Fashion and Politics

Seeing as fashion the outward expression of one's inner self, much information about a persons character and personality are perceived from appearance alone. It is vastly important among celebrities and their desire to always look stylish and on the cutting edge of fashion trends. However, it is even more important for those in the political rat race, especially during campaigning time. 

Men often do not receive the same amount of scrutiny as women running for a office because political men have a staple style to follow that they know is acceptable. This style consists of a dark colored suit (black or blue) of different cuts that are tailored to what makes the candidate look his best. For women, attire turns into a world of challenging fashion selections. Because these people are running for an office that is chosen by the people and as a representative of those people, what they wear can make all the difference in whether they become a popular candidate, so selection is crucial. This is an interesting time to witness women in politics seeing as women are gaining the support to run for more influential government positions. We are seeing the transformation and hybrid between the fashion of the first ladies of the past into the respectful, trendy political candidates of today. 

As of lately Senator Hillary Clinton, Governor Sarah Palin, and First Lady Michelle Obama have been the center of conversation in the political world when it comes fashion. Whether for Senator Clinton's transfer from dark pant suits that were comparable to a mens suit to her colorful pant and skirt suits as of recent, Governor Palin's heightened fashion sense, brought on by the $150,000+ spent on her campaign wardrobe, to Michelle Obama's enamored sense of fashion and cutting edge trends while keeping a powerful, classy look.  With all the glory of being at the center of attention comes the overwhelming response of scrutiny. And budgeting correctly for that look is also under close eye because the public sees their spending habits on the campaign trial as a representation of how they will manage the Nation's budget. These women are condemned if they have any sort of fashion mishap, while still expected to balance conservative, classic looks with cutting edge fashion. 

Fashion in film through the decades

Fashion has changed so much over the years and also has had a revolving door effect within celebrity circles.  Fashion trends as we know them, come in as quickly as they move out, but there are some revolutionary ideas that have come into play in the fashion world, especially for women, that will never go out of style. 

The 1920's was a majestic time for America and especially fashion. This was the emergence of fashion icons and the need for styles worn by the celebrities. The trend was short "bob" cut hair, a short skirt or flapper dress, and it was the onset of designer clothes like Chanel and Givenchy. Everyone who was anyone wanted to wear the finest clothes so symbolize a high status or power. And this was one of the first times in history that high class women and celebrities were seen wearing trousers. 

The 1930's were what many thought to be the return to a more lady like appearance with fashion that showed off women's busts and waistlines that were curvy, as well as the hair looking less edgy. However, women's clothing had to become more practical as they became more productive during the day. But at night women were still adorned with beautiful new fabrics  that shimmered with sequins and glass beads. This was also the time the halter neck became a popular fashion style, along with backless evening dresses and clothing that was form fitting. 

The 1940's  were very different due to the war. Fabrics were rationed, and embellished clothing was thought unpatriotic. Utility and uniformity became the fashion trend. The wedge sole shoe became popular for its sturdiness, the turban and head scarf for keeping women's hair out of factory machines, and the siren suit became popular as it was the first jumpsuit and was easy and quick to put on in an emergency situation. 

The 1950's was mainly about fashion accessories. The pre-formed conically stitched bra, beads, eyewear with large wings with rhinestones, gloves of a variety of colors, furs, handbags, stiletto healed pointed toe shoes, and hats to dress out any old outfit. Lavish material began to be used again, and bouffant net petticoats and paper nylon petticoats became popular. And pencil skirts as well as the empire dress were introduced. 

The 1960's fashion trends were led by the youth for the first time in history. Much to my surprise, the mini skirt was not popular until the mid 1960's with the fashion of the fifties still holding popularity up until then. Stockings ended, and pantyhose or tights, took flight. Women felt liberated from girdles of the fifties. Low kitten heels and flat boots became popular with the mini dresses. And for a more practical look trousers with a tunic or shirt were worn. 

The 1970's were adorned with a variety of clothing that would please women on any given day at any time. Mini skirts were still popular for day wear, maxi dresses were worn in the evening as well as empire line dresses with sequined fabric, evening trousers or halter neck catsuits. This was also the period where hot pants were popular at the discos and animal prints began to stake their claim.

