Advertising and Male Violence

Level(s): Grades 11 - 12

Overview

This lesson and all associated documents (handouts, overheads, backgrounders) is available in an easy-print, pdf kit version.

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To make students aware of the ways in which male violence is used and promoted in advertising.

Learning Outcomes

Students will demonstrate:

an awareness of various violent male archetypes that are used in advertising.
an understanding of the effects of media violence on young men.
an understanding of the dominance of these violent archetypes in advertising that targets young men.
an understanding of their own feelings toward these archetypes.

Preparation and Materials

Photocopy the handout Masculinity and Violence in Advertising for class discussion.
Ask students to bring male-oriented magazines (such as sports, video game, fitness or skateboard magazines) to class.
Download or create overhead transparencies from advertisements representing the following themes (or bring similar ads to class)
Download or create an overhead transparency of the humorous ad Get Geared Up

The Lesson

Guided Discussion:

Perhaps the first question to be asked regarding today's class is "Why should we bother looking at the influence of violence in the media on males?" Obviously, media portrayals of violence affect us all, and female bullies and abusers exist. But statistically, it is males who seem particularly prone to violent action in our society, and because of this, it is worth taking the time to focus on this issue as it specifically relates to men.

Ask students:

What percentage of violent crime is committed by males? (Write down a few of their suggestions. The actual figure is close to 90%.)
Does this figure surprise you?
When we look at violence in society, we tend to think of women as victims and men as perpetrators. What percentage of males are victims of violence? (Nearly 70% of the victims of violent crime are male.)
Why isn't more violent crime committed by females? (Traditionally, society hasn't condoned or reinforced female violent behaviour in the same manner as it has for male violence.)

The fact is that violent behaviour is typically labelled as "male." This doesn't mean that all men are violent, but it does mean that violent behaviour is associated with masculinity.

Write the saying "Boys will be boys" onto the board. Ask students:

What does this saying mean to you? (Traditionally, the process of male socialization has encouraged boys to be aggressive, strong and powerful. When faced with aggressive or violent acts, attitudes such as "Boys will be boys" are one way that male violence is condoned and encouraged by society.)

One place where this "Boys will be boys" attitude seems to be constantly reinforced is in the media. Although studies have not conclusively proven that media violence is linked to real-life violence, experts agree that constant exposure to violent acts committed by males in the media normalizes male violence, making it appear to be a part of our real-life culture.

Ask students to brainstorm examples of violence from movies, sports, video games, rock videos and television.

One media influence that is often left out when discussing violence in the media is advertising. Yet many ads use violence to sell products. Just open up any magazine that is geared to teenage boys and you will be bombarded with advertisements that encourage aggression or violence.

Ask students to list the ways that advertisers use violence to sell products to men. (Examples might include the use of aggressive athletes or super heroes in threatening poses; ads that encourage physical violence or "attitude" [video game advertisements often use this method]; or ads that prey on men's insecurities in not being big, strong or tough enough.)

Five advertising themes or archetypes that use and encourage male violence are:

Attitude is Everything
The Cave Man Mentality
The New Warriors
Muscles and the "Ideal Man"
Heroic Masculinity

Ask students what sort of images might be associated with these themes. Distribute and review the handout Masculinity and Violence in Advertising. Can students think of other themes to add to this list?
Place your advertisement example onto the overhead projector (or distribute your own advertisements). Ask students to identify which archetype or theme these ads represent, and what messages they give to consumers. (Remind them to note how the text of each advertisement also relates to the theme.)

Attitude is Everything — These three ads for video games are examples of the ways in which attitude is promoted in advertisements geared towards young men.

Attitude Problem? promotes thumbing your nose at the rules. The message here is that the kids who flaunt the rules are smarter than the adults who make them and therefore, have the right to ignore authority. Attitude is equated with intelligence, and there is a definite "them against us" tone to this ad.
Thunder Truck Rally not only promotes questionable driving habits, but also the concept that "might is right" and that conflict is solved through strong-arm tactics, rather than negotiation.
Look Both Ways is an example of attitude in advertising taken to an extreme level. Playing on the "mean and scary world" syndrome, this advertisement promotes violent vigilante behaviour as a means of survival.

The Cave Man Mentality — These ads feature three masculine icons from popular history. The cowboy, the pirate and the ancient warrior are all examples of violent, rugged manhood that support the premise that man is, historically, an aggressive creature.

