Behind the Curtain of Great Are the Myths: Episode 4: Masculinity as Myth, Performance, and Permission

In this episode we explore the many forms of masculinity surrounding Birdie in the novel: the shy Memphis boy on the edge of becoming a cultural myth, the stabilising presence of Grandpa George, the working father Mr Presley, the absence of Birdie’s own father, and the socially acceptable future represented by Topper.Set against the cultural backdrop of Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, and the literary figure of Holden Caulfield, the episode examines how Great Are the Myths presents masculinity as something inherited, performed, mythologised, and historically permitted.Birdie’s coming of age is also an education in how to read men.