The 1980's was the origination of the power suit for woman. Usually decorated with beadwork or elaborate stitching with shoulder pads. Fine jewelry was popular as well as oversized costume jewelry. Dresses became available in more bold colors and tops with batwing sleeves.  Shawls, clutches, hats, embellished tights, and wedge shoes, low pumps, as well as doc marten's were popular. 

And lastly in the 1990's people began to dress down. Glitz and glamour were put aside, people began to wear trousers and blue jeans more, pashminas were used to dress outfits up, and camouflage and animals patters became more prevalent. Also, strappy sandals and designer label shoes like Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo became of great importance. 

The fashions of the past decade have paved the path for the 21st century and the future. These fashions always seem to revolve and come back at one time or another. It is simply interesting to see where them come from and really try to understand why each style was popular at that time period. 

"Before We Part Ways"

The semester has flown by, and being my last semester ever of college has really gotten me thinking about past classes I have taken, what I have learned... and still remember, and most of all in what ways this knowledge, that I have invested the past five years of my life in, will change me and actually take form in my future. I truthfully can't tell you if what I am about to say next occurred simply because I am currently in this class and it is the most current class I could recall or what, but the first class that I could recall that has truly impacted me was race, gender and media. We spend so much time learning politics, science, mathematics, sociology, psychology, all to come to understand how. How government works, how the human body works, how nature works, how people are conditioned, how people are socialized, how businesses are ran, just a whole lot of hows. But where are the whys? They are so often left out, not accounted for, or very minimally explained. I think this class made a difference because it got down into the why. 

It is easy to go through life and not ask why people are treated differently and where this train of thought has come from. We get so wrapped up in our own small problems that we often choose not to acknowledge others problems that are grander than ours. This class has forced me to step outside of myself and at the very least hear others out about how different their situation is, and to do my best to understand what they go through and the difficulties others face. At first, this was all I was doing, listening, trying to understand, but the more and more I heard and learned about how misrepresented and ill treated other races are in the media and in the world, it was impossible for me to not be changed. Now, when I watch a show, read a magazine, watch the news, or even stop at the convenient  store, I can't help but see differently. The major change for me this semester is the simple act of becoming aware. It sounds small, but it makes all the difference. Knowledge is power in this world, and putting it into action is only the next step. So as I go out into the world, whether I get the opportunity to work in the advertising world or not I will have the knowledge to see when woman are being continually sexualized, different races being underrepresented, or ethnicities being stereotyped, and take a stance and do my part to change these problems. 

Whenever I first heard that we had to blog in this class, I was everything but excited. I had not idea why people liked blogs so much and I had no interest in doing one myself. Much to my surprise, in the middle of the first blogging assignment I began to see why. I felt so free to just write, put my thoughts and opinions down and no care in the world if others agreed or disagreed with me. It was liberating and slightly therapeutic to voice your opinions for anyone to see, and it really made me think about what we had been discussing and apply it to the world around me. It was insightful to read the opinions of others and to come to understand their thoughts on the same topics.I have come to understand why blogging is so important to some people and why so many people are doing it. I think I will continue to be one of them. So I am thankful to you Professor Flippin-Wynn for presenting this medium to me, it has certainly made an impact on my life. 

I have one last thing to wrap this up. I really enjoyed getting to know the other people in my group and I think that group work is one of the greatest ways to teach. We all have to learn to work with others well, and it is particularly useful for this class in that you don't always get grouped with people that are just like you. It teaches us to understand others, and that's one of the most important morales in life... understanding. 

I hope I have made it obvious how I feel about this class and the way it was taught. I would suggest this class to anyone because I think we are all taking more than just a few credit hours away from it. 

Fashion In The Media

Fashion has always portrayed a sense of self, consisting of one's unique personality and moreover, social status. Clothing, more and more each day is converting from being a simple way of presenting oneself in a socially acceptable manner, to using clothing to define a person and to symbolize who they are. This is particularly interesting to see in a down economy such as we see so often today. Designers as well as recognizable men and women in the media have put more influence on the necessity of making the fashion they create and wear Eco-friendly, seem more affordable, or tie certain designer labels into the positive PR (charities) they fund. This is the most noticeable with the mentioning of different people feeling guilty for spending so much money on a specific piece of fashion when so many people are hurting and the news coverage of brands that are giving back to the hurting communities around them. Fashion is the backbone of hollywood, therefore the media. 

