Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

Watch the film Tough Guise 2 on Kanopy [https://neiu.kanopy.com/video/tough-guise-2]. (This film is an updated version of the original Tough Guise, released in 1999.] Note that there are three versions: the original, the “Clean” edition, and the “Abridged” edition. The original version has a substantial amount of violence and sexual imagery. If this is upsetting to you, I recommend you watch one of the other versions. The content is substantially the same

The following are some questions you might consider for your paper. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ANSWER ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS. In many cases, ONE question would provide you with enough material for a full paper.

What connections or empathy did you feel with the experiences presented in the film? What are your unique experiences? 

What are some of the potential effects on boys and men of trying to live up to our culture’s ideal of physical size and strength? Emotional effects? Health effects? 

Do you believe that the media simply reflect changes in society, or do they in some way inspire change? For example, note how both male heroes and weapons have grown so much larger in media presentations. How and why do you think individuals are susceptible to media influence? 

What do you think about the increasing presence of overtly sexualized male bodies in advertising, posed in provocative, at times submissive, ways? Could this increased visibility of the male body as a sexualized object – rather than as a powerful agent – be a response to shifting attitudes in the culture about masculinity?