In my previous blog entries, I have focused primarily on the construction of masculine identities in film and television targeted at the youth market. Boys are too often forgotten when considering the impact of media on their identity formation, yet producers “rely more frequently on youthful and teenage images as a means to tell their stories” (Call, 2009, p. 80). As a teacher in an all-boys secondary school, using texts that present the multiplicity of masculinity is a priority, but it is often difficult to find such examples, particularly from popular culture. Male characters in mainstream film and television tend to be reworked stereotypes or immature men who have never ‘grown up’. As a result, it is argued that “Western society is structured through an extended adolescence” (Pomerance & Gateward, 2005, p. 9) with men struggling to find their desired role. By focusing the lens of study on masculinity, boys can explore how film and television texts work to affirm – and occasionally contest – perceptions and expectations of gender roles.
As a first step in interrogating masculinity in my own practice, I believe that more opportunitites can be created to use popular culture as teaching resources. In an extensive study of boys' literacy practices, Blair and Sanford (2004) found that boys read non-traditional and non-literary text types, particularly those that have emerged on the internet. Furthermore, their engagement increases when there is a personal relationship between them, their friend and the text, precipitating a purposeful and meaningful interaction. The convergence of film and television products with the internet and mobile devices means that the use of a simple DVD in class is not necessarily the most appealing way of engaging the students. More social and collaborative learning environments would be more suitable.
In my practice as an English teacher, I can apply this idea by exploiting the access to streamed video and vodcasts relating to units of work. Content available in this way is usually recent, popular, readily available and easily shared. As such, an investigation of gender representations would be relevant and most likely aimed at the youth market. As a teacher librarian, I will ensure that the library is well-resourced with a range of popular culture texts (in traditional formats as well as in new media). More importantly, I will continue to collaborate with other teachers in developing learning activities that put television and film as an essential part of their study, with the specific intention (where appropriate) to question the way in which male characters, and masculinity in general, have been represented.
In designing tasks for students, the use of film and television could be both in the process and product of their work. In other words, a film could be used as a teaching resource, a video recording could then be made for a personal reflection (ie. a vlog), and the final assessment piece could be a mash-up of different media. In this way, students would be exposed to the experience of constructing as well as deconstructing a text, which would enlighten them about other authors' decision-making processes. In relation to masculine identity, it is a step towards understanding that every element in front of the camera represents a decision, whether it be in the script, the acting, or the composition of a shot. Masculinity is further constructed in the interactions between characters.
Several units of work, particularly in the English course, seem most fitting for adaptation, based on my learnings. Collaborating with other staff, I see an opportunity in a junior year level to use television comedies (and sitcoms) as a means of examining how gender stereotypes are constructed and manipulated. The contemporary depiction of the infantile, immature man who lives in privileged circumstances would be one specific male identity to investigate. What Walsh, Fursich and Jefferson (2008) note about mismatched couples affirming a patriarchal worldview is particularly relevant in this context. Similarly, The Simpsons or Glee would be a resource rich with examples of stereotype manipulations. In another more senior year level, a unit could focus on the construction of the male hero, from its origins in Greek tragedy to contemporary film. Reframing common assumptions about heroes would be an interesting exercise and reveal much about the expectations we have of male characters, particularly those that reflect the more traditional aspects of the gender.
Overall, a shift in pedagogy is needed not only to address the struggle with masculine identity in popular culture, but also to address the literacy needs of boys. By incorporating film and television into the curriculum in novel ways, particularly combined with other media such as the internet, we would be promoting the development of new literacies - ones that require different reading practices and textual interactions. It is in these literacies that there is hope for greater diversity and complexity in how men are represented in the future, so that young people are less bound to a narrow range of identities.
Greg
REFERENCES
Blair, H., & Sanford, K. (2004). Morphing literacy: boys reshaping their school-based literacy practices. Language Arts, 81(6), 452-460, Retrieved October 20, 2010, from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.125.5159&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Call, J. (2009). Review: Where the boys are: cinemas of masculinity and youth, edited by Murray Pomerance and Frances Gateward. Wayne State University Press, 2005. Quarterly review of film & video, 26(1), 80-85.
Pomerance, M., & Gateward, F. (Eds.) (2005). Where the boys are: cinemas of masculinity and youth. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
Walsh, K., Fursich, E., & Jefferson, B. (2008). Beauty and the patriarchal beast: gender role portrayals in sitcoms featuring mismatched couples. Journal of popular film and television, 36(3), 123-132.
