The Norms and Single Stories of Op-Docs
When you view things in life, it can be hard to suspend your judgement. Think about it, when you think about anything in life, your opinion is always there, you always end up thinking things before you get to know what it is about. Taking a look at two different New York Times Op-Docs, I had to suspend my judgement and try to view these Op-Docs in a different light. One of the videos I viewed was titled, "Tears Teacher" by Noemie Nakai. Noemie Nakai is an actor, writer, and director and her Op-Doc covers this teacher that hosts therapy sessions for people who need to cry; especially men. Not only in Japan, where this takes place, but all over the world, men are told they can't cry or they aren't a true man. Men are taught to hide and push away their emotions in order to look manly. This teacher in Japan is trying to break this stereotype and teach men, and even some women, that it is okay to show emotions and that it is healthy to do so. It really made me think about how it is true that men are told to be strong and not to cry and how that really isn't healthy. It made me think about my previous blog post,"The Changing Ways of Toxic Masculinity," and how this Op-Doc relates hand and hand with the documentary and articles I have read. To check out this very interesting story, click here!
A second Op-Doc that you should take the time to watch is titled, "Arctic Boyhood," by a French film and television director, Samuel Collardey. Collardey explores the life of a young boy living on the Greenland tundra. The video shows how thing young boy is already starting to do things that he will do when he is older. For example, he starts to train sled dogs and creating the ropes and harnesses. He can't be more than 8 years old and is already doing adult things. It really put into perspective how in some places kids have to grow up and have more responsibility than others. It also showed the ideas of how the men play with guns and do manly things, while the women don't have to. It was very interesting to learn about how life can be so different from where you live. I would highly recommend checking out this Op-Doc. To do so, click here!
These seem super interesting Karly! I plan on checking out "Arctic Boyhood" because what you described seems very interesting. As for "Tears Teacher", I think it is great how that teacher is giving boys an outlet to express their feelings as that is often said to be something very feminine. I also wrote about something similar in my last blog post and I am glad people like that teacher are changing the stigma on men expressing their feelings.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really liked how you started off by talking about suspending your own judgement and opinions before viewing a video, this is definitely an important skill to have. The first Op-Doc, "Tears Teacher," seems very interesting, and reminds me of "Tough Guise 2" as well as the New York Times articles we read about toxic masculinity. It seems to start an important conversation about the outdated model of masculinity, and the concept of allowing people to be human and show their emotions, regardless of gender. As for "Arctic Boyhood," I liked how it continued the conversation about toxic masculinity, but also brought up new ideas. Well said!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! I really resonated with your thoughts on toxic masculinity and men being more open to crying and expressing feelings. I definitely want to check out “Tears Teacher” and find out more about her therapy sessions for these people. I thinks it is very interesting how our society affects males behavior and has ingrained stereotypes into so many young boys. Very well put!
ReplyDelete