To be accepted in Hollywood and in the media you have to look the part. This often takes on the face of a makeover, something I call being hollywoodized (an ordinary person who undergoes professional make-up and hair treatment, and finalized through being brought up to date with fashion and converted to a person with style). This shows how much fashion and looking good can change a persons life- the way they feel, act and are received. 

However, whether people in the media are sporting high fashion items or fashion pieces that are considered a bargin, it is fact that fashion will never take a back seat in the media no matter how bad the economy gets. This is so interesting to me because it directly connects the way people feel about themselves by being fashion forward and the strong connection people have to always looking their best. 

Hip-Hop Music

Hip-hop music to me is a genre of music that developed among African Americans as a form of rebellion and a way to give the oppressed a voice. This music that was once slightly political is now mainstream for not only African Americans, but for anyone. The basic rhythms and "beats" resonate the culture of African Americans, with a wide range of vocals. 

Five Hip- Hop Artists I have never listened to before are: 

1. Raekwon

2. Playaz Circle

3. Cory Gunz

4. Big Daddy Kane

5. Digital Underground

Five Hip-Hop Videos I have never seen before are: 

1. Team Blackout (Feat. Chris)-"Gotta Have Her"-- This video focuses on a man who loves this woman and takes her where ever she wants to go, buys her what she wants, all because he loves her. 

2. Memphis Bleek- "Real Nigga Shit"-- Focus on life on the streets for a group of African American men, the video focuses on a day in the life for them and is actually not over done, its pretty realistically shot. No women in booty shorts dancing on and around their cars. 

3. Jacki-O- "Hood Girl"

4. 8Ball- "America"-- The focus of this video is how hard life is on the streets for poverty stricken people. 

5. Playaz Circle (Ft. Oj Da Juiceman)- "Stupid"

Two Radio Stations that broadcast hip-hop music are:

1. Power 103.5 (Norman, OKC)

2. Hot 107.1 (Memphis, TN & Online at Hot1071.com)

Corporations that have used hip-hop to advertise and promote their products are:

1. Wrigleys Double Mint Commercial

2. Gap- Khakis Hip Hop Commercial

Hip-hop music has become intricate to all media forms in America. Aside form its tradition forms of radio and concert, mp3 players and the internet have taken it to a new level.  Hip-hop also has branched off into specific television stations where hip hop music is the foundation, it become the reason why so many dance shows have gotten so popular, and is used in a multitude of television sitcoms. 

Hip-hop music has saturated and changed the face of urban culture. Obviously, slang terminology has been an undeniable contribution to mainstream culture from the hip-hop world; however, I don't feel like that does justice to all hip-hop has done for mainstream culture. Sure its created a language of its own, but more than that, the hip-hop movement has made social and political changes beyond the surface of traditional American culture. Through hip-hop music, some of the best minds have been able to creatively make a difference in how people of this world view and treat each other, as well as continuously reinforcing that America is the melting pot of the world, and we need to start respecting that instead of wasting time and energy categorizing people into distinct groups for our own personal gains. 

I asked my father what he listened to while he was younger and the answer was a repetitive, and excited exclamation of ROCK! His favorites were ZZ Top, ACDC, and R.E.O. Speedwagon. My step-mom was big into country, like Garth Brooks, Martina McBride, and Shania Twain, as well as soft rock like Brian Adams, Air Supply, Journey, and 38 Special, Styx. It was interesting to me because I asked them about different genres, and both of the said their main this was rock music, and never was hip-hop/rap/jazz anything of that sort even mentioned...even when I explicitly asked.

I think the image of hip-hop this days is actually pretty good when you look at it as a whole. I think the because of the way some rap music is presented or through its lyrics, it gets a bad reputation. For example, due to the "values" and "morals" they portray to be of importance to them, while belittling others (especially sexualizing women.)

For some reason I cannot comment on other people's posts, so I am going to comment on here and detail who I am speaking to:

Ashriel's Poison: Is it in the Picture??

I absolutely agree. I found that in most of the magazine ads African Americans were shown in the backgrounds, blended into a crowd or were all together less prominent in the advertisement. Also, in my tracking I found the same exact situation with an Asian woman, she was one of three women portrayed, however she was on the end and only half or so of her face was actually shown...I did not understand this either...? was it for a mysterious look or were they trying to casually trying to make her less noticeable..? I found gender and racial roles in commercials to be one of the most shocking findings. The fact that over and over again so many stereotypes were being reinforced, ideas of making minorities or women sexualized, belittled, or inferior is what really disappointed me.

