X-Men 3

I really enjoyed the movie X-Men 3. Even though Storm was in constant battle with the other Black female super hero, at least both women were in progressive roles. I really enjoyed the diverse cast, and the overall message for marginalized people to stand up and fight for their rights. I would recommend this film to anyone; it has all of the elements of a great epic tale.

The Wonderful World of Disney

I enjoyed the video we saw about Disney films and the depictions of stereotypes. Many people think that maybe this conversation is taking this notion of stereotypes effecting people too far, but I really believe that not only do stereotypes shape the way people feel about everything from what to eat, to how to act, they also effect people’s perception of reality. I feel that consuming anything in the media without dialogue about the issues that are present is harmful. The problem is that not only do people lack global literacy which would allow them to think about issues globally, they lack media literacy and the ability to discern patterns and themes presented in mainstream media. It is up to the school system to educate parents and students about how to consume media responsibly.

Spike Lee

Spike Lee’s films always provoke people to think about the world we live in. The film Bamboozled raised many concerns for me in regards to how Black people are portrayed in the media. Spike Lee made comments that people before us had no choice but to take these types of roles because of the barriers and blatant racism they had to face. He says that artists of today have a choice and that they have no excuses. I feel that this a complex situation for actors today that want to break out of the stereotypes, but are faced with having to play such roles to get a foot in the door. It must be very conflicting for Black artists to take stereotypical roles for the sake of furthering their careers. I am not sure how this huge problem can be remedied, but I am sure that producing such works allows for scholarly discourse to begin figuring out real life solutions.

Asian Women in Film

The video we saw on the depiction of Asian women in film was eye-opening. They have been stereotyped as the “lotus blossom” or the “fighting dragon” and are almost always shown as being submissive and inferior to men. I cannot think of anything in the media that portrays Asian women in progressive roles, except for Gray’s Anatomy. I think a great film and book to read that depicts Asian women in many roles is the Joy Luck Club.

Censorship In Public Schools

I am not surprised that the PBS documentary we saw in class this week was pulled from a local high school. The public school system is always resistant to new and innovative ways to get students involved in the critical thinking process. I am sure the teacher framed the lesson appropriately, and I am even sure that the class shared some very profound commentary. It is this type of censorship that hinders students from learning about the world they live in. This is exactly why I do not teach in the public school system anymore because you can never elevate your students with curriculum that will empower them to critique the world they live in. Its situations like this that makes me fight for curriculum reform in American public schools. The fact of the matter is, students need to be media literate, and the only way to facilitate this process is to show relevant documentaries like this to provoke students to begin to ponder solutions to society’s complexities.

Metrosexuals

Today’s discussion of the idealized male in fashion magazines provoked me to think of the term metrosexual. Please see this attachment at urban dictionary to read more about it
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=metrosexual. This term came into play in recent years. I came to understand the term by the fashion styles and extreme hygiene practices of designer Sean Combs. The media has labeled him as a metrosexual because he is super clean cut, and is always decked out from head to toe. Many people have added their own perspectives to the definition, but however you define the word, it is interesting to see how some men have evolved from the stereotype of not caring about their appearance or being into fashion to being just as concerned about clothes and shoes as women. The typical metrosexual that is depicted in the media is usually a muscular mesomorph that has toned arms and abs and no visible body hair. I am not sure if you have to be borderline homosexual to be considered a metrosexual, but I think this adds to the discussion of the idealized man. Many ads are now depicting men as metrosexuals. I think they are doing this to appeal to gay men and heterosexual women, which Dr. Lambiase touched on in her lecture today about the ambiguous nature of men in advertisements that we saw in the Ambercrombie and Fitch catalog.

Shadow Project

Title: Clothing Worn by Females and Males in Music Video

Two Sentence Summary: For female artists physical appearance and sexuality tend to be emphasized more than musical abilities, as close-ups and revealing clothing are required components of their roles in videos.

Summary of previous study: From Page 36 in Sex in Consumer Culture: The Erotic Content of Media and Marketing, Reichert & Lambiase (editors), 2006, Erlbaum

TABLE 3.2
Clothing Worn by Females and Males in Music Video
A)Study
B)Year Videos Aired
C)Networks Sampled
D)Females in Alluring/Sexy Clothing
E)Males in Alluring/Sexy Clothing

Study #1: A)Sherman & Dominick (1986)
B)1984
C)MTV, NBC, WTBS
D)50%
E)10%
Study #2: A)Seidman (1992)
B)1987
C)MTV
D)36%
E)4%
Study #3: A)Signorielli, McCleod, & Healy (1994)
B)1991
C)MTV
D)55%
E)7%

Study #3: A)Seidman (1999)
B)1993
C)MTV
D)33%
E)7%

Study #4: A)Andsager & Roe (1999)
B)1997
C)CMT
D)41%
E)5%


Its most important foundation literature and how it relates to your own project: Gow, J. (1996) Reconsidering gender roles on MTV: Depictions in the most popular music videos of the early 1990s. Communication Reports, 9, 151-162.

