Educational Media Reviews Online

This documentary introduces a program called Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR), which teaches young men how to become allies with women in the prevention of sexual and dating violence. Director, Pat McGann PhD., explains the conceptual framework for the program. He contends that the dominant cultural stories about what constitutes being a “real” man are destructive. However, the counter stories about qualities that make “strong” men are positive and lead to healthy expressions of masculinity, avoiding violence toward either sex, especially women.

MCSR focuses its efforts on high school and college age men in school based clubs called Men of Strength (high school) and Men Creating Change (college). The clubs function within school venues with a facilitator and age appropriate curriculum addressing what it is to be a man and how “strong” men act. The documentary takes us into four school settings to experience the structure of the meetings, the curriculum, and the unguarded sharing as students reflect on the kind of men they wish to become. Elements of the curriculum shown in the documentary are exercises to elicit dominate cultural stories of masculinity, counter stories of masculinity, and potential non-violent bystander interventions.

The documentary is professional and powerful. As the documentary begins, Zay, the rapper, performs a song, “Real Men”, to set the tone. The lyrics of the song enumerate the concepts of “real” men and “strong” men. The narrative packs a good deal of information about both the MCSR program as well as the club work, and is appropriately balanced to ensure an understanding of both. Editing is well done and the young men who share their journey toward becoming men are genuine and direct. For additional information see the MCSR website.

Highly Recommended