Looking at things a little differently

Everyone on here seems to have posted directly about Work It or fame or some tangent off of one of the two, so I decided to talk about something different.  I recently watched two movies, Mrs. Doubtfire and White Chicks.  You might be wondering what either of these films has to do with our most recent discussion however, if you’ve seen them you know the main characters in both movies are men playing/dressing up like women.  While Work It seemed to draw a controversial reaction from most of the class, I don’t think those reactions would have appeared had we not watched the show in a communications class and been told to think about and look for those particular things.  I say this with confidence because I’ve never heard anyone mention anything congruent with the reactions from Work It after watching movies like Mrs. Doubtfire and White Chicks.  Both of these movies have the main characters dressed up as women doing many of the jobs/duties considered to be gendered, which are the same things that brought out such a rise in our class viewing the other day.  Some examples include cooking, cleaning, various household jobs, and making them look ditsy.  In White Chicks, there’s a scene where the women are actually auctioned off to men for dates as if they’re objects.  Interestingly, no one has ever brought up any negative feelings towards these movies.  I believe it’s because most people don’t watch them with the intent on looking for these things.  They’re viewed simply as comedies.  Had we watched one of these movies in place of Work It, I guarantee people in our class would’ve felt strongly about how the movies depict women inappropriately.  My point is, we are exposed to these types of stereotypical depictions every single day, especially in movies and for most people it’s only when we are consciously told to look for the negative things that we actually realize how inaccurate/bad the “humor” truly is.  I think it says a lot about our society and the entertainment we buy into.  Maybe it’s time we start consciously looking for these types of portrayals in everything we expose ourselves too and maybe then we just might realize that despite our feelings towards these stereotypical roles, we’re really the ones who have been playing into it all along.  #Desensitization

Tom P.