{"id":9790,"date":"2022-06-15T16:39:29","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T16:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsnb.ca\/web\/?p=9790"},"modified":"2022-06-15T16:40:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-15T16:40:30","slug":"exploring-toxic-masculinity-to-offer-compassion-and-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsnb.ca\/web\/2022\/06\/exploring-toxic-masculinity-to-offer-compassion-and-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"EXPLORING TOXIC MASCULINITY TO OFFER COMPASSION AND EMPATHY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by Ty Giffin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FEATURED ARTIST SERIES \u0336  TY GIFFIN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I received artsnb creation funding for my short film Cicerone<\/em> (at that point titled Ride Along<\/em>) back in March of 2020, so our production was delayed a few times due to COVID-19. In that downtime, I also received the Short Film Venture award from the NB Film Co-op, Telefilm Canada, and the Province of NB. This made \u2018Cicerone\u2019 the largest project I had ever produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it did put a lot of pressure on me, it also freed me up creatively in many respects, and allowed us to pay our crew and collaborators. We finally went into production in September 2021, and post-production wrapped up in May of 2022. It was a long journey, full of heartache and joy, and I cannot wait to do it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: Desmond Simon<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Art is important in understanding our lives and the world around us. It allows us to reflect and heal, to make connections and get closer to one another. Most importantly I think it broadens our minds and builds compassion and community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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I wanted to explore toxic masculinity with this project; the ways that myths of masculinity are formed and upheld through genre cinema; the ways in which codes of masculinity contribute to a culture of domination and brutality; the fascination with and idolization of violent men; and ultimately choosing sensitivity over cruelty. Basically, \u201cwhat if a guy who cries made a tough-guy picture?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first started writing the script, I mostly just wanted to make a gangster movie. I threw in my favourite pieces of the genre, imagery I liked, a twist here and there, but it felt impersonal. Throughout the writing process I realized that I needed to find out why I felt compelled to tell this story. This began with the question: what do I find so fascinating about gangsters? There is an intoxicating bravado to the movie gangster, the idea of doing whatever you want, no matter the cost. But it\u2019s the cost that draws me in, I think, the human cost, the selling of one\u2019s soul for wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the film, the protagonist pitches his script as Melville meets Bergman, and that\u2019s (hopefully) what my own script became: the cool allure of Le Samourai<\/em> with the existential introspection of Winter Light<\/em>. I think that this act of finding my creative voice really helped me grow as an artist. I feel as though I put a piece of myself into this script in a much deeper way and I feel much more secure in how I see myself as an artist. I started out wanting to make something simply cool and ended up pleading for a world with more empathy and caring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I think starting out making films, I struggled to find my voice, my need to tell a story. Often though, it would find me. My sensibilities and personality would always show through somehow. Moving ahead, I feel that I just need to write honestly and to put myself fully into the work, even if it feels vulnerable, because the art is much richer for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Desmond Simon<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve always found genre constructs\/rules\/norms to be fascinating. My last film Sister\u2019s Dirge <\/em>(below) was an exploration of the Western genre, its depictions of violence and who got to be the hero. That project was about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, so the themes of toxic masculinity and male violence came to the forefront. For me it is very personal: I grew up as a boy (playing sports, going to school, watching movies) and there was often a pervasive undercurrent of violence. It\u2019s been brushed off as \u201cboys will be boys\u201d for far too long, and we need to come to terms with the fact that the traits that society has coded \u201cmasculine\u201d are often conducive to violence. When we teach young boys to bottle up their feelings, and value strength and domination above all, we are creating a powder keg, inevitably bound for violence. So through my art, I\u2019ve tried to break down the myths of masculinity and question \u201cwhat makes a good man?\u201d, \u201cAm I a good man?\u201d, \u201chow can I be part of the solution?\u201d and overall just offer a bit of empathy and compassion into the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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