The film Tough Guise suggests that as a whole, it's become a man's obligation to get respect through power and abuse. Now like everything we see and hear it's open to interpretation, but I'd like to give you my speculation on the whole dilemma based on my own experiences to give it a fresh perspective.
Back in the 1990s when I was in elementary school, I was subjected to a lot of what was considered "cool" things or the idea that I have to "fit in". There were kids who always followed what was in fashion, or listened to certain music, etc., but they only hung out with other kids like them. This put me in a difficult situation a lot of the time because there was always the pressure to either go with the flow, or to remain an individual with one's own tastes.
Around this time, there were a variety of school shootings (Denver the most distinctive one), and it quickly dawned on me that this social Darwinism was going on everywhere and that it had been since the beginning of time for humanity.
In many many ways, Tough Guise hits the nail on the head. It only makes sense that boys and young men feel that fitting in is imperative. Again, the whole 'survival of the fittest' applies here, and because of it our society has created a dangerous situation that demands narrow-mindedness and no respect to think by oneself, to live, to breathe, to truly be human. Benjamin Franklin once said that "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," and not only has this had an application here for countless generations, but it's become even worse because of things like the right to possess firearms and the always-increasingly unrealistic body or tough person image that the media draws as a frame of judgment.
So from all of this, some vital questions come up: How did this whole thing begin? Why would one be so inclined to sacrifice themself for the good of what society depicts as "cool"? What are motives behind shootings? Are these kids really bad, or do they have a valid point? Needless to say, all of these are a matter of perspective, and like many problems society runs into, there probably isn't a sure-fire solution.
From my personal experience I have to stress a few things that I feel have been ignored by people in general...
Can you say 'respect'? Everyone's entitled to his/her own opinion, and if you don't like it, tough. Sure, it's hard at times, but keep this in mind the next time you want to be selfish: everyone has to compensate. Respect has been ignored for far too long, and it's been among the primary reasons for all of these things like the school shootings. Remember Virginia Tech? How many more innocent lives? How many more people need to be hurt before the world realizes that it's not just the sporadic "kids gone bad"? They're all protesting, and until you at least consider why they'd feel trapped enough to do something like kill people, you're in no position to call them wrong.
They say that everyone's got something to hide (no 'me and my monkey' here), but only the real people will be willing to share these things, look for help, admit wrongness and be willing to learn and better themselves. Those are the people you should really admire rather than those who think that containing everything and drawing the illusion that they're 'perfect', 'honest', (you fill in the blank) is a good, worthwhile thing.
Never be pressured to do anything you don't want to do. So they'll make fun of you if you don't, call you a loser, make up stories about you, but just ask yourself one thing: Would you really want to be friends with these narrow-minded jerks?
Okay, so I was a little harsh, but the problem is really there, and it'll only get worse. So instead of being aggravated about how sarcastic I may have been, open your eyes and realize that if people (YOU!) weren't ignoring the problem, it wouldn't have come to this. And believe me, it can get worse.
-Will Duffield
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2 comments:
Let me put in my perspective. It’s very simple to see where being tough came from in our society. As Will said, it has always been “survival of the fittest.” And I believe that it always will be. I understand that people get put down and called losers and told that they are worthless but to tell you the truth, that’s the real world for you. If you aren’t good at what your job, there will people there (i.e. your boss) telling you that you suck and are worthless and many other things but this time you can’t run to your counselor or mommy and tell on that person. These kids that are shooting up schools because of name calling and bullying have no right to do this. I would hate to see how that person fared in the job world because out there it’s ten times worse. If your boss tells you that you suck and you decide not to conform with him, guess what? You’re out of a job.
It’s funny to listen to this movie and see him kind of saying that these shootings had a valid point. It’s like shooting your co-workers because you didn’t fit in with them and they called you names. The parents of those kids need to help them realize that the world is a bitch out there and you will always meet jerks and people who just don’t like you. School is just a small, small taste of what is soon to come.
My dad is a manager of many people at the company he works for. Not many of his employees that he manages like him, or think he’s a nice guy because he has to continuously tell them how bad they are and that they are worthless to keep them from slacking off and keeping the company making money. My dad has to keep of a tough “guise” to be the great manager he is today but it’s not really who he is. But you know what? That “guise” has helped him become as successful as he has today.
I understand that it hurts people’s physiological well being but if you want to become anything in this world, you need to have a tough skin. This world is a tough place and only the “fittest” will survive. Its been like this since the beginning of time and will always be like this. So get over it.
The movie tough guise I felt had a few valid points, but just a few nothing too crazy. I also got the impression that the man who produced the movie was a complete tool, and probably grew up with not so many friends, and the ones he did have were for sure girls. The way he put things in the movie gave off the impression that he was very upset with a lot of the male sex, and he had to make a strong point that we as men are nothing but non-caring, violent barbarians. I would love to see some kind of movie made as a joke saying all that man from tough guise said, only it being for woman. Just to get a reaction out of the creator.
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