The Title of our Blog

Hey everyone,

Just in case you were wondering, the title of our blog comes from a Lily Allen song called "The Fear."  The line goes: "I am a weapon of massive consumption, but it's not my fault; it's how I'm programed to function."  If you are interested, take a look at the song and give me some feedback about the lyrics as they relate to the terms we've studied during the media unit.

The Fear

Crude violence in Videogames

I’m a videogame lover I love playing videogames and interacting with online players, playing videogames is entertaining and doesn’t have any explicit reason behind it but to entertain the player with a variety of different tools and methods. For example good graphics and controller’s game play are ideal characteristics for game. Violence in videogames is quite seen; in now days 9 games out of 10 have explicit violence. Lately violence in video games is not the only concern, now there are videogames that include drugs, prostitution, torture, a lot of blood, and not the least swearing all the time.
My post shows a list of 10 videogames that are truly controversial, in terms of violence, the content in this videogames is absurd and there is no apparent reason behind the amount of violence used by the player to achieve the end of the game.

Do you think that any of these games should be produced?

Are those video games insanely violent for your tastes?

What would you do if one of your friends, relatives, family plays those games?

Can you think of one effect that such games have on the players?

Those are just hints of what you might say or discuss I would want to hear your free opinion on this as well ;-)

Funny Racist Commercial

What was your impression after watching this video?
Is this video a good depiction of what is going on in the real world?
How would you handle such a situation (in your unique way)

In the real world, all black people are portrayed as being aggressive because of what we hear in the media about some of their violent reaction toward others and acting a bit irrational compared to other race in public. Due to this, parents advice their children not to mingle with them; the black people. Also these parents make sure they fmove away from black people when they come across them. Normally by going the opposite direction. I was trying to address such an issue once and for all because i have been discriminated against more than once in my building by a different race who found me to be fearful. "NOT ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE EVIL"

Character Roles

Media is the number one way of putting out stereotypes, for sure! Especially through actors playing certain roles given to them. In movies, we often see black males play a character that is funny, outgoing, etc. They are hardly ever put as the main character, but rather the main character's friend who is creating a calm and funny atmoshpere. That's not a bad perspective of showing black males in movies but shouldn't they be given a leading role?

Donkey in the series of Shrek is dubbed by Eddie Murphy, who is a black individual, accompanying Shrek in his adventure to save Fiona. Why accompanying?

Then there is Chris Tucker with Jackie Chan in the movie Rush Hour. Did you notice how Chris Tucker plays a character that is funny, whereas Jackie Chan plays a character that wants to get stuff done fast. It is shown in the picture that Chris Tucker has a more playful character, and Jackie Chan is the more serious type.

The issue is not how black individuals are given a more funny character to play but how they're hardly given roles that are more serious. This shows that these individuals are carefree, all they care about is making jokes and distracting others rather than helping them in a more serious and professional way.

So, a few questions I'd like for you all to answer are:
1) Does race play a role in the type of character actors are given?
2) Should black individuals be given a more serious and funny role?
3) As of yet we don't see any effects of this seterotype, do you think in future we might?

Somebody gonna get a hurt real bad...

Russell peters , the stand up comedian is back... Here's a clip from one of his performances called outsourced where he talks about white parents who do not beat their kids. It's unlike other parents who beat their kids all the time. I'd like to ask you a few questions :

1. What do you have to say about the video ?

2. Do you think white parents should actually beat their kids ?

3. Would you want your parents to beat you anytime in your life ? Why or why not ?

Racism In America

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRfjLfyXYlA&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVtF8b_0tts

In the first video, a young black man stepped in the elevator. He’s judged so fast and the lady immediately holds on to her purse tightly and steps to the corner away from him as soon as he steps in the elevator. He notices that she’s racist and he was angry, offended, and he was quiet towards her. By holding on to her purse and stepping away she assumes that he is a thief, thug or just a bad person. This is a stereotype that black people always rob, mug, sell drugs, or what ever comes in the mind of the person who believes they are a victim. The fear in the white women’s eyes as soon as he stepped in the elevator showed that she is terrified as if there was a gun pointed towards her. The whole elevator ride she is starring at him as if she is waiting to be attacked. In the end of the clip he scares her and says “Boo”, screams and tries to give her purse out to the man.

