Final Project: Cultivating Racism

Also, here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL8IpO3xoGE&feature=youtu.be

Reality TV

          I am a big reality TV fan. I knew this discussion would come up in class sooner or later, especially after we touched on jersey shore awhile back. Today, we talked about the show ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’, and ‘The Real Housewives’. I do not watch Honey Boo Boo, but I have watched The Housewives before. We discussed ways in which these television stations are making fun of these people. Topics that were thrown out were the fact that they post subtitles over their speech, put them in locations where they would stick out, or the music and camera angles they film them at. I’m not sure if it would ever be able to be clearly defined whether these people were actually being made fun of or not, but I would say that I agree with the fact that they are in fact being made fun of. What I would also argue is whether that is a bad thing or not. I believe that the people who are on these shows probably know that is something that comes along with it, and have no problem with it. Most of the time, they make fun of themselves before anyone else can, as we seen in the Honey Boo Boo clip.

            As far as The Housewives go, we discussed how America loves to watch them spend their money in garnish ways, and act out. My opinion is “who cares!” I think everyone is entitles to spend their money how they choose, and if they want to go broke making a spectacle of themselves, that is their business.

horrible people, not because he was gay.

Media Framing

          One definition of media framing is how something is named and defined, and how that meaning shapes public opinion. In class, we discussed how media framing equates to how we deal with public tragedy. It deals with how we understand how the media frames and helps the public negotiate tragic events, how the framing can shape public opinion, and how it overall can be manipulative. Media framing deals with what gets emphasized and minimized as it pertains to an event. For example, when President Obama as campaigning, the media enjoyed emphasizing the fact that he would potentially be the first minority president, rather than his political stance on large issues or his viewpoints. This all relates to how he was framed in the media. It is what is allowed to be seen and what is not allowed to be seen.

            One specific tragedy we covered in class was the Matthew Shepherd case. Matthew Shepherd was an American gay male who was brutally killed specifically because he was gay. No other reason. He was not posing a threat, or insulting anyone at the time. In class, we discussed how the media framed this event in such a way that America could feel bad about him being murdered, all while holding on to their prejudice and hateful views against gays. This was due to the fact that his murderers were already seen as “evil” because of their backgrounds, therefore no one had to reevaluate their views because it was framed as if the crime took place because the men were horrible people, not because he was gay.

Princess Culture

In class, we came to the conclusion that princesses were known for beauty, submissiveness, and consumerism for the most part. These aspects are promoted through products, media, celebrity culture, the attitudes of parents or other outsiders, and the internet. The characteristics that are enforced from these things are that the “princess” is ultra-feminine, special, and in charge. There are negative and positive impacts of the way we see “princesses” and especially how young girls see them.

            Some of the negative things that were discussed in class were that it made young girls narcissistic, indulge in overspending, and have a sense of entitlement. I would argue and add to that that another negative impact could be that some young girls would feel that they could not measure up to that of a princess or were not worthy of the characteristics that we view in princesses. The way they are portrayed in media could be used as role-model material to increase self-esteem in young girls, but could also equally lower their self-esteem due to high expectations of achievement. A young girl might think “I could never be that” as opposed to “I am that girl!” Just something to think about. Some positive impacts we discussed were that it provides a strong sense of self, empowerment, a fight for justice, or a view of standing up for herself. I agree with these things for the most part, but I think they all could be left up to interpretation.

Food Inc

            I have seen the Food Inc movie multiple times. Every time I watched it, it was for a class, and I had to analyze it. I've always had the same opinion. I think that people are going to eat whatever they want to eat regardless of what it exposed about the food, because they are already somewhat addicted to it. For example, it would be very hard to break a child from their love of McDonald's even if you showed them that the food wasn't real. To be honest, I don’t think that Americans really care, because it tastes good. They would much rather not know the truth behind the food, or they would rather ignore it.

            I also completely agree with the theory about the food cycle, and how cheaper food is causing people to stay in poverty and only be able to afford that food. It was well explained in class that cheaper food results in cheaper labor. Also, the fact that a 2 liter of pop cost less than a gallon of milk is mind blowing. Another example is the family mentioned in the film that could only afford to feed their family with the dollar menu at various fast food restaurants. Rather than going out, grocery shopping, and cooking a fresh meal, they had to resort to fast food in order to keep their family fed.

           Overall, I think that Food Inc is an amazing documentary that all should see. I think that it definitely raises awareness, but ultimately does not change the minds of the people.

Hipsters

     I was particularly interested in our unit about hipsters, and if they are posers or not. I found it interesting that this topic founds its way to our class, but I thoroughly enjoy arguing that very topic so I was excited.

     I've never understood why people are so focused on grouping or categorizing others. Rather than focusing on arguing whether someone is an “authentic” hipster or not, I like to focus on the obsession with categorizing. If they are not “authentic”, what difference does that make? At the end of the day, they are still being who they want to be at that moment whether you feel that it is “real” or not. For example, I don’t consider myself a “hipster”, but I fit the description that Urban Dictionary provided. Does this mean I am a poser, or does this mean that I am in fact a hipster, or does this simply mean I dress and behave the way I do because it is who I am at that time? I do not throw a beanie on in the mornings in order to stand out in a crowd, but rather because it is cold in the mornings. I enjoy thrifting because it is cheap and fun, not because I want to stand out and be “cool”.

     Overall, I think society has to get away from categorizing, and being judgmental. More often than not, if someone is trying to challenge your authenticity, it is because they wish they had the nerve to be who they truly are.