Kevin Sorbo isn’t generally known as a kids’s writer, however the actor who embodied Hercules for years on tv does perceive a factor or two about being a person.
Mr. Sorbo goals to show youngsters about “the importance of masculinity” along with his newly launched kids’s guide, “The Test of Lionhood,” revealed by Brave Books. It’s a couple of lion cub who should save his sister after she is sickened by a toxic plant.
The illustrated story seeks to “revive men’s roles in society by first instilling bravery, sacrifice, strength, and courage in young boys” at a time when “chivalry and manhood” are beneath assault by society, the writer stated.
“It’s basically about the masculinization of men, instead of the emasculation of men,” Mr. Sorbo instructed The Washington Times. “It’s about helping boys to become boys and let girls be girls, and let them decide what they want their lives to be about when they get old enough to make a decision on their own.”
Those are, after all, combating phrases in a tradition that elevates gender fluidity and reviles “toxic masculinity,” however Mr. Sorbo is accustomed to working exterior the mainstream.
The actor, who starred within the “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” collection from 1995-99, stated he was blacklisted by Hollywood for his Christian and conservative views. He has continued to make films by way of his Sorbo Studios and seem in Christian-themed movies reminiscent of “God’s Not Dead.”
The 64-year-old additionally has written two autobiographies: “True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal,” which facilities on his well being struggles after struggling an aneurysm and 4 strokes, and its follow-up, “True Faith.”
His background made him a pure for Brave Books, which publishes kids’s books by outstanding conservative figures reminiscent of actor Kirk Cameron, surfer Bethany Hamilton, podcast host David J. Harris Jr., Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer and Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas.
“I’m a fan of Brave Books,” Mr. Sorbo stated. “They came to me and said, ‘You played Hercules, you played a hero, you played a guy who was a man’s man, and we want to do a book that deals with masculinity.’ And I said I’d love to do it.”
One purpose: He’s been pissed off for years about how males are portrayed in tv and films.
“There’s been such attacks on masculinity, on what they call toxic masculinity, and we’ve been doing it for decades,” Mr. Sorbo stated. “In the last 20 years, I think it’s really accelerated and gotten worse and worse. You look at the movies out there. Who’s the hero in every movie? It’s women. Women are the ones who are the big tough guys. The guys are a bunch of wusses.”
Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington would possibly beg to vary, however the trade has come beneath criticism for what Toronto psychiatrist Marcia Sirota calls the “emasculation of Hollywood men.”
We want to boost robust males that stand for fact! My guide, The Test of Lionhood, teaches youngsters concerning the significance of masculinity and what Biblical manhood seems like.@JackPosobiec stated it greatest, if you wish to elevate your youngsters proper you need to head to @BraveBooksUS and get my… pic.twitter.com/tuN8fsLozP
— Kevin Sorbo (@ksorbs) August 31, 2023
Brave Books has drawn headlines for its nationwide library tour that includes Mr. Cameron studying his kids’s books at public libraries which have beforehand hosted drag queen story hours — a flashpoint within the tradition battle over gender id and age-appropriate content material for youths.
Mr. Sorbo stated plans are within the works for him to learn “The Test of Lionhood” at a public faculty. That could be a primary for Brave Books.
“I’d be the first to read at a public elementary school. I’m doing that up in New Jersey,” he stated. “I told the Brave Book people, ‘How did you work that one out? You’d better have some security for me. It’s an angry world out there.’”
Mr. Sorbo ought to know: He’s routinely vilified on the left for his unfiltered observations on hot-button matters.
The left-wing publication Queerty knocked him final month for his “incessant tweeting about stuff like COVID, mask mandates, vaccines, ANTIFA, leftist agitators, LGBTQ+ people, and other patently false right-wing conspiracy theories.”
In 2014, he got here beneath hearth for defending Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie “The Passion of the Christ” from allegations of antisemitism, saying in an interview: “Okay, news bulletin: You did kill Jesus.” He later walked again the phrasing, saying “I should have worded it better,” in accordance with Christianity Today.
None of this appears to have harm his recognition on social media. His account on X, previously generally known as Twitter, has 1.7 million followers. He instructed the Daily Beast in 2020 that his son runs his account and “I don’t know what he’s posting.”
Indeed, Mr. Sorbo comes throughout because the form of fellow who’s having fun with life and doesn’t fairly perceive why everybody else is so upset.
“Look at the world: It’s crazy right now. And I’m a pretty live-and-let-live guy,” Mr. Sorbo stated. “I don’t harbor anger and hatred toward people that have an opposite point of view. I love it when they say, ‘You’re homophobic.’ OK, where’s your proof? I’ve been in Hollywood for 40 years. I work with gay people all the time. Where’s your proof? They can’t find it. They just like labels.”
He could also be persona non grata in Hollywood, however that hasn’t stopped him from filmmaking. His subsequent film, “Miracle in East Texas,” starring himself, Louis Gossett Jr., Tyler Mane and John Ratzenberger, is scheduled for launch in October.
Mr. Sorbo stated he’s incessantly cheered behind the scenes by others within the enterprise, which he finds each flattering and exasperating.
“People come up to me all the time on the set, very quietly, whether it’s another actor or a camera guy, and they say, ‘Hey, man, thanks for being a voice for us,’” Mr. Sorbo stated. “Well, be a voice for yourself. Why just me?”
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com