Wednesday, September 25, 2013
"Soft" Response Prompt
In a brief, 500-600 word essay, please respond to one of the following questions. Remember that this is a practice essay.
1. Soft is a film that is largely about the relationship between a father and a son, and their roles as man and child--respectively. In your essay, focus on how this relationship shifts throughout the film, and why you think the director chose to exhibit this role reversal. If you have an applicable experience that will further help your readers understand your points, please include this in your essay.
2. Soft is an interesting title for the film. Give three examples from the film that shed light on the meaning of Soft--as it relates to themes of masculinity (and thus, femininity), power, and/or violence, and discuss how and why the title becomes necessary for understanding the film in this context.
3. Pick a major theme from Soft-- either masculinity, sexuality, class, violence, power, age, or violence--and make it personal. In this response, pick a theme that you can connect to your life, or the lives of others. Use specific examples from the film that help establish this connection. Focus on how the theme becomes relevant off-screen to a current social issue.
DUE ON BLOG by SUNDAY at 5pm (in the comments sections). You will receive comments from both Lisa and Jaimie.
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The relationship between a father and a son is portrayed well in the short film Soft. The director, Simon Ellis captures the audience’s attention and teases the viewer with emotions. The violent teenage gang attacks the father and son in similar ways and the father fails to solve the conflict. The son takes the initiative and subdues the bully with one swing of the bat. Although this is film is just under fifteen minutes in length, many themes are apparent and the film truly captures the audience. Roles are reversed in the movie when the son completes the task that his father failed to do.
ReplyDeleteThe son is seen in the beginning of the film as a vulnerable teenager, who is fearful of defending himself. When his dad arrived home from the convenience store, the son looked to his father for help getting rid of the bullies. The son had been taught by his father to not get into fights, although when the father saw the pain that his son was put through, he encouraged the son to defend himself. When the son realized that his father was not going to do anything to get rid of the bullies, the son took the masculine role and solved the issue. Towards the end of the film, roles shifted when the son defended himself and his father, rather than the dad doing his fatherly duties by defending his family. The son shocked his father when he swung the bat at the bullies. The dad was in disbelief after seeing what his son did and it seemed like the son gained respect from his father and their relationship seemed stronger at the end of the film.
I think that the connection between this father and son is common but there are some aspects that are unique to this film. In most families, the son looks up to his father for support and is seen as a hero. In the film Soft, the son seeks support from his father, but instead, the son ends up defending the both of them. Both of the men in the movie were attacked on the same day. This shows that fathers have already experienced many things that their sons are going through in their adolescence so they can relate easily with them and help them through hardships.
I have had a few similar experiences in my life with role reversals between me and some other members of my family. When my mom went on vacation I had to pick up and do some of the jobs that she did around the house. I had to wash the dishes, fold the laundry and make dinner for my family until she got back from the trip. We sort of went through role shifts because I did the jobs that she usually does and she did the thing that I usually do, relax.
The father did not fail as a father. The event allowed his son to grow as and individual and become more of a man. If anything, the dad helped his son prepare for more difficult things in the future. Unexpected confrontations are parts of everyday life, the better we prepare, the better off we will be.
OK. So your thesis is not focused enough. You point to father's failure to complete his "task" - be specific. What task and why is it important that the son completed the task instead?
DeleteYour body paragraphs do not move smoothly from on to the other, so I would say one of your biggest challenges would be to transitioning from one idea to another. Other grammatical issues: tense agreement, passive voice, and run-ons.
While I appreciate your attempt to write a conclusion that looks forward, it appears that you had difficulty moving from your personal experience back to the film.
Did the father fail to prepare his son based on his failure to act? Can't you say that it was the son who prepared his for adult confrontations? Just wondering!
Devin Duran
ReplyDelete“Soft” Response
Soft: easy to mold, cut, compress, or fold; not hard or firm to touch. In the 2008 Sundance short film “Soft”, both the denotation and connotation of the title is interpreted through out many layers. The word “soft” alone is quit feminine; it can be interrupted as weak. This title speaks to three of the major themes in the film: masculinity, roles and relationships, and violence. When father and son become victims of violent bullies, their roles within their relationship are reversed, calling into question the father’s masculinity and power. The father embodies “soft” on each the theme levels.
Strength and aggressiveness are not traits associated with being “soft.” These traits embody masculinity, and in turn emulate the role of a father. The role of a father is to be the strong and steady stature for the rest of the family to look up to. In the film, the son and father relationship immediately establishes itself as being distant. Once the the father and son’s middle class, family home is “penetrated” by one of the teenagers, the son looks desperately to the father to take command of the situation. The father is the “man of the house.” So in turn, the father is the most masculine. The father’s masculinity was “assaulted” just as directly as the house was. The manly thing to do in a sexually compromising situation would be to defend and attack, and not be easy to touch, or in other words be soft. This “penetration” also accuses the father and son of being feminine instead of masculine. This is the ultimate insult to men.
No trait is more desired by men than power. Men crave it to prove their masculinity and to dominate the masculinity of other men seen as competition. When the father walks out of the corner store after buying a carton of milk, he is shoved onto the ground. This act of violence leaves the grown man powerless, looking up at a teenage boy who pushed him onto the street below. The word “power” is defined as: having the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. This definition is the exact opposite of soft. The concept of “power” dominates over being “soft.” Masculinity is having dominance.
Violence is a non ignorable tactic to establish power. At the climax of the short film, the father is physically attacked in the street outside of his front door. He becomes powerless against the bullies that attack him. His teenage son storms outside and brutally beats the bullies with a wooden paddle. The teenage son then seizes the power over the situation, and power equals masculinity.
By dissecting the meaning of the title “Soft” and all of the themes that contradict the title, one comes to the understanding that the film’s context is portraying the concepts of masculinity, power, and violence. The word “soft” is not a negative word on its own. However when put into relation with being a man, its a terrible flaw. I think this speaks to the flaws within our society. The highlights violence and intimidation as a key to achieving masculine power. If the father would have been confident in his own personal strength, he would have had the power within himself to not be the victim of the bullies in the first place. There is a romantic aspect to be noted about the traditional notion of masculinity. With that said, society should also update the steps on how to achieve it.
This is a good draft! I do think you need to flush out your ideas further though. You throw out words like "denotation" and "connotation" but don't do anything with them later on. Also your thesis statement indicated themes of "masculinity, roles and relationships, and violence." - but you talk about "power" not "roles and relationships."