Corpus and Method: Four music videos selected from Launch Top 100 music videos (Yahoo.com). Content analysis (desription) of clothing worn by females and males in popular music videos (2 male artists Bubba Sparx and T-Pain; 2 female artists Shakira and Destiny’s Child)


Findings:

Clothing Worn by Females and Males in 4 Music Videos on Launch (Yahoo.com)

Video: “Ms. New Booty” by Bubba Sparx
All female dancers are wearing short shorts so that their buttocks are showing, tight shirts so that cleavage is exposed, midriff tops to expose stomachs, and they are wearing boots and high heel shoes.
All the men are fully clothed wearing suits, baggy jeans and t-shirts.

Video: “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira
Shakira is the prominent female character for most of the video. She exposes her back, and stomach. The female dancers at the end of the video also bear their stomachs.
All the men are fully clothed wearing baggy jeans and t-shirts.

Video: “I need a Soldier” by Destiny's Child
The three group members wear fitting clothing that reveals midriff, cleavage, buttocks, legs, and thighs.
Male characters are fully dressed in baggy jeans and t-shirts.

Video:“I’m in Love with a Stripper” by T-Pain
The women are wearing tight jeans, midriffs, short shorts, panties, bras, short dresses, boots, and stilettos. Cleavage and buttocks exposed.
All of the men are fully clothed in baggy jeans and t-shirts.


Conclusion: In all four videos used in this shadow study, all of the men were fully dressed. Not one male was dressed in alluring/sexy clothing. On the other hand, in all of the videos, all of the women were dressed in some type of alluring /sexy clothing. What I noticed is that the message that the video is supposed to convey is lost by the distraction of women barely dressed. I could not follow the plot of the videos because I was distracted by the way the camera zoomed in on the breasts, legs, midriffs, backs, thighs, and buttocks of the women. From this shadow study, I conclude that women are still objectified as sexual objects placed in music videos to sell products, or in this case to sell more records. In all the videos it seems that dressing in alluring/sexy clothing is a trend for women in this small sample of music videos.

Women Silenced

The video we saw in class today was very disturbing. The Market Researchers demonstrated how they collect information on teenage culture with various methods such as physically going out into the streets and photographing teens that they think are cool or what they called the 20% of cool teens that influence the other 80% of un-cool teens, interviews with individual teens, and focus groups. The focus group included five males that were asked various questions. The males in this group were able to express their opinions. There was not a focus group for the females; instead we went on a bizarre journey into the world of modeling for young girls. This scenario exemplifies how women are being silenced and used solely for the purpose using their bodies to sell products and ideas. I was very offended that the young girls did not have the opportunity to critique their world. In essence, the girls in this video were portrayed as mindless beings. Women are being silenced everyday and the implication of this is evidenced in the hyper-sexualized behavior of young women today. There was nothing scientific to this research, instead it is a twisted way to delve into the minds of teen culture to perpetuate negative behaviors and increase revenue for companies.

Misogyny in America

Women are regarded as sexual objects to be discarded after they produce sexual pleasure for men. How did this attitude about women come about? This is a very complex concept, but one cannot ignore the blatant sexual images used to sell products and an overall ideology that women are nothing more than tools for men to use to get a climax. I was very offended by a classmate’s comments that “women bring this upon themselves” because it is this very type of attitude that adds to the notion that it is okay to objectify women. Misogyny is a huge problem in our society, especially effecting our youth. The messages that our youth are getting is that women cannot be seen as anything more than a source of titillation. Jean Kilbourne makes some very poignant correlations between sex in advertisements and the treatment of women. The implication of such advertisements perpetuates current gender assignments and leaves no room for women to advance past this idealized sex kitten persona. It also debilitates the growth of healthy relationships between men and women because men are taught to view women as “bitches” or “hoes” that are invaluable. Women are taught to use their bodies as a bartering tool for goods and to be accepted by other men. It is sad that today in any given middle or high school in America that young women are using their bodies to get attention and performing sex acts as a twisted rights of passage. I am sure that there are other elements contributing to this problem, but I am confident that at the root of it all are advertisements projecting negative images of women.

Missing Women

It is sad that we have to debate about the differences in reporting for missing women. The underlying issue of significance is that too many women are being victims of violent crimes and abduction. Instead of focusing our attention to protect women, we are caught in a media storm of White vs. Black. Unfortunately, we cannot escape this because the powers hat be have chosen to ignore the ugliness that has occurred from the beginning of time up until now. For us to admit that there is a racial problem in the media would be admitting that someone is wrong, and the dominant culture does not want to take on that burden, so instead we fight over stereotypes and continue to marginalize people of color. The only true way to break free of the bonds of racism is to heal Americans by teaching and exposing the truth about our tumultuous history. Only then will we be able to think critically about complex issues and begin to work on real solutions to real problems.

