How Alphas Consume Art Vs. How Betas Consume Art (Legends Of Men)

Can art be masculine? I believe so. We often describe masculine men and certain works of art the same way. Art, like men, can be powerful and daring. It can display high energy and a mastery of complex skills.

Alpha males are in many ways similar to masculine art. That’s not a coincidence. They way alphas consume art is different than the way betas consume art. They may very well make different choices in which art they consume, but that’s not the concern here. With the same work of art, alphas and betas react to it differently.

Alphas get inspired by great masculine works of art. They consume it, then they get off their butts and do something productive. The art pours gasoline on their inner fire.

Betas live vicariously through great works of art. They consume it, then they contemplate it until they feel a sense of elitism. The art pours gasoline on the empty wick where their inner fire should be.

Let’s look at some examples:

This piece is a painting by Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell. It’s real yet surreal. Those muscles are nearly unattainable without HGH. The figures on these women are the most idealized figures of the feminine body imaginable.

The alpha reaction: Alphas see this man and they want to be more like him. It could be a full-time job to have his definition. Even alphas don’t necessarily prioritize physical fitness enough to have a body like that. It’s an exaggeration. But alphas see the strong man and they want to be stronger. They see the biceps and decide to incorporate some more chin-ups into their workout.

Seeing the girls makes the alpha want to get up and have his way with a beautiful woman (or two). Married alphas see this and rush their wives to the bedroom.

Alphas get inspired.

The beta reaction: Masturbate to the girls and go back to playing video games.

I find the most masculine music is heavy metal. You like what you like so I’m not trying to sell you on it. That’s just my preference. Below is a picture of the lead singer for the band Ghost Ship Octavius, a band I saw live last May. He’s a great singer, guitarist, and songwriter, and he even has some muscle on him (many amazing musicians don’t build much muscle, the price of virtuosity).

I saw this band and was blown away. I focused very hard on learning how to play one of their songs on drums (which really pushed my limits). I was inspired.

But so many of the other concert-goers looked like complete slobs. I saw a person from behind and thought it was a chubby girl. She had a muffin top and girl jeans and poor posture. When that person turned around I learned it was a neck-bearded beta. Here’s a picture of a typical heavy metal fan nowadays.  Notice the poor grooming, their overweight/obese frame, and their complete disregard for how men will view them.

The live music was so powerful and energetic. I couldn’t not do something about it when I got home. I had to step sit behind my drumkit and focus and practice. Even though the music was too advanced for me, I didn’t walk away from it. I got better. But betas consume that same art, contemplate it, and post snarky messages in online forums to make them feel superior without having accomplished anything. While some of those same betas might be good musicians the chances of that are unlikely. The rest of their appearances do not indicate they care about anything enough to dedicate effort to it.

As you might know by now I’m a big Conan the Cimmerian fan (as is Charles Sledge). The Conan stories are very inspiring. They really teach you the importance of athleticism and a healthy mindset and they make alphas want to emulate Conan. I’ve said before and I still hold this statement as true; Conan the Barbarian is the most masculine character ever written. Every man can stand to benefit from being more like Conan in some way.

Recently, I attended Robert E. Howard days, a celebration of Robert E. Howard the literary genius who created Conan. There were many Howard scholars there, but what really struck me was the young people in attendance. All except for me (and I’m middle-aged) were visibly weak. Some were overweight. Just as many were skinny-fat. How can men dedicate so much thought to Conan yet so little action to becoming more like him?

There was talk there of Conan role-playing games, both live and digital. Too many Conan fans are living vicariously through this fictional character. They would rather pretend to be him in their imagination than expend some effort and be more like him in real life.

Alphas get inspired by amazing works of art. Masterpieces are inherently masculine. They are powerful and masterful as we strive to be. Consume those masterpieces as alpha males do, and before you know it your life will be a masterpiece too.