Monday, October 15, 2012
Overview of Masculinity in the Victorian Period
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1F8vNejOTYS-f1LbmnXzxjnOTkMOJMA3RLGhBtrFNOC8
In regards to the changing ideas of masculinity that I discussed in the overview, here are some videos that encapsulate different forms of "manliness" and highlight masculinity's evolving nature.
As described, men near the beginning of the century were encouraged to be genteel and polite. This is seen in Wuthering Heights through the character of Edgar Linton. He is ever willing to be forgiving, good natured, and kind. He is well educated and part of a family that has a good name and a good standing in society.
But as the century wore on, there came to be a heavier emphasis on a more muscularly built, hardier, and sturdy kind of man. Men that more closely resemble Heathcliff (though not all his characterists were admired).
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling also explores exactly what it means to be a man. As Claudia Nelson describes it:
"In the context of the jungle, manliness consists primarily of the flexibility to hear the
special calls promising Masonic brotherhood with every species, and the strength of will to facedown any other animal. Because Mowgli is a man, with a man's cleverness, he becomes the most powerful being in the jungle. But because he is unashamedly also an animal he is unusually powerful in the human world as well. Slaves of custom and superstition, easily intimidated by
social status or any other show of strength, the villagers display none of the
qualities that the jungle knows as uniquely human - or perhaps more accurately, as uniquely manly. To be a real man, then, is to be strong mentally and physically, with no inner doubts (soul-searching undermines power) and few friends (honor and adherence to the Law seem to be possible only within small groups, and the strongest personalities among humans and animals alike are loners or outcasts). So far the ideal is clear enough, and while Mowgli does not always enjoy a position that makes it impossible for him ever to be a full member of a
larger community, he recognizes that for real men happiness is not the issue" (Nelson, 544).
Though the entire movie shows Rudyard Kipling's depiction of what it meant to be a man, the last scene is particularly interesting. Start watching at 1:39:00. Here Mowgli completed his journey to manhood and shows that what it valued is not gentility, it is his ability to conquer and to be "the man."
Another instance in literature that encapsulates the shift from gentility to more rough and ruddy masculinity occurs in Thomas Hughes's famous novel "Tom Brown's School Days." This novel has been studied extensively with regards to its contribution to children's literature in defining masculinity. The famous rugby scenes show that society was shifting into valuing brawn over brains, for lack of a better term. In this sport, as well as in fighting, the boys had to prove to each other their masculinity. Succeeding in these areas was what made them respected and played into creating a hierarchy at the school. In the below clips you see the influence of peer pressure and the importance that was placed on being respected by other men.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM3k586x6Tw
In this first clip we see Tom's desire to be a part of the group and to prove himself to the other boys. One can't help thinking of Henry Newbolt's poem "Vitai Lampada," which explicates the British idea of "pluck." In this clip you can see how Tom's desire to work hard and be respected by other men is not an isolated experience. Vitai Lampada shows that it was the prevailing mind set in nineteenth-century Britian and that Tom is just a representation of the pressure that all British boys must have felt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q6mTNwPPr0
In regards to the changing ideas of masculinity that I discussed in the overview, here are some videos that encapsulate different forms of "manliness" and highlight masculinity's evolving nature.
As described, men near the beginning of the century were encouraged to be genteel and polite. This is seen in Wuthering Heights through the character of Edgar Linton. He is ever willing to be forgiving, good natured, and kind. He is well educated and part of a family that has a good name and a good standing in society.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling also explores exactly what it means to be a man. As Claudia Nelson describes it:
"In the context of the jungle, manliness consists primarily of the flexibility to hear the
special calls promising Masonic brotherhood with every species, and the strength of will to facedown any other animal. Because Mowgli is a man, with a man's cleverness, he becomes the most powerful being in the jungle. But because he is unashamedly also an animal he is unusually powerful in the human world as well. Slaves of custom and superstition, easily intimidated by
social status or any other show of strength, the villagers display none of the
qualities that the jungle knows as uniquely human - or perhaps more accurately, as uniquely manly. To be a real man, then, is to be strong mentally and physically, with no inner doubts (soul-searching undermines power) and few friends (honor and adherence to the Law seem to be possible only within small groups, and the strongest personalities among humans and animals alike are loners or outcasts). So far the ideal is clear enough, and while Mowgli does not always enjoy a position that makes it impossible for him ever to be a full member of a
larger community, he recognizes that for real men happiness is not the issue" (Nelson, 544).
Though the entire movie shows Rudyard Kipling's depiction of what it meant to be a man, the last scene is particularly interesting. Start watching at 1:39:00. Here Mowgli completed his journey to manhood and shows that what it valued is not gentility, it is his ability to conquer and to be "the man."
Another instance in literature that encapsulates the shift from gentility to more rough and ruddy masculinity occurs in Thomas Hughes's famous novel "Tom Brown's School Days." This novel has been studied extensively with regards to its contribution to children's literature in defining masculinity. The famous rugby scenes show that society was shifting into valuing brawn over brains, for lack of a better term. In this sport, as well as in fighting, the boys had to prove to each other their masculinity. Succeeding in these areas was what made them respected and played into creating a hierarchy at the school. In the below clips you see the influence of peer pressure and the importance that was placed on being respected by other men.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM3k586x6Tw
In this first clip we see Tom's desire to be a part of the group and to prove himself to the other boys. One can't help thinking of Henry Newbolt's poem "Vitai Lampada," which explicates the British idea of "pluck." In this clip you can see how Tom's desire to work hard and be respected by other men is not an isolated experience. Vitai Lampada shows that it was the prevailing mind set in nineteenth-century Britian and that Tom is just a representation of the pressure that all British boys must have felt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q6mTNwPPr0
Modern Day Masculinity
It's interesting to compare the modern day writings of what it means to be a man in the twenty first century to what it meant in the nineteenth-century. As you'll see, there have been some drastic changes.
http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/austin_500/510_the-new-masculinity.html
Here are some commercials that depict modern day masculinity in the worst possible way..
http://www.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment_300/327_top_10_list.html
In today's world the idea of what it means to be a man is a little gray. This article is interesting in that it tries to answer the question of what it means to be a man in the modern world. It also discusses homosexual relationships and explains how that ties into masculinity. Check it out!
http://www.ucm.es/info/rqtr/biblioteca/masculinidad/homophobia_and_maculinity.pdf
http://www.askmen.com/entertainment/austin_500/510_the-new-masculinity.html
Here are some commercials that depict modern day masculinity in the worst possible way..
http://www.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment_300/327_top_10_list.html
In today's world the idea of what it means to be a man is a little gray. This article is interesting in that it tries to answer the question of what it means to be a man in the modern world. It also discusses homosexual relationships and explains how that ties into masculinity. Check it out!
http://www.ucm.es/info/rqtr/biblioteca/masculinidad/homophobia_and_maculinity.pdf
Friday, October 12, 2012
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