One for the road; super heroes and princesses

I enjoyed our debates about the good and bad of super hero culture.  It makes sense to study it as the super hero market is booming; constantly having remakes, influx of comic books, prevalence of video games.  It is a dense theme to study, full of intrigue and questions.  The interesting aspect that these characters can both incorporate negative and positive messages makes the super hero world full of greys instead of black and whites.  We see gender roles and norms being challenged and contested.  With our obsession, it also reflects in the popular media with certain shows, like Toddlers in Tiaras and any type of show featuring house wives, where the women have princess like tendencies.  It challenges both the comic book themes as well as when we talked about the issue of wealth and popular culture; the disparity between our fascination with the poverty stricken to the lavish and ostentatious of the rich.  These can be breeding grounds for debate between the harm this can cause and also the possible benefits, too.

With male super heroes, more often than not we see this male character as honor bound, regulated by ordained laws and rules, sometimes as reasons to go against those constructed laws, use of violence to stop violence, ironically, emotionally devoid/detached and always the savior of women.  It constructs a role model for little boys that can give them strong tendencies and backbone but also can reinforce archaic thoughts on gender roles and norms.  The emotionless male, incapable of expressing themselves, always brooding, has to look like a "badass", can be taxing to us, as men.  I find it frustrating that men are nearly always depicted in movies, games, television and so on as strong, but emotionally detached figures.  And if they have any remote since of emotion, they are instantly gay.  Straight men cannot have emotions?  And what does it say to gay men that they are stereo typically labeled as flamboyant with their emotions?  Probably outright offensive.

I find myself artsy, reflective on my thoughts and emotions, not particularly "manly" and aggressive in that respect.  So I wouldn't be surprised if I come off out right gay to some.  It's completely absurd, but it happens.  Many norms that males fall under, I simply have no interest in, and perhaps it is how the media depicts us straight men, especially of my age.    Media depicts me as a cold wall, hard to sympathize for, constantly drinks and parties, watches football and so on.  I couldn't be further from that norm. Men are capable of showing emotions and they do not have to be gay to express the way they feel.  Gay men are not always "girly", flamboyant etc; they can be super manly too, have "bro" time, pound 6 packs and have a blast watching football.  And much like how I could feel about women's take on how popular culture and how they are depicted, I find it a necessity to fight for my difference, to say that these norms are absurd.  Women are not over sexualized, stuck in a different reality where they are a princess and must be pampered and what not (which the media seems dead set on).

I definitely sympathize for their cause as I have a cause to fight, too.  A straight man can fight for gays.  A straight man can also be very in touch with his own feelings without being gay. There is nothing wrong with being gay.  He doesn't have to be a devoid wall.  He shouldn't be judged on his masculinity from what his hobbies are.  The idea of both masculinity and feminism is utterly idiotic.  Being versatile in both roles, strange as the thought is, has allowed me to appreciate both causes.  We are all our own superhero, it is our choice into which we like to see our own heroic characteristics as.

Santa was preparing us for the American Fabrication

We are living in an age of disillusionment. Disillusionment with the American fabrication, disillusionment with the honorable politician,  disillusionment with trickle-down economics, and disillusionment with the televisual wonderland created to keep us doped up on sex, action, and rock and roll. I keep expecting something to happen, but I’m not sure what. I cried when I realized Santa was some old fart that my parents made up. I was angry, but not with them. They were just trying to make me happy by telling the same lie that their parents told them. How could I be mad at my grandparents-- they were just trying to make my parents happy by shoveling the same crap their parents told them. The origins of the Santa conspiracy is almost as ambiguous as the American Dream.  I wonder if this  period of disillusionment isn't so much a zeitgeist, but a part of the natural evolution of growing up. Our parents, friends, and teachers, are all selling us this dream, but much like losing our belief in Santa, one day we wake up and realize we've been sold 50 shades of crap. What should we do when we realize that our primary purpose is to work and consume. You could argue that our primary purpose is to find love and start a family. However, I argue that we're encourage to have kids, because it ties us to this system of consumption and produces the future consumers of America. Creators and producers are the architects of our reality. Because we have such little understanding of self we define ourselves with stuff. Ask someone to tell you about themselves? They'll tell you their favorite music, there favorite movies, their favorite book, their favorite food, their favorite TV show, and so on, but that's just crap we consume. What do you do when your tired of defining yourself with crap, when your tired of living as a tool for someone else's greatness? What do you do when you wake up and realize it's all bull shit, but can't bear to wear the mask of indifference or defeat? Do you rebel? Is it even possible to truly revolt against the machine, or was Burke right when he said we are slaves to our culture. I think Frank hit the nail on the head. We are the living embodiment of the conquest of cool, any deviation from the established norm are just anomalies built into the system, to catch the strays-- to suppress even the most miniscule forms of free thought.  Occupy and Anonymous  are supposed to represent the opposition, but lately they seem more like quasi rebellions created to placate and control public discontent.The fact that they petition government to express their god giving right to an opinion is is a testament to their desire to live within the system. When people revolt I assure you they do not seek permission. The good nature rebellion does not exist. 
Seems like no matter how much we rage against the machine in our youth, our ultimate socialization is inevitable. Life is like a pond with out ripples, nothing changes, we are all just expected to go with the flow. Ambiguous metaphor check. 
Maybe we should thank God for TV magic. Anything is possible on TV, and as long as we are focused on the fictionalized superhuman feats of man our attention is diverted from the miserable failures of mankind. I wonder if a revolution is even still possible. The way that corporation embrace teenage rebellion, begs the question, what other socially orchestrated rebellions have been quietly subverted by dominate social groups?  It appears that the dominate groups within society are no longer propelling as towards greater understanding. Instead of progress they’ve intentionally frozen us at a specific moment of cultural evolution, where we are ever on the cusp of rebellion, but in no real danger of a revolution. Is it possible that "that is" the objective? Perhaps the tension between race, gender, and class are allowed to exist to reinforce what Bell Hooks call a “white supremacist capitalist patriarchy” I know it sounds depressing, but really its not so bad, it's having it pointed out that sucks. Why bring it up when it will never change. So we lie. We lie to our children, we lie to our partners, and we lie to our selves, because the truth freaking sucks. So yes Santa is real and the American Dream is possible, and we are free, revolutions do still happen, and Justin Beaver [sic] is a nice guy. Right.

