Artists & Communities Host Site: The Newark Museum Association
49 Washington Street
Newark, NJ 07101
Web Site: www.newarkmuseum.org/

Millennium Artist:
Frederick Marx
Filmmaker
Illinois
E-mail: Fmfilm@aol.com
Web site: www.Fmarxfilm.com

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Escalating incidents of suicide by young men, a growing "ornamental culture" similar to that experienced by young women, the high incidence of violent crime committed by young men under 18, the prevalence of attention-deficit disorder and learning disabilities among boys, the dearth of culturally-appropriate role models and mentors to initiate young men: all are indicators of a crisis in masculinity in which women have no less stake than men.

Frederick Marx has built an international reputation as a documentary filmmaker courageous enough to let the vissitudes of his subjects' lives determine the direction of his works. His award-winning film "Hoop Dreams" followed two young men for seven years as they wrestled with conflicts between their reality and the American Dream.

Marx's Artists & Communities residency with the Newark Museum Association in Newark, New Jersey extended this exploration of the landscape boys travel as they journey to manhood; the resulting documentary, "Boys to Men?," moves between the lives of five young men as each encounters a significant event defining his perception of self and of his own masculinity: the big game, the big date or the big break-up, joining or quitting a gang, learning to drive, getting / keeping / quitting a summer job.

Early partnerships with the Rutgers University Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, the Newark Public School Board, Communities in Schools, and Community Partners for Youth provided Frederick introductions and contact with young men from Newark and surrounding municipalities.

The artist initially recruited participants as film production staff - boom operators, gaffers, grips, research and editing assistants - ensuring that mentoring and skills training played an important part in his residency. He then established a series of focus groups involving 32 young men overall, interviewing and filming each group as they discussed issues of body image, peer bonding, the meaning of work, violence and anger, mentoring, initiation, safety and power, and society's expectations of 'masculinity'.

The completed "Boys to Men?" moves between the single and the 'communal' voice of the focus groups, reinforcing the issues raised by the individual boys' stories. The film allows the young men themselves to define what is needed to help them grow into a masculinity that accommodates the needs of contemporary America.

"Boys to Men?" debuted on the film festival circuit in 2001, and was distribution in New Jersey through schools and community organizations. A comprehensive outreach strategy planned in association with the Newark Youth Leadership Council is developing supporting school curriculum, and will train youth peers through 2001 in how to best facilitate its use with the film in their "home" institutions.

Commenting on the film, Marx says, "caught between a macho past and a feminist future, adolescent boys are not being initiated and mentored into rounded, emotionally expressive, mature masculinity. The stories of these boys will show why, and point out what needs to be done…."

MILLENNIUM ARTIST BIO

Frederick Marx is a creator of fiction and documentary films for theaters and television worldwide whose work includes "HOOP DREAMS." Marx is an Academy and Emmy award nominee.