American-Scandinavian Foundation invites you to a virtual conversation between filmmaker Lo Dagerman and author Mark Greene on Masculinity and Culture, moderated by Benjamin Mier-Cruz.

In her documentary The Making of a Man, filmmaker Lo Dagerman traced the journey of her father Stig Dagerman's journey to France in the 1940s immediately following WWII. Discovering the false narratives and myth-making about manly courage that had grown in response to German occupation, he penned the play Marty’s Shadow, about a young man who becomes a victim of rampant toxic masculinity. In 2017, Marty's Shadow opened at August Strindberg Repertory Theater in New York; when Lo Dagerman interviewed the director and cast of the production, she discovered that the young actor playing the lead had his own very personal insight into toxic masculinity.

Lo Dagerman will be joined by Mark Greene, whose book The Little #MeToo Book for Men (ThinkPlay Partners, 2018) explores how man box culture contributes directly to economic and sexual violence against women. Dagerman and Greene will discuss the predicament of boys and young men in the culture that shapes them. What values drive male socialization today? What is dominance-based male box culture? What is toxic masculinity and how can men withstand pressure to conform? What is the role of women in promoting toxic ideals? Why are male stereotypes still so strong?

The Making of a Man will be available as Virtual Cinema from Scandinavia House from March 1 through 14.