In the second video there were two friends, one was a young white man and one was black, and they were deciding on what movie to watch. The black friend said let’s watch Madea Goes To Jail but the white friend didn’t want to watch it because he didn’t like Madea movies. The black friend assumes that the white man is racist and believes that he also thinks black people aren’t capable of making good films. They name a few more black films and the white man doesn’t like any of them not because he’s racist but because really doesn’t like the movies. He proves a point when the black man starts talking about black struggle. Neither of them experienced any type of struggle that could compare to what happens in films. Its funny how the black guy was the one who was actually was the one being racist and this happens a lot.

1) Does racism still occur everywhere around?
2) Do black people over react and believe the slightest thing could be racist?
3) Are we judged as soon as quick as stepping in an elevator, if so why is it always negative?
4) Is this video racist to white people in general?
5) How do you feel about the double standard that black people can make comments on white people but it’s sort of racist if white people make jokes about black?
6) What do you think about the media using racism comedy?

LFL (Lingerie Football League)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_OJXBnS7fY&feature=player_embedded#at=79

For the most part men dominate women in all sports. Why is this? Through out history it is viewed that woman are the weaker sex and this impacts the woman in our society. Men are usually portrayed in the media as strong, fast, and even if a female fits into those categories she is labeled as a man. Sports are usually categorized into male and female and very few are considered unisex such as swimming, tennis, and more. Female sports are volleyball, figure skating, softball; these are some stereotypes of woman sports. Sports for men are MMA, Boxing, and football. Now let’s talk about women in football because recently there has been a sport called LFL (Lingerie Football League) and this is similar to NFL but not quite. I believe that these women are degrading themselves for many reasons. Firstly the clothes that they wear consist of few such as bras and panties, and the rest are equipments such as helmet, shoulder pads, elbow pads, and knee pads. These women are not being forced to expose themselves rather they choose to but I believe that they are being encouraged to expose themselves to attract more viewers and make it seem like a successful sport. Also they are not getting payed to play this sport and yet it is a league. The only thing that is getting paid is there expenses such as plane tickets, hotels, uniforms, and other things of that sort. They have to pay for their insurance if they get injured and we all know that football is a dangerous sport. I believe that this Lingerie Football League is degrading woman and is using sex to sell their league and attract audience. Also this league is accused of fining players for wearing too much clothes and this alone shows that it encourages women to be more exposing.

This is what one of the players said during a report on the NBC station in DC tonight, one of the players said she didn't have a problem with the uniform. In her words, it's no different than beach volleyball or track and field.

In my opinion I think that this "LFL" should not be considered a league or sport rather it is just a way of woman exposing themselves and getting attention. Also if this is a sport these women should take it more seriously by wearing full football gear (covering up), getting paid, and getting selected based on skill rather than sexual appearance. If kids watch this league especially girls than they will think that it is normal for them to expose their bodies like that publicly and that is wrong. I feel as though children should watch all sports to get physically active and stay fit but this is one sport I would never let a child watch. Also the founder of this league Mortaza has admitted that the league is marketed toward "mostly beer-drinking college students aged 21 and up."

Now my questions to you are:

1. What impact do you think this league has on children or young teens watching this both male and female?

2. Do you think that these players should get paid like other athletes in other leagues?

3. What do you think is the purpose of this sport?

Have No Fear, Men Are Here!

The “damsel in distress” and the “knight in shining armor” are both examples of gender roles that are perpetuated by the media. There is no masculine counterpart for the word damsel, which suggests that men are strong, capable, and are in no need of saving. Women are rarely ever thought of as the knight in shining armor, where the armor symbolizes strength, and the knight is a symbol of heroism or bravery. I don’t think that these labels should be restricted to either gender because both men and women are capable of being brave or in distress. Rosa Parks was an African American woman most known for her refusal to move to the back of the bus, and she demonstrated that women can be equally as brave as men can.

