Glee

Thinking about this week’s lesson and how we discussed the goals of cultural studies, I feel like a lot of television shows could be related to discovering instances of meaning and struggle. I was watching Glee tonight and a lot of these themes could be connected with this show. First off there is a constant theme of using song to express emotion and to get the message of the episode across; which goes hand in hand with discourse which explains how they talk and act towards each other. Glee also uses its show to relay lessons at the end and lessons throughout the entire 3 seasons. Throughout all the seasons the constant theme of bullying is always visible. The episode that was on tonight showed a student from a rival school hurting one of the main characters physically. The sign that is in each episode is the slushy that is thrown in the faces of the Glee club. The slushy is a symbol for bullying and the hatred that many people feel towards the Glee club. Going back to this episode, instead of the Glee club retaliating back with violence they use song to come back and prove a point that they will not be pushed down and forced to forfeit to the opposing team.

Malorie Duda

GUYS, JUSTIN BIEBER HAS MAD TALENT!! BY JACK GOHL

AWWW SNAP!! So after listening to 'Who Shot Ya' from Biggie, I figured why not incorporate this incredible talent we know and love named Justin Bieber. Did you know he covered 'Who Shot Ya'. Check it! Beaver Swag!! Alright, now that we got our fix on to my actual post..

In covering ideology and then incorporating the four rap vids today really got me thinking about the music industry and our culture. Our music industry teaches us everyday from radio and television that we as a society obtain common beliefs (some times forced), which provides a foundation for a complex system of domination. This common belief produced from larger record labels, radio stations, and television, can help classify what's good and bad music. In scooping out the Magazine Entertainment Weekly, I noticed something very interesting on a segment they called 'Grammy Insider'. In this segment they chose who had the best opportunity to win for each ballot. In reading just one category 'The Album Of The Year' with the nominees, Adele, Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Rihanna (wow, it is a sad day for music) it seemed very limited. I do not believe this was a coincidence, but really a way in which people of the music industry (or high powers) chose these talents. Now we ask who's fault is it that our society has such a narrow perspective of looking at music?? Is it the record labels, the radio stations, or TV?? I blame ourselves, according to Marx the power is not obtained by force, but through consent and coercion... We give them the power! (Not yelling, just making a point) There are many ways in which the major record label system can be beaten via the Internet. To name yet a few SoundCloud, *BLOGS*, YouTube, networking sites, Pandora, and sure even digital download stores. Really it comes down to not caring or being lazy, which leads to major record labels success with these given options. Maybe the options are just not recognized like the sweet vid I shared above of biebs. All I'm getting at is if you don't care then fine, if you do care don't complain and do search for content rather then be feed. If everyone did this the music industry would change incredibly fast. In less of course your fine with this limited pop material. I would consider myself as one who does not care, but also searches for my material. Especially in my case when 'Under The Mistletoe' gets played one to many times.

Subliminal Messages

When considering the implicit message in music videos or other media forms, it is important to think about where these messages are coming from and who the audience is. These have been instances of subliminal and hidden messages in Disney movies. For example, the "sex" cloud in the Lion King or the satanic references in Beauty and the Beast. Even popular cartoon shows, such as Sponge Bob Square Pants, offer messages intended towards adults, yet they are viewed by younger children.


It is bizarre that the artists and the creators behind these classic films would include such obscene references. Most people do not even notice the references, so it is completely unnecessary and does not serve any purpose.


Most media forms have a message, idea or belief the masterminds behind the screen want the audience to see. It is important that we recognize what is being presented to us. As stated in Lull's work on hegemony, power is not attained by force, but rather through consent and coercion. We take what is presented to us as is and fail to ask questions.

let's be realistic...

Today in class we watched four different rap music videos. I was in the group that analyzed "Racks" by YC. Before class I had only heard of the song from my sister, and never actually listened to it. After listening to the song I realized that it’s more than just the rapper saying "racks" 500 times; it is about materialism. Money, cars, women and other things listed in the song are materials that YC portrays as things everyone should have. This ideology that YC is representing is not something that everyone can afford. Not everyone can have racks on racks on racks of money or nice expensive cars. The song Corners by Common was more realistic. It explained Commons life growing up in Chicago with different struggles that came his way. This ideology, the meaning that defines or explains the world, shows that life brings struggles and hardship. But like Common, this song shows that anyone can make a name for them self and become someone famous if they work hard, no matter where they come from. I’ve realized after watching these videos that I need to start listening to songs and not just saying, "oh this was a great song!” Instead I should try to understand the message the artists are trying to give. Just like the song Countdown by Beyonce. Actually interpreting the lyrics instead of just listening to them made me realize how creative the song really is.

