Nick Rowland's 2015 BAFTA nominated coming of age short film 'slap' is about a teenage boy that feels that wearing make-up and female clothing gives him a sense of freedom. however he is struggling with accepting it and so he hides it from his friends and his dad. training to box with his dad makes him scared to open up as his dad wants him to keep a tough boy look. 'Slap' confronts standards of masculinity in sports culture and how a young man attempts to construct his own sense of masculinity under single-minded gender-defined conditions.
When Connor is putting on make-up on in his room it is the first time that the audience sees him express his femininity. In the background we can see posters of women on his walls. The use of objectifying posters not only shows his appreciation for the female body but also shows his idealised self and what he aspires to look like. We can also assume that they are used to try and deceive his father into thinking that he finds the female body attractive and imply that he fantasises about women, much like other boys his age. However, they actually suggest that the he is unhappy with his masculine appearance and instead wishes to look more feminine, which he expresses through the posters and make-up as well as later on when he wears female atire. Therefore this reflects societies view that men must hide their emotions and stereotypical female characteristics because they do not fit into their masculine social category.
When Connor is putting on make-up on in his room it is the first time that the audience sees him express his femininity. In the background we can see posters of women on his walls. The use of objectifying posters not only shows his appreciation for the female body but also shows his idealised self and what he aspires to look like. We can also assume that they are used to try and deceive his father into thinking that he finds the female body attractive and imply that he fantasises about women, much like other boys his age. However, they actually suggest that the he is unhappy with his masculine appearance and instead wishes to look more feminine, which he expresses through the posters and make-up as well as later on when he wears female atire. Therefore this reflects societies view that men must hide their emotions and stereotypical female characteristics because they do not fit into their masculine social category.
