Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity
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Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in Masculinity

1999, Psychology  -   83 Comments
7.06
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Ratings: 7.06/10 from 115 users.

Tough Guise: Violence, Media and the Crisis in MasculinityThe question that really comes out of this is: Why are boys behaving in this way? Why is 90% of violence committed by boys and men?

That's a point that a lot of people don't want to hear, but if you look at the culture these kids are immersed in, violence is a normal, natural part, not just of the world, but of being masculine or being a male person in the world.

It's not just in these few places (like video games or movies) but it's in what passes for normal culture. It is part of the normal training and conditioning and socialization of boys and men.

In this innovative and wide-ranging analysis, Jackson Katz argues that widespread violence in American society, including the tragic school shootings in Littleton, Colorado, Jonesboro, Arkansas, and elsewhere, needs to be understood as part of an ongoing crisis in masculinity.

This exciting new media literacy tool - utilizing racially diverse subject matter and examples - will enlighten and provoke students (both males and females) to evaluate their own participation in the culture of contemporary masculinity.

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revspinnaker
revspinnaker
4 years ago

As a masculist I wonder how child abuse enablers like Jackson Katz can sleep at night. The violence he and his feminist C.I.A. girlfriends conveniently omit is maternal violence against children, the most prolific and sadistic kind. Rapists are not born but made from traumatic childhood experiences that are statistically most often inflicted by their mothers, and C.I.A. feminist shill Jacko knows that.
Want to stop rape Jacko? You and your fascist girlfriends know the reality; show me a child that's been burned with cigarettes, starved, chained to a bed, pimped, trafficked... and I'll show you a woman in the house.
If men were the perpetrators we'd never hear the end of it from sicophantic "allies" like you.
"Feminist ally" + "child abuse enabler."

Roze van der Steen
Roze van der Steen
8 years ago

Violence has nothing to do with American culture, or with any race or class, for that matter. It has been a part of life in all parts of the world, and all throughout history, from primitive tribes to advanced civilizations. Look at characters such as Hannibal or Genghis Khan. As for the violent movie industry, it wouldn't be that way if people didn't enjoy watching it. I have seen many parents teach their children nothing but peaceful ways, but they still hit each other with stones or sticks. It sounds politically incorrect but we are wired for it. Truth is not always what we want to believe. Look at our closest relatives, the Chimpanzees, and the horrible gang murders they commit. That said, they also have the capacity for kindness and empathy, and it is the same with humans. This is how you can tell that society is not the cause of it: some kids are incredibly kind and sensitive, while others are bullies, enjoying beating others up. Sometimes two boys raised in the same family are totally different. One enjoys violent movies and the other one doesn't. This happens all the time and everywhere.

roadwarriortim
roadwarriortim
9 years ago

i think this is a really good topic , however i do not think this low budget film gives it the attention that it deserves, ie the talking head from beginning to end, of course the main stream media will not touch it as the industry as it exists would be dead. the topic is 10 stars , the presentation is only 3 stars , long way to go on this subject , right ?

LoggerheadShrike
LoggerheadShrike
10 years ago

Some of the statistics used in this documentary are not really explained well. Part of the high statistics for male violence have to do not with any inherent difference, but social views. It's slapstick comedy when a woman strikes a man; it isn't taken seriously. So it doesn't show up in the statistics. But some studies taking this into account have demonstrated women are equally prone to use physical violence. Because they are physically smaller, it is less likely to result in serious injury, but the use of it is no less frequent.

Natural tendencies associated with the genders can be observed in other mammals. There are differences between the genders, but they are very subtle and low-key compared to the exaggerated differences human culture imposes.

I don't think there is a crisis in masculinity so much as a crisis in gender identities. The notion of separate cultures for the genders isn't working anymore yet no alternative has been provided, so people are trying to squeeze themselves into these increasingly impossible roles, whose raison d'etre has vanished and which are increasingly maladapted to the present environment. No doubt the culture will adapt in time, and is likely in the early stages of that process now, but with fundamental institutions that have existed since civilization began it is going to take quite some time. At least a century, I would imagine.