Woman Power

       I am all about women being independent and being strong and confident in the fact that we do not NEED men to support us. Of course many women may feel that need and that is why they get married or are in relationships, and that is not bad in any sense. However, women do not have to rely on men for everything, like they did back in the old days.

       As old fashioned as I am about most things, I think women being confident in being independent and single is wonderful! Getting married and having a family has never been a huge dream of mine, and it never made the list of top goals in my life. But I have always talked about it as a possibility, so I am perfectly fine with the married and family life happening for me, but I am also perfectly content with being single and independent. I never want to feel like I am relying on one person (a husband) for my finances, for love, for support and security. I find those things elsewhere now and, in many ways, I am better off with it that way.

       With all of that being said I really admire women like Oprah Winfrey who have made it so big without a man. Regardless of whom she has dated in the past she does not rely on a relationship or having a man to do what she wants on her own, and I love that! I love the freedom of being able to do whatever I want and go anywhere I want without having to consider another person's future plans to make sure they fit together and match up, and I like the fact that I do not look to anyone to make me happy and feel special. I am perfectly content with being single, and I think many young women my age should feel the same way.

       If there were more young women who were not so desperate for attention and love from a boyfriend, other things in the world could be accomplished. So many young women waste their time on guys when they could be pursuing educations for themselves, doing things for the poor, and making a difference in society. That is what I want to do. Independence is so relaxing and so spacious. Not that being in a relationship and having a man bad, and I am not saying that every girl should be single. But for those who are simply wasting time on guys and relationships that do not work out, spend that time being independent and making a difference in the world! I know that Oprah gets a lot of negativity from the media and U.S. citizens, but she really does seem to do things that make a difference in society and in different parts of the world. And it also seems as though she enjoys doing things for other people, which is what we young women should be doing with our time instead of wasting it on love and romance that is, much of the time, useless and pointless.

Hipsters

When it comes to hipsters I respect what they do because this day in age everyone try to dress the same fashion as every one, so being a hipsters separate them from others so that their in they own lane and do not have to worry about looking or feeling the same as other people. I think I sort of fit in that category of hipster and cool hunter because I'm always thinking outside the box to be different that's the way I have been since I was born but mostly on how I dress. But some people are not creative and brave enough to go outside of the box and do something different but rather be like someone else that's something I do not get these days.

Three Little Girls Making One Big Statement

I found a video on Buzzfeed that featured three girls, about the age of 7-9, who were bored watching the typical pink and fluffy commercials that are targeted towards their age group and gender. They then begin to create a workshop space in their home using the toys that were supposed to be used for playing house to instead create working pieces of equipment. This commercial is for toys that show girls that they, too, can be engineers and have a right to play with these types of toys.

            The commercial is very catchy with the action of the machine that the girls have put together. However, what I think is more important is the words that are used in the jingle. These include, “We would like to use our brains,” and “girls should grow up knowing that they could engineer that.” I think these are the types of messages that should be sent to young girls and this commercial really pleases me because it promotes all types of careers to girls in a fun and creative manner.

            While all most slogans do are repeat a catchy phrase over and over again, this song has a message and requires the viewer to actually listen and watch what is happening in the commercial. This creates another point that when buying toys or products, people should understand what type of message they are promoting by becoming a customer. This toy was refreshing with its promotion of girls as smart and independent but also managed to keep their product fun and entertaining. 