Gays? Normal?

Nickelodeon has always been known as safe channel for kids to watch their daily cartoons, after all the programs aired have been praised for its appropriateness. In 2002, however, this was challenged when the network announced they were airing a show called "Nick News Special Edition: My Family Is Different". This show was essentially a show that portrays issues related to diversity, tolerance, and respect particularly toward children with same sex parents. While the show was initially meant to raise awareness and essentially stop the violence and harassment kids with same sex parents received, it received criticism from multiple government organizations and parents saying the channel was no longer a “safe haven for children”.

Throughout history, heteronormativity has been a prominent concept expressed through pop culture. From a very early age children are taught that relationships are strictly male and female, and anything thing else is socially unacceptable. Adolescents are targets that often times feel the wrath of this issue as a result of either their own sexual preference or the fact that they have same sex parents. While this wasn’t really an issue several decades ago, society has changed in terms of how families are defined allowing more tolerance for homosexual families than ever before.

Cultural Hegemony and Family Guy

As we’ve discussed in past weeks, pop culture can often work to reinforce existing stereotypes and cultural norms in our society. Comedy in film and television often comes from poking fun at different aspects of society or the people in it. A number of things are safe to poke fun of while other things are considered “going too far”. Our society has come to accept a number of controversial topics as comedic, even things like gender and sexual preference. However, one topic that is usually strictly off limits to poke fun at is the disabled population. That’s why I was so surprised to watch one particular episode of “Family Guy”.

“Family Guy” is a comedic cartoon for adults that focuses on a “typical” family. It plays on Fox during prime time so it reaches a pretty large mainstream audience. The show forces the viewer to accept unconventional family roles; the father Peter acts like a child, the baby Stewy is a genius and works various jobs and drives a car. The family dog walks around on two feet, drinks coffee and dates while the other children play a minor role in the show.

On the episode I watched, a deaf woman starts working in Peter’s office and his coworkers all find her attractive. It leads them to believe all handicapped women are hot so they start a “Disabled Night” at their bar. The bar hosts an array of women in wheelchairs and prosthetics and Brian, the dog, meets an attractive blind woman who he begins to date.

Some of the notable controversial moments of the show involved Brian tricking his blind date into believing they went to exotic destinations as well as a friend of Peter’s who is in a wheelchair asking his wife to commit suicide with him. My first question was, “How is this show getting away with these things?” It’s a very popular show that has been around for at least ten seasons so it has a good track record. On the other hand, I started thinking of cultural hegemony. We are trained to understand what is acceptable on TV and what is not, but this show seems to have no concept of that. I know people enjoy it, but how come I never hear them talking about it? Are they simply too afraid to bring up the controversial topics that “Family Guy” dives right into? In my opinion this show challenges cultural hegemony jumping out of a pattern of what is accepted in mainstream society and addressing basically anything it wants to. However if it doesn’t get people talking, other TV shows may not follow suit and the societal norms “Family Guy”  aims to break will continue.

Happiness Is What?....

The concept of ideology is a common idea on a subject matter relating to the "norm" of social life or politics etc.. Sitting here thinking about this the life of a successful career, a house with a white picket fence and a house filled with a husband/wife and 2.5 kids are all ideas of how we should live out our lives to be truly happy and successful not just in our careers but what society calls a "great life". But where did this concept come from and why is it that this although we now know there are many ways of achieving a "great life" that we still strive to have this fantasy of a perfect American dream. I know for myself, I know that this is not exactly what I want for myself with the white picket fence and so forth but I believe that everyone's version of the American dream all stems form the same original concept that the hierarchy of our society has pushed on us. So will this thought of the American dream change? I don't think it will anytime soon completely but there is already a little change of this concept already, which means no one set of ideas are concrete and unchanging if we really want a difference we can have one we just have to express these difference and make a new concept of ideology.

