Media Research:
Your classwork AND homework is to start your Notes and Quotes document
and reach at least 2,000 words - due after half-term.
Men's health does not
only have a segment on the rock about the text it also has a segment explaining
how he trained for the actual film and within this aritcle it states within the opening
line "Take on the workouts
the Hollywood heavyweight used to bulk up for his meatiest role". evidently, this shows that younger individuals are going to
be forced to think about their Masculinity, which then follows through to their
represent in modern society and this will then overall have a problem with how
they look and their image.
on the other hand from the reviewers of
the film (from IMDB) and through this research was able to find a majority of
positive comments about the film which consider the fact of
representation of young males and also females in our society today because men
are going to be more likely to watch this film form these positives, and become
influenced to be more like the actors from the film and live this types of and
the idea of glamouring the american dream is a very dominate theme in this film
through the text the main accomplice Mark Wahlberg who emotionally conveys and
suggest the american dream in his voice over throughout the film. However in
this case the american dream has been overdosed with a hint of steroids and
blue collar jobs that are leading to no where which lead the main charter to
commit the heinous crimes emitted within the film; shockingly, are based on a
true story. Moreover form the story line it shows that the actual narrative is
based on the American dream which in reality all american citizens have a dream
which they are trying to reach towards. therefore it will mean that the film is
going to influence on the idea of money, greed and materialism has an affect on
ones image because these dominate roles that are being showed in the film are
similar to the true spirit of Americanism and amrica strongly believe in the
philosophy of "get rich or die trying".
Masculinism: (Masculitny
and Power)
Arthur
Brittan’s (1989) ideas around masculinism provide an alternative perspective on
the debate around masculinity, which is particularly pertinent to this study
with its assertion that “both masculinity and femininity are continuously
subject to a process of reinterpretation” (Brittan, 2001: 51). Allowing for the
notions of resistance, change and plural masculinities, Brittan (1989) proposes
a distinction between masculinity and masculine.
Hegemonic Masculinity
Rethinking the Concept
Abstract
The
concept of hegemonic masculinity has influenced gender studies across many
academic fields but has also attracted serious criticism. The authors trace the
origin of the concept in a convergence of ideas in the early 1980s and map the
ways it was applied when research on men and masculinities expanded. Evaluating
the principal criticisms, the authors defend the underlying concept of
masculinity, which in most research use is neither reified nor essentialist.
However, the criticism of trait models of gender and rigid typologies is sound.
The treatment of the subject in research on hegemonic masculinity can be
improved with the aid of recent psychological models, although limits to
discursive flexibility must be recognized. The concept of hegemonic masculinity
does not equate to a model of social reproduction; we need to recognize social
struggles in which subordinated masculinities influence dominant forms.
Finally, the authors review what has been confirmed from early formulations
(the idea of multiple masculinities, the concept of hegemony, and the emphasis
on change) and what needs to be discarded (onedimensional treatment of
hierarchy and trait conceptions of gender). The authors suggest reformulation
of the concept in four areas: a more complex model of gender hierarchy,
emphasizing the agency of women; explicit recognition of the geography of
masculinities, emphasizing the interplay among local, regional, and global
levels; a more specific treatment of embodiment in contexts of privilege and
power; and a stronger emphasis on the dynamics of hegemonic masculinity,
recognizing internal contradictions and the possibilities of movement toward
gender democracy. R. W. Connell ‘December 1,
2005’ http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891243205278639
Furthermore during half term
I got a chance to watch a pice of text called Generation Iron 2 which was
directed by “Vlad Yudin” and the
purpose of the film was to follow the next generation of
bodybuilders as the industry opens up to viral internet stars as well as
younger bodybuilders pushing the limits of how massive the human physique can
become. In addition in the film the journalist
who is following asked each athlete that he interviewed mentioned the idea of
Body Building becoming a mainstream profession; the all the athletes had a
different point of view to this. Therefore this could overall mean that each individual
male & female are both going to have their personal opinion for this text
in particular. However after watching this documentary it’s also given me more
of a wider based of knowledge about my own topic/ case study because this media
text in-particular shows how media has formed its own mainstream audience
through the media.
Furthermore, in Steve Craig; within his book he has
discussed the idea of how men and masculinity have gained momentum, little has
been published that focuses on the media and their relationship to
men as men. Men, Masculinity and the Media addresses this
shortcoming. Scholars from across the social sciences investigate past media
research on men and masculinity. They also examine how the media serve to
construct masculinities, how men and their relationships have been depicted and
how men respond to media images. From comic books and rock music to film and
television, this ground breaking volume scrutinizes the interrelationship among
men, the media and masculinity. For example the in the book there is a chapter
on “Norma Pecora” She looks at masculinity in the persona of the comic books;
the idea of Superhero’s. Within the book it states the chapter of her own idea
of superhero perception “Superman/super boy/supermen” form her suggestions the
detail within the comic books of how these heroes have been described it as
being “patriarchal view of the world” overall stating that where the good guys
(being the superheroes) are predominately white middle class men who seek
justice.
