#11

11) Find two critical texts from the semester (at least two weeks apart), and discuss how they relate to or expand the argument of your overall topic for the semester, drawing on a specific advertisement you did NOT discuss in your papers (250-300 words).


My overall topic was that in magazines and advertisements, especially in women’s fitness magazines, it seems as though there is a need to achieve “perfection” and the ideal body image. This implies that women are not already “perfect” or content with the way they are, so they “need” to change. It is actually very sad to me that society wants everyone to be “perfect” and look a certain way, rather than just being happy with the way that they were born. Boots make up has a whole line of make up called “Stay Perfect.” The advertisement I’m using is for their Stay Perfect Eye Shadow – as if the woman wasn’t already perfect before she used their product. It is crazy to me that companies can use the word “perfect” for their product.

Even though Fejes’ article was about the lesbian and gay identity, I also thought it was about the impossible image young people feel they have to match. All media and advertisements show the idea of “perfection.” Since gay and lesbian advertisements have just recently appeared in magazines and such, they also feel the pressure to achieve this perfect image. No matter their race, sexual orientation, or age, the media projects an idea of the ideal image that many desire to reach.

Another reading that seemed to go along with my topic was Ghosh’s article. The fact that minority groups are often put in the background, especially in media and advertisements, screams that our society deems them “not good enough” to appear. For example, Indians have been “systematically written out, erased, silenced, and marginalized in any mainstream picture of America” (275). This proves to me that society only wants to see a certain type of person in the media – not a multicultural person. I think it’s actually very sad that we can’t accept others in the media for their different qualities. Just because they don’t fit the “criteria” for America’s “ideal image,” doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to contribute to the media.

#10

10) Using a video or image you find online, apply three critical texts we read during the semester (each at least two weeks apart), and discuss how they relate to and build on one another, giving us different but related perspectives on critical media and cultural studies (250-300 words).


The Dove Evolution video captured my interest and I feel that it can relate back to a lot of the readings we discussed over the course of the semester. To me, this video showed that in today’s society, it is difficult to reach perfection, not only in your eyes, but also in the eyes of others. Many try to strive for perfection, but are unable to reach it due to many factors, including the changing styles and consumerist society. With this, it also confuses me why people seem to never be content with the life they have and the possessions they own.

The first article I found relatable was Radway’s Women Read the Romance: The Interaction of Text and Context. This reading was about romance novels – many women were interviewed and studied, and it was found that reading these novels helped the women “escape from reality” and divulge in a fantasy world. These novels portray a “perfect” life for women, which is not always the case in reality. So, the women choose to read these novels to get away from their day-to-day life, and live someone else’s perfect life, since it is unachievable for them in reality.

I also found that Schor’s The New Politics of Consumption: Why Americans Want So Much More Than They Need can relate to the Dove video. This article discussed how society today has the idea that they need to “keep up” with what is desirable, rather than just being content with what they have. The consumerist society we live in today serves almost as a “competition” – it challenges society to purchase possessions that are not necessary, but make your overall image look desirable and “better” (although not necessarily “better,” but more upscale).

Frank’s Why Johnny Can’t Dissent stood out to me as well. In this article, breaking the rules and rebellion is important to society to “be different.” Even though “being different” and not going with the norm is important, I feel that it is also a strive for perfection. To me, I think that people feel the need to be different so that they can reach perfection in their own eyes or be desirable in others’ eyes. This rebellion is also advertised by corporations – Arby’s slogan is “This is different. Different is good.” It appears as though people are never content with the way things are… there seems to always be a need to “be different” or strive for perfection.

#7

7) Explain how the following video, How To Make Your Breasts Look Bigger, is both an appropriation and reappropriation of sexual signifiers, and discuss the implications of the film from both perspectives (i.e., the appropriation and reappropriation of sexual signifiers from early pornography) (100-150 words).

Appropriation is the subculture taking a signifier from the dominant, while reappropriation is the dominant, and a group that reclaims those terms that were appropriated before. I think it was both an appropriation and a reappropriation for several reasons. Because of the way the narrator was talking, very vulgar and using many slang terms for breasts and such, appropriation is used. However, since the girl in the video wants to make her breasts bigger, and by using all of the tips that the narrator is giving her, reappropriation is used. Also, just with culture in general and how culture used to be, sex, especially for women, was looked down upon until a couple decades ago, and now is more accepted in society. I think that this video signified appropriation from the males in the video because they stereotypically want girls to flaunt themselves and throw themselves at males – which makes it reappropriation as well, since she is doing just that!