DeleteOverall, you are going in an interesting direction - especially in the conclusion. However, you are not QUITE there yet. It is interesting how you comment on "power" and the romanticism associated with this portrayal of violence and masculinity - I think THAT is the heart of this essay!!
Austin Brandon
ReplyDeleteEnglish
Gusman
9/29/13
Fathers are more than just providers to their sons; they are superheroes. Children tend to take the view of society, which defines a father as the sole provider and protector of the family. Soft is a 2008 award winning Sundance Film that portrays a father and a son’s struggle with being physically bullied. The son is forced to handle a violent situation on his own because the father froze in fear. This shocking film makes us contemplate whether every man can fulfill the fatherly expectation put upon him by society. During the film the son and father take on one another’s roles. This role reversal makes us realize that, when in a terrifying situation, roles are easily reversible, breaking society's expectation of men.
At the beginning of the film the father comes home to his nice suburban house in his nice car. From this image you can infer that he is a hard working professional man. This stereotypical father comes home and starts order his son to move his bag from the doorway. Giving orders is another masculine trait that falls under category of societies thoughts of how a dad is. When the father heads to the market he is confronted by the bullies that beat up his son earlier. He shows no sign of fear as he heads into the store, but when he comes out he jumps in fright dropping his milk. Then the head bully knees him in the face dropping him to the floor. All of the masculinity that was built up on our view of the father suddenly was gone when he gets kneed in the face and does nothing in return.
Throughout the film the author hints at what masculinity is. The girls in the gang are only shown when they are filming. They are only shown filming so it would affirm the stereotype that the guys are the rough and tough physical beings. They stay out of the dirty work and just film and egg on the male to make him feel even more masculine. With this extra little boost of self-esteem the gang pulls out their penises to the father and son. This is the ultimate act of “Look how much of a man I am, you see how big my dick is.” He rubs his masculinity in their faces.
When the father sees the sons black eye he tells him he needs to stand up for himself despite the fact that he previously told him before not to fight. Almost immediately after, the gang started throwing rocks and antagonizing the father and son at their home. The father becomes a hypocrite and says to ignore them. As the son begs his father to go out and stop the gang until he realized his dad was scared. This shows how in the face of fear, even the one who is supposed to be the masculine sometimes falls to defeat. The Son standing up to the gang and hitting the leader in the head made us realize that anyone can rise to the occasion and take on a different role from the status quo.
The son, in societies view, truly became a man when he defends his father from getting beat up further by the bully. In reality he may have saved his father, but now he has this big ego he showed when he pretended to hand the bat to his father then dropped it on the floor and slammed the door on him. Being a man doesn’t mean being able to beat someone with a bat. Can the boy now provide and take care of his family just because he beat some kid with a bat? No the role reversal one only on one section of how we believe a man should be. There is a lot more to being a man.
The father and son may have experienced a role reversal, but the son still has a lot more learning ahead of him to become a “man.” If the father is truly a man he will go back in the house and restore order and claim back the respect he deserves as a father. Children should always respect their fathers even if they mess up one time. We are all humans and no one is perfect.
Your introduction is much much improved! You have a specific thesis statement - good work with that.
DeleteYour first body paragraph starts off strong, and you have good examples, but your grammatical issues make the writing seem weaker than the ideas. Possession, tense, syntax - these are things you need to work on.
Your second body paragraph seems out of place - it doesn't really relate back to your thesis statement because your examples do not focus on the father and son....
In your last paragraph, you have an interesting perspective, and I really like how this extends to the last paragraph.
The essay as a whole is not entirely there - you really need to work on grammar and sentence structure, but also make sure "all roads lead back to your thesis statement"!
Pono Tokioka
ReplyDeleteENG 100
Professor Jaimie Gusman
Sept 29, 2013
Who is The Man?
Who would have thought that the violence could happen in a beautiful, safe suburban area? I don’t and was very surprised that the violence could happen in everywhere around the world. Since I live in Kauai, Hawaii and I haven’t been exposed much of violence in my life. In this film Soft, violence and masculinity are the most important themes. The father’s role model fails to demonstrate his son how to be a gentleman and stand up for himself. It is irony when the father told his son to defend himself from fighting with the “gang” but he was scared and couldn’t defend and fight back for himself. The father doesn’t demonstrate masculinity in the end of the film. It takes power and courage to characterize the masculinity.
At the beginning of the film, the father acts like masculinity and being an adult. He is just living on a daily basis and doing what he is supposed to do. For example, when he comes home from work he would check on his son to see if he is okay and making sure if he does the chores. Then he walked to the store around the corner to buy milk for his coffee. However, a tragic thing happens to him. There were a teenager “gang” trying to screw him up and ignites the fight. They begin talking trash to him then threw some punches on him but the father acts masculinity by just walking away and ignore them. This is a good example for being a role model and masculinity for us to walk away; it’ll make it worse if you don’t.
Meanwhile the father goes back to home, the gang followed him to his apartment and kept making trouble to him. As the father gets to home, another tragic thing happens. There are also a role reversal between the father and son. The father shows some fear when leader of the gang drew with the pen and grinding his testicles on the father’s car. The son wanted to fight back to stop the gang but the father told his son not to go outside and let the gang continuing making troubles. Like I mentioned, it is irony that the father said to his son to defend yourself and fight back but obviously he fails to “practice what you preach.” A moment later, a turning point occurs when the other boy from the gang puts his penis through the door mailbox. Suddenly the son shows the courage to open the door to make his father to fight them. The father still did not defend for his son and himself. The leading gang again beat him up. The son had to do something to defend his father so he would go grab a wooden bat and hit the boy whom beaten up the father. Then the gang left and the son shows some masculinity and frustration towards his father.
A lesson learned for the father that the power and courage his son had. There are a couple ways to solve this situation. I think the best option for the father to do is to call the police and then most likely the situation would be done without making it worse. The police signify the power because approaching the police would scare most people. Calling the police shows the courage to stop the environment from being good to bad. Regarding with my experiences, I’ve never had an experience similar with this situation. I am very fortunate to have a father who would support me and defend my deafness rights all the time. I couldn’t be successful without this man in my life. My father is a great role model and I consider him masculinity as a person.
I like how you begin your essay with context: violence in a suburban neighborhood is not something you've experienced, and the film surprised you in that way. I wish you would have included this idea further into the rest of the essay.
