How movies teach manhood | Colin Stokes

Summary

In this insightful talk, the speaker reflects on the impact of children's movies, particularly those with a strong fantasy element, on the development of gender roles and societal expectations. He highlights the scarcity of female characters in heroic, wise, or villainous roles in modern films, contrasting them with the diverse and strong female characters in 'The Wizard of Oz.' The speaker critiques the prevalent narrative where male heroes are often portrayed as saviors who use violence to defeat enemies and win rewards, including women who are often passive and isolated. He advocates for a redefinition of masculinity, encouraging fathers to expose their sons to movies that pass the Bechdel Test and feature heroines who embody courage, leadership, and the ability to unite people. The speaker calls for a shift in storytelling that promotes a more collaborative and empathetic view of heroism, where both boys and girls can find role models who inspire them to be better and help others.

Takeaways

• 🎬 The speaker enjoys sharing his favorite movies with his children, highlighting the impact of 'The Wizard of Oz' on his daughter's imagination.
• 👸 The daughter's favorite character from 'The Wizard of Oz' was Glinda, which influenced her play and dress-up choices.
• 🤔 The speaker reflects on the uniqueness of 'The Wizard of Oz' compared to modern children's movies, noting the lack of violence and the prominence of female characters.
• 👊 The speaker criticizes modern movies for often focusing on male heroes who use violence to defeat villains and receive a female 'reward'.
• 🧍‍♂️ The speaker's son's accidental viewing of 'Star Wars' leads to questions about what messages he might internalize about gender roles and heroism.
• 🤔 The speaker questions the lack of diverse role models for boys in media, where stories often revolve around male violence and dominance.
• 👩‍🦰 The speaker appreciates 'The Wizard of Oz' for its portrayal of Dorothy as a leader who wins through friendship and courage, rather than violence.
• 👉 The speaker advocates for seeking out movies that pass the Bechdel Test, which evaluates the presence and complexity of female characters in a film.
• 📉 The speaker presents statistics on the underrepresentation of female protagonists in popular movies and the broader societal implications of gender stereotypes.
• 👦 The speaker calls on parents, particularly fathers, to use their choices in media consumption to teach their sons a new definition of manhood that respects and trusts women.
• 🌟 The speaker suggests that both his son and daughter can learn valuable lessons from characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Glinda, who are knowledgeable leaders that guide others.

Q & A

What is the speaker's favorite part about being a dad?

The speaker's favorite part about being a dad is sharing his favorite movies with his children.

Which character from 'The Wizard of Oz' did the speaker's daughter like the most?

The speaker's daughter's favorite character was Glinda.

How does the speaker describe the children's entertainment industry today?

The speaker describes it as a 'children's-fantasy-spectacular-industrial complex' where 'The Wizard of Oz' stood alone and did not start the trend.

What is one significant difference between 'The Wizard of Oz' and modern movies?

One significant difference is that 'The Wizard of Oz' has very little violence compared to modern movies.

How does the speaker feel about the portrayal of female characters in 'The Wizard of Oz'?

The speaker appreciates that 'The Wizard of Oz' features female characters who are heroic, wise, and even villainous.

What does the speaker think about the role of Princess Leia in 'Star Wars'?

The speaker feels that Princess Leia is cool but mostly waits around to award the hero, which doesn't provide adequate context for navigating a co-ed adult world.

How does the speaker describe the way 'Star Wars' might influence boys?

The speaker suggests that boys might absorb themes of courage, perseverance, and loyalty, but also the notion that the hero's journey involves defeating a villain and receiving a woman as a reward.

What is the Bechdel Test and what does it assess?

The Bechdel Test is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It assesses whether a work features at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man.

What does the speaker suggest as a solution to the lack of diverse male role models in media?

The speaker suggests that parents, especially fathers, should seek out and encourage their sons to identify with movies and characters that pass the Bechdel Test and showcase heroines who demonstrate real courage and leadership.

