Princess Culture

Something that really got me thinking in class was the superhero and princess cultures, more specifically the Toddlers in Tiaras videos. While we were watching the video clips of that show in class I couldn’t help but be disgusted. I had never heard of this show prior to our class and could not believe that parents would push their kids so hard to be more like an adult. Growing up my parents wanted me to have as much fun as possible; they just wanted me to be a kid. Parents shouldn’t push their kids to grow up so quickly. One may argue that the girls really like being dressed up like this. Of course they do the attention they get must be great for them. They are getting to look and act like the stars that they see on TV and movies. I’m sure they would like a glass of wine too so they can feel older but that’s not right either. Where are the dads in all of this? I want a daughter someday and although I know I’ll make some mistakes, I would not allow my daughter to leave the house looking like an adult dancer and I can’t believe other parents would allow this. I’m getting worked up just thinking about it. It may just be a show scripted to appease a dull audience and it could all be fake for all I know, but I still can’t imagine dressing a little girl, or boy for that matter, like an adult and pushing them to flaunt themselves.

Red Bull Stratos

Most of the projects I saw from this class were really good and actually kept my interest throughout. One of the videos stood out to me. The “Red Bull Stratos” video where Felix Baumgartner jumps from 120,000 above ground and sky dives for a half hour was one of the most inspiring videos I’ve seen. During the video I got goose bumps. Watching Felix plunge himself into space with no certainty as to whether or not he was going to make it back to earth alive was incredible. As someone that is afraid to fly in an air plane my stomach was in my throat when he stepped to the ledge of his capsule. I cannot imagine having the courage to make such a dive. I think this dive will be good for our country. In the 60’s, so I’ve read, our country competed to be the first ones to land on the moon. Whether or not that ever happened is beside the point. I believe when the United States said we made it to the moon, the country had to feel somewhat patriotic. It has been too long since our country band together in competition, or just in the name of scientific advancement to be the first to do something so extravagant. Baumgartner was Austrian but the jump was made in New Mexico. I am excited to see what kind of advancements we will make next. I really hope they keep coming up with things like this to keep our country coming together and getting excited.  

Minorities in Media

In my groups project we made a video that expressed our discontent with racism in the media. I didn’t really get a chance to express my personal opinion so I thought this would make for a great chance to say how I feel.  It is obvious that there is so much racism in our TV shows, and all over the media, but a lot of this racism is just fabricated. Most shows consist of a cast of white people and one or two black people. If it is a thriller or a horror film, I have no doubt that the black cast member will be the first to die. It is that predictable every time I watch these types of shows or movies. It is not right that they have the black person die first always, and it is not right that they usually don’t have that many lines. It may be a problem but really, I think people sometimes make things worse than they really are. I think people cast a crew with white people and maybe one black person because that what they experienced growing up. I personally only have one or two black people that are my friends. It’s not because I don’t enjoy black peoples company or because I’m a racist but instead because I have only really known one or two black people growing up.  So shows that cast with only cast with one or two black people are shows I can better relate with. I don’t think the writers are trying to be racist; it’s just what they’ve experienced.

Culture of Cool

The class discussion about “being cool” and “hipsters” was one of my favorites this year. There are people that are really obsessed with being cool. Most everyone is guilty or following trends, even when they don’t know it. When I wake up in the morning I do not stop and think if everyone will think what I am wearing is cool. I am however influenced by what other people are wearing and what I think looks “cool.” I certainly am not making any statements with my jeans and t-shirt! There are people however that want nothing more but to not fit in. They wear clothes simply because it’s different and they want to be a non-conformist. I’m glad this was discussed in class because I’ve always felt that at some point when enough people are trying to be different, that different is the new cool. It’s ironic that individuals try so hard to be different but don’t realize they are actually falling right into the same trendy trap as the rest of the world. I don’t have a problem with people who try to be different and I think a lot of their styles are really trendy. I do wish people would just try and be themselves rather than try to impress other people. Being yourself is probably the “coolest” thing people could do if it’s wearing the trendy clothes that people are wearing on TV, or wearing exactly the opposite. The world would be a lot more interesting if everyone were to express their own individuality.

popular cultures attention span

ESPN is one of my favorite channels to watch. There is information given all over the screen and you can find what you want to know in a moment’s notice. During Sports Center, an hour long news broadcast with only sports, a broadcaster may be talking about football. While they are talking there is a program on the side that lets you know what they will be talking about next. Lastly, there are scores from the games the day before, and schedules for the current day. All of this information coming at once is great because I can always find what I need to know whether I’m listening to the broadcaster or I’m reading the scores at the bottom. I think this is becoming a trend in our culture to want as much information given to us as possible. Even though it helps make things quicker, I think it may be bad for our attention spans. If I don’t have a lot of information coming in at once I just get bored. Another example of why I think people are more likely to watch faster paced shows now is because of Netflix. I love the Walking Dead on AMC, but I cannot sit through a whole episode on Sunday nights with commercials. I prefer to watch Netflix where I can watch my shows as quickly as possible and right after I can watch another episode. I prefer that the episode and the plot are fresh and new. I’m glad I have all of these options for my viewing pleasure, but I do think the fast pace style in which we have access too could hurt our cultures lifestyle as much as it assists us.