accepting a label

Today in our world I believe people really don’t have a good understanding of individuality. Everybody has dreams and goals, but is the dreams and goals we have of what other people have? People always say that they are their own person, but that is in fact not true. I am guilty of it too. People that are true individualist are innovators. An innovator is someone that came up with something on their own, it is their own identity. I feel people are afraid now to take risks and be their own person, so they settle for what society calls the “norm.” We see and hear it every day on the radio with rap and hip hop artist reality television shows. Today we listen to four rap songs about people’s lives as they were growing up and how they see the world as it is. In my opinion that is what they think society expects them to do is be hustlers and gang banging. When in reality there is an out to the life they live. People shouldn’t accept what they think society labels them as. People should be motivated an want to explore more and new options for their and families lives.

Say what?!

Showing four different types of rap videos in order to illustrate a point is a great way to get into people's minds.  Just by looking at one video at a time, perhaps we would not have noticed the differences and values that each video has to offer.  As being part of group three we analyzed the song, "Racks" by YC and it basically showed that in that particular video, the most important thing to value is money, or in other words, materialism.  This is so embedded in our culture that we do not take a second look or even seem to question it.  I am really glad we talked about this because we, as part of this culture and society, have to learn to question things that are considered 'normal' and really ask, "is this fair?", "is this how things should be?", "why is this happening?", etc.  As a philosophy student alongside communications, I have been exposed to think outside the box very early in my college career.  I have never thought about this myself until I was exposed to it by a plethora of philosophers.  When people say, "why do people exist?"and, "What is the purpose of everyone's life?", really makes you question everyday, things as well.
Ever since Lady Gaga started becoming popular, I noticed that she was obviously very strange, but, I started noticing patterns in all of her music videos.  I became very interested in the signs and symbols she uses, for example: triangles, checkerboards, lightning bolts, a single eye, religious symbols, heads of animals, hand signs, etc.  These signs just started completely flying out at me every time she produced a music video and I decided to do some research on it.  I put the pieces of the puzzle together and realized she is appealing to the "Illuminati".  Now, I am not taking a side to this, but simply pointing out that she is doing anything and everything do abide by the definition of what an "Illuminati" is.  This is a very controversial topic, and some say a conspiracy, but it is something you will never hear on the news or hear people questioning. Now that we are exposed to the internet, you can Youtube this topic and see that many people have noticed the exact same thing.  This goes not only for Lady Gaga, but other very popular current music artists.
The point I'm trying to make is the exact same one we made in class, is that we should really question things in life.  As my Lady Gaga example, perhaps next time you see a music video don't just say, "Oh it's great, it has amazing visuals, etc",  but really stop and think what kind of message she is trying to send out to the public. The same way product placement works in music videos, is the same way other messages can be sent without us taking a pause and deciphering.  A popular blog, Vigilant Citizen, writes, "In order to keep the youth interested and attracted to the elite’s agenda, creators of pop videos cleverly combines fresh visuals with mind-numbing repetition".

hegemony and rap

After discussing hegemony in rap and reading this week’s readings, about language, repetition and the media, I thought about how many of these concepts consisted in the movie “Borat”.  In Hall’s article language is defined by a system of representations which links various signs and symbols.  Studying language is very interesting because it is the foundation of many cultures and in recent decades, culture has been more globalized and mediated then ever before, thus inter-relating the many ideologies that go along with is.  On page 24 of Hall’s article, he claims the language is produced, constructed and maintained, and studying language needs to start with the familiarities of culture.  In “Borat” for instance the representations are stereotypical and similar to all other media text; however there is a distinguished language barrier.  In one scene. Borat stopped and asks a group of several African America individuals and with his strong eastern European accent asks “how can I talk and dress like you?”  He was then is told to loosen his belt and say “what up with it” when you greet someone” he however does not know what context to use this language.  He later goes into a local hotel and says to the Bell click, “what up vanilla face, me and my niggas need somewhere to post up…it’s just my niggas not no hos”.  He later ended up getting in trouble because of misuse of his language which originated from the language barrier from the previous interaction.  This author in the article uses the example of street lights to define language as well.  We attach meaning in cultures that globalize over time though the channel of media texts, to objects, or in this case, green to go and red to stop.  “Saying what up with it” makes no sense in English or to a dictionary, but meaning was constructed by the African American cultural traditions and slang.  This brings into the light of the ideology of hegemony that the other article discusses, the way things are and the historical context from which these meanings are produced in the center focus on this topic and over time this will of course change as meanings and language as always changed.      

