Tough Guise: Are Men Tougher Than Women Or Are Women Tougher Than Men?

On Wednesday, we watched a movie called "Tough Guise," which in my opinion was very biased. Jackson Katz, the narrator of the movie, based his opinions solely on the hypothesis that boys have to look and act tough to demostrate their masculinity and to gain respect. Hence, that is how the movie got the name "Tough Guise." I believe that it is a lack of education and upbringing or home environment that causes these boys to act this way. I also think that today's war based atmosphere promotes guns and violent behavior which adds to this desire for a "macho" tough image.

In my spare time, I like to watch a show with my dad called, "Cops." This movie shows actual footage of police related events. The majority of the offenders in this show are young/adult men. However, there is also a percentage of young/adult women who get into trouble---See below clip as to why women also get into trouble.

I do not understand why males need to use such words as fag, bitch, wuss and pussy in order to express their thoughts about other males that do not swear or fight or give off the "macho" aura. Why do boys give other boys more respect if they swear or fight? There are many other ways to gain respect from people! A philosophy that I use and seems to work for me is just to be friendly and listen to what other people have to say. One does not need to be a tough bully to have people look up to them. I feel that it can be done just as effectively being less aggressive and not getting in someone's face. People will actually have more respect for you using this strategy.

In the book, "Mirror on America," there was a piece on girls not getting much respect from anybody. Why is this? Does this make young/adult men more important because they are tougher than young/adult women? Where would men be without the other gender? It almost seems as though women are not considered essential parts of the American society. People of all ages, sex and color should be treated equally. We were all made in the image of God!

School Dress Code

As I arrived at school on September 2, 2008, to begin my senior year at Wylie E. Groves High School, I was greeted with a barrage of teacher remarks directed toward students who were wearing "inappropriate clothing." Compared to last year, Groves High School no longer is tolerant of violations of the school dress code and now takes stronger actions against students who are viewed as disobedient to the dress code rules. Every year, Groves High School has a "welcome back" meeting, but this year the meeting focused more on the dress code than any other topic. I have not seen such a great emphasis on this topic in the four years that I have been at Groves. I consider it wrong to have a mandatory meeting to explain to us, as young adults, what is approprite to wear and what is not.

A couple of days ago, I saw a teacher confiscate a hat and a cell phone from a student. This student was discretely using his cell phone while wearing his hat and was not annoying anyone. As he was walking to his third hour class, the anonymous teacher confiscated his hat and his cell phone and gave it to his assigned dean. It was not until the end of the day, that his belongings were returned. The administration has stated that if you continue to disobey its policy, not only will your belongings be confiscated, but you could also be suspended from school! This is a ridculous policy that allows a student to be suspended just for wearing clothes that may not match school recomendations! The same issue exists for girls who wear tight pants or short skirts even though their undergarments are not viewed. In this case, if a teacher spots a girl wearing what they determine to be inappropriate attire, they are ordered to go home and change into something more "school-like." The school dress code is arbitrary and unfair.

On the other hand, Seaholm students have more freedom to choose what they can wear at school. The teachers are also more lenient as to their dress code interpretation. At Seaholm High School, I understand that the students are allowed to wear what they please, up to a certain extent while walking to class. Unlike Groves High School, in the event that they wear inappropriate clothes, they do not have to be embarrased and ridiculed by teachers, who require the offending student to wear red scrubs, telling the school "I disobeyed the school dress code." It is hard to understand how two schools within the same school district can have two different dress code policies. I actually consider this distinction to be unconstitutional as a possible intrusion of equal protection and freedom of expression. The majority of high school students understand the difference between appropriate and inappropriate dress! I feel that we are not treated as adults.