What is the Bechdel Test's significance according to the speaker?

The Bechdel Test's significance is to highlight the lack of representation and complexity of female characters in movies, which can influence societal perceptions and gender roles.

How does the speaker feel about the impact of boy-violent movies on girls?

The speaker acknowledges that there is a lot of great writing about the negative impact of boy-violent movies on girls and encourages people to read about it.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of the Netflix queue in shaping perceptions of manhood?

The speaker believes that the Netflix queue can be a tool to show a new definition of manhood to boys, by selecting movies that pass the Bechdel Test and feature strong, leading female characters.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 Impact of Children's Movies on Imagination and Gender Roles

The speaker, Morton Bast, discusses his love for sharing movies with his children, particularly his experience watching 'The Wizard of Oz' with his daughter. He reflects on the movie's enduring impact on her imagination and how it compares to modern films. Bast highlights the scarcity of violence in 'The Wizard of Oz' and contrasts it with today's action-oriented children's movies. He also notes the film's unique portrayal of female characters in heroic, wise, and villainous roles, which is a rarity in contemporary films. The talk further explores the implications of gender representation in movies on children's perceptions and the societal impact of such portrayals.

05:01

🤔 The Influence of Male-Dominated Narratives in Media

Thu-Huong Ha continues the discussion by examining the lack of diverse female representation in popular media. She points out that while movies like 'Star Wars' are influential, they often lack strong female characters with their own narratives. Ha emphasizes the importance of the Bechdel Test as a measure of female representation in films, which requires at least two named female characters who talk to each other about something other than a man. She criticizes the prevalence of male-centric stories and the lack of models for boys to learn respect and equality. Ha also discusses the potential societal implications of these narratives, including the perpetuation of gender stereotypes and the potential impact on issues like sexual assault.

10:04

🌟 Redefining Manhood and Encouraging Empathy Through Media

The speaker calls for a redefinition of manhood and encourages parents, particularly fathers, to select movies that pass the Bechdel Test and feature strong female leads. He argues that doing so can help boys identify with characters that exemplify teamwork, courage, and community-building. The speaker suggests that the current economic changes are already redefining traditional gender roles, and it is crucial to guide sons towards a new understanding of masculinity that values respect and trust for women. He concludes by advocating for a media diet rich in stories that can inspire both sons and daughters to become better people, emphasizing the importance of role models like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Glinda the Good Witch, who are knowledgeable and generous with their wisdom.

Keywords

💡The Wizard of Oz

A classic 1939 film that serves as a central point of discussion in the transcript. It is noted for its unique qualities, such as minimal violence and a cast of predominantly female characters in heroic, wise, and villainous roles. The speaker uses this film to contrast with more modern movies, emphasizing a preference for the values and messages it conveys to children.

💡Children's-fantasy-spectacular-industrial complex

This term refers to the modern entertainment industry's focus on producing children's fantasy content. The speaker discusses how 'The Wizard of Oz' was unique for its time and did not contribute to the trend of such content, which became more prevalent 40 years later.

💡Bechdel Test

A measure of the representation of women in fiction, which has three criteria: 1) There are at least two named female characters, 2) Who talk to each other, 3) About something other than a man. The speaker uses this test to critique the lack of female representation and dialogue in many popular movies.

💡Star Wars

A popular movie franchise used by the speaker to illustrate a shift in gender roles and expectations in modern films. The speaker contrasts 'Star Wars' with 'The Wizard of Oz', noting the differences in how female characters are portrayed and the messages conveyed to children about gender roles.

💡Gender Roles

The societal expectations and norms associated with masculinity and femininity. The speaker discusses how movies often reinforce traditional gender roles, which can influence children's perceptions and behaviors, particularly in the context of heroism and teamwork.

💡Violence in Media

The presence of violent content in movies and its potential impact on children. The speaker points out the minimal violence in 'The Wizard of Oz' compared to the action and conflict-driven narratives common in many modern films.

