Documentary Analysis: The Mask You Live In

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The documentary called “The Mask You Live In” is based around one popular phrase amongst many people; “be a man.” Most of the time, being a man refers to not showing any emotion, pain, or suffering and to just pick your feet back up and continue on. Many male children are taught from a very young age to not cry and to never let anybody disrespect and if so violence was the key to resolve that. In the world today, masculinity is highly based on materialism, athleticism, and culture influences. When i was a young child, there was never a lot of girls to surround myself by. It was mostly just neighborhood boys or baby boys and girls but i could never play with them. I would always play with the boys and tag along with them when they play kickball …show more content…
I never quite understood what that meant but the older i got i understood it a lot more. Similarly i understood what it meant to “be a man” when i heard my uncles tell my younger brother that during a football practice. I dont think i have ever seen my brother cry since that day. I have had many close male friends come to me and tell me about their problems and shortly after laugh and apologize. It seems like the world has forgotten all about emotions and that showing them means you're weak or you're not strong enough or worthy enough. I noticed many boys quiver when they felt tears about to fall or when they were yelled at by their fathers because of the way they have taught them to be and most of the time that isn’t who they are. I have witnessed a lot of men who look so down because they have something on their mind that they cannot tell because no one will listen and this ultimately creates a pool of young men with depression. I highly agree with what the documentary because of all the the personal experiences i have seen. I have seen men want to burst into tears because of football coaches, fathers, relationships but just can’t. I feel like there should be a lot more awareness to the way masculinity is portrayed because not everyone is strong or athletic or wealthy. I feel that if more people change their ideas of masculinity from being something aggressive and dominate to empathetic than the suicide rates of many young men and women would significantly