In un articolo su cbr.com lo scrittore e regista Jon Mendelsohn, laureato all’università di Ithaca, espone ciò che a suo parere ha limitato il processo creativo e il conseguimento di veri capolavori da parte del regista di – tra gli altri – “Orizzonti di gloria”, “2001: Odissea nello spazio” e “Eyes wide shut” : la mascolinità tossica.

Although without a doubt one of the most talented filmmakers of all time, visionary auteur Stanley Kubrick was never able to tap into his true potential because of his toxic masculinity and obsession with the gender binary, among other things. His films are so colorful and artistic, yet never allow women to be the main focus. It felt like Kubrick was almost afraid of femininity unless it was there to serve a man or please the eyes.

Despite his immense talent, Kubrick was so stubborn and close-minded and never allowed himself to receive feedback from his cast and crew. He also refused to treat them as his team, as if he always needed to be in control, which in turn hurt his films more than he ever knew. To put it simply, if Kubrick was never brainwashed by stereotypes, who knows what kind of masterclass filmmaking he could have achieved.

A ciò viene aggiunta l’idea che tutta la creazione filmica di Kubrick sia stata condizionata da una bassa autostima e dal bisogno di compensazione del regista nato a New York nel 1928:

One interesting idea to ponder about Kubrick is the thought that possibly, the reason he always needed to be in such control is that he had low-self esteem and was overcompensating. He also may have suffered from fragile masculinity, hence why he treated actresses differently than their male counterparts, and why women were never at the forefront of his work.
[…] If Kubrick treated people with more respect and was introspective about why he wanted to make what he did, he could have become the true masterclass filmmaker he always wanted to be perceived as, but instead, his behavior has caused him to be remembered as a visionary yet tyrannical filmmaker who wouldn’t listen to anyone but himself.