Blog Post 7

There are many important sociological concepts that aid us in conducting a sociological analysis on the media. Bureaucracy refers to a collection of more or less anonymous people who follow fixed rules and routines in running organizations and it is typically characterized by a hierarchy of authority, impersonal handling of problems, and a great deal of red tape. Max Weber concluded that as society evolves and becomes more complex, it moves from being led by charismatic individuals to being led by politicians and bureaucrats in what he described as a "rational-legal system" with its by-products being depersonalization. Social roles are formed by the behavior in which people learn relating to expectations of others have on them in specific situations, leaving each individual's social roles to be determined, in part, by his/her place in society. Alienation refers to a feeling of estrangement and separation from others in which the person who is under this condition is like a stranger or alien with no connections to the rest of society. Anomie, deriving from the Greek word nomos (norms), refers to the behavior of a group of people who have no respect to the laws of society,whether they are alienated or not (ex. a group of thieves). The concept of social class refers to a group of people who hold something in common, particularly, according to a sociological context, in terms of socioeconomic class (a person's class level or place within the hierarchy of classes in society). W. Lloyd Warner suggests that there exist six classes in American society, including the lower-lower, upper-lower, lower-middle, upper-middle, lower-upper, and upper-upper classes. Functionalism is a concept in which anything functional contributes to the maintenance and stability of whatever entity it is a a part of, whether it is manifest or latent in nature. Marginalization is the process of individuals and groups with hold values and beliefs that differ from the norm in societies being delegitimated and given secondary status, which may involve being ignored, persecuted, or both. The ideas of mass communication and mass media refer to the use of mass media (ex. Newspapers, the internet, film, television) as a means to communicate to large numbers peoples with sociologists developing numerous models to explain how it functions in society. Communication researchers debate over whether the mass media are weak or powerful and what effects they have on the lives of individuals and on society as a whole. Postmodernism is a term that has held a profound effect on American culture and society and has played a major role in shaping its consciousness while representing the latest stage of capitalism, as stated by Fredric Jameson from Duke University. Sex and gender, being important concepts when linked to roles and some of the other concepts, indicate that the mass media is sexist and has consistently assigned women to destructive roles. Socialization is the process by which people are taught about the rules, roles, and values of their society, which may be sen as a kind of indoctrination done formally through institutions such as the family, school system, and church and informally through the use of the media. What is significant about informal socialization is that people are generally unable to to recognize that they are being taught or "programmed" what roles to play and how to play them, what values to espouse, what attitudes to have, what goals they should strive for, and so on. A person can be pressured into doing what they are expected to do either by force or internalize the rules to them.  Status refers to the position a person has in some group or organization and the prestige attached to that position. It is thus associated with a person's role and is a powerful force used to control people in subtle ways. Those who have certain occupations hold great success where as those with "lesser" jobs hold little status. Stereotypes, as defined in Key Concepts in Communication and Cultural Studies, is a social classification of particular groups of people as often highly simplified and generalized signs, which implicitly or explicitly represent a set of values, judgements, and assumptions concerning their behavior, characteristics, or history. Regardless if they are positive, negative, or mixed, no matter what form they take, they are oversimplifications that minimize individual differences and tend to be destructive.

Miss Representation

According to the documentary titled Miss Representation, the media of today is using stereotypes of women on advertisements, movies, magazines, television shows, and posters while pressuring the female population to worry about their looks. Such thinking has caused women to become less likely to vote and less likely to run for a political office within America, despite attempts by feminist movements to push forth changes within the country. It is also clear that women comprise only about 17% of Congress, despite 51% of the American population being female. Since people learn more from the media than from any other source of information, the country is producing a generation that politically and socially influenced by the media's gender-based stereotypes which cause women to become obsessed with their appearances and sometimes cause them to become depressed. Indeed, the documentary seeks to express its protest against the exploitive behavior of the media towards women while seeking to have women treated as equals instead of second class citizens. The influence from the media has also make people believe that a female president would only humiliate and injure the country and its reputation, which ultimately leads to smack talking towards ambitious female candidates like Hillary Clinton in terms of how they were dressed rather than hear their message. America is a patriarchal society that is predominately Protestant and it has been throughout its history, especially when it comes with the 1950's, when women were expected to remain in the house and do the work for their husbands. Being a 21st century capitalist democracy, the United States must rid itself of outdated, Babylonian-styled behavior and give women the respect their deserve as equals rather than continuously treating them as if they are nothing more but mere living objects brought into existence only for the lustful desires of perverted men.

