The Empathy Gap

Synopsis

In The Bro Code and Generation M, filmmaker Thomas Keith examined how American culture bombards young men with sexist and misogynistic messages. In The Empathy Gap, he looks more closely at the ways these messages short-circuit men's ability to empathize with women, respect them as equals, and take feminism seriously. Keith begins by exploring some of the key messages about manhood that boys absorb from the culture -- that they should acquire material wealth, meet conflict with aggression, harden themselves, suppress all human emotion except anger, and view women primarily as sexual objects -- then argues that these messages not only devalue women but also undercut men's innate capacity for caring and empathy. Along the way, he draws fascinating parallels between sexism and racism, spelling out how each is rooted in cultural norms that discourage empathy, and shows how men who break with these norms live happier and healthier lives.

Features Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Tony Porter, Michael Messner, Derrick Jensen, Kevin Powell, J.W. Wiley, Charlotte Watson, Eddie Moore Jr., C.J. Pascoe, Julia T. Wood, and others.

Release Date:2015

Duration:70 min

ISBN:1-944024-98-7

Subtitles:English

Trailers

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Filmmaker Credits

Producer

Thomas Keith

Filmmaker Biographies

Thomas Keith

Author, Filmmaker, Educator

Dr. Thomas Keith teaches philosophy and gender studies at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. He specializes in American philosophy and pragmatism with an emphasis on issues of race, class, and gender. In 2008 and 2011 respectively, Dr. Keith directed and produced Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture and The Bro Code: How Contemporary Culture Creates Sexist Men, which are used in classrooms around the world. Dr. Keith's forthcoming book is Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture: Confronting Complexities and Challenges of Male Identity (Routledge Press) is scheduled for release in July 2016.

Resources: Downloads and Related Links

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Transcript

Praise

“The Empathy Gap gets to the heart of how we take love and close connection out of the lives of so many men and boys and what we need to put it back in. It is a powerful declaration of the need for an ethic of care that is not male nor female, but is what makes us all human. I highly recommend it for boys, and men, and girls and women, for educators and parents. Simply powerful.”

Gary Barker
Founder and International Director, Promundo

“The Empathy Gap sent alarming chills of familiarity throughout the inner most regions of my being. A line in the beginning of the film, ‘that’s not my daughter bro’ reflects one of the major male traps of disconnection while also highlighting for me how men’s conscious claiming and unconscious maiming occurs often in our daily lives. I believe this to be a must-see film for men, women and youth interested in elevating men’s relationship styles to promote more harmonious unions, friendships, and encounters.”

Brother Robb Carter
Co-Director, Men’s Resource Center of Philadelphia

“The Empathy Gap offers a clear explanation for how (and why) Americans are imprisoned by sexism and gender socialization. The film’s description of our ‘tight grasp’ on the masculine script using key figures from both the women’s and men’s liberation movements is powerful. The film touches on the multiple threads that make up the fabric of our society, yet includes research and popular culture references that will appeal to diverse audiences. Overall, The Empathy Gap is a chilling reality of how far we have come in achieving gender equality, but also the work that lies ahead.”

Daphne C. Watkins, PhD
President, American Men’s Studies Association, Professor of Social Work and Professor of Psychiatry, University of Michigan

"Tom Keith’s exciting new film urgently needs to be seen by every college student in America. Brimming with perspicacity, The Empathy Gap responds with clarity and power — and yes, empathy — to the 21st century confusion and emotional turmoil in the lives of young men and the people who care about them. The impact of the film is greatly strengthened by a brilliant selection of video clips drawn from popular culture and news events, as well as a wonderful soundtrack featuring Keith and his professional musician friends. The Empathy Gap is in the top echelon of the many wonderful films about gender that have been released in the last decade. Absolutely not to be missed!”

Tom Digby
Author of Love and War: How Militarism Shapes Sexuality and Romance

“Men are wired for empathy, and taught dominance. This false invulnerability is killing us, and quite possibly destroying our species. Getting back our empathy is vital -- and, in this important new film, Tom Keith points the way.”

Boysen Hodgson
Director of Communications of ManKind Project USA

“The Empathy Gap is an important contribution to the growing discourse on masculinities. Combining historical and media analysis Thomas Keith makes a strong case for how so many of the ways in which we have been raising boys and developing men are harmful to people of all genders. His powerful presentation of the myriad ways our culture damages men makes a clear statement about need to redefine strength, courage, and manhood. And we are given some suggestions on how to enact masculinities that are healthy for individuals and our communities from a broad range of diverse voices, voices that, to paraphrase Dr. Keith, will allow us to redefine the masculine script and find the courage to embrace love and empathy.”

