Neoliberalism and Hegemonic Masculinity Reaction Paper -It is open topic. You can bring issues of femininity, masculinity, class, and patriarchal imperiali

Neoliberalism and Hegemonic Masculinity Reaction Paper -It is open topic. You can bring issues of femininity, masculinity, class,
and patriarchal imperialism whatever you find interesting in The Host or
Parasite. However, try to connect your topic to the issue of masculinity. (3 pages) # Neoliberalism and Hegemonic Masculinity
– Economic changes demand a shift to a ‘modern’ male role for men.
-(Or it comes from inside the person, from the ‘real self’ that protests against the
artificial restrictions of constraining roles. We might be able to talk about this more in
Week 4)
-Twenty years ago, Patricia Sexton suggested that ‘male norms stress values such as
courage, inner direction, certain forms of aggression, autonomy, mastery,
technological skill, group solidarity, adventure and considerable amounts of toughness
in mind and body.” It is relatively recently that social scientists have sought to link
that insight with the concept of hegemony, a notion as slippery and difficulty as the
idea of masculinity itself.
-Hegemony involves persuasion of the greater part of the population, particularly
through the media, and the organization of social institutions in ways that appear
‘natural,’ ‘ordinary,’ and ‘normal.’
-Thus, many of us automatically think adjectives such as “powerful, strong, sturdy,
tough, and authoritative” when we imagine the word, ‘man or masculinity.’
-Hegemonic masculinity is naturalized in the form of hero and presented through
forms that revolve around heroes. For example, think about all kinds of heroic images
in the films and media.
-The male sex role is best seen as hegemonic masculinity, the culturally idealized
form of masculine characters, which however, may not be the usual form of
masculinity at all.
-Why do certain ways of being male predominate, and particular sorts of men rule?
Why can hegemonic masculinity be problematic?
-The reason why hegemonic masculinity is problematic is it posits not only women as
potential sexual objects for men but also men as subordinated objects under neoliberal
ideology. Working-class and colored men are excluded from power structure
alongside women.
-Large numbers of men are motivated to support images of hegemonic masculinity
because it benefits them; however, what most men support is not necessarily what
they are.
-Modern male subjects struggle to achieve, attain, or identifies with hegemonic
masculinity as society wants them to embody it. However, in Neoliberal society
where people are inevitably engaged in economic struggle against one another, male
subjects feel pressure to prove their masculinity.
# Parasite (2019) – For today, you need to watch Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite. After
watching the film, we are going to talk about if counter-hegemonic movements of
men are possible by men. Can protagonists challenge the dominant/ oppressive
masculine images that have been shaped our notion of gender system?
You
can
find
the
film

at:
Youtube:
Here are some points that I want you to think about:
1. Failed Masculinity VS. Hegemonic Masculinity
-You might be able to find a number of masculinities in the film. Can you categorize
hegemonic masculinity and failed masculinity in the film? How do you categorize
them?
-Do you believe characters that you categorize as hegemony, are evil, cunning and
oppressive?
-How do you understand Ki-Woo’s masculinity? What makes you construct the image
of Ki-Woo’s masculinity? Is his masculinit(ies) multiple or singular? Do you think
can KiWoo’s actions in the film be justified?
-Ki-Taek, the father of Jessica (Ki-Jung) and Ki-Woo argues he is different from
GeunSae, the basement guy. What are your thoughts on this argument? Do you think
Ki-Taek’s masculinity is stable or changing?
-Sometimes, a place itself conveys symbolic meaning such as gender, class and
sexuality. Maybe you can think about the image of “Specters of Marx” that Geun-Seo
has portrayed in the film, and how two other characters, Ki-Taek and Yeon-Kyo repeat
the images.
2. Mimetic Masculinity
-Some male characters mimic the others’ masculinity. Who mimics who? Why do you
think those characters mimic the others?
-Do you believe Ki-Woo’s dream of being a son-in-law of Park is his own desire? Do
you see any differences of Ki-Woo’s performance of masculinity between the
sequences where Ki-Woo received a viewing stone from Min-Hyuk and Ki-Woo put it
back to the water? What would be the meaning of the stone and how can you connect
it with KiWoo’s performance of masculinity?
-Da-Song, a son of the Park family performs Native American identity that he seemed
to experience in Cub Scout. Don’t you think it is a bit ironic? Why do you think
Da-Song’s pursuing of Native American masculinity is satire in this film?
-How do you understand Geun-Sae’s blind admiration of Mr. Park? 3. Femininities
-There are multiple femininities in this film as well. If we try to simplify, we can see
very old, traditional binary images of women, pure/naïve heroin vs. cunning witch. In
the film, who construct the binary?
-Maybe you can also consider about the owner of pizza restaurant at the very
beginning of the film.
4. Relation with The Host(2006)?
-You can see the symmetry of the title between The Host and Parasite. Can you
connect Parasite to The Host? Who do you think the host and parasite in both films?
How can we connect the gender structure in those films?

Purchase answer to see full
attachment