THE O(PRAH)BAMA CONNECTION - TAKE TWO

This blog entry by LIndsey Crouse

The story: "Oprah Shines Her Star Power on Obama"

The analysis:

In Des Moines, Iowa on December 8, TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey addressed over 18,000 people on the presidential campaign and her belief in Barack Obama’s ability to lead our country. Oprah makes an argument for change from the Bush administration other than another Clinton in the White House making it clear that Obama stood with clarity and conviction against the war in Iraq. The question is whether Obama will win votes merely from having one of the most popular daytime talk show hosts by his side. “Winfrey said she does not know if her influence on the presidential campaign will have the same impact as she has in driving up the popularity of books and products featured on her show”, but it should seem obvious that she will definitely have some sort of impact.
I chose this article because it is amazing to see how our society flocks towards celebrities and television stars. One woman that was interviewed admitted that she was not involved much in politics before, but was drawn to the rally both by Oprah and Obama. It seems to me that she was mainly drawn to the rally for Oprah because she then goes on to “jokingly” say that she hoped Winfrey would have one of her famous giveaways because she’d love to have a new car.
Having Oprah Winfrey speak out for Obama’s campaign definitely grabs people’s attention not only because she’s an extremely popular talk show host, but people also look up to her because of her many donations and acts of selflessness. Although I would like to be able to say that Oprah would not have any affect on voting matters, I think she will have a huge impact on people who are not normally involved in politics like the woman interviewed. People who aren’t knowledgeable in politics and do not make the effort to do research on politicians may vote for Obama just because of Oprah, this woman people may see as unselfish and positive in our society, and not because of what Obama stands for.

HO, HO, HA?

This blog entry by Andrew Sanchez

The story: "Ho-ho-ho is a no-no"

The analysis:

A Santa Clause recruitment firm Westaff, which has office in the United States and Australia, told its Christmas trainees that the traditional festive greeting of “ho, ho, ho” would be banned and replaced with “ha, ha, ha.” I chose this article because is shows how even the most innocent of characters like Santa Clause can be censored. I mean, wow! I understand there are regulations on T.V. and radio, but Santa Clause? The firm was worried that the traditional “ho, ho, ho” would frighten children and would seem derogatory toward women. A month later after the recruitment firm issued its new regulation, a Santa Clause was allegedly fired for not complying with the new holiday greeting; he was also let go for the singing of “Jingle bells.”
When children hear the traditional Santa Clause greeting of “ho, ho, ho,” do they instantly think of prostitution? I don’t think so. Perhaps if Santa went around calling kids “nappy headed hoes,” I would understand the outrage, but I don’t understand why anyone would want to change the traditional greeting to something so politically correct. I mean, “ho, ho, ho” is everywhere. It is the classic Santa Clause utterance, and it can be found inside books, Christmas cards, and just about anything Christmas and Santa Clause related. Children will eventually come across it in one form or another. What is the next step? Will we remove it completely? Ridiculous! So now with “ha, ha, ha,” can we say that it is evil? “Ha, ha, ha,” is always tied to villains when they get away with any illegal activity. Everything is getting to politically correct so as to make everything bland.
I do not believe that this phrase is of any danger to children or women. These organizations are taking the traditional “ho, ho, ho” completely out of context: it is the P.C. (politically correct) police trying to impose their views on society, to gloss over the real problems of society by masking it under a cloud of “everything’s just fine!” I have heard the term “the pussification of America” associated with this case. The P.C. police are ruining it all.
It first began when little league baseball associations began giving every child a trophy regardless of the outcome of their season. What happened to competing for the 1st place trophy and being competitive? And that’s certainly not the end of it. This past October, some schools went so far as to not allowing children to dress up and they were not allowed to call Halloween, Halloween. They had to call it harvest day. G-Damn it! Next thing you know, little boys are going to be told that they are not allowed to pee standing up. Enough of my ranting and back to Santa,
It’s bad enough that we cannot say Merry Christmas without worrying about offending groups of people who do not celebrate this particular holiday. The P.C. police are starting to water down our customs and culture, to homogenize everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if my grandchildren’s grandchildren will no longer celebrate some of the holidays we take the joy in celebrating. Christmas may very well be a thing of the past one day, a phantom holiday that once existed.

THE O(PRAH)BAMA CONNECTION - TAKE ONE

This blog entry by Juan Carlos Ochoa

The story: "Oprah lends star power to Obama in Iowa"

The analysis:

This article is discussing how Oprah, when she promotes a book, it turns out to be a best seller. So now the nation is wondering, if she starts promoting Obama for presidency, will he become the next president of the US? As the tickets were being distributed, many people grabbed the tickets, which went fast, where Oprah and Obama were going to be campaigning and many others were waiting outside to see if they could get a glimpse of Oprah. So many where questioning, of the people that showed up to the campaigns, were they there for Obama or for Oprah. The people that showed up had to deal with packed rooms. Also most of the people that attended did not usually participate in politics, but they volunteered for his campaign and took some caucus training just to be able to get some of the 18,000 tickets that they had available.

The reason I chose this article was because it just comes to show how such a big pop culture icon in our society could have so much influence in our nation. This is a good strategy for Obama to try to get votes for his presidency, but more particularly the women’s vote. But I don’t think that in the long run it is going to help him win the white house.

Oprah is a great remodel for women and she is very influential person that many listen to. I would be surprised to see if her campaigning for Obama will help him out. But this is not the only time when a celebrity is used to promote something for a certain cause. In our society having a well known face can become very influential in our society and influence people to fight for a cause or in this case get votes.

MORE HIV FOCUS IN POP NEEDED?

This blog entry by Jason Chung

The story: "Figures on H.I.V. Rate Expected to Rise"

The analysis:

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates that over 40,000 people in the United States are infected with the HIV virus every year. However, recent reports and studies have shown that the number of HIV infected individuals have risen up to 63,000 cases annually, and is expected to rise again next year. Whether this drastic rise in American HIV cases is due to the lack of education and prevention of the HIV virus, or due to the fact that HIV symptoms tend to show up years after the virus is contracted, it is clear that HIV is becoming more of a prominent problem in American society.

December 1st was World AIDS Day. All over the globe, people were being made aware of the disease that has infected over 42 million people in the world. CSULB and other universities have dedicated a week to education and promote awareness about HIV, because the general population of students are unaware and confused about STD's. I chose this article because I believe that students should be more aware of the HIV virus. Health and science is a significant aspect of popular culture. We watch commercials and see media references about dieting, exercise, depression, smoking, alcoholism, and other health-related issues, but the only time you hear about HIV & AIDS in our society is news about the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Popular culture tends to glaze over global health problems like HIV. Unless Angelina Jolie adopts a new HIV-positive baby from Africa, you will rarely hear any references to HIV virus and its effects on people. Education of health also plays an important role in popular culture. While we have plethora nutrition specialists and physical trainers all across the United States, there are students who don't even know that the Student Health Services (which is free) on our CSULB Campus gives rapid HIV testing. About $45 of our tuition money goes directly to the SHS, and students don't take advantage of the care that is there for them.