💡Disney Princesses

Characters from Disney films who are often seen as role models for young girls. The speaker acknowledges the positive aspects of these characters while also noting that they may not fully address the complexities of modern gender roles and expectations.

💡Pixar's Brave

A movie by Pixar that features a female protagonist, which the speaker recommends as an example of a film that offers a different perspective on gender roles. The speaker discusses the critical reaction to 'Brave' as a 'princess movie' and the need for more such stories.

💡Sexual Assault

A serious social issue that the speaker mentions in the context of discussing the impact of media on societal attitudes and behaviors. The speaker questions whether the portrayal of women in media contributes to a culture where such violence against women occurs.

💡Girl Power

A term often used to describe the empowerment of girls and women. The speaker discusses the concept of 'girl power' as a tool to prepare daughters for the world but questions whether it is enough if sons are not taught to respect and support women.

💡Male Hero's Narrative

The traditional story arc where a male hero defeats a villain and wins a reward, often a woman. The speaker criticizes this narrative for its limited view of relationships and lack of depth for female characters, advocating for stories that show men and women working together.

💡Leadership and Teamwork

Themes that the speaker prefers to see in children's stories, as exemplified by the character of Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz'. The speaker argues for narratives that emphasize cooperation, leadership, and the importance of community over individualistic heroism.

Highlights

The speaker enjoys sharing his favorite movies with his children, which has led to insights on the differences between classic and modern children's films.

The movie 'The Wizard of Oz' had a profound impact on the speaker's daughter, sparking her imagination and leading to her adopting Glinda as her favorite character.

The speaker observes that 'The Wizard of Oz' is unusual in its lack of violence compared to modern children's movies.

Contrasting 'The Wizard of Oz' with modern films, the speaker notes that if it were made today, it would likely include more violence and a prophecy about the heroine.

The speaker points out the unique aspect of 'The Wizard of Oz' where most heroic, wise, and even villainous characters are female.

The speaker reflects on the differences in how his daughter and son were introduced to 'Star Wars', and the implications of varying levels of supervision.

The speaker questions what messages are being conveyed to children about themes of courage, perseverance, loyalty, and gender roles through popular movies.

Dorothy's victory in 'The Wizard of Oz' is highlighted as being achieved through friendship and leadership, rather than violence.

The speaker expresses a preference for raising children in a world that values cooperation and community over violence and individualism.

The speaker criticizes the prevalence of male-centric narratives in children's movies and the lack of diverse roles for female characters.

The speaker discusses the importance of the Bechdel Test in evaluating the representation of women in movies and its rarity in passing films.

The speaker calls for a movement to start using the Bechdel Test as a standard for assessing the quality and inclusivity of children's movies.

The speaker provides statistics on the underrepresentation of female protagonists in the top 100 movies of 2011.

A government study is cited, indicating a high rate of sexual assault among American women, prompting the speaker to question societal influences on gender-based violence.

The speaker suggests that the stories we tell our children may be influencing their perceptions of gender roles and relationships.

The speaker advocates for using media consumption, like the Netflix queue, as a tool to redefine masculinity and model respect for women.

The speaker challenges the audience, particularly fathers, to seek out and support movies that pass the Bechdel Test and feature strong female leads.

The speaker shares his children's favorite characters from 'Star Wars' and 'The Wizard of Oz', noting their common traits of wisdom and leadership.

The speaker concludes with a call for more stories that encourage teamwork, leadership, and the betterment of others, rather than solitary heroism.

Transcripts

Translator: Morton Bast Reviewer: Thu-Huong Ha

You know, my favorite part of being a dad

is the movies I get to watch.

I love sharing my favorite movies with my kids,

and when my daughter was four,

we got to watch "The Wizard of Oz" together.

It totally dominated her imagination for months.

Her favorite character was Glinda, of course.

It gave her a great excuse to wear a sparkly dress

and carry a wand.

But you watch that movie enough times,

and you start to realize how unusual it is.

