Final Project: Technonormativity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=922Gh1dL8OM

Marlena Brown, Jake Doolin, Christopher Haygood, Samantha Holifield, Dawn McGough, and  Anson Shull 

The Do's and Do Not Do's of writing a LGBT character

So I wrote a blog post that turned out a little more hetronormative then I wanted, and I thought to kind of even things out I would talk about one of my favorite things, character development (whoop whoop). More importantly I wanted to talk about the good and not so good ways to write for a LGBT character. I broke it down to two do not do's and one do when it comes to pinning the life of one of these characters

A FEW NOTES
1. I am not an expert, I am merrily sharing in opinion and in doing so I may offend a few people with my examples, this is not my intention at all but feel free to tell me I'm wrong in the comments (or real life, in fact I would commend you for doing so. Not enough people yell at me)

2. I'm going to avoid simple things like "don't make the character into a stereotype" because come on, that's to easy and should just be common knowledge (but looking at that Modern Family clip, it isn't)

On we go!

DO NOT DO'S

1. Do not make the fact the character is LGBT the only thing about him/her.

More often then not when a LGBT character is introduced, we are meant to know that they are loud and proud (I.E stereotypical) and that's about it. I mean honestly, can anyone tell me anything about Kurt from Glee or Irene Adler from Sherlock other then they're gay or bisexual. No, those characters are just like paper thin posters the show writers can put over the actually blank representation of the LGBT community. It's troublesome because since the basic premises of these characters is to appear on screen and doing something amusingly gay for the hetro audience, it perpetuates the stereotype most people have. It also limits what you can do with a character (there are only so many gay jokes you can mine) so they become stale and boring rather quickly. They soon have the presence of a Jar-Jar Binks, we just want them to do their little thing and leave. By focusing on more important things like; personality, inner thoughts and feelings, and dreams instead of what the character likes to do when the lights are off you can develop better, more well rounded characters whom we want to spend time with. But completely ignoring sexuality can lead to our second no-no…

2. Don't ignore or leave out things like sexuality (and race) 
Whenever I tell people how garbage the Harry Potter series is when it comes to themes of sexuality, I always hear those magical (ayeeee) four words "but Dumbledore was gay!" (or "Go away I'm eating"). Yes the old Dumbledore was gay argument, the idea that there is no need to make a character openly gay because we're all "progressive" and those things don't have to be mentioned, man. Well of course how could I discredit Mrs. Rowling, I mean as a deep worldly writer who didn't include a single LGBT character, and almost no character of different races (and don't even mention Cho Chang) she has proven to be great at providing a magical world where all the magical people can live in harmony, because there is no other races or sexuality to scare the young wizards. Now I'm not saying Dumbledore should of been out there in a pink robe shooting sparkles, but maybe having a chapter or even a paragraph where we might get some explanation about his sexuality could of given the books some much needed LGBT representation. And that's the point I'm trying to make, sexuality shouldn't be the focal point, but it also shouldn't be glanced over till you finish your series and feel the need to mention it offhandedly. Representation of LGBT characters (especially good, well rounded ones) is important in providing role models for younger kids growing up in this heretonormative world.

Okay, now that I insulted Harry Potter and Sherlock (crimes which I am sure to be punished for) lets move onto some good things to do when writing your LGBT character!

DO's

1. Make the characters flawed 
Lets go back to Glee for a second and talk about Kurt (or as I refer to him as, Gay Jesus). Now I haven't kept up with the show since last season (I did watch the Finn dies episode, which was hilarious in it's melodrama) but I can't remember anytime in the shows run where Kurt was wrong or portrayed as flawed. I do remember however most of his story lines were devoted to someone in the Glee club insulting him (for some reason Kurt has a forcefield of ignorance that when perfectly normal, non homophobic people enter it they become as anti-gay as possible) and then they would have to seek out his forgiveness, usually by doing something "gay" (I remember one episode where a character dressed in drag to prove he was down with gay community) and then Kurt would bisto his holy hands and clinse them of their sins. But you see a lot of the time people were not being mean to Kurt because he was gay, it was usually because he was jerk (I say this knowing that some people on the show did say homophobic things to him, but I'm referring to the times when other characters would simple disagree with him) . But since being gay was all the characterization he had, Kurt would turn it around into some Very Special Episode teaching moment. That sense of absolute perfection fits into shows like Modern Family and The New Normal and makes them icky in their representations of sexuality. One show that doesn't do this is HBO's Girls, and the character of Elijah Krantz.  In that show Elijah is bisexual, like to drink and do drugs, is wrong and petty to people, and experiences inner crises that make him more human then his basic cable counterparts. By making the character flawed we as the hereto audience get the idea that (shocker!) people in the LGBT community are just like you and me, full of flaws and regrets. I personally thing this is a better representation then say something like Glee because it makes the characters humans (who just happened to be LGBT) instead of perfect gay saviors. 

