The Gospel of John, a biblical narrative, begins with a prologue that lays the groundwork for the rest of the book. The apostle writes that John learned to curb his “son of thunder” disposition and became a disciple who could write about love and love one another. In more peaceful tribes, a boy’s rite of passage often centers on demonstrating his ability to provide, such as bagging his first antelope. In tribes that frequently engage in warfare, the rites typically involve incorporating into the community.
The concept of manhood and masculinity brings conflict to our modern age, as it is intrinsically linked to resources and manhood. Ancient rites of passage were designed to help young males shape their mature masculine identity. John’s “Rite of Manhood” involves going up to the mountains and starving himself for five days. He asks Bernard if he is married to Lenina because he likes her. Instead, John goes out alone into the wilderness where he contrives his own physical trials to enter adulthood. His self-torture gives him a vision of “Time and…”
John’s suicide is seen as a final act of resistance against the state. He rejects the orgy physically by making himself vomit, setting him on the path of physical self-torture which will result in his suicide. He plans a purification ritual including fasting and whipping himself. When Lenina arrives, John loses his self-control and ends up caught up in a tragic event.
However, this event is depicted more definitely but also indirectly in Mark Wadie’s How a Boy Becomes a Man, which examines the struggle boys encounter in their hero’s journey to manhood. John creates his own initiation rite when denied the initiation rite and introduces himself to Bernard and Lenina while they witness a ritual in which a man is beaten to death.
📹 The African Tribe that Specializes in Manhood Enlargement & Elongation
Watch how this tribe specializes in manhood elongation. Its spiritual and sociological implication.
Why does John want to suffer?
John, a character whose first appearance reveals his desire for suffering, is influenced by his love for Shakespeare and his love for his mother, Linda, who is an outcast in the World State. John’s actions often result in violence and pain, as he believes that suffering is valuable and that he can elevate himself through her love. John’s love for Linda, who is an outcast and does not respect monogamy, is a result of his love for her.
John’s ideas about romance, influenced by his upbringing outside the World State’s culture and his love for Shakespeare, are out of line with the World State characters. He believes that to desire Lenina, he needs to idealize her as something worthy of admiration and worship. However, in reality, Lenina is willing to have sex with him and doesn’t see any reason to resist or make things difficult. If John knew the truth about Lenina’s casual attitudes towards sex, his fantasy about her would collapse, and he wouldn’t be able to desire her anymore.
Why did John bite a woman’s hand when he was a child?
John returns home to find his mother being beaten by the village women. He bites the woman holding the whip, and she slaps him. John asks why the women were hurting her, and she explains that the men she had been with belonged to them. John comforts her, but she lashes out at him. John begs her to stop, and she stops.
Linda drinks mescal and lies in bed in depression for days. John feels the happiest times with her are when she tells him about the Other Place, where everyone was happy and clean. Linda teaches John how to read, and when he becomes good enough, she gives him an instruction book. This is John’s revenge against the taunts of the other boys about his mother.
Linda often couldn’t answer John’s questions because she didn’t have the knowledge to answer them. In the Other Place, only the old men of the village had answers to every question.
Why did John hang himself in Brave New World?
In “Brave New World,” John commits suicide as a result of feelings of guilt and isolation. He devises a purification ritual that includes fasting and whipping as a means of atoning for his role in the world.
Why does John take his own life?
In Brave New World, John takes his own life as a result of his inability to reconcile his actions with his moral code, withdrawing from society to escape the moral contamination of the World State.
Why does John throw up?
John, a man who has been poisoned by civilization, is found in the bathroom throwing up. He explains that he purges himself by eating his wickedness and using mustard and water as a treatment. He asks Mustapha to go to an island, but Mustapha says he cannot because it is necessary to continue with the experiment. John decides to stay in an abandoned lighthouse on a hill outside London, where he spends the first night praying to various gods, including Jesus and Pookong, a war God in Native American mythology.
The next morning, John is unhappy with his surroundings and the view of Hog’s Back, a picturesque geographical formation. He climbs up to the top of the lighthouse tower and looks out at the scenic view, which is slightly marred by seven huge skyscrapers, a reminder of the civilized world. John settles into his new life of seclusion among the beauteous woods, groves, ponds, and flowers, and self-mutilation.
John was given some cash for personal expenses before coming to the lighthouse, but he decides not to eat civilization food even if he is starving. He plants a garden and tries to make himself a bow and arrow for hunting rabbits. He takes great pleasure in the long-term project of carving these tools for himself.
However, John realizes that he is happy. The reason he came to this place was to be miserable and think about his dead mother and the horror of the civilized world. He immediately goes inside to purge himself. Later that day, three Delta-Minuses wander by and see John standing half-naked and whipping himself with a cord of knotted rope. They manage to say “Fordey!” and “Fordey!”, but three days later, the place is swarming with reporters.
John is harmlessly fashioning himself some arrows when a reporter comes up behind him and is all, “Hey! I’m a reporter!” John freaks out and drops a complicated radio contraption, identifying himself as Primo Mellon. He essentially drops the reporter’s “coccyx” (the bone at the base of the spinal column), which refers to the bone at the base of the spinal column.
More people show up at the lighthouse to harass the Savage, and they tell him to take soma, since pain is a delusion that drugs can dissipate. John responds menacingly by advancing menacingly, and everyone decides to keep their safe distances from the crazy man. John shoots at one of the helicopters and punctures the metal, comparing himself to a heroic figure from a Zuñi legend.
In the story, John, a young man, is engrossed in thoughts of his mother, Lenina, who died in the hospital. To distract himself, he jumps into a bush and tries to think about her death. When he can’t stop thinking about Lenina, he whips himself again, shouting “Strumpet!” Meanwhile, big game photographer Darwin Bonaparte is spying on him, hoping to film a comic masterpiece. The movie The Savage of Surrey is released twelve days later, and John becomes famous. He is watched by helicopters, who bring cameras and peanuts to throw at him, as though he were an ape.
When John advances on the spectators with his whip, they waver but continue to chant “We want the whip”. Just then, a helicopter lands, carrying Lenina, accompanied by Henry Foster. She tries to speak to John but is unable to hear her over the ambient noise. Lenina starts crying and stretches her arms out, walking toward him. John, in response to this demonstration of genuine love and concern, calls her a whore and starts beating her with his whip.
The crowd imitates John, singing “orgy-porgy” and “beating one another in six-eight time”. This continues for a while, until midnight, when John passes out, “stupefied by soma” and exhausted by the frenzy of sexuality. The text explains that they are fascinated by pain, want to be unanimous in their actions, and their conditioning makes them want to cooperate.
John wakes up the next morning, suddenly remembering everything and cries “my God!” He puts his hand over his eyes. By the night, papers have recorded the “orgy of atonement” that took place the day before. A swarm of helicopters arrives at the lighthouse, but when the visitors enter looking for “Mr. Savage”, there is no response. However, there is a pair of feet high in the air, attached to John’s dead body, turning slowly and mechanically in the air like two compass needles.