In many films that involve superheroes the gender roles remain, even though superheroes are usually genetically altered or have extraordinary abilities, they still choose men over women to play the heroic role. Also, it isn’t common to represent homosexuals as heroic in the media. Famous examples of these gender roles are:

-Spider-Man (In every part of the trilogy, Mary Jane has always played the damsel in distress role)

-Superman (Lois Lane always needs saving)

-The Hulk (He has tremendous strength while his love interest is vulnerable in comparison)

-Fantastic Four (the character that Jessica Alba plays still falls under the ‘damsel in distress’ role even though she has her own superpowers)

-Thor (Natalie Portman appears to be his love interest who will undoubtedly need saving)

-Iron Man (In Iron Man 2 he does have to protect and rescue his love interest at a certain point in the film)

-Prince of Persia

1) Why do you think that men are commonly portrayed as the heroes rather than women?

2) Are these stereotypical roles an accurate representation of reality, in the sense that perhaps men prefer to feel in control and women desire that sense of security?

3) Would you rather watch a movie that has a male or a woman portrayed as the hero, and why?

Sexist superbowl ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8F_cHT4DvQ

The video above was a commercial originally intended to air during the Superbowl, but was cut because it was too controversial. Although it never appeared on TV, it did demonstrate a negative view of women. In the commercial the man is watching foot ball, while his wife is cleaning the house around him. The wife complains about having to do all the housework herself and this annoys the man. He's just trying to watch his sports. The woman is than replaced by an attractive, scarcely dressed woman who bring the man what he wants and that will not disturb him.

This commercial says many things. It says that a man's desire to watch football is more important than him doing any share of the housework. And that women are only useful when they are prevocatively dressed, and submissive. All in all this sends the message that men are the dominant sex, and that women are supposed to server men.

I find this extremely offensive to women. Not only does it bring up the gender role of the woman doing all of the house work while the man watches TV, but this is not even good enough for the man! The woman has to be completely submissive and cannot interupt his sport watching. I find the fact that anyone would think like this to be shocking. I don't think men are entitled to anything more than women.

What do you think this commercial says about society, and what impact would it have if it was released?

Do you trust media????

So easy, a man can do it

This advert is for an over cleaner; Oven Pride. It features a man acting like a child, using the product. Meanwhile a pregnant woman stands by glaring angrily at him. The tagline of the ad is, "Oven Pride, so easy a man can do it". And, there is even a note at the end, saying, "No men were harmed during the making of this commercial".

I found that the ad was sexist, offensive, and demeaning to both genders. The advertisement suggests that men are too stupid to clean, and that cleaning is woman's job. Cleaning the oven or cleaning in general, is not a complex task, and can be done by either gender. The ad stereotypes women as typical housewives who take care of the house, and men as the dumb, incapable spouse. This advertisement isn't the only piece of media that stereotypes men and women like this. These stereotypes are very popular and common in the media.

In The Simpsons, Homer (On the couch) is lazy and very stupid, and Marge (Vacuuming) is the typical housewife, in charge of cleaning the house.

Now, there are families across the globe, in which the women is the sole breadwinner of the family, and the man stays home and takes care of the house and children. But, women, in a household, are expected to clean and take care of the children without the help of their husbands, who are expected to get a job and provide for the family financially.

In my opinion, between the two roles, neither is superior. In my own family, both my parents have jobs, and although my father has helped clean, primarily my mother is the one in charge of maintaining the house.

That's just my opinion, what's yours?

Questions:

I. What did you think about the advertisement?

II. Do you think these stereotypes are true? false?

III. Between the two roles of the spouses, do you think one is superior? If so, which one, and why?

When Women Abuse Men

Watch before reading or posting any comments please. :D

If video doesn't work here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlFAd4YdQks

This video was a pretty interesting social experiment. To summarize what basically happened was; a male actor was made to abuse a female actor, and when people saw this they immediately reacted and came to the aid of the female. But when the roles were reversed and the female was the one abusing and assaulting the male nobody really seemed to care anymore. This shows that we tend to believe that when a man is abusing a women its immediately wrong, but when a women is abusing a male, well it's probably the males fault any ways, he deserves it, right? About 163 people walked by the abusive women before anybody actually reacted. Even a police officer even walked by without doing anything, he simply said that they were having a little "pip"(I think), and it was nothing to be worried about.

