Have you ever read an article about sexism
in the media and then made the horrible
mistake of scrolled down into the comment section?
Because if you have, then you've seen someone 
trying to derail that conversation with demands 
of, “What about the men!?”
Now the last thing the guys who are making 
that demand really want to do is have a serious
discussion about the sometimes harmful 
ways that media represents masculinity.
And they especially don’t want to have that 
conversation if it’s inspired by feminism.
And so that’s exactly what this project is going to do!
(Intro music plays)
Welcome to The Pop Culture Detective Agency,
a brand new web series that looks at media 
through a critical lens with a special emphasis
on the depictions of men and 
masculinity in popular culture!
Hi there, I’m Jonathan.
I’m a pop culture critic and a video producer.
I’ve been making online videos about social 
and political issues for a over a decade now.
You may have seen some of my work. A while
back I made a viral video called Buffy vs Edward.
Buffy: Get out.
Edward: I like watching you sleep.
It’s uh, it’s kind of fascinating.
Buffy: Get out or I will drop you out head first.
Edward: I just wanna try one thing.
(screaming)
Jonathan: And then later, another one called 
Donald Duck meets Glenn Beck.
(indistinguishable whispers)
Glenn Beck: GET A JOB!
Donald Duck: You can’t do that to me.
Beck: (laughing) Lazy slob that refuses to 
get off the couch and get a job.
Donald: I’ll show ya!
Donald: OW!
Beck: (laughing)
That remix made one of these two
cartoon characters very, very unhappy.
We are looking into the funding of this gentleman,
and the incredible propaganda against me,
like you’ve never seen, using Disney 
and Disney cartoons.
Over the past three years I’ve had the honor
of working as producer and co-writer on the
first season of Feminist Frequency’s influential
web series: Tropes vs Women in Video Games.
Both the Ms. Male-character and the Smurfette
principle have been normalized in gaming and 
in mass media more broadly.
So much so that the two tropes usually pass under
the radar and are often reproduced unconsciously.
Today, I’m excited to build on that
work with a brand new series.
This one will focus on deconstructing the
representations of masculinity that
we see embedded in movies, TV shows,
comic books and video games.
The messages that pop culture sends
to boys and men about masculinity are
consistently both limiting and harmful.
At this point, we’re all familiar with the 
standard media conventions.
Men are typically shown as either stoic heroes
who use violence to solve all of their problems,
or as bumbling fools who are incapable
of nurturing or caregiving.
With all the conflicting media messages out there
it’s not surprising that a lot of young
men are very confused about
what it means to be a “real man.”
In the near future I’ll be looking at how
manhood is framed by The Jedi Order in
George Lucas’s six Star Wars films.
Your insight serves you well.
Bury your feelings deep down, Luke.
They do you credit, but they could 
be made to serve the Emperor.
And then later I’ll be investigating some
of the harmful ideas about geek masculinity
that we find on The Big Bang Theory.
Sheldon: I’m sorry, but in what universe is
Wonder Woman blonde?
Howard: Relax. Nobody’s going to be
looking at her hair.
(Laugh track)
Ooophf, yeah, there is a lot to talk
about right there.
But this project won’t only focus on the negative.
I’ll also be producing a series of videos that
look at positive examples of manhood in media.
The first of those positive episodes explores
emotional expression on the Cartoon Network
series, Steven Universe.
Steven: Do you understand?
Greg: Yeah. Okay. Just...be careful,
or I’m going to run fresh out of family.
Steven: Stay with everyone and keep them safe.
A little further down the line, I’ll also
be looking at the remarkable ways that
empathy and also fatherhood are
represented on that show.
These episodes will be long-form video essays,
between 10 and 20 minutes long.
That longer format really allows me
the opportunity to delve into how culture
is impacted by media, and vice-versa:
how media is impacted by culture.
I’ll also be making some shorter videos
to supplement the longer ones.
Some of those will be debunking sexist myths,
and others will be defining commonly
misunderstood terms.
You can also look forward to some fun
supercuts that highlight various patterns
in the media.
Although masculinity will be the primary
focus of this series,
from time to time I’ll be creating visual
essays about other sociopolitical issues
related to popular culture.
You can see examples of all that stuff
over on my YouTube channel
and also on my Patreon page.
Now there are more than a few YouTube
channels that claim to be concerned about men.
Unfortunately most of them are
aggressively anti-feminist
and they just spend their time scapegoating
and blaming women for everything.
It is a really bad scene.
My new channel will be an alternative
to that growing trend.
The critical analysis that I’ll be using is very
much inspired by feminist theory.
It’s through that lens that I’ll be looking at the
ways that boys and men are harmed
as a byproduct of hypermasculinity.
So my hope is that this video series can help
open up conversations about how we, as men
can work together to achieve more constructive,
cooperative and empathetic forms of masculinity.
And this is where you come in.
I’m gonna need your support to help
keep this project going.
Creating these videos really is a full time job.
They take a tremendous amount of time
to research, write, and produce,
especially for just one person.
There’ll be no ads on anything I make.
Plus all my videos will be available
for free for everyone including educators.
So the only way this project can continue
is if you fund it!
You’ll find all the details in the text below this video.
I am super excited for this project,
and I hope you are too!
So please become a Patron of the
Pop Culture Detective Agency!
(Exit music)
Yeah, I just promised to watch both the
Star Wars Prequels AND The Big Bang Theory.
That’s gotta be worth some support right there
because that’s gonna be excruciating!