ReplyDeleteI think you are confusing the noun masculinity with the adjective masculine - I was confused as to how you were using versions of that word throughout your essay. On that note, you need to pay more attention to your grammar (when to your the singular/plural form of words like "trouble" and "troubles").
However, you have organized your essay chronologically, which works to your benefit. It was very smart because you were able to organize your essay in a way that leads up to your point that the son exhibited power an courage. You conclusion is good because it looks forward, but it also seems to come out of nowhere. You have to do a better job of linking your ideas together.
Good start, though!
In the 2008 Sundance film Soft, a father and son slowly surrender their respective roles and step into a complete role reversal. Director Simon Ellis shows throughout the film that when faced with violence, anxiety, and fear the father and son do not follow the roles set forth for them by society. A father is suppose to be protective and fearless, but when a ruthless gang attacks both father and son, the father fails to fight back and is ultimately defeated. As the violence in the film continues to escalate, the father is taken out of his role as a man and placed into a childlike state while the son takes on the role of man and father.
ReplyDeleteOne of the first acts of violence occurs when the father goes out to buy milk. He acts big and tough towards the rowdy gang of teenagers but when they fight back he cowers and quickly seeks comfort in his home. The director is beginning to show us that though the father appears to follow his role on the outside, its disappearing on the inside. Instead of standing up for himself, he looked for protection which in this case was his quiet suburban home.
The home did not provide the protection the father sought, as the gang swarmed the front yard and began throwing rocks and yelling. The son become frightened quickly and pleaded to his father to do something, anything. The father had a clear look of terror upon his face, but unwillingly to admit his faults he simply tells the son it’s not big deal and to ignore them. The son had yet to step out of his role so he continued to beg for his fathers protection, unaware that his father was in the same state he was.
As the violence, fear, and anxiety continued to escalate, the father had one more attempt at proving his ability to withhold his role. When he stepped outside in front of the gang, he quickly froze and has completely digressed into the role of the child. The fear took over and he could no longer hold up that masculine and tough exterior. When the son sees what is occurring, he takes control and provides protection for not only himself but his father as well. The completion of the role reversal occurs when the son drops the cricket bat and walks inside, disappointed with his fathers lack of masculinity but satisfied with his own efforts.
Role reversal is quiet common in our society today. As we chip away at expectations and viewpoints, we begin to see that not everyone possesses the qualities required to fulfill their expected role. We have to ask ourselves if it’s a good or a bad thing that we do not stay in our designated role. Should a father always be the protector? Should a mother always be a nurturer? It is always difficult to understand why people expect us to look, act, talk a certain way. Role reversal can be seen as a negative thing but it can also be seen as a positive. Stepping out of a role offers a whole new world.
You have a strong introduction and clear thesis statement. However, you spend most of the essay giving us a detail summary - as it relates to your thesis statement. Each paragraph should be more like a conversation between you and the film (or the film and you, however you organize it), and I feel like your perspective is largely missing! You have great examples, but how do they tie into how YOU view the director's choice to portray the characters this way?
DeleteYour conclusion does a great job of taking your ideas and putting them into a larger context - good job with this!
Megan Iwanaga
ReplyDeleteENG 100
September 29, 2013
“Soft” Response
Masculinity is one of the major themes in the film “Soft,” directed by Simon Ellis. The 2008 award-winning Sundance film portrays the meaning of masculinity through it’s main characters, as well as through the lack of a female lead. A father and son are conflicted as to what to do when a gang of teenagers comes to their home and continues to harass them after assaulting them both earlier. This gang is led by a 15 year-old who seems to exhort the most violence. At first, the father tells his son to ignore them and not give the reaction that the gang is looking for, but the son believes that something more needs to be done. The film continues to explore the relationship between femininity and masculinity, as well as the idea of what masculinity truly is – being the bigger person, or standing up for oneself.
Ellis includes a scene where the father learns that the son was beat up by the gang. The son tells the father “you told me not to get into fights,” and that is why he just let himself get beat up. Now that the gang is outside of their home, the son seeks protection from his father, but the father’s solution is to simply ignore what is happening. The father is “being the bigger person,” and also displaying maturity. Masculinity can be measured by self-control and common sense – maturity.
On the other hand, since his father won’t provide the kind of protection he needs, the son feels that he needs to stand up for himself. The son goes outside and physically fights back, quickly scaring off the gang members, and giving the leader what he deserved. Many males feel that dominance, which is seemingly equivalent to masculinity in this film, can be determined by who is the toughest – who will win in a physical match. Dominance is what the leader of the gang was seeking, which explains why he was displaying the most violence. After the son gets his revenge, one can see that the dominant role has switched over from the gang leader to the now powerful son.
Throughout the entire film, there is no female with a speaking role. Only the quick mention of a mother that simply lets viewers know that she exists. The overdose of masculinity, and lack of femininity, resulted in arguments and violence. Had there been a feminine presence, the idea of masculinity in this film would change. The mother’s absence might be what caused the father to be more passive and less aggressive. The mother was not home, therefore the father did not have to protect her. Though the son seeks protection from his father, the father probably feels that since they are both male, he needs to play a role model and stick to his “don’t get into fights” parenting style. Females play a big role in the shaping of masculinity.
Through analysis of masculinity displayed throughout this film, one understands that masculinity can be shaped and measured by numerous factors –femininity, maturity, and dominance. In our society, teenage boys often lack maturity and femininity in their lives. With the absence of the two, they are left solely with a hunger for dominance. Because masculinity is linked so strongly with violence and aggression, they might view fighting as their only option to achieve dominance. I believe that masculinity is the biggest cause of violence levels rising amongst teenage boys.
This is a really well-organized essay! Bravo - I enjoyed your response to the lack of a strong female presence in the film, and I think this particular issue is often overlooked in analysis. I also how you moved the conversation over into how "teenage boys lack maturity and femininity in their lives" - but how do you come to this conclusion? Be specific! Good work.
Delete'Soft'
ReplyDeleteIn the short film “Soft” by Simon Ellis there happens to be many diverse and strong themes that play an important role in analyzing the film. The title of the film is directed towards a huge theme of masculinity. Often times when people think of masculinity, they think of one as being hard. Many scenes if the film is played showing this softness and it all links in with the title “Soft”. Within this paper, I will be discussing those different scenes and showing how powerful the title is. Letting the son be the ring leader of all the action and letting his emotions be first, the roles are soon reversed between the father and son, showing just how soft the father is.