Why does John deliberately punish himself?
John undergoes a process of purification in a lighthouse in London in order to cope with feelings of guilt over the death of Linda and his revulsion at the idea of sexual contact with Lenina.
What does John refuse to do?
Danforth requests that John sign a confession, which will be displayed on the courthouse door, but John declines, citing his personal attachment to his name.
Was Lenina killed by John?
In Brave New World, John, a character who argues for truth and happiness, is forced to engage in an orgy with Lenina, leading to his suicide. The novel’s central theme is the incompatibility of happiness and truth. John, who has argued for truth, succumbs to the temptation of pleasure by participating in the orgy. This ending suggests that the happiness encouraged by the World State’s Controllers is more powerful than the truth John seeks.
However, the novel’s ending also suggests that seeking truth must be a social goal, as it cannot be found by isolated individuals. Another interpretation suggests that John fails in his quest for truth because he is not going about it in the right way. Huxley’s foreword to the 1946 edition of Brave New World describes John retreating from sanity, leading to maniacal self-torture and despairing suicide.
This interpretation suggests that traditional ways of seeking meaning, like religion and art, and the future predicted in Brave New World, do not serve humanity well, and humans must find a third path towards the truth.
In conclusion, the novel’s ending highlights the incompatibility of happiness and truth, as John’s journey towards truth is hindered by the World State’s control over happiness.
Why does John become popular but not Linda?
John, born on a reservation, gains notoriety due to his enigmatic nature and lack of familiarity, whereas Linda, a mother, becomes a subject of interest due to her changing body image and weight fluctuations.
What does John do in Lenina’s quarters?
John, concerned that Bernard and Lenina have departed without him, gains access to Lenina’s cabin, discovers her asleep on the bed, and observes her reciting passages from Romeo and Juliet while he searches through her belongings.
What does John do when he is denied the initiation rite?
John, upon being denied the initiation rite, proceeds to create his own rite, which involves sitting in a seated position facing the moon at the edge of the mesa.
📹 How movies teach manhood | Colin Stokes
When Colin Stokes’ 3-year-old son caught a glimpse of Star Wars, he was instantly obsessed. But what messages did he absorb …
My dad is Haitian, and i experienced a version of this along with my four brothers. It’s a rite of passage that has bonded us forever but not something that I can or even try to explain to people not in the culture bc it would seem “barbaric.”it was hell at the time, but I thank my father now for keeping us connected to our heritage (and for the results). million dollar content. great article
Wow, now I know that the Chinese Ying and the Yeng came from Africa. In fact, the land as to be one big mass before it started splitting apart because all over the world other People’s Cultures are similar to the African Cultures. In life, the Famine and the Masculine matters in a lot of cultures that multiples and keeps the population big and strong just like every Animal Kingdoms.
SOE TV SUBSCRIBED NICE article 2 THINGS 1) NICE MUSIC COULD YOU PUT YOUR BACKGROUND MUSIC IN THE DESCRIPTION. WHAT MUSIC IS PLAYING IN THIS ONE 2)ALSO, THE WORD HERB IS PRONOUNCED ERB WITH NO ‘H’ SOUND, SAME FOR WORDS LIKE SALMON THE L IS SILENT SO SAMON IS THE SOUND, BATHROOM IS AS IT IS NOT BAFF FROOM. KEEP UP THE INTERESTING CONTENT. CONTENT IS KING.
IF SOMEONE TRULY NEW HOW TO DO THAT SAFELY, WITH REAL RESULTS WITHOUT ANY BAD CONSEQUENCES, MAKE AND SELL IT IT WOULD BE ONE THE RICHEST PERSON ON EARTH. NO HUMAN IN ANY TRIBE OR IN ANY LOCATION ON EARTH IS NOT GREEDY AND NOT WILLING TO BE RICH, POWERFUL AND PROSPEROUS. INTERNET IS FULL OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CONVINCE PEOPLE…
Elongation is not neccesary coz God who created and gave us various sizes only knew that it didnt matter.After all by all means it has to go in big or small what matters is how you gonna make it count in the end of the day.Also after all this infacuation is on us men and not women.would we want a size that would just fail to enter😢😊😊
I remember, when I was little girl, I wanted to show my younger brother one Disney movie about princess. And then my grandma came, and she was very angry at me. She said “This cartoon is for girls, not for boys”. And I didn’t understand, it was the good movie, and the main heroine was a good person, why can’t my brother learn something from her? After all, I watched many movies and read many books where the main character was male, and nothing bad happened.
Just want to put it out there Big hero 6 was totally underrated. Male protagonist tries to do the classic go it alone good vs evil, loses his way a multiracial male and female group of friends help him deal with grief and accept support to over come the bad guy. no female love interest just strong female characters
I grew up perusal harry potter. And I really liked Harry n Hermione’s character, especially Hermione. I wanted to be like her, when I was a child back then.. She’s so smart, confident, independent n can befriend with boys very well. And as a child, she motivated me to read more n more, thats why I grew fond of reading books. I think thats a good idea since movie can motivate me to build good habit 🙂
I like how he explains how his daughter likes Glinda and Obi-Wan towards the end. It’s not so much the gender of the main characters when kids watch… I believe it’s so much more than that. Kids are smart and pick up on characteristics, qualities and behaviours–Glinda and Obi-wan were both clever, caring and courageous. Movie nights for children, at least for me in the future, should have a healthy mix of quality movies containing strong characters of both genders. Not only this, parents should also have healthy discussions with the children about what they just saw… there should always be taught media awareness and critical thinking!
As I watched this, I was trying to think of good male role models in my favorite movies and Ashitaka from Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke immediately came to mind. He’s a selfless, humble, and compassionate peacemaker, as well as strong, brave, and a leader. He isn’t afraid to show his emotions of fear or sadness, as he openly cries when he finds out there’s no cure for his curse and that he’s going to die. He doesn’t complain, sulk, or whine about it when he realizes it’s not something he can prevent, but continues to work for a good cause though it pits everyone against him, he won’t personally get anything out of it, and his efforts are unrecognized or mocked- because it’s simply the right thing to do. He helps other people, even saving the lives of total strangers and his enemies who betrayed and tried to kill him, without looking for reward or thanks. When he is thanked, he accepts it humbly and says that it was what anyone would have done. He’s thankful for everything he has and never once complains, even when he loses everything but the clothes on his back and is matter-of-factly told that he’s going to die a slow and painful death. Despite all this, he’s still human and you can see his sadness, fear, and anger throughout the story. I feel pretty grateful that my dad introduced me to this movie and that I had Ashitaka as a role model when I was little. Even now, he continues to be a role model for me, though I’m not a man. He always represented to me what all people should be, not just men.
