Lolo Jones

Women in Comedy

As we discussed in class, every year it seems the question "Are women funny?" pops up. I find very few women comedians funny, but i also find very few male comedians funny. I think Louis C. K. put it best when he said "most people aren't funny" from the interview we watched in class. Hitchens says that women are not funny because they don't have to be, because they look good. He also explains that comedy is masculine. Comedy is tough for anyone to perform and requires bravery to be in front of a crowd and a willingness to fail in front of whoever your audience may be. I believe Hitchens says these things because he views comedy like he views his own environment, male driven. Not all men are in charge though, which puts a damper on his arguments in vanity fair. The women of SNL have had their own specials and DVD releases highlighting some of the best female comedians to cross a stage. 30 Rock is one of my favorite shows because it is goofy and i find Tina Fey's awkwardness towards her life hilarious. In this show the men are in the back seat and women are the headliners. I don't know if Hitchens thought about this or not, but most men and women enjoy different types of comedy. For example, most girls i know do not watch South Park or Louis, but they might watch 30 Rock. Maybe men and women just find things funny at different times in their lives as well. Either way Hitchens argument is idiotic and only brings one question to mind. Why would he ever write something like this?

Codes of Gender

What i thought most interesting about the Codes of Gender movie is that there is nothing natural about gender identity. When i was younger i never thought about why boys wore blue and girls wore pink, it was just normal to me as to most children. The movie made the point that we are surrounded by these identities as children and continue them as we get older. For example, women being princesses and men wanting to be superheroes or the dominant male. What scares me is how these beliefs continue throughout our lives. For instance, women shown in canting positions, which displays weakness and men shown as strong and the complete opposite of women. This commercial realism causes people to believe that women are supposed to be weak and that men should be their protectors. Although i do not like either way men or women are portrayed, i think women have it worse when it comes to gender identity and commercial realism. Danica Patrick as shown in the movie as a top competitor in racing, but in ads she is portrayed as weak and in canting positions. Even women who are top athletes are portrayed the same way. Women are even shown having fingers in their mouths like children and other childish positions. This gives the appearance that women never grow up and even young girls can look like older women. This is most seen in beauty pageants for little girls, whose make up and dress are the same as if they were competing in an adult competition. Gender codes pigeon hole men and women into certain positions and are unfair to children who are not old enough to make up their minds as to who they are or want to be.

Culture Jamming

Culture jamming is only affective to a small group of people. In Christine Harold's article she discusses culture jamming, what it does, and some of the organizations that practice it. Culture jamming is the folding of a message onto itself to point out the problem or issue that is causes. For example, the Barbie Liberation Organization switched the voice boxes of G.I. Joes and Barbie to bring attention to the sexism of the dolls. Although, the mother in the video that we watched in class thought that it was a "sick joke," which is why i believe that culture jamming is only effective to a certain group.  For most people I imagine that the voice box switch was confusing rather than a message about gender beliefs or roles. Christine Harold even discusses that if the message that is jammed is not clear than it has no effect. Jammers seek to change our views or persuade us to view an issue in a new light, but it does not always work out. When Bill Gates got pied i am not sure that everyone thought "gee he is just like me and i do not have to look up to him because of his power." Usually though these jammers have known organizations that display their messages and reasons i am sure that even less people check their websites than watch their public displays. Culture jamming walks a fine line between mischief and message, which makes their messages unclear to some. Overall, jamming can have an effect, but how much of that effect is seen or understood by the companies or people they seek to jam?

Media Logic of Facebook

The media logic of Facebook is that it is not normal to be in college without having a Facebook account. Just last weekend i was working with a group, while we were exchanging information a girl mentioned that she did not have Facebook, you could almost hear the other members gasp as she said this. Media logic influences us on what is good, normal, and desirable. Not having a Facebook caused this reaction because we are in college and Facebook is popular, it is common for a large percentage of students to have accounts. When i came to college i can remember setting up my Facebook account the day before school because i was told to get one because everyone else in college has one. Now i barely use it and that is considered odd because it is a large means of communication between college students. I think the media logic of Facebook puts pressure on students to have an account or else they will be considered an outsider or wrong to not have one. When i tell people that sometimes i do not post anything for months they look at me like i have no social life. This is not true, but because of the belief that Facebook is an important tool of communication people may perceive me as anti-social. In the coming weeks i have an assignment in one of my classes where the professor will be monitoring our Facebooks and other social media accounts to see how we our marketing ourselves online. It is expected that we will post interesting articles related to our views and follow groups that we believe in, but because i do not use Facebook or Twitter that often this assignment seems superficial. Facebook and other social media sites our based on the belief that is normal to broadcast our own beliefs and views, but what about the people who would rather keep these views and beliefs to themselves or discuss these topics between close friends? Is it normal to discuss these views through Facebook, or odd to discuss them between close friends?

why we should study pop culture

According to Sellnow popular refers to systems or artifacts that people share and that most people know about. Popular culture should be studied because it is something most Americans have in common and can relate to. For example, in class we have seen clips of the show "Jersey Shore," but even if most of class does not watch this show we all know something about it. Jersey Shore is shared between the class because it is part of our popular culture. Because most students have a T.V. or access to one we are able discuss the show. Jersey Shore was a big part of our mediated popular culture. What was interesting about Jersey Shore or any other shows that are or were that popular is that they speak about our generations and what we value. My mom is a big Andy Griffith fan because she use to watch the show when she was a little girl and it was a part of her popular culture. That show emphasized small town life and "good old American values" like being a good neighbor and a part of your community. Shows like Jersey Shore are about partying and being young, which is attractive to high school and college age students. These two examples also illustrate the changes in perceptions or ideologies of people across generations. The values that were held in Andy Griffith are nothing like that of Jersey Shore, yet they both are a part of our beliefs and actions. This is why popular culture should be studied.  Being a critic of popular culture allows us to see past the shows into what the real message is and instead of becoming a blind part and consuming it, we have the ability to analyze and come up with our own conclusions.