A plausible reason for this is that we are conditioned by the media, and even our literature to assume that when

a women hits a man, she has a just reason for it and thus it is acceptable. For instance in Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow is slapped but for a very good reason, so we the viewers immediately consider it OK and even consider it empowering and a good dead done on the females behalf, seeing as she was able to extract her revenge. Also we are raised never to hit a women, and as a result when we see women hitting men, we act passive towards them and don't see the situation for what it really is.

Unfortunately in this country, women abusing men is a serious problem, especially with the stereotypes that exist for both males and females. A abused male may be afraid of even admitting to anybody that his wife/girlfriend is abusing him in fear of being considered weak and a wimp. Also people would be very resistant to immediately believe him seeing as its strange in our society to think that a women is abusing a male. Its generally the other way around.

In the video a lady's reaction went as far as to even cheer silently for the women. When later asked why she cheered the lady responded "good for her, you go girl" supporting and even encouraging her violent behavior because of the assumption that the women had caught the male doing something like cheating. The problem with this is that female aggression, in our current society is stereotyped as harmless, and nothing to react to, but it could possibly be very harmful, to both the male and the female in the relationship. Though unfortunately as a result, many violent acts are committed by females, and encouraged rather than being taken seriously for what they are. Violent actions should never be encouraged regardless of whether there is a good reason for it or not. "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind".

Points to Discuss:

1) Do you think our society justly treats the problem of abusive females, or are they given a

lesser penalty seeing as they are females?

2) If you saw a female abusing a male, how would you react?

3)Why do you think we assume that the male is responsible when we see a women abusing a

male?

RELIGION BREEDS HOMOPHOBIA?!?

The church of Westboro, i'm sure many of you have heard about them before. They are mainly known a hate group because of their extreme stances against homosexuality. As you can see in the picture above these kids are being taught from childhood that being a homosexual is wrong and that they will probably burn in hell if they even think about acting this way. This certain religious group installs fear into their children which causes them to be afraid of being homosexual, regardless of what their true feelings may be.

The issue that lies behind this is that most religions state that homosexuality is a sin and such activity shouldn't be conducted. Unfortunately people who follow these religions are constantly conditioned, whether they know it or not, to discriminate against homosexuality and by the time they're older will have a negative opinion of homosexuals. In this todays society homosexuality should be accepted, not looked down upon. Due to this conditioning many people who are homosexuals may in fact be afraid to admit it, and end up living a unhappy lie of a life. Also people who are homosexuals often have to end up acting this way only in secret, in fear of being punished by the law.

Possible Questions:

1) Is religion really a good enough reason to allow children to be conditioned to discriminate against homosexuals?

2)Is it really right to discriminate against something just because of the fact that it is "tradition" to do so?

3)Everything in this world is subject to decay, whether its a flower or even an idea. Everything is also constantly evolving, isn't it time we changed old discriminatory thinking and replaced it with more understanding and accepting thinking?

Man without compromise?

In this video, the man is being encouraged to stand up for himself and he is congratulated for not giving in to his wife/partner. I think men watching this commercial are being encouraged to stand up for themselves in their relationship and not to let their leisures being taken away from them. I think that this video contains some truth in the sense that a couple cannot always be together, each partner needs his/her space and that is a key aspect for a relationship to be a lasting one.

There are some negatives to this commercial though. Firstly, children, teens or even adults watching this video might get the wrong idea and might actually think that the needs of a man are more important than those of a woman, that will eventually cause them to have some troubles in their relationship later on. Another problem to think about is that of children watching this video. Small boys and teenagers might get the impression of that's how a "real" man should be acting and might do so later on in their life. Similarly, female viewers might get the impression of that is the way girls should be acting in order for men to find them attractive.

I want to hear about any opinions that you may have about this commercial.

What you think about this commercial in general? What possible consequences do you think might result from people watching this? Do you think that this whole commercial was implied to be seen as a joke without really meaning for it to appear as a sexist commercial?

