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In this highly anticipated update of the influential and widely acclaimed Tough Guise, pioneering anti-violence educator and cultural theorist Jackson Katz argues that the ongoing epidemic of men's violence in America is rooted in our inability as a society to move beyond outmoded ideals of manhood. In a sweeping analysis that cuts across racial, ethnic, and class lines, Katz examines mass shootings, day-to-day gun violence, violence against women, bullying, gay-bashing, and American militarism against the backdrop of a culture that has normalized violent and regressive forms of masculinity in the face of challenges to traditional male power and authority. Along the way, the film provides a stunning look at the violent, sexist, and homophobic messages boys and young men routinely receive from virtually every corner of the culture, from television, movies, video games, and advertising to pornography, the sports culture, and U.S. political culture. Tough Guise 2 stands to empower a new generation of young men -- and women -- to challenge the myth that being a real man means putting up a false front and engaging in violent and self-destructive behavior.
Praise for Tough Guise 2:
"Tough Guise gave an entire generation of students the most engaging and insightful critique of contemporary masculinity they'd ever seen. In this new edition, Jackson Katz has thoroughly updated and revised the film without sacrificing any of its passion and analysis. It remains the touchstone work for all cinematic efforts to map the obvious and subtle links between masculinity and violence."
Michael Kimmel | SUNY Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Stonybrook University | Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities
"Tough Guise 2 is a vibrant film that challenges viewers to rethink stereotypes about manhood in order to create a better future. Jackson Katz's updated film connects the dots between bullying, violence, militarism, and outdated versions of masculinity that no longer serve us well -- if they ever did. Cutting across lines of race, class, and ethnicity, Tough Guise 2 sparks sometimes difficult and compelling conversations about what it means to be a man in today's culture."
Shira Tarrant | Associate Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at California State University, Long Beach | Author of Men Speak Out: Views on Gender, Sex and Power
"Tough Guise 2 is a must see film for anyone genuinely interested in understanding the culture of violent masculinity in America. It is comprehensive, well-researched, and visually engaging. Katz presents a very strong case in diagnosing the root causes of this country's increasing levels of hypermasculinity, bullying, gun violence, misogyny, homophobia, as well as the correlation between violence and manhood. It's one of the most instructive tools available to help educators challenge their students to think more critically and deeply about American manhood, and the costly consequences of subscribing to narrow definitions of masculinity."
Byron Hurt | Director/Producer of Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes and I am a Man
"I have always depended on Jackson Katz to give the most insightful, articulate, and compelling understanding of masculinity in American culture. For years, I used Tough Guise in my work with high school students and professional development training with educators. Now that Tough Guise 2 is out, Jackson has once again given us the tools we need to challenge some of the most pervasive and destructive messages we all hear and shows us a way change our own lives for the better. I am so grateful that Jackson continues to be a uniquely powerful leader in this field."
Rosalind Wiseman | Author of New York Times best-selling book Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence
"By combining critical media analysis with feminist theory, Jackson Katz brings his unique insights and cutting-edge perspective to an exploration of the ways contemporary masculinity is shaped and constructed by pop culture. This documentary is obligatory viewing for teachers, students, practitioners, and activists concerned about the epidemic of male violence."
Gail Dines | Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies at Wheelock College | Author of Pornland: How Porn has Hijacked our Sexuality
"I was sure Tough Guise 2 could not possibly outdo the original. I was wrong. This updated version featuring Jackson Katz is a brave, thoroughly and graphically documented indictment of a society that promotes the glorification of male violence. And, in so doing, puts pressure on young boys to 'overconform' in order to be seen as a 'man.' Katz leaves no doubt that the answer to rampage violence, mass murder, family violence, sexual assault, gay-bashing, and bullying is a new definition of masculinity, a new model of what it means to be a man...or a boy. I challenge all men, especially fathers, to watch Tough Guise 2. And to take personal responsibility for helping to reshape the 'American Ideal' of manhood."
Norm Stamper | Former Chief of the Seattle Police Force | Author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing
"I can't wait to use Tough Guise 2 in the classroom. This smart, engaging and challenging film is a priceless tool for educating our students about masculinity and violence, and a crucial step toward igniting a next-generation of feminist personal and social transformation."
Dr. Michael Alan Messner | Professor of Sociology & Gender Studies at the University of Southern California
"In his latest film, Tough Guise 2, Jackson Katz helps us understand the violence men do to themselves and to others, and he does that more compellingly and vividly than has ever been done before. Tough Guise 2 is more powerful than any argument, more real than any theory, and more urgent than today's news. This is a documentary that is as entertaining as it is brilliantly insightful. It is essential viewing for anyone who cares about men, women, or children."
Tom Digby | Professor of Philosophy at Springfield College | Author of Love and War: How Militarism Shapes Sexuality and Romance
"Tough Guise 2 is a riveting and transformative film that will open the eyes and alter the lives of a new generation. Dr. Jackson Katz meticulously analyzes the role of popular culture in establishing norms of violent masculinity that are personally and culturally destructive. He uses contemporary and classic examples from television, advertising, films, video games, pornography, and sports to draw a connection between violence on the screen and actual violence. Dr. Katz debunks the myth that being a 'real man' requires a false front, violence, and self-destructive behavior, and he humanizes the boys and men who are born into this system. Watching Tough Guise 2 will be a breakthrough moment for many viewers since it stands as the liberation film for boys and men. This is an indispensable documentary for parents, anti-violence advocates, educators, and students across the country."
Dr. Caroline Heldman | Chair of the Politics Department at Occidental College | Co-Founder of End Rape on Campus | Co-Founder of the New Orleans Women's Shelter
"Tough Guise 2 is a brilliant teaching tool for anyone attempting to make visible the cultural meaning of masculinity and the ways in which multiple social institutions have historically forged its definition. Viewers are given a gender analytical frame that when held up, makes sense of today's 'senseless violence' committed by too many boys and men."
Dr. Vicki Sommer | Professor of Sociology & Anthropology at Augustana College
"The arrival of Tough Guise 2 is nothing short of an event. It promises to speak to a new generation of young people with even greater urgency than the remarkably influential original."
Diane Rosenfeld | Lecturer, Harvard Law School
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