Kanye's Diamonds from Sierra Leone

Examining the videos in class today was interesting, and the Kanye - Diamonds video for me was the most interesting. Our group was trying to determine why Kanye chose not to wear any diamonds in the video, which featured child miners from Sierra Leone. I understand the message and the juxtaposition that Kanye was trying to get across - bringing awareness to the violence and "bloodiness" of the diamonds that children suffer for to bring to rich white people, and contrast the images with Kanye in Paris. I think what Kanye was trying to do, by not wearing diamonds and strolling alone through one of the most populated areas in Paris, was indicating that as a black man who is celebrating his success, he is also not ignoring his roots, his past, or his people in that he keeps the children of Sierra Leone on his mind. I think the footage of him walking through Paris alone indicates that while he celebrates his success, he also feels isolated in being a black man with the kind of success he has. I think he was trying to show that the child miners remind him of his own struggles. While I think I understand the points Kanye was trying to get across, I don't think that the imagery was necessarily juxtaposed in a way that made it clear what his message was. I think he wanted the video to generate discussion, but not necessarily discussion of what he was actually trying to say about the blood diamond situation.

 Kanye VS Common

 I thought today's class was very interesting, especially the music videos we watched. Although they were all the same genre (rap) they all had different things to say. My group focused on the Common video of the song 'Corners.' The video began in the nicer parts of Chicago and progressed to the ghetto areas that he (Common) grew up. He showed the rougher parts of his area and was basically saying this is where he grew up and because of this he is now a famous rapper. He brought up the fact that an education doesn't really get one anywhere and the way to live a life there is to sell drugs and join a gang. On one side it seemed like he was glorifying the ghetto and showing people that because of his upbringing he is now a successful rapper but also saying that not everyone from the ghetto can become a celebrity like him. Another interesting video was the last Kanye West video. It was more of a story line than just random clips like Common's video. It also seemed like a Sierra Leone awareness video showing people where their diamonds really come from. Kanye looked down on the white powerful groups by going to the cathedral and walking around in Italy. The video was also shot in black and white which was very interesting. These two videos really stuck out to me because they were both talking about reality while also trying to show 2 sides of the story.

Hegemony and influence

Heres a video i found interesting. Even though Ron Paul is part of the higher intellectual and influential class, we didnt listen. His predictions are accurate but since there are people above him his influence didnt go very far with these words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGDisyWkIBM

So to go off of that, Rap artists in their videos have more of an influence in our culture even though it is the politicians that run this country. Rap artists will tell us what to think, how to dress, and like Common's video, tell us that bad areas in Chicago arent exactly bad because that is where he was from. Kanyes rap videos depict the rich and powerful as the bad influence, although Kanye himself is part of the "rich and powerful". This was a reason why they asked Mike Myers and Kanye West to speak on behalf of relief parties for Katrina. This was where Kanye took the opportunity to make a fool of himself and President Bush. He used his power to influence the people regarding an issue that was clearly irrelevant to the matter at hand.

Hegemony and TV

Reading about hegemony had me thinking about the way hegemony works on TV. It is easy to see from observing most televisions shows that they are about white, middle class characters. Characters of different classes, ethnicities, and backgrounds seem to be included a lot of the time to "fill a quota," so to speak, like an afterthought almost. When you examine some of the most popular shows on TV, it's a little concerning to see what the people in charge, the people with hegemony, have decided what we want to watch. Extremely wealthy people with hegemony over the other classes make it so that in shows like True Blood, Bones, New Girl, and Grey's Anatomy that the "ethnic friend" is never a lead character and is there to round out the cast or make the show seem politically correct. I'm not suggesting that all characters from non-white, non-middle class on TV are intended this way, but I fear and think that most are. Even on shows not considered strictly scripted, like The Voice or American Idol, there is a contrived harmonic balance of "celebrities" or "voice coaches" or "judges" to achieve a false sense of unity, and apparently, that's the way TV is nowadays. 