RockSalt
RockSalt
10 years ago

I honestly thought scrolling down to the comments I would see some really well thought-out responses to this documentary. Sadly, I was mistaken. Many of you appear to have never watched the documentary, be too stuck in your misogynist ways, or take this documentary to be the absolute truth. This documentary needs to be watched in conjunction with other research, and watched objectively; while he makes some really good points, his hypodermic needle approach to media theory lacks depth and does not account for peoples' intelligence and ability to ignore media messages, or use media critically (a la a critical media theory approach) for their own means. Should be read in conjunction with Hegemonic Masculinity theory, and critical approaches to the Columbine shootings which focus on masculinity and popular culture influences. This documentary is not an attack on men, but an exploration of the violent ideals society places on men.

Amalie
Amalie
11 years ago

dont missunderstand me but you act out from what you been through, guess thats why we all hear with one ear and missunderstand so often in this big topic(s)
Great great great documentary ^^
Its truly a eye-opener if we listen and try take in what he is saying and showing here, without fallin in the trap he exactly talk about ^^

now i should stop writing, just opened so much apinions and new way of looking on things where i judges quicker :)
should i end with saying ironicaly, as i often heard:
im talking alot -- but im a woman you know
peace ^^

Amalie
Amalie
11 years ago

I got raped when i was 14. im 20 now.
i got alot of help and lucky enough im getting rid of the "men are bad, evil and will do you harm"
listen when you get traumatized as example, you connect some from it to learn not get into that again, defense mechanism. after it i was scared of my dad, or nervous, couldnt really sit in same room.

I got a friend (boy) who got abused by his mom, he have another view there, he was scared of woman long time, saw them as the bad people here. very interesting talks we got about how you react after what you have been into.

is it totally out in the woods trying to go over to the experiment Pavlovs dogs. Give dogs dinner, ring with a bell each time, then begin to ring the bell without giving food and the dogs connect the sound with the food (read about it if i dont explain good enough here ^^)
a little same direction i would say that fear/hate for men i had was only because of what i sadly got into. Too learn from mistakes you try sort out with yourself what did go wrong, as 14 years old i connected men with violence and rape, my friend opposite.

Another thing with men is stronger, in someway i would think if woman was build stronger than men, the history would also have looked the same and maybe woman would be more violence than me :)

Too see both side of a story is important :)

Megan Farmer Nielsen
Megan Farmer Nielsen
11 years ago

Video is not working

Stefan Kragulj
Stefan Kragulj
11 years ago

The video is not working for me

.drea.
.drea.
11 years ago

Not working?

VickyZoo
VickyZoo
12 years ago

As a female highschool teacher, and the head of a genderstudies department I find this documentary educational and eye opening. I put it in the same catgory as "MissRepresentation" in that it talks about what all of us see in society but are unable to understand why we let it be so acceptable. Those of you that see it as a attack on masculinity are looking at it from the wrong perspective.

jbriggs_87
jbriggs_87
12 years ago

this movie is bullsh***. boys have never been less tough.

Kev Lin
Kev Lin
12 years ago

in order to understand behaviors one must unerstand "conditioning". Violence can be condtioned out of an entire species just as easily as it is to condition violence into them. If one disagrees with this statment then im asking them to research the history of dogs and the recent study on White Foxes that took place a few years ago; these scientist proved that animals can change their violent behavior through changing its environment, in the end the white foxes began to look like dogs because of the change in behavior. It is a myth in our modern culture that humans are violent, no questiions asked, but im sorry you must question everything in order to find truth

nakmuay818
nakmuay818
12 years ago

the men endorsing this video are losers, arguing for a more pussified society to try and level the playing field. if they were alpha, they'd have no desire to change the status quo. i'm not endorsing violence or intolerance, i'm endorsing competition. i think james caan was spot on... the man who is 'not to be trifled with' has equipped himself with the brains and brawn necessary to imbue genuine self-confidence. And self-confidence, friends is the definition of alpha. A man who can impose his will upon his environment through logical persuasion, and defend his establishment through force if necessary against undeserving usurpers, is king. The rest of you nitpicking from the sidelines to have the rules of the game changed will be phased out by natural selection. Arm yourself by cultivating the gifts God gave you, of intelligence and strength, or else pick up a pompom and play your position.