Now we live today, and are raising our children,

in a kind of children's-fantasy-spectacular-industrial complex.

But "The Wizard of Oz" stood alone.

It did not start that trend.

Forty years later was when the trend really caught on,

with, interestingly, another movie

that featured a metal guy

and a furry guy

rescuing a girl by dressing up as the enemy's guards.

Do you know what I'm talking about? (Laughter)

Yeah.

Now, there's a big difference between these two movies,

a couple of really big differences between "The Wizard of Oz"

and all the movies we watch today.

One is there's very little violence in "The Wizard of Oz."

The monkeys are rather aggressive, as are the apple trees.

But I think if "The Wizard of Oz" were made today,

the wizard would say, "Dorothy, you are the savior of Oz

that the prophecy foretold.

Use your magic slippers to defeat

the computer-generated armies of the Wicked Witch."

But that's not how it happens.

Another thing that's really unique about "The Wizard of Oz"

to me is that all of the most heroic

and wise and even villainous characters

are female.

Now I started to notice this

when I actually showed "Star Wars" to my daughter,

which was years later, and the situation was different.

At that point I also had a son.

He was only three at the time.

He was not invited to the screening. He was too young for that.

But he was the second child,

and the level of supervision had plummeted. (Laughter)

So he wandered in,

and it imprinted on him

like a mommy duck does to its duckling,

and I don't think he understands what's going on,

but he is sure soaking in it.

And I wonder what he's soaking in.

Is he picking up on the themes of courage

and perseverance and loyalty?

Is he picking up on the fact that Luke

joins an army to overthrow the government?

Is he picking up on the fact that

there are only boys in the universe

except for Aunt Beru, and of course this princess,

who's really cool, but who kind of waits around through most of the movie

so that she can award the hero with a medal and a wink

to thank him for saving the universe, which he does

by the magic that he was born with?

Compare this to 1939 with "The Wizard of Oz."

How does Dorothy win her movie?

By making friends with everybody

and being a leader.

That's kind of the world I'd rather raise my kids in --

Oz, right? -- and not the world of dudes fighting,

which is where we kind of have to be.

Why is there so much Force -- capital F, Force --

in the movies we have for our kids,

and so little yellow brick road?

There is a lot of great writing about the impact

that the boy-violent movie has on girls,

and you should do that reading. It's very good.

I haven't read as much on how boys are picking up on this vibe.

I know from my own experience that

Princess Leia did not provide the adequate context

that I could have used in navigating the adult world

that is co-ed. (Laughter)

I think there was a first-kiss moment

when I really expected the credits to start rolling

because that's the end of the movie, right?

I finished my quest, I got the girl.

Why are you still standing there?

I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

The movies are very, very focused on defeating the villain

and getting your reward, and there's not a lot of room

for other relationships and other journeys.

It's almost as though if you're a boy,

you are a dopey animal,

and if you are a girl, you should bring your warrior costume.

There are plenty of exceptions,

and I will defend the Disney princesses in front of any you.

But they do send a message to boys,

that they are not, the boys are not really the target audience.

They are doing a phenomenal job of teaching girls

how to defend against the patriarchy,

but they are not necessarily showing boys

how they're supposed to defend against the patriarchy.

There's no models for them.

And we also have some terrific women

who are writing new stories for our kids,

and as three-dimensional and delightful as Hermione and Katniss are,

these are still war movies.

And, of course, the most successful studio of all time

continues to crank out classic after classic,

every single one of them about

the journey of a boy, or a man,

or two men who are friends, or a man and his son,

or two men who are raising a little girl.

Until, as many of you are thinking, this year,

when they finally came out with "Brave."

I recommend it to all of you. It's on demand now.

Do you remember what the critics said when "Brave" came out?

"Aw, I can't believe Pixar made a princess movie."

It's very good. Don't let that stop you.

Now, almost none of these movies pass the Bechdel Test.

I don't know if you've heard of this.

It has not yet caught on and caught fire,

but maybe today we will start a movement.