Blog Post 5

After attending class during a lecture covering over psychoanalytic criticism, which is rooted in the studies of Sigmund Freud, the supposed father of psychoanalytic thinking, I have learned that it involves taking the various aspects of an individual's relationship between the conscious and unconscious mind into consideration, primarily focusing on the three entities known as the id, ego, and superego. The id usually serves as the source of an individual's desires, needs, wants, and impulses, particularly those influenced by sexual and aggressive drives. The superego serves as the opposite of the id while functioning as a standard for what is moral and socially acceptable as well as the source of ideal aspirations. The ego exists as the line of mediation between the other two entities, balancing the two extremes within the psyche of the individual. Each entity, being extremely complicated, can lead a person to subconsciously act out while he/she is unaware of the actions in which he/she puts in effect. They are both used as part of Freud's structural hypothesis about mental functioning, which can be used as a means of understanding texts, especially by categorizing a character as an id, ego, or superego figure. The famous Carl Jung, the most important psychoanalytic theorist after Freud, elaborated a number of concepts that have led to numerous ways of aiding people as well as ways of analyzing texts. According to Jung, for example, the concept of the archetype is a universal theme that can be found within dreams, myths, religions, and works of art, independent of the personal unconsciousness of individuals. Another concept built by Jung concerns with the duality formed between the anima, the female element found in all males, and the animus, the male element found in all females, that is symbolized in hermaphrodites, witches, priestesses, medicine men, and shamans. Jungian thinkers state that while the anima's most frequent manifestation is in the crude, primitive form of erotic fantasy, it does have a positive side that enables men to do such things as find the right marriage partner and explore their inner values, leading them to more profound insights into their own psyches. Functioning in the same way for women, the animus is formed by the father of each woman that can lead to coldness, obstinacy, and hypercritical behavior. Conversely, however, it can also help a woman to develop inner strength, to take an enterprising approach to life, and to relate to men in positive ways.

Blog Post #4

Marxism, named after the infamous Karl Marx, is a concept that concerns itself with the notion that material conditions and economic practices shape the dominant ideology about who ought to have power. Taking on a Marxist point-of-view on the media would mean to expose how popular culture texts reinforce the status quo power structures so as to have the masses perceive them as normal and based on common sense. One way in critiquing a piece of media through a Marxist analysis involves the question of "who is in charge". This leads us, under the light of materialism, to the idea of the base (economic system) and the superstructure (institutions and values of a society), in which Marxism both emphasizes and criticizes the two and are both linked to each other through the media. In Marxist terms, ideology is a concept that refers to the collective beliefs, attitudes, and values of a certain people from small groups, tribes, and small communities to an audience or an entire nation. One of the major concepts of Marxism involves placing each person into one of four main ideology groups: hierarchal elitist, competitive individualist, fatalist, and egalitarian. The hierarchal elitist (ex. Zachary Comstock from Bioshock Infinite) is one who believes in stratification and in the responsibility of those of the top to rule over the masses. The competitive individualist maintains interest in one's self and desires the freedom to compete fairly and be protected by the government. The egalitarian (ex. the Amish) detest social differences between people as unnatural stress that people are equal in terms of their needs. The fatalists (ex. Calvinism) believe only in luck and opt out of the political system. With the use of the grip-group theory made by Aaron Wildavsky, one can see that group boundaries in elitists and egalitarians are strong whereas those in individualists and fatalists tend to be weak. The number and kinds of prescriptions in elitists and fatalists are numerous and varied while the number and kinds of prescriptions in individualists and egalitarians tend to be few. Then there is the concept of hegemony, which is the privileging of a dominant group's ideology over all other groups. According to Marxism, it comes in the form of class struggle, which divides society into the empowering, wealthy Bourgeoise and the more populous Proletariat, who are the working class. Due to a wealth gap and differences in terms of status between them, Marxism contends that the Bourgeoise exploits the Proletariat as the "ruling class" and engage in deception in order to manipulate the masses and prevent any conflict to preserve the status quo. It also suggests that an empowered group would use the media to spread false consciousness as a means of leading people into thinking, whatever it is, is right while perceiving challenges against it as abnormal, undesirable, and wrong (ex. Gay Rights, Women's Rights, obesity). People who use a Marxist analysis evaluate the message offered by the media in terms of potential implications it may have on individuals or society, one example being Will and Grace showing gay couples as normal people instead of mere stereotypes, which therefore inspire the Gay Rights movement. Another example is when one sees violence in a movie or TV show, he/she would rarely see the implications after people are killed such as family members mourning. However, much debate over using Marxist criticism to analyze the world exists and it is clear that such an approach would create a dangerous polarization of perception, which would then cause social disunity and discrimination.