Adam Hinton's Blog: Race and Gender in Advertising:

Adam, I really enjoyed your insight on this issue. It's not everyday that someone gets to hear the true inner thoughts and feeling of a young black man on racial issues, and I want to assure you that I am not being sarcastic or anything. It's just that two of my best friends through high school were black guys, but they never really brought up their thought or opinions on racial issues around me...which was most likely just to keep their from ever being what they thought could be an awkward topic. But that also made me think, I never really thought about it or brought it up either, so maybe they were the same? I don't know...but anyways, I don't want to ramble so I will say a couple of things. Yes, the sassy black woman is played out and the Popeye's commercial annoys me because I feel like it is demeaning and reinforcing racial stereotypes. Secondly, I think it is good that you can see racial issues around you and that it is something that you pick up on and become an conscious consumer of the media; but likewise as you have said, even though becoming knowledgeable on the matter of race in the media can lead to people thinking that you are overplaying and overanalyzing everything. I don't know what your major is, so I can't talk explicitly towards you and your future career; however, I will say that I think you will have success with making others more conscious of these stereotypes (racial and keep analyzing gender) and have the ability to influence the media you work with as long as you pick and choose your battles. Overall, good work man!

Is it in the picture?

As far as our society has come from racial and gender discrimination 50 years ago, specific racial stereotypes and gender roles/stereotypes are found in many of todays advertisements. Here are 10 advertisements that I have reviewed over the week that had noticeable gender or racial stereotypes.

The Suave hair products TV ad shows a woman who has great hair on the upper half of the slit screen and the bottom half is her making lunch for, grocery shopping with, bathing, feeding, etc. her children and pets while looking great the whole time. This reinforces traditional female roles as a housewife who takes care of the children, cooks, makes lunches, and says that she has to still look great doing it. I think this shows how the media portrays women as having to still look appealing and sexy for men while doing all the things that a traditional man wants his wife to do. 

A GM commercial for "Rallying America" shows a diversified group of people of all ethnicities that I think is a good representation of America. It shines a light on how many people are loosing their jobs and how GM will help their customers with payment systems if they so happen to lose their jobs. The only part of the commercial I found unappealing was that in the midst of this message the only person they showed who wasn't at work was an African American who was playing the drums on a street corner for money. It simply is stating that it is common and okay for an African American to lose their job and work on the street for money. Why was this person not of any other ethnicity?

The company that surprised me the most was Gordman's and their TV spot. It shows two women at a fragrance counter of a department store, a white woman working and an African American customer. The African American lady is testing perfumes and and leans in towards the lady working the counter and says can I get this half price? This is unbelievable to me, they are reinforcing the stereotype that African Americans are less wealthy than whites and that the lady couldn't afford to pay full price for a perfume bottle. Whether the media is realizing it or not, these subtle delinquencies are unconsciously infecting the minds of viewers. 

An ad for Sephora in In Style magazine has a two page ad titled "Beauty Bill of Rights" pledging allegiance to pretty campaign. The headline for the specific product they are promoting is VETO WRINKLES. This once again shows how the media promotes women's need to look pretty, flawless, unaging. It makes it seem as if aging makes a person unattractive, which is interesting because we celebrate attractive older men "silver fox" and do not put them under the same scrutiny and pressure as women. 

In Style also had a L'OREAL paris ad that showed 3 women over a two page advertisement. Two of the women were Caucasians and the third was an Asian American. While it is noteworthy that the ad showed some diversity, the problem was in that the advertisement spotlighted the blonde Caucasian woman,  and the Asian American was in the corner of the shot. It basically was saying that the Asian American was not pretty enough or strong enough to carry an ad campaign. Reinforcing that while Asian Americans are intelligent and hard working, they will never be as attractive as caucasian women. Also, in the picture the other two women look innocent or intriguing, while the Asian American woman looks fierce and sexy (like the dragon lady or Asian sex woman stereotypes). 

I also found gender and or racial stereotypes in the following advertisements:

Louis Vuitton in Vogue (sexualizes women)

Allstate (African American spokesperson)

Luv's diaper commercial (cute, but is geared to African Americans)

Hoodia weightloss pill TV commercial (white women needing to diet and being unhappy with their bodies)

Victoria's Secret TV ad (sexualizes women, and not much diversification)

Reflection:

I think their is an unfair representation of minorities in advertisements. And when they are represented, it is frequently in stereotypical roles or ways that possibly harm their races. Also, on the aspect of gender roles, I think it misconstrues women as sexual toys and not really people, especially since most women are portrayed as being young and skinny. 