You should totally let your son watch Gravity falls! It’s one of the best animated shows out there and it teaches the exact lesson, that you talked about and that the other shows and movies fail to teach. (Spoiler alert:) This guy named Dipper falls for a girl, that seems perfect to him, but when she finds out, she rejects him, cause she’s too old for him. Even though she does it in the coolest way possible, Dipper is pretty hurt by that, but in the end he learns how to deal with it and they become friends for life, who can accomplish amazing things together. At the end of the series Dipper tells this powerful line to Gideon – another character who falls for Dipper’s sister, but unlike Dipper he tries to force his way to love. Dipper says ” Gideon listen to me. If I’ve learned anything this summer, it’s that you can’t force someone to love you. The best you can do is try to by someone worthy of loving.”
As a little boy, I would always relate to the disney princesses because I never really related to the boys in movies always fighting and getting the girl, or being tough. I always thought I should be like Belle or Hermione, the one who was into books, or ideas. Now I know it’s not true that I have to be a girl (I’m not questioning my gender), but I bet that’s how some women feel too when they see main male characters, and female characters on screen and feel like the gender stereotype on screen isn’t matching up with theirs in real life…
Miyazaki movies are so fantastic, I love the art. The women and girls are rarely any more feminine looking than the male characters just by the style of the art. It was easy to identify with Sen no matter what your gender is, she’s a kid, and you don’t need her to be male/female or anything. Just a kid trying to save her family and get home and the plot is managable and epic at the same time. Can’t get enough of it <3
my favorite movie is inside out bc it shows how riley “a girl” that has 5 emotions that are portayed as males and females, it didn’t matter and i never looked at the gender, although her parents had their emotions following their genders, that movie was so exceptional and i loved how it didn’t only focus on riley as a girl having only girl emotions, it also opened out eyes on the fact that it doesn’t matter
I wish people started teaching their kids how to be good human beings instead of how to be a “man” or a “woman”. My household is composed of only women and trust me they are all strong and independant, well guess what? None of them shoved inside my head the idea men are evil and in power so I have to fight back, they actually taught me how to be a good human being and care for others regardless of gender.
it’s nit picking but the biggest problem with Brave (which is an amazing story and like i said this is nit picking) is that it seems they felt that the only way you can have strong female characters is to make every male character dumb, goofy, and violent. It just seems like the movie industry can’t or doesn’t want to find a strong middle ground for the problems at hand.
To be honest I’m not a fan of the idea that men should fight the ones who are mean to women. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally into punching in the face anyone who disrespects another person, it’s just that it’s time that everybody defends everybody, men help women and women help men, women help other women and men help other men.
I never felt Star Wars was about “getting” Princess Leia. That feels way off the mark. The themes that always resonated with me were finding purpose larger than yourself, venturing out, encountering various types of new people (men, women, droids, wookies, etc), learning to work together, facing difficulty together, and winning for the greater good. Star Wars is about purpose and mission. The ceremony scene was always about gaining honor to me, gaining honor for aiming at a higher good in your world and succeeding.
Can we step aside for a moment from discussing whether or not Stokes views are right or not to mention how wise his daughter is? Specifically for recognising the importance of the support cast like Glinda and Obiwan, it took me way longer to recognise that. And stepping back into the discussion, they are great characters for reasons outside their gender, for being experienced and wise.
This has got to be the worst take on Princess Leia, the woman who: Smuggled the Death Star plans at the risk of her own life Failed to give up the rebel location/ Death star plans even when under torture (Heavily implied in film from torture droid) Took charge of her own rescue and the most competent member the second she was freed from her cell Coordinated the plan on the Death Star And that’s just ANH, she did not just “Sit around”, you give her far too little credit and take away her value as a strong female role model!
I am a mum of two, a son and daughter and what bugs me is that in a lot of kids films if there’s a tough independent confident women (great role Model) that it makes the guy in the movie become the comic relief, the jokester, almost useless. Seems hard to get the balance! Ever it’s strong boys fighting saving the girl or a strong girl therefore guys r stupid and silly !? Very tricky as a mum…. so we don’t watch much at all 😂 easiest solution
I loved Heidi as a kid. It sounds strange but she was my hero. Being happy, friendly and polite to everyone while discovering the world and having fun with simple things… always battling with her friend Peter he showed her his world – always caring but never looking down on her. Show your kids the series. I still carry the beauty of the story in my heart
I think this guy must have watched a different version of Star Wars than I did, because in the one I watched, Princess Leia was anything but helpless. She was tough, resourceful, courageous, fighting alongside all of the heroic men (and often better than them at it). She withstood torture. She was politically powerful, and instrumental in the success of the Rebellion. She was the one who was carrying the stolen plans for the Death Star. There were other female characters who were leaders in the Rebellion, as well (Mon Mothma, for instance). While the films were very guy-heavy, the heroics were not left to the guys alone.
Avatar the last Air bender not only passes the Bechdel Test but makes it look ridiculous. All of the girls are strong without sacrificing their femininity. The Kyoshi Warriors, for example, are made up of only girls, who with make-up and long dresses have no problem taking on men. Then there are the boys. The main character is Aang, a pacifist, vegetarian, flower-crown-wearing, jewelry making boy. Who learns how to control his emotions, especially when they are riding high. He is in the midst of a 100-year war and refuses to kill anyone. The characters talk about romantic interests, sure, but that is never the main conversation. It gives so many people someone to look up to. It allows you to choose whom to idealize.
When I have kids, I’ll never show Disney movies to them until they are old enough to find them by themselves, I’ll only show them Hayao Miyazaki movies. Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Porco Rosso, Castle In The Sky, Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind, Ponyo, The Wind Rises, and my personal favorite after Chihiro’s movie, Kiki’s Delivery Service. That will show to my son a world in which he has to respect and admire woman’s qualities, strengths and help them in their weakness; my daughter will learn to be strong, but not so that she loses her femininity and dreams in the process. They will see that the wold has bad days, and people sometimes can be horrible to each other and to nature, but love and friendship and understanding can be stronger, teamwork, and qualities like that. They’ll learn to love nature, respect it, and take care of it (It’s such a big theme in most of his movies). But what I find more important, they’ll learn to always keep imaginative and positive, the world is a hard place to live, but you dont have to make it harder. I don’t like most Disney movies, thankfully, Miyazaki has provided enough material to show great female characters, good boy characters, and words of imagination and a degree of realism; maybe some of his movies are a little bit scary, but I also dont want my kids to be in front of a T.V until they have learned enough from having contact with real people, so they’ll be old enough when exposed to those universes.
Can I just say that Star Wars does teach teamwork and cooperation with women? Princess Leia is a leader of the Rebellion along with Mon Mothma. Princess Leia got herself, Luke, Han, and Chewbacca into the trash compactor. She gave Han, Luke, and Chewbacca medals of honor because of their courage and heroism, which is something that is done in our society. Padme from the prequels is a leader who needed some protection like all politicians do, but on Geonosis she was able to get out of her chains and climb up to the top of the pillar so she hopefully would not be killed. Luke does not just go off to join an army and overthrow the government (which is a tyrannical one by the way), he learns to work with Han Solo, who he was skeptical about working with in the beginning. Moral of the story: make sure you actually analyze the story and the characters before you use them to prove a point.
