The Mask You Live In
The Mask You Live In follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America's narrow definition of masculinity.
Pressured by the media, their peer group, and even the adults in their lives, our protagonists confront messages encouraging them to disconnect from their emotions, devalue authentic friendships, objectify and degrade women, and resolve conflicts through violence. These gender stereotypes interconnect with race, class, and circumstance, creating a maze of identity issues boys and young men must navigate to become "real" men.
Experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education, and media also weigh in, offering empirical evidence of the "boy crisis" and tactics to combat it.
The Mask You Live In ultimately illustrates how we, as a society, can raise a healthier generation of boys and young men.
Watch the trailer here.
The screening will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Dr. Jacqueline Vickery.
Jacqueline Vickery conducts research on young people's digital media practices as they intersect with issues of equity, identity, privacy, literacy, and policy. She approaches research from a qualitative perspective and draws methodologically from ethnography, feminist media theory, and discourse analysis. Her most recent articles address issues of privacy and surveillance via social and mobile media. She has also published work on digital literacy and equity in after-school clubs, conducted analyses of anonymity in meme production, blogs, and forums, and researched issues of online femininity and gender performance.
Additionally, Dr. Vickery is an Associated Researcher for the "The Digital Edge" which is an ethnographic research project funded by the MacArthur Foundation's Connected Learning Research Network. She is also the co-founder of and an advisor for the interdisciplinary Digital Media Studies Certificate program at UNT.
Fem Flicks is a film series spotlighting various gender issues. Fem Flicks is presented by the Multicultural Center, the Media Library, and the Women's & Gender Studies Program.