Local News Tracking (Extra Credit)

I don't watch the news on a regular basis like I should... I understand that being aware of what is going on around you and what is being covered in your community is important,  I think that watching the news and all of the crimes, violent and nonviolent, can reinforce certain stereotypes we already have been preset to think. This turned out to be a major internal conflict and eye opening experience for me through watching the news every week day over the course of a week and a half. I expected to see the same stories being reported... (yes I understand this is stereotypical and possibly slightly raciest, but at least I am trying to be honest) it would have been no surprise to see an African American who shot someone, or a Hispanic man who stole something or assaulted someone, and a white person (of a lower class) to have been caught doing drugs. This was not necessarily the case in reality.

I found that my stereotyping had caused me to want to reject the media and news for fear of making those stereotypes worse and the ideas splashing over into my life. By this I mean seeing different people in certain areas of town or wherever for that matter and criminalizing them without cause. The news actually did just the opposite to me. I was surprised to find only one of the stories covered was of an African American male doing a criminal act, and to find that it wasn't a shooting, but of a delinquent act of not caring for his grandson which ended up being an accidental death. Also, I was very shocked to see how many women, yes women, who were committing crimes. A woman who has been robbing banks, a woman who has been doing drugs and not caring for her children, a women who broke into a house and shot a man. It was beyond shocking to me that women were performing all of these criminal acts. For some reason I had it in my head that men are the criminals, and a woman only becomes a criminal if a man persuades her to do it. This was not the case. Also, another shocking story was of a someone I actually know. A 25 year-old who has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting a man he was investigating in Iraq. They said that he had executed him; however, the evidence verifies that his story, which is one of self defense, is what actually occurred and not an execution style murder charge. I am trying to not be biased here, because I do not believe that would actually commit this crime, ever!, but the point remains that from watching the news lately and attempting to be a good consumer of the news, that it has only shown me that anyone is capable of committing a crime. However, I did find it interesting that this case is gaining a lot of media coverage because he is an upper-class Caucasian with a mother who is a federal prosecutor and a father who is an officer of the law, in which case is not a usual scenario. 

All in all, I realized that I was wrong with the way I perceive the news media. Also, I was happy to see that even though KOCO News 5 only seemed to have one female African American, she was covering a wide variety of stories. She wasn't segregated to only doing minorities stories. I was impressed with the Oklahoma news, and while there is not as much to report on here, and it is very likely that in larger cities where more crime occurs, more prejudice is seen in newscasting and story reporting, I think Oklahoma is doing a fine job. 

Social Movements and Media

Who determines the news or sets the agenda?

Wouldn’t it be great if anyone would be apart of owning a news broadcast channel, station, or publisher. Then anyone and everyone would be equally heard and the amount of media coverage and diversification of news throughout the nation would be determined by their local stations, and there wouldn’t be some sort of conspiracy of big business to keep certain things from being seen in the news.  The news use to be like this, where the mass media was made up of thousands of local stations, publishing companies, and channels…that was until corporations began merging with each other and forming mega corporations that were then buying up all small broadcasting stations which has now created this since of nationwide news controlled by a select few who run these mega corps.

 

Why do we need a media that specifically represents difference interests of people of color?  Aren’t those interests everyone’s interests?  What can be done to increase the mainstream media’s interest in other topics and concerns?  Aren’t those interests everyone’s interests? 

The answer to this is so simple, we often over think it.  Everyone just wants to be heard. That’s it. Not even all white people think alike or agree upon the same things, so what makes mainstream media think that those outside of the majority would see things the same way as white people, or for that matter even care about the same topics as we do. A major problem with mainstream media is that only one point of few seems to be shown on most any news broadcast, which usually happens to be the majority (white) view or perspective…what white people find to be newsworthy or important. So where does that leave minorities? In the dark, unheard and unseen. That is the problem. So what can be done to fix these problems you ask…that is even simpler. How about we actually make a noteworthy attempt to make something in this nation of ours equal. Show an equal amount of every race and ethnicity in the news, shed light on what might not be important to you (the white mega corp editor and chief) but just so happens to be important to the select few minorities out there who are usually underrepresented.

