Masculinity In Michael Kimmel's Angry White Men

What does it mean to be a “man?” Unfortunately, in American culture this is all too important of a question. According to sociologist, Michael Kimmel, being a (white) man entails having much anger, violence, and entitlement, which he describes further in his book: Angry White Men. These actions are also displayed in the 2007 film, The Departed, which follows the story of two white men on their journey to take on the Irish Mob along with the Massachusetts State Police Department. But, where do these actions come from? In this paper, I will be arguing that men in today’s society act out while trying to fulfill the ideal masculine role that is shaped by American society’s social expectations and social institutions including the family,
school systems, and media. Media is anything seen on the internet, magazines, newspapers, television shows, movies, and more. American culture today is constantly surrounded by multiple forms of media and mass communication. For example, a little over 99% of Americans have at least one television per household, and studies also show that the average American watches approximately four hours of television per day (Belknap, 1991). Thus, it is no surprise that media has a substantial influence on our society’s everyday life. The issue isn’t the fact that media is so relevant in day-to-day life, but what the media displays. In my opinion, media is one of the main influences on the reasoning behind why men strive for creating a masculine identity which ultimately causes their anger and violence. Known as “outrage media,” Kimmel states that talk-radio, blogs, and (cable) news are all designed to get a response from the audience. Ironically, the response that usually ends up being evoked is in the form of anger, fear, or moral righteousness (Kimmel, 2013).
Another example of a form of media that influences our culture are movies. Masculinity in film is a reflection of a larger society and its values (Gallagher, 2013). As previously stated, The Departed did an excellent job in capturing “ideal” form of masculinity in today’s culture. Masculinity was not only shown within the movie, but the physical dvd itself literally displayed three “angry, white men” right on the cover. While considered an “action” movie, the genre itself is gendered as masculine. due to the fact that the word action is likely to entail a lot of violence, Thus, it was no surprise that I was already prepared to watch a macho, male dominated film along with the few minute roles of “poor” and “helpless” women. These violent films, like The Departed, reflect today’s society in the way it displays violence. For example, Kimmel discusses another movie in his book titled Fight Club. Much like the title suggests, this movie is essentially based on men fighting one another in these fight clubs to prove power and preserve dignity. Although the movie is fiction, the message was not. Kimmel states that viewers who saw the movie claimed the movie felt “healing.” Thoughts like these have even progressed into real-life fight clubs which men fought in to see “how hard they could get hit” and “how much they could take” (Kimmel, 2013).
Movies and television shows are not the only form of media that displays men’s aggressive behavior, but sporting events do too.
Though not every sporting event is televised, the ones that are tend to be violent, male sports. One example of a popular, televised sport in America is men’s hockey. Not only is the sport violent in itself, but physical altercations are also allowed and even encouraged. American football also results in violence that can cause serious injury. For example, in 2012 there were 261 reported concussions in the NFL (Garriott, 2014). Research shows that there is a link between masculinity and sports due to the fact that men’s sports not only involve power and privilege, but also display aggression, anger, and domination (Omar, 2011). Fans not only praise the sports, but they also praise the players. Participants of these sports are being idolized for their violence and aggression. This results with having those who are exposed to these sports will then tend to believe that displaying these actions is considered masculine. Therefore, boys and young men who are striving to be “masculine” will then mimic these behaviors in hopes of fulfilling the ideal masculine role that is set by American
society.
As mentioned above, media is a heavy societal influence in regards to why men are so angry--especially in sports. Not only is our society displaying it, but society is allowing it. In many American school districts sports are playing a crucial part in the life of all students, even those who don’t participate. The participating athletes will tend to form more aggression and feelings of superiority over those who do not do as well in sports or who aren’t in any sports. This ultimately leads to student status hierarchies: Popular athletes and their friends form exclusive groups and a higher social status over those who show no interest in sports or who are not good at sports which leaves them feeling less masculine and in a lot of cases it can cause them to act in similar behaviors (Kreager, 2007).