Is Masculinity A Cultural Myth?
Within this article i was able to find a the idea of having this
cult/ audience who believe (as said in the article) “masculinity demands that
we bring up boys to be “real men" which can then lead to youth to be put into
problems when they have gotten older such as Bigorexa. In the article it
states:
There
appears to be a realisation, albeit a slow one, that the cult of masculinity is
a myth. It's a persistent myth and one which for no good reason seems to be
perpetuated by people, regardless of all the evidence against it's existence.
It appears to me that masculinity (like femininity) is a collective illusion.
It's as if we've all taken the same drug and are walking around imagining that
masculinity is real. We might assume it is biological, we might think it comes
from being male or female, but in truth it's nothing more than a cultural
construct.
The
cult of masculinity demands that we bring up boys to be “real men" who
must be trained for a world of (relative) power and privilege. However, if they
fail to attain the goals set for them it is their fault, not the fact that
these expectations were false in the first place. If you do happen to achieve
power and privilege then the expectation is that you will stoically except your
lot and certainly not complain because obviously it's you who are the problem,
not the system.
https://welldoing.org/article/the-myth-of-masculinity:
Overall i find that the majority of the audience may have a suffering
from the term (bigorexa) and from the characteristics of the characters within
this film and this will also have an impact on the more younger audience
who will imitate the same; the older generation are not going to
change their ways however the younger audience are more younger
and are naive; therefore overall they are going to the ones who are going to be
easier to target in a way.
"When analysing male stereotypes, in the
context of gender equality, it is important to recognise that they do not
operate in isolation. Male stereotypes, or masculinities, function ‘… as an aspect of a larger
structure’.[1] This structure is gender. Gender denotes the social phenomenon of distinguishing
males and females based on a set of identity traits. The gendering of the sexes
produces and sustains socially constructed differences.[2] Men and women are constructed to behave and
interact in ways that perpetuate their gendered identities. However, there is a
vital distinction at work here, one that will underpin this essay — the
difference between sex and gender. Although this difference is highly
contentious and widely contested, it will inform the essay’s discussion of
gender equality. Sex and gender are classifications for differentiating between
men and women. Sex, in contrast to gender, refers to the determination made
based upon scientifically accepted biological criteria. The distinction of sex
can be made through the classification of ‘… genitalia at birth or chromosomal
typing before birth"
In my opinion i find that many of these problems
have changed within the 21st century and have moulded the society to form
a well and diverse society that give equity to everyone both male and female.
Furthermore, I believe that masculinity still does has its dominance and
empower them; as female I think that they also have the same form/ duty to be
seen in certain way by the male; therefore is why they have a role to play in
the form of femininity.
Which is why they also have to show power; in addition they can also carry
manly attributes, in contrast men also have a feministic side to themselves
also evidently, this can be seen in films and series as well.
On the other in
the same article it also suggest “equality” and in the article it states “Gender is an organising
principle of social life, and change towards equality will require exceptional
institutional and gender identity reform.[38] Realising gender equality is strongly
weighted on the contribution of males, because ‘… the very gender inequalities
in economic assets, political power, cultural authority, and means of coercion
that gender reform intend to change (ultimately) mean that men control most of
the resources required to implement women’s claims for justice’.[39] In Australia, men make up the
overwhelming majority of key decision-makers. In 2012, women comprised only
26.5% of Federal Parliament, and in the private sector constituted
approximately 10% of company board members and 24.7% of managers.[40] Thus, men are an essential enabler for gender reform. Masculinities and male stereotypes must be studied and deconstructed in order to effect change in how men relate to women.” http://www.e-ir.info/2015/03/29/its-a-mans-world-the-effect-of-traditional-masculinity-on-gender-equality/ overall from these states I suggest that the representation of males is more greatly analyzed than a female is and this is why they are more likely, to be cautious by the way that they are treated in modern society. Although it is still evident that it’s going change and reform.
“Very often it seems clear that they differ a lot. Primarily, they are less real, more perfect and more predictable. In other words, they are stereotyped.
At the same time, males are discouraged from pursuing many positive traits that are perceived as unmanly. These include the ability to feel a range of emotions, including fear, hurt, confusion or despair.
For those who deviate from these and actually show these felling's.”
“These
narrow masculine standards can lead to discrimination against those who deviate
from them. But they can also prevent men themselves from living up to their
full potential as human beings.
Evidently
this can actually be seen within my chosen text-“ therefore those who are
different and part of a niche are demonised of being different to the
mainstream which can put them little out of touch.
“The authors (By Janet T. Spence and Robert L. Helmreichresearch) showing that masculinity and
femininity do not relate negatively to each other, thus supporting a dualistic
rather than a bipolar conception of these two psychological dimensions.”
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