November 29th

This lecture really opened up a new perspective that I never thought of before: the idea that Disney can shape the childhood of many across the world. I had my fair share of preferences and merchandise of my favorite cartoons when I was a child, but it never occurred to me that they had a part in shaping what kind of child was being. It’s pretty scary now to think of all the little girls that dream of being or living the life of Disney princesses, which mainly revolve around being the idea of pretty that they have placed in their heads while also hoping the man of their dreams comes and saves them. Those are concepts that shouldn’t be a goal for children, who should just be playing and living life as a kid before things get more complicated when they are older. It has definitely made me believe that I won’t raise my children that way and allow them to idolize the cartoons the way that children are doing now. Instilling values such as health and intelligence are much more important and should be much more emphasized than the constant consumption of television and what the television tells them to think about (say, a form of agenda setting?) and what to tell their parents to get them or do for them. One idea above all else that I would implement is to learn to be their own person and to try their best not to let anyone else tell them how they should be, as long as they’re happy.

November 8th

The anti-suffrage advertisement was absolutely ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh it, while be so disappointed how things were in America back in that time and also be really happy that the country has evolved radically since then. I really don’t know what to say about it, I’m just really glad that we no longer live in that kind of nation and that we have opened our minds by that much.

The races expressed through Hollywood idea is a racial concept that I never really took seriously. It’s odd that filmmakers spend so much trying to make the protagonist a white good-looking male while the antagonist is usually someone of another race that isn’t as attractive as the former. It probably is that way because movies and theater never really give a chance to those of other races for the protagonist role, already having the idea of a white protagonist already fixated in their minds. The only times really that a non-white protagonist appears is when the plot of the story deals with their race directly, such as Slumdog Millionaire. Once again, it shows how the world of pop culture doesn’t really give people an equal shot. Sad.

November 1st

The video game community is one that basically lives off the idea that online gaming is basically a free-for-all for speech with no repercussions for those who take it too far. Just as mentioned in class, vulgarities such as the B-word, N-word, and F-word are used so often in video game conversation that it’s extremely disgusting, and also a reason that I stopped playing games online. With how serious people take video games these days whenever I see it as just a way to relax every now and then, the fun is pretty much ruined and I’d rather just play by myself whenever I have the chance. Unless your career deals with video games, I don’t see a point in taking them seriously at all, which makes the violence in the community that much more pointless and stupid. And the idea that females can’t play is rather stupid as well and I believe that now more than ever there are female gamers in the video game community and have basically put to rest the notion that women gamers are a rarity.

In all honesty, I couldn’t be happier that women are out there in the sports world now more than ever. To me, it’s a great sign that girls are looking more towards physical fitness and team sports rather than buying so much makeup or trying so hard to impress guys. It’s just a great thing to see women branching out into sports because it shows other young girls that there’s more things in life that they could be using to their advantages while also building cooperative skills and independence as well. Despite the ratings heavily favoring men’s sports, I believe the women sports will come around eventually and show everyone that they should be taken just as seriously as men. We’re living in a world that should be above that belief.

October 25th

In regards to the Native American racism that goes on in sports, I feel like that is one spot that hasn’t gotten nearly enough looks as it should. The Cleveland Indians logo, to me, is extremely racist because it gives the sense that although team nicknames are supposed to be made-up and for the fun of the game, Indians should also be placed on that level. That they’re low enough to be considered a mascot for a sports team, which typically are just commercialized people in costumes whose job is to draw fans and advertising, no matter how ridiculous it may look. The same thoughts apply to the Washington Redskins of the NFL. In a league where there’s teams such as the Dolphins and Falcons, it doesn’t seem right to me to put a group of humans in that same light.

The documentary we saw in class was honestly really eye-opening for me. I almost couldn’t watch. It just really disgusts me that there are groups of men (sometimes intelligent men such as the college students shown in the documentary) that honestly have that sort of mentality towards women and see them purely as sexual objects and don’t mind degrading them to what was basically sex pranks that were pulled on them in the documentary. I have no idea where they thought these ideas were okay, but to me it’s pretty obvious that these men will get nowhere with women and basically have a huge piece of social skills hindered. It’s pretty asinine, to say the least.

October 18

All the talk of how media does the agenda setting and makes people think in a certain way? The prime example of that is what we were shown in class, which is the girl known as the Human Barbie Doll. It’s horrible to see how someone can go to such extreme measures to look like a doll, which is obviously not meant to be taken seriously as far as how an actual human should look.

