The conception of The New Man emerged in the 1970s, and has since then reappeared from time to time, with varying ideals about how he should look, feel and act. There are often major inherent conflicts within the same ideal, which can cause great confusion for the man at the individual level.

The work with Den nya mannen, english title Rebirth, has been based on questions about what it is like to be a white, middle-aged man in the western society today, what the hegemonic masculinity looks like and if there are other ideals to follow? How does the white man react when his privileges diminish or disappear, when he no longer belongs to a chosen ”we” but is mixed up with “the others”? It is easy to see destructive parts of men’s actions around the world, but what is actually a good masculinity? Are male role models important or are human role models enough? And will men in the near future become redundant when women will be able to reproduce themselves without the help of a man?

In Rebirth, Nils Agdler visualizes ideas of a coming new man, the unprotected and vulnerable man, the new-born man and the man as nature.

The film was produced in 2018 for the solo show Andropause at Ahlbergshallen in Östersund, Sweden and can be shown both as a short film and as a looped film installation.