#9

1) Find a “news” story from the Onion News Network, and compare it to a contemporary news story or clip from a “real” news source (a TV channel, newspaper, etc.). Discuss them both in terms of gatekeeping and agenda-setting functions, as well as the breakdown and reevaluation of discourse that Baym talks about in his article. Citing Baym will help (100-150 words).

Baym’s article stated how other sources of news are appearing, and are appealing more to a youthful crowd. He believes and studies have shown that “young people are turning towards another form of news and campaign information – late night television and comedy shows.” In the video from the Onion News Network, called “VH1 Reality Show Bus Crashes in California Causing Major Slut Spill,” the news anchors all appear very real and sound like any other anchor, but discuss how a bus crashed and ‘sluts’ were all over the street. This video also said that homes nearby were evacuated in order to prevent any damage from the toxic waste (the sluts). This was extremely similar to another video I found from ABC7, saying that a truck filled with gasoline spilled all over the street, causing many to evacuate their homes and have the street shut down.

#8

1) Watch the first part (at least) of Mouse Trapped 2010 and Mickey Mouse Monopoly, and explain USING SPECIFIC ELEMENTS FROM THE FILMS how they are good examples of the different approaches of political economy and cultural studies. Define each approach briefly, and CITE GROSSBERG’S ARTICLE IN YOUR RESPONSE. (100-150 words)

Cultural studies discusses the meanings and practices of everyday life, and how people react. Political economy discusses more about political science and economics being unified and behaviors. Grossberg’s article discusses a lot about Garnham’s inability to define cultural studies. Garnham criticized that it “celebrates popular culture and gives up any oppositional role” (626), and that it “ignores cultural production” which makes it “incapable of understanding real structures of power, domination, and oppression in the contemporary world” (626). Grossberg disagrees with his criticisms, believing that cultural studies did not reject political economy, but rejected how it was practiced by some political economists. With that, I believe both political economy and cultural studies were demonstrated in these films. Mouse Trapped 2010 refers more to political economy, whereas Mickey Mouse Monopoly refers more to cultural studies. In Mouse Trapped 2010, the workers were expressing their concern for what little pay they receive. Many of the workers at Disney do not receive enough to live off of – they need to have two jobs in order to do this. In particular, one man said that he has a 2-year-old granddaughter that means the world to him, and all that matters is that she eats – he’ll skip meals for her. In Mickey Mouse Monopoly, they were discussing how Disney is such a big part of the American lifestyle, that many corporations in America are frightened to say something against Disney because they have the chance of being sued, and since the outcome of Disney can affect many lifestyles.

#6

1) By drawing on the articles on the exotic and globalization from class, discuss the following advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIZCtDJtFPw (100-150 words).

In this commercial, Conan travels to India to get the finest silk red curtains for his show. To me, it showed a lot of what we talked about with globalization, like sharing ideas and also how globalization has provided jobs for many around the world. Even though it was neat to watch the process of making silk, I found it somewhat offensive that Conan was showing that the car broke down, making it seem like how people would picture India to be (very stereotypical) and making it seem that he was ‘too good’ for all of this. I also found it offensive how low he was bargaining with the man for his best silk… It was showing how Americans can ‘rip off’ people of different countries, almost showing that the things they have to offer aren’t good enough.

#5

1) Discuss the following Flash game in terms of ideology and hegemony. Define each term, and then explain them through the game (100-150 words).

http://gamescene.com/The_Urinal_Game.html

Ideology is also known as common sense. Defined in Stuart Hall’s terms as “those images, concepts, and premises… through which we represent, interpret, understand and ‘make sense’ of some aspect of social existence.” Hegemony is related – it is the construction and maintenance of ideology (for example, education, the workplace, religious institutions). In The Urinal Game, ideology and hegemony are both demonstrated because when it asks you to click which one you would choose, you use your ‘common sense’ and choose the one farthest away from someone and what not. I am obviously not a boy, but I had common sense enough not to choose a urinal right next to someone. It shows hegemony because this is an everyday occurrence, especially for males.