Women in Journalism

It was very refreshing to hear Dr. Everbach talk about the realities of the newsroom for women. After going through this program and participating in internships, I have to say that it is very disappointing to have been in newsrooms where there was only one person of color or none at all. I really feel that journalism programs need to arm students with this knowledge and form relationships with the industry to give more women and minorities a chance in the media.

I have to say that I am one of those people that will not be using my journalism degree to work in the industry. I have seen first hand the blatant resistance of the industry to recognize me as a woman of color. No one wants to hear the stories that are important to me, so I have decided to change my career path with the hopes that I can free lance to get my perspective heard.

There has to be a better way to get more people of color in positions of power in the media; if anyone knows how, please let me know.

Racism is not dead

After reading numerous postings on Jessica Lynch, the following words were used to describe her: good kid, good girl, pretty blond girl, soldier, and hero. The pictures I saw of her symbolized the all American girl with fair white skin, blond hair, and blue eyes.

The following words were used to describe Shoshanna Johnson: chef, not a soldier, doesn’t regret her military career. The pictures of her depict her as if she is always in despair or not really aware of what is going on around her.

Lynch has book and movie deals; she is a hero in the media.
Johnson is barely known to anyone as if she were forgotten. She received a smaller disability pension than Lynch for her injuries in the service. This demonstrates that the government values her less than Lynch, a sentiment felt by many Americans that Black people are inferior and simply don’t matter.

After examining photos and words associated with each woman, I conclude that this is definitely a matter of race. White women in America are valued more than Black women as evidenced by this entire fiasco. I am very disgusted that Lynch has become a household name and hero, while countless others in addition to Johnson have suffered so much pain from this ordeal and are virtually forgotten. It seems like the media and government is saying that a white soldier is valued more than a black soldier.

In the case of Natalee Holloway, she too is depicted as the all American girl. All of the photos I have seen online and in the news depict a “good girl” image, blond hair and blue eyes. This again is a matter of race and status. Countless women of color are abducted as well, but never receive as much media attention. Quite frankly, Black people are seriously undervalued in this country as evidenced by the blatant neglect to acknowledge and help victims of color.

Race is the foundation of these issues. Until America deals with its tumultuous past, racism will continue build momentum and destroy our nation.

Topics for Discussion Pages 178-179

Topics for Discussion Pages 178-179

Statistics about racial/ethnic representation in various media fields, such as newspapers, broadcasting, and others tell a very disappointing story; not very many media outlets are hiring minorities, and they are non-existent in positions of power. Media executives in many large multinational media companies admitted that they were unable to seriously recruit substantial numbers of minorities or promote women with any sense of urgency, though they said that they were trying. I feel that is data is useful in some ways because it further demonstrates that minorities and women continue to be marginalized in the media.


The basis for supporting diversity has always been as an extension of democratic theory that claims that everyone in society should be able to participate fully and completely in the processes of democracy. The press is a tool in the democratic process; full and representative coverage of society requires coverage of minority groups and communities.


Groups like Unity are beneficial because they allow minority journalists an opportunity to meet and discuss the complexities of the profession and to promote common concerns and needs. These groups give minorities a place to come together and be recognized for their work.



The most visible and important leaders in media diversity are groups like Unity, such as the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Asian American Association (AAJA), and the Native American Press Association (NAPA). These groups get together and express their concerns and complaints about the staffing and coverage patterns of U.S. media. I don’t think that the general public has knowledge of these groups or their fight for equality in the media.


When I think of visible minorities and women in the U.S. media, Oprah Winfrey and Connie Chung come to mind. These women are middle aged and I cannot think of any young minority or woman in a place of power in the media. I feel that the only way minorities, women, or youth are going to be seen in media is only on cable entertainment shows like BET or MTV. I have never seen a minority woman or youth in a position of power in mainstream media.

The First Day of Class

The first day of class was very refreshing! I really enjoyed the group assignment because it gave us a chance to share our thoughts with our peers. I liked the way the Dr. Lambiase used our group assignment to lead us into a broader discussion of media stereotypes of mothers. I would like to comment on a few students' opinions in regards to demographics. Although advertisers use demographics to pitch products to consumers while keeping their "mind set" as a key element, it is important to remember that there is such a thing as propaganda. Even in simple cleaning commercial, there is always a loaded message that conveys the ideology of the dominate culture, which is women are inferior to men and reinforces the stereotype that women should be responsible for all the housework. I am very interested in how people digest these loaded messages and take them as the truth.

Secondly, I feel the term "Cosmopolitanism" is very difficult to achieve, but can be accomplished through multicultural curriculum. I feel that if the school system took the time to make curriculum relevant to real life, not only would students have media literacy and be able to critique the media, they will also have a global literacy and mutlicultural literacy knowledge base to draw conclusions from and begin to think critically about practical solutions to society's complex ills.