What I'm trying to get at with this entry is that education and awareness of global diseases like HIV should become a prominent force in popular culture. By looking at the statistics and figures (ex: LA county is the 2nd nationwide for the # of AIDS cases), it is of grave importance that people get the facts straight about HIV. The government needs to stop cutting back on domestic efforts programs and our culture needs to take our overall health and knowledge about diseases such as HIV into greater consideration. You, as a student, have all the resources to learn about HIV and prevent it from happening to you. And no, don't worry, you can't get HIV from saliva.

MARRIAGE IS A GAME?

This blog entry by Pablo Ildefonso

The story: "'Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen?'"

The analysis:

The newest reality show, "Who wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen?," is set for independent distribution according to Reuters. The premise of the show deals with an American bachelorette chooses her future husband between 3 immigrants. Creator of the show, Adrian Martinez says, "We're out to prove love knows no borders," and, "besides, that's what America is all about – a multicultural nation." And at the end of the show the bachelorette chooses whom she will marry, though the contestants are not guaranteed citizenship. The article had a link to a video that I was not able to load, though I did manage to find on YouTube. Where the end promo reads: One will win and stay in the country, two will be probably deported.

This comes at a time when immigration is a hot topic in the U.S. and has recently been on YouTube presidential debates. Candidates will soon be in a position of power to implement public policy that deals with immigration. At a time when this campus it self had a tense emotions about immigration, there is a xenophobia climate where exposing your self as an immigrant is not a popular thing to do. Because when someone thinks of immigrant, they think illegal. No one wants to be labeled an illegal because that's when one is seen as threat.

It's seems the creator of this show exploits that vulnerability, not consciously (which is problematic in its self). If you say to someone they have an opportunity to be a U.S. citizen in a game show, they'll do it, especially when becoming a U.S. citizen is such a hard process. I wouldn't be surprise if there were a game show where one has to eat testicles to win a green card. Oh wait, there is. It's called, "Gana la Verde," Win the Green. To add to the injury, its promo amplifies this message: oh well, good luck next time on your citizenship. If Adrain really wants a multicultural nation, maybe she should participate in the political arena to guarantee immigrants their U.S. citizenship as oppose to making a game show out of it.

ONLINE BULLIES

This blog entry by Christina Saunders

The story: "Online bullying a growing part of US teen Internet life"

The analysis:

This article discusses a growing trend of online bullying. “Cyber bullies” have increased from 6 to 50 percent in the past seven years. Kids and teens are finding ways of expressing aggression via the internet. Popular technologies such as instant messaging, text messaging and social networking websites are used to tease, threaten or insult others. Many kids will just turn off their computer or ignore messages, but others are more fragile and easily offended. There have been incidents of violence and suicides as the result of these messages received through the internet. A girl hung herself after exchanging insults on her MySpace with a person that pretended to be a 16-year-old boy. The last message reportedly being sent was “The world would be a better place without you.” This boy was flirting with the girl for weeks before the insults came. The fake boy was actually the mother of former friend of the girl. The mother wanted to find out what the girl thought of her daughter.
I chose this article because I found it so shocking. Social networking websites, such as MySpace.com and FaceBook.com, are very popular in today’s society. They are used to communicate with friends and others, advertise music and trends and many more social activities. It has become the “cyberworld” playground. It’s so sad to read about what people do to other people because of a comment left on their MySpace. People warn you about sexual predators and pedophiles on these social networking websites, but don’t warn you about “cyber bullies”.
I think it’s important because technology is so important. These social networking websites are great for people to make new friends, whether they are shy or not. They are also a great way to communicate, advertise and spread news. Music, movies and almost anything can be advertised on these social networking websites. It’s convenient and fast. The article says that some U.S. cities restrict access to the internet and mobile phones on campus. I think that’s very unfortunate because the internet has loads of information. There are bad things you can view on the internet, but there are also many things you can learn on the internet. As in everything, there are both benefits and consequences.
I also think this article is important because people need to learn to be kind to others and also not to take things said on the internet too seriously. Everyone is a critic, and people sometimes don’t care and sometimes get hurt. When I hear about drama on MySpace, I think to myself, “Calm down people, it’s just MySpace”. But for some or maybe more, MySpace has become the social hub. Being insulted online is just as bad as being insulted in person. Unfortunately, it’s much easier to insult online because it is so convenient and fast. As reported in the article, a girl from Tennessee stabbed another girl because of a comment left on FaceBook. These incidents are what has risen the percentages in electronic aggression and youth violence. I think it’s up to parents and internet user to be responsible when using the internet.

BLACK FRIDAY

This blog entry by Lindy Pham

The story: "Thanksgiving so warm, but woe the day after "

The analysis:

The article illustrates Thanksgivings as a traditional United States holiday to give thanks at the finish of the harvest season. Thanksgivings was established as a national day of giving thanks and praise to God, a significant holiday in the United States. This is the time to get together, to be thankful, and to be with family and loved ones. The article insists on Thanksgiving as being so warm but woeful the day after. This is due to the fact that the day after Thanksgiving Day is “Black Friday”, one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States.
I chose this article because it is currently the Thanksgivings week and I think it is very interesting and important for us to know how to manage our time, our money and our stress levels on this special holiday. Black Friday is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Black Friday was formerly so popular because it has been one of the busiest days in terms of the customer tours, real sales amount, heavy traffic, and busiest sell shopping day of the year. Many stores will put out popular items on sale, just to attract people to their store to spend more money. We see buyers lined up early hours before stores with big sales open. Traditionally, Black Friday sales were intended for those shopping for Christmas gifts. The earliest uses of "Black Friday" refer to the heavy traffic on that day, an extremely stressful and disorganized event.
The purpose of this article is to give us opinions about what we should do on the day after Thanksgiving day: we should spend our time with family and loved ones, by going to the movies, listening to music with each other, walking in the woods, reading, eating leftovers, sharing and giving of our time; instead of spending our time, our money, our spirits running to the mall to get material possessions that we do not need and get in debt with our exceeding spending.
In my point of view, nothing is cheap enough to make me wake up very early, go out there in the cold weather and line up to shop. From my experience, I could not get the special things that I love on Black Friday because I always come after thousands of people. I also know that I should keep purses and wallets very carefully, carry little of cash, and it is also dangerous while driving in the shopping malls, it is easy get into an accident that day. I tell myself, I will never look for something I usually would not buy, but have to because it is 75 percent off in Black Friday. However, I would still wake up very early even I stay up late on Thanksgiving night, driving four more hours long to a famous outlet store get a brand name jacket worth $300, for a fraction of the price. We can not change a tradition, including me! Celebrate the day. Give thanks.
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SAMANTHA WHO?

