Gender studies on "Top Shot"
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Please note: the following posts contains some generalizations about the male psyche. That's all they are. Generalizations. No disparagement is intended, just observations. Correction: disparagement IS intended at a specific individual who I think is a douche.
I seem to be awash these days in pop culture that's all about the male identity. I'm still reading Bonfire of the Vanities which, it was clear early on, is entirely about various men and their need to envision themselves as gladiators. And then, of late my guilty reality-show pleasure is "Top Shot," on the History Channel. It's a competitive show for marksmen (and women). It's actually a pretty good show, and fairly rigorous. The contestants basically do what you'd expect, which is prove themselves with a variety of weapons and in various situations. They're split into two teams and whichever team loses the team challenge has to nominate two members to go head to head in an elimination challenge. That nomination phase is the only source of personal drama, because once you're doing a challenge, it's all about how you shoot.
I'm not much of a gun person (or at all, really - I've shot a gun once in my life) but I enjoy it because I much prefer reality shows that emphasize contestant skills, like Runway or Top Chef, rather than popularity. It's also interesting to see these people compete with weapons they both are and aren't familiar with. Before any challenge, they always get instruction from an expert and practice time with the weapon they'll be using, which is interesting as well - they're not expected to just know everything, or just pick up the weapon and be proficient at it. This week they had to use a tomahawk and a blowgun. Cool.
The contestants come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are competitive or sport shooters, some are military or law enforcement. One of my favorite contestants is just this down-home Southern guy who's been shooting various guns his whole life, both for sport and to hunt for food (although he was also a Marine). There were two women in the competition, both competitive shooters, but they've both been eliminated.
What's emerging is this interesting sociological dynamic and it's providing much food for thought about the Psychology of Men. I'm fascinated by the particular antagonism that's emerging between two of the contestants.
In one corner we have George. George is big and musclebound and chiseled-jawed and handsome in a meathead kind of way, with product in his hair and bulging biceps. He's an Air Force sniper and a SWAT/heavy weapons instructor. In the other corner we have Jamie. Jamie is quiet and much less intimidating, not as musclebound. Frankly, he looks like an insurance salesman. They are on the same team. George has decided that he doesn't like Jamie, and that Jamie is a substandard competitor. But what seems to get George's goat the most (because he won't stop mentioning it) is that nobody in the competition knows what Jamie does for a living. He apparently hasn't told anyone the details. All he'll say is that he's in the Navy. Which could mean anything. He could be some guy who packs parachutes all day but happens to be good at shooting. George seems to think this makes Jamie shysty, and he's constantly saying that he doesn't know if Jamie deserves to be there. How can he? What does he DO????
We, the viewers, know what Jamie does because it says so on the screen, not to mention that we have access to the Wik. Jamie is, in fact, a US Navy rescue swimmer and he's gone through the Navy's anti-terrorism force protection and deadly force close combat training, and he's a Navy rifle and pistol marksmanship expert. That's...pretty badass. Arguably a more hardcore resume than George's. Those rescue swimmers do not fuck around, I saw a documentary about that program somewhere (although that may have been about the Coast Guard rescue swimmers, but how different can it be?). I read somewhere that their training is harder than SEAL training. Don't know if that's true. But jumping into the ocean during the worst weather conditions imaginable in high-stress situations isn't for the faint of heart, I imagine.
To me, what's going on here seems obvious. George is used to being the alpha dog. He needs it. He needs to know he's the baddest mofo on the block. So not knowing Jamie's credentials is driving him bonkers because it introduces the distressing possibility that Jamie might be more of a BAMF than he is. In the dick-measuring contest, Jamie won't whip it out, which George would like to think must means Jamie's is smaller, but leaves him with the troubling possibility that it's bigger - big enough that Jamie doesn't feel the need to prove it. Jamie's content to let his performance in the competition speak for itself without trotting out his bona fides at every opportunity.
It's also possible that Jamie is playing the "let them underestimate me" game by keeping his credentials to himself, which is a little bit of a douche move because it denies his own teammates information about his skills that might inform their strategy - but it's equally true that the only information his teammates need is how he shoots here. Jamie also seems to be keenly aware that there's a certain clique developing among the guys who were Marines, so he might have early on realized that he'd never been one of the Cool Kidz, so he's hanging back.
I just think George is a tool and constantly needs to reassert his masculinity, whereas Jamie is content just to do his thing and doesn't need to wear his cred on his sleeve.
It's fascinating, this peek into Guy World, in a scenario where intensely masculine pursuits are being tested. I can't imagine a better pressure cooker to bring up these issues. If I were a gender studies major or something I'd use this show as a thesis topic.
