Individual Assignment # 3

One of the main points that Varney (2002) makes in the article Of Men and Machines: Images of Masculinity in Boys Toys is that the perception of male being machinelike is evident in both high and popular culture (p.159). An example of this is a children’s book called How Your Body Works: A Trip around the Body Machine which is illustrated to “depict the human body as a series of mechanical parts” and the various boy toys which suggest that males are machines (Varney, 2002, p.160). A second main point in the article is that toys such as such as Men of Steel appropriate characteristics of machinery and transpose them directly on to men, thereby helping to inform notions of masculinity (Varney, 2002, p.160). An example of this is when Varney (2002) suggests that the language of Men of Steels implies that men must steel themselves against “feminine” forces, such as emotion and fear, which would compromise their masculinity (p.160). A third point that Varney (2002) makes in the article is that the perceived link between machinery and masculinity in toys have kept particular professions and skills within male domination (p.168). An example of this is that since machinery reflects male power, it keeps women away from anything to do with machines and “relinquishes women to areas of emotion” (Varney, 2002, p.169). Finally, the forth main point in the article is that the aspects of the social framework that these toys offer are heavily restricting the scope of agency when in play (Varney, 2002, p.170). An example of this is commercial tie-ins including play scenarios and parameters which restrict the opportunities for children to step outside of the play package sold to them (Varney, 2002, p.170).

A representational quote found in the article is “the dynamics of gender relations are heavily influenced by modern versions of traditional ideas about gender roles” (Varney, 2002, p. 172). A question that I would ask is how has the construct of males as machines been promoted and hyped up by toys and other forms of popular culture?

Works Cited

Varney, Wendy (2002). Of Men and Machines: Images of Masculinity in Boys’ Toys.  Feminist Studies. 28(1):153-174.

Individual Assignment # 7

Individual Assignment # 2

One of the main points in Introduction:Why Media Spreads is when Jenkins, Ford & Green (2013) suggest that there is a shift towards more of a participatory culture in which the public is not just the consumer, but active in shaping media production and distribution in ways that accommodate their interests (p.2). An example of this can be seen on page 2 where audiences are shaping media flows through an array of online communication tools that “facilitate instantaneous sharing and offer new capacities for people to pass along media artifacts”. Other examples of participatory culture are websites such as Facebook, Wikipedia and Twitter where members can connect with one another and “demonstrate their social networking abilities, and share their thought leadership” (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013, p. 30). The second main point that Jenkins, Ford & Green (2013) make is that spreadable media, compared to stickiness, is a “hybrid mode of circulation” and a diversified experience that recognizes the importance of social connections by social media platforms in which people shape the context. An example of this is Susan Boyle and how her spread around the internet was shaped by millions of everyday people functioning as grassroots intermediaries (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013, p.11). Another example of  spreadable media is Comcast and how consumers raised awareness of their disappointments through online networking. Lastly, another point made in the article is that different technological choices can shape how the public uses media content, facilitation some while constraining others (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013, p.38). An example of this is platforms such as Youtube that have the freedom and mobility while other platforms try to lock down content and limit circulation (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013, p.39).

A representative quote from the article is: There is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible. All you have to do is find it” (Jenkins, Ford & Green, 2013, p.4). A question I would ask is how has the rise of a participatory culture changed the  relationship and responsibilities between producers and consumers?

Works Cited

Jenkins, Henry, Ford, Sam, and Green, Joshua (2013). Introduction. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture (pp. 1-49).  New York: New York University Press.

Individual Assignment # 6

Carpenter (2009) in the article Virginity Loss in Reel/Real Life: Using Popular Movies to Navigate Sexual Initiation points out how virginity loss is one of the most common themes in media depictions of teen sexuality. For example, popular TV shows such as How I Met your Mother and American Pie, as well as magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Seventeen consistently juxtapose adolescents intent on giving their virginity to a “true love” (Carpenter, 2009, p.804). In her article, Carpenter (2009) reviews three different types of literature: scripting approaches to sexuality which conceptualize peoples sexual lives as governed by socially learned set of desires and conduct, sociological studies of media reception and the use of culture which focus on how members of social groups interpret media products to fit their own needs, and interdisciplinary research on mass media’s effects on adolescent sexuality. (806-808). The methods used for the study come from 61 interviews and 25 movies cited from the interviews. Carpenter (2009) interviews 33 women and 28 men, aged 18-35, from different racial, social class and religious backgrounds about their beliefs and experiences related to virginity loss, however she focuses on only 28 of the subjects who report using movies to make sense of virginity loss (p.808).  One of the main analyses from the study is that there are three ways young people use virginity loss in movies: prospective, retrospective and comparative. (Carpenter, 2009, p.823) Carpenter (2009) concludes the article by suggesting that young women and men use virginity loss movies as roadmaps for navigating their sexual relationships and to make sense of their experiences retrospectively(p. 825).

 

Works Cited

Carpenter,  L.M. (2009). Virginity Loss in Reel/Real Life: Using Popular Movies to Navigate Sexual Initiation. Sociological Forum. 24 (4): 804-827.

