Whether we realize it or not, the idea and concept of “manhood” has always had a place in our society, and it’s rapidly changing to conform to our modern views. Boys Are Not All Right by Michael Ian Black, Not Your Father’s Masculinity, by Matt Labash, and the documentary Tough Guise 2 by Jason Katz are 3 pieces that shine light on the issues of modern day “manhood” and how we got to this point
Tough Guise 2 goes the most in depth out of all three of the pieces because the hour and a half long documentary covers many different topics and arguments, mostly shedding light on violence caused by men. The documentary seems to point to the fact that men commit violent acts because of their DNA but he also seems to argue that the reason they act violent has to do with more men feeling that their masculinity is being taken away due to movements such as feminism. Katz talks about how some men commit sadistic acts such as rape or mass shootings to be viewed as more masculine. He also states that masculinity equaling violence has been pushed through society through pop culture for years. He gives examples of films such as The Sopranos, a kids movie Shark Tale, and the gradual change of interest from the “gentlemen” sport of boxing to MMA. Even today, some modern news and podcast hosts target males who feel their masculinity is being threatened. Despite all the statistics and issues the documentary covers, it fails to give any solutions to the problem.
Tough Guise 2 also presented many statistics that I was unaware of. Men are significantly more likely to commit a crime, yet that statistic is rarely brought up in the media. When a white male commits a crime, the news doesn’t make it about race and gender, but when a woman or someone of color commits a crime, the story suddenly becomes about race and gender.
Boys Are Not All Right by Michael Ian Black, Not Your Father’s Masculinity, by Matt Labash similarly shed light on the changes in masculinity. However, they each take a different approach on solving the issue. Not Your Father’s Masculinity states that the increase of toxic masculinity is due to society blurring the line between men and women. Labash argues that we need to let “men and women be men and women” while in Boys Are Not All Right by Michael Ian Black, Black’s argument is men should use the feminism movement to learn about gender empowerment.
Based on all three of these pieces, everyone has differing opinions on this issue of manhood, as well as differing solutions to the problem of toxic masculinity.
Not Your Father’s Masculinity, Matt Labash
Boys Are Not All Right, Michael Ian Black
Tough Guise 2, Jason Katz
Comments
Post a Comment