Week 1 Presentations

I really enjoyed the first week of presentations last Thursday in class. My favorite presentation dealt with the stereotypes that exist in cartoons - especially discussing how those stereotypes affect the socialization of children, who are the primary watchers of most of the cartoons.

For example, the clip of Speedy Gonzalez was great to watch, because it demonstrated how there would be a lot of debate among people who consider the cartoon simply funny and not to be taken seriously, and those who find it offensive because of the obvious stereotypes that hold no truth to Hispanic/Latino culture. For children who grow up watching such cartoons become unconsciously socialized to associate all Mexicans with being lazy, violent, stupid and untrustworthy - and that's only a few of the stereotypes portrayed in the clip.

Also, with The Princess and the Frog, the film shows that while society has come a long way race-wise because we do have our first black Disney princess, questions still arise about why her prince wasn't black as well? Or why the side characters in the film would have stereotypical racial characteristics?

The presentation brings up many questions and discussions that I feel should be looked at more. It's easy to watch a cartoon or something valued for it's comedic content and say it shouldn't be taken seriously, but there's always stereotypes running through these cartoons and disregarding them can sometimes be the worst way to handle it.

Reflection

With the first test being administered today, I have given a lot of thought to all the issues and topics we've covered over the semester. It's unfortunate to say, but I have been disappointed to talk about all of the negative stereotypes and struggles that women and minorities have had to face throughout history. Obviously, I knew of most of the injustices certain groups have had to face over time, but it's not until you look a layer or two deeper that you realize the hate that usually goes along with these injustices. I do think things today have improved ten-fold; however, anyone who thinks we are even close to equality would be mistaken. We have a long way to go.

Music in Popular Culture

“Just a Girl” –by No Doubt

Song was released as the lead single of the band’s third album, Tragic Kingdom, in 1995. The song itself is written about Stefani’s exasperation over female stereotypes, portraying women as weak and in need of a man to look after them. This is evident from lyrics such as:

“Take this pink ribbon off my eyes

I'm exposed

And it's no big surprise

Don't you think I know

Exactly where I stand

This world is forcing me

To hold your hand"

“Cause I'm just a girl, oh little ol' me

Well Don't let me out of your sight

Oh I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite

So don't let me have any rights”

I think this song holds a very significant place in pop culture because it’s rare that a song about such female empowerment would have the success this one did, especially in 1995. It was the lead single for the album, it made the Billboard Hot 100 list at #23.

Television

I was glad we were able to watch a couple of clips from Mad Men today in class. The show presents an extremely accurate portrayal of gender and race relations in the 50s and 60s – either fortunate if looked at for the purposes of the class or unfortunate if you look at it for its historical value in demonstrating how race and gender relations used to be.

We can hear all day long all of our lives how things used to be in the 50s and early 60s, but this show does a good job of depicting it in color, in a more modern TV show with more modern actors and actresses that we, as a society, can identify with more. I think that brings the issue a little closer to home than it would be to people otherwise – especially younger generations.

When we talked about the most common concerns surrounding the effects of TV, I was not surprised by most of these. Of course violence, sex, unrealistic images, gender and racial stereotypes, etc. have always been on the list – and of course will be more amplified when talked about children. Hopefully some of these concerns will change over the next few decades, specifically for women and minorities, because it’s honestly ridiculous to be dealing with such stereotypes in the 21st Century.

Another representation issue that should change in the next few years is that of gay characters on TV. In 2011, there were 33, which might sound like a lot but comparing that to the percentage of people in the country who are gay, it’s not really that much. Plus, it seems like most of the shows were gay characters are main characters are targeted at younger audiences for the most part. It’s not likely to see a gay main character in a show for older audiences.

Advertising

Advertising throughout the years, as it relates to gender and race, has been very similar to our previous discussions on stereotypes unfortunately. Women in ads early on were portrayed as unemployed, incapable of decision making, passive, weak, emotional and dependent of men. They also slowly became more and more thin and were portrayed more in the home than outside.

Ads over time have shown us what to wear, how to look (thin), women are objects, sex sells, female subordinate to male, violence is ok and female dismemberment. By female dismemberment, I mean showing only parts of the female body - not the whole - to sell products, largely using women as sex objects without a brain or personality. Females are also shown as being there only for male gaze, and photoshopped to death to make images appear even more unattainable.

