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Gender Role Models In Richard Linklater's Boyhood

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The ability to understand male role models allows for a more intelligent understanding as to why boys act the way they do, and why our conceived notion on what being a boy changes. While examining the movie Boyhood, directed by Richard Linklater, and the entry “Boyhood” by Eric Tribunella, manhood is defined by “the ability to dominate, care for, or exercise power over others”, while “to be a boy means to be flawed, inchoate, or incomplete” (Tribunella). The movie and the entry both enlighten audiences with examples of boyhood and how it changes and shifts from each person. Linklater’s Boyhood follows Mason Jr’s life from 6-18 years old. During this time his mother married three times. First to an abusive alcoholic who turns his life around …show more content…

By this time Mason has already started discovering his identity and has learned who he is; however, the third husband is constantly struggling with Mason and the idea that he is an independent person exemplified during the night when Mason comes home late. The father tries to start a fight and lecture Mason about how it is his house and he is control of it and mason must conform and completely abandon his own ideals to fit this type of man. However, due to his age, he is able to see this type of manipulation and understands that he is able to keep true to himself. The caring man, the dominating man, and the power hungry man all are father figures in Mason’s life and they all attempt to raise him in a certain way. Causing Mason’s boyhood to be flawed because he never witnessed just one type of man, which causes him to have the ability to grow up into any or all three men. The idea of a flawed boy is brought up in Eric Tribunella’s essay and is explored in Linklater’s Boyhood due to the constant degradation of Mason and his choices. During the first fight between Samantha and Mason, Samantha initiates the fight and causes Mason to retaliate. Theoretically Samantha should be the child to get lectured; however, the mom gets angry at Mason and is told to grow up. This little lecture shows that boys are supposed to be the ones that start the fight and are the obnoxious ones, this point is brought up in Tribunellas essay and is shown throughout the

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