English assignment goes brrrr

I thought I would post an assignment I had to do for English class. :)

You'll find the original news in the references. The goal was to write a way Brent could've or should've saved his brother, Blake. Anyways, to those of you who decide to read it, thank you.

"With a touchy paranoia born of living battered lives, they are desperate to be real men." This is the quote that shines a light on the reason for the violence in certain communities during the 1980's. Being a man often meant having power. It meant being able to fight your own battles, being strong and muscular, and being the guy with the upper hand. This was especially true for the community Brent and Blake lived in, as well as the community Blake later moved to. This expectation of masculinity often led men to hurt others in search of this perverted sense of power. This need for control was the only way to be a man for many young men from that generation, even this one. Despite all this pressure, this model of masculinity, Brent decided to leave. He decided that the life of violence and control wasn't for him, and to leave behind toxic masculinity. If Brent had taught Blake a different way to be a man early on, it might've convinced Blake to leave the violent life as well.

During the 1980's, a slew of movies came out in theaters. These were movies like RoboCop (1987), and The Terminator (1984). Both of these movies featured strong men as their leads. The masculinity presented by these characters is one that requires having physical power. The main characters hack and slash their way through fights at an inhuman level because they are both inhuman themselves. These depictions in the media provide some level of expectation, requiring men to emulate these character's power in order to "be the man". It is this very expectation that leads men to hurt others. In "How Toxic Masculinity Harms Men and Society As A Whole", a few characteristics of toxic masculinity are provided. Among them, three are relevant to our discussion: extreme self-reliance, shame and avoidance of emotional expression, and an extreme aspiration for dominance of all kinds. These things can cause a perversion of ideals and a degradation of mental health. Who can be expected to stand down from a fight when all your life you've been told that a "real man" would go in guns blazing? Despite all of these things going against him, Brent decided that he wanted out. During his time away from the rough neighborhood he grew up in, he learned a different way to live. He learned how to live a life without so much violence. A life where "voices raised in anger were scarcely ever heard". There was a way to deal with disputes, a new way to deal with anger.

I believe that if Brent had showed his brother this way of living, without violence and toxic masculinity, Blake might've been less eager to participate in the violence of the neighborhood. He might've found a way to leave just like Brent did. Perhaps he would have grown into a man free from the expectations of those around him. Perhaps he would still be with his brother. Perhaps he would've lived.

References:

 Focus for Health. (2019, October 23). How Toxic Masculinity Harms Men and Society As A Whole - Focus for Health. Focus for Health. https://www.focusforhealth.org/how-toxic-masculinity-harms-men-and-society-as-a-whole/

 Kac-Vergne, M. (2012). Losing Visibility? The Rise and Fall of Hypermasculinity in Science Fiction Films. InMedia, 2. https://doi.org/10.4000/inmedia.491

Staples, B. (1986, March 30). ABOUT MEN; A BROTHER’S MURDER (Published 1986). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/30/magazine/about-men-a-brother-s-murder.html

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