The effects of this are deep-reaching in society for women and young girls. These types of ads directly result in eating disorders, lack of self esteem, violence against women and little girls/women being seen as sex objects or body parts.

When discussing ethnicity and minority groups, the results are similar. Stereotypes are used heavily: Unlce Ben’s Rice, Aunt Jamima syrup, Frito Bandido, Red Man Chew, Asian laundry-doers, Taco Bell Chihuahua, Native American car and team names, Asians and marital arts and portrayals of lazy shiftless Mexicans.

Sadly, learning of these details and stereotypes in ads didn't really surprise me for the most part. We are all kind of aware of them on a certain level, and crazy enough, we all seem to live with it.

Magazines

Our discussion as well as the readings for this week on magazines were quite interesting – and depressing to be quite honest.

It seems like looking at modern-day magazines and comparing them to magazines of the past – especially women’s magazines- shows that the content hasn’t changed much, or the variety for that matter. Apparently women, as they always have been, are obsessed with tricks to get the right man, beauty, clothes, housekeeping, house decorating and shoes. Not that I think it’s wrong for women to have these interests, but I was hopeful that current magazines would have topics with a little more depth and substance.

Also, the ads where 90-95% white, beautiful, young, sex-crazed females that had been Photoshoped to death, giving a little better insight into the ever-growing frequency of teen eating disorders, body-image issues and depression, among numerous others. These are the standards we are setting for our children today?? Pathetic.

The overall theme of every publication came back to materialism. As a society –and I would say women are more guilty of this than men- we don’t feel good about ourselves unless we have things. All kinds of things…jewelry, make-up, clothes, shoes, cars, hair products, MEN, etc. I expected to see these types of themes running throughout the magazines of the 60s, 70s and possibly 80s; but to have it at nearly the same level in 2012 is completely inexcusable for the heads of these companies.

Article Discussion

I found this interesting article in The New York Times that relates to the sexism discussion we’ve been having in class. The article, called “Season of Equal-Opportunity Sexism,” discusses how this year’s newest TV shows are giving men and women the chance to “pick between his and her sexism.” The article references the comedies “2 Broke Girls” on CBS and “Are You There, Chelsea?” on NBC as examples of contemporary TV shows that are emasculating for men and ushering in a new surge of female empowerment.

“Are You There, Chelsea?” is based on Chelsea Handler’s comic persona as a slutty, foul-mouthed drunk – characteristics more heavily stereotyped to men than women. While Handler is not the first woman to build a career on crude, offensive and often demeaning jokes about men, sex and substance abuse, she is one of the most persuasive and committed. To have such female characters in prime time be so committed is an innovative occurrence. The catch here is that many critics say that the show is only on the air because of Handler’s pre-existing celebrity status as a result of her popular talk show on E!, and that if the show was pitched by anyone else it wouldn’t make it on the air. They also say that since people already know Handler’s comedic personality, they expect to see her in such crude – some would say “unrealistic”- female roles.

The article also mentions the latest male insurrection on TV, “Work It” on ABC. The show follows two men who lost their jobs at a car dealership in St. Louis and can find work only by dressing in drag to pass as sexy pharmaceutical sales representatives. However, the author feels that the show’s poor narrative and writing leave much room for improvement, comparing it to sitcoms of the past who did it right like “Bosom Buddies” in the 1980s.

I think this article would be interesting to discuss in classes such as the one we’re taking because it presents a curious idea: Is it only possible for female roles to be popular in the rankings if the characters are taking on male-associated or “masculine” personality traits? I will say, I think it’s a good start to have such innovative and unconventional comedies in primetime TV; but, it still doesn’t seem like a complete victory for women. These new shows just demonstrate how highly we, as a society, hold masculine traits over feminine traits. If a woman can act like a man, she is applauded not because she is strong-willed and brash, but because she’s “just being funny.”

I think it’s empowering for women to see other women of power and influence, such as Chelsea Handler, take on these masculine characteristics for the world to see and never apologize for it. But where females find it empowering, I think males find it more of a silly, unrealistic portrayal of a woman who is just trying to make people laugh. Men assume women don’t or wouldn’t act like that in real life. That might be true for some women because society has molded them to believe we won’t be accepted if we act overtly masculine. But perhaps these new shows will start to open the door a little wider for females. Maybe these shows show a slow but steady progression forward to a time when the lines are more blurred between sex and gender.