My father did not teach me to “be in a team” that is “lead by women”. He taught me “whoever is better suited for the job should do the job regardless of gender”. He also never used movies or any form of media as reference when he’s raising me cuz it’s FICTION. He only used his experiences & the experiences of other people he knows as reference.
Hoo boy, there is a lot to unpack here. First of all, when you compare Star Wars and Wizard of Oz, yes, I imagine most people would prefer living in Oz than the Star Wars Universe, as the Star Wars Universe is beholden at regular intervals to either a phenomenally corrupt, bloated bureaucracy or a tyrannical dictatorship ruling over the entire galaxy. That is why the fighting needs to happen. You’re comparing two very different movies meant for two very different audiences. Wizard Of Oz is a fairy tale; it’s whimsical and charming with a simple moral at its center. Star Wars is a space opera, an epic. A great evil must be defeated, and as we’re shown by Luke confronting Vader, guess what, sometimes fighting isn’t the answer there, either. Luke’s compassion and forgiveness for his father is what ultimately defeats the Empire; of course, you would know that if you weren’t perusal these movies with a heavy political lens, twisting it to suit your narrative. I pray for your children. You could do damage to both of them if you carry on like this.
More could have been said about men being portrayed as dumb. There’s also general theme of “He should be so lucky to be with her” that I think is worth looking at too. If you watch Frozen, you’ll see it. She’s a high-value woman (which is great. Something we should all strive to be), but what’s he? A “fixer-upper”. This is what we’re teaching boys today. They’re inherently broken, and should be so lucky as to find a woman that can fix them.
That old question that I’ve never seen a conclusive answer to: does media and entertainment drive society’s values or does society’s values drive media and entertainment? There is certainly a relationship there.. some form of feedback loop. I’m just not sure which force is strongest. I think art can put new ideas into one’s mind and invoke feelings into one’s experience. There is nothing wrong with that, that is what it is supposed to do. But can it motivate us to action that we did not already have a predisposition towards? I think the type of art that we choose to feed on says something about us more so than the art itself changing or defining who we are; but I’m just not sure.
I don’t understand why there is so much frustration with the Bechdel Test in the comments section. It’s not a test to determine whether a movie is bad or not, or a movie is sexist or not. It’s just testing simple representation.Someone complained in the comment section that the movie industry shouldn’t have to be forced to pass the Bechdel Test. What? It’s so simple! To pass, the movie would just have to have at least two women, who communicate in some way, and not talk about men….that’s easy! Women make up half the population and some movies can’t even have more than one? Or have the two or more women talk? Or have them discuss something other than men?If it’s an action movie, it would pass the Bechdel test if there were just two women thrown into the masses of men, who talk to each other about the weapons they’ll be using the battle or whatever. BOOM! It passes! Was that really so hard? They could even just be background characters! Who said they need to be main ones?The test only asks that we represent women in media so that the movie doesn’t suggest men reproduce asexual and the women in those movies are more than just breeders.
I don’t know if anyone will be here to read this anymore but let me put this here. The kids show Teen Titans (2003-2006) was a great example of this. The female and male characters were perfectly balanced and both sides saved each other an almost equal number of times. The female characters, StarFire and Raven were opposites, where Starfire was the goofy but strong and respectful, kind and enthusiastic kinda hero and Raven was serious but positive and more like a character which is like ‘there is more than what meets the eye’. Beast Boy was goofy along with Starfire and Robin was serious as the leader and Cyborg was pretty balanced out. I never saw the creators make the girls/woman overly ‘masculine’ but they were unique in their own way. There was this episode, where Raven’s father Trigon appeared and Raven’s powers which came from her father were taken away and Robin had to convince her to not lose hope. Raven atlast defeated him on her own, which is pretty much a rarity in movies. So yeah, pretty sure we need women like these more, because everyone including me loved them.
Luke Skywalker has to rely on his friends and a whole squadron of pilots to save the day. Dorothy just throws a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch without any help from her friends. The way I see it, it is boys who are being told they need to cooperate to succeed and girls who are being told that they are strong, independent and don’t need men.
I have actually told a friend of mine “Men in this male dominated society aren’t all born equal. We are held to high standards as to who we are supposed to be, what we’re supposed to do, and what we need to accomplish.” Men are judged in three criteria; Success, Power, and Usefulness. In fact, a young man is taught (or made to think) his value is based on the size of his pay check (Provider), the size of his muscles (protector), and the size of his penis (pleasurer). Men are worth only as much as whatever skills or resources they possess so that they may be of use to someone else. I’ve noticed how in male hierarchies, the higher up you are on the social ladder, the more freedom or privilege you possess. I originally thought that this was because of less and less supervising agents. However, I feel as if its believed among such circles that this person has “earned” this “privilege”. Consequently, this also means that the lower you are on the social hiararchy, the more rules you have to follow and the greater consequences held over your head. This basically tells me that while boys are taught morals, morals basically come second to success, and that the more successful (or popular) you are the less moral you’re allowed to be. This creates the “I can do whatever I want” mentality. There are certain consequences to the “usefulness” standards men are held to. The first is competition. MEN HAVE TO COMPETE WITH OTHER MEN! In some areas, competition is potentially a healthy aspect of male culture.
this dude: we should put women in important roles in media, and also focus on men whose characters revolve around more things than violence and empty heroism half of people in the comments: look at this piece of propaganda-spouting SJW garbage I’ll say I don’t necessarily agree with everything he said. The Bechdel Test, for example (as a few have pointed out), is not a be-all-end-all way to look at cinema. A movie that “fails” it is not necessarily a bad movie, and one that passes is not necessarily a good, or “feminist” movie. But I do see a few of his other point.
We are egocentric, we love to be perceived as these mighty and strong willed heroes. Modern movies provide a concept of superiority portraid through leadership and bravery in individual characters. A concept of importance in a movie is impossible because you cannot equally distribute importance, therd will always be a disbalance.
“What do these characters (Obi-Wan Kenobi and Glinda) have in common, apart from the way they dress?” 1. They both are magic users. 2. They both lie. 3. They both get an uninvolved naïve character to defeat their enemy for them. 4. They both refuse to help said character get home at first, sending them off to see someone else rather.
I like that he talked about one of my favorite movies of all time, Spirited Away, but the way he talked about another favorite of mine, Star Wars, kind of irks me. Has he watched the original trilogy? If he’d seen Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, he’d know there’s more to it than killing the bad guy and getting the princess. Return of the Jedi is one of my favorite movies mostly because of it’s ending, when Luke chooses to forgive Darth Vader rather than kill him. He didn’t save the day with violence, he did it with faith, forgiveness and understanding.
