The Boys Are Not All Right By Michael Ian Black

The white masculinity here is illustrated by Andy Dufresne’s character. Meanwhile the position of black masculinity might only be depicted by one character: Ellis Boyd Redding or “Red”. However it should be underlined that the story itself is adapted from Stephen King and directed by Frank Darabot who are, in fact, not African-Americans. This factor may or may not influence the depiction of the black masculinity in a way because white hierarchies usually put the black as inferior to

In Brent Staples’ "Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space," Staples describes the issues, stereotypes, and criticisms he faces being a black man in public surroundings. Staples initiates his perspective by introducing the audience into thinking he is committing a crime, but eventually reveals how the actions taken towards him are because of the fear linked to his labelled stereotypes of being rapists, gangsters and muggers. Staples continues to unfold the audience from a 20 year old experience and sheds light onto how regardless of proving his survival compared to the other stereotypical blacks with his education levels and work ethics being in the modern era, he is still in the same plight. Although Staples relates such burdens through his personal experiences rather than directly revealing the psychological impacts such actions have upon African Americans with research, he effectively uses emotion to explain the social effects and challenges they have faced to avoid causing a ruckus with the “white American” world while keeping his reference up to date and accordingly to his history.

As a target of racism and prejudice, Brent Staple wrote Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space. Throughout this essay he explains his personal experience in public spaces and the stereotypes he has faced. Since society has deeply embedded their views of “blacks,” just their presence induces fear and causes unnecessary feelings and emotions to arise. Staples presents no anger in his decision to alter his actions and his appearance to ease those around him despite his skin tone. Societal views on blacks are based on reputations as a whole and not on each individual person, Staples presents this through the uses of point of view, ethos, and pathos.

In 2015, Charles Campbell gave a TED Talk about language, symbols, and the connotations we give them. Charles is a successful person, he is a musician, poet, author, and a Professor at Bryant & Stratton college. His TED Talk brought up valid points that everyone could agree with such as connotations that go along with words, colors, or flowers, nothing too serious. He also asks the audience about what connotations or stereotypes they would affiliate with the term black male, the crowd giving him mostly negative connotations or stereotypes that they have heard. He explains the negative impact this has on black men, that some may see it as an easier way to live than if they were to go against the stereotypes. This brings him to the case of

People like to believe their thoughts are their own, not subject to outside bias or prejudice, but this is rarely true. In the essay “Just Walk On By,” Brent Staples explores this topic of people unjustly applying broad stereotypes to individual people; he incorporates pathos and ethos in his writing to convey the message that labels culturally prescribed specifically to black men change others’ perception of them, therefore, affecting the way they must carry themselves.

Interpretive Analysis Essay Rough Draft In “Black Men and Public Space,” Brent Staples addresses the difficulties of being a black man and how it affects his daily life. He stresses that the presence of black people in public spaces frightens white people because white people are not able to differentiate between a black person from a mugger or a thug. After years of fighting over the meaning of race in our country, many may think that it is not as relevant of a problem as it once was, yet this essay expresses how one must change the way he carries and presents himself due to the way that society subconsciously reacts to a man of color. Staples convinces the readers to question how their actions may contribute to this issue.

Along with dominance over women he aims to prove superiority to other male peers specifically other black males that he degrades by referring to them as “ni**as” or “pussy’s”. Further accentuating his masculinity via threats of violence and gun violence. In relation to Tough Guise, the image of racialized men in the media is a topic is discussed. Katz states that racialized men, specifically black and Latino males, are continuously displayed as thugs and gangsters.

The author, Kuumba, states that black male identities can be placed on a continuum and the author argues that more often than not, less humane versions of black masculinity are usually the “models” by which black men gauge their maleness. I agree here with the author; the main model of black men often ends up being a toxic one more often than the nurturing or progressive models of black masculinity. In order for the more “humane” models of black male masculinity to be the measure of maleness, there would have to be a massive amount of progression to the greater society and within the black community itself.

