A lot of the work that I have been doing on my project so far has been trying to figure out exactly what I want to talk about in my final paper. I made the mistake of starting out with an extremely broad research topic and because of this it’s taken me a while to narrow things down to what I am actually interested in. A lot of what I have been trying to do is come up with a working definition of a stereotype and differentiate between stereotypes and prejudices. I have learned that a stereotype is defined as a “gross, often mistaken generalization.” This is different from a prejudice which Webster’s dictionary defines as “an unreasonable attitude for or against something.” In other words, these two things are different because although a stereotype may be correct- a prejudice is, by definiton, wrong.
After I discovered the differences between these two words I decided to start to try to look at how stereotypes exist in or society. My end goal is to talk about and discuss how stereotypes affect the lives of teens. I most especially want to see how important stereotypes are to Oyster River culture. But before I can do any of this I have been trying to figure out how stereotypes came to be such a big part of our society. I have been making a lot of connections between different units in my UNH class Cultural Anthropology Introduction to Global Perspectives and my research for this project. Another connection that I have been making lately is between the Sociology and Psychology classes that I took last semester and my research topic.
One of the things that I have been really trying to consider a lot is what the function of stereotypes is in our school, community, country and world. I have come to the conclusion that although stereotypes have a lot of negative effects on different groups of people and are sometimes responsible for discrimination, they are also important tools in society. Stereotypes are a sort of defense mechanism. They allow us to figure out what sort of person someone is without even talking to them. Although stereotypes are often incorrect certain kinds do have some truth in them. If you see a person dressed in a certain style of clothing you can assume that they choose to dress this way for a reason. I have been coming to the conclusion that it is often safe to judge someone by what they wear. It is not a good idea to judge someone based on their race, religion or sexual orientation because these are things that a person does not generally choose themselves.
I have been reflecting a lot on my psychology notes lately and I have been reading about a film that we watched. This film explained that you make your first impression of a person within the first 1/10 of a second of seeing them. This is just one example of why stereotypes are a very important thing to try to understand. They play a huge part in this instantaneous judgement and thus have a huge effect on how we view others. I also learned that once you make a negative first impression (within the first 1/10 of a second) you must do 8 positive things to cancel out that negative impression.
Although I have not gotten very far in my research I have been learning a lot of things about my topic and what exactly I want my topic to be. I have also been learning about how very important stereotypes are in our society. Stereotyping can even mean the difference between life and death- that is how strong of a role it can play in our lives. I hope to continue to make new discoveries about the importance of stereotyping in our world and our school.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Sunday, April 8, 2007
February 2007 Sources for project.
I have been thinking a lot about changing my project. I wanted to make a sort of encyclopedia of stereotypes but I've started to realize that there isn't really any way to do that without offending anyone. Instead, I want to try to look at the impact that stereotypes have on the lives on teens in America. What stereotypes are we exposed to in our daily lives? How does seeing these stereotypes affect how we view those around us?
In order to get a better idea of what I want to talk about, my first source is the dictionary.
Merriam-Webster. Webster's new Dictionary of the English Language. New York, NY: Merriam-Webster Inc., 2002.
"Stereotype n: gross often mistaken generalization."
"Individuality n: special quality that distinguishes an individual."
"Prejudice n: 1) damage esp. to one's rights 2) unreasonable attitude for or against something."
In order to further define my topic, I headed on over to wikipedia (as my second source) to learn about what really makes up a stereotype. How does this seemingly abstract concept hold so much sway over our ideas, attitudes, actions, and lives?
Stereotype- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. March 16, 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. March 25, 2007.
From this site I started to learn about what makes up the social construction of a stereotype. I learned that:
"Stereotypes are ideas held about members of particular groups, based solely on membership in that group. They are often considered to be negative or prejudicial and may be used to justify certain discriminatory behaviors."
"stereotypes, by definition, are never accurate representations, but a projection of an individual's fears onto others, regardless of the reality of others."
I learned that there are a lot of different factors the contribute to the formation of stereotypes. These factors include:
My third source is my notes for my UNH class.
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: Global perspectives (aka ANTH 411) taught by Nina Glick-Schiller. I have been looking a lot at our notes from the unit about the social construction of reality. In this unit we discussed why we hold our beliefs and ideas above those of others. This section of the course explains our prejudices in terms of racism and religion, blaming these two concepts for the basis of our concept of "us" and "them." I have all of these notes in my notebook for the class so I'm just going to use that as a reference for my final paper.
My next source was Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause's Popular Culture: An Introductory Text. The textbook was published by Bowling Green University Popular Press in Bowling Green, Ohio in 1992. This book talks a lot what the function of stereotypes is in our society. It explains that stereotypes are sometimes useful but most often not. I have hand-written notes that can be handed in if necessary.
In order to get a better idea of what I want to talk about, my first source is the dictionary.
Merriam-Webster. Webster's new Dictionary of the English Language. New York, NY: Merriam-Webster Inc., 2002.
"Stereotype n: gross often mistaken generalization."
"Individuality n: special quality that distinguishes an individual."
"Prejudice n: 1) damage esp. to one's rights 2) unreasonable attitude for or against something."
In order to further define my topic, I headed on over to wikipedia (as my second source) to learn about what really makes up a stereotype. How does this seemingly abstract concept hold so much sway over our ideas, attitudes, actions, and lives?
Stereotype- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. March 16, 2007. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. March 25, 2007
"Stereotypes are ideas held about members of particular groups, based solely on membership in that group. They are often considered to be negative or prejudicial and may be used to justify certain discriminatory behaviors."
"stereotypes, by definition, are never accurate representations, but a projection of an individual's fears onto others, regardless of the reality of others."
I learned that there are a lot of different factors the contribute to the formation of stereotypes. These factors include:
- Simplification
- Exaggeration
- Generalization
- Presentation of cultural attributes as being 'natural'
- Unshakable belief in stability of stereotype
- Racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination
- Historical factors
- Guilt by association
- justification of ill-founded prejudices or ignorance
- unwillingness to rethink one's attitudes and behavior towards stereotyped group
- self-fulfilling prophecy for both stereotyping and stereotyped group (White people treat black people in a more hostile way due to being afraid of them. Black people accordingly react more aggressively, thus confirming the stereotype...)
My third source is my notes for my UNH class.
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: Global perspectives (aka ANTH 411) taught by Nina Glick-Schiller. I have been looking a lot at our notes from the unit about the social construction of reality. In this unit we discussed why we hold our beliefs and ideas above those of others. This section of the course explains our prejudices in terms of racism and religion, blaming these two concepts for the basis of our concept of "us" and "them." I have all of these notes in my notebook for the class so I'm just going to use that as a reference for my final paper.
My next source was Jack Nachbar and Kevin Lause's Popular Culture: An Introductory Text. The textbook was published by Bowling Green University Popular Press in Bowling Green, Ohio in 1992. This book talks a lot what the function of stereotypes is in our society. It explains that stereotypes are sometimes useful but most often not. I have hand-written notes that can be handed in if necessary.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
March 29, 2007: Media Response #8
Lately by favorite TV show has been the show "24". It's on on Monday nights and each season depicts a day in the life of Jack Bauer, a federal agent at the fictitious agency of CTU (counter terrorism unit). There is a lot of excitement in this show and immense amounts of suspense. I really enjoy it for these reasons, but only lately have I started to pick up on some not-so-great elements of the show. Jack Bauer is pretty much the definition of a badass and he will do anything to get the information that he needs. What I have started to realize about this show is that is kind of sneaks bad politics on you when you're not paying attention. They do this using Jack's badass attitude and his badass disregard for authority.
I didn't actually notice how political this show was until my dad pointed it out to me. There are situations in the show every few weeks where Jack needs to get information from somebody and inevitably he will "need to" torture them. Now usually Jack is able to do this without any intervention and as a viewer, you like that, because Jack needs this information an you don't care what he has to do to do get it... national security is at stake! He has to catch the terrorists this minute because a bomb is going to go off in 20 minutes! Conveniently, the show also ends in 15 so you won't find out if he is successful until next week.
But although Jack is usually able to do whatever he wants, sometimes pesky little government authorities try to step in and prevent him from doing what "needs" to be done. How can these people do this!?? What do they MEAN that torturing people is wrong? How can the complain about searching without a warrant? What are they talking about it isn't okay to take someone into custody without a warrant? Why can't Jack put a plastic bag over their head and torture them with a switchblade until they tell him everything they know? Even if you're a pacifist like me you are going to find yourself on the edge of the seat screaming about how stupid the government is. If they would just let Jack torture the guy and get the information then everything would be fine! Our country would be saved! 24 tricks you into thinking that torture is necessary and good by making it seem like that is the absolute only way that they are going to prevent those middle eastern terrorists from blowing us all up.
I didn't actually notice how political this show was until my dad pointed it out to me. There are situations in the show every few weeks where Jack needs to get information from somebody and inevitably he will "need to" torture them. Now usually Jack is able to do this without any intervention and as a viewer, you like that, because Jack needs this information an you don't care what he has to do to do get it... national security is at stake! He has to catch the terrorists this minute because a bomb is going to go off in 20 minutes! Conveniently, the show also ends in 15 so you won't find out if he is successful until next week.
But although Jack is usually able to do whatever he wants, sometimes pesky little government authorities try to step in and prevent him from doing what "needs" to be done. How can these people do this!?? What do they MEAN that torturing people is wrong? How can the complain about searching without a warrant? What are they talking about it isn't okay to take someone into custody without a warrant? Why can't Jack put a plastic bag over their head and torture them with a switchblade until they tell him everything they know? Even if you're a pacifist like me you are going to find yourself on the edge of the seat screaming about how stupid the government is. If they would just let Jack torture the guy and get the information then everything would be fine! Our country would be saved! 24 tricks you into thinking that torture is necessary and good by making it seem like that is the absolute only way that they are going to prevent those middle eastern terrorists from blowing us all up.
March 22, 2007: Media Response #7
One of the things that has been taking over my life lately is the college decision process. Right now, I am choosing between 5 very different schools all in very different locations that cost different amounts and offer me different opportunities. Basically, I love some things about all of the schools and I hate other things. I am sort of at a standstill but oddly enough one thing that has really been helping me lately is facebook. I talked before about how facebook is not as bad as myspace because it really works to keep you from "friending" people that you have never met. The other side to this is that it IS possible to meet new people over facebook. I have been spending a lot of time getting to know people who are going to each of my prospective universities next year. It's been very helpful to just talk to people because I have been able to look at the kind of people I would be surrounded by next year if I were to choose that university.
The only thing about that is it give you only a very select portion of the people who will be attending. The only people that I am meeting are the ones who 1) have facebook 2) took the time to actually search for the "accepted into class of 2011 at ___ university" group on facebook 3) want to meet new people they don't know or 4) haven't made their final decision yet either... that's why they're there. I guess in the end it is sort of a waste of time to be looking for strangers on an internet website instead of actually looking up the information that I need to know to make my decision. But really, how does one even decide where to go to college. I'm all about environment. I feel like in order to actually make the decision about what would be best for me I would have to spend at least a week actually living in a dorm on the campus and experiencing what my life would be like.