This blog entry by Stephanie Nathon.

The story: "‘Samantha Who?’ is an unlikely sitcom queen"

The analysis:

Of the many new television shows this season is “Samantha Who?” starring Christina Applegate, and unlike many of the other shows that debuted this season this one is actually having some success. I found this article on MSNBC, which starts by explaining how rare it is to have a successful comical television show with a female role. The last comedy television shows with female roles include “Bewitched,” “I Love Lucy,” and most recently “Rosanne.” The story behind “Samantha Who?” is she was a serious business woman whose morals are questionable. After being hit by a car, and suffering a serious head injury she wakes up not remember anything from her past has to put together the pieces of her life and all the details that go along with it. The article continues to describe the plot and quips of the show but begins to question if it will remain successful on its own. “Samantha Who?” is currently being aired in the time slot after “Dancing with the Stars,” one of the currently most watched shows. The writer is skeptical if viewers will make the decision to watch Samantha on their own when it is not following their other favorite shows since Christina Applegate has had a few television flops since being the cute blonde on “Married with Children.”

I chose this article because I found it very interesting that it was a featured article on MSNBC, and also I am a watcher of “Samantha Who?”  Christina Applegate is a familiar face to most and like many others I was anxious to see what the show would be like. After watching, I found the show witty and funny but never thought twice about the fact that it was a female lead role.

The purpose of this article is almost congratulating a female leading role for being successful. The author appears more surprised that the show is being received well despite the fact that the rest of the cast consists of C list actors at best. It is also discussed whether this show will be able to stand on its own against “Two and a Half Men,” a male dominated comedy. I find it amazing that a female leading role in a comedy is something rare and it is still necessary to acknowledge that a female can be successful on her own, or as a lead. Though the author leaves it on a positive note mentioning that it is a show with potential to be long running, he is still skeptical that Samantha will be able to stand on her own once “Dancing with the Stars” is no longer helping her out.

DEAR MAMA

This blog entry by Christine Song.

The story: "How The West Was Lost"

The analysis:

The topic that I decided on was the tragic death of Kanye West’s mom. When I first saw it on the news, my heart dropped for him. As we all know he comes from a single mom that raised him to be the top star that he is today. Through their rags to riches story, she was his number one fan and the only person that could hit this strong spoken, at times conceived cocky, driven man’s soft spot. What a vulnerable feeling it must be to feel on top one minute and feel like everything has been lost the next. I am sure that Donda West never thought the worst, and went in thinking only about how great she would feel afterwards with a new body to prove.

People do not realize how much we put our lives at stake when going under the knife. It makes me wonder, is society to blame or is it the sole individual for being sucked into society’s pressures to fix your flaws if you can. Regardless of being persuadable or not, we live in a world where image can be the ticket to many things. Image is everywhere in the media. We drive everyday across billboards of beautiful people, see magazines of flawless bodies, and living in Los Angeles we are surrounded by a world of people who buy their way to happiness. People have operations performed thinking that it will get them closer to their dream job, significant other, and be that last confidence booster that one needs.
According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, “Nearly 11.5 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States in 2005, according to statistics released today by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). Compared to 2004, surgical procedures increased 1% to 2.1 million, while nonsurgical procedures declined 4% to 9.3 million. The Aesthetic Society which has been collecting multi-specialty procedural statistics since 1997 says the overall number of cosmetic procedures has increased 444% since the collection of the statistics first began. The most frequently performed procedure was Botox injections and the most popular surgical procedure was liposuction.”

Surgeons like Dr. Jan Adams makes a living by telling his clients that “they don’t have to live with their flaws.” Although one’s “flaws” depends on the judger, it makes me wonder whether society’s views of plastic surgery has gone out of hand or whether it really is not a big deal. I have had a friend who has had a nose job because her once bigger nose made her feel very self-conscious and different from the rest. Of course we all loved her for who she was, but we were also happy to see that she was happier after the procedure. She illuminated a sense of self-confidence that she never really portrayed before. We can all look at it and say that in the big scheme of things, if the person is happy, isn’t that all that matters? However, what if we view it as her being a victim of being brainwashed into the common expectations of beauty? Shows like “The Swan” where very low confidence-troubled people have operations done to feel better about themselves gave me a new perspective to plastic surgery after seeing some people so happy for the first time. They deserve to feel confident and the reactions that people had after their procedures proved that people definitely treat people differently regarding their looks. It is a shame that many go under the knife in desires to be treated a certain way and to make one feel better. The thought still crosses my mind of whether it will ever be enough and people will just stop caring about physical appearances. Sadly enough, I do not think this will ever occur.

TOO SMART FOR BET?

This blog entry by Mako Crawford.

The story: "Little Brother's "Too Intelligent" Says BET, Network Responds To Allegation"

The analysis:

It's hard to believe that it's been over half a decade since I came accross the underground hip-hop soul group Little Brother one night in my dorm room online. I was hooked from the get go. I couldn't get enough of Ninth Wonder's magnificent instrumentals, Phonte's mic finesse was unbelievable, and Rapper Big Pooh had a young college freshman going nuts. As a fan of hip-hop I think it is degrading that Little Brother isn't getting the true respect and success that they have worked for and deserve. About two years ago BET television would not air any Little Brother music videos because execs felt that Little Brother is too intelligent for the BET audience.

It dawned on me then that the music business is only concerned with keeping their listeners in their so called place. What I mean by this is that the commercial interest in present mainstream hip-hop is content in flattering stupidity and branding ignorance. Little Brother's second album , The Minstrel Show, clearly conveys their feelings about the current state of hip-hop. It is almost as if Little Brother is trying to awake a degenerated pop generation to what the true nature of hip-hop is.

Last Monday a few friends and I ventured to the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles to catch Little Brother's only Los Angeles performance. It was sold out and packed from wall to wall with beautiful people digging deep into the strong rhythms that blared out of DJ Flash's set. I've been privileged enough to have seen Little Brother a few times before this El Rey show and I have to say they have only improved at rockin' it. They performed soul acts in between songs and Phonte even busted out on some M.J. Human Nature. They even had a big curtain call at the end with all the nights performers, Dilated Peoples, The Away Team, And Murs who was a special guest. They really gave the impression of a great show that people pay money to see and that's when I thought back to their reference of the greatest colored show on earth from The Minstrel Show album.

As I stood in the crowd I observed that there were a good number of white Little Brother fans out representing. I took this observation as a credit to Little Brother as perhaps in fact being able to have an influence on popular culture and the ability to bring all people of all colors together. With their third album, Get Back, out in stores now, I am only hoping that the industry will finally accept Little Brother for the true entertaining artists that they are.

RACE FOR THE WORLD CUP

This blog entry by Matt Preston.