Meghan
Meghan
12 years ago

I happen to have met the Jackson Katz, the man many people are talking badly about on here. He is an extremely intelligent and thoughtful individual. I also watched this movie in a class I took and found it to be incredibly insightful. I am currently a high school teacher and have classes of mainly high school boys, and I see a lot of what this documentary discusses. I enjoyed this documentary so much then, I've checked out his other work and am watching this again!

davy11
davy11
12 years ago

turn this off after 15 minutes. couldnt listen to that id**t any longer

ronsfi
ronsfi
12 years ago

Who ever was involved with making this documentary should have their a55 beat!

the555hit
the555hit
12 years ago

Jackson is very much on it and clear with it. Dangerously close to preachy/proselytising but on account of the content it never goes overboard.

He says men (and much of women) are going to have to change. It's natural that we should look at life as a binary thing -- male/female forever --- it's all we've ever known, from amoeba upwards. But it's not about changing male behaviour -- because that ain't going to happen. Tthe future long longterm is unigender, not female ---- men having served their purpose (to excess) and gotten extincted --- but human and of a single gender. And then what happens to good old evolution you ask. Just have to wait and see.

The OTT sociopathy/criminality of men we witness currently as a last backlash of the macho uh, 'tail' will be phased out as more women take more power over time. Technology (brains) is always gonna win, however your 6-pack 'n biceps and women are filling the brainy professions as men drop out into porn and vid games and beer (all part of the plan guys if you think about it) (hey i'm just the messenger spare your ammunition). Life doesn't give a fk about gender, as it were --- but which ok, has served its purpose up until now, but faces along with men, total redundancy.

Since that old binary fission system currently threatens to do us all in something has to change, and it will, and radical. It's not about a cull as such, of males but selective breeding (with no need for infanticide -- as per females in China). Sounds bizarre today well, but tomorrow i guess we'll see. If it sounds like a drag to anybody addicted to his cock (urs truly included..) go check out the alternative --- another millenium of this? Of war? Abuse of resources? Hollywood action/rape/misogyny movies? Football and wrestling? Gangstas/Rap? .. Too fkn boring, face it, so do us a favour someone? Test-tube this way, but don't let's worry guys, sex will still happen, but it'll be the real thing, not the reel thing and it might look a bit different. Some bright guy once said 'good satisfying sex without violence is impossible', and maybe that's the ultimate challenge of this looming new reality --- can life be any good without muscle 'n beer 'n steroids 'n guns. I guess we're just going to have to find out.

qatzelok
qatzelok
12 years ago

It's a fairly good film for raising awareness of the real dangers of bullying.

But the film's narrative contains an unfortunate (but blatant) racist/classist subtext: the narrator is of a particular social class (he calls himself an "anti-violence educator." ie. doesn't have to work for a living) and he is ranting on about how scary and violent black and working class white males are. They're a pretty easy target for someone who has all day to think about how to attack other men (with words instead of fists). And if his story is just a fig leaf for his own animal-vs-animal competition for prey (audience), then it isn't really useful as a educational tool, is it?

He never mentions the role that economic violence/predation plays in creating physical desperation that degenerates into physical brutality. Like a lot of pseudo-documentarians, he examines just enough symptoms of a larger phenomenon to build a story that elevates the sub-culture making/watching the video. This is a self-empowering video that works to disempower blacks, working class males, and other people who have to carry the weight of an obscenely wealthy banker-driven culture of hyperconsumption and slavery.

Perhaps the film's producers are inadvertently working towards their own self interest, but whether it's self conscious or not, the subjectively skewed choice of symptoms they examine distorts most of the positive message that could be gained with a more objective narrative voice. The absence of any mention of economic predation turns this "issue" story into propaganda against economically-disadvantaged groups - something we'd expect from commercial media.

Rather than attacking that primary abuse of power and resource allocation, the film seems to go after the victims of exploitation themselves by calling them violent: why not call these lower social-ranking males "repulsive" like the elites of olde?

Robert Pulice
Robert Pulice
12 years ago

You're really on the side of the Lord, and it's about time someone spilled the volatile fuel that so many are content with however many people that it hurts. Thank you for this enriching experience.

Benjamin Edwards
Benjamin Edwards
12 years ago

I have to admit, I thought this was going to be some lame Marxist propaganda, but he makes some really salient and cogent points. I believe he really touches on a hyper-macho revolution that started in the 1960s (notice the HUGE increase in rape that began then) and has been really damaging American culture in so many ways ever since. It is most obvious in the misogyny and mindless hyper-macho gangster behavior in US urban culture that has gone so far in completely ruining American culture. God help all of the young boys growing up now who are exposed to this stupidity. 5-star documentary.