So maybe that does mean these facebook groups are good for me. I'm just a social person and when it comes down to it how happy I am going to be next year really has a lot to do with what kind of person I am surrounded with. I can learn in pretty much any kind of environment and I'm not really too concerned about academics. Not that I am not going to college to learn, I just think that all of the places I have been accepted are pretty much nearly equal in prestige. I just think that a lot of times people forget how important your social life is. I wish that colleges made more of an effort to let you see what kinds of kids choose their school. I don't want to end up somewhere with just frat boys and sorority girls who party every single night and don't do their work... but at the same time I don't want to be surrounded by white catholic girls who stay in and do their homework on saturday nights and wear turtle necks. It's so hard to judge what kinds of people I will be encountering just by the statistics colleges give you on their websites or by taking a campus tour. I'm just hoping that facebook will allow me to get a little beyond this information and help me to make a decision that is a little bit closer to the best choice for me.
The only thing about that is it give you only a very select portion of the people who will be attending. The only people that I am meeting are the ones who 1) have facebook 2) took the time to actually search for the "accepted into class of 2011 at ___ university" group on facebook 3) want to meet new people they don't know or 4) haven't made their final decision yet either... that's why they're there. I guess in the end it is sort of a waste of time to be looking for strangers on an internet website instead of actually looking up the information that I need to know to make my decision. But really, how does one even decide where to go to college. I'm all about environment. I feel like in order to actually make the decision about what would be best for me I would have to spend at least a week actually living in a dorm on the campus and experiencing what my life would be like.
So maybe that does mean these facebook groups are good for me. I'm just a social person and when it comes down to it how happy I am going to be next year really has a lot to do with what kind of person I am surrounded with. I can learn in pretty much any kind of environment and I'm not really too concerned about academics. Not that I am not going to college to learn, I just think that all of the places I have been accepted are pretty much nearly equal in prestige. I just think that a lot of times people forget how important your social life is. I wish that colleges made more of an effort to let you see what kinds of kids choose their school. I don't want to end up somewhere with just frat boys and sorority girls who party every single night and don't do their work... but at the same time I don't want to be surrounded by white catholic girls who stay in and do their homework on saturday nights and wear turtle necks. It's so hard to judge what kinds of people I will be encountering just by the statistics colleges give you on their websites or by taking a campus tour. I'm just hoping that facebook will allow me to get a little beyond this information and help me to make a decision that is a little bit closer to the best choice for me.
March 17, 2007: Media response #6
I just saw the movie Borat for the first time this week. It's so funny because I've heard so many people talking about it so much and I was really interested to actually see it myself. Now I can add to all of those conversations. It seems to be a pretty even split between people who are offended by this movie and people who think that it is hilarious. I would definitely fall into the second category but I can see how some people would be offended. I guess that I think it's funny because a lot of it is just making fun of how we let people get away with acting really terribly if they are foreign just because we think they "don't understand" what is going on. In this movie, Borat comes to the United States from Kazakhstan as a journalist. He is supposedly making a film about American to show back home. Because of this he interviews and thus insults many different kinds of people.
The parts that many people find offensive have to do with Borat constantly insulting Jews and woman. At first I didn't really know what to make of this because if you take what he is saying word for word it could very well be offensive. I have thought about it a lot, though, and I think that the point is that people tolerate him saying insulting things simply because they believe that it is his "culture." When Borat insults women and Jews people just kind of laugh and look uncomfortable whereas I think that if a United States citizen said some of the things that he was saying then people would be more likely to speak up against it.
Another part of this film that fascinated me was the part in which Borat interacts with a large group of southern conservatives at a rodeo. I was really intrigued by this because Borat gives an extremely racist speech in front of the crowd and they spend the whole time cheering but he then proceeds to insult the national anthem. This insults the crowd a lot. I think that the kind of person in the crowd at that rodeo is extremely contradictory. Those people are amused by racist comments and often put people down simply for not agreeing with them but if anyone insults their beliefs they are extremely insulted and angry.
As a whole I found this movie to be very interesting and I thought it brought up a lot of really good points about the way that people behave in our country. One thing that I didn't like was the fact that it did choose a specific country to make fun of. I think that it would have been better to have Borat come from some unidentified slavic country. It isn't really fair to the people of Kazakhstan to portray their citizens in this manor. These people are portrayed as extremely racist as well as very sexist and primitive as well as very obsessed with prostitution and beastiality. I don't like that element of the movie especially because 2 of my very young cousins are adopted from Kazakhstan. I would feel embarrassed to talk about this movie in front of them and I think that seeing it would make them feel very bad about their country. The film company could have been much more tactful when it comes to this element of the movie.
The parts that many people find offensive have to do with Borat constantly insulting Jews and woman. At first I didn't really know what to make of this because if you take what he is saying word for word it could very well be offensive. I have thought about it a lot, though, and I think that the point is that people tolerate him saying insulting things simply because they believe that it is his "culture." When Borat insults women and Jews people just kind of laugh and look uncomfortable whereas I think that if a United States citizen said some of the things that he was saying then people would be more likely to speak up against it.
Another part of this film that fascinated me was the part in which Borat interacts with a large group of southern conservatives at a rodeo. I was really intrigued by this because Borat gives an extremely racist speech in front of the crowd and they spend the whole time cheering but he then proceeds to insult the national anthem. This insults the crowd a lot. I think that the kind of person in the crowd at that rodeo is extremely contradictory. Those people are amused by racist comments and often put people down simply for not agreeing with them but if anyone insults their beliefs they are extremely insulted and angry.
As a whole I found this movie to be very interesting and I thought it brought up a lot of really good points about the way that people behave in our country. One thing that I didn't like was the fact that it did choose a specific country to make fun of. I think that it would have been better to have Borat come from some unidentified slavic country. It isn't really fair to the people of Kazakhstan to portray their citizens in this manor. These people are portrayed as extremely racist as well as very sexist and primitive as well as very obsessed with prostitution and beastiality. I don't like that element of the movie especially because 2 of my very young cousins are adopted from Kazakhstan. I would feel embarrassed to talk about this movie in front of them and I think that seeing it would make them feel very bad about their country. The film company could have been much more tactful when it comes to this element of the movie.
