Is it schadenfreude? (or ‘leedvermaak’ in Dutch – there you go, you’ve learnt something new today) Is it innocent slapstick? Who knows. But whatever it is that makes watching people fall over so compelling has been turned into a FORCE FOR GOOD by the End Violence Against Women coalition, with their new We Are Man campaign video:
I think it’s rather splendid, especially the skier who flies into the wall of snow like something out of Looney Tunes. My only niggle is that there wasn’t a more natural way of bringing up the topic of rape in the men’s conversation. I’ve overheard plenty of examples that would do the job. Though perhaps this was actually overheard somewhere, from a particularly gauche misogynist. Or maybe it’s deliberately awkward. Anyway…
There’s no one size fits all way to challenge attitudes to sexual violence, and some people will respond more to one approach than another. I reckon this is an excellent addition to the earnest My Strength is Not For Hurting campaign and the stylish Lambeth Know The Difference posters.
Why not pass it on to some people you know, especially men, and put it to the test? If you could encourage them to get their click on here and join the campaign that would be even better.
PS Interesting comment on twitter from @PabloK about the way that anti violence against women campaigns targeted at men always invoke a model of hegemonic masculinity (e.g. ‘be a man’, ‘be strong, ‘real men do/don’t’ etc) Obviously this is to do with the intended audience, but anyone got any ideas stashed away for campaign creative that offers an alternative?
]]>What I like about the Girls on Film project is that it shows us how thoughts expressed by characters in fiction are in fact deeply coloured by our perceptions of gender – such as the idea of being unable to know yourself without having first been in a fight. In the original piece, which is very much an anthem to anxieties over modern male identity, we take it as read that it is through fighting that men can come to know themselves. This recasting expresses those same anxieties as something we all share and need to deal with, regardless of our ostensible gender roles.