It's her job [Stereotype: women are housewives]

I'm sure that many of you have seen this image before. When I first came across this picture I found it very funny, but at the same time I found it rude and a bit derogatory. Clearly, it contains a message that directly addresses the stereotype about women becoming housewives when they get married. "Give it to your wife, it's her job!". To me, this phrase, though intended to be a joke, makes men appear arrogant and disrespectful in the eyes of women. Men usually have a sense of entitlement that they should be regarded as the superior gender, and they are supposed to take on "big things" such as being the breadwinner in the family. Women, on the other hand, are often tied to more "trivial" things, from taking care of the babies, cleaning the house, washing clothes to...changing diapers. It would be inappropriate for a man to stay home and do all the chores, as it would for a woman to go out and earn incomes to support the family. Of course, the reverse sometimes occurs, that is men being the care-giver and women the breadwinner. But it doesn't happen very often.

What is it that perpetuates this stereotype? Let's look at a couple who has just got married recently. They are both ambitious and have their own dreams. People say that the husband is the breadwinner and the wife care-giver. The husband went out to work while the wife agreed to stay home taking care of the family. At first the husband often helped his wife when he got home, but one day a neighbor joked that he was like a servant to her. He got embarrassed and stopped helping. The wife, meanwhile, began thinking about her dreams. But her friends told her that women who work hard are not 'womanly', and cannot keep the husband. She went back to accept her roles and did all the chores.

From the example above, we can see that stereotypes are tenacious and very hard to beat. It is the pressure to conform to the expected norms created by society that perpetuates stereotypes, making them stronger and stronger.

Points to discuss,

1. What is your reaction to the image above?

2. What is your view on the stereotype that woman are housewives, they must do all the housework themselves? Do you think it's fair? Should women be left up to their choice as to stay at home or go out to work?

3. Do you think men should help with the housework as well? Do you think it is embarrassing/unmanly for men to do it?

That's What She Said.

It's a phrase becoming more and more popular as we speak, or as you read in this case.


It was made popular by it's overusage in the hit mockumentary, 'The Office' (I.LOVE.DUNDER.MIFFLIN ♥). The woman being referred to is no one in particular but seems to be a woman who really knows her way around, if you know what I mean. You can add it to the end of any sentence although it's typically used at the end of any sexually suggestive remarks/comments. Take a look at the video I posted for some examples of how it's being used if you don't already know.

The phrase, "That's what she said." seems completely innocent. It seems to be a neutral statement, not suggestive of anything. However it's use in 'The Office' (and many others shows) has made it appear to mean something a hooker once said. Behold,

Two students are working on an English assignment,
'This is so hard!' says one student, followed closely by 'That's what she said.' implies something different from what is it's intended meaning. The first student was implying that the homework assigned was a challenge while the phrase added on to it ... well... *cough* that implies that something else was hard.

Anyways, that's enough about how it's used. Although when the phrase was first used I did laugh, I started to wonder why there isn't an equivalent phrase for males like 'That's what he said'. Sure, it doesn't sound so suggestive yet like 'That's what she said.", but that's how it started out for 'That's what she said.' The fact that this phrase exists and isolates a female is implying that only womankind is capable of such behaviour which is not true. This is a stereotype that exists in many TV shows and is very degrading. Isn't it true that men can be just as horny? Just thought I'd bring it to everyone's attention.

Points to discuss,

1) Do you feel that it is acceptable to use a phrase like this? Do you think it's offensive or just a joke? Should this be considered a form of sexual harassment if this phrase is used in this way at work?

2)Can you think of any other phrases/jokes that involve degrading women? When did you learn them?
(ex. Your momma jokes)

3) Do you think TV shows can be entertaining but at the same time, not make negative comments about groups of people? Why or why not?

Presidential Business

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8TwRmX6zs4

(Sorry I couldn't upload the link, I faced some problems trying to upload it.)

In the video above, President Obama seems to get his revenge against Donald Trump, who has been making demands to seeing the President's birth certificate. Donald Trump's allegations are that Obama was not born in the United States. This controversy personally reminded me to when Barack was running for office, and he was scrutinized for apparently being Muslim. As to why his race, religion or ancestry is taken into consideration in comparison of what his abilities are as a President, baffles me.
Although the jokes made by the President are quite funny, do you think it's right for a President to defend himself and be socially involved in the media and socialites like Donald Trump? Or should he just stick to his main job, be professional and more involved with more important matters?

A Meal To Die For

Please comment on what comes to mind after watching this clip.

1. It's hard to determine what is drawing these customers to HEART ATACK GRILL (or giving them heart attack), these waitresses or meals?

2. Aren't there enough fast food restaurants out there, why is the introduction of this franchise necessary when it does more harm then good to people?

Racial Discrimination

Here is a trailer for the movie "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" that i found to be hilarious. The trailer shows many signs of racial discrimination and there are many scenes in the movie that show racial discrimination and stereotypes. I found this trailer and topic that is being illustrated in the trailer to be really good for the blog. So i hope you enjoy the clip and i have a couple of questions to ask you.

1) What did you think of the video?
2) How many racial stereotypes can you identify? And what did you think of them?
3) Do you think that the Americans are going "Overboard" with these stereotypes? Explain

Princesses & Power Rangers

What did these poor kiddos ever do to us?

Right from the time they are young, through media and family, children are socialized to understand and conform to their gender roles. It’s just the way our society works; unintentionally, we draw lines and tell the child to not cross them, forcing them to follow norms.

We make girls read fairytales and watch Disney princesses through their childhood years. Then, we make lists about the wrong stereotypes of women, in which we list the following: concerned with physical beauty, emotional, having long hair. Well, how can you blame them, when the first things we expose these girls to is the angelic face of Ariel or Barbie’s perfectly made-up eyes?

Parents provide their kids with toys as they grow up, which is a major influence on the child’s mentality. Why is it that young girls are always encouraged to play with dolls and boys with racecars? Let me insert my first question here: Do you think that the stereotype that females form emotional bonds more deeply and are caring and affectionate stems from the fact that from the time girls are little, we give them dolls and tell them to take care of them?

Okay, let’s not leave the boys out. I don’t know much, since I’m a girl (I hope you figured that out by now) and I don’t have any male siblings. But from what I’ve seen, they’re into Pokemon wars, Power Rangers, racing cars and all the possible action-packed video games there are. [I know I sound really ignorant of everything that young boys do, Sorry! Please enlighten me!] Well, anyway, all those are usually involved with ‘saving the day’ or ‘aggression’ or ‘physical strength’ – and I’m sure all of these probably ring a bell.

Have you ever noticed a girl being crazy about Hot Wheel cars? Well, I was one of them. I don’t know why, but I have this collection of toy racecars. Yes, I was laughed at by all the girls in my class who preferred lip gloss by then. The same could probably be said about a young boy who cannot sleep without his stuffed toy by age ten.

So how can we be complaining about our society being closed-minded or the fact that wrong stereotypes about men/women exist, when we are the ones conditioning our youth to these beliefs?

So here are my questions besides those that I already stuck in random parts through my post:

1. Do you think that these early influences exert a subconscious pressure on the minds of girls and boys regarding how they are supposed to behave?

2. Is this conditioning wrong? Does our society need to change?Explain why/how.

Maroon 5 - Misery

People in this blog talked about men suppressing women and it reminded me of this music video.

In this music video, Adam Levine is being physically abuse by a woman and the lyrics suggests he is also being emotionally abused by the same woman.

Have you wonder that women do oppress over men too in society? It doesn't just go one way.

Questions:

1)Do you think women can be very cruel and physical as shown in the video?

2)Do you think the women in a heterosexual relationship can sometimes be the one who makes the decision?

3)Do you think it is acceptable for women to hit men but not the other way around?

After reading some comments about the video, it rise up the topic about the sexual content of the media where there was a lot of inappropriate touches. I was just wondering what you guys think about the sexual content in the media today. These are some extra questions: Is it too explicit for children to watch? Do you feel uncomfortable watching it? Do you think there was a big jump from the past decade in showing more skin(especially women)?