March 15, 2007: Response to concepts of poverty and prosperity
Poverty:
What is poverty to me?
I think that poverty is the lack of access to sufficient resources. If you live in poverty you do not have access to one of more of the necessities for human life. Food, shelter, clean air, clean water, clothing, medical care. I think that in our nation the poverty line does not do a good job of correctly demonstrating who does and does not live in poverty. A family who is making well above the amount labeled as "poor" can still be unable to provide enough for themselves. Poverty is when you have to go without things that everyone should be able to expect to have. And by expect to have I don't mean the brand new iPod that came out last week. I mean enough food and things that taste good. Living on ramen noodles and coke is not having everything you need. That is one of the things that I really don't like about our nation and media environment. The media manages to make it so that all of the new video games are things that some children "have to" have in order to feel that they are living their lives fully. I hate that TV and radio and billboards and magazines make us feel like everyone has everything that we don't and we are missing out if we don't buy them. Not only does this make life harder for the middle class kids who feel like they're being cheated out of a good life when they can't have that damn brand name cereal but imagine how it must be to be a poor child who can't even have cereal at all.
Prosperity:
I'm not really sure how to define prosperity. I don't know if I think it's having enough or having excess. Certainly compared to a lot of people in this world just having basic needs covered is being prosperous. I guess I would define it as having everything you need and being comfortable. I think a person who is prosperous can cover basic things like food, shelter, clothing, medical care, clean water etc. as well as afford to have some basic wants as well for example TV or a car. This is a toughy though because I don't think really anyone can afford some kinds of medical care. Nobody except for the sinfully rich would be able to afford most expensive surgeries or things of the like. Being prosperous can mean a lot of different things but for now I guess I would have to say that my idea of prosperity is: not poor. If you have a roof over your head in this world you are extremely lucky.
What is poverty to me?
I think that poverty is the lack of access to sufficient resources. If you live in poverty you do not have access to one of more of the necessities for human life. Food, shelter, clean air, clean water, clothing, medical care. I think that in our nation the poverty line does not do a good job of correctly demonstrating who does and does not live in poverty. A family who is making well above the amount labeled as "poor" can still be unable to provide enough for themselves. Poverty is when you have to go without things that everyone should be able to expect to have. And by expect to have I don't mean the brand new iPod that came out last week. I mean enough food and things that taste good. Living on ramen noodles and coke is not having everything you need. That is one of the things that I really don't like about our nation and media environment. The media manages to make it so that all of the new video games are things that some children "have to" have in order to feel that they are living their lives fully. I hate that TV and radio and billboards and magazines make us feel like everyone has everything that we don't and we are missing out if we don't buy them. Not only does this make life harder for the middle class kids who feel like they're being cheated out of a good life when they can't have that damn brand name cereal but imagine how it must be to be a poor child who can't even have cereal at all.
Prosperity:
I'm not really sure how to define prosperity. I don't know if I think it's having enough or having excess. Certainly compared to a lot of people in this world just having basic needs covered is being prosperous. I guess I would define it as having everything you need and being comfortable. I think a person who is prosperous can cover basic things like food, shelter, clothing, medical care, clean water etc. as well as afford to have some basic wants as well for example TV or a car. This is a toughy though because I don't think really anyone can afford some kinds of medical care. Nobody except for the sinfully rich would be able to afford most expensive surgeries or things of the like. Being prosperous can mean a lot of different things but for now I guess I would have to say that my idea of prosperity is: not poor. If you have a roof over your head in this world you are extremely lucky.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Survey
My survey has been very difficult to come up with because I wasn't sure how to do it without asking people to judge one-another in harmful way. I really wanted to look at how people view themselves versus how they are viewed by others but I really think that this almost impossible to do without being extremely negatively judgmental and offending people. Because I am unable to survey people about what I originally wanted to I am instead trying to look at how people in our school choose to create their images. How much thought do they put into it? What do they consider when they buy clothes? When they get dressed in the morning? How important is the "cool" factor versus the "unique" factor. I am choosing this subject for my survey because I think that peoples answers will differ between individuals but not necessarily between different groups of people. I think that people who wear "trendy" clothes are just as concerned about being unique as those who choose a more "gothic" style. Even when someone is trying to wear the "cool" clothes I believe that they still want to put their own unique spin on it and make it their own... but that is hopefully what this survey is going to find out!
SURVEY QUESTIONS:
Question 1:
Rank the following things in order of importance to you when buying new clothes. Rank from 1-7. 1 being the more important 7 being the least important.
Comfort
Price
What my peers will think
If someone else has the same one
Uniqueness
What adults will think
Brand name
Question 2:
When you are getting dressed for school you are MOST likely to make your decision based on which of these statements: (CIRCLE ONE)
"I am concerned about wearing something that nobody else has. I want to be unique."
"I am concerned about wearing what is 'in' right now... I don't want to stand out."
"I am concerned about what adults will think. I want to look grown up and sophisticated."
"I am concerned with what my friends will think. I am afraid they won't like me if I don't look a certain way."
Question #3
I feel that others judge me the MOST based on my (choose one or two):
Personality
Physical appearance
Clothing style
Intelligence
Who my friends are
What my family is like
How well I perform in school
Question #4
I feel that I judge others the MOST based on their (choose one):
Personality
Physical appearance
Clothing style
Intelligence
Who my friends are
What my family is like
How well I perform in school
SURVEY QUESTIONS:
Question 1:
Rank the following things in order of importance to you when buying new clothes. Rank from 1-7. 1 being the more important 7 being the least important.