The Marlboro Man, that icon of the rugged, solitary male, is meant to suggest that men who smoke Marlboro cigarettes are equally rugged and masculine. With the cowboy icon comes many other (often stereotypical) associations of strength, bravery and 'noble violence' — the lone cowboy using violent behaviour to protect the weak and defenseless (who are usually female).
Although The Captain was here is meant to be a humorous ad, there are disturbing aspects to it. The icon of 'the pirate' is associated with many negative forms of behaviour, and Captain Morgan's leering expression is anything but noble. The words "The Captain was here" written over the model's body, as well as the moustache and beard, support the attitude that women are sexualized objects, to be owned by men.
Legacy of Kain uses the icon of the ancient warrior, with a gothic twist. The text "Revenge" implies that it is right to take justice into your own hands in order to get even with those who have wronged you. This game is based on an "eye-for-an-eye" philosophy, where the protagonist is portrayed as justified and noble in his quest for vengeance. However, the message to young men that "nothing is sweeter than the blood of your enemies," is far from noble.

The New Warriors — These ads use sports figures to make consumers associate danger, violence and excitement with the products that are being advertised.

Authentic major league fun uses the rugged image of a baseball player to link masculinity with toughness. Referring to a bruised and cut arm as "major league fun," the ad implies that to play in the major leagues, (even virtual major leagues) you have to be tough enough to take it.
Nike's Give Him an Inch and He'll Take Ten Yards uses a football player to reinforce the importance of aggression in achieving success. On one level, the text: "...increased mobility would come in pretty handy when you find yourself on the field with eleven large, angry men determined to lay waste to your reputation as a clutch performer" does describe the game of football, but it could easily be related to competition in the workplace.
Success. It's a Mind Game uses speed, danger and excitement to promote a product that one might not usually associate with masculinity — a wristwatch.

Muscles and the Ideal Man — These ads portray a strong, muscular body with the image of ideal manhood.

Work Like Hell. Feel like Heaven uses the rugged strength associated with construction workers to emphasize the rugged strength of Wolverine boots and shoes.
The workout his skin is thirsting for associates a training regime for the skin with a training regime for the body.
A Muscle Mag cover equates muscles, desirability and sexuality. This cover also reinforces the image of "man as protector" through its positioning of the man and woman.

Heroic Masculinity — Is Hollywood's glamorization of male violence. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson and Sylvestor Stallone are traditional examples of the actors who portray the violent male as an heroic ideal. Much attention has been given recently to a new brand of action hero embodied by actors such as Nicholas Cage or Tom Cruise. These modern heroes are supposed to be smarter and more sensitive than their predecessors, but they still get their share of mayhem! When deconstructing these advertisements, students should note how facial expressions, text, weaponry and stance are all used to enhance this archetype.

Activity One

Divide your class into small groups.
Using the magazines that have been brought to class, ask students to find examples from each of the five themes that have been discussed.
In groups, students will deconstruct each advertisement and present their findings to the class.

Activity Two

Place the transparency of the Get Geared Up advertisement onto the overhead. (Or select a humorous ad of your own.)

Ask your students to explain how satire is used in this ad. (This advertisement uses humour to show exaggerated stereotypes of "real men" and "wimps." It's an interesting ad, because it satirizes the traditional concepts of masculinity — note the hats hanging on the antlers, the remotes on the coffee table, etc. — yet the product being sold is worn by the men who are being parodied! The question remains, would you want to get "geared up" to join this world? Perhaps even a satirized version of manhood is better than not being perceived as masculine at all!)

Divide your class into five groups and assign each group one of the themes that has been discussed in class.
Each group is to create a parody advertisement, satirizing their assigned theme.
Ads can be presented in print format, or they can be acted out.
Students will present their satirical ads to the rest of the class.

Activity Three

Each student will look for an advertisement that promotes a more positive or realistic image of masculinity.
Students will submit their ads, with a written explanation of why they selected that particular advertisement, to the teacher for evaluation or
Students can present their ads and explanations orally to the class.

Activity Four

Boys can write journal entries regarding the effect that violent masculinity in advertising (or the media in general) has had on their own perceptions of what it takes to be a "real" man.
Girls can explore this issue in the context of how their expectations of men have been affected by these images.

Evaluation

Group ad deconstruction assignment
Group parody ads
Individual assignment or presentation
Journal entries