One of the boldest, mind blowing parts of the entire film for me was what happened after the gang followed the father back to his house. The father and son were sitting inside while the gang was outside vandalizing their property; they had no idea what exactly they should do about the situation and one of the guys started to walk up to the door. At the front of the door there was a mail slot, the guy that walked up their whipped out his penis and put it through the slot. What he felt by doing that was showing off his “masculinity” to the father. As a viewer, it felt as if he was proving a point of how masculine he was, wanting to make the father feel inferior to him. It definitely worked too; the father had no idea what to do and did not fight back. The father not fighting back was a sign of being “soft”, while the gang guy was more masculine and “hard”.
With that being said, the other theme of the film that ties in with the title “Soft” is violence. Yes, throughout the film there was a lot of violence and all the violence had to do with the title. The scene inparticuarly though is right after the teenager took his penis out of the slot, the father still was not going to fight back. After a minute of two, the son finally had enough and opened the door to go out and do something about it himself. It finally made the father realize he can’t let his son defend them and so he shoved him inside. The father made the mistake of trying to talk to the gang first instead of just fighting them, which showed he was scared of getting beaten up and that’s why he is being considered “Soft” in the scene. The gang guy then started to come after him and the father still did not fight back, which then let the gang guy win.
The theme of femininity occurs when the father is getting milk. When he is checking out, the clerk just watched the gang be disrespectful and disgusting. As the person I am, I would think he would step up and call the cops of yell at the delinquents, but he just watches them act that way and even watches them start beating up the father without doing anything as well. It shows that he too is being “Soft” and doesn’t want to stick up for himself.
After looking at all these scenes taking places and the themes within them, it proves how soft everyone in the film is, except for the gang members. The producer did a very good job of portraying all of these themes in a well-organized manner. Looking at this film , it makes you think about what kind of a person you are and how you would react in a situations such as the ones in that film.
You use the word "letting" a lot in the intro....who "let's" the son be the "ring leader"? Is this an issue of loss of control on the father's part or is it something else? I think you can be clearer here. Also, a small amount of summary would be good (just a bit of backstory)! However, your examples and the way your respond to the film is good - you did a great job of creating a conversation between the film and your perspective on the film.
DeleteIn your conclusion you comment that everyone is soft in the film except the gang members. What about at the end? How are the gang members still soft after the leader gets beat up and everyone else runs away?
In Simon Ellis’s short film “Soft”, the concept of masculinity sits on the back burner of a father and son relationship. It is when the characters are faced with a group of local troublemakers that brings the issue to the forefront. While the son pleads his father to exert his power as an older man and stop the bullies from terrorizing their home, the father believes that no violence is necessary which leads us to the question of, “what makes a man a man?” Is it action you take against your enemy or the gift of rationality and level headedness? The film Soft is a catalyst for thought on the concept of masculinity in our everyday lives. It makes us question whether the violence that we cause, little things such as school fights to full blown wars, are products of masculinity and heroism or being the bullies such as the ones in the film.
ReplyDeleteSoft provided us with a realistic father son relationship that we could easily relate to; and clearly contrasted the two sides of masculinity in perspective to the characters. The father depicting the ability to resist, and the young son’s unanticipated exert of force. Ellis gives us the task of determining who we believe showed a true act of masculinity. She created a film to push the limits of our own moral justice and decide what makes someone strong, whether that person be like the father or son.
We can relate the group of troublemakers in the film to “those guys” back in high school. The group of boys and sometimes even girls that vandalized the walls, talked back to the teachers, and picked fights with others in school. They believed that their wrongdoings made them men, while others thought they were the total opposite. At times there would be that one person who decided to fight back which turned into a silly 30 second fight. Like the boy Scott in the film, he was tired of being picked on and gave into the pressure of revenge. The strength that Scott showed in the film was tremendous and brave. And while we commemorated the son for his actions, it was the father who had the strength to not fight back which can be just as hard as giving into pressure.
The question of what masculinity is continues on a much larger scale than the teenage bullies in school and in the film Soft. America has been exercising its masculinity for many years now. Just a few examples include the Vietnam War, Korean War, the War in Iraq, and many more. A current issue up for debate is the US conflict with Syria. Syria’s people are currently in a civil war and allegedly using chemical warfare against its own people. And although this has nothing to do with America, we believe that it is somehow our right and obligation to help by going to war with them. Similar to the son in Soft who wishes to do something about the bullies, America wants to use force to reason with Syria. While it would show power for America to stand up and fight, it would also be masculine of them to use words and resist violence because we have learned from previous experience that war is never the answer.
Our social morals lead us to believe that being masculine is being strong, powerful, and dominant. The way that we interpret this description is up to opinion. While Simon Ellis brings two contrasting aspects of masculinity to light, the courage to resist versus the courage to fight, the concept of manly hood and dominance measures to so much more. Gender bias, brains or brawns, sexual orientation: these are all concepts scrutinized by masculinity. Being a woman, I believe that masculinity is not a measure of muscles and manliness, rather the way we approach life and the amount of courage we have to achieve the best we can.
I really like where your thesis statement is going - however, the last part "r being the bullies such as the ones in the film." is really confusing - syntactically. You need to clarify, and if your can't fit it in all one sentence that's fine!
DeleteYour strongest paragraph is the second to last one - it's a great synthesis of ideas (the film's and your own as it relates to war) - I think this kind of writing should have taken up the body of your paper. This is where I see a true conversation occurring! I also think you have a strong conclusion - moving the conversation forward!
(Minor grammatical mistakes - I think this is a proofreading issue - make sure to proof your work!)
Mariel Moore
ReplyDeleteENG 100
Prof. Jaimie Gusman
29 September 2013
In the award winning film Soft Simon Ellis addresses the issues of violence in today’s world head on. The film mimics the progression of violence over time in our society. Soft starts with a single group of violent kids. The more they conflict harm on others the faster this violent mentality spreads. By the end tension and anger is boiling in everyone’s blood and the recent change in attitude causes a violent resolution. In a world where violence is impossible to escape society is beginning to adapt to a new “normal.” With this new mindset everyday patterns change, new influences arise, and we develop a new approach to unresolved issues.