Racism in Media

I was looking through my childhood belongings over break and found a few power ranger figures in my mum's basement.  Later that day I was on google looking up the show that I loved so much as a child.  As I typed in the search bar the most ridiculous thing pop'd up it said "Power Rangers Racist".  Now not seeing this show since I was a young lad made this line seem ridiculous, until I did some more research.

I never noticed that all of the power rangers actors matched their power suits.  Zach the Black guy had a black suit.  The girlie girl had a pink suit, Asian the yellow suit....  The red power ranger was a native american.  It is almost to much to handle and is quite strange they got away with it.  The white ranger ended up being the leader.  I just can't believe it took me till I was 21 years old to realize how bad it really was, I guess ignorance is bliss

Has anyone else felt this way about the power rangers?  I still am in some sort of shock over it.

What a Fantasic Class!!

As class comes to a close I must end with saying a couple of things. First of all this has been one of the most enjoyable classes I have ever had. I think we were well warned, but I feel as if we live in this  "We now know your secrets media, you can no longer trick us" bubble. And as I scroll through Facebook I notice the Ads on the side and think "What the hell, I WAS just looking at Rob Kardashian socks on Nieman Marcus's website, how creepy!" then I think "Kristen warned us about this!" For that I am very wary of Facebook and to be honest I have a they are out to get us conspiracy now. I really love how much this class really has to do with our every day lives and thinking. We were all able to truly voice our opinion whether that was in class, the blog or Twitter. Although at some points I think our topics of discussion were hard for some people to talk about I think, my eyes were really opened to new ideas. One of the most popular examples that we use in class and I think that most of us can really see in our society is the Princess culture.I have noticed lately when my friends post pictures of their babies with "Mommys little Princess" on the top of the babies shirt  it makes me very irritated inside. I will no longer be able to sit down and watch TLC again with out thinking of this class. I have quickly realized that I am addicted to HORRIBLE television shows. From one about a hillbilly family who has too much time on their hands to one about women who dress up their children as adults throw them on a stage and force them to dance like a "good princess would".  So although I might have become a little insane, that's okay because now I understand pop culture.

Mass Murders and Media.

Link to Video

Kids + Branding

One of my favorite topics we covered this semester was branding and how we teach children to recognize brands and how they create their own style through their life from these brands. Corporate America are no fools when they target virtually anything towards kids because most parents will spend whatever amount of money to keep their children happy. So basically the money is in the child’s hands and at their disposal. As a child, I can remember dozens of times my mother would take me and my siblings or our friends to McDonalds to eat a cheap meal and play in the big area. I also remember McDonalds having the beanie baby toys in their happy meals and I would collect them, so I was one of these corporate America children begging my parents to take me to McDonalds so I could them all. To this day, as unhealthy and disgusting McDonalds food is, I go there the most frequently probably because I created a loyalty long ago with McDonalds therefore I choose their cheap, nasty product above their competitors. I remember watching the video of kids and brands in class and being shocked at how little they were yet they knew so many of these brands. The more I thought about it the less shocked I felt because these kids are active spenders in the market. From birth they are exposed to these brands and their symbols so by the time they can start talking it is not shocking that kids are able to figure out which symbol means what.

Female Friendships

Click me

Election Night 2012- Media Mayhem

Link to video.

Gender Roles in Jersey Shore and Guys with Kids

The Catfish Epidemic

James Riley, Matthew Perry, Shane King, Dawn Stump, Kolleen Whitford, Kourtney Cooper

Video Project: Hostess

Group Video - Culture of Cool

Click Here for the video!

Group Project: Social Media Addiction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Or08vsMy5gg&feature=youtu.be

Twitter and the Election

https://vimeo.com/54318581

Reality Television in Actuality

THESIS: Reality television is a solely profit-driven spectacle that exploits its subjects by promoting itself as "reality" when it is, in fact, fictional.