Marxism Blog Post 3

When I have began reading the chapter concerning Marxist analysis, I have been consuming the media, whether be from the news, internet, or newspaper, as a conscious reader rather than a passive member of the audience. According to Marxism, the media is designed to spread and propagate the illusions sent unto the minds of the masses by the so-called ruling class as a means of justifying exploitation and victimization. Clearly, I have seen the 1990's show titled Freaks and Geeks, which features Sam, who is portrayed as a fatalist, Lindsey, who is the older sister who ends up joining a group of teens who throw eggs, bash down mail boxes with bats, and smash pumpkins for entertainment, and their mother, who happens to be the traditionalist with a sense of hierarchical elitism and temporarily acted as a fatalist when people in her neighborhood are given this ideology about unwrapped cookies having razor blades inside them. Of course, one can at least consider the fear of dangerous items being hidden within Halloween cookies as a form of false consciousness. According to Marxism, there is also the concept of alienation, in which Sam and his friends, whether they know it or not, are targeted as being outcasts in the social hierarchy. To be honest, I am uncomfortable with this week's conversation, as it is clear to me that whenever I hear the word "Marxism", it reminds me too much of the far-left, totalitarian ideology of communism, which was practiced within the Soviet Union, Cuba, Mao's China, and North Korea. Indeed, even the idea of power in Marxist terms, as depicted by a typical stereotype of high school athletes being at the top and the nerds and freaks being at the bottom, tends to be a ridiculous conception that might as well convince people into fearing the idea that it would encourage and agitate the envious "outcasts" into forming an uprising. As opposed to the symbolism of semiotics that I have enjoyed for the past weeks, especially how it is helpful in finding indexes and icons within every show like South Park, I do seem to be showing criticism for the Marxist analysis of the media and I personally felt better when I looked over advertisements and the symbols and signifiers that offered me an interesting way of looking over popular culture as opposed to Marxism. Although, I do admit that it allows me to place characters into certain archetypes as a means of understanding their progression, but nevertheless, I do not like hearing or saying the word Marxism.

Sherlock Holmes

The television series titled Sherlock is a British television series based off of Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional character Sherlock Holmes, who is the central character of the show and works alongside his cautious, subdued partner, John Watson, bringing the audience into a 21st century version portrayed in the first episode titled A Study in Pink, based off of the first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet. The episode takes place in London where the two protagonists investigate the deaths of four individuals, which the rest of society believes to be the result of suicide, although it is later revealed to be the work of a murderous taxi driver.

Signifiers are shown in the episode to depict the nature of the characters in the episode. For example, the dreams that show soldiers in the middle of the desert while fighting against an enemy force in Afghanistan indicates that John Watson is a soldier who has returned to London while suffering from post dramatic stress disorder, which is why he talks to a therapist at the start of the episode. His handgun can also be a sign of his involvement in the military as well. The episode then shows Sherlock Holmes taking his nicotine patches on his arm, which signifies a tribute to the Sherlock pipe used in the novel. His profession as a detective can be signified by his overcoat and his scarf signifying the usual fashion trend in London, especially since it is situated in a cool environment within Britain. The syntagmatic analysis of the episode indicates that the hero happens to be Sherlock, who obtained the suitcase once owned by a victim of the murderer as his object for investigation but when he returns to his room at 221 Baker Street, he finds it under a drug bust by the police led by Lestrade, who makes unfounded claims and accusations on Sherlock. He later comes to a struggle with the cabbie, who is the villain of the episode with a sinister, manipulative nature and had murdered his wife after being told about three years ago that he was dying. John Watson serves as the helper of the hero in the situation and as proof fired his gun at the cabbie from a distance to save Sherlock from the temptation of taking the pill. The cabbie also gives out unfounded claims when he states that he simply talked to his victims and that they killed themselves.