Tom Schiff
Director of the Men and Masculinities Center, University of Massachusetts – Amherst

“The Empathy Gap is a very powerful film that exposes the damage and costs of the masculine script with its emphasis on acting tough, being aggressive, sexually objectifying women and the suppression of human emotions other than anger as defining characteristics of manhood. All men and boys should watch this film given its potential for teaching us about the costs, damages and casualties of such an oppressive gender system. The Empathy Gap is a vital pedagogical text that has a very important educative role in schools, universities and the broader community. It has the capacity to make a difference and to transform the way we think about, express and live masculinity as a productive humanizing force.”

Wayne Martino
Professor of Equity and Social Justice Education, Faculty of Education and Department of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research, The University of Western Ontario

“This is a must-see film for understanding popular culture and the struggle for young males to form empathy and compassion toward, not only the girls and women in their lives, but themselves as well. The intensity of media to de-emphasize qualities associated with empathy and compassion is evident as Thomas Keith, narrator and producer of this film, walks us through the forest of messages – from a range of media sources – that not only reinforce gender stereotypes but positions masculinity, and what Keith calls the masculine script, as inherently misogynistic. A distinct quality of The Empathy Gap is that Keith goes beyond the cultural critique to focus insightfully on the importance of developing empathy as a quality of manhood. He invites the viewer to understand the importance and benefits to changing the culture’s script — the story we tell about women and about men – to one that embraces empathy as a core component of masculinity. Keith’s work here is smart, his narration low-key and effective, his use of media insightful, and his message spot-on.”

Robert Heasley
Co-Director, The Men’s Resource Center of Philadelphia

“Articulating a vision of manhood where developing boys’ emotional intelligence is paramount, the film makes plain how much happier-and healthier-men are when we pursue our natural capacity for nurturance, compassion, and care giving.”

Rob Okun
Editor of Voice Male Magazine

“A broad yet detailed examination of what men are taught about women and the women’s movement and the ways these messages shape boys, men, and masculinity.”

Andrew Smiler, Ph.D.
Author, Challenging Casanova

“Empathy is not at all easy to teach. Dr. Keith himself notes that is is hard to teach men to humanize women. But it is possible — and this film just may be able to open up conversations on the subject where it is most needed.”

Don Conway-Long
Associate Professor of Anthropology, Webster University

“In his new film, The Empathy Gap, Dr. Tom Keith presents a brilliant collage of historic and contemporary media clips and interviews to document the persistence of sexism in American culture and how the socialization of boys and men reinforces violence and the oppression of women and girls. Packed with diverse examples from popular culture, and an engaging soundtrack, this film has tremendous potential as a teaching tool for people of all ages and genders. Most importantly, Dr. Keith frames this analysis with the concept of empathy. He shows us how the systematic repression of empathy is central to male socialization, and how the development of empathy is necessary for healthy, respectful and non-violent men and boys. The Empathy Gap offers us a hard-hitting analysis of masculinity and sexism in contemporary American culture, and points us in a powerful direction for leveraging change. From the opening sequences to the closing images, Dr. Keith leaves us with a challenge and a vision.”

Steven Botkin
Executive Director, Men’s Resources International

“Dr. Tom Keith’s The Empathy Gap is a wonderful combination of thoughtful experts, historical perspective, current media, important statistics, and apropos music. The film makes a brilliantly argued case for valuing and encouraging empathy, showing why we need a real revolution in how we raise boys into men.”

Kristen Norton
Psychology, Norco College

“Thomas Keith shows real empathy for American men, constructively showing them ways to cross the empathy gap. The video provides a clear-sighted account of how the “masculine script” leaves men empathy impaired, while giving illuminating reasons for why men should seek to gain the deeper, liberating empathy toward women — and other men — necessary for ‘living healthier, happier lives’. The Empathy Gap: Masculinity and the Courage to Change brings together many of the leading scholars and commentators on masculinity in order to challenge the all too common divide between American men and ‘the Other’ — those of other genders and races.”

Robert Strikwerda
Associate Professor of Political Science and Women’s and Gender Studies, Saint Louis University

“In the performance of traditional American masculinity, men have been taught that emotional expression is feminine. And that’s the biggest tragedy of all. Because the emotional capacities we typically label as feminine are capacities that every man is born with. The choice not to develop them is the choice not to live a fully engaged life. Films like The Empathy Gap explore this phenomena and help create cultural change that benefits all.”

Mark Greene
Executive Editor, The Good Men Project

“The Empathy Gap deconstructs the relationship between contemporary masculinity and many of today’s cultural crises: gender inequality in the workplace, violence against women, men’s mental and emotional health, and the use of military violence. With contributions from many of today’s experts on culture and masculinity, this film is a sharp critique of the ongoing harm of rigid beliefs and norms of manhood.”

Cliff Leek
Program Director at the Center of the Study of Men and Masculinities, Stony Brook University