Group Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpK-9XgcAx8&feature=youtu.be

The Media and the Military

Lance Armstrong

Allison Davis, Garret Hoover, Erika Mabee

Duped: The Media & Pop Culture Influence Our Food Choices

322 Final Project

Check out my video

Minorities In Media

https://vimeo.com/54284914

Lolo Jones

Masculinity In NASCAR (Class Project)

More Media Minded

This course has introduced me to many cultural sinkholes that I have been falling into. Escaping the fallacies that I have put myself into isn’t easy. The media has a lot more input into cultural aspects than I even realized. The media influences many things they should not such as free thought and they can even convince someone to change their freedom of speech to fit into the culture the media is forming around us. From putting politics into sports to strategically placing advertisements around us to suck us into spending money on nonsense. 

After being in class and thinking for myself I have made a promise that I will try harder to be more free thinking when it comes to buying into the media circus that surrounds us. I will try not to buy into social media and define my own version of what I think culture truly is instead of letting it be formed around me through social media.  This is going to take more mental power than usual to recognize when something is wrong and taking the time to think for my self and develop my own opinions and views on the world around me. I can do it and I am glad I could take a class that opens my eyes more and lets me think for myself.

Are we being trained for War?

After hearing Stahl’s Thesis on War themed video games, I put the reading down rather scared of the future of the United States. I never once stopped and thought that I might be being trained to fight in a virtual war.  I have played many war-based video games in my time but I never thought that I am being trained to be a solider. However, after thinking about it I can see how it can be true. As soon as the war began, more war based video games started hitting the shelves.   

The Call of Duty series as well as the Battlefield series have both been very popular and have been complimented on their realism. I have thought to myself how cool I thought the games were just on the basis of realism during gameplay and it really did make me feel like a solider in the war and made me feel like I was somehow doing something. The games do give you a sense of patriotism and a sense of belonging to the cause of fighting in the war or against terrorists. In turn I never really thought bad about the war, I thought we were doing what needed to be done to protect the United States and the citizens that reside in it. In many aspects I was a “virtual citizen solider” in the war and I was buying into it hook, line and sinker. I have since come to my senses and formed my own opinions but sadly I know this will not stop me from buying these games just be cause I enjoy them so much.  I am still a virtual citizen solider.

Thanksgiving Day

All year I wait for this day. Stuffing my face, watching football, and being with family that I havent seen in months is what I look forward to the most. And just recently, I now have two Thanksgivings because my parents are divorced. One may think that two of these holidays in one day would be the greatest, but to be honest, its just a headache. This holiday is just another day to be together and have a good time, but once the day is actually here, I just want it to be over. The commercialization of this holiday has made Thanksgiving less special. You look on television and see every other commercial is about either Black Friday shopping or a bunch of people going to someones house for a giant extravagant dinner. Every now and then, you get a Christmas commercial in there, what is that about? Its not even December yet! But anyway, over the years, Thanksgiving is losing its real meaning, just like every other holiday. Commercialization can be a good thing, but when a true holiday loses its original meaning because of companies wanting to get more money, that is just flat out sad. I feel sorry for generations to come because who the heck knows what meaning Thanksgiving will have in years to come. I know this rant seems a little silly but this is what national holidays are coming to. And all I have left to say is, good luck to those who are going shopping on Black Friday, hopefully you will leave wherever you are with a good deal and your life.

The Lady-Child

We read several articles on the state of gender roles on television, analyzing shows from Clarissa Explains It All to How to be a Gentleman. This article reminded me of another article from Entertainment Weekly, which noticed a new trend regarding women on television: the “lady-child,” or the female counterpart of the man-child. Melissa Maerz wrote that the lady-child is “the savvier counterpart to the man-boy, the overgrown teenager so often played by Adam Sandler or found in the movies of Judd Apatow… Because life’s a little unfair, the lady-child is usually much hotter than the man-boy, and much less likely to wear sweatpants.” The lady-child is also in a state of arrested development, often living with or financially dependent on her parents, witty or sarcastic to the point of alienation, and still looking for a ‘worthy’ career. The article name checks new series such as New Girl, Girls, and 2 Broke Girls—all of which were created by women. I am obsessed with the idea of the lady-child and what this new trope says about mediated representations of gender. I also think it is interesting that women have stolen this trope from male-centric movies. While I hope to do more research on this for my thesis, I love how much backlash these shows have received for their portrayals of lady-children. New Girl is regularly attacked because Zooey Deschanel is considered too infantile. Girls is particularly battered in the media—even James Franco wrote an article for the Huffington Post criticizing the series for its whiny, over-privileged, unrelatable characters. While this trope is more prevalent than ever, it’s clear that audiences are still uncomfortable with it, perhaps because it defies many traditional gender expectations. Women are supposed to be more refined and in control of their lives. Many second-wave feminist television characters fought hard for careers and equality, so to see women lying around while their parents support them deeply upsets some audiences. Whatever you think of this new trend, it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20587537,00.html

