Take Control of Your Culture - American Studies - Blog

Women in Sports

Women have always been second behind men in sports.  Everytime someone thinks of a sport off the top of there head, they think of football, baseball, soccer, etc.  People never think of field hockey, gymnastics and softball.  Girls are always put down and told that there sports aren't a "real sport".  I don't believe that.  Most if not all of girls sports take just as much skill and coordination as boys sports.  I have read article and seen on the news that girls have won the same tournament or been sponsered by the same company ,but got less money cause of there sex.  This needs to stop.  We have come along way with TitleIX and we can go even further by having equal pay in sports.  People believe that men and women get payed the same in sports ,but when it comes down to statistics they don't.

Women's Health in the Industry

In a recent Sports Illustarted article, Kate Upton shows off her body in a bikini bottom and a winter coat.
But, as said on the website Women, Action and the Media.org, the  artic photoshoot was actually shot in Antartica. She began to experience hypothermia as a result of her clothing and the temperature conditions, but she still went through with the shoot.

Sounds crazy right?

This is just another example of how women are portrayed as just perfect props, and not real people. The message that this magazine sends to women and girls is: this is how your body should look, and you should act. Kate Upton shows off her breats, has a flawless face, and is portrayed as a bombshell, which is what most women think they should be. 

Kates health became at risk, whch would be probable cause to stop the shoot, but it wasn't enough.

I think women are still not as important in the media industry as men, they are there simply as "dolls" to make the product that is being sold look better, which sends a very negative mind set and body image to young girls and women.

An Apple a day makes the satire stay

This ridiculous parody of Apple's new iPhone 5 introduces you to one of the most ridiculous phone ideas from Apple that probably could attract many customers looking to waste more money on Apple's products.  Joe Bloggs from the video sarcastically says, "it's been completely redesigned. For the first time ever, we have increased the size of the display...".  I wouldn't say that would be the first time Apple has tried to redesign their phones to attract customers, but this idea is absolutely outrageous.  Alan Smithee from the video says that the new iPhone is 18% thinner and 795% taller which somehow makes, "everything on iPhone easier".  The video goes on and talks about how every little feature of the phone makes it so much better than the last one you probably just bought 6 months ago.  Away with your old iPhone 4 which is 795% smaller and in with the new iPhone 5!  Just imagine standing in public calling someone on this monster of a phone, it's just hilarious to think about.  Catching kids texting in class won't be a problem anymore with the iPhone 5, so teachers should strongly recommend students to buy this great product.  The most sarcastic guy in the video is definitely Bill Hitchert who smirks throughout all of his lines and has sarcasm ringing through every single word he says in the video.  This video is a great example of satire and is probably a very accurate guess of what is to come in the distant future for Apple.     

Dolls Shaping America

 

The origins of Barbie go back to the early '50's. She is most commonly portrayed as a 6 foot tall, perky, long blond haired white female. She can be seen swimming in her mansions pool, or helping animals when they are sick. She symbolizes the woman of America.

The origins of Bratz goes back to the early '90's. They are urban, can be seen at parties, and come in a variety of races, but they are not as popular as a common Barbie doll. Their lips and heads are too big for their bodies, and they flirt with boys, making them not so innocent.

They are both dolls we used to play with as kids, but the images they put out are just some of the ways media shapes our views and ideas on race. The barbie doll unintentionally shapes the way girls and women see themselves. The barbie doll is perfect, perfect voice, hair, makeup, body and skin. She is what a white woman supposed to be: polite, kind, always happy, perky and suburban.

 

Bratz however get rid of the stereotype by having the main dolls of different races: white, black, latin, and asian. They represent a more realistic common girl in America.

 

 

Gossip Girl

In the rich society of upper east Manhattan, these teenagers live with first world problems. Theres Blair, who get any and almost every piece of designer clothing that she wishes, theres Serena who can fly away to another state or country when she feels like it, theres Nate who can get into any University because of his powerful last name, and then there is Chuck, who doesn't even need to go to University because he has so much money. But besides coming from rich and powerful families that make them top of Manhattan's elite, these people have something in common: They're all white.

