Are you not Entertained?????

 

So to think of masculinity as portrayed in the media, I thought of the Movie The Gladiator http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo.  Russell Crow plays Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius.  He is portrayed as handsome, muscular, and has the most well groomed facial hair ever!  He is fearless, dangerous, a risk taker and willing to die to be reunited to be with his family in heaven.  He was deceived by the Emperors son Commodus and after finding his family slain, found and perceived to be a slave. Where he was made a Gladiator and had had to fight to the death in order to survive.  He eventually avenged the murder of his wife and child in the Coliseum and killed Commodus.  Only after brutally killing hundreds of men, some of which were his friends; but were willing to die for his cause.  The protagonist Maximus is strong, fearless wins by his own strength and intuition, the antagonist Commodus is shown as weak a coward.  Commodus never stands up to the battle he always cheats and uses intimidation to win.
These analogies are taught at an early age from the toys children play with, why give a child a gun if you are not going to teach him how to play with it properly? To the handsome young prince who rescues the princess. 
We also classify things in a masculine non masculine way in careers. The white collar,  blue collar jobs the white collar jobs are held by professionals those who don't get their hands dirty, the weaker. Blue collar jobs are held by those who are stronger and can handle getting a little dirtythose that can do some physical labor.  Same goes for the crimes, we have heard or white collar crimes, those that are not a threat to society computer crimes; they are let out for work release the weaker guys with the pocket protector.  Then the blue collar crimes those that are threatening to society; they are the larger, muscular, and threatening the murderers and rapists.
But here is the question where did those blue collar criminals learn their behavior?  Did they start modeling what they saw on T.V. as a child, were the white collar professionals playing chess and studying while the blue collar criminals were watching Hannibal? 
We as humans imitate and learn through observing imitating, monkey see monkey do!  Dr. Albert Bandura  proved learning through observation with the Bobo experiment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHdovKHDNU.  Children learn and copy violence through observing other people do it.  How does someone learn to rape and murder if they never see it?  How does someone know to take another life, or what it is to tie another person up, or to tape another persons mouth unless they see it.  We are not talking motor skills.  My only hope is that those who think that their should be no guidelines are those who have no children or those who don't want a different tomorrow.  I understand the right to freedom of speech and we as adults need to take the responsibility to shelter our children but we need to meet in the middle.  Because we also need to shelter the victims who are going to become victimizers.  Those who have no parental supervision, whose parents are addicts. We as a community can do our part to step in and maybe be that one piece of the puzzle that can make a difference.  But don't worry I don't want to take away all your violence I am talking murder and rape prior to the average time kids up to the age of sixteen go to bed.  I just want hear no evil see no evil, before bed!!