Gender Identity

I think popular culture does affect how gender role is viewed by the majority, but mostly it depends on how males and females act into society. Everybody's view on gender role differs, but generally it's viewed as men being the hard workers that support the family financially, and women taking care of the children at home. Men being the masculine type, and females being the feminine type. But, if you look at transvestites that's not the case, there are a lot of men who change the way they physically look into females, because they believe that they are more feminine, and have feelings that a man can't show in public. Transvestites look strange to the public because they're "not" supposed to exist, and that's probably what the majority thinks about it. Through media they are also viewed as being abnormal people, if you take a look at this youtube video Chris Crocker on Maury! where Maury Povich interviews Chris Crocker(who's a transvestite), at the end of the video Maury says, "America will never ever forget you," and thats probably because he's abnormal, and they way the crowd looks at him is different from looking at a normal person who's gender identity/role is the same as the others. The fundamental, innate gender differences is not exactly what makes people the way they are, or else there wouldn't be any transvestites, but it's the way people feel about themselves that make them act in a certain behavior.

Tough Guise

I certainly believe that it depends on how a child is brought up to this world, and what his parents taught him during the early ages of his life, helps to shape the way he lives as a man. But, a major part of that also comes from the media, I think the media has a large effect on young kids. These kids(ages 12-16) take on this very tough masculine personality from watching other people(actors, UFC fighters etc.) on television, like Sylvester Stallone or Brock Lesnar, and unconsciously they start to act tough like them without realizing the purpose of it. Killing innocent students in public schools can be influenced by how society is affecting certain people, and also by watching movies like "Batman: The Dark Knight" where a lot of people have commented on the spectacular performance of the joker, but they were never fully aware that he was a cold hearted killer, and this movie was intentionally to be rated PG-13! The words pussy, fag, wuss, and bitch are used a lot in many different movies to address other people who are the weaklings, and it's most widely used in rap music. All of this influences what young kids grow up to be, and most of it is negative influence. It's not that everybody wants to act tough inorder to gain respect, there are a lot of people who are very kind and respectful to others. As for education, I think it also influences the way people live and act among others, but i dont believe that men are less educated than women. I think that everybody should have an equal opportunity, and that we all should get along so that no one is hurting anybody physically or emotionally.

Fairenheit 9/11 Or Unfairenheit 9/11: That Is The Question Nobody Knows!

Michael Moore's controversial film certainly attacks and ridicules President Bush and his administration for its failure to anticipate and respond effectively to the events of 9/11/01. Michael Moore clearly implies in this movie that he is not just anti-Republican, but he is actually anti-Bush! I believe that all of the facts that Moore presents in this movie are accurate in origin; however, some of the stated facts are somewhat distorted. On the other hand, Bush supporters would think that all the things said were completely false and that Moore deliberately used propaganda and half-truths in order to attack our president.

One distorted example was when President Bush continued his golf game and later attended an elementary school function after the World Trade Center was attacked. He made it almost seem as if it was no big deal to President Bush. This dreadful event was one of the worst events recorded in U.S. history. Also, the cartoon-like music in this movie was designed to deceive the viewer's ability to separate fact from fiction. I believe Moore used the cartoon-like music in order to emphasize the cartoon-like caricature he attempted to portray Bush as being such to the people of America.

I believe the movie attempted to persuade the viewer through the use of propaganda. Christopher Hitchens, a Michael Moore critic, did not believe anything that Michael Moore presented in this movie. He suggested that the proper name of the movie should have been "Unfairenheit 9/11" to represent the "unfairness" depicted in this movie at President Bush. However, there is one similarity between the movie "Fairenheit 9/11" and the essay "Unfairenheit 9/11". They both are bipartisan! When I use the word bipartisan, I mean that it involved members of opposite political parties.

I find it so hard to believe how two different political parties within the same nation can point fingers at each other and blame the issues that have occured over the past seven years on the other. This is similar to what siblings do when they get in fights. They always blame the other one for something they might have begun. In the end, I guess it all really depends on which type of philosophy you were raised: liberal, conservative or independent. Therefore, I guess no one is really right or wrong. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion!