Alek Olson
Alek Olson
12 years ago

The moment you think you know everything, you stop learning. Er something like that cant remember it exactly, good quote.
Im sure the theme in the movie was dont be a "wussy" and let yourself be controlled, by what other people think or do.
Unless they have a gun pointed at you! HAHAHa!
Still wont affect me, personally. Even as a sensitive male, docile and all that 'I WILL DIE FOR WHAT I BELIEVE IN!'.
Its a principle of mine, like RESPECT!

Michel Nachbar
Michel Nachbar
12 years ago

This was obviously made by feminists and cultural marxists, obvious propaganda /indoctrination is obvious.

Will Conley
Will Conley
12 years ago

This documentary should only be watched by people who are capable of abstract thought.

Petyr Herpaderp
Petyr Herpaderp
12 years ago

Wow! Cool story, bro.

Karen Rose
Karen Rose
12 years ago

It's the genetic modification of the broken x, modelled on its evil e.t parent race.

Yusiley S
Yusiley S
12 years ago

Humans NEED to stop giving excuses for their behavior on biology. It's getting old... oh sorry... it is already too old of an excuse and it's pathetic. You have a neocortex use it dumb asses!I'm sick and tired of mens' weak argument of "oh it's our nature"... so f--king what! It's in my nature to kill and eat people. That's what my brain is wired to do, but I manage to control those impulses and not kill and eat anyone. So why can't these retards control their impulses and natural instincts?... is this documentary stating men are too weak-minded and stupid to make rational decisions?... that men are too immature and subhuman to be able to control their own behavior and instincts? >_> Please! Stop giving men a free ride to act irresponsible, immature children... in other others stop encourage men in being idiots by giving them excuses.

Ilyess Lasfar
Ilyess Lasfar
12 years ago

LOVED IT. Should be compulsory watch followed by an in-depth workshop style session in every high school!

errr ehum, below post by Raoul Vandelayer seems to indicate that he must not have been breastfed as a child. No but in all seriousness, there are plenty of sources for healthy masculine ideals besides "living the bullshit" or "the mask" . You can inspire yourself (and/or your children) by stories of great men. From grand political leaders like Malcolm X, Abraham Lincoln, etc. to well balanced sports icons like that baseball dude that was mentioned in the film. The point is, you can choose healthy masculine Ideals, instead of feeding off of the garbage that is being spoon-fed to us by TV and the garbage producing mass media machine.

Sandra Fredine
Sandra Fredine
12 years ago

This is simply the best documentary I have ever watched and couldn't be more timely. Parents MUST watch - FATHERS must watch. I don't even know how to emphasize this enough.

yolandam
yolandam
13 years ago

The media glorifies men and violence and society allows it. It isn't an escapegoat to blame the media, they are going to push the envelope as far as they can. We as a people need to take notice and shut it down. Don't participate in violent movies and allow our children to watch.

jubbs_sher
jubbs_sher
13 years ago

this docoumentary speaks worlds of sense!!!

snail1123
snail1123
13 years ago

food allergies.....check it out. It is amazing the way food affects us psychologically, men and women.

clix
clix
13 years ago

@ James Cann

The media is merely a reflection of society and an all to easy scapegoat.

I will respond to your comment in full when I have time, but at the mean time, I implore you to watch a documentary called The War You Don't See on this site. It will clearly demonstrate the media is neither a reflection of a society nor a scapegoat.

James Cann
James Cann
13 years ago

@Clix

To address your points, yes I did watch the whole of the doc as well as the doc on The Emasculating Truth on what it means to be manly nowadays. Both were thought provoking but also skewed to incite discussion. Perhaps i did restate some points that were refuted but as far as I can objectively conclude I didn't touch on intercity youth and rural southern men(perhaps you have mistaken me for another) that's your perspective I suppose. As far as daring me to go in one of such surroundings and show the other fellas, well I happen to live in the roughest neighborhood in my city because it also happens to be close to work where I drive limousine.