I think this show is unintentionally portraying the racial ideology of whites being superior and wealthier than other races. In this show, you rarely ever see someone of a different race, and when you do, it will be a character from another country that is there for the story line. This show unintentionally potrays this ideology because they never actually address race in any of the episodes. However when the viewers ever have to think of superior families with a great social status, they automatically think of rich white kids living in luxury suits and having no worries. This ideology increases other ideologies as well, like when thinking of the ghetto (which is defined as a poor populated area in a city) people will think of hispanic and black races. No one ever thinks of whites living in the ghetto, even though in reality they do. But like I said before, people even still today, think of whites being the superior race. This is because of pop culture such as Gossip Girl has unintentionally portrayed in their series.

The Green Mile

The Green Mile a film about  prsioners on death row and their relationship prison guards.  A black man,Duncan, with extrodinary super natural powers was accused of raping and killing two young white girls, even though he did not do it. We later discover that another prison mate who was on death row for another crime was the one who commited this awful crime. Another prisoner was brutally excuted by a power hungry, unhappy prison guard. Paul, a regualar cell block guard, who witnesses Duncan preform certain miracles has developed a trusting relationship with him and finds out that Duncan is not responsible for the rape and murder.

I feel that this movie protrays how power can be misused and turn people bad, but there are also some people who uses their powers for good, and to help. Another strong point made in this movie is that thier are truly kind people in the world, even if they have been wronged they can still turn around and help the people that once wronged them.  Duncan was a strong peculiar black man, so it wasn't hard to see why he would "commit the rape and murder". but one of the cell block guards, Paul, saw more of him then any stereotypes, or other guards did. An Angry, stupid black boy. Paul had seen Duncan resurrect a mouse, heal the warren's sick wife, and healing Paul's urinary tract infections proving that Duncan valued life and just wanted people to be happy. But unlike Duncan, there are some like Percy, and regular prison guard had gotten carries away with his powers. Percy was the governor's wife's nephew and loved to brag to people about it, and tell of his power. He tried to use his 'family's power' but it did not work in the prison. Percy took his anger out of the soon to be dead prisoners, but he went to far once he brutally killed prisoner Jeter. Jeter was sent to the electric chair and Percy did not wet the sponge so Jeter face was set on fire and Percy did not even think twice to put water on Jeter who was screaming in pain. Instead Percy ran away.  Everyone kept to themselves after that because no one tried to help put Jeter out of his misery. I find it funny how people use their powers to harm others instead of helping others. People like Percy who misuse power, because he is sadtistic and lonely people are not very fond of him. Where as Duncan even though he is mistreated he still helps people because he knows it is the right thing to do.

 

Hip Hop In American Culture

American culture is responsible for shaping and curving beliefs of many. The false portrayals of race and religions have created a firestorm of hate as long as they have existed. Hip-hop is a predominately black culture and has influence over many. In the last 20 years Hip-hop has grown to one of the largest music and media industries in American culture.

Black stereotypes have only been strengthened by hip-hop. Hip-hop is one of the largest ways for Americans to view what is perceived as black culture, being on tons of TV show and many mainstream radio stations. This results in a falsified view on the black race. Like a lot of music, mainstream hip-hip doesn’t even paint a close picture to how African Americans really are. In rap, much of the content is drugs, sex, money, gangs and gun violence. An example of this is in 50 Cent’s song “Many Men” when he says, “I walk the block with the bundles/ I've been knocked on the humble/ Swing the ox when I rumble/ Show your ass what my gun do”. In these lines he’s talking about selling drugs (bundle) and using his gun if necessary. These lines only reinforce the racist stereotype many American’s have on African American culture. Another example of black stereotypes in rap music is in Biggie’s song “Things Done Changed” when he says, “Instead of a Mac-10 he tried scrappin'/ Slugs in his backend”. This is another example of gun violence in hip-hop. My final example is in Biggie’s song “Things Done Changed” when he says,”Either you're slingin' crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot”. These lyrics are talking about if your in the hood the only way to survive is as a drug dealer or if you make it in basketball. Obviously this isn’t the case and Biggie was generalizing the community but many listeners don’t know any better and take what they hear as the truth.

All in all hip-hop has shown some of the most talented poets can come from the bleakest of upbringings. It has been able to break down race barriers and has added a new dimension to music. I am not saying in any way shape or form to even change rap music. I’m just stating why I feel it has reinforced black stereotypes to people who don’t know otherwise. Education of reality is vital to breaking through stereotypes and racist perceptions of races.

