Failure To Launch

The “failure to launch” syndrome became an increasingly popular narrative trope in the 2000s. It became increasingly common to see irresponsible, childish men lighting up the screen. The ultimate example of this trope is (of course) the film Failure to Launch featuring Matthew Mcconaughey. He plays a charmingly boyish character who still lives with his parents and cannot commit to anything besides his love for adventure. His parents hire a beautiful woman to try and force him out of their house and assume his responsibility as the “man,” but he proves strangely resistant to any intervention.

In the film, Mcconaughey’s character is portrayed as somewhat of a nuisance to his parents. Though he has a job, he spends the majority of his free time participating in traditionally “boyish” hobbies, such as rock climbing and paint ball. He refuses to do any traditionally feminine household chores and relies heavily on his mother. In fact, the premise of the film is that he needs a woman to “tame” him into the traditional male suburbian.

While this trope can be somewhat entertaining on the screen, it goes much deeper than that and is actually a social phenomenon. In fact, the phrase “failure to launch” has been increasingly used to critique the millennial generation for their inability to function as the older generations expects. In fact, this critique has become so common that people are referring to this phenomenon as the failure to launch syndrome.

This syndrome is characterized by a young adult’s inability to thrive on his or her own at certain critical transitional stages. Often, it is the case that the individual is forced to move back in with his or her parents in order to maintain the desired lifestyle. To an older generation, this often comes across as a lack of ambition and is the source of significant critique. However, some doctors and psychologists are arguing that there are more serious causes behind the failure to launch syndrome. They suggest that changing economic contexts as well as a rise of mental health issues have led to the increased instances of this phenomenon.

This exploration of the failure to launch syndrome has brought about a new focus on the quarter-life crisis of males, especially in television and film. However, there has been very little thoughtful critique of the sexist narrative behind this trope. Men should not be expected to gain financial stability early in their lives and be treated as a modern Peter Pan simply because they still live with their parents. Furthermore, men do not need a woman to “tame” them and give them a reason to settle down. This is yet another sexist trope that needs to be done away with by Hollywood writers. It is important to have portrayals of strong, competent men, regardless of their socioeconomic status.