Gen Z is saying enough to a Hollywood habit that has haunted movies since cinema began.

Referring to those born roughly between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z’s preferences are drastically different than past generations when it comes to watching cinema, which dates back to the mid-1890s, as they have little patience for bloated runtimes and recycled plots. Now, Gen Z is rejecting another Hollywood trend that’s plagued movies since the birth of cinema.

A new UCLA study has found that Gen Z is rejecting hypermasculinity in movies and TV and wants to see more vulnerable men in media. According to the study, young audiences who watch movies and TV are eager for male characters to shift away from “isolation and other masculine stereotypes and towards vulnerability and connection.”

The university’s Center for Scholars & Storytellers (CSS) added “targeted questions” to its annual 2025 Teens & Screens survey, polling 1,500 young people nationwide between the ages of 10 and 24. The findings were published in a report titled “Gen Alpha and Gen Z: Evolving Masculinity.”

Yalda Uhls – the study’s senior author, the founder of CSS, and an adjunct professor at UCLA’s psychology department – said the following:

Our findings reveal a profound cultural shift: Youth are craving a version of masculinity defined by emotional availability and joyful connection… By highlighting these narratives of partnership and care, storytellers can offer a vision of masculinity rooted in hope and love. For today’s young audiences, the most compelling hero isn’t the one standing alone, but the one who has the courage to be present.

One of the study’s main findings is that Gen Z and Gen Alpha (born between 2010 and 2025) want movies and television to portray men as caring and affectionate fathers and emotionally open individuals, moving away from what they view as outdated masculine stereotypes.

Joyful fatherhood emerged as the top-requested depiction of masculinity, with nearly 60% of surveyed adolescents saying they want to see more dads openly expressing love and taking pleasure in parenting. Additionally, 46% of respondents said they are looking for stories that show men asking for help, including support for their mental health.

The study’s authors say the new findings underscore “CSS’ long-standing commitment to helping content creators re-imagine the on-screen representation of boys and men. In 2020, CSS released a foundational tip sheet for storytellers that has since moved from research labs into writers’ rooms, directly influencing television production.”

If Gen Z is pushing Hollywood toward softer and more emotionally fluent men, that shift feels overdue. However, storytelling works best when it reflects the full spectrum of human experience. Strength, solitude, and even hypermasculinity have their place alongside tenderness and connection. Rather than erasing one in favor of the other, the real opportunity lies in balance – allowing male characters to be complicated, conflicted, and fully human.