Comfort
Price
What my peers will think
If someone else has the same one
Uniqueness
What adults will think
Brand name
Question 2:
When you are getting dressed for school you are MOST likely to make your decision based on which of these statements: (CIRCLE ONE)
"I am concerned about wearing something that nobody else has. I want to be unique."
"I am concerned about wearing what is 'in' right now... I don't want to stand out."
"I am concerned about what adults will think. I want to look grown up and sophisticated."
"I am concerned with what my friends will think. I am afraid they won't like me if I don't look a certain way."
Question #3
I feel that others judge me the MOST based on my (choose one or two):
Personality
Physical appearance
Clothing style
Intelligence
Who my friends are
What my family is like
How well I perform in school
Question #4
I feel that I judge others the MOST based on their (choose one):
Personality
Physical appearance
Clothing style
Intelligence
Who my friends are
What my family is like
How well I perform in school
Monday, March 12, 2007
March 10, 2007: Media Response #5
I just got a new CD for my birthday. It's by one of my favorite guilty pleasure emo bands and as I was inspecting the case I came to a startling realization: the 'boys' who I listen to every day singing about their torturous teenage angst are not boys at all; they are 25 year old men. It's kind of scary to think about the fact that yesterday's emo kids are still very much part of the scene despite the fact that they are quickly aging. It's a little bit disconcerting to look at the lyrics talking about being "burned out" and whining about problems in relationships and not knowing how to deal with love, then open up to the band info and read that their ages span from 23-30. This CD has really got me thinking: how old is too old for teen angst? And I don't think that I can even really leave it at that. How old is too old to act and dress like a teen? Why is there even this division between the "teen" look and the "adult" look. Shouldn't everyone be able to dress and act how they want in our society?
And I don't even think that this only applies to "emo" music. It seems that many of today's teen idols are aging. A good example of this is Madonna. How is someone who is pushing 50 still dancing around singing in skimpy clothes with hits on MTV? It just seems strange to me that today's teens have so many older people to look up to these day who simply do not act their "age." But again that brings us back to why is it okay for us to act in certain ways as teens that it would not be acceptable for an adult to act. Just because I am 40-ish years younger than Madonna it would be a lot more acceptable for me to dance around half naked than it is for her to (not that I have any desire to do so).
It just seems odd to me that although most people manage to mature and behave in ways that adults are "supposed to" it is magically okay for entertainers to avoid doing that simply because of their profession. If you see a random 30 year old man walking down the street in jeans halfway down his butt and his whole body covered in tattoos, chances are you are going to be very confused and maybe a little scared. Alternatively, if an actor or band-member does the same thing you most likely won't ask any questions. Any given band that teens are listening to today is guaranteed to fit into some kind of acceptable teen stereotype by looking and acting the part... yet why is it that some of these bands are 17 and some of them are 37 and even 47. Is it bad that these artists are seemingly unable or unwilling to "grow up"?
And I don't even think that this only applies to "emo" music. It seems that many of today's teen idols are aging. A good example of this is Madonna. How is someone who is pushing 50 still dancing around singing in skimpy clothes with hits on MTV? It just seems strange to me that today's teens have so many older people to look up to these day who simply do not act their "age." But again that brings us back to why is it okay for us to act in certain ways as teens that it would not be acceptable for an adult to act. Just because I am 40-ish years younger than Madonna it would be a lot more acceptable for me to dance around half naked than it is for her to (not that I have any desire to do so).
It just seems odd to me that although most people manage to mature and behave in ways that adults are "supposed to" it is magically okay for entertainers to avoid doing that simply because of their profession. If you see a random 30 year old man walking down the street in jeans halfway down his butt and his whole body covered in tattoos, chances are you are going to be very confused and maybe a little scared. Alternatively, if an actor or band-member does the same thing you most likely won't ask any questions. Any given band that teens are listening to today is guaranteed to fit into some kind of acceptable teen stereotype by looking and acting the part... yet why is it that some of these bands are 17 and some of them are 37 and even 47. Is it bad that these artists are seemingly unable or unwilling to "grow up"?
March 8, 2007 Response to Media Panel
I thought that the media panel was very interesting. I liked hearing what both of them had to say about their jobs and what they are doing to try to promote anti-mainstream media. It kind of scared me to think that the fact that we have absolutely no control over the media that we are exposed to. I think that both panelists had very different attitudes toward popular culture and it was really interesting to hear what they had to say. I liked that important records is more of a "true" indie label than the ones that produce "indie" bands like "The Hold Steady" etc. I like both of their attitudes towards popular culture and thought that it was interesting how they both viewed it as something that we need to find ways of getting around.
Big media companies can say that they are just "showing what the people want" but that is not necessarily the case. Isn't it not so much what the people want but what the people with the money want? I like that 106.1 doesn't take money from advertisers but the concept is still a little confusing to me. It seems that although they don't do any direct advertising they do still have to concentrate on pleasing a certain demographic in order to be able to receive pledge money (or do those "brought to you by" things that aren't advertisements... I don't remember what they're called...).
I found both of the presenters to be really interesting and inspirational people but I was especially intrigued by hearing about the radio station. I was very surprised that anyone can go in there and broadcast after receiving the proper training. I am seriously considering trying to look into that myself. Although I don't know if I would actually be interested in going into radio but I think it would be amazing to know how to do that for future reference. Even if they just gave me random air time at like 2AM I still think it would be crazy to be able to broadcast music that I like. I think that it would be such an empowering thing to broadcast something you relate to to the world... even if nobody heard it.
