The Mask You Live In

Being exposed to this documentary during Undergrad, was really eye opening and honestly felt a relief to see other men reflecting on the expectation to be a “man” today is toxic. The Mask You Live In discusses what it means to be a man in today’s society and the expectations and pressure that goes along with it. The idea of how exactly do we get these male gender norms that tell young boys that to be a man. Norms such as “You cannot cry, you have to play sports, get a girlfriend by treating them this way, and be this tough guy persona”. We live in a society that tell young boys to have this mindset at such a young age to just man up and move on. The Mask You Live In is a great tool to use in a school setting especially during their Freshman year and throughout as a way of exposure to themes such as defining what masculinity is to them, learned behaviors (nature vs nurture), resulting emotions feed into violence, and lastly the responsibility that men have today to towards the younger generation. By using this film and using the follow up questions from the film. Questions such as "How has your present-day definition of masculinity been informed? Have you actively challenged societal concepts of masculinity, or do you feel you have taken a more passive approach and absorbed gender norms?” I feel this is a great way to get young men to understand and reflect on where they stand and how they want to be. 

http://influencefilmclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/The-Mask-You-Live-In-Discussion-Guide.pdf