This is why I always loved Teen Wolf’s main character and leader of the group Scott McCall. He always advocated for friendship, empathy and understanding towards others over violence, being the last source if it was meant to protect the ones he loved and cared about. I admired him the most of all characters, often being kind and trying to comunicate even with his enemies to reach agreements. Such a great leadership and role model, honestly a really good portrait of masculinity especially for teenagers as a teenage TV show
i know this ted talk is older, but since it was made i feel like steven universe has become a great example of a show with the ideals he’s referring to. the show is mostly featuring female characters (all of which have distinct personalities, motivations, and vary in appearance), and the main character is a 13 year old boy who is portrayed as sensitive, caring, and respectful. he uses the power of love (inherited from his mother) to face baddies and his “weapon” is a sword. he is associated with the color pink and other previously associated symbols of femininity and softness. even steven’s dad isn’t violent in any way. he sings and plays guitar with his son and nourishes him emotionally without pushing him to be “tougher”. steven is strong and protects people without being violent or seeking “rewards” from female characters. he’s a great example for young boys.
Dorthy didnt defeat the wicked witch just with friendship. She got kidnapped, cried about it, and ended up beating the witch entirely by accident in a blind panic while trying to put out the scarecrow whom the witch had set on fire. She completely lucked into her victory. So really the lessons of the wizard of oz are, besides “what you need is inside you already” are “friendship is good” and “everything will be ok if you panic”. Dorothy did not wet out to defeat evil. She was hoping to avoid it entirely in her way home. And when she was faced with evil, she bear it by sheer luck. Conversely, luke skywalker recognized the evil in the universe yet still saw the good in the man he came to learn was his father, and actively set out to defeat evil, full well knowing the danger. He didnt stay to a tiny guided path that was supposed to keep him safe. He went headlong into danger after honing his skills. Luke is a much better hero than dorothy
In response to some of the commenters I’ve seen: I don’t think this man is neglecting his personal responsibility as a parent to teach his son values…that’s not what he said. He said, essentially, fathers need to raise their sons to appreciate women, treat them with respect, stand up for women (when women can’t, which does happen in the real world sometimes), join a team of women, and show their sons good stories. He’s saying that the lessons you learn from the stories you’re told as a child can have an effect on you…he’s saying it’s a shame most movies “meant for boys” are all about violence and winning the girl. He’s saying maybe it would INFLUENCE boys to think beyond this line of reason, if their childhood heroes did as well. He’s not saying that boys cannot have female role models (however it’s natural to cling to people who look like you at an early age). He’s not saying movies make you who you are. He’s simply saying boys should have better male role models and messages given to them at a young age. And I couldn’t agree more, honestly.
We need more real characters. It doesn’t matter if they’re male or female. In the new Star Wars, Rey is a non-character who defeats everyone and has no flaws. That’s no positive message for girls and she is an awful character. On the contrary shows like The Legend of Korra and The 100 have strong female characters who have flaws and seem like real people. Those are the roles which girls can look up to and that anyone despite their genre can enjoy.
I agree with the point but I also think that positive male main characters, who show emotions and passion for the circumstances around them, are also great role models that don’t get much attention if they exist. I think that by fulfilling what this article said and also making the boys know that being weak and emotional when you are at your lowest is okay would be a great model for the next generation. They need to have meaningful friendships where they can tell each other how they feel and vent. They are still human, not unfeeling virility caskets.
Colin Stokes has some great insight here. I don’t have children yet, but why do I feel many parents have raised children on auto-pilot? “Let the TV babysit the kid”. Yes, Hollywood is very unbalanced, but yet, I ask, why are children seeking role models in movies? And/or for morals? …I personally grew up on Star Wars (original) and was a latch-key kid. And I can see where there can be an influence. …We live in a very insecure society, an insecure nation, and when we don’t recognize this and remedy it (education), then we will see another generation of kids, young adults not knowing what to do, or discern their roles in it. And we will see more troubles. …Our insecurity and fear (xenophobia) must understood and eradicated.
Its been incredible to see in the last 7 years since this talk first came out how many TV shows and movies have blown through the Bechdel Test with flying colours and continue to prove the female heros cam carry a show or movie just as well as a male lead. Weve come so far and still have so far to go
Regardless of the validity of the equality message he’s trying to convey, his argument is based off of the idea that a movie’s primary purpose is to teach lessons. This idea may often be correct when talking about “kid’s movies” but his primary example is Star Wars, which was never meant to be a movie just for kids. You can find moral (or perhaps, not so moral) lessons in Star Wars, as you can with any movie, but the primary purpose of the movie is just to be entertaining. If you are so concerned with the possibility that Star Wars will negatively influence your children, then don’t let your children watch Star Wars (or any movie you’re concerned with) until they are old enough to interpret the ideas for themselves.
Comments section of Youtube proved many times that a lot of people have a hard time experiencing the grey area. They can only think in black or white. So I wanna thank and encourage the other people, the ones trying to build a better world by teaching the others that when someone says “People mostly use their right hand in everyday life”, it is slightly different from “Cut your left hand it’s totally useless”. Take your time, listen twice, you may think twice et write something different. Just try.
He made a good point about these movie’s and TV show’s. It’s like we have very little role models for growing children inside and outside of film. It does feel as if we are preparing young girls but, not young boys? I definitely get what he’s saying and I love it. I just wish I could explain what I mean better.
Has anyone done a statistic on how many men are villains compared to women? Their gender compared to the rest of the cast in the movie? Their action that they take that’s deemed to be antagonistic, and compare that to similar movies? Protagonists aren’t the only people in the movie, and that might lead to why things are how they are now. I feel like many times, women are portrayed as “pure” and “only capable of good,” which leaves, you guessed it, men to be villains. Of course, there are movies with women as villains, but when women are villains, they can be seen as strong, knowing what they want, and capable of voicing their own thought. When men are villains, it’s because “oh, men are power hungry” or “men have an inherent evil,” and that’s the issue with today’s movies, people think that when it comes to villainy and gender, only one is nurture, and the other one is nature. I’ll leave you to find out who is who.
From the thumbnail I thought he was gonna talk about positive male role models in Disney movies like the dad from Brave or the thief in Tangled who both have growth as people and have positive masculine traits. Kind of disappointed that he instead tried picking on Princess Leia from Starwars (bad choice btw she’s a boss) as an example of “bad societal stereotypes” that boys shouldn’t be exposed to.
His daughter saw the wizard of oz at a young age and he celebrated her imagination and the movie itself. But when his son saw starwars at a young age, suddenly he questions what could be internalized and the serious ramifications a movie could have on ones developing psyche. I find the double standard lame and it undermines some of his points that I actually agree with. Way too much of this talk was focused on glorifying femininity and projecting their traditional values onto manhood, when femininity and masculinity are different; even across cultures people recognize that. Both sexes have wonderful traits and it is certainly possible and should be encouraged that they learn and grow from/with one another. Togetherness is imperative in this endeavor; taking ideal traits of one group and slapping them on another is not helping to celebrate how they are independently strong and different. This lecturer espouses that only enemies of women are worth fighting, that physicality should be devalued, and that overtly feminine traits are celebrated while traditionally masculine traits are problematic and indicative of/perpetuating the patriarchy.
