I thought that this movie was very interesting because it was so controversial. It really emphasized the question of where the line is crossed for comedy. Even after watching this movie, I still do not know where the line needs to be drawn. I thought that this movie did a really good job at opening people’s eyes up to the fact that even though something may be done in a funny manner, it still hurts someone, but again, where do we draw the line at being funny or being hurtful?
April 14, 2008
April 3, 2008
Masculinity
I completely agree with the article “Men Growing Up to Be Boys.” I think that the media and advertisers have created this image that guys believe is how they should act, when, in reality, it makes them look dumb. Because of this image, the majority of guys think that marraige is hell and women are toys that they can play with when they want and then throw out when they are finished. This is not guys faults. How can it be when everything around them is telling them this is the right way to act. Our culture and media need to rethink what they are doing to society and start advertising men as being truly masculine and living life in the real world.
March 31, 2008
final project proposal
For my final project, I am first going to research the critisisms that people had of the Spice Girls relating to feminism during the 1990s. Next I am going to compile the informationt hat I have recieved and I am going to create an interview based on my findings that will be given to girls from my generation, parents of girls from my generation, and to me. I will then analyze the responses that I get from the interview, compared to the critisisms and conclude that the Spice Girls either positively influenced feminism or negatively influenced feminism.
Dawson, Ryan. “Beatlemania and Girl Power: An Anatomy of Fame.” 4 Oct 2005. 31 March 2008.
Smith, Ashley Lorraine. “Girl Power: Feminism, Girl Culture, and the Popular Media.” August 1999. 31 March 2008. <http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-2200:1>.
“Spice Girls Anti-Feminism.” 24 Oct 2007. 31 March 2008. http://feministing.com/archives/007974.html.
“Surprise-The Spice Girls Arent Worth Hating.” 1997. 31 March 2008. http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/11.20.97/spicegirls-9747.html.
- 5 girls (between age 17-19)
-5 parents (of girls ages 17-19)
-wikipedia as background
March 18, 2008
The Impact of Johnson on Entertainment
I think that Johnson’s ideas about the Sleeper Curve and the new venues of entertainment do hold true in the case of my critical analysis. My argument is based on the Spice Girls song “Wannabe”, which revolutionized the meaning of feminism, as well as the audience and context that the idea feminism was used. The Spice Girls mainly appealed to young and adolecent girls; however, the Spice Girls were thought to behave very controversial to the parents and elders at this time. Relating back to Johnson’s idea of the Sleeper Curve, what the parents though was a bad influence was really aiding these young girls to respect themselves and learn a sense of feminism. The parents were just not familliar with the tactics that the Spice Girls were using and therefore though them to be bad influences for their daugters.
February 19, 2008
Social Networking
From looking at this person’s profile, I am able to see that she attends University of South Carolina. Her profile picture shows that she is a cheerleader for USC. Her information tells me that she is a female, she is single, and she is looking for friendship and a relationship. She also tells us her birthday and her email adress. What is interesting to me about her profile is that, unlike the majority of facebook users, she does not make her pictures and wall posts available for people to view. This makes me think that maybe she is not allowed to show these things because she is a cheerleader and represents USC, but I could be wrong. She could just be a really private person. She most likely uses facebook to meet and learn about people in her surroundings.
February 12, 2008
Book Review Choice
I chose the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert to read for this assignment because I have heard nothing but positive rewiews on it. It has been recommended to me by at least five people and I have wanted to read it for a while, but have not had the time to do so. I am really excited because it seems like a really compelling story about the differences in culture and I hope to learn more about these differences. I also hope to have the change to experience these cultures through this book. I am really excited to learn more about what this book entails.
February 7, 2008
News in the Blogosphere
The information given in the Iraqi blogs are different from the information given by big news companies because the blogs are more personal. Although these personal viewpoints leave a lot of room for bias, the reader can tell that they are not edited. There is also no reason for these individual citizens to withhold information or “glaze” the story because unlike the authors writing for the big news companies, they are not getting paid and do not have to please their bosses and increase ratings. These people just want to share their lives and experiences with the world.
The blogs that are written by journalists could be bias, but at the same time they are writing blogs and not published material that is edited by a credited editor. I think that these people are writing on their blogs in order to get away from having their opinion be edited by others and they are just expressing their unedited experiences and feelings.
I think that all information is going to have some amount of bias; however, I think that you must read a variety of viewpoints in order to form your own interpretation of the story. Blogs are inportant because they do exactly this, they allow you to read a varitey of different viewpoints so that you can come up with your own idea of what is going on.
January 31, 2008
Culture is Complicated
Culture is very important to me, but, at the same time, also very confusing. My interpretation of culture is based on each individual’s background and traditions. I feel that each individual really has their own unique culture and these individual cultures make up larger cultures and so forth. For example, I like football and I am from Virginia. This makes me fall into two larger categories that may or may not overlap: football and being a Virginian. These two larger categories bring me into even larger categories: football is mainly associated as an American tradition sending me into the American category and being from Virginia puts me not only in the southern category, but also the American category as well. Culture is tricky though because it is based on stereotypes. Just because I am from Virginia, does not necessarily mean that I am a diehard southerner; however, society makes that assumption. Culture cannot be described or represented by one thing. Depending on the specific individual, culture is many things. Although I realize my interpretation of culture if very complex, I am going to share what I consider to be components of my individual culture.
Like I have previously mentioned, I am from Virginia; however, I was born in New Jersey and I currently live in South Carolina. So what does this make me? Although I only lived in New Jersey until I was five and I barely remember it, some would consider me a “northerner.” I, on the other hand, tend to consider myself a little bit of a northerner, but mostly a “southerner.” I grew up in Virginia and most of what I have become accustomed to is based on that experience. For example, I say “y’all” instead of “how you doin?” and would support the conservative political viewpoint the majority of the time. I have acquired these ways of living from my experience growing up. These things would stereotypically qualify me as a southerner; however, what I deem to be the most important and unique component to my culture is that I classify myself as belonging to many categories, some that even contradict one another. For example, I hate sweet tea, which is basically unheard of in the south, and I love the New England Patriots and the New York Yankees. These things would instantaneously classify me as a northerner, but like I have stated, culture is based on stereotypes and interests.
Not only is culture based on where you are from and what your interests are, but also what your background is. Your lifetime experiences are extremely influential to the person you become and the categories that you associate yourself with. Moral code is also a significant indicator of one’s culture. For example, part of my view of culture is based on a family tradition. My family opens our Christmas presents on Christmas Eve instead of on Christmas morning. This sets me into multiple categories: the first, being a Catholic and celebrating Christmas, the second being part of my family and participating in my family’s traditions, and the list continues. Although I have never understood why my family does not open our presents on Christmas morning like the majority of family’s do, it is a tradition that has been a part of me and I have been brought up to accept it.
My basic conclusion is that culture is a difficult concept. It is based on the fact that everyone has their own, unique culture and that it is each individual’s judgment on which categories they fall into. Being stereotyped is out of our reach. It is something that will never stop; however, culture should be based on each individual’s experiences and likes and dislikes and it should not matter what other people say. Culture should be each individual’s self concept; it should be formed by that individual and resemble their true identity.
January 30, 2008
My Favorite Things
A few of my favorite things are…
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movies
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the beach
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sleeping