I dress for the environment when walking to work because I'm constantly being sized up and interviewed by the predators that loiter around and if I didn't I'd eventually be viewed as an outsider and ripe for the pickings. Now I should state that I'm actually quite intimating at over 6 foot and currently about 220 pounds so i don't have a lot of people challenging me. But if I was challenged I can handle myself because after 30 years of martial arts training and teaching and having spent over 4 years training and fighting in Thailand, I'm fairly confident that if it came to blows I'd come away okay. Guns and knives are another story.

But the thing is I don't project weakness nor do I attempt to be intimidating,I'm soft spoken and friendly to almost everyone, I mind my own business, have had very few complaints about my attitude or driving in the last 7 years. On rare occasions I've been forced into situations with drunks and violent men in order to protect the women in my life and clients I drive and have been obligated to handle it. The reality is that there are violent jerks everywhere and I'd much rather be prepared for this reality that to believe we live in a peaceful utopia of love and understanding and an altruistic society. We don't. Nor have we ever. I don't know what the solution is, if I did I'd perhaps produce a doc on it. The producers of this doc also as far as I can tell, haven't provided a solution either.

Because there isn't one. History has shown that not much gets done with just talking about things. In order to get change, revolutions have to happen. In order to have a traffic light installed on a dangerous corner, some people have to die before others take notice. I don't like it. Ideally I'd love to talk rationally to these violent men, sit around and sing Kumbahya and get a group hug at the end but it's unlikely to happen any other place then in my dreams. Is the media to blame for violence? Is Jerry Springer fans and the UFC to blame?Rap music? It's dubious. Perhaps the generalization that mans nature is violent, that nature itself is violent and the Darwinian perspective is clique, but I haven't seen the antithesis work in reality hitherto.

The media is merely a reflection of society and an all to easy scapegoat. Society has a tendency to honor it's live conformists and dead criminals.Genghis Khan, Alexander The Great and every other conquerors in history probably didn't have much time for watching TV or concerned what the neighbors thought. The winners need not explain. And, there is much more fascination with them, than watching docs on Gandhi and Mother Theresa. We live in a rather peaceful world compared to ancient times. I haven't had to be violent outside the Muay Thai ring for a few years now.

I like that and feel lucky. But I also like the fact that if trouble shows up in my face and I can't talk my way out, I have other options that will instantly be respected. We all have choices for survival and those with the most options survive better. We all want our kids to grow up in a peaceful and loving environment and not be bullied, but just because our grandfather happened to be named Gaylord I think we do a disservice to our kids to name them the same. We all must portray our game face that is fitting to the situation at hand. I personally treat others the way I want to be treated and attempt to be different to everyone and blend into their moods. I don't talk to my mother the same way I talk to my friends or strangers that get into my face... I blend and flow. A tough guise? Perhaps. Reality?...most certainly.

clix
clix
13 years ago

@James Cann

Did you watch the documentary at all? You basically re-stated the points that were refuted throughout the documentary without providing any additional information other than the tired paradigm. According to you, intercity youth and rural southern men (the most aggressive and violence prone) are prime target of women. The aggressive behavior of such group of people, among many similar others who are less identifiable, are not driven by challenges of resource procurement, but by social and class standing.

I dare you to go in one of such surroundings and 'show the other fellas, you're not to be trifled with'. Most likely, they will trifle with you and win. Does that mean they're stronger and more suited to survive than you? No. It just means they are more violence prone, and can readily execute such action.

James Cann
James Cann
13 years ago

Life is kind of a warfare against the malice of others. Don't feed your dog for a week and see if his unconditional love changes. Nothing respects weakness. Women are hardwired to find the alpha male and breed with him so that less desirable males don't pass on their beta genes. Maybe this doc will get him on Oprah but in the real world he'd just get stomped. If anything, in my experience men have become society robots and are less manly than ever before. I blame the feminist movement which has overcompensated and turned men into obliging providers. Women say they want sensitive guys, but they really want guys to obey them.I say, grow a pair. Although I don't condone bullies or unnecessary violence of any kind. But every now and then, you have to show the other fellas, you're not to be trifled with too.

clix
clix
13 years ago

@MistaGreen

Sorry, no refund as it appears you weren't paying attention anyway. There is as much blame assigned as to how men affect each other, not to mention women, in shaping the limited self-image of men.

Even at that, are you denying that the media does help form quite a bit of our self-image in our society? If not, what problem do you have with the fact that it be exposed in every facet of our lives? Or are you one who fancies cynicism just for its own sake?