A lot of hot air in this one. He makes a lot of leaps of logic, and offers rigid baseless solutions. As someone else said, teach your children to value and respect others. Regardless of gender. I don’t teach my kids to always look to join a team, but to look for the best solution to the problem, regardless of the path that takes them on.
Of course this in no way justifies the lack of female protagonists, but people should consider that the vast vast majority of directors are male. The popular female directors (Sophia Coppola, Jane Campion, Kathryn Bigelow) have prominent female protagonist, so perhaps there are more facets to the situation than presented here. Directors/writers often project themselves into films, and they will visualize their gender more often when typifying themselves. Again, this is not meant to cover the whole problem, but merely to add a perspective. The industry needs more women writers/directors.
As a filmmaker & humanist I completely disagree. Filmmakers should not cater to parents. If a parent doesn’t like the content of a film then they should NOT show it to their kids. There is NOTHING WRONG with star wars and with masculinity. Men and women are biologically different—we should celebrate those differences, instead of making everything safe & condoning the suppression boys natural urge to play (action figures, wrestling, e.g.). Suppressing girls femininity is just as ludicrous too. Censorship is stupid, you can’t censor ideas. Again it’s the parent’s job to define what the child is exposed to, not artists, nor the media.
The moment he said princess Leia was a typical female role, he lost all credibility. First of all, she stole the secret plans to the death star which started this ordeal. Only a few scenes into the movie and she kills a stormtrooper that didn’t have lethal intentions. (stone cold bad assness rivaled only by Han). Later when the men come to rescue her, they immediately get pinned down by enemy fire. Was it Luke who saved them? Nope. Han? Nope. It was Leia who had to show the group the way out. And even then, the men were too chicken to leap into a garbage pile, the whole way criticizing them for their incompetence . Fast forward to ep. 5 and we could see she has become a military figure who gives the plan of attack before the battle of hoth. The developing relationship between Leia and Han throughout the movie isn’t about a woman falling head over heels for a man and seeking his approval. In fact its the opposite. Its about the cold and distant smuggler who only saved for the money, falling far a high class, powerful woman, and trying to win her approval. Fast forward to ep. 6 and she has orchestrated a plan to rescue Han. She disguises herself as a bounty, saves Han, and kills jabba the hut, a task proven most difficult for Solo. Okay, I won’t deny the fact that there are women can be depicted as weak in cinema, but this guy has a criminally biased view. I bet he watched star wars and thought “wow, men save a princess? How typical.” he only saw that. He didn’t see that she was a bad pass prisoner of war blasting fools throughout the series.
I understand his point entirely: he is concerned that the values that are usually associated with “male roles” are not exactly what he believes to be progressive for society. However, his belief that fighting is not necessary is unrealistic and overly idealistic–this is not saying that fighting is ever pretty, but throughout time, and in certain present-day situations, fighting is necessary. It is biological, evolutionary, for a species to be capable of violence, to be capable of fighting and protecting itself–it is the act of survival, of triumph. If we are to promote overly idealistic moralities, you will find that the diversity of the world will prove that not everyone will follow these virtues–those that do not will be free to break your “laws” and kill your family; dropping bombs, firing weapons, and raping women. Welcome to reality–to change it we must first accept it for all that it is. Maybe some day we can overcome our own nature but as of now we must see with open eyes. I talk about such topics that help us grow–I am going down a path that I will never reverse. I want to grow stronger, better, and smarter with each day. I know I will die walking this path but I would not have it any other way. Give me the chance, I will not let you down. That is all, no more no less. Good day to everyone:)
Kinda fudged the Bechdel test criteria. It’s 1. there are two women with NAMES that 2. talk to each other 3. about something other than a man or boy (it’s not relevant whether they both like him). Edit: And the point of the Bechdel test is that it’s a disturbingly low standard that most movies don’t meet. Passing the Bechdel test doesn’t mean that a movie has a good message or is feminist or empower or anything like that.
This is why I love Studio Ghibli, pretty much all of their movies are anti-war themes and they’re cartoons that aren’t made out to be strictly “boy or girl movies.” They have strong female characters and compassionate male characters (Howl’s Moving Castle, The Secret of Arrietty) who work together for their goal.
My brother is my favourite person in the world and a large reason for that is because of the mutualy respectful and understanding relationship we have. Idk what went on while he was growing up but whatever it was, it made him respect and treat others (including women) like human beings. It shouldn’t have to be something new and exciting to dwell on but unfortunately it is in today’s society :/.
If you watch a show like Ozark, you will realize that men think like Marty in how we will do everything we need to to get the best for his family, while Wendy goes above and beyond to protect her family. The same goes for Breaking Bad. Walter does what it takes to give the best to his family while Skyler does everything to protect her family. The best shows out there show characters in the real way we are as humans, without trying to teach a message and just letting everyone relate to the man and woman they represent
“A real man is someone who trusts his sisters and respects them and wants to be on their team and stands up against the real bad guys, who are the men who abuse the women.” Bad guys are defined as the “men” who abuse the women. What about the other way round? Why aren’t women who misbehave to men not considered as bad guys. Is it because it is bad “guys”? Why are we denying the possibility of bad “girls”? 🤔
Manhood isn’t about being masculine,badass,confident,and getting women. Its about being able to get up no matter how hard life hits,it’s about being able and want to stand up for the weak,it’s about being able to inspire and lead,it’s about building the people around you up instead of tearing them down,it’s about looking fear,death and darkness in the eye,it’s about being able to be a beacon of light for your loved ones during dark times,about sitting alone and reflecting on your mistakes so that you will never do them again and instead make things better for you and those you care for.
Villains in stories aren’t just “bad people,” they are a personification of the main character’s struggle or weakness. That concept is more relatable to the modern person than vanquishing a foe. Some of the concepts have been the struggle of rejection, the struggle of making sense of trauma, the earning of one’s place in society, the journey of responsibility. Even in brave, sure there was a “bad guy” (the selfish prince turned to a bear), but his existence wasn’t to have something for the girl to slay, but lived in the story as an example of what life can become without mending broken bonds with those closest to you. Villains provide living obstacles for the main character and that message doesn’t seem to be getting across. There’s more emphasis on the conflict and reward, as noted by Colin here. So maybe more stories such as Coco, Inside Out and Soul.