Please note: the following posts contains some generalizations about the male psyche. That's all they are. Generalizations. No disparagement is intended, just observations. Correction: disparagement IS intended at a specific individual who I think is a douche.
I seem to be awash these days in pop culture that's all about the male identity. I'm still reading Bonfire of the Vanities which, it was clear early on, is entirely about various men and their need to envision themselves as gladiators. And then, of late my guilty reality-show pleasure is "Top Shot," on the History Channel. It's a competitive show for marksmen (and women). It's actually a pretty good show, and fairly rigorous. The contestants basically do what you'd expect, which is prove themselves with a variety of weapons and in various situations. They're split into two teams and whichever team loses the team challenge has to nominate two members to go head to head in an elimination challenge. That nomination phase is the only source of personal drama, because once you're doing a challenge, it's all about how you shoot.
I'm not much of a gun person (or at all, really - I've shot a gun once in my life) but I enjoy it because I much prefer reality shows that emphasize contestant skills, like Runway or Top Chef, rather than popularity. It's also interesting to see these people compete with weapons they both are and aren't familiar with. Before any challenge, they always get instruction from an expert and practice time with the weapon they'll be using, which is interesting as well - they're not expected to just know everything, or just pick up the weapon and be proficient at it. This week they had to use a tomahawk and a blowgun. Cool.
The contestants come from a variety of backgrounds. Some are competitive or sport shooters, some are military or law enforcement. One of my favorite contestants is just this down-home Southern guy who's been shooting various guns his whole life, both for sport and to hunt for food (although he was also a Marine). There were two women in the competition, both competitive shooters, but they've both been eliminated.
What's emerging is this interesting sociological dynamic and it's providing much food for thought about the Psychology of Men. I'm fascinated by the particular antagonism that's emerging between two of the contestants.
In one corner we have George. George is big and musclebound and chiseled-jawed and handsome in a meathead kind of way, with product in his hair and bulging biceps. He's an Air Force sniper and a SWAT/heavy weapons instructor. In the other corner we have Jamie. Jamie is quiet and much less intimidating, not as musclebound. Frankly, he looks like an insurance salesman. They are on the same team. George has decided that he doesn't like Jamie, and that Jamie is a substandard competitor. But what seems to get George's goat the most (because he won't stop mentioning it) is that nobody in the competition knows what Jamie does for a living. He apparently hasn't told anyone the details. All he'll say is that he's in the Navy. Which could mean anything. He could be some guy who packs parachutes all day but happens to be good at shooting. George seems to think this makes Jamie shysty, and he's constantly saying that he doesn't know if Jamie deserves to be there. How can he? What does he DO????
We, the viewers, know what Jamie does because it says so on the screen, not to mention that we have access to the Wik. Jamie is, in fact, a US Navy rescue swimmer and he's gone through the Navy's anti-terrorism force protection and deadly force close combat training, and he's a Navy rifle and pistol marksmanship expert. That's...pretty badass. Arguably a more hardcore resume than George's. Those rescue swimmers do not fuck around, I saw a documentary about that program somewhere (although that may have been about the Coast Guard rescue swimmers, but how different can it be?). I read somewhere that their training is harder than SEAL training. Don't know if that's true. But jumping into the ocean during the worst weather conditions imaginable in high-stress situations isn't for the faint of heart, I imagine.
To me, what's going on here seems obvious. George is used to being the alpha dog. He needs it. He needs to know he's the baddest mofo on the block. So not knowing Jamie's credentials is driving him bonkers because it introduces the distressing possibility that Jamie might be more of a BAMF than he is. In the dick-measuring contest, Jamie won't whip it out, which George would like to think must means Jamie's is smaller, but leaves him with the troubling possibility that it's bigger - big enough that Jamie doesn't feel the need to prove it. Jamie's content to let his performance in the competition speak for itself without trotting out his bona fides at every opportunity.
It's also possible that Jamie is playing the "let them underestimate me" game by keeping his credentials to himself, which is a little bit of a douche move because it denies his own teammates information about his skills that might inform their strategy - but it's equally true that the only information his teammates need is how he shoots here. Jamie also seems to be keenly aware that there's a certain clique developing among the guys who were Marines, so he might have early on realized that he'd never been one of the Cool Kidz, so he's hanging back.
I just think George is a tool and constantly needs to reassert his masculinity, whereas Jamie is content just to do his thing and doesn't need to wear his cred on his sleeve.
It's fascinating, this peek into Guy World, in a scenario where intensely masculine pursuits are being tested. I can't imagine a better pressure cooker to bring up these issues. If I were a gender studies major or something I'd use this show as a thesis topic.