The use of two cameras in this film shows the contrasting emotions expressed through all violent acts. The HD camera cleverly illustrates the father’s fear of the violent gang, while the handheld camera shows the gang’s confidence and blatant lack of fear. This emotional relationship is identical to that of a bully and his target. Although all bullies do not use violence, their goal is to make their target experience the same emotion. In the past we were taught to bite our lip and walk away when confronted by trouble. However times are changing. In a society where violence is accepted as a part of everyday we are told to stand up for ourselves. We are told we cannot be pushed around. We are told to fight back. Just recently a viral Youtube video became the topic on many news channels. The video showed a boy being hit by a bully of a much smaller stature. After a few minutes the bigger boy loses his temper and proceeds to lift the smaller boy up and slam him into the concrete. Although the bigger boy was originally picked on he caused much more harm to the bully than the bully did on him. We have started the idea that the only way to escape the bully is to become the bully.
The handheld Camera in the film holds another purpose in my opinion. The first clip I saw from this camera reminded me of a Youtube video. This is an excellent strategy by Ellis. Now a days social media is one of the biggest influences on our youth. It is the easiest way to develop your own social status. The boy from the gang in Soft looks as if he is trying to uphold his status. These violent fights entertain people online and it brings the fighter more popularity. If we stop the idolizing the violence around us less people will contribute to the pain.
In the film the father is resistant to fight. While some may say he’s scared I think Ellis uses him to represent an older way of thinking. This sudden emphasize on violence has begun in recent years. The father would have grown up in a time where you know feed the fire of violence. While the father sits back his son takes violent action. His son begins to go after the gang with a cricket back until they leave his house. These two males represent different societies. It is a perfect illustration of the contrast between these two ways of life.
The film Soft demonstrates a shift in society and the mentality we now use everyday. What happen to the old saying “if you fight fire with fire you will get burned”? Why do we continue to nurture the concept of violence? Considering how quickly our society has adopted this new ideal, it is clear if we continue this behavior the mentality will also continue on the downhill spiral. Is that the future you want?
Really great insights! You did a great job in your intro - although, perhaps you should have included something about how the film shows this "new 'normal'"? I say this because I was surprised at the examples you choose; however, focusing on the two lenses/perspectives was smart. Something to work on: organization. Your fourth paragraph should have been your first body paragraph - grounding the reader in the idea that these two lenses represent two ways of life.
DeleteThe short film “Soft” is an accurate modern-day portrayal of a father and son relationship.. The director of the film, Samuel Ellis, illustrates how the primary role of the father in the United States is shifting from a masculine (leader) who provides for and protects his family to a figure (leader) who is non-masculine, has a weak, broken and undefined relationship with his family, and one who fails to protect his household. Although the father and son do not have a close relationship, the son still looks up to the father as his role model and in some ways has taken on some of the dads’ non-masculine traits. Throughout various parts of the film it is made apparent that the role of the dad in modern day society has shifted to a non-masculine figure, who has a poor leadership relationship with his family. However, in the end of the film, Ellis uses the son to symbolize that he believes this “stereotype” needs to change.
ReplyDeleteThe first major point that Ellis is trying to convey to his audience is that the modern day father has a very weak relationship with his family. This can clearly be seen when the dad comes home from work and does not even ask the son how his day was. Instead he immediately tells his son to go pick up his stuff off the front grass. Later on the son literally has to make a ruckus in the kitchen to get his dad to notice that he had been brutally beat up earlier that day. Here, Ellis is conveying to the audience that he believes the father in the modern day household is becoming more distant in the relationship with his children. Dads are supposed to be role models and examples of how men should act, and by having a weak relationship with their children it leaves their children lost in the world of growing up.
The next major theme that Ellis communicates to his audience is how the modern day dad is slowly becoming a very non-masculine figure. The dad in this film fails to fight a gang that is literally vandalizing his house and putting his family in danger. A father has two roles: to protect and provide for his family. In order to protect his family a man has to be able to lay down his life in order to keep his family out of danger. In this movie the dad does just the opposite of this, and fails to do anything when his family is placed in the path of danger. Not only is this irresponsible but it is also providing the son with a very poor example of how one as a man should protect his house. The dad’s lack of masculinity in this film put his whole family in danger and at the same time set a very poor example for his son.
The short film Soft represents how the modern day father is a non-masculine figure that has a poor relationship with his family. Thankfully, the ending of the movie does convey a message of hope to the audience. When the gang members is taunting the family and presenting a threat to the both the family’s property and safety, the son eventually ignores his father’s wishes of staying inside and doing nothing. It is at this point when the son takes charge of the situation; he grabs a baseball bat and brutally beats the gang leader causing the gang to run away. At this point Ellis is telling his audience that even though the average modern day dad is a non-masculine figure, the fathers of the future have a chance to change this. If the young men of the present adopt these masculine characteristics that the son in this video did, then when these young men become fathers they can be masculine role models to their children, which is the role that fathers were originally meant to fulfill.
Interesting insight - it's a spin I wasn't expecting. Your strength here is that you have organized your paper very well. You set up your examples and responded to them - good work.
DeleteIn the film, Soft, the father and son have an interesting and different relationship. Soft portrays the father in the film to be weak. The director, Simon Ellis, shows that even a group of young of violence teenagers can make an adult seem soft. The father does not stand up for his son or even himself. In the film, the son and then the father run into some trouble with a group of punks that proceed to terrorize them. By the end of the film, we see that there is a role reversal. That the son takes on the role of a grown father and the father absorbs the role of the young inexperienced son. Each act of violence toward the father degrades him of his masculinity and power unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteThe first example from the film that portrays the father being soft is when the father crosses paths with a gang in front of the market corner in his neighborhood. The father first sees the gang as he is walking into the market and on his way out the gang leader knocks him down and kicks him in the face. The father at first gets up and realizes that the gang isn’t worth confronting and begins to walk away. This was the first example of him being soft because he covers up the fact that he does not want to fight them because he is scared. He proceeds to walk away from the fight convincing himself that they weren’t worth the fight, but really the father does not want to get his butt kicked by some teenagers. They then proceed to follow him back to his house. The father knows that they are following him but doesn’t have the courage to stop them. This is the first step of the father losing masculinity.