The story: "FA confirm England will bid for 2018"

The analysis:

England’s governing soccer body, the Football Association (FA), has announced their intentions to host the 2018 World Cup, but it is only 2007! The article states that soccer’s world governing body, Federation International Football Association (FIFA), will decide on the hosts in 2011, but bids will have to be officially submitted at least two years beforehand.  The competition to host this sporting event grows every time the tournament is to be hosted.  Alongside England, countries like the United States, Mexico, Russia, and Australia will all be competing for the right to host the 2018 tournament. The growing competition is due to enormous potential for hosting nations to make some money. Television rights, merchandise, official sponsorships, gate ticket receipts, and traveling soccer aficionados provide an enormous return for hosting the month long tournament. With the potential to make so much profit from this tournament, it makes one wonder if the World Cup is still about soccer?

Interested countries must invest millions and even billions to even be considered to host the world’s finest sporting event. The campaign alone for England to host the 2018 tournament will cost ?15 million (about $30 million)! England is fortunate to possess a superior infrastructure as well as excellent stadiums to host the event, but other countries are not as privileged. South Africa will host the tournament in 2010, but it lacks the same infrastructure and stadiums as England. To be selected as host, this African nation invested substantial funds to development their hosting cities in time for the tournament. This investment put hosting a sporting event before more important matters in South Africa (i.e. HIV/AIDS pandemic and post apartheid struggles). South African leaders believe that hosting this event will develop their country both economically and socially. With this kind of economic force, the World Cup has evolved into a mechanism that transmits powerful messages.  

The World Cup is produced and consumed by the masses. Capitalism and nationalism are weaved into the foundation of this tournament. The World Cup, like the Olympics, is a stage to flex national superiority. Nations are praised for hosting successful tournaments and glamorized for winning the prestigious sporting event. Germany witnessed this praise for their successful job of hosting the 2006 event and Brazil is worshiped for their success as the winner of 5 World Cups. With their bid, England is looking for the same praise and worship. As the inventors of the modern game, England has only one World Cup title (as they played host and victors of the 1966 tournament). England looks to host the most successful tournament in the history of the World Cup. In the eyes of the English, this means not only hosting a successful tournament, but also winning it. 

Sport has developed into a powerful tool for development. The World Cup will be hosted in two developing nations in 2010 (South Africa) and 2014 (Brazil). These events possess the potential to develop these nations both economically and socially. Whoever the host may be, hopefully, the 2018 event will not be a completely profit driven corporate investment; yet, instead a celebration of sport and its ability to accomplish great things.

TIPSY OFF (TILA) TEQUILA

This blog entry by Ciara Calsita.

The story: "Tila Tequila, Who?"

The analysis:

The title says, “She’s Famous.” My only question is who. By just reading the first line of this article, the reader comes to the realization that the female in question of being famous is Tila Tequila. Personally, I have no comprehension to who entirely this individual named Tila Tequila is. The brief biography at the beginning of this article was not giving me enough information on Tila Tequila. Therefore, out of curiosity, I turned to Wikipedia and her MySpace page for a quick reference to who this person may be. As stated, in the article, Tequila is not her real name, Nguyen is. According to Wikipedia, she is an American model, entertainer, and singer. Just recently, she premiered her show on MTV television titled, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila on October 9. Not knowing what her show was exactly about at first, I assumed it was some type of dating show. I discovered later that my assumptions were true but the show takes it a step further. A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila is a bisexual-themed reality dating show where 16 heterosexual males and 16 lesbian contestants compete for Tila's love.

The article is mainly about society’s fascination on personalities like Tila Tequila and Paris Hilton. These individuals are famous for reasons that are not of actual value to our society. Tila Tequila for example is famous for her appearance as Playboy’s Cyber Girl of the Week. Society has now given celebrities a false feeling of accomplishment (i.e. hailing Paris Hilton as in the same league as Marie Curie). Having some type of talent is no longer the perquisite to stardom because now anyone can become famous.

I choose this story because I found it absolutely shocking. I do not understand how and why this individual, Tila Tequila is famous. In my opinion, Tila Tequila serves no purpose other than a character that has an appealing smile. I have personally visited her MySpace, previewed her songs and in all honesty, do not think she can sing. She has no talent and her greatest achievement may be “she posed provocatively for Maxim” and yet miraculously holds the #1 position this week in MySpace’s Unsigned Top Artists. It is important to understand how mainstream society places value on celebrities that do not give anything back to it. Tila Tequila did not receive a Nobel Prize or find a great scientific discovery that would be beneficial to society and yet she is glorified for being what? A personality.

Is this really the direction that our society is following? Placing no talent individuals on pedestals and hailing them “Famous!” The downfall of western civilization will indeed be our ridiculous fascination on individuals that have done nothing of productivity to our society.

FAKE FEMA

This blog entry by Shelly Wood.

The story: "FEMA Meets the Press, Which Happens to Be . . . FEMA"

The analysis:

It is fairly well know that FEMA has a bad reputation because of their lack of efficiency during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. This past week’s fires in Southern California offered FEMA a chance to redeem themselves to the information hungry public. According to this article, FEMA had their reputation in mind when deputy administrator, Harvey E. Johnson, released their first press conference. They alerted reporters fifteen minutes prior to the briefing. This was not enough time for reporters to be present, so they had FEMA staff members act as reporters. The various Media outlets could obtain the briefing through a listen only 800 number. The real reporters were never given a chance to ask questions. The only questions answered came from within the organization. When this staging became known, Johnson claimed that they used the questions that reporters would have asked. It just seemed odd that legit reporters would steer the questions in a direction that allowed FEMA to portray themselves as efficient.

Hurricane Katrina made a mockery of FEMA. Their lack of efficiency was public discussion. This week’s fires were the first major natural disaster since the hurricane. FEMA deemed importance in looking good in the eyes of the public. Thus they staged their first press release to prevent uncomfortable questions that might make them look incompetent. Mass media has a reputation for releasing misleading information to benefit controlling political institutions. Yet this time, the various media outlets were not on their side. If FEMA really wanted to fool people, they should have done a better job of covering up their agenda. It was fairly obvious that the situation was staged, and the Media loved its opportunity to make FEMA look inadequate again. It follows the public’s expectations of FEMA.

Rather than discuss what FEMA has actually done to help in this disastrous situation, all current coverage pertains to this press conference incident. It makes for more interesting news than the relief they are actually providing. FEMA did this to themselves, yet they are also helping the media with more a more interesting story. The public is fairly uninterested in the assistance that has been provided. The staged news brief is what the public takes away from the incident. Furthermore, it lives up to the publics expectations, or lack there of, of FEMA.

DRESSING UP

This blog entry by Yutaka Iwakiri.

