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  • Essay / Tough Guise 2: Summary and themes of violence, media, and masculinity

    In Tough Guise 2, cultural theorist and anti-violence activist Jackson Katz reveals the horrors of America rooted in our incapacity as a society to move beyond outdated ideals of manhood. and the violence that follows. Across several examples that span racial, ethnic, and class lines, Katz examines "mass shootings, everyday gun violence, violence against women, bullying, gay bashing, and American militarism" that all play a role in enormous role in the normalization of violence. masculinity in our culture. The film exposes the “violent, sexist and homophobic messages” that young men constantly absorb through multiple media. One of Katz's concerns in the film was to highlight the flaws in the role of culture, which pushes juvenile men to think that dominating others and doing what they want to avoid being defined as feminine is acceptable. Tough Guise 2 reasons why male violence should be considered a gendered spectacle. To understand why this violence occurs, it requires us, the society, to diagnostically examine the cultural codes that have shaped ideals of manhood and that is exactly what Katz does in this film. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay In media coverage of mass shootings or even acts of violence, broadcasters go out of their way to discuss acts of violence while maintaining a gender neutral approach. . Most mainstream media attempts to deflect attention from the gender of suspects by routinely defining violence committed by boys as "youth violence." The idea behind manhood is to reinforce men's language to make them the dominant group, which in turn protects them from critical thinking. When gender is indeed addressed in mainstream debates related to male violence, the focus is primarily on biological reasoning rather than social and cultural explanations. From there, it reinforces the idea that “boys will be boys,” giving them permission to commit different forms of violence. Because the biological makeup involves acts of rape and murder, it highlights male violence as inevitable, even though it is obvious that a person's cultural system is responsible for it. Experts on the subject have insisted that we must focus on the relationship between violence in one's culture and violence around the world. The emphasis on America's culture of violence began to become a serious problem after "Adam Lanza's murder of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012." Unfortunately, instead of focusing on the problem at hand, youth violence, the media and government officials are leading the debate by choosing sides between the gun industry and the gun industry. entertainment. Together, these two industries glorify not only violence but also violent masculinity. Katz refers to a “culture of violence” in America as a culture of violent masculinity. Violence is an actively taught behavior and is not considered a learned behavior. American culture instills in boys that expressing emotion or being sensitive reflects signs of weakness, while at the same time affirming that physical toughness, dominance, and control are symbols of.