Masculinity 2

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 5,6

Concept: Identity

Why do you think Tom Ciarella wrote this text about what it means to be a 'man'? 

To what degree are his readers searching for answers about their own identity?

Do you think the author is trying to define his own identity?

If you are a young man, think about the degree to which this text influences your own sense of identity. 

Concept: Identity

Using text 2.13 as a starting point, how does Chiarella's idea of a 'man' fit the IB Learner Profile?

Time & Space

TAGLINE: 'Only Mustang makes it happen!'

What does 'it' refer to?

What is the effect of the word, 'only'?

Do car ads still use 'it' to sell cars?

Time & Space

COPY: How does the copy of this ad use pun or play on words?

How does the copy of this ad place it in a specific time & space?

2010 SuperBowl Dodge Charger Commercial

• American football championship
• tough & masculine sport
• appeals predominantly to a male audience - although women watch football (specifically the SuperBowl) too. 

'Only Mustang makes it happen!'

'Man's Last Stand'

Compare the titles. How do they reflect different cultural differences?

How does the context of the Dodge ad (Super Bowl - USA - 2010) determine how it was received?

How do the two ads reflect similar and/or different cultural values?

How do the messages of the Dodge commercial comment on masculinity and marriage?

How appropriate are these messages in your home culture?

010

AOE - Learner Portfolio

The conventions (characteristics) of texts develop over time. 

How have ads developed over time?

1. Identify a product that is advertised predominantly to men. 

2. Find two adverts for that product from at least twenty years between. 

3. How have gender roles and relations shifted in the years between the texts? Use examples from the texts. 

Intertextuality

The Dodge Super Bowl commercial got a lot of criticism. Often, criticism is best expressed through 'spoof' (making fun of a text by mimicking its style and structure for a different - often opposing - purpose.)

Intertextuality: Spoof Ads & Commercials

Spoof ads are examples of culture jamming, or subvertising. These are tactics used to disrupt or subvert mainstream media and the messages they construct.  

Group 1

1. Read the poem on page 117 of your textbook. 
2. Prepare a short presentation exploring the author's purpose, use of language, and how readers may interpret his poem. 

Group 2

1. Read the poem on page 117 of your textbook. 
2. Read the poem 'This is Just to Say' by William Carlos Williams. 
3. Research common interpretations of Williams' poem and prepare a presentation on 'Broetry' exploring the author's purpose, use of language and the readers' response in the light of Williams' poem. 

AOE: Intertextuality

How can comparing and interpreting texts transform readers?

Activity 2.13 shows us that interpretations of the same text can be different, especially when one interpretation is informed by an interpretation of another poem. You can do this type of activity with other pastiches or parodies. 

Write your reflections about this exercise in your LP.

Hypermasculinity

You can read about the results of research done on hypermasculinity on pages 117-118 in your textbook. 

1. Danger is exciting.
2. Toughness is a form of emotional self-control
3. Violence is manly.
4. It's fine to be callous about women and sex. 

www.behance.net

Go online and find a print ad that uses hypermasculinity.

Extended Essay (Cat3) Ideas...

If this topic inspires you to dive deeper, you may like to analyze how the depiction of men in TV commercials or how gender roles and social constructs have changed over time. 

If you decide to write this type of essay, be sure to:

• focus on only a few commercials
• engage with a meaningful topic, such as gender stereotyping
• refer to secondary sources
• make specific reference to the primary sources, including the use of dialogue, setting, or character depiction, symbols, music, and use of cinematography.