Blog 1: Reflection on masculinity…

In the text by Carlos Andres Gomez and the short film Invincible, masculinity is demonstrated through the internal and external reactions of the characters to the events during their youth.

Gomez explains his point of view on the code of manhood by sharing his experiences as a boy transforming into a man. At six years old, his first lesson about the subject was getting his fingernails painted like his aunt and sister. Gomez’s aunt painted his nails after telling him he would learn the hard way. In her advertisement, she implicitly tells Gomez that he will learn the “silent rules for a man to be in order.” Just before entering the team for a soccer game, his painted fingernails attract harmful attention because insults about his appearance bombard him. In fact, the problem is not his fingernails painted, but the meaning of his action: To not be what society imposes on guys. His aunt, representing the authority, did not delve deeper into analyzing the consequences of societal norms with her nephew. It’s unfortunate that the young boy in question wasn’t given the opportunity to learn the proper way to behave through positive reinforcement. Instead, his aunt allowed society to be the teacher on such an important matter, which may have hindered his growth and development. Society resorted to using brutality as a means to teach him. As a result, not only did he become a victim, but everyone who judged him also unwittingly reinforced harmful societal norms. The humiliation he experienced was a prime example of how society teaches young boys to blindly integrate these norms into their daily lives. In both the text and the movie, certain barriers cannot be crossed by men, as indicated by the reactions of those close to the main characters. Sadly, society tends to confine individuals by instilling fear of judgement, thereby imposing an unattainable standard of conduct, such as the traditional code of manhood, as a guideline for life.

Likewise, Marc, the main character of the short movie Invincible, experiences the fear of judgment when he confronts society’s norms of manhood. Indeed, while sharing his feelings with his classmates at the youth center via a poem, the movie scene focuses on his tormented face because it demonstrates how societal norms force individuals to remove the sensitive elements that define the beauty of humans. Another example is Marc suffocating in the hotness of the youth center after leaving his family. The issue is not that the fan does not work, which annoys him and makes him punch it. His reaction to feeling imprisoned in a hot room indicates how prisoner he is. Without a doubt, Gomez and Marc are feeling oppressed by the heaviness of being strong enough to keep up with all the manhood rules. For instance, Gomez struggled to meet society’s norms because he did not agree to use the “three words men must have in their vocabulary” to be approved by society as someone who is enough. Since he was a child, he has been expected to distance himself from anything defined as not masculine. When he returned from the Palazzo gay club, he was scared that his parent would associate him as gay. Let’s come back to his first lesson: he was bullied just at first glance because people perceived him as not usual, defined him as inappropriate, judged him and finally insulted him with one of the three words. Meeting these rules is like forcing fire and water to oppose themselves. Invincible wisely uses these two forces of nature to manifest the constant fight inside Marc. All societal norms, including masculinity, can create an inner struggle between striving for masculinity ideals or feeling inadequate, in this case.

The movie Invincible points out how masculinity forms internal struggles because the masculinity model is unrealistic. In the beginning, when Marc’s family leaves the chalet, Marc reassures his sister, who is crying, by putting his hand on a lightning fire without showing any pain. This movie scene illustrates that defying a natural force such as fire is an illusion just like being a man according to society. Amazed by this trick, his sister tells him to stop because she cares about his hand. In the end, while Marc drives a stolen car, the movie makes a parallel scene between the siblings. His sister’s face expresses what Marc is trying to oppress while he is driving, and every time he has to reinforce his masculinity. When she attempted her brother’s magic trick, she gained a deeper understanding of the pain he endures from suppressing his suffering. She realized the immense inner strength it must take for Marc to constantly seek approval from others to be seen as a man. Gomez and Marc are both subject to the judgement of others molded by manhood. Therefore, as children, they are shaped by the norms and rules that surround them. It’s important to remember that words and actions can have a profound impact on young minds.