Six of the participants from MM LIVE #2

Masculinity Movies LIVE #2 became a slightly more humble affair than the first event. Some people were away for their summer breaks, others were busy presenting their work in other cities, yet others just didn’t show. Men living their lives, caring for their families and making an impact in the world. It’s a beautiful thing. Some integrity glitches were there for the no-shows, but that is workable.

So, we were eight men this time. The movie was Man on Wire and the topic of the evening fear. It seems that was a bit of a mismatch for some of the guys since they felt the movie was less about fear than the subject matter of walking a tightrope between the two WTC towers would indicate. In retrospect, I’m inclined to agree with them.

However, we did have a good discussion about whether Philippe Petit was just a really fearless man or whether he had narrowed down his focus to achieve the impossible to avoid fear in other aspects of his life. Many of us suspected there was truth to this. Nevertheless, we all admired his ability to achieve the unachievable – there is much masculine power in that. The rest is speculation.

The movie nevertheless served as a good segue into the highlight of the evening – when we all opened up about what scares us. To me, this became an extremely moving and powerful experience and I had tears in my eyes several times from the courage and openness of the guys who really opened up to men who they didn’t necessarily know that well. One guy remarked how courageous he found the guys present.

Sharing our fears as men is not a feminine exercise as some men seem to believe (which is their fear speaking). It is a courageous and noble thing. If you are going to build brotherhood, you want to know the strengths and weaknesses of your brothers. You want to know what scares them. True brothers don’t use their knowledge of the fear of the other to shame them. They use it to support them, to serve them. In such ways, strength in unity is forged.

A mature man owns his fears. And this night, the eight of us did just that.

Thank you.

PS! The next Masculinity Movies LIVE will take place in August. This marks the start of a bi-monthly cycle. Once a month is too much.

Six of the participants from MM LIVE #2

Masculinity Movies LIVE #2 became a slightly more humble affair than the first event. Some people were away for their summer breaks, others were busy presenting their work in other cities, yet others just didn’t show. Men living their lives, caring for their families and making an impact in the world. It’s a beautiful thing. Some integrity glitches were there for the no-shows, but that is workable.

So, we were eight men this time. The movie was Man on Wire and the topic of the evening fear. It seems that was a bit of a mismatch for some of the guys since they felt the movie was less about fear than the subject matter of walking a tightrope between the two WTC towers would indicate. In retrospect, I’m inclined to agree with them.

However, we did have a good discussion about whether Philippe Petit was just a really fearless man or whether he had narrowed down his focus to achieve the impossible to avoid fear in other aspects of his life. Many of us suspected there was truth to this. Nevertheless, we all admired his ability to achieve the unachievable – there is much masculine power in that. The rest is speculation.

The movie nevertheless served as a good segue into the highlight of the evening – when we all opened up about what scares us. To me, this became an extremely moving and powerful experience and I had tears in my eyes several times from the courage and openness of the guys who really opened up to men who they didn’t necessarily know that well. One guy remarked how courageous he found the guys present.

Sharing our fears as men is not a feminine exercise as some men seem to believe (which is their fear speaking). It is a courageous and noble thing. If you are going to build brotherhood, you want to know the strengths and weaknesses of your brothers. You want to know what scares them. True brothers don’t use their knowledge of the fear of the other to shame them. They use it to support them, to serve them. In such ways, strength in unity is forged.

A mature man owns his fears. And this night, the eight of us did just that.

Thank you.

PS! The next Masculinity Movies LIVE will take place in August. This marks the start of a bi-monthly cycle. Once a month is too much.