Luke Gawne

Cultural Analysis of Race

The blogging assignment for American Studies -- due by Friday, 1/18 -- is to post a cultural analysis of of a recent work of popular culture that constructs race is an intriguing way.  Also, by the end of the week you should comment on two of your classmates' cultural analyses.  I'll be giving extra credit for those who post their analysis by Wednesday, 1/16 -- to get the conversation started -- and those who do an additional cultural analysis (as long as the first one is complete).

You can look at the guide to writing a cultural analysis that we discussed at the beginning of the year.

In this particular case, your thesis should argue for whether the work of culture supports or criticizes, reinforces or resist dominant ideologies about race in America.  In other words, does the work of culture perpetuate or break stereotypes of race?  Consider the historical stereotypes we have discussed -- Jim Crow, Sambo, Zip Coon, Brute and Mammy -- but feel free to update those stereotypes with more modern terminology and nuance -- or to discuss stereotypes of white culture or other races.

On another note, here is the link to the PBS website that has a lot of great activities revealing the construction of race.

This Week's Assignment: Romanticism and Rugged Individualism in American Pop Culture

Your assignment for this week on the blog is to write a cultural analysis of Romanticism and/or Rugged Individualism in a work of present-day American pop culture.  The work you are analyzing should be a specific film, TV show, book, song, etc.  And you will need to provide specific references to the work (quote specific lines or lyrics, specifically refer to moments in the story, etc).

For a complete breakdown of the assignment, see pages 168-169 of your packet or click here.

In an extended blog post, you will be arguing how the work of culture you have chosen reflects or helps shape the ideologies of Romanticism and Rugged Individualism in present-day America.  In other words, what characteristics does it share with Romanticism and/or Rugged Individualism?  

For extra credit, bring a visual into your blog post – either a still image or an embedded video – that exemplifies the Romanticism or Rugged Individualism in your work of culture.  You might also want to provide a link to places where the reader can find more information about the work.

Examples of Romanticism and Rugged Individualism are everywhere, and many works of culture actually combine both ideologies, such as the latest Batman:Dark Knight series of comics and films:

 

Who Started The Fire?

Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" from his hit album "Storm Front" talks about many American headline events between 1949 and 1989.  Joel came up with the idea of the song when he talked to a young man that was half his age who kept on talking about how the world was in such a big mess and that it would never be resolved.  Joel was said to have been a history nut and he even wanted to be a history teacher at one time.  The song lists 119 events that happened between the years 1949 and 1989 and it all started with one conversation over how the world is turning into a dump.  The song protest that "WE" weren't the ones who started all the problems the world has, it was also started by others before us, but we still take the blame.  It's trying to get the audience to understand that many things happen over time and problems are very hard to solve once they get started.  "We didn't start the fire/it was always burning since the worlds been turning" shows that we weren't the ones who started the problems in the first place, instead we were given the problems of the world ever since life on Earth began.  the next line, " No we didn't light it/but we tried to fight it" shows how we still take responsibility for the problems but we always try to solve the problem and look for resolutions.  How long will the fire last?

Lyrics

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

CHORUS
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it

Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser aand Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc

Roy hn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, dacron
Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland

Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev
Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez

CHORUS

Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball
Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide

Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia
Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go

U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo

CHORUS

Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land"
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion

"Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex
JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say

CHORUS

Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodsto/ck/, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline
Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law
Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

CHORUS

We didn't start the fire
But when we are gone
Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on...

MORE THAN JUST A SONG

The name of the song that I selected was Shout by Tears For Fears, and the album it is on is "The Bst of Tears For Fears". Some of the songs that might be related are Mothers Talks, and Everybody want the World. These three songs had, changed the way people viewed their music. Alot of people think that Shout is just another song about primal scream theory, countinuing concerned with political protest. It came out in 1984 when alot of people were still worried about the after math of the Cold War it was basically encourgous people to protest. It is also a song about the way the public accepts any old grief which is thrown at them. In violent times you shouldn't have to sell your soul. This line is saying that in times of war you shouldn't have to give up your life. I thought these lines were interesting because they have a certain way of explaning the meaning of the song but not giving it away. 

Ideology On Being Beautiful

A big problem in America today which is eating disorders can be initiated by something such as a magazine. A specific example is Seventeen Magazine.