 

How was the war initially reported by the media?

The acts of 9/11 caused such a catastrophic rift in the hearts and minds of the American people. We needed to unite, show our patriotism, support one another and especially this was true for the government and our political leaders. No one was questioning what the government was telling us, what they were persuading us to do and think, and if there was any ulterior motives to the actions and ideas being supported as retaliation methods to the acts of that horrific September day. We had no control over what was being put on the news, nor were many of us being skeptical and intelligent consumers of the media we were being shown. Everything from scripted speeches and news conferences were used so that no question that was beyond our government’s knowledge or to get information that they desired to not make known. The reports of the war were simply very Hollywoodized if you ask me. I don’t think we saw the whole truth directly after 9/11 and we saw a sugar coated, glamorous side of the war with Iraq.

image5.png      How has the media covered recent social protests? 

chart0228.jpg

Because the news media is ran by a small select few, what is covered is simply not the whole story. Everyone has their own agenda, and it seems that the government and these mega media conglomerates’ agenda is to keep us Americans from seeing things in the news, like protests for the war and racial conflicts in schools, that they don’t think reinforces “good” America. Back during the Vietnam war, anti-war protests were the news. They didn’t have a small 20 second or 2 minute blip in the middle of a news segment that was downplayed to sound like a handful of overly liberal people with peace signs on the street corner. The media wants to report news that they think with further their own agenda in one way or another while turning a blind eye on bigger issues like social and racial equality and conflicts, as well as the showing of our right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly when it occurs.

 

Was the media beneficial for the Civil Rights Movement?

I think the media was most certainly beneficial for the Civil Rights Movement. In fact I think media is one of the reasons it was so successful. Mass media allow African Americans all across the nation to ban together and fight for a crucial cause. A movement is only successful if it catches on like wildfire across vast areas and is well supported and the media gave this ability. Sure, not all media was good, but just like today any press you can get is good press. It allowed people to really take a step back and look at their own lives, whether white, black, Asian, Hispanic, or what so be it and really ask themselves if this is America, is allowing what is going on right or just?

Your thoughts and reflections on setting the news agenda, minority media and the media and reporting the war. 

I think my thoughts on these issues are pretty upfront in my writing and opinions on these different topics. However, I will close with the following:  We say equality and freedom are the pillars on which America stands, and media is the greatest form of mass communication within and outside of our great country…so where in our media are these foundations truly found?

Tulsa Race Riots- Extra Credit

"Before They Die" is a short documentary on the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots brief history and it's  survivors that are presently alive. The Tulsa Race Riots in brief occurred on May 31, 1921 as the backlash of an accidental tripping of a 19 year-old black shoe shiner onto a 17 year-old white elevator operator which the white population took as an assault of a young black man on a young white woman, which caused an uproar in the white community and rioting for the next 18 hours. This was in the Greenwood black community in Tulsa where the riots took place. Greenwood was thriving with black professionals of every decree operating in their own successful businesses outside of the white community, which was said to make the white community jealous. Greenwood, Oklahoma was known as the "Black Wall Street" and suffered one of the worst acts of domestic terrorism of all time. During the riots over 30 square blocks were burned, 20,000 million dollars in property damage, and over 300 black people killed with no civil rights. 

This documentary was the story of the riot survivors seeking justice for the wrongful crimes committed against them before they die because over 80% of the survivors are already deceased. Since 2004 lawyers have been interviewing survivors and putting together a case for them to get the justice they deserve. However, even today they are being denied time in the court to plea their case. The government has no reason for denying the case, but simply their cowardice to hear what the survivors have to say. For this reason this documentary was made so that people will know their story and help them in the fight for justice. 

I think this is so pathetic on the part of our judicial system today that they will not hear these people out and allow them their rights as U.S. citizens. The Tulsa Race Riots were almost lost in time due to the neglect of the media to give it any coverage or for the government to acknowledge this injustice. I absolutely understand the case and point of the few remaining survivors and their desire to be compensated and at the very least recognized. 

Racial and Gender Stereotypes all around us

1. 2-22-2009: CBS- 7:30 p.m.

Television

The Amazing Race

Racial stereotypes reinforced when during a challenge two African American sisters are shown to complete an athletic/physical challenge faster than either of the two white women in the show. Reinforces the idea that African Americans are suppose to be faster and better at athletics.