There are a lot of mediums in the entertainment media that are carried out by men designed to be like these hyper masculine kind of guys and they even show that it has much more benefits than just being yourself. That’s also why a lot of men are inauthentic with themselves, they want to be this kind of cartoonish hollywood james bond kinda alpha, that they don’t even know that they are subconsciously turning to beta. Also a lot of movies, or series usually shows that their male protagonists can win their favorite girl’s heart by being over clingy, clingy is fine if it is your authentic self but movies should show what us guys should actually do on these kinds of real life situations. Some of my buddies, when they are about to get into this “friendzone stage”, they’re trying their best to chase women like how guys tryna chase women in movies to have what they want. I also finally think, that what movies should teach onto guys, is that women are not toys for possession, if you have a girl right now, don’t think that you own her, the reason why you’re together is because both of you love each other, not because she is like your slave or whatsoever, I think this is one of the serious problems that influence male kids into becoming those guys assaults women sexually, or if not, just guys whom have thousands of girls at the same time in one go.
@5:48 Yeah let’s just ignore the fact that the Incredibles was a movie about a family which contained both a mother and a teenage girl who were just as important as the males. Just put the son up there as the lead character even though he had the least screen time. I agree with most of what he says here, but don’t bullshit your audience like that.
3:03 yeah, Leia who is just “waiting around through most of the movies so that she can award the hero with a medal and a wink”? if only Leia was a strong leader who can stand on her own; imagine if she had the guts to stand up to the empire and lead Alderaan in the rebellion based on make her own decisions. If only she was smart, intuitive and brave enough to stand against Darth Vader… Leia is not a weak character (yeah, character not female character)
Princess Leia, a politician/general who fights her way outside of the Deathstar alongside Han, Chewie and Luke. Who resisted terrible torture and did not break after sacrificing herself for the good of the galaxy far far away. Who commands an army alongside Mon Mothma. But yeah, she’s only waiting while all the important stuff happens around her. Does that guy even realize what nonsense he’s telling people? Leia also held a rather important role and underwent growth in the extended universe.
Actually I think the Kung Fu Panda movies are great for our childrens to learn. It may have an male protagonist and most of the characters, including the wise old leader, as well as the villians are male. But I think the way Po acts is something boys and girls can both learn from. In the first one Po is not good at Kung Fu at the beginning. He totally sucks at it. But that doesnt stop him from going on. He doesnt give up on his way just because he faces difficulties. In the second one he learns about his past and that the villian probably killed of his whole family, yet he does not turn to hate or revenge. He overcomes the pain and goes back, not to kill the villian, but to safe his friends and even offers the villian to overcome his pain the same way as he did. One other thing I want to mention is the way that Hollywood seems to picture female protagonists lately. They are often showed as perfect and flawless. I think that this is a bad thing to do. It first seems to be good, to show women as strong and invincible. But by depicting women like this, these films also send girls the messages, that they are not allowed to show weakness or make mistakes, which is human for both boys and girls. A good movie should have male and female characters who have weaknesses from which they can learn to make their way. Like ATLA, a great show with a lot of wise words we all can learn from.
I’m not being funny, but why can’t boys use women as female role models? Like when a female became the Doctor there was this big thing where “oh no! Boys have lost a role model!!” Well number one, that male role model is still there because what the doctor stands for shouldn’t change because of the gender and number two, you can still use the male doctors if it concerns you that much. If we show boys and girls from when they’re little that “hey, doing what this person does, whether or not they’re the same gender as you, is the right thing. It doesn’t matter the gender” then maybe films would change or at least attitudes.
This article is far to blunt to make a meaningful point. i agree that there should be more girls in movies, but i dont think they should be scantily clad dainty type girls. Starship troopers would have passed the bectal test, and it took away traditional gender roles of our current society without a bringing it up. the closest that movie came to bringing up gender roles was in the shower scene, where the short haired girl said’ I joined up to get a license to have a baby.’ and thet was just a motivation. She went to war to be a mom. I don’t want marry sues or supermen in my movies. i want strong men and women fighting for common goals, wether it be socially or violently, were they don’t hook up in the end. One of the strongest women i met ever was in the military with me, and she was diminutive in stature she just knew what she was doing and took the lead when there were no leaders. long story short strength is in leadership not sensitivity or violence we need men and women on equal footing working together, not tearing one an other down. Hey have a good day,i know my comment is a few years late but i hope it’s not wasted.
“If Wizard of OZ was made today…” I don’t think he saw the Return to Oz movie from the 80s. Nightmare fuel. 5:00 You’ve lost it dude. 9:12 Wrong, according to RAINN it is a small percentage of REPEAT offenders that make up the majority of sexual assaulters. “Privilege of raising a daughter? What? I don’t think he understands what privilege means. He is making some tenuous connections here. Maybe he needs to watch Star Wars again, Luke WAS part of a team. He didn’t free Leia alone and he didn’t attack the death star alone. That tends to happen in the military. This guy is a simp.
Lost a subscriber. He seemed to be all one side, he never pointed out how many times Leia saved the “male heroes” from death. He also didn’t seem to want to think his daughter has her own mind and likes those characters for her own reasons. He also didn’t give examples for both sides. Let your daughter watch Domino, UNDERWORLD, wanted, FLCL, Fifth Element, Tank Girl, Leon (the professional), want me to go on with the list of movies with AWESOME female leads/role models.
My ultimate favorite Disney movie is The Hunchback of Notredame, I believe is extremely underrated it shows complex characters and ideas and one of my favorite thing about it is showing people can be like two things strong and feminine she’s a dancer and a fighter I think I saw myself a lot in her also love how she relates to other characters in friendship and love interests
I see the point that he is trying to make. I have a problem with the misleading title. He is totally focused on protecting and raising his daughter. But he has virtually nothing good to say about raising his son. As if being born male is to be born a violent animal unless massive intervention is piled on him. Do you want to know how to raise a boy to manhood? It’s not the movies they watch: it’s the man he sees as dad. Be the man you want your son to be.
Good ideas but not a great argument as a whole. The Bechdel Test should not be used to interpret whether a film is sexist or even if a film is feminist. It’s merely mean to raise an awareness of under-representation however it is a simplistic test in nature. For example the film Mulan has a female protagonist however it fails the test. However Mulan is in it’s nature could be viewed as feminist in theme, it’s about a woman who proves she’s just as strong as a man and constantly outsmarts men throughout the film. Also on the basis of the bechdel test the film Argo would actually pass, there is 2 named female characters and female characters in the film do have conversations that are not exclusively about men or a man. I think he perhaps is applying a modified bechdel test with additional criteria if he considers the film to have failed. But the point is that it doesn’t matter, it’s more about how systematically that films ignore female perspectives even if they has been progress in the industry and for example how females do dominate the romance genre for example. But seriously does he believe that films are in some way linked to sexual assault against women? That would be like saying under-representation of black people in films leads to higher incidents of race-crime committed by white people against the black community or should we come to the conclusion that black-people will commit less race-crime against white-people because they are over-represented in film? It’s a provocative statement but lacks any credibility and really the argument starts to fall part at its seams.