Fahrenheit 9/11

Michael Moore's controversial film can be viewed "good" or "bad" as an interpretation of the Bush administration depending on which people are watching it, and what side they are on. I certainly dislike the Bush administration for all of their false judgments that have made a big impact not only on Americans lives, but also the lives of others, and therefore believe the film was excellent even though it was biased on some of its facts or beliefs. I like how he showed the dead Iraqi people to sicken the stomachs of the many critics of the film, and the supporters of the war on Iraq. However, I also have read the two other opposing view points of Moore's film on the website, and I found out that some of their points were valid, like in the "Unfairenheit 9/11" by Christopher Hitchens, he talks about how if the president have responded instantly after the news of the second plane on 9/11, would make some people think that he went to war on a confused or insane dicision, and others think that he already knew the attack was coming and wanted to use it to empower himself. Both sides could be right or wrong, but it depends on people's judgments of the whole film. But, taking completely into one side and disregarding the other is a false judgment.

9/11: Will This Change The Way We Live Forever?

The effects of 9/11 have had a major impact on American popular culture. I believe that daily American lives were forever altered in a fundamental way. It is very hard to forget the dramatic events that took place on 9/11. Ever since I was a child, I was able to board a plane and travel to different places around the world with no problem. However, since 9/11, stricter rules have been enforced at airports, museums, courthouses, etc. I feel as if I am being singled out and punished when I am forced to undress in front of everyone in a public airport. Each time I am forced to remove my belt, shoes, wallet, and so forth, I feel as if I am living during the Nazi power years, because during the Holocaust, Jewish men and women were ordered to strip, in order for the Gestapo to check for items the Jewish people were not allowed to keep. I irrationally feel almost as if the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) act as if they are the Gestapo.

Throughout the seven years since the 9/11 tragedy struck us, America was forced to become stricter wih their rules and regulations. Could the United States be turning into a dictatorial empire? I certainly hope not. After watching "On Native Soil," I could not believe the complete lack of communication coordination. It took hours and even days to try and coordinate rescue efforts. Watching people falling from 70, 80, even 90 stories high up, tore me apart, as their lives were tearing apart as they inched closer to their death. In my opinion, I believe that the 9/11 attacks could have been prevented with better intelligence. As the movie concluded, I scanned the students in the class and everyone grieved in their own way.

On Native Soil: 9/11

On September 11, 2001, the United States suffered one of the worst tragedies of the 21st century when irrational Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City. An earlier effort some years back was not successful. This time it was! Why does Al-Qaeda express so much hatred to the United States, its allies and interests, and to no other country? I question why the United States is at war with Iraq. It is fairly clear that the Saudis and its disciples were behind the terrorist attack. Iraq was a convenient excuse because the Saudis were believed to be our ally and we could not risk disrupting the flow of oil, since they are our biggest supplier. In my opinion, I do not think we should be at war with Iraq, since a number of innocent people lost their lives. Alternatively, should we go to war with Saudi Arabia?

John Locke

John Locke's idea stated that in a state of nature all men are equal, and that they are able to create a government to protect people while controlling themselves, but have this idea ever been true? Even in the United States has it ever been completely true? Natural laws are always broken by certain groups of people, so the phrase "all men are equal" is just a myth, I want to hold power and see what it feels like, to see if I would become a dictator and do things for the wrong reasons, or treat people according to that phrase. I think that all contradictions between countries are based on struggles to see who is the most powerful, it has never been about justice. You can't change the minds of millions of people, they always tend to seek for their self-interests. It is sad, but we all have done it at some point in our lives.

On native soil, and the war on Iraq.

It is sad to see so many families lose their loved ones during the September 11 attack of the terrorists on the world trade center, but America has not yet seen what a long lasting war on its soil would do to its popular cutlure. So, after seven years of the attack it would be best to say that the horrific incident is forgotten by most of America's popular culture. It might of been shocking for most citizens of the United States to see their country getting hit, but the impact of that event is only strongly memorable by the people who have been largely effected by it. I for once have seen a war and lived through it in Iraq, and for four years after the contradiction I'm careless to say that it had a big impact on my life, even though it did. Not only my heart beats fast when i hear loud noises, but the suffering that my family went through to get here was tremendous. Some events that I have seen can be disgusting, but when people try to look for the future and forget the past that's when it does not matter anymore. Popular culture was only doing what's best for its country at the time, but soon enough things went back to normal, even though there is another side to the story where normal is not an acceptional term for recent results of actions committed by the Bush administration do to the impact of September 11.