Individual Course Assignment #4

In the article Pretending to be “Postracial”: The Spectatularization of Race in Reality TV’s Survivor Drew (2011) asks the audience how Survivor’s race wars season produced cultural meanings, reproduced racism and provided alternative conceptions for the future of reality television. (p. 341) It is through this question that Drew makes her primary argument that Survivor’s “race wars” season attempted to reinforce a postracial narrative that race no longer matters in contemporary US society while simultaneously perpetuating the familiar representations that reproduce racial ideology. This argument is found on page 327 and is indicated by Drew (2011) when she says “In this article I show..”. Three secondary arguments made in the article are that Survivor uses racial logic to explain the success and failure of teams as well as failure of individuals to survive within their teams, essentializes people of colour’s racial identity as biologically and culturally bound while simultaneously making whiteness invisible and normal and the idea of a “new racism” in which race and racism are not explicitly addressed yet arise in shaping the product and content of reality television (Drew, 2011, p.327-329). An example of this is when producers famed Asian Americans success as being the result of their work ethic, ability to operate as a cohesive group and “strategic rather than physical choices” (Drew, 2011, p. 333). A second example is when the white group played out whiteness to be so normalized that it took encountering people of colour for white tribe members to notice their own race (Drew, 2011, p. 337). Finally, a third example that Drew (2011) offers is when contestants offered colour-blind testimonies about the insignificance of race in the show  (p. 338).

Works Cited

Drew, Emily M. D. (2011). Pretending to be “PostRacial”: The Spectacularization of Race in Reality TV’s Survivor. Television and New Media. 12(4): 326-46.

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Critical Media Review: Cosmopolitan April 2013

Stack and Kelly (2006) suggest that adults can engage with youth to challenge media representations that present them in a stereotypical negative fashion. Taking this into consideration, there is no doubt that the “fun and fearless” April 2013 edition of Cosmopolitan is far from flawless. White women are portrayed more in advertisements than women of colour. For example, out of the 50 advertisements in the April edition, only 4 of them include Black women, implying that “White skin is the norm” (Matlin, 2007) and that women of colour are relatively invisible in Hollywood (Crystal & Erika, 2012).  Furthermore, none of the models in the advertisements were “normal sized”, idealizing a very thin body image for women. The implications for these images are substantial as exposure has been shown to produce depression, shame, insecurity and body dissatisfaction in women (Stice & Shaw, 1994). There is no doubt that images of women in Cosmopolitan can play a role in the promotion of eating disorders (Stice & Shaw, 1994), yet the editors continue to show the same images that harm their consumers. “A high degree of sexism toward women exists in magazine advertising in which women tend to portrayed either in a demeaning fashion or in a sex-role stereotypic behavior”( Rossi & Rossi, 1985). For instance, 75% of the advertisements in the April edition were selling beauty products, suggesting that a woman’s role is to consume these products to look youthful.

Although Cosmopolitan covers topics such as work and health, a big proportion of the magazine focuses on women as sexual beings with cover stories such as “The sex move that brings you closer, how to talk dirty, and the sexiest thing you can do on a date” and is devoted to beauty and fashion articles helping you look “good” (Coles, 2013). It is here, as Stack and Kelly (2006) would emphasize, that education plays a big role in providing people with the ability to denaturalize everyday media literacies and understand that magazines such as Cosmopolitan may not be as “fun” as they appear.

References:

Coles, J. (2013, April). Cosmopolitan, 1-224.

Crystal & Erica. (2012). Cosmo Taught me: Being white matters. Web Blog Posting. Retrieved May 13 2013 http://thingsilearnedfromcosmo.tumblr.com/post/2 0137982317/cosmo-taught-me-being-white-matters

Matlin, MW. (2007). The Psychology of Women 7th Edition. State University of New York, Geneseo.

Rossi, SR & Rossi, JS. (1985). Gender differences in the perception of women in magazine advertising. Sex Roles.  12(9): 1033- 1039

Stack, M., & Kelly, D.M. (2006). Popular media, education, and resistance. Canadian Journal of Education, 29(1), 5-26.

Stice, E. & Shaw, H.E. (1994). Adverse Effects of the Media Portrayed Thin-Ideal on Women and Linkages to Bulimic Symptomatology. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 13(3): 288-308.

Assignment 1: Reel Injun

Stack and Kelly (2006) suggest that throughout popular culture there are spaces in which adults and youth can resist the dominant, damaging representations in the media and improvise images that challenge these representations. Reel Injun can be seen as one of the ways in which the director and producers have come together to resist the stereotypes and misrepresentations of Native American people in the media.  The media has a long history of showing Native American people as noble, spiritual, savage and eager to get their land back. They have constructed the headband and fur as Native attire, as well as showcased Native American people as being warriors that hunt buffalo, ride horses, and of not knowing how to use modern day technology. These misrepresentations, as Reel Injun suggests, has have created extreme hostility towards Native American people (Diamond, Bainbridge & Hayes, 2009).

Stack and Kelly would say that Reel Injun makes a good counter narrative to the film industry. Reel Injun challenges media representations of Native American people by criticizing the stereotypes and showing that Native Americans are not savage, do not dress in fur and headbands, are not hippies, and that they are not the enemy, as depicted in movies. They would argue that Reel Injun is a good example of the way that “education can play an important role in providing people with the ability to denaturalize everyday media literacies” by challenging the negative view the media has created and showing that there are movies such as Antarajuat which have revolutionize the way Native Americans are viewed in the world (Stack & Kelly, 2006). Stack and Kelly would say that educators should use Reel Injun as an example of how media literacy should enable students to come to realizations that popular culture can oppress and subordinate others and to be critical about what is out there.

References:

Diamond, N., Bainbridge, C. & Hayes, J. (2009) Reel Injun. USA

Stack, M. and Kelly, DM. (2006) Popular Media, Education and Resistance. Canadian Journal of Education.  29(1): 5-26.