MistaGreen
MistaGreen
13 years ago

Yet another documentary that focuses on how the media pretty much brain washes and molds us. Can I get my 53 minutes back?

Milton
Milton
13 years ago

Manhood has been misrepresented in so many ways that it's unbelievable.You get taught at an early time in your life that if you are not physically "hard" that you are weak. That's only one of many lies men are brainwashed to believe. I always thought that manhood was more spirutal/mental than brawn but to be called weak by someone or people in general is the "kiss of death" for most men. No one wants to be called that. Some men spend their lives trying to prove that they are anything but soft or weak. So they jump at the chance to prove they are not weak by any and all means and will jump at the chance to use violence, whether it is warranted or not. There are times to be violent;obviously if someone breaks into a man's home, he has to protect his family. But to use violence as an means to an end is wrong. People losing their live and many men going to prison because someone "dissed"them. You can go through life without violence if you understand that there will be insecure people who will attempt to provoke you. People killing people because of a dirty look. I say "hi" to people that I see "mean mugging" me and keep going. I have nothing to prove.

clix
clix
13 years ago

What a great piece of work, although I disagree with the presumption the film makes that homosexuality is a new form of male expression.

It is time men wake up and see the box they have been placed in. Women, with better and more realistic self image are out-pacing men in every facet of life, including out living them. Some here argue that male violence is a natural part of life in order to secure resources. That may be true males who come from resource strapped ancient northern Europe, where brute force and aggression were the saving grace (please read the book Iceman Inheritance). Not all societies from ancient to modern times have been so violence prone nor male dominated. A point to ponder for those who believe that violence and male preponderance are the natural order of things. Get out a bit and learn about other cultures, ancient and modern, will ya?

One thing is for sure for me. My two boys will not grow up to fit into this limited box of male self-image and denigrate women the way their preprocessors in the western world, including me, have done.

pip
pip
13 years ago

I hate all of you. I just want to know whether this was a good documentary. I don't want to read an essay about your views on the subject. If I did, I would not be looking for a documentary to watch, I would be looking for an essay on this subject. I am very disappointed in you.

Armchair Shrink
Armchair Shrink
13 years ago

I think that many of the paradigms and myths that we've built around gender in & of itself are counter-productive, severely limiting & frequently serve the hidden agendas of those who impose them onto societies & compel societies into enacting & perpetuate them.

This film did show the damaging image of the submissive white barely post-adolescent woman unaware that she is in any danger, casually undressing only to be brutally attacked at her most vulnerable point by some crazed male (linking sex with violence). The film also showed one Asian woman being sexually assaulted. A good deal of time was also spent exploring the image of the violent Black man.

What was conspicuously absent was any meaningful commentary about how the Rap/Hip Hop 'culture' has resurrected the ugliest & most harmful images of the hyper-sexualized Black woman. In their videos, these women (usually mixed-looking & fairer than most Blacks) are as interchangeable as eggs in a carton. They all have the same shallow, promiscuous, ridiculously submissive character & are useful only as masturbatory tools: their pleasure is irrelevant. Unlike the White women who get hacked to bits in horror flicks, who at least get to speak at times, these women shake their @$$E$ & moan. Along with the anti-feminist back-lash Katz mentions, he doesn't seem to see the ways in which many Black men perceive themselves to have been twice 'emasculated'. Firstly by the dominant culture, and secondly by the Black woman who is many times more likely to achieve social status and financial autonomy through education and career. Further grinding salt into this wound is the fact that more Black women of this calibre are choosing non-Black partners. Many Black women emerging with higher educations find themselves lacking Black male counterparts. Of the comparatively few Black men that are similarly educated, many of them choose non-Black partners as well.

A part of the Western image of the manly man is that of 'getting The Girl'(often through rescuing her from peril as in many video games, movies & fairy tales) She is usually a tall, slender but shapely White woman; preferably with flowing blonde hair & blue eyes.Having 'won' this woman is the crowning symbol of status & success. Black men have been bombarded with this imagery by the same media that did it to White men.

