The Man

:"This page is about the phrase; for other uses of the phrase, see The Man (disambiguation). For the human male, see Man."The Man" does not usually refer to a specific individual, but instead to the government, leaders of large corporations, and other authority figures in general, such as the police. The Man is typically a white male. The Man is colloquially defined as the figurative person who controls our world. The Man is also often used as a symbol of racial oppression, as well as the boss of a blue-collar worker, and the enemy of any counterculture.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe perceived oppression, but in modern times it is most often used facetiously in an ironically resigned fashion. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist"; however, this is also used facetiously sometimes.

Calling someone "the man" can also be a form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though he has no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

The ambiguity of the phrase is highlighted and parodied in a Sprint commercial in which a corporate executive extols the flexibility of his cellular telephone plan to a subordinate, saying "No one can tell me what to do. It's my little way of sticking it to The Man," to which his subordinate replies, "But sir, you are the Man." The executive says, "I know," and the subordinate observes, "So, you're sticking it to yourself." "Maybe," the executive answers in confusion.

Similarly, in the film 'School of Rock', the principal Miss Mullins (Joan Cusack) thinks the comment from one of the students "Miss Mullins, you're The Man", is a compliment, and replies "Thank you, Frankie".

History

The term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to about 1918, when it was commonly used as a code word for the warden of a prison. According to conservative African-American writer and professor Thomas Sowell, the term "being hassled by the man" was used by poor farmers in the post American Civil War South to refer to the "Bank Man" who would hassle them about the late payment of debts. In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. The phrase was also an underworld code word for police or other law enforcement or penal authorities. It was also a term for a drug dealer. It came to be applied by blacks to whites, especially in the role of oppressors; see for example, "Newsweek", August 3, 1964: "It is time to let The Man know that if he does something to us, we are going to do something back." The use of this term was expanded to other counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in "U.S. News and World Report", had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into ironic usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine "Easyriders" which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."It was also used in the late 60's when young kids were "sticking it to the man" (father). By doing many things their parent thought they would never do.

The use of the term 'the man' as a form of praise has an older provenance. One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's actions at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."

ee also

* New World Order (conspiracy theory)
* Ruling class
* The Establishment
* The Power Elite

References

* Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). "Random House Dictionary of American Slang". New York: Random House.
* Sowell, Thomas. (2005). "Black Rednecks and White Liberals". Encounter Books.
* The Man was made [http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29703 man of the year] by The Onion in 1997.