The ideology in America and in our society today is that girls have to be stick skinny with a flawless completion to be considered beautiful. This is how Seventeen magazines portray their models which give girls a false sense of what women should look like. Before a photo is put in the magazine, the editors airbrush the photo to perfection which doesn’t ever look like the original photo. In editing, they airbrush the skin so it’s smooth and color corrected, rid of all blemishes and pimples, narrow the body to look thinner and skinner, take wrinkles off the body and clothes, and many more things to make the model as close to perfect as possible so that girls will be more likely to buy the product. Girls look at these photos and compare themselves to the models. All girls are hard on themselves and will do anything to try and look like perfect photos. This is how eating disorders are developed.

A 14 year old girl from maine started a petition asking Seventeen magazine to stop airbrushing photos because it gave girls a false sense of what they should look like.

We now have a promise from the top editor to leave body shapes alone, reserving photoshop for the stray hair, clothing wrinkle, errant bra strap or zit. The idea is to spread this around to other magazine editors to stop eating disorders in America.

Hope in The United States

Immigration in America is a big issue around these times.  Many believe that having too many immigrants will cause them to take over all of our jobs and will make unemployment a big problem in the United States.  The United States was always seen as diverse country, so why not let immigrants come in without making a big deal out of it?  There are always limits to things, and there should be a limit on how many immigrants should be allowed to come into the United States because too many may not be the greatest idea.  When it gets to the point that we only have immigrants working at our jobs, that's when you know it's time to stop, but America should learn how to squeeze in room for more.  Families get torn apart from being deported. just thinking about it is sad.  Many come here looking for opportunity, money, a new start, and most importantly, hope.  Living in the United states without papers is obviously illegal, but we should give those willing to take there studies seriously an education at good schools in the United States.  The DREAM act is perfect for illegal immigrants looking for something like this because this gives them the opportunity to actually go to colleges here.  We shouldn't reject immigrants that want to come here looking for an education or hope, life can be hard in places like Mexico and making the journey to the United States is sometimes the only hope they can find.  We should accept these people as long as they are willing to contribute to our society.  There are so many problems with immigration and I feel that now is  a time to make a change and think about helping out others that are looking for hope in the United States  

Dreaming of a Clean Enviornment

America hasn't really done a great job with keeping our environment safe and we really need to take charge and start making this world a cleaner place.  People tend to think that even throwing away one little piece of trash in the street won't harm the Earth, but think about it.  Think of all the different people that could be doing the same thing your doing at that same exact moment.  Over time it will just pile on and look like one big mess.  Next time you think about littering or if you see a friend about to litter, do the Earth a favor and pick up after yourself and help the environment out one step at a time.  Sometimes I feel like people don't even know the difference between a recycling bin and a trash can.  There's clearly a huge difference and people need to understand how important recycling is for our enviornment.  Don't be the funny guy at your lunch period  by shoving  bananas or any ridiculous type of food in a recycle bin, trash cans need love too.  Pollution is also a big threat, especially when it comes to cars.  Gasoline has already messed up the ozone with carcinogens and has made it easier for UV rays from the sun to shine down on us. Not a good idea if you aren't a fan of cancer.  Energy conservation can also help our world out little by little.  Unplug that phone charger from your wall and don't just leave your phone plugged in 24/7, turn off those TVs even if the voice of your favorite TV stars keeps you company in your living room all day, and finally turn those lights off, there's many fun things to do in the dark!...  hide and go seek?

People used to view the future in a very positive way by dreaming of futuristic buildings, new technology, and a more laid back and fun lifestyle, but if we continue the way we are now with our environment, our dreams will definitely not look like what we imagined.  So if your down for living in a wasteland, litter all the trash you want.  But if your like me, then take care of our Earth and keep the environment clean so we can look forward to a cleaner and more positive future!

Help Keep Our Enviornment Clean, It's For Our Future!

The enviornment gets little reconigition, but the effects are now in our faces everyday. Seasons getting shorter, air getting dirtier and dirtier by the day, and drastic climate change.

Only a few years ago global warming was introduced to us Americans and we laughed it off, but the risks are very dangerous as we see today. Studies show that in decades to come, more than 1,100 countries will have water droughts. No water means in many countries means no means of food because crops will die, meaning many people dieing out.

This is why I believe we should make more attempts to clean up our enviornment, by using cleaner energy, less wasteful transportation, and more recycling. In suburbs, such as Bellwood, homes are "influenced to recycle, by means of a possible fine, and many schools encourage recycling. It may seem harsh, but it has the best intentions for the future of our world.