Masculine Stereotypes In The Film Tyler Durden

Stereotypes in media have been around since the earliest cartoons were drawn. The media gives supposedly identifying traits with images of the stingy Jewish man, the single Hispanic woman cleaning homes to raise her three children, and the “butch” lesbian falling for the beautiful blonde who just happens to glance at her every day in the hallway. These portrayals make up general knowledge about minorities for a lot of people, but their accuracy is questionable at best. While production companies have been making strides towards the better, insufficient representation in the media tends to portray minorities as their negative stereotypes rather than as people.

In the documentary Boys State, filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine capture the week-long process of 2018 Texas Boys State, where 1000 seventeen-year-old boys gather and run a mock political election. Moss and McBaine make several rhetorical choices throughout the film to cultivate a humorous, suspenseful, and at times shocking story. The directors appeal to pathos, use individual interviews with the candidates, and implement unique camera angles to show multiple perspectives. Moss and McBaine apply pathos, especially when telling Steven Garza’s story, to elicit empathy from the audience and introduce an emotional angle to the largely factual scope of politics. Garza, a candidate with liberal views who runs for governor with the Nationalist

When indisputable evidence is presented, would time be spent to double check this evidence? Especially when the fate of another’s life is in your hands? During that choice would stereotypes and prejudices be placed aside in order to choose that fate? The answer can be drawn from within Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose as it entertains while teaching lessons that one day could change the fate of a total stranger as the drama and the need for justice increases within the play.

Throughout the movie it shows many different obstacles Tre had faced, trying to grow up to be successful, meet his fathers expectations, and to also avoid the peer pressure from Doughboy and Chris to be more involved in the gang related happenings with Doughboy's crew. In this environment gangs played a huge role, this being another stereotype and relating back to the article from Dr.Nerdlove "The Selling of Masculinity", Dr.Nerdlove makes a point of saying, "All male life is a struggle of dominance of others." Which is perfectly depicted in this movie. Gang killings is a good example of how men thought it was essential to kill and make sure that they were not to be messed with.

Drama, often defined as the visual form of literature, can be seen as a mix of both realistic and unrealistic elements. Through drama, playwrights can develop plays that reflect our society and societal issues, consolidating different aspects of the real world to indirectly communicate with the audience. Reginald Rose's 1954 play, the 'Twelve Angry Men' is an excellent example of this, with recurring themes of racial bias, discrimination and social inequality woven deep into the plot, allowing him to convey his messages accurately and indirectly to the reader. The 12 conflicting titular characters each represent different ideologies and perspectives, which can greatly reflect how they react towards the situation faced.

The film talks about how it is more socially acceptable to use substances such as alcohol and drugs than it is to not use them. It is common for men to take risks even when they are uncomfortable because they want to be accepted by their peers and friends. It is so important to be accepted that men are more likely to do things they know are wrong, but feel obligated to do them anyway because of the pressure society puts on men to be “manly”. The movies men watch are filled with the brave, masculine risk-takers that are athletic and have the ideal body types. Men feel the need to be those types of men, which are not afraid of anything and take risks.

In the film Aliens, female masculinity is portrayed extensively with both characters Ripley and Vasquez. Ripley, at the beginning of Aliens is more feminine than she is later in the film because at this point in the film, Ripley is just a survivor suffering from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). She comes across intuitive and empathetic to the Marines when she first meets them because she is more focused about avenging her crew mates deaths and taking out these aliens once and for all. “Following the intrusive body narrative of Alien, Aliens opens the possibility that Ripley’s motivation is not simply facing her inner demons, but rather avenging a rape, albeit a symbolic one.” (Gallardo-C. & Smith, 2004: 75)

Mad Men Mad Men, a television drama from Matthew Weiner, takes place in the world of advertising during a time where smoking is natural and where segregation defines African-Americans as ‘the help’. While these social issues are used to locate the show within this specific time, the 1960s was a strange and foreign time when the environment in which social interaction was defined by an entirely different set of rules. This television show takes place at Sterling Cooper agency and the main characters are Betty, Draper, Peggy, and Dom. The series presents two women, in particular, who find themselves intertwined with this fast-moving world dominated by male figures.