So yeah, that's a lot of writing but I think it needs to be said. As someone who grew up in a family of LGBT people I just got so tired so seeing stereotyped people who were meant to represent my uncles (Cam on Modern Family does come close I'm willing to admit) when it's fairly easy to write well rounded, thoughtful characters who can be good representations of one's sexuality. But then again, I'm no expert so if you think different that's cool and I would love to hear it! 

Constructing the perfect pop culture family.

This week we talked about all kinds of characters and how they negatively and positively show different genders and sexualities. So I thought it would be fun to take some of the more positive characters on TV and mash them all into one big family.

Notes before we begin
1. I tried to make this not hetronormative, but it ended up that way (I felt bad paring people we weren't cannon LGBTQ). So I decided to go with that TV stereotype of one mom, one day, two kids (girl and boy). I apologies if that offends anyone, as that was not my prerogative.

2. I chose characters based on not only how they acted in a gender and sexually positive way, but also because of flaws they have (making them well rounded characters)

3. If you have any suggestions, or maybe an idea for a perfect pop culture family please comment! (there isn't enough commenting going on here)

Okay here we go;

Mom: Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

Tami was my first choice as soon as I started thinking about this perfect family. Her growth in many aspect of her life make her such a remarkable character. From her career (she starts off the show as a guidance counselor, then works her way up to principal and at the shows end she's made it to Dean of Admissions at one of the top colleges) to her personal (when her husband takes a big job several cities away, she chooses to stay behind and work on her family and career, while still supporting him in his endeavorers). She was also one of the best TV moms in terms of how her and her daughters relationship grew and became on of the most beautiful. Take a look at this small clip of them talking about sex and tell me that's not a remarkable mom

  

Tami Taylor isn't without some problems though. Throughout the show she isn't referred to by her name, but instead by the moniker, Mrs. Coach. As sweet as it is, making her seem like just an extension of her husband, and not a person of her own gives off some troubling vibes. But I think the way she acts as a character that supersedes the bad feelings I get from that name and elevate her to one of the best characters in television history. 

Dad: Dan Connor (Roseanne) 

This one's more a sentimental choice for me, growing up there was no other family I could relate to like I did with the Conner's. Seeing another poor family from Chicago, it made me feel less alone, and seeing that family make it though each day with a smile gave me hope that maybe we could too. Of course my favorite character was Dan, the loveably goofy dad who always had something fun or insightful to say. He is such a good dad character because they don't stick him in that, so dumb he can't do anything category, but instead give his character depth by making him just a little bit smarter then his kids (like most parents his intelligence comes from knowing just a little more then their children). Dan's relationship with Roseanne was also unique, in the later seasons he became a sort of housekeeper after he got fired, leaving Roseanne as the main breadwinner in the household. It was in these episodes that we got to se Dan trying to understand his children and wife better, take this episode "Darlene Fades To Black" which deals with Dan attempting to break his teenage daughter out of a funk, and instead learns a little more about what she's going through personally

As much as I love Dan, he suffers from one big problem, the need to protect women in some kind of white knight way. In one powerful episode Roseanne's sister is beaten up by her boyfriend, Dan decides not to call the cops but instead takes a "real man" action and goes to beat the crap out of the boyfriend. He does this stuff all the time and it lessens his character, who usually isn't concerned with being a "real man" (you'd think living in a house of women would give him some insight to the fact that he doesn't need to be this protector). But overall I think Dan is a good father in this pop culture family, he talks with his kids in a way that intelligent and thoughtful, just like a good day should.

Daughter: Britta Perry (Community) 

Britta Perry is the worst…

But that's what makes her the best. Community is my favorite show and each year when I think back on the characters on TV that made me laugh or just feel the most for, I come back to her. I love her willingness to be the worst, she know she ruins things but that doesn't stop her from trying anything. She will sing, dance, and get involved in political things even though she has no idea on how to do them (or at least how to do them right). Most of all it's her love for the people she cares about that makes her such a great character, she's willing to go above and beyond for them and even if she knows more then likely she will mess it up (or Britta it as it were) but it's the fact that she so willing to try. If there is one problem with Britta it's that she is a little to defined by her friends and no enough by her own personality. I think we need an episode where we take a step back from the group and see her in her own environment and how she behaves, so we can get a better idea of the person she is. 

Son: Brendon Small (Home Movies) 

Another sentimental favorite, Home Movies is one of the reasons I'm at BSU studying Film and Television. The show tapped into so many elements of my childhood (the filmmaking, only having two friends) that I have this intense connection with it. And at the center of it all is Brendon, the dorky child who is more concerned with making his movie then pretty much anything else. Brendon was concerned with typical masculine ideas, I mean take a look at this scene.