Community and the Culture of Cool

As a TV addict, one of the most frustrating things for me to see is all of the uproar over the NBC series Community. There are several very vocal communities of other TV addicts, including a TV critic for the AV Club, who think Community is the greatest, funniest, most innovative series on television. While I enjoy the series, I don’t think it’s anything too special—it’s funny, but it’s not mind-blowing. In the comments section of the AV Club website, people regularly break into fights over the series, attacking anyone who is not totally enamored of it. However, the big problem with being a Community fan is that the show is incredibly low-rated. Its last three episodes in May only reached 2.6 million people, so the series is on hiatus until February. The show is constantly on the verge of cancellation, which I think is part of its appeal for its diehard fans. They love to brag about how enlightened they are and how refined their taste in television is, which is in line with Malcolm Gladwell’s article on the Coolhunt. The article argues that the only thing that’s real is the desire to be cool; however, part of what makes something cool is that it is not mainstream. Gladwell writes, “The act of discovering what’s cool is what causes cool to move on.” Community is certainly a unique show—it has had episodes dedicated to elaborate action movie parodies, a claymation Christmas special, and a “flashback” episode entirely consisting of clips the audience had never seen. The show is innovative because its low ratings allow the network to ignore it. The show can do whatever it wants because the network knows only 2.6 million people watch it. So while fans want the show to become more popular so that it can survive several more seasons, it would almost certainly lose its creative edge. As the Gladwell article argues, the show would lose its appeal if it ever became cool.

Have Things Changed Since Ellen?

In her article on Ellen and gay and lesbian visibility, Bonnie Dow argues that Ellen was “largely geared toward the comfort of heterosexuals,” and did not differ from other televised historical representations of gays and lesbians. She also elaborates on the four rules of portraying gay people: they were relegated to one-time appearances rather than recurring character status, they were never incidentally gay, their lifestyles are depicted in terms of how they affect heterosexual characters, and they ignored gay and lesbian sex and desire. While I argue that these rules still hold on contemporary television, there are exceptions. The ABC series Happy Endings is an ensemble comedy about six friends hanging out in Chicago and is often compared to the iconic sitcom Friends. Unlike Friends, however, one of the main characters is gay. In addition to being gay, Max is aggressively masculine. He is a slob, is a little overweight and unkempt, regularly wears flannel, and loves drinking beer and watching sports. He just happens to be gay. The series regularly shows Max pursuing and talking about sleeping with other men—and his conquests are always other traditionally masculine gay men. On Happy Endings, being gay is incidental. We often only discover characters are gay after Max says he is dating them or has slept with them, which also challenges Dow’s assertion that gay sex and desire are ignored. Finally, because Max is one of the six main characters, he is obviously recurring, and his character often headlines plotlines of his own rather than affecting or tagging along with the heterosexual main characters’ storylines. I can only hope that more characters like Max appear on television because I adore him.

Pranking Wikipedia

When I was teaching the research and support lesson in my Comm 210 class, I was reminded of one of my favorite instances of culture jamming of all time: Stephen Colbert’s Wikipedia prank. In one of his shows, he logged into Wikipedia and changed the Wikipedia pages about George Washington (to say that he never owned slaves) and elephants (to say that Africa had more elephants today than it did 10 years ago).  These “facts” were obviously false; however, because Wikipedia allows users to vote on what information is true, Colbert was able to rally enough of his viewers to approve the information that the pages were temporarily changed. Eventually, the Wikipedia administrators changed the pages back and revoked Colbert’s membership to the website. Generally, I agree with Dr. McCauliff’s assertion that Colbert and Jon Stewart are not culture jammers because they culture jam to make profits; however, in this case Colbert’s actions perfectly fit the definition of culture jamming. Harold wrote that culture jamming “usually implies an interruption, a sabotage, hoax, prank, banditry, or blockage of what are seen as the monolithic power structures governing cultural life… It is an amping up of contradictory rhetorical messages in an effort to engender a qualitative change” (p. 192). Colbert used Wikipedia’s reliance on user-generated knowledge against the site by encouraging viewers to add their own ridiculous “facts.” Colbert exposed the untrustworthy nature of the website and provided an excellent video clip for my Comm 210 class on the dangers of using Wikipedia for scholarly research.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/72347/july-31-2006/the-word---wikiality