When the father gets home he comes to find that his son was also terrorized by this same gang. The gang then shows up outside his house. The father knows that the gang has not only has beaten up himself, but his own son. As the father and son sit of their family room couch watching the gang harass his car and throw rocks as his windows, the son becomes really upset. The son wants his father to do something, be his hero, and stand up for what is right. Instead, the father does nothing. The father fails to take action and confront the gang outside his house has they torment his own car. Now the father has completed the second step of losing his masculinity completely. The son finally forced his dad to do something by walking outside and forcing his father to take charge in the situation. Now the role reversal of the father and son is starting to be noticed. The son is taking charge of the situation more than the father is. The power and masculinity is shift toward to the son because the son actually wants to do something about the situation that they are in. The father on the other hand is just being pushed around not only by the gang originally but now his own son.
The father proceeds to go outside and face his fears. Only one problem, as soon as he walks up to the leader of the gang he is immediately beaten to the ground once again until suddenly he son come back outside. His son swing a cricket paddle into the skull of the gang leader scattering the whole gang and leaving the injured leader crawling for help. When all the dust settles the son goes to hand the cricket paddle over to the father and drops it has his father reaches out to grab it. Now the roles have been completely switched.
The son now knows he has to take matters into his own hands and to be tougher in general. I can promise you that the son’s life will be forever changed. The father that he looked up to in his life was soft. Now the son knows what not to do in situations like these and he will be tougher. The author purposely has the role reversal in the film to show the shift in masculinity and power. The role shift shows the change in power. In the beginning the father has his masculinity in the household because he is the man of the house. But by the end of the film, the son quickly realizes that he did not have any power once the father is put on the spot. The son realized that deep down he is more powerful than his own father unfortunately.
You have so many ideas going on at once, that your thesis statement seems like it's trying to accomplish too much. You are talking about the role reversal and how violence contributes to the father's loss of masculinity - then in the first body paragraph you are discussing the film's title. Which prompt did you want to address? It's unclear. I feel the same way about your conclusion - you need to focus and work on organization.
DeleteJennings Franciskovic
ReplyDeleteProf. Gusman
29 September 2013
Soft
In the modern day award winning film Soft, the director Simon Ellis accurately creates an image of what the relationship between father and son seems to hold. The short film displays a common family living within a small suburban in the United Kingdom. When a group of uncultured teens start to terrorize a young boy and his father, Ellis forms a strong opinion how a father and son relationship should work in everyday life. Thus, this brings of questions of how a son should act and how a father should be a role model for his child. This view point has a lot to do with what people think is masculine and therefore brings up a controversial theme within the film. The relationship between the father and son give life to this idea through their actions that are taken to react to the delinquent teens and seem to portray a certain role reversal of father and son.
At the beginning of the film, the audience witnesses the son being beaten up by the teens. He is therefore viewed as being a helpless child. The following seen involves the father coming home and not even noticing the face of his child. The son has to make noise and get his fathers attention. At that point, the father asks why he did not fight back. To this, the sons respond that his father told him not to. This idea of what is masculine between the father and son becomes quite controversial as the father makes the statement that he need to stand up for himself and prove that he is a man. What makes a man in this film? These same kids had just kicked the father in the face and all he did was walk away. At this point, the viewers see the son looking up to his father as a role model and respecting what he says. He thinks that his father knows best and has the role of listening son at this point of the film.
Soon, the teen show up to the house and a role reversal between father and son starts to reveal itself. The father continues to tell his son to calm down and to not give the kids a rise when they start taunting them. The father is actually scared and contradicts what he had previously told his son to do. He isn’t standing up for himself at all. He is being submissive while his son wants his dad to be a hero. That is what all kids want. They want to view their dad as their hero. In the film, the father does not react until finally his son asks if he is scared. So, he walks out to face the teens where he again gets hit and does nothing. The father is now being seen as helpless just like the son at the beginning of the film.
The role reversal of father and son becomes complete when the son comes out and hits the teen in the face with a cricket bat. The son now assumed the role of hero or father. The look he gives his dad at the end assures that he does not look up to him any more. He now portrays the masculinity in the film and thus the father is weak and helpless.
This role reversal seems to be common in every day life now. Too many times sons have to work at young ages to assume the fatherly role of families. This film take this idea to the extreme and shows a world where masculinity is a goal.
You have a bit of run-on tndecies. That introductory paragraph has too much going onl you need to focus a bit more. Long sentences - including your thesis - muddle up your message: "The relationship between the father and son give life to this idea through their actions that are taken to react to the delinquent teens and seem to portray a certain role reversal of father and son." is also passive and because of the syntax, your ideas are difficult to parse out.
DeleteYou have similar grammatical problems through the rest of the essay (plus the occasional misspellings/typos). You choose good examples, you just need to present them more clearly.
Also, think more about the conclusion. You are going somewhere with the statement: "Too many times sons have to work at young ages to assume the fatherly role of families." However, it doesn't go much further than that. Be specific, and don't be hesitant to give all your ideas full attention.
2.
ReplyDeleteIn Soft, a short film directed by Simon Ellis, a son and father's relationship becomes wrenched while facing rash violence. As this relationship unravels, we realize Ellis has used the title of the film to foreshadow the father's weak personality to prove parents are societally held at a higher level, but cannot always fulfill the full constructed shoes they are in. The father doesn't protect his son from a group of gang members shedding light to his "soft" personality. He steps down from his pedestal causing his son to step up, participating in a role reversal.
The beginning of the film shows the father's role in the upbringing of his son retrospectively. A pleasant suburban neighborhood, a two story house with a standard car as he's returning home from work. He's dressed in a suit in tie, shows his job is corporate. He is responsible for the well being of his son and provides him with a well-polished environment to grow up in. Ellis used the beginning as an establishment of the father's purpose. He then transitions into the introspective way of life for the father. He brings forth his personality. His technique in paralleling a societal view of parents to a real view of just a person was fascinating to watch. This was Ellis's opening of a deeper meaning, bringing forth insight into the purpose of this film. To bring a relatable aspect, the film is shifted into a home. The tormenting of the gang starts to happen again. Outside of the son and father's safe haven, yet the father fails to protect not only his son but his home and car. His masculinity is being questioned by his son and taunted by the gang. He hides in fear contrasting the "normal" masculinity of a father. His proven weakness to his son is a sign in shift between their father son dynamic.
