TO BE A MAN (TV)
Summary
This film explores what it means to be a man through interviews with men and women who offer many differing views. Clips of motion pictures are used to embellish the opinions of the participants. Highlights and topics of discussion include the following: the way males and females should behave, according to an old-fashioned cowboy and his young wife; the diminishing capacity for self-reliance in modern society; how World War I helped men to express the "right kind of manhood"; the influence of flappers on society; the effect of the Depression on the pride of American males; the influence of motion pictures on the concept of the ideal man; the importance of competition to men; the father of a little boy, who has won many karate competitions, discusses why he feels it is important for his son to be aggressive; various martial arts experts and doctors discuss the effect of karate on the young boy's life; why men want out of the economic "rat race"; men's liberation; the changes in the workplace that occurred during World War II; feminist leader Betty Friedan talks about equal rights for women; a recently divorced husband and wife discuss the way in which their relationship began to deteriorate; professor Wayne Johnson of Temple University discusses the expectations women have put upon men; Dr. James Baxter, a psychiatrist, discusses the male response to female liberation; intimacy between men; the pros and cons of being a househusband; the patronizing attitude a single father may receive from women; and a writer discusses the need for men to grow out of the "old machismo" attitude and hopes for a day when "men won't need the latest four-wheel penis to prove something about themselves." Footage includes segments of silent films and John Wayne and William S. Hart westerns. Also, footage of William S. Hart issuing a dramatic farewell to the movie industry is included. This program contains minor technical problems. This represents the best copy of this program currently available to the Museum.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: November 15, 1977 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:58:45
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:37886
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Masculinity
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 1977
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Christian Blackwood … Producer, Director
- David M. Alpern … Writer
- Barton S. Heyman … Narrator
- James Baxter
- Betty Friedan
- Wayne Johnson
- William S. Hart
- Wayne, John ("The Duke")