Question #11

11) My overall topic for the semester was initially travel which morphed into traveling to high end resorts in Las Vegas which transformed into Blondes having more fun in life. I didn’t intend to make this transition at the beginning of the year for my Photoshop, Audacity, and Video projects, but I am very pleased with the way they each turned out. Janice Radway’s article “Women Read The Romance” represents the demographic of a love-struck girl or woman who hasn’t met her prince charming, or has, but is mainly interested, and at times dependable, on “escaping” to her happy place through reading these novels. Some women admit to a reason why they get so hooked on these stories. These reasons are because they relate to the character, or would like to be them. It is said that reading Romance makes one feel like one is the heroine. This creates a special feeling. I feel that this passage expands the argument of my overall topic because people travel to escape, and Romance readings are these women’s travel to escape. It is not costly to read, nor physically demanding as racing through terminals can be, but it is equal in putting “your life” on hold and traveling, whether it be mentally or physically, to another state of mind or location. The second article I chose to address is “The New Politics of Consumption, Why Americans Want So Much More Than They Need.” From 1980 to the early ‘90s, the savings rate in America dropped 50%. Despite of the recession and its effect on the average American household, some people should spend less, but don’t. Instead, they borrow money as opposed to saving the money for future needs such as a child’s college education. The point is to save your money for necessities, try to be as selfless as you possibly can, create a savings’ account, and don’t spend your money foolishly. By doing this, you can have the benefits of splurging on qualitative luxuries in the long run.

                        

Question #10

9)    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0SyUgw98tE

I immediately thought of this music video “Glamorous” by Fergie when I read the question, because everything about it represents so many readings from this year, such as Black Citcom Portrayals, The New Politics of Consumption, Inventing the Cosmo Girl, The Nike, Social Responsibility, and the Hidden Abode of Production passage because of the drive of consumerism and the people she chooses to have in her video. If one looks around, she’s the only blonde girl. She is surrounded by back up dancers, giving her the male gaze. Additionally, the audience is over 75% black. All of the rappers or wanna be rappers are wearing expensive clothing and Air Force Ones and other kinds of Nike high tops that on the streets, kids will kill for. The black males are confirming this stereotype. The construction of the American dream where everything is perfect, life in the fast lane couldn’t get better, it’s as good as it gets, is how Fergie demonstrates her persona. However, through “barely there” clothing, shiny and sparkly outfits to make her look like a star, and other similar props such champagne everywhere, private planes, runways, loud music and gorgeous settings, she adds on to the idea and construction itself. She’s diving in riches, which they successfully portray and it is a very enticing video, I must admit… It also compliments the Radway Romance reading at the end from 2:00 onward, demonstrating a fantasy and a love story, even though we all know that Ludacris and Fergie are just friends, but in the music video, they are playing 1920 actress and actors.

Question #9

9)    I compared a clip from the Onion News Network with a clip from the “E!” television channel.  Both covered recent initiatives by Oprah Winfrey.  On the E! television channel (“real”) news, Oprah announced that she is stopping her TV show and beginning a new cable TV channel.  The Onion News Network (“fake”) news, Oprah announced she was providing some of her lucky fans and admirers with the opportunity to join her in her casket when she dies and be with her forever.  Both shows were well produced and had the same format.   The subject matter was introduced by co-anchors, followed by a brief film clip of Oprah at a news conference and then to the “on-site” reporter who filled in the viewers with the details of Oprah’s initiatives.  The date and format of the new cable TV channel and information about one-way plane tickets and lottery details for the burial “winners,” were reported by the real and fake news, respectively.  Baym’s point about the “self-deprecating” nature of the Daily Show hosts actually adding credibility to their views because they appear more unbiased, was very much highlighted by the two clips.  The breathless seriousness that is displayed during “real” broadcasts is very much brought out by the satire of the fake news delivered with the same breathless seriousness by the “fake” reporters.  The fake news also highlights the gatekeeping and agenda setting functions of the traditional news media and puts a bright light on how seriously they take themselves and the thin line between being an advocate, a comedian, or a journalist.  There is a re-evaluation of discourse going on, as Baym points out, and I think it is a healthy thing.

