Representation of Men in the Media

Representation of Men in the Media

In most media forms, men are perceived as strong, dominant, competitive figures in society who are expected to show off their masculinity at all times. In television and film, young men are stereotypically seen as reckless, sex cravers who make poor decisions in life, whereas older men are seen as dominant heads of households and/or the provider and worker of the family.

When seeing men in adverts or on television they tend to be young, fit and athletic as they are seen as the type of person that the audience demographic would want to see or strive towards being like. They also tend to be slim and muscular which helps to create the image that all men should be this size and shape and that anyone that does not fall into that category is deemed unfit. 

A stereotype that is seen all the time in films and television is how people are classified in schools. In these, there will always be the strong masculine and athletic character who is seen as really popular, a bully but very stupid. There will also be an intelligent character who is seen as a 'nerd' or 'geek'. He will usually be small, weak and timid. This misrepresentation can make people believe that brawn is more important than brains and that being smart is a negative thing. As these concepts are usually seen in schools and less in the workplace it can target children who have very impressionable minds. 'The Big Bang Theory' changes this and whilst it still has the stereotype of nerds being uncool and not skilled with the opposite sex, it did a good job of making 'nerd culture' popular in society e.g. meeting Stan Lee.

Another stereotype often seen in film and television is that teenagers and young men are obsessed with sex. This will also lead to them being perverted, making crude jokes and making creepy advances onto women. While in reality these seem like bad things, they are usually passed off as jokes or just part of the character's nature. They are often seen as sexual failures to get the audience to sympathise with them. It is seen as uncool if you are still a virgin in your twenties, which can pressure real world audiences into getting out there. They are also very competitive over this and it can sometimes be seen as sport or a game.

Older men will often be seen as the dominating head of the family. In adverts, the men that they promote are successful, married, business men who is the head of the house. They are often seen wearing expensive suits to show his wealth. An example of this can be seen in Matthew McConaughey's "Bull" commercial. Although he is not seen with his family, the inclusion of the wedding ring on his finger shows that he is a family guy. He shows his masculinity by initially standing up to the bull by standing his ground. The use of a bull shows that Matthew is able to stand up to another alpha-male, one who is stronger than himself. The end of the video consists of him driving down an open road showing freedom.

Another stereotype among men-which contradicts the point above- is the failed domestic. This will be the man who is useless around the house and who does not do his fair share of work around the house. This stereotype is used in 'the lads' advert when the guys are cleaning. When we first see them they are lazy, slobbish and their house is a mess. When the man gets annoyed at their mess, they mock him. This makes it clear that they believe that cleaning is not a man's job; this is further implied when the men wear little aprons traditionally worn by women. They all ignore this however and go for a drink giving the impression that these sort of things are okay.

Overall, men's stereotypes seem as if they are good and give men a positive image as they are seen as strong or powerful but these actually send a bad message about men portraying them as competitive, womanising and useless around the house. These negative portrayals of men can lead to a prejudiced and distorted view on what the normal man should look and act like.