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Pat Tillman

The story of Pat Tillman we discussed in class on Wednesday really caught me off guard. I had not ever heard of him or his story until that day. I was interested to learn more about him so I took it upon myself to look up some information about him. I browsed the internet and even looked at some videos on youtube. Most were too long to share here on the blog, but here’s one I found that wasn’t too long and gives you just a little information on who Pat Tillman really was. Enjoy! 

http://www.biography.com/people/pat-tillman-197041

Tupac

Last week we discussed hyper-masculinity and pop-culture and media’s strange obsession with masculinity. Tupac, the rapper, was the main tool to tie all of this together. I found this discussion very interesting. I learned so many things about him that I never knew and probably wouldn’t have ever known had we not had this discussion in class. One fact that really caught me off guard was the fact that he use to take ballet classes. To others this isn’t seen as “masculine” which is one of many reasons for why he had to portray this hyper-masculine front.

Most people probably have no idea about Tupac’s lifestyle or how he grew up. They don’t know about the different struggles he faced, or his lack of guidance growing up. Tupac grew up in an urban area, without a father, and a mother who was addicted to crack. This was why he turned to a gang. They were his family and gave him a sense of community. Things like the “cool pose” and the “thug life” were just a normal way of living he was taught, but most people wouldn’t understand or even care to hear these things. All they have to hear is that he was in a gang. Then, they would automatically judge him and believe him to be a bad person.

I also feel that Tupac’s lyrics are often looked over. While yes, some of his lyrics are very profane, he also had many songs that displayed his respect for women, single mothers specifically. Overall, I feel that those who respect him already know this information. Those who are uneducated about his life and unaware of the urban lifestyle believe he is a bad person. And I just feel that in life in general, if people would get educated about something before they begin to judge, that would be one big step for the world as a whole.

Caster Semenya

The topic of Caster Semenya is a tough one. Everyone has their opinions on whether she was male or female and if it was fair for her to compete in the women’s middle-distance running event in the 2012  Olympics held in London. It is unfortunate that due to her athletic performance and physical characteristics that she was questioned to be a man. This just shows how our society associates certain physical characteristics with a certain sex and if you aren’t “normal” , meaning you display characteristics of what your sex “should” display, then you’re questionable. Because her voice was deep, it was possible that she was a man. Because her athletic abilities exceeded the performance of the other ladies, she could be a man. Because her hair was pulled back and she has very defined muscles, she was possibly a man. But why do these physical characteristics HAVE to be associated with a male? Why couldn’t she be strong? Who says she has to have a high-pitched voice? And everyone doesn’t care to have their hair down. I feel that they questioned her sexuality without fair reason because had the physical characteristics of Semenya matched that of what a woman “should” look like, her sexuality may have never been questioned. As one of her fellow competitors I could understand maybe questioning her athletic abilities. She did win by a pretty large stretch. And I could even see people questioning maybe if some steroid use was involved, which in reality sucks. Why can’t she just be really good at something and recognized for it? But that’s not how society works. So drug testing would have been one thing, but to question her sexuality I believe was completely unjust and displays how sexist our society is as a whole.

DEFENDING HANNAH MONTANA

While many of my fellow classmates believed Hannah Montana to be a bad example of “Girl Power” I firmly believe otherwise. I actually love Hannah Montana and was a frequent viewer of the show, so I know a lot about the ins and outs and messages of the show. It may seem as if by Hannah living a dual life she is promoting the idea of being secretive and hiding things from her friends. People also believe that the main focus of Hannah Montana is to promote glam and beauty instead of exemplifying a female of power. All of these can be arguable statements, but there are many positive messages portrayed in Hannah Montana that people don’t seem to notice. Hannah Montana promotes the idea that there are many pros to not being a celebrity. Most children aspire to be famous or in the spotlight, but in Hannah Montana we get a first-hand look at the life of a star and how she just wants to live a regular life. This can help children learn to appreciate what they have more and realize that while it seems like celebrity’s have it all, us “normal” people have some things they could never have. I also can’t name a single episode that goes by where some type of positive lesson isn’t learned. For example, on one episode Hannah is to be featured on a billboard with a huge zit on her face to promote acne cream. At first she wants to hide it, and goes out of her way to make sure no one sees this ad, but in the end Hannah accepts the ad and makes it known that no one is perfect and it is ok to have flaws! So although Hannah Montana may be more glamorous than Clarissa Explains It All, or even a more recent show like Lizzie McGuire, I don’t feel that it is a bad example of girl power programming. It just displays it in a different way, relative to our ever-changing culture.

A Positive Effect of Social Media

While lying in my bed and watching the news on television a few days ago, I saw something that really caught my attention. A news story was shared about a young boy by the name of Lane. Lane has cancer and isn’t expected to live much longer. He doesn’t get out and about much because he’s often too sick to do so, but one thing that has really kept Lane’s spirits high is the availability of social media to him. Lane has received a bunch of support and encouragement through social networking, specifically facebook. On facebook, there is a group page dedicated to support Lane and encourage him that he will heal. This has really had a positive effect on Lane because although he is sick and knows his time is limited, it has been very comforting to Lane to know he has such a broad support group. I found it interesting that social media was having such a positive effect on his life. In a few readings, and also among class discussion, their seemed to be many who agreed that social networking was hurting activism, by causing loose ties and building fake relationships, but Lane’s story is an example of just the opposite! Social media was the best form of activism for Lane in his condition and allowed him to build relationships with people he may have never known otherwise. It opened his eyes to how wide his support system was and made him feel cared for, and loved. Social media gave this young boy a sense of worth in the world.