Reply to Women Weren't Created to Be Like Men

I looked up what you said about men and women being created as equals in the Bible—and was surprised to learn that you were right! (I had no idea! After all those years of Bible school! Ashamed!) But then God says this in Genesis 3:16: “To the woman he said, "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."” So I think this is the biblical justification for women being treated as below men, and is also the reason I can’t fully get on board with the Bible.

I think it’s true that men and women fall into certain stereotyped roles, and I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing. But the problem I have with it is that the expectations of the genders become too restrictive. If a woman joined the military or a man became a kindergarten teacher, the social order would be upset. And my question is, Why have such a rigid idea of the social order to begin with?

Of course, the answer is because stereotypes—which can be useful—make it so. I don’t think anyone should ignore stereotypes, but instead learn to look past them and gather other ideas to compare them with. It’s always dangerous when a society becomes too collectively conscious. Even though agreeing on social norms is what brings a society together, I think it can also be what tears a society apart if people refuse to think about things from a different perspective (even if they have no intention of taking that perspective). I hear your point and see its validity, but these concerns are the reason I think so many people are worried about gender stereotypes, and are the reason I am as well.

Tribute to Black Women

When I analyze the media depictions of Black women in our culture I vacillate between two extremes death by predictability and principled outrage.  Black women are always cast in the same stereotypical roles with different titles. You have the strong independent sex object, strong independent psycho, strong independent single mom, strong independent sisters, strong independent hair dressers, and strong independent intellectual. The media depiction of  the strong independent black woman despite the array of titles are one dimensional and Ghetto 95% of the time, regardless of the superior socioeconomic conditions of the characters. I don't deny the strength of black women for me "strong independent" simply mean free thinking. We are loud, assertive, and apathetic to the politically correct, yet possess poetic sophistication.  We are not a people pleaser, which is an unappealing trait in our user friendly world. Despite seemingly insurmountable challenges we find away. The black woman is patient and level headed with a quick wit and biting tongue. She's a mother, a bread winner, a sister, a wife, a cook, a teacher, and intellectual, yet she is constantly depicted in the opposite extremes. The media often seeks to downplay identification with Black women. The Real Housewives of Atlanta, The Bad Girls Club, Basket Ball Wives, and as a throwback I love New York and Flavor Flave (smh) are caricatures that don't begin to deconstruct the complexities of black female thought.
Violence against black women in the media is generally accepted. Ike and Tina, Bobby and Whitney, Chris and Rhianna, it’s becoming a fetish. Interestingly, rather than rallying around these battered women we turned them into spectacles and punchlines. When they return to their abusers, as many battered women do, we engaged in petty victim shaming and blaming. While real black women are turned into spectacles fictionalized black women aren't fairing much better. The movie  For Colored Girls, is the last movie a black woman should pay money to see. There depiction of the black woman and black family would have been laughable if it weren't so tragic.  It was by far one of the most degrading movies I’ve ever watched; and I saw Jango.
I no longer allow myself to become angry with these caricatures. I’ve come to understand that black women play a specific role in American culture, a role that extends to their media representation. It is because of Black women that everyone even the black man has found a seat at the table. The black woman is the most misrepresented individual in our culture. I don't get mad because everyday I am greeted by walking contradictions to these socially constructed stereotypes. Marginalized groups in society like Black women are there to provide contrast. It allow the "everyman" to be screwed over by the elite like everyone else while maintaining faith in the American Dream, because there not quite as screwed as the people at the bottom. It's like even if they’re the doorman they feel they've arrived, because their still inside the club. The black woman doesn't know how to graciously accept her diminished position, because she has the heart of warrior. Society demeans the black woman for her defiance, self reliance, and acceptance of self. The presence of the black woman allows everyone admission into the club. To earn your membership all you have to do is blend in, and adhere to the club’s creed no questions asked. However, there is no room at the table for those who made it possible for you to sit, with their endless tirade of questions. Thus one can argue that perhaps she is ostracized for her strength, she doesn't bend, she doesn't break, and she doesn't quietly accept, she just keeps moving forward on her own track. She raps to a rhythm that may seem coarse to an out side ear, but that is perfectly in line with those on her frequency. I think of Sojourner Truth--- and I know that media representation of black women is just a tactic to undermine her brilliance it just When I think that even as a "so called" slave lacking education, Sojourner had the presence of mind to challenge her position. To understand that she could never be a slave as long as she believed she was free, that she could never be less as long as she understood that she was more. She was brilliant, because of her ability to transcend moral binaries instead of passively accepting her circumstance. The brilliance of black women like Sojourner Truth lye in the  presence of mind to define and construct their own reality.