Big media companies can say that they are just "showing what the people want" but that is not necessarily the case. Isn't it not so much what the people want but what the people with the money want? I like that 106.1 doesn't take money from advertisers but the concept is still a little confusing to me. It seems that although they don't do any direct advertising they do still have to concentrate on pleasing a certain demographic in order to be able to receive pledge money (or do those "brought to you by" things that aren't advertisements... I don't remember what they're called...).
I found both of the presenters to be really interesting and inspirational people but I was especially intrigued by hearing about the radio station. I was very surprised that anyone can go in there and broadcast after receiving the proper training. I am seriously considering trying to look into that myself. Although I don't know if I would actually be interested in going into radio but I think it would be amazing to know how to do that for future reference. Even if they just gave me random air time at like 2AM I still think it would be crazy to be able to broadcast music that I like. I think that it would be such an empowering thing to broadcast something you relate to to the world... even if nobody heard it.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
February 27, 2007: Media Response #4
This week in school everyone has been talking about Dana Berlin. This whole thing makes me so confused. I don't know what to think and everyone seems to have their own opinion about it. As for me, I don't really care either way about what actually happened. What's done is done. Although I don't believe that sexual relationships between people that close in age should necessarily be illegal- that is not up to me to decide. What really bothers me is the fact that the newspapers have taken such an interest in this. I was under the impression that stories regarding people under the age of 18 could not include their names or photos however, this articles has both of those things. I don't if I mis-understood the regulations but I was under the impression that parental consent was necessary in order to print these things. Not only do I think doing that is illegal but it is simply insensitive and unkind. Because of this article Dana has been exposed to the gossip and stares of the entire school. Not only does everyone at our school know about what happened but they don't know enough to make an informed opinion. The newspaper has provided just enough info to get everyone all riled up but not enough to allow them to actually know what they are talking about. I honestly don't care that much for what Dana did but I am astounded that the newspapers have exploited his misfortune/bad decisions to make good news. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though, because this seems to be what the media does best.
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February 23, 2007 Media response #3
Something that really scares me about the modernization of media is the whole myspace/facebook craze. It's not such a bad thing if you use it responsibly but there are so many ways to misuse and abuse these resources. What confuses me is all of the hype about how myspace turns all of these 12 year old girls into little whores. I mean, sure, it gives them a place to sell themselves by meeting strangers and posting near-pornographic images of themselves, but is myspace really to blame? I think that it is very possible that these girls (and the perverts too) would find a way to be sketchy even if they did not have easy access to myspace or even the internet. This is where things get a little blurred, though. Although I think that it is unfair to blame myspace for the actions of these mentally unstable children, it is also impossible to ignore the fact that many young children have been raped and stalked as a result of this seemingly revolutionary web-community. I do not believe that myspace is legally culpable for these events but I also find it difficult to separate the site from the activities that are carried out on its bandwith. I think that myspace should follow more in the footsteps of the more clean-cut facebook and keep profiles of strangers private. Although you are able to post suggestive and "erotic" pictures on facebook... at least they are only able to be viewed by your friends. Facebook also discourages you from "friending" people that you don't know. If you say that you don't know someone in your "friend details" it won't let you keep them as a friend. I have been using facebook a lot this week and it's made me think a lot about the ethics of these online networks. Are the people responsible for their individual activities? Their parents? Or myspace its self?
February 14, 2007: Brainstorm of questions for term-project
How do different kinds of music make people behave differently?
How are the goals and aims of today's media different from that in the past? (for example during the American Revolution)
How is the US media unique compared to other media environments around the world?
Why is is that although people who belong to "media sub-cultures" are striving to be unique they still feel the need to conform to the same trends as all of the other "alternative" kids?
Survey project: how does something become "cool"? Why?/ What is the NEXT "big thing"?
How has film evolved since its creation?
Is the effect of a DVD different than VHS? CDs vs. MP3s? Tapes? Is something being lost as we shift towards digital media?
What is the effect of media on the outcome of political elections?
How are the goals and aims of today's media different from that in the past? (for example during the American Revolution)
How is the US media unique compared to other media environments around the world?
Why is is that although people who belong to "media sub-cultures" are striving to be unique they still feel the need to conform to the same trends as all of the other "alternative" kids?
Survey project: how does something become "cool"? Why?/ What is the NEXT "big thing"?
How has film evolved since its creation?
Is the effect of a DVD different than VHS? CDs vs. MP3s? Tapes? Is something being lost as we shift towards digital media?
What is the effect of media on the outcome of political elections?
February 8, 2007: Media Messages!
Thursday afternoon between 1:30 and 4:30pm
Location: Oyster River High School, My car, Breaking New Grounds (Durham, NH), Main Street Portsmouth NH
Activities: Free Period, Getting Coffee and driving to yoga from BNG
Each message is listed only once regardless of how many times it was seen.
Media Messages:
Bic
Sharpie
Abercrombie
Mead
American Eagle
Boston Red Sox
Staples
Burt's Bees
Hollister
Adidas
Converse
Bongo
Boston Bruins
The North Face
Coke
Old Navy
Nike
Spitfire
Roxy
Aquafina
Express
Bong
Elmers
Crayola
Poland Springs/Smart Water
Cheetos
Vitamin Water
Oreos
Mountain Dew
Breaking New Grounds
Sprint
Franz's
Young's
Honda
BMW
Toyota
Subaru
Etnies
Urban Outfitters
Champion
Puma
Windows
L'Oreal
Exxon
Blue Canoe
Marlboro
Newports
Swisher Sweets
M&M's
Camel
Snicker's
Corona
Miller Lite
Bud Lite
Dunkin' Doughnuts
Location: Oyster River High School, My car, Breaking New Grounds (Durham, NH), Main Street Portsmouth NH
Activities: Free Period, Getting Coffee and driving to yoga from BNG
Each message is listed only once regardless of how many times it was seen.
