Blog post 7 - discussion topic #6

6. How should one define gender? Is gender natural, or is it socially constructed, and if it is socially constructed, does that mean gender is anything someone wants it to be?

Gender, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is defined as, “the state of being male or female” but I think the definition of gender carries different weights for different people. There is not a uniform translation of gender and it meaning and there will always be the displeased individuals claiming something is not fare. Bummer for them. Some might prefer the word gender to have only a scientific meaning and to not carry any social or societal weight. These people might be referred to as feminists whose goal is to create equality among genders. If you ask me, creating this equality erases dimension from human beings as God intended. Gender does place you in society and I mean that without any negative connotations attached. I think woman hold more power than we give ourselves credit for. Sometimes woman are so busy trying to prove that they can do all the things men can do that the advantages we hold over men are forgotten. Take the “gratification of experiencing the beautiful” as an example. It is from our text, it reads, “To experience the beautiful - we give high status to beautiful music, beautiful works of art, and people who are physically attractive- in particular, beautiful women. What is beautiful is another matter, however, and definitions of beauty change over time”. So there you have it- women are far more associated with the word beauty. And beauty, of the mind or physically, is powerful. We give it high status in society and we idolize it socially. With that power comes the responsibility to carry beauty gracefully and in a way that empowers younger generations to have confidence. I’m not the anti-feminist my opinion is just more traditional; I do respect the importance of confidence for any gender. I don’t, however, want the word gender to be a neutral term. Your gender will always define you as a human.

Blog Post 6

      In the documentary we watched in class, called Miss Representation, it was said that “people learn more from media than from any other way” so I can see why exploitation and under-representation of women in the media should be observed and addressed. Today’s generation of kids live on facebook, email and cellphones so today’s generation of adults has to make changes and additions to how to teach the importance of having the right kind of confidence and intelligence regarding media.

     One part in the documentary stuck out to me because I really did not agree. The women in the video where attempting to argue that the treatment of women in the media is unequal and, well, misrepresented. For example, at the request for another/more channels directed at women the response was that Lifetime already existed and that it was enough. One of the ladies in the documentary comment that there were 22 ESPN channels- point being that it isn’t equal. However, I watch ESPN more than I watch Lifetime. I think it’s wrong that she assumed that since it was sports that only males watch it when what she’s fighting for is equal treatment. I know I am no the only female that enjoys watching sports and I also enjoy watching those strong female athletes. I look up to them and I hope younger generations do that same. So I think they were stepping on their own toes making comments like those. If what they’re looking for it so be equal then they shouldn’t separate themselves from sports like that. Women in sports have just as much of not more power when it comes to the influence of young adults and kids. I feel they need to be respected instead of assuming it is only a male entertainment and activity.

Psychoanalytical Theory

Psychoanalytical theory has to do with the laws of metal functioning. It is the science behind the interaction between conscious and unconscious processes. So much of this theory counts on the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind, in the text, is compared to the bottom part of an iceberg. The top, visible part, would be the conscious mind. This suggests that that unconscious mind is much larger than the conscious mind. There are memories, beliefs and experiences that we file in our unconscious mind. Childhood experiences and these unconscious desires are what mold our personalities. The media taps into our unconscious desires and use them to sell us on their idea or product. For example, Hilary Clinton, a well-known political figure, appeared on SNL and did a great job. She was funny, she wasn’t uptight and super duper professional like she usually has to be in front of a camera, and she genuinely seemed like she was having fun. When you watch her in other scenarios, the Democratic Debate for example, she comes across as a very strategic professional political icon and seasoned speaker that you might even vote for to be president of the United States. These are two very different scenes but she was on SNL and acted the way she did to help us connect to her as a human being. Hilary is persuading us to vote for her and also trying to restore credibility to her name. So by seeing her in a different light then we can see that maybe she’s more than her scandal. On an unconscious level, we, the American public, like to see ways that we can relate to celebrities and political figures. It simply makes us like them more. And perhaps we’ll cast our vote for them because we feel that connection with them and we don’t look at them like they are a robot.

