April 10, 2008

Hegemonic Masculinity Prominent in Many Movies

The other night, I was at home watching a movie, Talladega Nights, which stars Will Ferrell. It was an amusing movie, but the material of this class envitably crept into my mind, as it has done so many times. If you haven't seen it, it's essentially a typical Will Ferrell movie with him playing the role of a famous Nascar driver. There is a scene in the movie where Ferrell feels his masculinity is being threatened by the French driver his racing company has hired. At this point in the movie, Ferrell is suffering a broken arm, but demands that he be allowed to race against the French driver to try and beat him. Well, Ferrell crashes and loses to the French driver, and he ultimately suffers a psychological breakdown for a while.

I felt that this was an example of hegemonic masculinity because he was doing what he thought was proving he was "man enough" and putting himself at risk, and ultimately suffering because of it. Hegemonic masculinity does not just refer to physical risk, it can take on other forms as well such as economic, job performace, and emotional as well.

I can't count how many movies there are out there today, where one male feels he must prove that he is man enough by placing himself at risk. Most of the time, these situations are funny and entertaining, but what happens when the situation is in someone's real life and the resolve isn't some punchline writen by a paid Hollywood writer? I think that the media should be more responsible when putting these images out there, and show how this kind of hegemonic masculinity can and does ultimately harm the best interest of an individual.

What do you think? Any other good examples?

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