Tough Guise: Violence, Media & the Crisis in Masculinity

I just viewed this documentary and I can definitely say Jackson Katz has some valid points. The problem is he runs with these points and stretches hard to really connect them. It does seem people are more violent. In particular men. It is expected they be really masculine. They have to be bad asses in every since of the word. He showed this over and over again with Rambo. I was tired of seeing Rambo in this documentary. I do wonder why people seem to be more violent. He blames media. Casper over at Flash Point believes that people are naturally inclined to be violent. Let us note that Casper has a job in which he gets his ribs broken and he fights people, so he might have a different perspective than me. I personally believe that our society in general has become so isolated from each other, desensitized, that it doesn't click that other people in the world have the same common emotions or thought. People in general violent or not, do not tend to show concern for others. It is rare to hear please and thank you. It is even rarer to hear someone say excuse me as they push you aside or step on your toe. I think media hasn't taught us to be more violent, but rather our exposure to everything has left us lacking empathy for others. I don't know my neighbors, the majority of people I talk to on a regular basis don't even live near me, but rather are the mysterious people of the internet. I think this disconnect is the root of all things bad. I spend more time awake at work than I do at home. There have been times at work in which if I was in an argument with my husband, it was done via email, text message, or phone. Doesn't that sound really crazy?