2. Answer one of the following, using 600-800 words.
a) Discuss the extent to which Dances with Wolves succeeds in relativizing the Euro-American perspective, taking a genuine Native American point of view .
b) Discuss the representation of masculinity in Fight Club.
Although I do feel that the theme of masculinity within Fight Club is secondary to the theme of consumerism I will try to give a thorough examination of the masculinity within the film.
With the rise of feminism at the beginning of the twentieth century and with its gained momentum within all branches of society and culture as we entered the twenty-first century one can ask the question: What happened to masculinity? With our culture now geared towards defining what feminism is and what proper male conduct should be a lot of men probably find themselves in a sudden state of emasculation. In today’s pro feminist society it is no longer okay for a man to be a man. To be a man is to be an oppressor of women and gender equality.
The film Fight Club we get to see a confused Tyler Durden living his life and not really knowing who he is. In his search for himself and his role in society he joins different crisis groups. One of which is for people with testicular cancer, people who have lost their manhood and are struggling to convince themselves that they are indeed men. Bob which later will join the fight club even has large breasts to further the image of these men as emasculated in a society dominated by a feminist agenda.
The fight clubs themselves, the amateur boxing clubs, work as a way for the members to express their chained up primitive urges. In fight club all men are equal and it is ok to give in to primitive, and traditionally male, urges which are no longer sought after by the rest of society. In the fight club they get a clear cut definition of who they are, they are members of fight club. No one asks any questions about them or about fight club, members are defined not by their gender but by their actions.
The masculinity in Fight Club is indeed portrayed from a more romantic and classical view. The definition is perhaps taken from a time where men were men, they worked hard, fought for their women and did other manly things. I think that this portrayal of masculinity is not without a hint of satire. It works more towards the mean of combating the dominant feministic view rather than as a dogmatic manual of manly etiquette. Although after the film premiered a bunch of real fight clubs were started, probably by people who did not understand that getting punched in the face hurts, a lot. But it is this reaction to film that gets me thinking that there is perhaps something missing in modern society in regards to masculinity. We live in a society where women can wear anything they want while men are limited to what is socially acceptable, hence no skirts for men. Besides the traditional taboos which men have in western culture we now also have a lot of added musts and don’ts which we did not have before. Being a man ends up being someone who is incarcerated in his own gender and not really understanding what his gender really is. Perhaps this is why Tyler Durden urges his members to go back to basics and perhaps this is why the members feel liberated by doing so.
a) Discuss the extent to which Dances with Wolves succeeds in relativizing the Euro-American perspective, taking a genuine Native American point of view .
b) Discuss the representation of masculinity in Fight Club.
Although I do feel that the theme of masculinity within Fight Club is secondary to the theme of consumerism I will try to give a thorough examination of the masculinity within the film.
With the rise of feminism at the beginning of the twentieth century and with its gained momentum within all branches of society and culture as we entered the twenty-first century one can ask the question: What happened to masculinity? With our culture now geared towards defining what feminism is and what proper male conduct should be a lot of men probably find themselves in a sudden state of emasculation. In today’s pro feminist society it is no longer okay for a man to be a man. To be a man is to be an oppressor of women and gender equality.
The film Fight Club we get to see a confused Tyler Durden living his life and not really knowing who he is. In his search for himself and his role in society he joins different crisis groups. One of which is for people with testicular cancer, people who have lost their manhood and are struggling to convince themselves that they are indeed men. Bob which later will join the fight club even has large breasts to further the image of these men as emasculated in a society dominated by a feminist agenda.
The fight clubs themselves, the amateur boxing clubs, work as a way for the members to express their chained up primitive urges. In fight club all men are equal and it is ok to give in to primitive, and traditionally male, urges which are no longer sought after by the rest of society. In the fight club they get a clear cut definition of who they are, they are members of fight club. No one asks any questions about them or about fight club, members are defined not by their gender but by their actions.
The masculinity in Fight Club is indeed portrayed from a more romantic and classical view. The definition is perhaps taken from a time where men were men, they worked hard, fought for their women and did other manly things. I think that this portrayal of masculinity is not without a hint of satire. It works more towards the mean of combating the dominant feministic view rather than as a dogmatic manual of manly etiquette. Although after the film premiered a bunch of real fight clubs were started, probably by people who did not understand that getting punched in the face hurts, a lot. But it is this reaction to film that gets me thinking that there is perhaps something missing in modern society in regards to masculinity. We live in a society where women can wear anything they want while men are limited to what is socially acceptable, hence no skirts for men. Besides the traditional taboos which men have in western culture we now also have a lot of added musts and don’ts which we did not have before. Being a man ends up being someone who is incarcerated in his own gender and not really understanding what his gender really is. Perhaps this is why Tyler Durden urges his members to go back to basics and perhaps this is why the members feel liberated by doing so.
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