Another 'manly man' image that we see in the media is that of the beautiful non-White woman being chosen as the love interest of the White male hero. We NEVER see this imagery reversed. Imagine a film in which all White men are depicted as violent somewhat backwards duds so the beautiful White woman, in the end, sees that the East Indian male hero is much better than all the men of her own background.It speaks to the dominant male ethos that a White man is free to do & choose whatever he wants & by right of his evident superiority, the women of the entire planet are in his thrall.

I remember a recent film in which the Asian male hero, Jackie Chan, 'got' Amber Valletta in the end & the film was not about the dreaded interracial couple & all the trouble their relationship causes for everyone in society OR about 'pity the poor mixed couple: how sad their life will be'-but such images are exceedingly rare. In this film, Chan was a decidedly Chinese man (not 'Americanized'& culturally disconnected). He did his Kung Fu shtick, but he was also caring & sensitive, gentle & ethical.It can be done!

Katz' film is thought-provoking (for those brave enough to question & deconstruct the status quo)& a great tool for savvy social studies teachers to incorporate into their classroom.

Emessaine
Emessaine
13 years ago

Interesting video, thank you!
I hated the spoilers though, argh!

@Toneone3000

I think this documentary focuses more on violence in America. I understand that we, as animals, must use violence in certain situations (like dogs, lions and sharks). But I think, in our modern society, we have eliminated most of these situations. How often do I have to fight with my neighbor over some food or water? Exactly, not very often.
Therefore, I think violence is a negative thing in this kind of society and we must try to eliminate as much as we can.
What do you think?

Arthurian
Arthurian
13 years ago

another stupid documentary that seeks to emasculate men, men are supposed to be tough.

toneone3000
toneone3000
13 years ago

Its in our genes to be violent. I hate the fact that the world has become so metrosexual and soft. I am a United States Marine, and I have seen the true face of humanity. If you haven't had water or food in a week I bet a million dollars you would fight for it. Why are most people so disconnected from what humans really are? I watched this, and this guy is soft. All he does is focus on the media, there are no scientists to back this up. Even a person with half a brain should know that the media is filled with half truths. I have seen what humans really are. The reason that humans dont have fangs or claws, is because we are the cruelest animal.

some dude
some dude
13 years ago

@Lass
"Do you really want the Greeks/Romans to be your measure of societal norms? Well, then be prepared to start having sex with little boys…"

"Is that seriously your argument? You are arguing that the status quo is a natural occurrence?"

This is just pathetic. Using cheap sophisms in one comment, and calling me out for not-serious-enough argument.

It's completely irrelevant if this "status quo" is natural occurrence or not. We have ability to change nature. Some people just don't want to. And there's nothing you can do about it.

Let's say I didn't like what you said to me and I punch you in the face. What do you do? Call your mom, police, punch me back, run?

Let's say I'm a real a--hole. I punch few other people around me, cause I didn't really like how they looked at me when I broke your nose.

How will society respond to a guy like me? No education, no preventive measures, no punishment will ever completely eliminate violence. Do a research on life in prison. Very few convicts get a lifetime, most get out hurt someone again. They know they'll end up in prison again. They don't care.

Lass
Lass
13 years ago

@somedude
Is that seriously your argument? You are arguing that the status quo is a natural occurence?

Lass
Lass
13 years ago

@quietsamurai
Do you really want the Greeks/Romans to be your measure of societal norms? Well, then be prepared to start having sex with little boys...

some dude
some dude
13 years ago

Have you ever considered the fact that violence is a necessity in a man's life. It will most likely occur in his life, and he needs to get used to it. And you don't have to e violent to be engaged in violence. Violence will come to you.

People attack people, countries attack countries. It doesn't matter if you're violent or not. Violence will come to you.

So why not be ready for it?

Malestrom
Malestrom
13 years ago

I still deal with it. I bouncer at a bar and there is a cop there who thinks it's fun to back hand swat me in the groin and I can't get him to stop. It always seems someone wants to set up a pecking order. Yea men wrote love letters and sonnets, but some of those men were at war. Those who didn't go to war were hanged, so what choice did most men have that were soft, sweet and considerate but be called gay by the more brutal ones and subdued. I have seen this happen in 9th grade, where a kid was tender and he didn't want to fight and got raped for it. Most barbarians come in and take your home, wife, land and life when they perceive you as soft. They believe in survival of the fittest so men like Adolph Hitler are the epitome of their outlook on life, but when men like him win they cry foul.