Media Messages:
Bic
Sharpie
Abercrombie
Mead
American Eagle
Boston Red Sox
Staples
Burt's Bees
Hollister
Adidas
Converse
Bongo
Boston Bruins
The North Face
Coke
Old Navy
Nike
Spitfire
Roxy
Aquafina
Express
Bong
Elmers
Crayola
Poland Springs/Smart Water
Cheetos
Vitamin Water
Oreos
Mountain Dew
Breaking New Grounds
Sprint
Franz's
Young's
Honda
BMW
Toyota
Subaru
Etnies
Urban Outfitters
Champion
Puma
Windows
L'Oreal
Exxon
Blue Canoe
Marlboro
Newports
Swisher Sweets
M&M's
Camel
Snicker's
Corona
Miller Lite
Bud Lite
Dunkin' Doughnuts
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
February 7, 2007: Media Response #2
http://www.cfr.org/publication/12560/diminishing_returns_in_iraq.html
This article talks about the important of the US withdrawing its troops from Iraq as soon as possible. It is summarizing an interview with a leading Middle-Eastern studies expert. He explains that all troops should be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2008 regardless of whether or not president Bush's recent "surge" plan is successful. I believe that this is an important issue for our country because there is so much controversy about the war in Iraq. I also think that this is a very interesting controversy because neither side seems to be very informed about why they think what they do about it.
Although every person seems to have an opinion about what should be happening in Iraq we, as the general public, have very little information that can actually allow to make informed opinions about this. To me, this is one of the most fascinating things about the way that our mass media functions- every bit of information that we do receive and do not receive is filtered and censored before we come into contact with it. Essentially our reality can be completely controlled by media executives, presidents and other people of power without us even knowing it. This makes it so that even if we try to become informed about an issue (which many people do not even do) it is very difficult to determine whether or not the information we are viewing is correct or complete.
This problem is only intensified by the fact that the age of mass-produced media is coming to an end. It is now possible for any person to create their own media and broadcast it to the world. Although this makes for a lot more variety in the points of view and information that are available, it also has its downsides. Because anyone can create their own media it is increasingly difficult to figure out ways to authenticate a source. It is very difficult to pick between what information is simply information and which articles are biased and are simply pitching a certain point of view. Any person can make a blog or write an article about an issue, but that doesn't make them well-informed or well-read on the subject. And even if they are well-read, that doesn't mean that the sources that THEY have come into contact with are credible. I think that the increasing ease with which a person may create media is the downfall of credibility.
This article talks about the important of the US withdrawing its troops from Iraq as soon as possible. It is summarizing an interview with a leading Middle-Eastern studies expert. He explains that all troops should be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2008 regardless of whether or not president Bush's recent "surge" plan is successful. I believe that this is an important issue for our country because there is so much controversy about the war in Iraq. I also think that this is a very interesting controversy because neither side seems to be very informed about why they think what they do about it.
Although every person seems to have an opinion about what should be happening in Iraq we, as the general public, have very little information that can actually allow to make informed opinions about this. To me, this is one of the most fascinating things about the way that our mass media functions- every bit of information that we do receive and do not receive is filtered and censored before we come into contact with it. Essentially our reality can be completely controlled by media executives, presidents and other people of power without us even knowing it. This makes it so that even if we try to become informed about an issue (which many people do not even do) it is very difficult to determine whether or not the information we are viewing is correct or complete.
This problem is only intensified by the fact that the age of mass-produced media is coming to an end. It is now possible for any person to create their own media and broadcast it to the world. Although this makes for a lot more variety in the points of view and information that are available, it also has its downsides. Because anyone can create their own media it is increasingly difficult to figure out ways to authenticate a source. It is very difficult to pick between what information is simply information and which articles are biased and are simply pitching a certain point of view. Any person can make a blog or write an article about an issue, but that doesn't make them well-informed or well-read on the subject. And even if they are well-read, that doesn't mean that the sources that THEY have come into contact with are credible. I think that the increasing ease with which a person may create media is the downfall of credibility.
February 3, 2007: Media Response #1
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 3, 2007
President's Radio Address
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning.
This week was filled with more good news about America's economy. We learned that our economy grew at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. Overall, our economy grew 3.4 percent in 2006 -- up from 3.1 percent in 2005. The Dow Jones reached an all-time high this week for the 27th time in the past four months. And we learned that America created 111,000 new jobs in January, which means we have added over 7.4 million jobs in the past three-and-a-half years.
This good news is a result of the hard work of the American people and pro-growth economic policies like tax relief. By cutting taxes, we put more money into the hands of American families and small businesses. You have used this money to produce strong and lasting economic growth. And now Congress needs to make this tax relief permanent, so we can keep America's economy growing.
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!!!!!!******To meet this goal, we must set priorities for government spending. My top priority will continue to be keeping America safe and winning the war against extremists who want to destroy our way of life. The budget I will submit to Congress includes the cost of funding the global war on terror, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our troops deserve our full support, and this budget gives them the resources they need.******!!!!!!
Cutting the deficit during a time of war requires us to restrain spending in other areas. One good way to help eliminate wasteful spending is to pass earmark reform. Earmarks are special interest items that are often slipped into bills at the last hour. Even worse, more than 90 percent of earmarks never make it to the floor of the House and Senate for a vote. They are dropped into committee reports that are not even part of the bill that arrives on my desk. Yet they are treated as if they have the force of law. The time has come to end this practice. So I will work with Democrats and Republicans in Congress to continue reforming the budget process, expose every earmark to the light of day and a vote in Congress, and cut the number and cost of earmarks at least in half.