Blog Post #4

          To understand the meaning of the word Marxism think of keywords like  “high school” and “hierarchy”. These words help paint an outline to Marxism. There are different schools of Marxism and Marxist thought is constantly changing with the times. In every social situation there is a hierarchy and when reading through the textbook about Marxism I discovered that it has its own special terms to describe each type of person in any group of social beings. To sum it up, there’s a leader (elitist), the individualist, the equal rights person, and the person that believes in luck and opts out of the political system. Celebrities, for example, are the elitist (the ruling class) of the social food chain. Their ideas are the ruling ideas of their years. They set the status quo, or ideology, and shape the ideas of the general public. That being said, the ruling class, to some degree, controls the media and the media influences the consumer society. The consumer society must be driven to consume by the media because their consumption is what maintains the economic system.

          As an art major I, of course, thought to apply this Marxism concept to the art world. This is what I came up with- artists like Jackson Pollock didn’t necessarily have the most aesthetically stunning artwork but he coined a specific style of art. In his time, this was a bold move that made him famous (which made him an elitist) and it shifted the ideology for art at that time. Change is part of Marxist thought and it is the elitists, like Pollock, who make these changes come about. 

blog post #3

After learning about Semiotics and the tip of the iceberg about Marxism I noticed that I see news and media in a different light. Marxism is all about hierarchy and in class we discussed this at length using high school as the example. There is such a pecking order in high school which makes it the perfect example to describe Marxism. The popular kids (the hierarchy elitists) are the athletes, cheerleaders, jocks or the wealthy kids who maybe buy friends and control. They have a tendency to call the shots and are at the top of the food chain in high school. In class I noted that "in any social situation you have hierarchy" and so I'm noticing semiotic details and Marxism are everywhere. Take social media for example- the people with the most "likes" or followers are the trendsetters. When somebody posts something and it doesn't get very many likes, it is less validated by the people who see it. When somebody who gets a lot of attention (the jocks) post something and it gets a lot of comments and attention, people are more likely to stop and read or look and then mimic. Let it be a fad style or a new restaurant. 

Sherlock Analysis

Sherlock Holmes is a character in a mystery show. From the get go the viewer is blatantly aware that Sherlock is “different” in a socially awkward genius sort of way. He always seems to be on a superior level of detail awareness than anybody else in the room and I suppose these details are conveyed to the viewer via semiotics. I am new to this term, but this is what I know- semiotics is the science of signs and can be applied to anything that might be seen as signifying something. A semiotician analyzes the text (which is a blanket term that includes videos) past what’s obvious and then assigns meaning to what is operating within them. My nit-pick analysis of Sherlock Holmes starts with the opening scene when he’s in a science lab type room with a quasi- attractive co-worker (or so she appears) who asks him out for coffee. Sherlock’s reply did not indicate that he picked up on the social cue of being asked on a date, but it made us viewers smirk. As the show goes on Sherlock is revealed as a good guy- a fast talking fast thinking impulsive good guy. At times, other characters in the show are skeptical of Sherlock and his mental state but through music, lighting, and camera angles the viewer is suede to like Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock has many strange corks, for example, he lives in an apartment with an old lady and this does not seem to faze him. Throughout the first episode, Sherlock manages to make a friend in John Watson who is an “injured” vet. At the end of the episode, Sherlock’s pride nearly kills him and Watson was there to save his life. This makes the viewer vest interest and emotion in Sherlock because of Watsons loyalty. 

Blog Post #1

In class, we watched “Killing Us Softly” which was about how women are exploited in the media. The woman in the video seemed very passionate about how the media today negatively puts women out to be objects and sex symbols. This BMW car ad is probably not that woman’s favorite, but I actually like it. It’s clever and my take on this ad is that it is attractive. I don’t choose to be offended here especially since that’s neither the point of the ad nor did anybody force this girl to pose for the ad. It’s her job, and she’s doing a good job if you ask me. The edgy message is merely designed to grab your attention and it does just that. At a glance, the beautiful girl grabs your attention. Then the small wording makes the human eye desire to read the text more then the viewers eyes widen and perhaps the viewer even smirks upon realizing the entire message. The viewer then walks away thinking about and processing the ad and will probably remember it. This is what makes for a good piece of advertisement. I do agree that the message is raunchy I probably could have picked a different ad to make my point. Cold as my opinion may sound, the artist in me thinks this is pretty to look at. The coloring is right, her hair is how most girls would want their hair to look, her face is young, she has a natural look with no garish make-up, and her skin is flawless. Of course we all know it’s airbrushed, that’s no secret. There’s also no need to get offended about the airbrushing because this ad, as are most advertisements, is made to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye so, yes, it’s carefully tailored to be the best image possible in order to wow the viewer. On top that, I’m actually not a BMW fan so I’m looking at this ad objectively.