The paradigmatic relationship between the two protagonists is that Sherlock is eccentric, logical, talented, and is a show off by nature while Watson tends to be cautious, polite, and willing to do what he needs to do. There is also a paradigmatic relationship between Sherlock and the cabbie, with one being a man of truth, evidence, and logic and the other being a man of murder and deception. The episode has a few metaphors within it including the room being a metaphor of Sherlock's mind, London as a city of mystery and elusiveness, and the fact that Watson slowly finds Sherlock being more interesting than what others claim. The cane in which Watson held at the beginning is a synecdoche that represents an outside expression of his emotional weakness. The audience can see cell phones that resemble each other, making them icons in the episode. The pills also serve as icons, as they are seen during the deaths of the four victims and Sherlock's confrontation with the cabbie. When needed, the music and camera techniques change to increase tension, allude to future events, or conceal certain aspects from the audience so as to gain their attention, one example being the scene of the victims being shown in close-up angles that focus on emotion in order to stress the intimacy of the event, as well as its detrimental value to the audience. As for the index, the word "Rache" (German for "revenge") that was written by one of the victims in her dying moments was actually an attempt to write the word "Rachel", which is soon revealed to be a password. Another icon is the number 71126, which is a driver's number given to the cabbie.

Symbolism is one of the most noticeable elements of the episode with the most important of the symbols being the pills, which represent death, and the cabbie's game, which represents the struggle between life and death. The show and its ability to create excitement, suspense, and tension makes it much similar to other popular mystery genres including Bones and Dexter, a show about a man who kills murderers and investigates their crimes while having an eccentric lifestyle himself. Codes in the episode include the name "Rachel", the cues of the music that produce emotional tension, and the sense of duplicity within the investigation.

In conclusion, the show brilliantly uses metaphors, symbolism, and other elements that capture the audience and introduce them into a world of crime, investigation, and excitement while introducing them to the changing relationship between Sherlock and Watson.

Blog Post #1

Using the technique of semiotic analysis, the first eye-catching aesthetic that is attracting the viewer's attention is the iPhone 6 with a digitally enhanced projection of a pink-colored flower within the screen.  The desire of an individual to obtain the latest version of the product is associated with the concept that cultural codes promote technological progress (as in continuity) and gives a sense of catching up with the rest of society, hence driving the individual to obtain that end. It is larger in size than the previous iPhone version with a smooth metal surface that meets seamlessly with the new Retina HD display, giving out a state of form in which hardware and software function in flawless unison that creates a new generation of iPhone that is "better by any measure." With only the words "bigger than bigger" below its name, it points out that while it may have the same capabilities as the previous iPhone, the iPhone 6 is nevertheless more larger and has higher definition in terms of the quality it provides to the viewer when the device is used to show videos, record moments, or take pictures, creating a big step for the Apple company since the very first iPhone was introduced. Thus, it is an example of Vladimir Propp's theory of diachronic analysis, which presents how the product, from the first iPhone, has evolved and progressed over the years, as well as an example of Bakhtin's Dialogical theory, suggesting that it alludes both previous and future advertisements that have and still continue to undergo heavy post-production before it can be presented to the public.

In conclusion, the message of the iPhone 6 ad depicted above is to introduce a product that signifies the technological prowess and innovation of humanity's cultural evolution through the effective economic system of capitalism. Indeed, history has proven that since the Neolithic era, the desire to advance through competition against rival nations/companies/tribes and trade between different groups with unique ideas leads into the tools of innovation that are essential to the survival of an entire civilization and the iPhone 6, among the latest of recent accomplishments in technological progress, serves as a good example of that ancient fact.