The story: "The Hottest Sexy Halloween Costumes for 2007"

The analysis:

I found this article at Yahoo Finance. The article is about Halloween costumes. It talks about how adults in greater numbers than ever before are choosing sexy over spooky costumes. In addition to that, it discusses how Halloween has become more and more of an adult holiday rather than just a holiday for kids as has been the tradition in the past. Why did this happen?
The reason why I chose this article is because simply that this is the Halloween season. Plus, when I read this article, I thought media and companies associate sexiness with Halloween costumes and deliberately manipulates consumers to make them buy more costumes.
These days, it is apparent that Halloween costumes, especially for women are very sexy. Not only are their costumes sexy, but also people started to accept that sexiness is a symbol of Halloween. Since I was born in and grew up in Japan, the first time I saw Halloween in Hollywood was a few years ago. I even thought that to wear sexy costumes is the norm of Halloween in general. However, it is not. Halloween is traditionally a holiday for kids. It is a special day for kids to wear spooky costumes such as witches or monsters and visiting houses to go trick or treating.
How does this transformation; spooky to sexy, occur? One of the reasons we can think of is the influence of advertisement. As we studied, advertisement, particularly the advertisement of women has been changing over the years. Today, women have more sexual liberty, and thus, media and advertising companies market more sexy images of Halloween costumes to make more sales. Anther perspective we can think of is sexual fantasy. According to the article, most costumes buyers are women buying sexy costumes, but also men have been getting more elaborate and sexy costumes as well. This means we can guess both men and women are buying those costumes not only for Halloween, but also for their entertainment.
I personally do not care if the Halloween is spooky or scary since I do not celebrate it anyway. However, to make Halloween too sexy might causes controversy related to sexual equality, increases the possibility of sexual assaults and also creates debate about what costumes are appropriate for children and teenagers.

UPCOMING READINGS, WEEKS 8-10

These readings cover material for the next three weeks of class:

• Starr and Waterman: "The Minstrel Show"
  
• Cullen: "Moving Images"
  
• Strinati: "Film Noir"

TV ON THE INTERNET

This blog entry by Annabelle Carino.

The story: " Network Starts to Offer TV on the Web"

The analysis:

The music industry lost a lot of money with the introduction of the Internet downloading and sharing. Now, the TV industry is afraid that soon consumers will also start relying on the Internet for their television fixes. Fewer and fewer people are watching television each year, 77% of viewers are opting to watch shows over the Internet instead of prime time. ABC, NBC, Fox and CW are offering full-length free on-demand episodes online with very minimal commercials. "Techies" have even come up with JOOST, where users can download shows and put it straight to their iPods. Viewers can now download their favorite show and not have to watch commercials.

I chose this story because it relates to a lot of us today. Because everyone now has access to the Internet and are so busy, instead of watching prime time TV they just wait until it comes out Online on the websites. I'm one of those people that has stopped watching TV on its regularly scheduled time. It's just more convenient for everyone's busy schedules now to watch shows Online. Also, because everyone is carrying around iPods that are capable of playing videos, they enjoy downloading their shows to take it with them to go.

It's important because it has to do with the power relationships between the consumers and the industries. The TV industries already saw what can happen when music downloaders use the Internet for music instead of going out to the record stores and buying CDs. TV industries are now trying to accommodate the growing fad that consumers are adopting to stay on top of the game. It goes to show that the consumers are the ones who hold the most power because the TV industries want to satisfy their audience so they'll stick around.

DUMBLEDORE WAS WHAT?

This blog entry by Jessica Nedjat-Haiem.

The story: " Dumbledore is gay, 'Harry Potter' author reveals"

The analysis:

As I opened up the yahoo page to check my mail, the first thing I saw was in bold writing, "Dumbeldore is gay 'Harry Potter' author reveals." I looked for the article later on and found it on the CNN website. The article stated that, after a short reading by the author done at Carnegie Hall, she then took questions from the audience. One of the questions was, does Dumbledore find "true love?" The author answered "Dumbledore is gay." The crowd was very shocked and the author went on to explain what direct quotes from the book were her intentions of showing the hint of his homosexuality and love interest of another character from the book.

I chose this story because it's so interesting to see sexuality where you would never even question it. For the people who have read the books, or at least watched the movies, who would even think about Dumbledore in a sexual manner? I personally have yet to read all of the books, but I did enjoy the first two that I have read and I'm getting through third as we speak. But, from my perspective and others (who I have asked from) that have read the whole series, no one really questioned the characters sexuality at all. I think this reveal of sexuality is very interesting for so many reasons and is also very important to popular culture. The fact is that in movies and popular culture in general, how often do we think about an older man and what their love interest might be? We question other younger characters or even characters in there older ages, but not much an old man (at least I don't). I had thought of Dumbeldore as an intelligent, nice, caring, asexual old man. A gross thought popped up into my head as I realized this fact that Dumbeldore was gay; is it possible that he was in love with Harry this whole time? Disgusting! The reason why I felt this thought relevant to this subject was because I think many people would assume or question any gay old man as being a younger boys' mentor as something suspicious.

For the most part I really like the fact that J.K. Rowling brought this subject up at all. I think it's important to not just make assumptions about everything and just go along with your immediate thought. When things like this come up and surprise you, it forces you to question things more often. It also forces me to look deeper into the messages that are being given out into popular culture. It makes me realize that older men are sexual people as well. They have certain love interests and their libido doesn't necessarily shut off as they get older. I also like the fact that the author brought this up because it's bringing up more unexpected homosexual characters into popular culture. People have a certain stereotype in their mind of what homosexuals look and act like. Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series certainly does not fit into that category.

LEBLANC AND BEST READINGS

I re-upped the LeBlanc reading and tried to DL it myself; should be no problems.

Here is the Amy Best article, "Cruising Slow and Low."

This reading is from both the Best and LeBlanc readings - the two selections focus on the research methods used by both authors.

MAN LAWS NO MORE

This blog entry by Greg Gonzales.

The story: "No More Man Laws"

The analysis:

After searching many articles, the article I finally chose is about a Miller Lite commercial. A while back Miller Lite released an ad campaign focusing on manly behavior, and listed a set of rules for men. These rules were pretty much guidelines on how to be a “real man”. Those rules were as follows; no man shall mute the t.v to answer his wife or girlfriend, no man shall garnish his beer with fruit, and finally no man shall put two rival beers in the same cooler. With that being said those were only a few of the laws voted on by men. When advertising their commercials they only used celebrities known for being “manly men” such as Burt Reynolds, Jimmy Johnson and Triple H from WWE. In these ads they discuss unacceptable manly behavior such as never wearing diamond earrings because they are a women’s best friend, and leaving your food or your seat for more than five minutes constitutes fair game for others.
In Byron Hurts documentary on hip-hop he discusses masculinity as one of the important social scripts. Being a manly man not only applies to hip-hop, but to most the male population as a whole. One of the rules was to never to garnish a beer with fruit. This was an obvious homophobic remark because drinking a fruity drink or even garnishing a manly beer with fruit is considered “totally gay”. I personally work in a restaurant and when I have a male order a pina colada or any fruity drink, I find myself wondering why they did not get a beer. Are they gay? Are they a wimp? These tend to be my initial thoughts. Then I start to wonder why I would even think such ridiculous nonsense. A guy orders a fruity drink and that’s considered a sign of weakness? Gender roles obviously start at a young age because from the minute I started drinking alcohol if you weren’t drinking beer or hard liquor you were considered a “pussy”.
I chose this article because I find it very interesting how corporate companies market their products to us. In this campaign it is obvious that they are attacking a male’s masculinity to sell a “manly beer”. “If you drink a fruity beverage then you might be considered a sissy, so show your strength and drink a Miller Lite”. That should be the perfect slogan for any beer company, wait …it already is!

