Customer Reviews

Raising Cain: Exploring the Inner Lives of America's Boys PBS Home Video

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Even if you've read the book, don't miss the chance to see this, recently featured on public television stations across the country. It is a real eyeopener and demonstrates HOW and WHY boys are being shortchanged by both our educational system (a primary focus of the documentary)as well as by society and by stereotypes.
I watched this one with my husband and two sons and they were soon talking excitedly about how "true" the documentary was, how they got it "right" and how they'd captured the very real challenges and heartbreaking experiences of trying to fit into an eductional system which isn't geared to the unique traits and abilities of boys.
Agree or not, this one will get you thinking and raises some interesting points such as:

1. Girls tend to read earlier than boys and are more verbal than boys.

2. Smart boys tend to blossom in all male schools but are generally squelched in schools where both genders are in the same classrooms.

3. Intelligent boys may "pretend" to be stupid in order to appear cool or to avoid teasing from other kids.

4. EVERY boy needs to master some skill. Athletic ability seems to be the first choice but if a male isn't athletically skilled, music or other abilities can help fill the gap.

But this movie goes far beyond the few points I've brought up. A major feature is the close-up view of several individuals, each of them offering a different perspective on being male in our society. I also like the fact that the film focuses on both elementary school boys and high school students, devoting about 1/2 the documentary to each age.

Absolutely a MUST for parents, teachers and anyone interested in raising happy, productive young males.

I agree with the other reviewers that this was an excellent program for parents of boys to watch. While I may not have agreed with all the solutions to "boy problems" that were discussed, I learned a lot and the problems discussed gave me many things to think about and ponder in dealing with my own sons. I have 4 sons -- ages 14, 7, 4, and 1 -- and could see them in each of the boys profiled in this film. "Boys will be boys" is a statement that does not need to be derogatory -- it is simply the truth. And, whether it is nature or nurture that makes boys the way they are -- the fact is that they are different than girls and that we, as parents and educators, must now deal with them in an effective manner. I am going to purchase copies of Dr. Thompson's book for the teachers at my sons' school to pass around and glean from it what they will. I may suggest that the principal encourage the faculty, especially the Jr. High teachers, to take an evening to watch this DVD. I had tears in my eyes several times, as I thought, "So that is the deal with them." If you are a parent to sons, you will feel this DVD ringing true to your life and it will make you feel better about the things you are struggling with. It brings to the front all those little struggles that we think we are the only ones dealing with. This will help you realize that most parents of boys are struggling with the same things and will offer, if not a few solutions, at least some affirmation that you are not alone and some insight into what is going on in those little guys heads and souls!
Highly recommended!

This is about how bad we raise our kids in the West. If you wonder what's going wrong today with our kids: they've become so violent, so hyper, so emotionally immature while sexually precocious, you shouldn't look very far. Look at their environment. See who's around in the streets and in their homes. Bad influences in the street? Yes. No father figure at home? For sure. Rich parents who spoil their kids by "buying" their love? Plenty. Busy parents who trust money will do the job of raising? Mostly. Now how on earth can these kids ever develop their brains, grow mentally, aquire a culture, if we are still bustling with environmental (out-of-school) problems?

All the violence and sex that floods our society has to reflect on our kids behavior. It's normal that the violence they see, and suffer, out there impacts them so much that they mainly try to survive in the jungle of peer pressure and street gangs. It's just too much.

This documentary is concise, right on target. It gives no concessions to political correctness and is straight common sense. A breeze of fresh air amid all the babble from administrators and pedagogues. Straight talk. Higly recommended. Besides, it's very entertaining, high quality image, and engrossing from the go.

It'll do you good. Watch it.

A very interesting and informative look at boys. If you have a son or sons, you need to see this.

ALL Mom's and Dad's raising boys should see this! It is a GREAT documentary, well done and in a VERY professional style PBS is famous for. You may not agree with everything they show or that they have to say, but if you watch this video, and if you have boys to raise, you will FOR SURE gain some new insight from this, I promise.

I found it VERY interesting and particularily informative about young boys (ages 4-5-6) and games of guns and fanatasy violence and death and shooting, this is covered very well and very Mom should see this to understand the issue of boys and fanatasy violence play and games they all like that involve shooting and toy guns.

(Its not a big deal really, so says the Ph.D. author, and as long as boys have the ability to understand that no one gets really hurt in the real life play, and that the violence and shooting is all just pretend it largely deemed by this author to be "OK" and largely overlooked so long as there is no bullying and no actual violence, playing with toy guns and games of death and shooting and violence are just pretend and that it should be understood to be "ok" and normal for young kindergarden age boys.)

This dvd is wonderful! I have a 5 year old son and am just realizing how different boys are from girls. This dvd really helps explain how boys learn and grow. My son loves playing sword games, star wars, power rangers, etc. I used to have a hard time understanding why and this dvd really does a good job of explaining all of that. Definitely worth buying!

Wow! I don't have kids but I stumbled across this at the library and thought it might be interesting. I found it to be right there verging on incredible.

True... true... true... you'll find yourself thinking this over and over throughout this documentary. Don't let yourself think this is just an angry, harsh critique of the USA. I know some people don't like that. The tone isn't angry at all. This is an honest exploration into the emotional lives of boys, from preschool to highschool. Or more precisely, the lack of emotional lives that so much of American society tries to impose on its boys and men. It's somewhere between inspiring and saddening.

In the younger aged sections, I thought the Japanese study/footage was incredible. I won't bother to go into it here, but that alone would have been worth the rental. I'm still of the mindset that I don't want to have kids but were I even considering it strongly, this would be a permanent part of my dvd collection before conception.

parents of boys can definitely benefit from this film--reinforces what we know about how they learn.

Before infant boys are released to their parents, hospitals should make it mandatory that both parents view this outstanding film.
I had my niece watch this film and she was impressed with the information she got from the video. She told me that it helped her to understand why her son was so different from girls. She also had her husband view it and he said he understood why their son preferred his mother emotional support more and that he would be there for him when he came into puberty.
With the schools attempt to feminize boys (the only way that would succeed is to emasculate them),there should be mandatory classroom instruction for teachers before they can get their credentials. All parents should insist that what's suggested by the film be implemented in all segment of our culture so we can stop the bleeding that alienated boys have caused to their fellow beings.
There are other media that parents should read or view. There's institutional abuse (book-Harmful to Minors), parents who are more focused on themselves rather than their children (Norwegian film - Lakki, The Boy who could Fly).
Teenagers have a difficult enough time what with bullying in schools, lack of personal privacy at home, and many others that make life very difficult for teenagers.
I wish Michael Thompson had gone into boys emerging puberty on the subject of sex that was dealt with in the French film 'Murmur of the Heart'.

I use this DVD in a class I teach at The Universtiy of Wisconsin, Milwaukee called "Male Identity: Education & Development". I love it, and it generates much discussion in class. I highly recommend it to parents, educators, and anyone concerned about helping boys become good men.