Similar to Sapolsky, Katz argues that the media teaches men from a young age to be tough, aggressive, and not to show emotional vulnerability. This is what he calls the “tough guise” or the artificial definition of manhood that forces men to conform to society’s expectations by being “tough” and powerful and hiding their emotions. In the beginning of the film Katz shows interviews with various young males where he asks what it means to be a man, and all of them provide an answer referring to strength, such as “powerful,” “intimidating,” “strong,” and of course, “tough.” When asked what a male is called when they fail to live up to these expectations, the young men replied, “wuss,” “fag,” or “sissy.” Katz points out that this just one of numerous methods that society uses to contain young men in this “tough guise” box, using insults to drive them to perform the way they believe a man should.

However, despite being “unsure of their futures, with nowhere to direct their anger and no one to assuage their fears” (GEN X – SITE SOURCE), the characteristic of Generation X which really draws parallels to Palahniuk’s novel is the high divorce rate of the time. The impact of an influential feminized society is yet again bolstered by the norm of a woman being in complete control as a result of fathers leaving the household. In the novel, Jack mentions his absent father, and thus begins seeing a father figure in Tyler after having lacked strong male models whilst growing up. To the cohort of members in Fight Club feeling effeminate as a result, Tyler concludes that they are a “generation of men raised by women” (PAGE), further nourishing the men’s desire to fight and express their wrath to regain their identities. Due to their upbringing, the men in Fight Club lack a masculine portrayal, and hence idealize Tyler as the sole example of what masculinity should be.

Today, many of our perceptions are deceived by systemic stereotypes, often fogging our own ability understand ourselves. This is what suppresses the main character, and a group of other members, in David Fincher’s Fight Club. In the film, both male and female characters are stereotypical and overly sexualized. The film is extremely generalized and Fincher accomplishes this by presenting the characters with no desire to come against the reality of gender norms. The conventions that are held as a standard in the film are the orthodox characteristics of how men are supposed to appear.

Imagine this, you are on jury for murder. If convicted, you are sentenced the death penalty. The only thing that is debating whether you get to live is the decision of twelve men. Our justice system seeks many potential dangers. Stereotypes, perception of inconvenience, and difference in the jurors point of view are dangers within our justice system.

In addition, at the beginning of Bart’s career as the new sheriff, citizens hate him and would refer to him as nigger. An example of this, is when he greets an elderly woman good morning, she replies, “Up yours, nigger,” which illustrates her disapproval of the new black sheriff through racism. The townspeople’s racism gets in the way of what their town needs, which is a sheriff. After stopping Mongo, Hedley’s failed attempt to scare the townspeople away, the townspeople are a little more willing to accept him in their town. For instance, the old woman apologizes for her racist comment, “up yours, nigger”.

Get Out is a horror film released earlier this year in February. The film centers on Chris Washington, a black man, and his white girlfriend, Rose Armitage. Rose invites Chris to a weekend trip to meet her parents. When meeting Chris, Rose’s parents are overly accommodating towards Chris and constantly speak about how much they love President Obama and other African-American people. Chris attributes this as awkward attempts to deal with their interracial relationship.

There is a lot of pressure on men in society to be manly; however, what exactly does it mean to be manly? Though many people have different opinions, a lot of them conclude that a man has to be strong and somewhat emotionless to be considered a man. This assumption can lead to Toxic Masculinity, which is “A false idea that men are expected to be as manly as possible” (The Hard, Adrenaline-Soaked Truth About 'Toxic Masculinity, 2017). Men are forced to face these assumptions not only from those around him, but also from people he might see in Media. Media reinforces Toxic Masculinity which in turn causes men to belittle women.