DEATH OF THE FEMALE FILM?

This blog entry by Chimy Trinh.

The story: "Warner Bros. Responds to "No More Female Films" Rumors"

The analysis:

Browsing through entertainment news and gossip columns, I came across this very interesting story of outright gender discrimination committed by the Warner Brothers movie studio president of production Jeff Robinov on rottentomatoes.com. According to many movie/blog/gossip/etc. sites, Robinov declared "We are no longer doing movies with women in the lead". Well now, that created major controversy which in turn has Gloria Allred jumping on the horn screaming ‘Boycott!’ faster than Britney heading off to the Peninsula Hotel before dropping off her kids to K-Fed. Damage control ensued immediately by a publicist from Wanrer Bros. movie studios stating that this incident was a total fabrication. Sounds familiar, but why would someone make a serious allegation to damage the prestigious image of the Warner Bros. movie studio?

Well, for one thing, regardless of the statement being true or not, this issue is not uncommon, nor is it surprising to me. First of all, after the Gina Marchetti’s reader and watching Byron Hurt’s “Beyond Beats and Rhythms” the entertainment industry does not look like it is going to do a paradigm shift anytime soon. There are major proponents to keep acts of misogyny on the screen, in the music, in advertisements and other avenues of society. As for movies with female lead roles, I enjoyed most movies with a female lead (minus Pam Anderson’s Barbwire). For instance, many video gamers can recall female-lead roles such as Resident Evil and Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider as successful video game to movie translation with the roles fitting snug like a toasty sweater out of a Whirlpool dryer. Although these examples are not produced by the Warner Bros. movie studios, the movies were successful.

The main reason for Robinov to make the alleged comment was three female led action films bombed at the box office. Those movies were “The Invasion” starring Nicole Kidman, “The Brave One” starring Jodie Foster, and “The Reaping” starring Hilary Swank, all released within this year. He said he is giving the green light to many female led roles in upcoming projects such as Cameron Diaz, but we will have to wait to see what type of movie it will be. Although Robinov has dispute charges of him being misogynistic toward female led movie roles, in my opinion his intentions are still there, which is to not use female leads in action movies. I guess Robinov’s rationale of the situation is that many women (if not all in his case) cannot carry such a role for such a “macho” genre, more or less look good brandishing a gun while talking tough, and above all, bringing in the big bucks which an audience of overwhelming majority of males invest their money to watch this movie genre. Overall, if Robinov does not plan on using females in action flicks in the future, which I might think he will do, or at least have sparing use for, this decision would continue to put females in objective roles as the love interest, the damsel in distress, and no higher than sidekick status in action-adventure movies. Bottom line, it could be looked at as a profit issue or male insecurity. I think Robinov is just pissed he could not look that good on screen like the females mentioned above.

BRITNEY'S BLUES

This blog entry by Monica D’Onofrio.

The story: "Losing kids may be just what Britney wanted"

The analysis:

I found this article on MSNBC. It is about Britney Spears and the judges decision about having custody of her kids. From this article we come to find out that Britney Spears loses her two children to Kevin Federline. The article begins to say that she got what she deserved and possibly exactly what she wanted. The article exposes a few of her faults, for example, keeping her children out past ten o’clock p.m. and not showing up for parenting classes and drug counseling. The article suggests that Spears believed that she was above the law just because she is a celebrity and felt that she could do what ever she wants. Also, it suggests that she is absolutely, without a doubt an unfit parent, without an ounce of common sense. The article depicts her as being immature and not ready to be a mother and blames Britney Spears’ family and friends for not helping her.

What I think is astonishing is the sole fact that this article is even on MSNBC.com and that there are people out there that actually want to read about this junk; obviously it is up there for a reason. The story in my opinion is garbage and I believe that this article is merely a distraction to all that read it. It is extremely depressing to see this on, not only the internet but on every news broadcast from early in the morning until late at night ; lets not forget magazines. There is a demand for this and with this demand these types of situations involving Britney Spears are gaining more and more recognition and has made its way as a reoccurring, popular theme in on our televisions, computers, and magazines.

Also, what I find interesting is the fact that the writer of the article tries to give advice about what Britney Spears should and should not do and makes her look like she’s the worst kind of mother out there. In reality there are mothers and fathers out there raping, beating and neglecting their children. These things are far worse things to do to your children then anything Spears has done to her own. It might be just a slight bit more productive to shed light on those types of parents then on a celebrity that has the right to choose whether she wants her kids up past ten o’clock. Yes, I know she had a drug problem, that was all over the news as well, but she went to rehab for that and she did get better. I don’t see her as a big threat to her children, for all I care she can keep her kids up until one o’clock in the morning. People need to learn how to avoid articles like this and become distracted with more important things.

STUCK IN RUSH HOUR?

This blog entry by Nelson Nailat.

The story: "Jackie Chan No Fan of 'Rush Hour' Series"

The analysis:

In this news article, the martial arts professional and movie star director/actor, Jackie Chan, criticizes his most successfully acclaimed American box office movie trilogy, Rush Hour, to be a disappointment as he disagrees with the directing of the action scenes and comedy of the movie, deeming it to be too "Americanized" as well as badly fluffed with "American humor."  It is said that Chan was persuaded to make and act the first sequel to Rush Hour due to the fact that he was being offered an "irresistible" amount of money, while the third film was made to satisfy Rush Hour movie fans.  Even though Rush Hour and several other American-made movies helped Jackie Chan gain recognition over American audiences, he could not help to admit he personal opinion of how he felt of the particular series.

I chose this article because it shows that even an artist, such as Jackie Chan, whom is skilled in different martial art styles, can create and choreograph his combative work and be able to honestly opinionate his achievements even when his opinion is different amongst his fans.  In this case scenario, it is the masses that are in control of "popular culture" as they praise Chan's work on his three films while Chan deliberately serves the masses with further sequels of action and entertainment. If Rush Hour was not as popular as it is in the states, then the producers would not have offered as much money as they had and Chan would not have acted or choreographed in the sequels. It is possible that if Jackie Chan was passionate of the Rush Hour series, he would have made it into the film he would have wanted it to be, however the biggest factor to achieving such a goal relies heavily on the director. The fact that Jackie Chan cannot direct a movie that he stars in reinforces the fact that “art is a collective action.”

