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.

Group Video - Culture of Cool

Click Here for the video!

Ellen and Feminism at the Same Time?!

Today I was procrastinating as usual on YouTube when I came across this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCyw3prIWhc

Then this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP4e4vGP6oc&list=UUp0hYYBW6IMayGgR-WeoCvQ&index=11&feature=plcp

To me these videos are incredible and let me tell you why. Im going to start with the first video. When you are on your weekly Wal-Mart trip and you are browsing do you notice how many companies market specifically to women? Most likely after taking this class yes, but before did you notice that women items are usually pink or purple? As Ellen talks about BIC has come up with a pen "for her", since when can women and men not use the same type of pen ? As she describes, the pens are pink and purple and on the back it says something along the lines of "perfect for the womans hand". Last time I checked, my pens have "fit" just fine in my hand and I am a woman. I think it is a way for companies like BIC to take a product, mark up the price by marketing it to a specific demographic even if it is just like a previous product. We don't realize how much our society takes things like color and label them male or female. These pens are "for her" the company decided that they needed to make them pastel pink and purple, and because I am a woman I must like them! Ellen also talks about how the 1 and 2 pound weight are pink and purple. I do not believe that is not just a coincidence. I think that the company that made them believes that women are more likely to use the smaller weights so why not make them "girly colors." I think that like Ellen says in her second video these ideal just push women back 50 years. 
 In the second video Ellen brings up a car made by Honda that is called "She's" made just for women. With features that have a climate control system that is supposed to improve skin quality and a windshield that prevents wrinkles. I feel like to say that just woman want good skin quality is very flawed and shows what society thinks that a woman might want in her "perfect" car. 
I also believe that Ellen taking the time during her daily monologue to point out these products and to point out that our society has very set ideas of what a man and a woman should like is taking a step in the right direction toward equality for women.  On average approximately 5 million people watch Ellen daily. If Ellen can get that kind of crowd of that size to watch her show I think it is inevitable that with her talking about these issues will change the thought of people around the world.

A New View

 So as I sat down to read this article, I kept thinking there is so much I have to do and the absolute last thing I want to do is read about Tupac. Before reading this article I thought of him in a negative way, but after reading this article it really gave me a new view of who he was and what society made him into. What really struck me was a sentence at the very end, "Tupac was a tragic example of a talented black man, beautiful and damaged, who combined some of the worst excesses of the society that produced him with an acute awareness of the corrupt nature of that society." When I first read that my immediate thought was what a great way to sum up the article. Most importantly, I feel that the article all leads up to this sentence. I think this says that Tupac although beautiful and talented, because of society was made into a negative person. The article discusses how Tupac, much like other young men, had this need to be a "tough manly man" and if that meant rapping about sex and killing that's what he had to do. However in a sense I feel that Tupac had an idea of this negative society. In the song "Keep Your Head Up" as mentioned in the article he talks about how women shouldn't let men control their lives. I think that because he was forced to grow up fast, he had a very good idea of the society that's so corrupt that had even corrupted him.

From Survivor to Governor

As you all have probably heard, Rupert Boneham, former Survivor star,  is running for Indiana State governor. I personally believe that Boneham is using his fame and fortune from the popular reality show Survivor to run and for that  he is incredibly smart. After seeing him at a local fair in Indianapolis, I realized I knew he was  running for governor but I had no clue who else was running. I asked my friends  who was running to see what they would say and the only person  they knew was "That guy from Survivor". We didn't know what party he ran for or his views on anything, just the fact he was running for office and was on TV.  After doing some research I found out that he is running as a Libertarian candidate and is currently at 5% on the polls while his fellow running mate, Mike Pence is at 44%. After being asked why he is still running Boneham states "I wouldnt be running if I didnt think I would win." He uses his well known name and his known tie dye t-shirts to his advantage. For example, at debates he wears a tie dyed pocket square and signs tie dyed t-shirts for his fans. Although I do not believe he will win I think that his well known name in pop culture will buy him quite a few votes. So I congratulate him on his effort and his ingenious way of using his fame in his campaign and I wish him the best!