Tags: discourse/language, media, race/ethnicity, violence, comedy, culture, orientalism, othering, representation, stereotyping, terrorism, subtitles/CC, 06 to 10 mins Year: 2008 Length: 10:47 Access: YouTube Summary: Comedians have an uncanny ability to peddle controversial conclusions and uncomfortable insights because they can claim it's "all in good fun" (see, for example, this clip and this clip). Uninhibited by those troublesome defenses, the audience can accept unsavory criticisms about the society in which they live. However, not all comedians use the stage as a venue for delivering social criticism, and in fact it is just as easy to reinforce a stereotypes or a prejudice as it is to criticize one. In this clip, Jeff Dunham draws upon a number of stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims in his ventriloquial act with "Achmed the Dead Terrorist." Here, Dunham is not deploying social criticism for humor, but is instead uncritically drawing on racist representations of Arabs or Muslims for laughs. In line with the observations detailed in an earlier post (here), the Achmed character displays an irrational anger, and in very short order, the audience learns he foolishly follows the dictates of a fundamentalist Islamic faith. The set closely tracks the format of a classic comedic duo, whereby Dunham plays the straight man and triggers Achmed's many buffoonish responses to a series of seemingly rational questions. Instructors can use the clip to encourage a discussion with students about how readily stereotypes are promoted in popular media, even when they are billed as "all in good fun." For a more detailed analysis of the comedian's role in challenging or reinforcing stereotypes, check out our post on the comedy that kills us. Submitted By: Lester Andrist Tags: bodies, gender, inequality, violence, gender socialization, masculinity, rape, 11 to 20 mins Year: 2010 Length: 11:14 Access: TED Talks Summary: In this video from TED Talks, Tony Porter makes a call to men everywhere: Don't "act like a man" (Tony Porter is an educator and activist who is internationally recognized for his effort to end violence against women). Porter tells powerful stories from his own life, including a story of rape, showing how a "mentality, drummed into so many men and boys, can lead men to disrespect, mistreat and abuse women and each other." He notes men are part of the solution and problem, promoting a specific solution to men: break free of the "man box." Porter describes the “man-box” in similar ways as Jackson Katz’s discussion of how masculinity’s “tough guise” boxes men in. I would like to thank Lisa Wade at Sociological Images for suggesting this video. Submitted By: Paul Dean Jerome Delay / Associated Press Tags: gender, nationalism, violence, war/military, rape, rape camp, war rape, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2011 Length: 1:05 Access: New York Times Summary: This news footage is of a Libyan woman, Eman al-Obeidy, who recently entered a Tripoli hotel full of foreign journalists. Although not shown in the video, al-Obeidy claimed to have been detained at a checkpoint in the Libyan capital by forces loyal to Muammar el-Qaddafi and some time thereafter raped by 15 men. She reportedly showed the journalists at the hotel a number of bruises and scars and mentioned that her friends were still being detained by militiamen. David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times quotes the woman as saying, “I was tied up, and they defecated and urinated on me. They violated my honor.” Soon thereafter plain-clothed government minders entered the hotel, and with some assistance from the hotel's servers and in the face of protests from many onlookers, forcibly put al-Obeidy into a car and drove away. Her whereabouts and well being are currently unknown. The raw footage of this woman being physically removed is heart wrenching, and it certainly grabs the viewer's attention. Perhaps this is because the coercion is so plain to see, but the clip is also engaging because we know it is not archival footage from a settled conflict, but is instead taken from a developing civil war in Libya. Instructors can use this clip as a means of catalyzing a discussion about war rape, which is used systematically as a means of humiliating the enemy and destroying communities. Students can also be reminded that rape is not only something the soldiers of "Other" nations do. Another clip on The Sociological Cinema (here) features testimonies, which describe rape committed by American soldiers during the Vietnam War. Submitted By: Lester Andrist Tags: crime/law/deviance, gender, organizations/occupations/work, violence, war/military, masculinity, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2010 Length: 4:57 Access: YouTube Summary: In this interrogation tape, Spc. Adam Winfield tells an Army investigator about a series of premeditated murders of innocent Afghan civilians by fellow platoon members. Speaking of the “ringleader” of the misconduct, Staff Sgt. Calvin Gibbs, Winfield says, “He likes to kill things. He is pretty much evil incarnate.” While Winfield attributes “evil” to Gibbs’ predilection for killing and violence, Cynthia Enloe’s essay “Wielding Masculinity Inside Abu Ghraib” offers an alternative explanation. Contrary to arguments about a few “bad” (or “evil”) apples, Enloe points to the systematic masculinized culture of the US military. This culture (characterized by violence, assumptions around American/Western superiority, and the subjugation of femininity) goes unaccounted for in most military scandal investigations. Enloe argues men and women are pressured to endorse and participate in this culture of masculinity. Responding to how Gibbs might have reacted to Winfield’s refusal to take part in the killing, Winfield says, “I think -- one, he wouldn't have kept me in the loop on things and, if they had thought I had ratted, they would have come after me.” After the killing Winfield said Gibbs told him “he was part of the group.” The investigator asks, “Did he ever hold against you that you killed a man?” Winfield replies, “No, he told me I was a made man after that.” Coupled with Enloe's essay, this clip is useful for showing students how organizations are gendered, and the ways in which patriarchy functions as a system (and is not the product of "a few bad apples"). Submitted By: Valerie Chepp Tags: gender, marketing/brands, media, sex/sexuality, violence, doing gender, masculinity, rape, representation, sexual objectification, sexual violence, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2008 Length: 5:33 Access: YouTube Summary: The description under this YouTube clip reads, "Dreamworlds 3...examines the stories contemporary music videos tell about girls and women, and encourages viewers to consider how these narratives shape individual and cultural attitudes about sexuality." Specifically, this five minute excerpt links popular media with the objectification of women and the masculine violence directed toward them. This clip might also work well as a means of introducing the concept of "doing" gender. The clip makes it clear that men must learn masculinity, and it is not something that flows from them naturally. Submitted By: Lester Andrist Tags: bodies, emotion/desire, gender, marketing/brands, media, race/ethnicity, violence, hegemonic masculinity, ideal beauty, rape, representation, sexual violence, 06 to 10 mins Year: 1999 Length: 7:03 Access: YouTube Summary: This clip, featuring Jackson Katz, examines popular media representations of men and masculinity in the United States. The excerpt is only the first 7 minutes of an 84 minute documentary (find more information about the film at mediaed.org). In it, Katz explores the harmful consequences associated with contemporary masculinity. Some students might perceive the examples used in "Tough Guise" to be outdated, but Katz's recent book, "The Macho Paradox," can be used effectively to update and supplement the film. Note that instructors might find this clip useful for introducing Connell's concept of hegemonic masculinity. Submitted By: Lester Andrist Tags: gender, nationalism, violence, war/military, masculinity, rape, war rape, 00 to 05 mins Year: 2007 Length: 3:01 Access: YouTube Summary: This clip features testimony from the Vietnam Veterans Against the War's Winter Soldier Hearing. The clip was taken from "Vietnam: American Holocaust." (See the whole 81 minute feature at LinuxBeach.org). The testimony offered in this clip from soldiers of the Vietnam War is useful for promoting discussion about men perpetrating sexual violence against women during times of war. I frame the clip, not as a psychological phenomenon, but as a sociological one, where women are raped because they signify the nation. Testimonies in the clip recount instances of American soldiers raping Vietnamese women, and in this way the clip counters the nationalist myth that American soldiers have not raped women during times of war. A related clip on The Sociological Cinema (here) comes out of the ongoing conflict in Libya and features footage of a Libyan woman, who was forcibly removed from a Tripoli hotel after she attempted to report her rape by soldiers. Submitted By: Lester Andrist |
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