Homogenized Mocha-chino land

On CNN's website there is an article talking about our societies fascination with year end lists. We take a look back at the end of the yeAr, and make lists to say who was the best in film, TV, and music. This last year Lady GaGa and Justin Beiber were major trends in the social sphere, while Charlie Sheen was the butt of jokes for his outlandish antics. This article seemed perfect for this class because it deals with what we were taking about in terms of hegemony. We are living and contributing to a society that enjoys things like "best" and " worst" lists, and the media want us to participate. As stated in the article, we are so inundated with media everyday that sometimes lists are needed just to process, and see what is out there. We are made to believe that our opinion counts, and that We have a lot of power over what is popular. While that may be true, it is only half of the problem. The media and society in general likes hegemony because it's safe and there is a standard of " normality". How can you sell things to the masses if you don't know what they like? In a nutshell, we are being told what to like, and we aren't doing anything to fight against that. Samantha Morales http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/23/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/obsessions-year-end-lists/index.html

hegemony

     After really thinking about everything we discussed this week one idea really stood out, and that was hegemony, which means the power a class has over another. This got me thinking of what class has power over who? In my eyes the media is a higher class because they decide what we see, and how we should view things and form opinions. From magazines, to tv, to movies, and on the internet there is that high “power” that decides what we will view. On tv ideas are instilled in our minds and therefore aid in our opinions we make. Celebrities endorse products and when you see a celebrity you like in a magazine with a new perfume, there’s a great chance you will buy it. But I feel that the things the media puts out there for us to absorb is most of the time not beneficial to us. I watched the state of the union address on Tuesday, and thought to myself if my teacher wouldn’t have told me it was on, I probably would not know; but if the media and celebrities whom we follow daily mentioned it or said it was important to watch, I think a lot more people would become involved.

     Just from that one example in my own life it shows how hegemony works in our society. We would rather have the media feed us news and how to think then take the time to watch something that actually may be beneficial for us.

Malorie D

WARNING: All content may be the same!

Reality or fake? What is TV today? This question has been running though my mind. With media companies that seem to control most of the worlds content it seems to mean that all television content can be considered fake. Reality TV is seen as “trashy” because of the content it provides, but in fact this same content is produces from the same production companies that give you the news and shows. So then you have to ask yourself, why do you see Lindsey Lohan on every channel. Is it because we as Americans care so strongly about her and her life or is there more to this? Is there a world of people that are controlling the content we see. About a year ago, I stopped watching television. In fact, I only started watching television this past summer during my internships when I had to watch what news other stations were covering. It is here that I see the same content being filtered on every channel in different ways. So why have some much content of the same? Why not leave room for new, innovated channels that can be found on sites like YouTube.com to make into the main stream? Why has creativity been shunned upon and destroyed? These and many more answers I aim to look for and have answered for you all shortly. 

Shameless

The television series “Shameless” is a family of seven set in the south side of Chicago.  The father does not really contribute much for the kids since he is an alcoholic that depends on his unemployment, so it is up to the family’s oldest daughter Fiona to take care of everyone.  The show can be pretty serious when dealing with making sure ends meet and the responsibility that is put on the oldest daughter but it adds comedic relief when things get too serious.  In last week’s episode, Fiona, the oldest daughter found a purse on the L that had over five hundred dollars in it.  Because her family needed it, she took the money and gave the purse back to the rightful owner.  When going to meet up with the purse’s owner to at least return the bag, the owner said that she could tell Fiona is a poor girl from the ghetto and she knows she stole the money.  I think it is a good example of stereotypes because it shows how one girl from the north side thinks the other girl is ghetto just because she is from the south side.  There is a sense of hegemony since the girl from the north side automatically thought she was above Fiona strictly because of where she lived.  Stereotypes are prevalent throughout all society and even television shows represent it accurately.

melissa b

American Idol Changing the Way We View Talent

A new season of American Idol has begun and, although I am not a huge fan, I do love seeing the auditions.  The auditions are always full of extremely strange individuals who in reality can not sing.  Each person who auditions is portrayed as a typical everyday American who is trying to accomplish the new American dream of becoming famous.  This reflects that perhaps American culture values fame not only as a dream for success but also as a guide for everyday life.  American Idol demonstrates this by showing that the contestants are OK with being judged, rather harshly, by a panel of famous celebrates telling them how to improve on everything from their singing to their wardrobe.  This made me think that this show is a great example of how the American culture consumes media because what does American Idol offer its viewers?  It does not make you think or offer new information, all it does is entertain.  Not that their is anything wrong with entertainment but American Idol has , in a way, changed the way we perceive ‘talent’.  After American Idol, becoming famous does not require ‘talent’ like singing well or being able to dance.  Now being famous can be as easy as making yourself look ridiculous on shows like American Idol.