Racial Stereotypes

2. 2-22-2009: ABC- 8:00 p.m.

Television

The Academy Awards

Gender Stereotypes are found in the simple fact that Hugh Jackman, a man, is the host. It seems as though men are the hosts of awards shows 90% of the time. To me this seems as if a woman could not handle the pressure or be able to hold it together and entertain as the host of a major award show.

Gender Stereotypes

3. 2-23-2009: NBC- 8:00 p.m. 

Television 

Heroes

How we see those that are different from us, whatever we feel comfortable with, as a threat because maybe one or two people that are different from us are bad (criminals, rude, etc). 

Racial Stereotypes

4. 2-23-2009: @10:00 p.m.

Personal conversation with friend Brooke

468 College Ave.

Discussing men are thought to be immasculine if they watch a "chick-flick," and more over why most men refuse to see them; however they don't seem to understand why we as women could care less to watch the Dark Knight 4 times in one week. 

Gender Stereotype

5. 2-24-2009: Bravo- 8:00 p.m.

Television

The Real Housewives of Orange County Reunion Show

Portraying "real women" as housewives for one, and also portraying that "real women" are caddy, argumentative, should be worried about their appearance, and uninhibited. 

Gender Stereotype

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b101551_real_housewives_talk_smack_in_reunion.html

6. 2-24-2009 @ 9:30 p.m.

Personal Conversation with my roommate Lindsay

468 College Ave

Discussing the Real Housewives of New York City show, and how all of the women are younger than their husbands. Got into the conversation of how it is widely accepted and almost condoned for a man to marry a younger woman, but how it is taboo for an older woman to marry a younger man.

Gender Stereotypes

7. 2-25-2009 @11:00 a.m.

Advertising Campaigns Class- Maddie

Gaylord College

Discussing why we are targeting mainly women with kids for our campaign and not men with kids or whole families. Goes back to the idea that women make the decisions for where to eat dinner and everything that has to do with home-maker concepts.

Gender Stereotypes

8. 2-26-2009: ABC-8:00 p.m.

Television

Grey's Anatomy

Racial Stereotyping in shown in the character Christina who is of asian decent, and is thought to be the unemotional, extremely intelligent, anal retentive surgeon. This reinforces racial stereotypes of asians being smart, quite (with her about her emotions), and perfectionists.

Racial Stereotypes

9. 2-26-2009: Bravo- 9:30

Television

Millionaire Matchmaker

The two men are wealthy white bachelors and all of the women that have been chosen to pair up with them are white as well. This is a racial stereotype of it being taboo for a white person to be dating a black person, especially when neither of the men said they weren't attracted to women of different racial backgrounds. 

Racial Stereotype

10. 2-27-2009: MTV HITS- 2:00 p.m.

Music Video

The Game feat. Lil Wayne: "My Life"

The video continually shows African American people living in poor areas, with many of them dying (from what looks like being shot), but driving extremely nice cars. It also shows them running from the cops and robbing convienient stores. 

Racial Stereotypes

I was actually not that surprised with the amount of racial stereotyping I saw in the media. Racial profiling and stereotyping is just one more way the world categorizes us, suppresses us, uses our likenesses or differences against us, and it happens in our daily lives, so to see it occur in a majority of media forms isn't astonishing. I didn't experience any racial stereotyping personally; however, I can most definitely see how much of an affect these images have had on us over the years. Seeing these ads, television shows, and music videos on a daily basis our entire lives has shaped how we think and act whether we realize it or not. 

White Privilege

I am a woman, American, and white, but what does that mean to me..? Probably not the same thing as it means to an American woman who is Latino, Asian, or African-American. In the same way that a Latino, Asian, or African- American woman's perception of herself would be different than mine of hers. Before I go any further into this, I just want to say that I understand that a certain privilege does exist for people of white skin color, but I can't help but wonder who actually relizes that they are taking advantage of that privilege. I say this because if we know not what we do, and its affects on others, than how are we to change or even more is change even possible as a society? I say this because, if you take one of the core problems of this privilege like the differences of educational institutions between the white population and multicultured institutions, it is proven that the institutions as well as educations of the minority are not as good as the white (European-decent) school systems. This is a serious problem and that needs to be addressed, but many white people who are willing to help fight this are unsure of the means to do so. Just like with health care being harder to get and less quality for minorities than it is for white people...we do not know how to change this. I think if we were taught at a younger age that this problems exist and have it explained in grave detail as to how this emerged (meaning the full truth of U.S. History and its ramifications-- not the public school system's sugar coated version) then some of these barriers for the multicultured could be brought out in the open and therefore, have some solutions discussed. Also, I think that this is allow many white people to gain compassion and understanding for those who have had privilges taken away from them because of our history, and cause more of us to want to take action and provide more equal opportunties. I know that becoming educated on these matters has opened my eyes to a problems that I either usually choose not to see or didn't even know existed, so I think a more raw intellect on the problems of white privilege would be crucial towards a future with less selfish people, leading to a more others-serving world.
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_02/Int152.shtml