The leading point central on the difference between opinions of Tough Guise are that forcefulness in America is overpoweringly a gendered occurrence and that any effort to comprehend violence consequently involves that we realize its link to traditional codes and beliefs of courage and manhood (Kataz, 5). Over the year’s media images has played a major role in many individuals’ behavior changed established on his or her beliefs, also on how someone thinks and acts found off on what individuals see (Kataz, 5). One the foremost point of this documentary is that regardless of widespread change of violence in American culture, it’s very encouraging that violence can be stopped. Violent masculinity is no more “natural” than media imagery. Together depend on organized routines. The assumption of this documentary amount to this: By identifying, and categorizing, masculinity which is a process, a painful repetitive built on elimination and watching, we may be able to begin to learn how to break free with the narrowing problems of masculinity.

For example, authors in literature have separate tones that identify their attitude toward a subject or person. In “Masculinity Is More Than a Mask”, Sommers believes men “can be distinctively good” by offering suggestions to help them. She argues that there is not just one type of masculinity but two types. “Some boys are hypermasculine or pathologically masculine” (Sommers 2014). Not all men are dangerous but they strive for “healthy masculinity”.

Violence in masculinity is a way of life for men. It’s a way to show their manhood, how strong they are, how smart they could defend themselves, and how to protect their woman. It’s the social norm, where you see action movie glorified violence. As the article, "Dangerous Privilege: Trans Men, Masculinities, and Changing Perceptions of Safety”, said men determine their sense of safety as their social interaction with men. They author called it defensive masculinities. Men are accountable for their gender expectations by challenging the hierarchy of masculinities. This notion and practice affects men actions towards women and transgender. The articles looked at important social problems that are result in this violence masculinity. Rape culture in college campus and violence in the transgender community, are the two topic that is affected greatly by the violence of masculinity.

“What do these shootings have in common? Guns, yes. But also, boys.” This is one impactful line from Michael Ian Black’s article titled “The Boys Are Not All Right”. Initially when I was looking for an article this title caught my attention. After reading through it, it made sense, and I agreed with most of what Black had to say. There are school shootings happening all over the country, which in turn, has made guns a hot button topic right now. Most of the school shooting committed were by a male; this fact surprised me because I never noticed it. Black compares the development of boyhood and girlhood, then identifies cause of brokenness among boys and closes by sharing his own ideas. This article doesn’t focus on if we should have gun control, instead it makes you think about the shooter.

The purpose of this intended research study is to explore the affects the media has on the understanding of masculinity experienced by African-American men. Through the qualitative research methodology of Critical discourse analysis will investigate by examining the media. This research will also examine the media continuous education of black men being characterized as lazy, childlike, brutes and unintelligence. This research attends to show the effect of the media has in shaping the cultural and pop-culture understanding of black masculinity. The purpose will examine mainstream popular culture understanding of Black masculinity of United States of American’s movies, television programs and news report. There are several questions the purpose

Like it or not, we all have a bias world view and unconsciously judge people by their races, skin colors, and appearance. We have attempted to eliminate racial inequality by establishing Human Rights Law, creating programs to support the need, and teaching new generation by using a lesson plan. However, it is hard to eliminate racial discrimination completely when we still see it every day. The media is one of the main sources of racism. We see ambiguous scenes of people and believe that what the movie portrays is true. The depiction of black male in films is distorted and usually engaged in aggression, gangster, masculinity, drugs, and murder. In the Persistence of Whiteness, Keith argues that “black masculinity is reiterated in notions of aggression, submission, and criminality and simultaneously repositioned within notions of collective and historical victimhood and denied and delayed state justice”. In this paper, I will explain how individual black male humanity and authenticity is disoriented by using the two films, Juice (1992) and Do the Right Thing (1989).

To understand either work’s take on hegemonic masculinity, it is important to identify masculinity as a gendered hegemony. In her definition of gender, Judith Halberstam notes that gender is socially systematized, performed, and reproduced in cultures, institutions, and individual identities (Burgett, Bruce, and Hendler, 116). In a like manner, in her article on gendered violence, Mimi Schippers notes R.W. Connell’s research on masculinity to expand this definition, implying that masculinity is central to gender relations. In short, Connell defined masculinity as “simultaneously a place in gender relations, the practices through which men and women engage… in gender, and the effects of these practices on bodily experience, personality, and culture” (Schippers, 86). Here, masculinity is classified as a social position, the set and practice