Mask You Live In Sociology

'The Mask You Live In' was very thought-provoking and provide insight into psychological and sociological effects that men have to go through to live up to the high expectations of "Masculinity." The documentary begins with former NFL player, Joe Ehrmann, talking about one of his earliest memory. Which was his father bringing him to their basement and teaching him how to fight, and in that basement, he told him three words that he would carry with him forever; " Be a man." Ehrmann was so affected by this that he began to play football using is as a way to hide, and create a façade of manliness, and how the documentary goes on to talk about how this isn't the only way men or boys learn or try to express their masculinity, but how some do so, through violence acts. 'The Mask You Live In' has interviews with experts, teachers, male role models, and young boys, teens and men who discusses their experiences, both negative and positive, with growing up as a male in today's society. The conversation with the boys were the most moving, because it really shows how strongly this weird ideal masculinity …show more content…
Ashanti Branch, a teacher and a youth advocate now, talked about how at a young age he started to not care about his education. He since himself as smart in Elementary, but once entering today Middle School, he started to get that mentality of 'too cool for school,' that the documentary talks about how most boys enter into. It was until his last year at of Middle School, when a teacher told him that she knows that he hasn't had a father figure in this life, but he shouldn't 't use that as an excuse to act this way. This stood out to me, because with what his teacher told me, helped him change his whole life around, and stop being the 'man' that people wanted him to be, and start being the 'man' he wanted to