Jackie Chan has been known for directing and starring in his action-packed films; however, this does not go without mentioning that he stars in other director films as well. The fact that Chan does not have control of a movie’s plot, motive or direction reinforces the fact that “art is a collective action.” Making a movie can be timely completed when it is comprised of people who divide the labor of producing art with different jobs that reach the same objective. In Jackie Chan’s position, he contributes to the film as the actor that follows the director’s intentions. When the movie is completed and released to wide audiences, his acting skills and talent is reflected upon the viewers’ opinion, which may either harm or praise the skillful actor’s image. However, Chan’s acting skills are not the only factor to his reputation. The movie’s plot, produced by the director, writers and other staff members, is a critical factor as it provides an essential storyline to the movie’s theme. Even though the movie’s plot and theme may appeal to various audiences, it does not conclude that the actor will support the movie’s accomplishment due to various factors such as an actor’s goal and or opinion.

WHAT PRICE FOR MUSIC?

This blog entry by Stephen Horn.

The story: "Radiohead generation believes music is free"

The analysis:

I found a link to this article on google news and I wanted to share this story with the class because I found it fascinating. I’m already a huge Radiohead fan, but the fact that they are standing up to the music industry, made the choice for this article a no-brainer for me. The article is about a recent decision of the U.K. band Radiohead to release their upcoming album in rainbows as a free media download. The band decided that the consumer should set the price of the album, and the band directly receives all the proceeds. Some have decided to pay full price, others just a few pence, but they do allow for option of nothing to be paid in order to receive the download. The album can be preordered at www.radiohead.com, with the release date of October 10th 2007.

Radiohead broke off from their record label attachments in 2005 and decided at that point that they could do it better, make more money, and make the music the way they want to. Not mention that they could rest easy knowing that they would no longer be feeding the industry that has dictated the music industry for far too long. Furthermore, without a recording label to answer to, the band is free to produce whatever kind of content they want to directly to the public, without having to be censored or filtered by a record label that is out to make a profit not music.

I thought that this article would go well with our in class discussion on the “Pop Culture Structure”, being that Radiohead is attempting to find a simpler and more direct path to their audience. It will be interesting to see in the next few weeks the full ramifications of these actions to see how all this will shape the industry. This decision to cut out the middleman hopefully will cause the industry to wake up and smell the 21st century and maybe even cause other bands to follow the example that Radiohead has made for them.

ART OR PORN?

This blog entry by Alissa Puccio.

The story: "Art or Porn? Elton John's Photos Seized"

The analysis:

The article I found was from ABC News involving Elton John and a legendary artist. According to reports Elton John defending a sexually explicit artwork created by photographer Nan Goldin that people are describing as pornographic. The photograph was seized from the gallery by British authorities after receiving a complaint about the photograph. The picture named “Klara and Edda Belly Dancing” depicts two young girls, one of whom is lying down with her legs spread open. The New York artist is well known for her sexually provocative and explicit work usually involving family, friends and children. Legal observers in the United States say that while the courts have tried to limit protection of artistic photographs or moving pictures featuring nude children or sexually explicit images of young people, prosecutions have been infrequent. John has been collecting photography since the early 1990s and is considered to own the largest private collection of 20th century photography. Nan Goldin is a friend of John's and the British singer has patronized her work for many years.

I chose this article because I feel that the only reason there is such a controversy about this photograph and it is discussed in the news because Elton John is publicly commenting on his disapproval of the removal of the piece of work. However, I do agree with Elton John in the fact that this photographer’s work has been published all over for years with no questions asked and with one complaint, British authorities cause a scene and seize the photograph. I feel that if it was any ordinary person fighting for this artist’s right, nothing would be published in the news. But since it is someone famous defending Goldin, everyone wants to hear his opinion. This article clearly shows how much celebrities influence the media. Famous celebrities like Elton John control what the media does and does not publish. I feel that this article is rather unimportant and uninteresting to have been put in ABC News as a headline, but because Elton John wants to publicly announce his feelings on the matter, it becomes an important matter.

A REVERSE GLASS CEILING?

This blog entry by Becky Brubacker.

The story: "Does the reverse glass ceiling exist?"

The analysis:

I found this article on msn.com. It poses the question of a ‘Reverse Glass Ceiling.’ The ‘Glass Ceiling’ is a term used to describe the many barriers women must face when entering the workforce. Especially in male dominated fields, such as finance or law. This article asks if there is such a thing for men who enter women dominated fields such as nursing or marketing. As time goes on, more and more men are taking an interest in these fields. A couple reasons were given. Now that most families are dual-income, men no longer have to have a job based solely on how much money it can provide for them. They can find something they have a passion for, and enjoy it, even if it pays a little less than a typical ‘male’ job. And, men want to have a career in which they can have plenty of free time to spend with their families. Fields that tend to be women-dominated allow for that a lot more.

I thought this article was a perfect one to write about for this class given our recent discussion on women and advertising. We talked a lot about gender stereotypes and assumptions, and how times have changed for women throughout the decades. This article shows just how much times have changed. Women are out in the workplace, and there is always the question of how hard it is for them to succeed. But they have succeeded so much, especially in certain fields, that now we must ask the question of how hard it is for men to succeed. You often hear so much about how women hit these barriers in the workplace because of the fact that they are female. Now discrimination against men based on the fact that they are male is becoming an issue. An example was given of a male travel agent who said he feels he doesn’t get proper respect and recognition, and there is a definite ‘girls club’ that is hard to break through.

It is also just interesting to think about why certain fields mentioned tend to male dominated versus female dominated. An argument was made in the article that public relations is a very social and nurturing field, and that is why it is occupied more by women. The same can be said for nursing. While finance, for example, uses more logic and numbers, and that is associated more with the strengths of males. With these gender stereotypes, its no wonder men and women can encounter a ‘Glass Ceiling’ when trying to succeed in a field not typically thought of for them. People already have the assumption that they do not belong there. Women are scrutinized for trying to act like a man, while a man’s masculinity can be called into question. Those are hard issues to face for both genders. It would be amazing if people could just do what they had a passion for, and a ‘Glass Ceiling’ would be non-existent.

THE POLITICS OF CENSORSHIP

This blog entry by Alicia Lua.

The story: "Is Clinton's candidacy blocking 'Path to 9/11'?"