Another important tool for eliminating wasteful spending is the line-item veto. Today, when lawmakers tack pork-barrel spending onto large bills, the President is left with an all or nothing choice: either sign the bill with the wasteful spending or veto the whole bill and deny funding for vital programs. With the line-item veto, the President can sign the funding for necessary programs into law and send the unnecessary provisions back to Congress for a prompt up-or-down vote on whether to uphold the spending. Forty-three governors have a line-item veto. I urge Congress to pass the line-item veto, so we can work together to control Federal spending.
Controlling spending also requires us to address the unsustainable growth of entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Spending for these programs is growing faster than inflation, faster than our economy, and faster than our ability to pay for it. Unless we act, we will saddle our children and grandchildren with tens of trillions of dollars of unfunded obligations. They will face three bad options: huge tax increases, huge budget deficits, or huge and immediate cuts in benefits. Republicans and Democrats need to come together to confront the challenge of entitlement spending and ensure that these vital programs are there when our children and grandchildren need them.
I look forward to working with Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to address these challenges. Together, we can pass a budget that keeps our economy strong, keeps America safe, and makes deficit spending a thing of the past.
Thank you for listening.
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Sunday, February 4, 2007
(Jan 31, 2007) Find the following 7 things in the media:
Something that Represents:
-Power
-Beauty
-Positive Self-Image
-Masculinity
-Poverty
-Community
-Cool
Power:
Something that I feel represents power to a lot of people is the symbol of the American Flag. I think that this symbol is used by a lot of people to represent the "superiority" of the United States over other countries in the world. Displaying this symbol can have a lot of different meanings from "right wing conservative" to a person who just plain has pride in their country. The flag also has a lot of meaning to those who are not part of the nation. Our flag can be a symbol of hope or of evil depending on a person's point of view... but tia always represents the US's immense power.
Beauty:
Models are obviously huge symbols of the American idea of what beauty is. I think that one of the most important symbols that many people know about is Tyra Banks. Not only is she a hugely famous super-model but she is also in charge of "America's Next Top Model" a show that pits beautiful women against each other to prove who is the most beautiful. Tyra is an embodiment of the western ideas of beauty: thin, tall, big breasts and, of course, her "booty".
Positive Self-Image:
This is a really hard thing to find examples of in the media. This is because almost every media message is trying to tell you that there is something wrong with you and that you need to buy certain products in order to correct it. One example I can think of is Proactive. This acne medicine has commercials that show people talking about how much better they feel about themselves after using this medicine. I can really relate to these commercials and I think that using this medication really does encourage positive self-image.
Masculinity:
I think that so many different kinds of products play on masculinity in order to encourage people to buy them. One example of this is the Tag body-spray commercial where there is a man spraying himself and thousands of women in bikinis are stampeding towards him from all sides. I think that these commercials are trying to sell their product by saying that if you use this spray then you will be an irresistable man.
Poverty:
One example of poverty in the media is habitat for humanity. They have advertisements on television as well as posters and pamphlets that advertise their different projects that are intended to help people who are living in poverty to have better lives and homes.
Community:
I think that a huge example of a piece of media that brings our country together as a "community" is the "support our troops" bumper stickers ribbon. I think that a person who has one of these is choosing to express their devotion to what is supposedly the common ground for the United States community.
Cool:
I think that cigarette advertisements are constantly trying to send out a message that smoking is cool. One example of this is a Newports advertisement that shows a young attractive couple on a beautiful tropical beach alone smoking. This sends out the message that if you smoke these cigarettes you will be young and attractive and you will be able to effortlessly enjoy yourself in an exotic place... the essence of "cool"
-Power
-Beauty
-Positive Self-Image
-Masculinity
-Poverty
-Community
-Cool
Power:
Something that I feel represents power to a lot of people is the symbol of the American Flag. I think that this symbol is used by a lot of people to represent the "superiority" of the United States over other countries in the world. Displaying this symbol can have a lot of different meanings from "right wing conservative" to a person who just plain has pride in their country. The flag also has a lot of meaning to those who are not part of the nation. Our flag can be a symbol of hope or of evil depending on a person's point of view... but tia always represents the US's immense power.
Beauty:
Models are obviously huge symbols of the American idea of what beauty is. I think that one of the most important symbols that many people know about is Tyra Banks. Not only is she a hugely famous super-model but she is also in charge of "America's Next Top Model" a show that pits beautiful women against each other to prove who is the most beautiful. Tyra is an embodiment of the western ideas of beauty: thin, tall, big breasts and, of course, her "booty".
Positive Self-Image:
This is a really hard thing to find examples of in the media. This is because almost every media message is trying to tell you that there is something wrong with you and that you need to buy certain products in order to correct it. One example I can think of is Proactive. This acne medicine has commercials that show people talking about how much better they feel about themselves after using this medicine. I can really relate to these commercials and I think that using this medication really does encourage positive self-image.
Masculinity:
I think that so many different kinds of products play on masculinity in order to encourage people to buy them. One example of this is the Tag body-spray commercial where there is a man spraying himself and thousands of women in bikinis are stampeding towards him from all sides. I think that these commercials are trying to sell their product by saying that if you use this spray then you will be an irresistable man.
Poverty:
One example of poverty in the media is habitat for humanity. They have advertisements on television as well as posters and pamphlets that advertise their different projects that are intended to help people who are living in poverty to have better lives and homes.
Community:
I think that a huge example of a piece of media that brings our country together as a "community" is the "support our troops" bumper stickers ribbon. I think that a person who has one of these is choosing to express their devotion to what is supposedly the common ground for the United States community.
Cool:
I think that cigarette advertisements are constantly trying to send out a message that smoking is cool. One example of this is a Newports advertisement that shows a young attractive couple on a beautiful tropical beach alone smoking. This sends out the message that if you smoke these cigarettes you will be young and attractive and you will be able to effortlessly enjoy yourself in an exotic place... the essence of "cool"
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