[Weekly Update] Movies about Men's Struggle (Patreon)

It's 28 degree here in Montreal, in September. I wonder if the maples are even going to turn red this year with temperature like this.

CHANNEL UPDATE

First thing first: Patreon now has a "collection" page. It's kinda like the playlist on YouTube. We now have two collections, containing all of the bonus videos of the past, and all of the script previews. It should be a lot easier to find them now!

Speaking of script previews, in the past, I usually just write down random notes while watching the film. It's helpful for me to reference it when making videos, but not the easiest thing to read. I'm thinking of changing the note taking style, so it's more enjoyable. One thought I have is make them into subtitle files. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them!

Back to the channel proper: Hope you enjoyed our last video on Dangal. Due to some scheduling conflicts, the video was delayed by way too long. Apologies! I hope I did the beloved movie justice.

Up next, we'll take a nose dive in terms of movie quality, and talk about the 2013 sh*t stain of a movie: Switch. It's been a while since I talk about bad Chinese movies, so let's hope I still have my sense of humor.

Two additional videos have been added to the list: History of kung fu cooking, and Bad movies from around the world. The latter proved rather difficult to make, however, as these bad movies are just impossible to find. All I want is to find Ah Girl Go Army!

Finally, we'll be casting a vote soon for video ideas. It'll be a vote between a few cringe ideas. Well, cringe for me anyway. One of the potential option is "Steven Seagal and Orientalism". That should give you an idea of what we are talking about.

MEDIA TALK

We've been talking about women's struggle in our world a lot lately. But what about men's struggle? Usually that sentence is followed by some very cringy comment. But I want to take the proposition seriously. Indeed, men also suffer under patriarchy.

At the risk of sounding like an intel, allow me to bring up the novel 1984. Please don't run away. A lot of people mistakenly assumes the book is about the danger of dictatorship. A more nuance (but nevertheless inaccurate in my opinion) take is that it's about totalitarianism. But I think what the book really warns us about is a self-protecting system, a set of rules that oppresses everyone, albeit not equally.

It's perhaps good to think about who the "Big Brother" is. Though he may be the biggest benefactor in this totalitarian regime, he can only work within the confine of the system. Should he attempt to truly exert his dictatorial will and change the system, it is conceivable that he'll be replaced by other people eyeing his position.

In the same vein, while men, especially those of rich and influential, may benefit more from a patriarchy, they also have to follow to rule and serve the system. And in a patriarchal society, men are pressured into keeping up with a powerful, stoic, independent, and near emotionless image. Letting your emotion slip is letting slip that men aren't stronger, and endangers the hierarchy.

And so, men, especially average joes like us, suffers. It's been a meme since forever, but it is quite true that an average man in North America is likely to be so starved of emotional support, that any and all affections shown to them may causes them to panic.

And it is this emotional isolation that I wish more movie would explore, especially from an angle that ties to back to societal pressure. At last, the positive bias that all men are individuals works both ways. When a man fails to express his emotion, it's often depicted as a personal problem, and not a social phenomenon.

Anyway, that sure went to weird places than I thought. So, movies about men's mental health struggle. The first one that came to mind is Good Will Hunting. This movie just ages beautifully. In fact, the more time passes, the more impactful it becomes to me. Will's emotional shut off seems so normal, if you aren't aware of men's pressure to suppresses their trauma. That scene where Doc tells Will that it's not his fault repeatedly, it gets me every time.

Most movies, however, depicts the negative side of masculinity. Taxi Driver, La Haine, Fight Club, American Psycho, these movies are nowhere near as optimistic. Fight Club, in particular, comes very close to become a movie that actively fights against toxic masculinity. Yet ultimately, all of these movies seem to think the battle against the patriarchy is a futile one.

Some other examples I can think of that lightly explores the topic but did not focus on it includes Oslo August 31st, Inside Llewyn Davis, Her.

Ad Astra is another movie that talks about men's mental health. Although it hints at it being a male topic, the protagonist's salvation at the end feels more like a personal victory, with no real commentary beyond his own little world, even if his world is the entire solar system.

That was an unexpectedly long update. I hope it's not too much, and I hope my take isn't too hot! Do you know any movies that talks about men's struggle? I can't really think of any examples from East Asia. I guess that's just how much we've taken these struggles as "normal part of life". It shouldn't be. Men should be able to freely expresses their emotions, as well. Well, emotions beyond just anger.

Our next video is being edited. Hopefully it'll be up in a few days! See you soon!