The Deconstruction of Masculinity

The Deconstruction of Masculinity in La Mission and American Me

Karina Mendez

Cal State University San Marcos

The Deconstruction of Masculinity in La Mission and American Me

Before taking this class, my view of masculinity was through a feminist perspective. I only chose to blame men for the struggles that women endure in regards to equality. However, I have learned that men also struggle daily with the pressures that patriarchy has inflicted on them in relation to performing what is expected of their gender. In this essay I am going to compare the ways in which masculinity is integrated into men's lives using two films, La Mission by Peter Bratt and American Me by Edward James Olmos. La Mission is a film about an ex-con, Che Riviera who is trying to make a better life for himself and his son Jesse; however, this becomes difficult when he finds out that his son is gay. Throughout the film he must cope with his son’s sexual orientation although it goes against everything he believes in. American Me, is a film about gang life in East Los Angeles. Santana is the main character of the film and as a young boy he and two friends, JD and Mundo form a gang called La Primera. After getting into some trouble they are sent to juvenile hall and there they learn that in order to survive they have to gain respect and establish their power. The film focuses on the power that gangs hold over their members and to what extents one must go in order to be accepted. Due to the pressure that patriarchy has inflicted on men, men must perform their gender through the establishment of power, heterosexuality, and stoicism in order to be perceived as masculine.

In both films a constant theme that I noticed was the fact that people buy into beliefs which then take control and guide them through life. According to Reeser's theory, this is known as Masculinity through Ideology. Patriarchy is very influential in the sense that it provides a guide as to how men...