Grammy Images

As usual the 2009 Grammy Awards were a sight to be seen. Amongst the collaborations, some ingenious and some not, but none the less entertaining, I was excited to see some old faces on the scene. Good to see that Whitney Houston is back and looked spectacular and most of all Blink 182 is getting back together. Going back to the performances, one of my favorites was the collaboration of Justin Timberlake and T.I. singing "Dead and Gone.". I don't know if you have ever actually listened to the lyrics and really taken in the words of the song, but they are not only spectacular, but meaningful. A song can also mean whatever you make it out to be, so my opinion of it is likely to be different from others and what I take from it will be different as well. Understanding this, I really like the message that we can turn away from all of our differences and embrace that we all have one thing in common- our creator, savior, Jesus. Yes, I know that it is not probable at all that this is what others will get from the song. I just think that if we all embraced the life that Jesus laid out for us to live, and we walked as closely as we could (obviously with a countless number of sins) that the color of our skin wouldn't matter, that we could love each other the way we were made to, and that idea can only be derived one by one. Showing each other love when they show us hate, praying for those who act ungraciously towards us, and being thankful for everything we have, no matter how much or little that is (hence not be envious of others).For those who are not believers in Jesus, have you ever read the gospels and thought his ideas were revolutionary? Do you disagree that his teachings would make this world a better place? While I now know that I have moved a great ways away from the topic, I think that it is so easy to get caught up in the worldly things especially when watching things like the Grammy's and other awards shows. I, like others, look at the elegant dresses and tend to be envious and think what a great life they (celebrities) have and again become somewhat envious. It is important for all of us to realize why we are here in order to get America, and this world back on track. Also, since professor Flippin- Wynn likes music, I'm putting in a 2009 Grammy nominated song that correlates well to what I have said. The song is called "Give Me Your Eyes" by artist Brandon Heath. It is not the actual music video (sorry). Thanks for listening to me ramble on.

Personal Reflection- 2009 Super Bowl Ads

Every year I am as excited about the Super Bowl commericals as I am the actual game. This is not exactly news considering I think most women feel that way, and some men...but they just don't want to sound immasculine by saying it. ( kind of joking) I started thinking about the masculine and femine role that women feel like they must play, whether in life or on television--and this is especially true for advertisements. That brought me to think about a couple of the ads that I saw, that as funny as some were, they were still gender skewed. The first was the Doritos commercial, The Power of the Crunch.The first scene in the commercial is of a man eating a Doritos chip and the crunch seemed to blow the women's clothes off of her body. While it was entertaining to some extent, and these messages are obviously geared towards men because it is the Super Bowl, it has to make one wonder what that even has to do with eating Doritos. We all know that if you eat Doritos chips that women's clothes are going to come flying off, nor money burst out from an ATM machine at you, or turn police men into monkeys. This commercial cheapens womens to the products of a man's desires and to the lowest extent the crunch of a chip. The second commercial I thought about was the GoDaddy.com commercial in which the women are talking about "enhancements" meaning and even as far as to even explicitly define at the end of the commercial that they were talking about womens breast sizes. While one of the four women clarifies that she is talking about enhancing her image with a domain name and web address from GoDaddy.com. This is not the point though. The point is that the women were being prosecuted on the grounds of "enhancement" and most of the women's answers to the judges questions are far from intelligent. Plus, you could even see gender roles in the actual character's roles as the women are objects of sex and some sort outlaws, while the men are the lawyers and judges. I don't want to sound like this over bearing feminist because I am not, but I think it is important to look at the reasons behind why these commercials are designed to place men in certain positions and women as some what of a lower opposing role.