seats too.
A masterpiece film. One of two naval themed movies I will drop everything to watch. Crowe and Bettany are superb, but the supporting cast is outstanding as well. Sail on H.M.S. Surprise, and take our poor landlubber dreams of adventure with you!