Movies' unfair portrayal of males

Our youngest children learn alarming lessons about men and boys from the many movies they watch, according to a report released by Academy Award-winner Geena Davis' See Jane program, part of the national nonprofit Dads & Daughters initiative.

"G Movies Give Boys a D: Portraying Males as Dominant, Disconnected and Dangerous" reveals how men and boys in children's films are portrayed as significantly more important than females, more likely to be violent, and less likely to be fathers or husbands. Males of color are depicted even more negatively.

Researched by USC's Annenberg School for Communication, the report states that:

* G-rated movies, whether animated or live-action, are dominated by white male characters and male stories. Male characters outnumber females three to one.

* Men are only half as likely as women to be parents. They are about half as likely to be married or in a committed relationship.

* Just over one-third of nonwhites are parents, compared to more than half of whites.

* Less than one-quarter of nonwhites are married or in committed relationships, compared to 45.3% of whites.

* Males of color are hard to find in G-rated movies. They are 14.5% of male characters, but 35.5% of the U.S. male population.

* Almost twice as many nonwhite men as whites are portrayed as physically aggressive or violent.

* Among male characters, 44.1% are physically aggressive or violent, compared to 36.9% of females. With three times as many male characters, the actual number of physically aggressive men is much higher than the number of physically aggressive women.

* Males are three times more likely to be among the small number of G rated movie characters portrayed as dumb.

"These findings are disturbing because G-rated films profoundly impact a child's development and world view," asserts Joe Kelly, president of Dads & Daughters and author of four fathering books. "The average U.S. child owns 20 DVDs or videos and watches at least one of them each day. The narrow portrayal of males is especially troubling given society's struggle with divorce, father absence, violence, and the shortage of initiatives to adequately prepare boys and young men for the opportunities and responsibilities of manhood."

COPYRIGHT 2006 Society for the Advancement of Education
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning