Whew...

I am going to use the Fisk method to depict official movie posters (the poster that movies use to promote themselves on billboards, and on the front of movie theaters).

Stereotyping Asians

I have never really thought about the extent to which Asians are stereotyped before. After I read this article, I thought about all the other things I've learned this semester and I've come to a conclusion - dannnng, we are a nation of stereotypers! There are expected actions and view points, and certain way we perceive people - even if we don't realize it. I have never actually thought about the things this article pointed out, and I think that, in and of itself, is crazy!

- Asian women = Lotus Blossom in advertising - delicate, submissive, pure
- Asian men = Never seen as love interests in movies, are only known for their martial arts fights scenes.
- Asians in general = are perceived to be smarter and bring in more income than they actually do.

And I never really even realized that this happened. Why?

Enough is Enough

I really enjoyed reading about Enough is Enough. I love that they are taking matters into their own hands and being pro-active in standing up for themselves, and other minorities, who are negatively stereotyped by the media. I checked out Enough is Enough's official website, and that was pretty cool too. I'm in a Political Science class this semester about interest groups, and Enough is Enough has several factors that would qualify it as an interest group. The only way that interest groups are different from political parties, is that IGs don't form around a central goal of getting one of their own members into office. IGs are created because of some shift in the norm, it's called the ripple effect. Enough is Enough does not agree with how blacks or minorities are portrayed in the media, and want a social change in what is accepted. The ripple effect says that another interest group will form, in response to Enough is Enough, to counteract what EiE stands for. The formation of IGs goes on forever and ever like that. An interest group's members all have a common interest or goal, and mobilize to address it, which Enough is Enough has done. Educating the public through media attention is also a great thing for a group, but getting that attention through demonstrations - which could get out of hand - , doesn't always present a group in a positive light.

Just some stuff I was thinking about and stringing together from two different classes.

Project Ideas Part Deux

Okay, so after our discussion in class I realized that trying to do face-ism in music videos might be really hard to accomplish. How would I quantify instances of face-ism in a moving text? I'm still very interested in doing some sort of analysis of music videos and after watching the Dreamworks III video, I think I have another, more feasible idea.

I'd like to do something with the women featured as background images in music videos... I'm not sure what aspect I'd like to analyze though. Race, what they wear, face vs. body shots, emotions they show (if any), how many random body shots of particular body parts are shows (random booty shakin', etc), how many times are the artists shown without the girls vs. how many times are the artists shows with the girls?

I would like to analyze Billboard's charts. I'd like to take the top 5 or 10 videos for each of the following Billboard charts: Rock, Country, R&B/Hip-Hop, Latin, and Pop on any given week.

Is this a more do-able option?

THANK YOU! :)

Axe and Dove...

The freaking Bow Chicka Wah Wahs are the most annoying people to ever grace the Internet. Good Lord.

As frustrated as I get with our cultural definition of beauty, when I see things like the Axe Bow Chicka Wah Wahs video, I know that I'm not crazy. I have a hard time putting my words together to explain how ridiculous and messed up things are today. How backwards we are as a result of what the media tells us is beautiful, and important, and desirable.

When I saw the Dove video - That it supported a cause called the Dove Self Esteem Fund, etc, I applauded them for putting out such an amazing message - one that people, especially women, really need to see.

I was infuriated when I found out Dove and Axe are owned by the same company. Basically, Dove wants you to think they've got a good conscious and they're on board with questioning what the ad industry tells girls they should look like, but really... they are trying to capitalize on that viewpoint, which they obviously do not hold. GRRRRR. I almost think they're worse than the some of the immoral, tacky advertisers who blatantly only produce media with scantily clad women, fake breasts, and suggestive poses...

Project Ideas

So, I've been thinking a lot about what I'd like to do for my final project. I am extremely interested in doing something that relates to how women are portrayed in print media. I'd like to do a different study, not an exact replication of one we've studied in class. I also think it would be neat to somehow study face-ism in music videos, but I'm not sure how I'd judge that. Would I do 5 male artists and 5 female artists and see how many face vs. body shots there are at the end of all ten videos? I'm not sure how I'd pick the videos/artists, either. Top 5 male and female artists on MTV or on Billboard? How long would the shot have to be to constitute a tally for an instance of face-ism? If 5 seconds counts as a face-ism shot, and the camera is on a man or woman's face for 30 seconds... does that count as 6 instances of face-ism, or should I not worry about measuring it like that, and simply count each instance as 1 whether it lasts 4 seconds or 40 seconds?

WHEW...

Killing Us Softly

My favorite part about last class was watching the video Killing Us Softly. I mean, I know it was kinda dated... and sorta cheesy... but everything that was said held truth. I have never been comfortable with the way entertainment and advertising media portray women. I wrote a private blog entry a while back that touched on the topic.

"I want to understand fully and be content with not ever looking like or sharing any similar thought processes with the bottle blonde, size zero, double-D chested women that have somehow gained the coveted title of "What America Thinks Is Beautiful". There is something wrong with our society, or me, or maybe both when a 115 pound, size 2 woman feels conscientious about her weight. 115 is too much, and 34Bs are not enough, my hair always looks like crap, my stomach doesn't look sculpted - and because I don't look like the photoshopped, air-brushed women in this picture when I leave my house in the morning - the quirks that make me ME are also the reason I never feel up to par. Wanna know what perfect looks like in real life? "Perfect" looks exactly like you and I, completely UNPERFECT."

So... yeah, I feel like a lot of people don't understand why I feel the way I do with regards to this subject. The kind of women I just described are "hot" to men, and looked up to by other girls, and the subject of a million ads. That's why I'm happy I watched this video... there is at least one other woman in the world, and hopefully more, that feel the same way I do.