The analysis:

I chose this article from LA times because probably the most obvious example of intolerance in our society today is the existence of censorship, and this is a clear example of how people in power can control what citizens may see. Under this circumstance, The Clintons’ wanted to protect their reputation because this series shows the Clinton Administrations failure to capture Osama Bin Laden and some facts surrounding the attacks themselves. So this situation can be a dangerous precedent for them. Especially now , when Hillary Clinton is fighting for the 2008 presidency.

I have a strong belief that this article shows the ways in which people in power have the authority to decide what people should see, and do not agree with them because every citizen has the right to choose what they want to see or hear, no matter the context of the subject. Another aspect in which censorship is unfair and selfish deals with our rights and the First Amendment which give the right to express ideas, there is also a right to receive them. So under, this circumstance, we have the right to see or choose any serie or DVD we want to if we do not like the content, that does not mean we have to force others not to read it.

With this article, we can see how people in power (The Clintons’) want to create an illusion, that the world is perfect and that there are not any problems. Moreover, every human citizen wants to know everything about our society and then society should be given the chance to know the real situation and decide what to do based on reality and not on its beautiful mask. Thus the general opinion that lack of censorship means ignorance and carelessness about the well being and morality of people contradicts with the results of the careless and ignorant way by which some topics are defined as taboos and are avoided. Censorship is a made up and ignorant. Most of the time, people pretend that problems do not exist. This is done so that the society’s feeling of security is not disturbed. However, sooner or later, the difficulties emerge in one form or other and cause even bigger crisis. As we can see with the problem The Clintons’ are facing when they are trying to block “The Path of 911.”

It is my desire to persuade people that some censorship is not right. Evidently it seems the government has evaded the subject that has occurred. In order to change this idea of censorship, it will take a strong, loud voice of unanimity to bring censorship down and let freedom of expression to reign untarnished.

NAKED MORTENSEN

This blog entry by Brian Mendoza.

The story: "Viggo Mortensen gets nude for Eastern Promises fight scene."

The analysis:

Currently, most movie critics are giving praise to director David Cronenberg’s film, Eastern Promises. Released last Friday, the film has already become notorious for its “realistic-violence.” But what the film is even more notorious for is a 4 minute naked fight scene acted out by Viggo Mortensen. After viewing the film--which I thought was the best film of the year—I began reading articles and reviews to see what other people were saying. Sure enough, most of them (such as the link attached) had to mention the nakedness of Viggo. The news article attached gives Viggo’s insight on the scene, how women have been waiting to “strip” him down, and his background.

What I think is relevant, however, is not Viggo’s insight on the film, but how much the popular media is selling the 4 minute scene as if that is the only reason to see the film. Moreover, I think many people will indeed follow these instructions. And if people do follow these instructions then we do have proof that popular media, which connects our culture, has an influence on what we decide to do.

The fact that Naomi Watts says this scene will be remembered gives one much to ponder about. If people do indeed see this film because of a naked man and it sells well, then I am sure Adorno would agree with the strong possibility that such a scene will become standardized in mainstream rated R movies. Hollywood already plays with our sexuality by starring good-looking women and men in the movies, but director Cronenberg goes one step further (although I do not think the scene it is a deliberate intention to persuade sexuality).

Another thing to consider in relation to the article is the fact that the scene and attention is given to a man. After all the medias attention only reinforces that it is ok for a man to be fighting naked, but I am sure that the news would be more outraged if it was preformed by a woman. Even though sex and the media usually focus on women, only a man could fight off intruders naked. Thus, gender roles are prescribed. The man should be macho while the woman is passive. Full nakedness is ok for a man but a woman needs to have some sort of cover up (even if it does not cover much). One can see it is merely the subjects discussed by pop culture mediums which can guide behavior. They need only to refer to sex and we get ideas which we then try to guide.

THE HIP-HOP SHOWDOWN

This blog entry by Tina Perez.

The story: "Kanye West's Sales Triumph, By The Numbers"

The analysis:

The battle between Kanye West and 50 Cent is still going on and they are even getting out of hand with each. Both of the artist are saying things about one other just because they are getting ready to sell the album. Their albums „Graduation‰ by Kanye West and „Curtis‰ by 50 Cent were the most bought cd‚s this month . The Graduation sold about 800,000 world wide and Curtis sold about 600,000which basically saying that Kanye did better on his album than 50 Cent. The big battle was that they were both going to release their album on the same day which meant they were battling for the best seller or to top the rank of the most sold. 50 Cent even said that he would stop rapping if Kanye sold more then him but he later on change what he said. Even before the album was going to get release these artist were out campaigning getting people to buy there album.


Jay Z who is the ceo of Def Jam recording made a comment saying „it‚s a good sign that heartful,sincere and honest music can do these types of numbers‰(Jayson ,Rodriguez).What are they trying to say that 50 cent music is ghetto and bad for the consumer to listen to. Both of these artists come from different background like Kanye went to college were 50 cent was struggle to survive the street of Queens New York. At one point 50 cent was having a temper tantrums attack because people in the industries found out about his video „Follow My Lead‰ and that made him upset. People were finding out information that he did not want them to know.

My attracted to this article was I like both of these artist and I enjoy their music but am confused why they are fighting with each other. I love to listen to 50 cent because of his lyric‚s and what he trying to tell us about growing in a hard life. It help understand how he see the world and what it did to him. Knaye music is so different from 50 cent his lyric‚s are way different not so much violence in them. I really can not relate to the words he saying but I enjoy the beats of them. In my eyes I think when two artist like 50 cent and Kanye West fight all it does is bring attention to them and the consumer want more. All the fight does is make more money for them and the record label. Just like when 2pac and Biggie small were fighting 2pac said it help them bring more money to them. I think that why every artist fight once in their life with other artist. If you think about the consumer will follow every story on these artist if they like them. I wonder if these artist plan to fight with each other to make that money. The point that am trying to make is that the consumer is helping them make that money.

BECKER AND GLADWELL READINGS

These are the two readings for week 5:
Howard Becker: Art as Collective Action
Malcolm Gladwell: Rumors, Sneakers and the Power of Translation

KELLEY AND LEBLANC READINGS

These are the readings for next Thursday and the Tuesday after that, respectively:

Robin Kelley: Kickin' Ballistics, Kickin' Reality

Lauraine LeBlanc: "I'll Put On My Lipstick Then Kick Their Ass."

CURRENT READINGS

For some reason, the documents I uploaded to E-Reserves (and which were approved) are not showing up in the system.

For the sake of making things simpler, I'll upload documents to both there and here so you will always be able to find them here.

Adorno: On Popular Music

Henslin: On Becoming Male

Sivulka: Targeting Women

ADORNO READING

The reading for next Tuesday, Adorno's "On Popular Music" is available through the Erserves system for the class. The password is "soc490".

Questions to keep in mind:

1) What does Adorno think is the relationship b/t the culture industry and the consumer?

2) What do you think he gets "right" and what he gets "wrong"?

3) How can Adorno's ideas apply to contemporary times, more than half a century later?