The thing is though, at a certain point, if we haven’t reached that point yet, it becomes so increasingly hard to become “politically correct”. You gotta have X number of ethnicities/genders/age in a fictional setting, you gotta have these X number of interactions that has to happen between these ethnicities/genders/age. I don’t believe that’s what fiction should be. You’re, in fact, restricting creativity by implying certain criteria and requirements should be met for the sake of one reason, which I assume caters to role modelling purposes, or something about feminism. I mean, yes, stereotypes exist, gender roles exist. I’m not one to go against this lecture and say it’s not a good thing to raise awareness on these subjects. But if we’re talking about fiction and creativity, we shouldn’t really give out the message that this certain scale is that important, and that fictions should strive to match that scale. Some movies doesn’t need this criticism because, for example, having two women talk in a movie that’s not about boys is completely irrelevant to the overarching themes of the movie. The example about Argos stood out to me, because when I viewed it, I didn’t really see any problems there, nor do I find it especially relevant that certain conversations didn’t happen between two women in the context of the themes of the movie.
I find interesting how nowdays hollywood is teaching girls and boys how the only way to be ”cool” is to be extremely masculine, if you really think about it, nothing has changed since the 70’s, the main character has masculine traits and comports like a really masculine man, while the feminine figure can’t be found anywhere, if you wanna watch a strong feminine leader in a movie you have to dig extremely hard and probably the movie you find isn’t well known at all.
I think that the heart of a man will always love movies with a fight or where there is a conflict or a struggle to overcome obviously being the hero for his woman as this is the nature of man, not saying that there aren’t some badass dames out there, but I honestly hate how there is this phantom idea that traditional roles of masculine and feminine are enforced on us and influence us from birth. If you take a baby girl and boy, remove them from society, im 100% sure the male will act masculine and the woman feminine. Anyway, anyone else remember Trinity from the matrix, what a beautiful, strong woman. Also, yeah movies really shouldnt be used as a parenting tool.. lol.
I don’t like feminism because of how unchecked it has become especially in films, they’re all just carbon copies of one another and it’s really tiring. But one “feminist” character I do appreciate is Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games Trilogy. Sure, she has that stereotype of being that “badass girl,” but she has deeper layers. She lives in oppression, she doesn’t want to kill, but is rather forced to, she is willing to stand up against evil, which is a great lesson to teach kids, and her family means more to her than anything. I think she’s a rare example of a good strong, modern female in film
I agree with what he sees as a problem, in some respects, but I hate his solution. Feminism has ensured that what it means to be a woman in the modern world is very much up to date, but what it means to be a “man” is rather outdated. With all the attention on women and their plight, their ascent, their equalization…The idea of what it means to be a man in the modern era hasn’t been given much attention. Boys grow up in schools with teachers asking why they can’t behave as well as the girls and now we’re going to point to female role models and say “be like this”? Now, I don’t mean to imply that female role models shouldn’t be viable role models for boys, but I think it’d be beneficial to reevaluate what a male role model should be and what it means to be the best man you can be in today’s world.
I helped a child with his homework two times a week (two hours in total) and he would ask me questions sometimes and we would talk about movies and books. It became obvious that he didn’t pick up the important and moral parts of the stories, I realized fast that children need to have it almost spelled out for them what is important and good, and what is not. In a movie, there i so much happening, so the moral must be in the main focus throughout the whole movie. Like in The Wizard of Oz where gaining GOOD friends was the focus of the entire thing.
I dunno about this talk. Granted this was done nearly 7 years ago from when I’m posting this… but he seems to be all over the place. He seems to be pushing for more focus on females and what not. And in 2019 I simply don’t agree with this. I feel like boys are being way left behind in pretty much everything these days. And I fear what kind of future this will give us. And I say this as a father of all girls too.
Isn’t star wars a story about few people fighting their hardest for everyone’s good, for justice, and overcoming huge oppressing system? As well as making trusty friends who will not leave your side, and going through the psychological development of slaying your father. And seeing that even “objective evil” can have emotions and good in them, do the right thing in the end. One of the characters is a boy who was nothing but a slave but rose above his place. Another was a slave who rose above his place, came back to free his mother, failed as a father, but tried to make up for it in the end. The whole trilogy was essentially working out the relationships of kids and their parents. One character was a sleazy smuggler who always thought about themself but found a greater cause for doing good and being altruistic. One character became a respected ruler of people who people loved and trusted. The kid probably sees cool lightsabers that go woosh. And his father who is kind. I don’t think we watched the same movie when we watched star wars. I’ve watched both kind of movies, but I claim neither movies are bad for kids. I guess both have political agendas, can’t vouch for either in that. I guess it depends on your values, which you want to paint harmful for the development of a person. If you really want to find villains. Interestingly enough boys build friendships over mutual interest in doing good and challenges they face, they create bonds with people who have the same direction or help them to change the world for better.
I think that most of the people in this comment section either 1.didn’t understand the message 2.don’t understand what is going on in society nowadays 3.didn’t understand a lot of parts 4.don’t like knowing that they are wrong 5.don’t understand that everything you watch, expecially at a young age, has an impact on you and you will take and learn something for that, either you or your parents want it or not Or 6.are kinda stupid Also, patriarchy is an actual thing that reflects in society and has consequences, and you dening it will not make it dissapear or not exit, sorry to tell you.
So it’s bad when girls revolve around men in media. But in real goshdarn life the way you judge how good a man someone is, is by how much they are good to woman and rely on them??? Teach everyone to be nice to everyone and to pick leaders based on competence. He had some good points but that one is very hypocritical.
Sarah Connor. Best female role model ever. Leader, teacher, mother, soldier when she has to be, student, lover, makes mistakes, is vulnerable but also strong, clear values, sticks to her beliefs, gets the job done, works as part of a team to achieve a greater vision. A lifetime of service and teaching, a job put on her that she didn’t want or ask for but delivered upon. Enough said.
Just a reminder that feminism means EQYALITY between the sexes and not WOMEN FIRST. Also, don’t blame directors of movies like UP for not including main female characters. Jesus. Blame them for including sexist or racist messages in it, not because it happens the main characters to be men. ( I am woman btw )
You know what, I’ll just show my kids all the cartoons I grew up with. All the Disney (classics and recent, no discrimination), Studio Ghibli, Pixar, and every movie possible that brings a positive message. And then I’ll help them discover that you can have a male or female role model that shows a strong passion for whatever they believe in, whether it be a belief in family, friends, saving or bringing a positive change to the world. I’ll help them learn that gender equality does matter, but it also matters to love yourself as well, to bring yourself up and those you care about. In the end, it’s not only about which gender is the lead, but it’s also about influencing boys and girls to stand up for what’s right and to have the people that will support and help you in your circle.
The claim that Oz is good where Star Wars is bad is pretty ludicrous especially considering that both movies involve somebody plucked off a farm who then help lead a group to overthrow an evil tyrant oppressing the free peoples of their world with an army. Otherwise I think Colin has forgotten that The Wizard of Oz was a book before it was a film and part of a pretty messed up series. Yeah, Colin’s daughter may have loved the Wizard of Oz but I doubt Colin even bothered to show his kids Return to Oz.