Film Review 3: Tough Guise

Film Review 3: “Tough Guise” 28 Feb. ’12

In class on 28 Feb, we watched the film “Tough Guise”. The main thesis of the film is a look inside the male mind; why are boys and men expected to be so tough? Since the beginning of time, it has been drilled in a mans’ head pretty much since birth that they have to be tough to be a real man. Suck it up, no crying; that makes you a pussy, flex your biceps, and most importantly, you had better not be afraid to fight, because being violent is important if you want to be a real man. This has always been a part of society when it comes to the ideal image of how a man should be. But why?

The arguments that supported the main thesis of the film was were when the film shown different males discussing what has always been expected of them as men; you can’t cry, you need to be tough, and you better be ready to fight to prove how tough you are. These were young men, but they knew this was something that men are expected to be. Another argument that supported the thesis is the fact that statistics were actually shown about how often violence crimes are committed by males as opposed to females. That’s what society expects, so that what the male species gives us; 80% of murder, 90% of assaults, and 95% of dating violence are all committed by men.

The thesis of the film definitely relates to the course; in fact, in the film, one of the statement made was, “Violence really isn’t a deviation for men, it is an accepted part of masculinity, and violence isn’t typically talked about as a gender issue.” These are topics we have discussed in class all semester, and things we will continue talking about in class; it’s all about what is considered deviant by our society.

The arguments I found most convincing were when different crimes were discussed; such as the Columbine high school shootings and the hate crimes that are often committed against gay man for not being masculine enough and because of their own manly insecurities; the Matthew Shephard murder being the focus. As discussed in the article, “We’ve Seen This Movie Before” by Stanley Fish, he discusses some of the more high profile acts of extreme violence that have occurred in our society, which were all committed by men, and from my understanding, points out how these kind of deplorable acts seem to have a pattern; they are all committed by men, they have a huge media backlash, and we, as society seem to eat it up with a spoon (Fish, par. 1 and 2). It happens over and over again….we have definitely seen this movie before, and that was very convincing to me.

I didn’t find any arguments in the film to be unconvincing. All of the examples discussed in the film are issues that slap society across the face everyday, so if one has any understanding of violence in the media, and how often men are responsible for these acts of violence, there isn’t any way one could find the arguments in this film to be unconvincing.

Something that really stood out for me in the was the high profile male figures that plainly show us the ideal image of what a dominant masculine image is supposed to be according to our society. Rush Limbaugh is chosen as an example; the idea of men not being secure in their masculinity, so, as a result, they will discredit strong women and degrade them. Howard Stern is also an example of this; in his ideas that sexually degrading women are to be ridiculed. In the article, “Shame, Guilt and Violence” by James Gilligan, the point of the article is when one isn’t secure with themselves, the person most assuredly will be ashamed of it, and uses violence as a way to make themselves feel like they have one up over others they feel threatened by, and often use the excuse that the reason behind their violent act is that they felt disrespected (Gilligan, par. 1). This makes a lot of sense to me, and if I were to research this topic, I think I would use a tactic similar to Gilligans; what better way to really see how the dominant male figure feels than to hear that persons’ point of view and compare it to other males who feel similar or the same way? I don’t think there is any other way to really understand the topic without hearing from one who has the firsthand life experience with something like this.


Works Cited
Fish, Stanley. “We’ve Seen This Movie Before.” NY Times (2010). http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/weve-seen-this-movie-before/

Gilligan, James. “Shame, Guilt and Violence.” Social Research: An International Quarterly of Social Sciences. (2003) http://internationalpsychoanalysis.net/wp- content/uploads/2009/02/shamegilligan.PDF.