Typical. Male. Behavior. I never thought it right or just to remove the periods and turn those words into a proper statement. If as a female, I don’t like my behavior being categorized as “typical,” [which I don’t] then it’s only fair that I don’t do onto males what I don’t like them doing onto me. There is a possibility that the statement would be somewhat acceptable to use in my belief if it didn’t have such a strong negative connotation attached to it. Usually, for females the term can be used in describing a girl as clingy or over-emotional, while for males it can be understood as inconsiderate or immature. But the connotations are pretty difficult (if not impossible) to remove, which is why I try to consciously refrain from using the statement.
However, the situation and the rules get complicated when it becomes necessary to discuss a piece that embraces the “typical” stereotype, enhances it and almost flaunts it. After watching the first episode of Rescue Me, the three words [typical male behavior] came into my mind instantly, but this time without the periods. The men are rude, aggressive, uncaring, inconsiderate and at times just downright mean. Sure, the show is about a bunch of guys, but why is their behavior so typical, why is that a “good” thing and why is it so attractive to audiences?
Author Heather Havrilesky points out in her article, “’Rescue Me’: The Tragedy of the Modern Guy’s Guy,” that the so-called typical behaviors are actually pretty tragic. The modern guy doesn’t know what he wants in life, can’t find solutions to his problems and has immense difficultly dealing with and understanding emotions. This type of behavior is tragic and also is the typical male behavior. It’s accepted socially and hyped up through the dialogue in the show. I did think that the last scene, where the men are shown displaying human-like emotions is shown to make a point that they are not all inherently numb and that they do have hearts too. However, the fact that these men were all alone in the scene as well as the placement of the scene itself as the last of the episode, I felt to be pretty predictable and once again typical.
As I admitted above, my initial response to the show was the three words minus the three periods. But after some thought, I think it’s pretty comical and I’m glad we were able to analyze it. Comical in the sense that their behaviors are typical, they are negative but more importantly they are realistic. That last point is what makes the show pretty interesting and unable to easily dismiss. It’s the men embracing their own tragic negative stereotype. Good for them.
So, what good can come from actually -embracing- these stereotypes? It's a daring narrative approach, to be sure. Part of the reason the show is so compelling as it progresses is waiting for the inevitable downfalls, the crash and burn we all know is coming, and wondering why the characters seem unable to help themselves (as Ms. Havrilesky points out, Tommy seems incapable of recognizing his problems and fixing them, despite often seeing a need to do so).
ReplyDeleteUsing the word "good" was defiantly a risky choice. I debated it, but here's why I ultimately decided to stick with it:
ReplyDelete1) Its good because the show is hyping up the stereotype and in doing so, the writers are bringing that negative stereotype to the audience’s attention. Sure, this is pretty counterproductive, but it works in the sense that people are able to see and understand why the character’s stereotypical actions are a PROBLEM; hence why everyone is able to predict the downfalls which you speak of. In an odd and somewhat backwards way, the show is actually educating its audiences indirectly of the “typical male behavior” and associating it with negative consequences. This is a good thing, in my opinion.
2) Its good in the sense that it’s realistic. There are still men who behave like this and the writers are reminding us of that. It’s good that the stereotype is being embraced because it shows that the issues regarding the treatment of women which we speak of today are still very relevant.