And as far as the bullying and internet hate speak is concerned, it’s a shame how these types of things aren’t taken more seriously than they are with equality in race and gender. More often than not, you’ll hear about cases of white girls who were the victims of kidnap, rape or murder. Rarely often are cases blown up that involve people of minority race. It’s another steer in biases that makes people believe that other races are above each other, when it shouldn’t be displayed that way at all. In regard to the internet communication, it’s ridiculous how people find behind a computer screen to be a gateway to saying whatever they want to whoever they want. To me, it’s sign of cowardice and immaturity. I believe that anything that is said via internet or computer or any social media should be the same as what would be said in person. If something is said that shouldn’t be taken in that light, then to me it shouldn’t be taken seriously. People have a tendency to hide behind their computers, and it seems as though that type of communication is just a sign of decline as far as understanding other people goes. Another shame that the social media brings to society.

October 11

I really cannot express enough how much I dislike the song and video to Love the Way You Lie now. I never really heard the song when it came out and just became familiar with the chorus, which I thought was okay. But now that I actually heard the entire song and watched the video to go with it, I can’t help it how much I am annoyed by it. Not only is it about a horrible relationship with no thought-provoking ideas of positivity, it also highlights only the sexual side of the relationship. When I think of horrible relationships, I think of the person believing they need to make it work because they just develop the idea that they won’t find anyone else good enough for them or because they don’t want to look at the entire time spent with that person as a waste. That video highlights nothing of the psychological side, just the physical and violent side, which is very insulting to me. I am determined to never hear that song ever again.

October 4th

This week was when class projects were due and students chose to present their projects for extra credit. I enjoyed the projects because I found most of them to be relatable to people around our age group. The country music project was interesting because, similar to TV, people will hear music like that and believe that’s also what they should desire and what they should strive to be. Luckily, I don’t like country music so that didn’t really have an affect on me, but there still is a large demographic that believes this is the lifestyle. This is what they should looking to achieve and acquire. I couldn’t disagree more. Every person is different. You can’t go into every possible relationship with the exact same expectations. There will always be exceptions, to some degree. The Halloween outfit project was very relatable in that people are so often judged, some may say for good reason, because of the revealing costumes that are worn during this holiday. While I don’t believe people should be judged based on one thing they decide to wear on one day out of the year, I do believe that the majority of teenagers and young adults see Halloween as an excuse to dress provocatively and give off the sexual vibe. To me it just makes the holiday feel sort of pointless and ruins the spirit.

September 27th

Probably the most crucial topic we’ll discuss, American advertisements and portrayal of women and men is probably the one idea that sticks in the head of Americans throughout the country. It’s a reason why many women out there believe they aren’t good enough because of their weight or height or other features that are highlighted through media. Not only does it apply to women, but the same can be said for men as well. There is a large group of women, along with a large group of men, that often get sucked into the idea of what the prototype is for a perfect man or woman. Be it muscles, weight, sexual features, or anything else that is mentioned, people always will believe that they aren’t good enough in some sort of aspect because everything is so often highlighted by the media that it’s impossible to achieve the looks that the media displays as what they should be. It’s a real shame because these types of things lead to very stressful and low self esteem situations. When people should be highlighted for who they are and what they stand for, they’re judged on the least important facets, which are the looks. Any change that a person decides to make should be because they made the choice independently for their own interest, never because they were convinced by what they saw on TV.

September 20th

The articles that were discussed were really interesting to me as they, in a way, broke a barrier of gender stereotypes. Tryouts behind curtains was a genius idea that really showed that skills weren’t a matter of being a man or woman. The same also applies for the women baseball players who were able to put up even better numbers than the male counterparts. Those were pretty historic memories that should never be forgotten when the idea of gender roles is brought into play. Everyone, no matter race or gender,should be given equal opportunity at whatever task is at hand.

The video of the black press was also very interesting, to say the least. It really is remarkable to see how they were able to rise against the adversity they faced in a nation that undermined their potential as journalists and silenced them in the news that circulated throughout the country. Not only is it important to see how journalism began for certain people and how it has developed ever since, but it is also important to see what they had to go through to get to where it is today as well. They faced threats, authorities and many other obstacles that tried to halt their pursuit of the truth for their race, but their persistence and determination is what came out on top. That’s what a journalist should always strive for.

September 13th

The Vanity Fair article discussed in class today was a prime example of demeaning women and minimizing them to a level that is below the men equivalent. Though the two women journalists good at their job and exceeded expectations, they were still the subject of being ridiculed to the idea of it being a “cat fight” between them two and not about the strengths they both hold as skilled journalists.

As far as the video goes, it just shows basically what people should not expect in the everyday world we live in, though it’s often displayed through the media as such. All what it does is instead make people who fall for these notions feel insecure about themselves when they believe they aren’t living up to society’s expectations of them, though it’s an expectation portrayed by the media instead. All these ideas of trying to be a perfect man or woman often gets into the heads of those who listen to it, and doesn’t do any good for society. It creates a group of people with lower self esteem and feelings of not being good enough for the world they live in. Though some can understand that this is all a charade that was created by the media, there are others who still believe this is how everyone should live their lives. And that’s just not the way it is. Once everyone can accept that, it’ll be a happier world that we live in.