Any kid concerned with acting like a real man probably wouldn't be participating in Jazz fights or making romantic comedies in their spare time. Brendon did what he liked, not what the false ideas of masculinity wanted him to do. One thing he would have to work on though is the use of females in his films, since they always seem to be his wife or lover (even when Melissa was a lawyer she would almost always have to fall in love with one of the boys). 

So that's my idea of the perfect pop culture family, one who's positives and flaws make them well rounded. 

Beatniks and the escape of poserdom

My parents are big collectors of  “Time” and “Life” magazines, so much so that I’m sure our house could be considered a fire hazard because of how many are strewn about. Personally I always like “Life” a little more since they were picture based instead of overtly long article based. And as clear as day I remember one 1950’s issue in particular called “The Only Rebellion Around” that featured a chilling tale of the next wave of Americans, the beatniks. They wore turtlenecks, read poetry, and listen to jazz on LPs, the images within gave them a sense of importance, and I wanted in.  So at the ripe young age of 12 I begin to wear sweater, read Thomas Pynchon, and most importantly collect records (No wonder kids didn’t like me back then, I must of seem like such a pompous doof). Anything on wax I wanted  (from Fats Domino to Candi Staton), every weekend trip to Goodwill brought me more and more LPs and closer and closer to horderdom. After a few years though I started to see my poserness, I didn’t really love the records I was listening to, I hated how itchy the sweaters were, and good lord is Thomas Pynchon a pretentious author.  I started to mellow a bit, selling most of my LPs and sweaters and just got down to what I really enjoyed. I stopped trying so hard and started enjoying things on a personal level, not just what I was supposed to like. I think this all fits into the Hipster portion of our class, we want to be a part of something bigger (be it Beatniks, a team, or even a small club) because it’s so much easier to be ourselves when there are others doing too. You have to take a step back and find what you like and what makes you, you. Even if that means taking aspects of other groups, it adds up to a greater whole of you. 

Entre la Nuit, La nuit et l’aurore

This week one of my favorite bands, Arcade Fire, released a new song entitled Reflektor, and after listening to it a few (i.e 100) times I have to say it fits remarkable well with the our lesson on loneliness. The song has many references to the ways that technology and the Internet make it difficult to connect with others, take the opening lines for example;

“Trapped in a prism/in a prism of light/Alone in the darkness/darkness of white

What Win Butler is saying there is that we are trapped in this idea of loneliness created by our computers (the darkness of white screens?) distancing us from real human contact? In the second verse he gets more in-depth

Now the signals we send/are deflected again/We’re still connected/but are we even friends?

            Here the point is made that while we message, e-mail, and tweet to each other every day, those messages never really reach us in real way. There is a distance between what we want to say and what get’s sent, creating this fakeness between us and the ones we supposedly love. And that last line, about being friends really gets to me. I looked at my messages on Facebook and saw the people I talk to, some every day, others not so much. While I was looking a thought started to creep up, would any of these people I call friends, that I share my life with, still care if I didn’t have a Facebook. I think it’s that fear that keeps us attached to social networks, it’s easy to expand our social circle, but it’s a lot harder to accept that our actual friends encompass a much small network.  

Entre la royaume des vivants et des morts

Parasocial Relationship Theory

When I came to the part in our reading last week on parasocial relationships, I felt a sting of truth in the authors story about her mother. In the same way she felt a connection to Tim Russert, I felt a deep love for the work of Red Letter Media and it's founder Mike Stoklasa . Back in my freshmen year of High School my good friend Burns turned me on to this little film studio after he saw one of their videos and told me that it was like listening to me talk for twenty minutes about movies. Being a kid who's interest included film theory and production (which limited me to gaining friendships) , the possibility of finding people like me (even if it was online) was something I desperately wanted. The first video I found was a review of The Phantom Menace, and after ten minutes I was hooked.

What struck me so was how Mr.Plinket (Mike with voice manipulation) talked just like me. He was concerned with camera movement and character growth in the writing of films. It was realistic to me, in my own twisted way, these were people I wanted to be/hang out with. Watching one of their reviews was as close as I came to being with people like me in high school. Slowly as I began to become a part of RLM forums and watched more videos I started to get more into the lives of those who worked there. Mike was just like me, a kid from a small town who just love the art of film and filmmaking. Through his work I got to know the man behind the screen and felt let into this private world. I felt the struggle it took to make films and how hard everyone worked just to make one.

In the end though I knew that Mike and the crew never heard of me, never knew how much their videos meant, but I feel like the parasocial relationship I had with RLM wasn't completely one-sided though. The videos showed me what a career in film might be like and put me on the path I am on now here at Ball State studying TCOM. And for that I have to think that some parasocial relationships can lead to better things, as long as you know where to draw the line.