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Showing posts with label television. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Violence and masculinity as global commodities
In 1997, the Media Education Foundation produced a documentary, The Killing Screens, questioning the impact of violence on our screens, particularly as it relates to male characters. Below is a short clip:
Despite its age, many of the arguments about young people's exposure to violence are similar to those expressed in critical public discourse today. Indeed, the general issue of violence in the media is not new; it has fuelled moral panics as early as the 1930s when comic books were targeted for their questionable moral standards (Lumby & Fine, 2006, p. 58). However, the more specific point about the representation of men is worthy of further exploration, as it can be argued that the youth of today have more control of what type of man they see on the screen.
In the clip, Gerbner argues that popular television "reproduc[es] an over-representation of white males in the prime of life" in stories of power, conflict and violence. The reason, he contends, is that it makes for a "global commodity" that will translate seamlessly into other cultures. The construction of male characters in such texts privileges power, decisiveness and action as qualities of a successful man. Given that such representations "travel well", it is more of a concern, in an increasingly globalised context, if the viewing youth around the world associate this with norms and expectations of masculine behaviour. However, as Mallan and Pearce (2003, p. xviii) argue, youth are not "passive dupes"; rather, they are "savvy consumers, manipulators, and producers capable of subverting, resisting, and transforming the popular images that attempt to fix and define their identities". It is perhaps with the aid of new media that young people will redefine how they understand masculinity.
One of Gerbner's final concerns is that the control of such representations of masculinity and violence is "out of the reach of democratic decision-making". Interestingly, since the time the documentary was made, the nature of television has changed to embrace the contributions of viewers, which is indicative of our participatory culture. While the genre of program is different, viewers of reality television, many of whom are young, can often decide who they wish to keep watching, which effectively shifts control away from the producers. Unlike Gerbner's context, when youth were "growing up in a world that is designed to the specifications of a marketing strategy" with representations of men as virile and violent, youth of today are the marketing strategy, being able to contribute and produce their own versions of masculine identities.
Greg
REFERENCES
Lumby, C. & Fine, D. (2006). TV villains: media panics. In C. Lumby & D. Fine (Eds.), Why TV is good for kids: raising 21st century children (pp. 55-96). Sydney: MacMillan.
Mallan, K. & Pearce, S. (2003). Introduction: tales of youth in postmodern culture. In K. Mallan & S. Pearce (Eds.), Youth cultures: texts, images, and identities (pp. ix-xix). Westport: Praeger.
Despite its age, many of the arguments about young people's exposure to violence are similar to those expressed in critical public discourse today. Indeed, the general issue of violence in the media is not new; it has fuelled moral panics as early as the 1930s when comic books were targeted for their questionable moral standards (Lumby & Fine, 2006, p. 58). However, the more specific point about the representation of men is worthy of further exploration, as it can be argued that the youth of today have more control of what type of man they see on the screen.
In the clip, Gerbner argues that popular television "reproduc[es] an over-representation of white males in the prime of life" in stories of power, conflict and violence. The reason, he contends, is that it makes for a "global commodity" that will translate seamlessly into other cultures. The construction of male characters in such texts privileges power, decisiveness and action as qualities of a successful man. Given that such representations "travel well", it is more of a concern, in an increasingly globalised context, if the viewing youth around the world associate this with norms and expectations of masculine behaviour. However, as Mallan and Pearce (2003, p. xviii) argue, youth are not "passive dupes"; rather, they are "savvy consumers, manipulators, and producers capable of subverting, resisting, and transforming the popular images that attempt to fix and define their identities". It is perhaps with the aid of new media that young people will redefine how they understand masculinity.
One of Gerbner's final concerns is that the control of such representations of masculinity and violence is "out of the reach of democratic decision-making". Interestingly, since the time the documentary was made, the nature of television has changed to embrace the contributions of viewers, which is indicative of our participatory culture. While the genre of program is different, viewers of reality television, many of whom are young, can often decide who they wish to keep watching, which effectively shifts control away from the producers. Unlike Gerbner's context, when youth were "growing up in a world that is designed to the specifications of a marketing strategy" with representations of men as virile and violent, youth of today are the marketing strategy, being able to contribute and produce their own versions of masculine identities.
Greg
REFERENCES
Lumby, C. & Fine, D. (2006). TV villains: media panics. In C. Lumby & D. Fine (Eds.), Why TV is good for kids: raising 21st century children (pp. 55-96). Sydney: MacMillan.
Mallan, K. & Pearce, S. (2003). Introduction: tales of youth in postmodern culture. In K. Mallan & S. Pearce (Eds.), Youth cultures: texts, images, and identities (pp. ix-xix). Westport: Praeger.
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