Question #8

8)        The films Mouse Trapped 2010 and Mickey Mouse Monopoly both attack the Walt Disney Company for its business practices.  Mouse Trapped 2010 attacks Disney from the bottom up, as a greedy exploiter of labor.  Each employee (cast member) said they were underpaid, despite having been there for years.  One employee briefly mentioned he had a second job and lived with his brother (indicating some willingness on his part to take action to improve his standard of living), but the others were all presented as helpless, hard-working victims.  In Mickey Mouse Monopoly, the Walt Disney Company was attacked from the top down, as one of a handful of “giant conglomerates” that “control” the messages and images people hear and see (especially children) and therefore “control your child’s imagination.”  To even add a sinister element, one professor said that “someone” asked him if he was “afraid” to be writing about Disney. 

     Grossberg’s article “Cultural Studies vs. Political Economy” basically states that political economy and cultural studies are connected, and these two films seem to support his view.  Because of Disney’s commercial success over the years, it has become so large that it, sometimes inadvertently, affects both the culture and the political economy.  One man in the Mouse Trapped 2010 film noted that even though Disney does comparable wage surveys with other companies, Disney itself it so large relative to all the other companies in the area that the wages they pay become the average, thus reinforcing Disney’s prevailing rate (which in turn affects the wages of the other companies in the area.)    This in turn defines the type and number of people in each socio-economic class, which in turn affects what is reported upon and talked about in the media.  The top down view, maybe inadvertently, creates the same type of economic/cultural hegemony.  Politicians rely on the media, the media shapes the message that people listen to and another feedback loop is created.  Both films, taken together, I believe support Grossberg’s central point of connection between cultural studies and political economy.

Question #7

7)  How To Make Your Breasts Look Bigger is an appropriation of a cheap porno, in attempt to be a training guide to how to physically demand yourself to become more defined “upstairs” and in this connection, for ladies, to make your breast appear larger. From stuffing your bra to wearing a couple of them at once, a cute, but trampy blonde girl with terrible acting skills demonstrates basically how to be a tramp. This is tasteless, provocative, and almost uncomfortable to watch, because she was that dumb, and I don’t want to see her boobs hanging out of her shirt, I am not the demographic that this video is targeted to—obviously this was made for men and not girls because any sane girl would laugh at this and make fun of it instead of actually trying to re-appropriate this girl who thinks she’s Jenna Jameson. 

Question #6

6) This commercial exemplifies globalization through the use of T.V. personality Conan O Brien, by which the two featured cultures and economies have been integrated together through conversation, customs, the market place, foreign animals and policies, etc. It is a relatively short clip but the point is to demonstrate American Express’s world-wide power and that you should team with them and invest in them because they are accepted everywhere and they are the crème de la crème. They want you to associate them with an exotic upper class to signify a higher race, such as the luxurious elephant dresses and etc.

Question #5

 5) Hegemony is the power (either political, economic, ideological or cultural) exerted by a dominant group over other groups, regardless of the explicit consent of the latter. This term is best defined as dominance achieved through consensus, not force. (Wikipedia) Ideology is the body of doctrine, myth, belief etc. that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class or large group. (Dictionary.com)

     The Flash game (the Urinal Game) depicts the urinal section of a public men’s restroom that contains six urinals.  The game is presented as a quiz consisting of six “problems, the “problems” being at which vacant urinal should the next man in the restroom (you) position himself, given that each “problem” portrays a different array of men already in the process of relieving themselves.  The game assumes there is a common body of beliefs, and masculine viewpoints (an ideology) that allow one to “correctly” choose which vacant urinal to use.  The correct answer to the first depiction, which shows one man at one end of the row of urinals, is to choose the urinal farthest away.  The ideology here is that distance and privacy are the culturally controlling imperatives and the correct answer also indicates that by going as far away as you can, you show “respect” for the other man.  Choosing the urinal next to the man already there is implied to be an act of cultural hegemony.  That is, regardless of his explicit consent, you more or less invade his privacy.  Each of the six problems presents a different array of men, or in one case, a very large man.   In the case of the large man, the “correct” answer is to not stand beside him because his size and strength would be an exertion of his “power” over you.  Another answer advises you to keep your eyes fixed to the wall in front of you. By looking down, you invade the other man’s privacy (hegemony) and leave yourself open to the suspicion of being gay (ideology – no “real man” wants to be suspected of being gay.)