After the son is taken back by the father's aloofness to his natural belief of his masculinity, the switch fully flips and the son knew he had to be the change he wished to see. He no longer portrayed his father to be that "protective body guard that won't let anything happen." He was playing the role of the protective, male figure in the family while his father sat back and watched from the sidelines. Ellis used the role reversal as a coming of age for the son. He grew into the man his father never was. He mustered up the confidence to violently attack back at the gang and end the torment. Postmortem, the father is speechless but proud, and the son is disappointed in his father. Their feelings signify the major shift in roles.
Ellis uses techniques to show how physically and emotionally "soft" the father is. He parallels the ties from societal views of a parent to an emotional view of an average person. Because a person has the title of "parent" doesn't make them a superhero. Fear is universal, and every human has faults. That's what makes us human. So to look down upon the father failing in being a protector is normal because his actions are contrary to popular belief, but that doesn't make him any less of a man to not evoke in violent measures. It brings out his personality, not his lack of masculinity.
I really like how you painted the picture of the father who "steps down from his pedestal causing his son to step up" in your thesis statement. You have some passive voice going on in that intro paragraph, like "to prove parents are societally held at a higher level" -- can't you just say "to prove society holds parents at a higher level"? You do the same thing in your first sentence of the second paragraph - but I am also too confused by your syntax to understand what you really mean! This seems to be something that occurs throughout the entire essay, so focus on simple sentences rather that complex ones that have too many things going on in them!
DeleteRaven Bellamy
ReplyDelete29 September 2013
ENG 100
SOFT
In the highly acclaimed short-film, Soft, a suburban father struggles with his relationship with his son and rowdy gang of local delinquents, also known as chavs. Director Simon Ellis uses various perspectives and actions to evoke emotion in his audience in regards to the subject of masculinity. In the film, the father fails to act when the chavs continually terrorize him and his son. Soft, provokes us, with the use of pathos, to question the father’s lack of action and consider his masculinity. The father’s lack of action and cowardice reveal that he is “soft”. The chavs exert their dominance over the father as he submits to them in front of his son.
Throughout the film, the main chav uses pranks, taunts, and violence as a way to exert his dominance and a sense of power over everyday civilians and even his fellow chavs. After each successful act he performed, the main chav would do a “victory” dance while one of his friends recorded the event. This dance used body language to relay the message that he had successfully exerted dominance over his target. This exertion of dominance is also seen when one of the chavs sticks his penis in the mail slot of the father’s house. Penises, in general, are used as symbols of power and masculinity. The chav performing this act is portraying the message that the father is below him in terms of masculinity and power.
Many times throughout the film, the father is taunted by the chavs, and refuses to stand up for himself and his son. After the chavs attack him at a local convenience store, instead of defending himself, the father walks away shaky and upset. Ellis shows the fathers lack of action again when the chavs follow the father to his house and terrorize him and his son by vandalizing his car and throwing rocks at the windows of his house. The son begs his father to act in some way of defense, but despite the pleas the father remains idle due to fear.
Ellis uses the father’s cowardice to reveal to the audience that he is “soft”. When the chavs first begin to terrorize the father and son at their home, the father explains that he does not want to come into confrontation with the chavs and attempts to ignore them in hopes that they would just disappear. Realizing that his father would not act on his own, the son opens the door to the chavs, forcing the father into contact with the chavs. The father’s true cowardice is revealed when he begs the chavs to leave him alone and again does not defend himself when the chavs start beating him. In the end, his son fights off the group saving his father, instead of his father saving him.
After analyzing the film, we can see how the title of the film is an adjective for the father and theme of masculinity and power. The chavs terrorize the father and son to gain a sense of power and the father submits to this power out of cowardice. The actions performed by the chavs and their desire for dominance can be seen in gangs all over the world. Gangs terrorize local civilians and use unnecessary violence to gain a sense of power in a world where they feel powerless. The film challenges its audience to question what makes people masculine and what kind of people seek masculinity.
It isn't until your third body paragraph that you specifically link your examples to the thesis statement, which I imagine is: "Soft, provokes us, with the use of pathos, to question the father’s lack of action and consider his masculinity. The father’s lack of action and cowardice reveal that he is “soft”." It seems as though you are going to be talking about the father, specifically, and in the first paragraph you are talking about the chav leader's body language. This is interesting, but you should be focusing on how the father reacts to this instead.
Delete"Soft" is the title of Simon Ellis’s film about a father and son’s dilemma and the changes they must undergo to solve it. The word soft can mean giving away under pressure or quiet and voiceless. The title is necessary to understand the film’s messages of masculinity (and femininity), power, and violence. The title ‘Soft” juxtaposes with the film’s theme of masculinity and highlights its presence in a protector.
ReplyDeleteWhen one thinks about the word masculinity, they may also think about strength and resilience. When the father is first introduced in the film, he can be thought of as the masculine figure in comparison to his son. The word soft may describe the texture of the son’s skin and how easily bruised it is. It is this vulnerability that contrasts with the toughness that is associated with masculinity. Though the son may not be as physically masculine as his father, he is still capable of displaying the courage that his father lacked. We associate softness with femininity as femininity is associated with gentleness and motherhood. One expects the father of the household to be its protector and thus possessing masculinity. When the father’s ability to protect was disputed, so was his masculinity. The son’s display of courage makes one think about what is necessary for one to be a protector. The word soft means giving away to pressure and that is what the father did. He became nonresponsive in the face of adversity. The son became the father’s foil by contrasting his rigidness with his father’s softness. What is unusual is the expectation of where masculinity is found has been reversed.
When one is voiceless, it can be assumed that one is silenced and powerless. The gang’s assertion of power can be thought of as the “sound” that is being heard in the film. As the escalating sound of dominance echoes in the ears of the father and son, their own sounds become drowned out. The father’s approach to the noise is to avoid resistance thus producing a soft sound. The violence and the chaos produced by the gang that is pestering them were only silenced when it is overpowered by the louder sound produced by the son. The son’s voice came out in the physical form of violence following the idiom that actions are louder than words. Outside the context of the film, violence is often in the scene of the voiceless and powerless as riots form under the suppressed. Violence is the only way for the son and the voiceless to assert their will against those who are unwilling to listen.
By presenting the viewer with a title that contrasts with the themes presented in the film, the presence and lack of masculinity and everything that is associated is highlighted. The film makes the viewer consider where masculinity is found and expected. It makes them consider how to approach adversity: avoid provocation and conform or remain rigid and retaliate. The film does not reveal the aftermath of the conflict and whether the decisions made are the best. It is up to the viewer to evaluate their own roles in life and their requirements to performing them.