Alison Bechdel is a comic book artist,

and back in the mid-'80s, she recorded this conversation

she'd had with a friend about assessing the movies that they saw.

And it's very simple. There's just three questions you should ask:

Is there more than one character in the movie

that is female who has lines?

So try to meet that bar.

And do these women talk to each other at any point in the movie?

And is their conversation about something other than

the guy that they both like? (Laughter)

Right? Thank you. (Applause)

Thank you very much.

Two women who exist and talk to each other about stuff.

It does happen. I've seen it,

and yet I very rarely see it in the movies

that we know and love.

In fact, this week I went to see

a very high-quality movie, "Argo."

Right? Oscar buzz, doing great at the box office,

a consensus idea of what a quality Hollywood film is.

It pretty much flunks the Bechdel test.

And I don't think it should, because a lot of the movie,

I don't know if you've seen it, but a lot of the movie

takes place in this embassy where men and women

are hiding out during the hostage crisis.

We've got quite a few scenes of the men

having deep, angst-ridden conversations in this hideout,

and the great moment for one of the actresses is

to peek through the door and say, "Are you coming to bed, honey?"

That's Hollywood for you.

So let's look at the numbers.

2011, of the 100 most popular movies,

how many of them do you think actually have female protagonists?

Eleven. It's not bad.

It's not as many percent as the number of women

we've just elected to Congress, so that's good.

But there is a number that is greater than this

that's going to bring this room down.

Last year, The New York Times published a study

that the government had done.

Here's what it said.

One out of five women in America

say that they have been sexually assaulted some time in their life.

Now, I don't think that's the fault of popular entertainment.

I don't think kids' movies have anything to do with that.

I don't even think that

music videos or pornography are really directly related to that,

but something is going wrong,

and when I hear that statistic,

one of the things I think of is

that's a lot of sexual assailants.

Who are these guys? What are they learning?

What are they failing to learn?

Are they absorbing the story that

a male hero's job is to defeat the villain with violence

and then collect the reward, which is a woman

who has no friends and doesn't speak?

Are we soaking up that story?

You know,

as a parent with the privilege

of raising a daughter

like all of you who are doing the same thing,

we find this world and this statistic very alarming

and we want to prepare them.

We have tools at our disposal like "girl power,"

and we hope that that will help,

but I gotta wonder, is girl power going to protect them

if, at the same time, actively or passively,

we are training our sons to maintain their boy power?

I mean, I think the Netflix queue

is one way that we can do something very important,

and I'm talking mainly to the dads here.

I think we have got to show our sons

a new definition of manhood.

The definition of manhood is already turning upside down.

You've read about how the new economy

is changing the roles of caregiver and wage earner.

They're throwing it up in the air.

So our sons are going to have to find some way

of adapting to this, some new relationship with each other,

and I think we really have to show them, and model for them,

how a real man

is someone who trusts his sisters

and respects them, and wants to be on their team,

and stands up against the real bad guys,

who are the men who want to abuse the women.

And I think our job in the Netflix queue

is to look out for those movies that pass the Bechdel Test,

if we can find them, and to seek out the heroines

who are there,

who show real courage, who bring people together,

and to nudge our sons to identify with those heroines

and to say, "I want to be on their team,"

because they're going to be on their team.

When I asked my daughter who her favorite character was in "Star Wars,"

do you know what she said?

Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Glinda.

What do these two have in common?

Maybe it's not just the sparkly dress.

I think these people are experts.

I think these are the two people in the movie

who know more than anybody else,

and they love sharing their knowledge with other people

to help them reach their potential.

Now, they are leaders.

I like that kind of quest for my daughter,

and I like that kind of quest for my son.

I want more quests like that.

I want fewer quests where my son is told,

"Go out and fight it alone,"

and more quests where he sees that it's his job to join a team,

maybe a team led by women,

to help other people become better

and be better people,

like the Wizard of Oz.

Thank you.