I'm not 100% sure what your thesis statement is getting at. I am confused because it seems like you are saying that "soft" is in juxtaposition with " masculinity" but you are also talking about "soft" and "masculinity" as they relate to "its presence in a protector" (a phrase that is quite confusing! do you mean the father?)
DeleteYour first body paragraph clears things up a bit, but you are still all over the place. Your main obstacle right now is to FOCUS!
I do like the last couple sentences in your conclusion - great insight.
Role reversal is a major theme portrayed in the short film "Soft", directed by Simon Ellis. In this 2008 award-winning Sundance film a father is stripped of his tough, masculine role and his son takes over. Ellis shows that when faced with fear and violence even the most masculine seeming people can become frozen with fear; and the softest people can step up to the plate. The father is supposed to protect his son, but when they both get attacked by the gang the father backs down and is humiliated. The son then steps in and protects the both of them taking on that fatherly role.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the film the father yells at his son to pick up his bag from the floor, portraying himself as a person in charge. Later when the father goes to the corner store to buy milk, he mocks the gang and slams the door in their faces. When he leaves the store and is kicked, he does nothing but hurry to his home. The film is beginning to show the father losing his masculinity and becoming a cowering child. As the father finds out that his son was attacked by the same gang he tells his son that he's grown up now so he has to defend himself. The father did nothing to stand up for himself, he simply just ran away.
Near the ending of the film the gang disrespects the fathers car, throws rocks at their window, and taunts the father and son. The son looks to his father to do something about the situation but the father sits there and tells his son to sit down don't react. Finally the father stands up and goes outside to reclaim his manhood. When the leader of the gang fights back, the father stands there frozen with fear and he doesn't know what to do. The son then comes out of the house with his bat and beats the leader of the gang. The son thought he could find protection from his father but in the end he took on the fatherly role and protected the both of them while the father cowered like a young child.
The director chose to exhibit this role reversal because he wanted show that people can change with the snap of a finger. He portrayed this very well in such a short time. The father went from the tough, masculine figure to a person frozen with fear and the son from a soft teenager who got beat up to the fatherly figure who protects the house. The father acted tough when he slammed the door in the gang members faces but when they retaliated he ran away from them. The son got beat up by the gang and is afraid of them looking for the assistance of his father. But when the father fails to act, the son steps up the protects the both of them.
In the film "Soft" the director is demonstrating that when faced with a situation people react very different. After the analysis of this film, one understands that the person you thought to be tough could wind up being soft and fearful. There might have been a temporary role reversal in the short film, but that doesn't mean it is permanent. Everyone will be faced with multiple confrontations, it just matters if you can deal with it the best way possible.
You need to work on organization - your introduction could be so much stronger if you reorganized your sentences. I think your thesis is good - very clear and concise.
DeleteYour body paragraphs have strong examples, and you respond well - good job! I also think you did a good job moving the issue of role reversals away from the film and into the "real world."
E Hoʻokanaka: Be A Man
ReplyDeleteThere is a famous Hawaiian Proverb that states, “E Hoʻokanaka: Be A Man.” In the Hawaiian society, this was a quote that was often uttered by the elder men to remind the younger generation of men of their role and responsibility as a kāne, or man. Masculinity (being a man) is a concept that we as society have a hard time of understanding because there is no clear definition of what it means. In the film Soft, we saw many instances of where the father was in conflict with his own “masculinity” and insecurities as a man and a father. However, I feel that in order to gain a foundation of what it means to be “masculine”, we need to analyze this concept through the eyes of Native Hawaiian Men. I feel that we need to do this because in order to understand masculinity, we need to understand what it means to have balance. Masculinity is all about having the right amount of balance. The issue of masculinity was prevalent in the movie, but I feel that the characters in the movie were in conflict with their own personal views of masculinity.
When faced with violence, our first instinct as humans is often to respond with violence. As previously mentioned, masculinity is all about attaining balance. Emotions often rage when we are conflicted with violence and this often leads us to not making the most rational decision possible. I feel that what the father did in the beginning of the film, by walking away from the situation was a snippet of what it means to be masculine. Being raised in a Hawaiian household, I was taught to walk away from violence because it takes the “bigger man” to walk away from that kind of situation. I feel that this one of the many definitions for being masculine because we as men have to realize that violence is not only the answer. It takes a lot of courage to walk away from a situation with emotions raging. Being able to have that kind of balance and way of thinking is something that I think many men in todays society need to understand because many of them try to assert their “masculinity” or “dominance” through violence. However, if more men understood the balance that comes with masculinity, I feel that there would be less violence and more men making the right decision when faced with violence.
Being able to walk away from a violent situation is one definition of what it means to be masculine. However, in some cases, you may walk away from the situation but the violence may continue to follow. In cases like this, responding with violence may be the only alternative we have to defending out selves. Having this kind of balance of masculinity will allow us to make the best decision possible in using violence as a mean of self -defense. In the case of where Scott beat the gang leader with the cricket stick, I feel that he made the beset decision to protect himself, as well as his father. It is situations like these where we must dictate how we respond to the situation. No matter how hard we may try to walk away from violence, we can only put up with it for a certain amount of time before our own well-being may be put in harms way. I feel that many people in our society today, often get this concept of self defense mixed up with engaging in violence. Self-defense should only be used when our own physical well-being or the well being of others are put at risk. It should never be used out of anger or rage. It is with the balance of masculinity that we may be able to dictate when it is appropriate to use.
DeleteFurthermore, I believe that having balance with our own masculinity is very important because it allows us to think clear and analyze the situation at hand. We saw two different situations in the film where the balance of masculinity was displayed. If more men in our world today understood this balance of masculinity, I feel that the number of incidents where violence is displayed would decrease drastically. Being a man is more than asserting dominance over others, or using violence as a medium to achieve personal gain; being a man is achieving balance in ones self to ensure that we make the most rational decisions in conflicts or situations that we are faced with in life.
I really like how you approached the third prompt - it was a great way to bring your own point of view to the film. This idea of balance is interesting, especially as we think about "dominance" as your mention in your conclusion. It's very complex, and I appreciate the cultural perspective you bring to a very "modern" film. You do, however, have some grammatical issues to work out! You have moments of passive voice - write in present tense (as though the film - or any art for that matter - is a living thing), which will help you move into a more active voice.
Delete