Who Shot JR?

One of my good friends is obsessed with Dallas. I am not talking about the hometown of the Dallas Cowboys, but the soap opera “Dallas”. He says that his mother used to watch the show. He watches it now because it makes him think of her. Although I had never watched the show before, I had heard of it quite a bit. Brazil (I am originally from Brazil) was one of the dozens of countries that translated and broadcasted “Dallas” to their national audience. My parents watched “Dallas” too so I was able to relate to my friend’s interest in the show. I decided to watch a few clips on YouTube. The show revolved around the Ewing family. They were an extremely wealthy family from Texas who made their money in the oil industry. The series lasted 13 seasons from 1978 to 1991. “Dallas” became a national phenomenon during the 1980 season with the episode in which the main character JR was shot. Close to 42 million households tuned into the show to find out who had shot JR. This episode is still the second most viewed event in all American television history.

For anyone who does not have personal reasons to watch “Dallas”, the show might not make much sense nowadays. However, it was huge during the 80s. Why was it so popular at that time? It was popular because it was relevant for viewers of that specific period of time. Many media texts will only make sense when considering the context in which they were created.

Most of the show took place in the 80s. During that time, the country was going through significant social and economical changes. It was the Reaganomics period. A time in which the federal government reduced spending, controlled the money supply to reduce inflation, deregulated corporations, and lowered income tax and capital gains tax. All these policies were implemented to increase the circulation of money in the economy. People were sold on the idea that the country was rich and everyone could become rich. They believed that one day they too could live luxuriously like the Ewing family.

Taciani D.

Hegemony

The ideas that we hold are brought down to us from people with influence who also happen to have power. Celebrities, politicians, aristocrats, and people with causes such as civil rights leaders often present their ideas to the public and we adopt these ideas as our own, because we look up to these people. We are consequently influenced to follow their actions, ideas or lifestyle. This is the simple idea of being a role model. People ‘follow’ or ‘subscribe to people with influence on media websites such as Facebook or twitter because we “want to be like them and know what drives their inner thoughts”.  Mark Zuckerman has almost 11million subscribers on Facebook? Why? The guy was the youngest billionaire in history by designing a simple website that was already established like “Myspace”.  We want to know what his secret to success was, and how he continues to be successful. These are the people who influence our lives. They are the elite, the aristocrats, and the people with influence. They basically set the bar for the rest of us and we eat this up, because the public want to experience the same lifestyle as them. This is what we call Hegemony. 

Mad Men

The television series "Mad Men" is set in the 1960's in the ego-driven world of advertisement and is based on the lives of the working men and their house wives. The show is a perfect example of the gender stereotypes that take place in our society and the way men are depicted as middle class, hard working Americans who are able to get away with cheating on their wives and treating them like garbage. The message this show sends to the audience is not positive and teaches us that men are supposed to be working in an office while their wives are at home taking care of their children and spending their time in the kitchen or cleaning. Mad Men shows a lifestyle that we are supposed to believe as being the real way to do things in our society and I am glad our generation has advanced and changed the way we have relationships to some extent. For example, many more fathers are staying at home and a lot of women are becoming more and more successful and getting education and jobs that didn't exist years ago. Since the show takes place in the 1960's, things were not as equal back than but it is reassuring to know that our society has developed a different outlook on the way we work and raise our children but the stereotypes have not gone away yet. Overall, the way men are supposed to act according to "Mad Men" is an inaccurate deception of the way we should be living.

Matt T.

Realty TV Bites: The Bad Girls Club Chronicles

Reality TV has been a growing phenomenon since its explosion in the late 1990's/early 2000's. Reality shows have ranged from Big Brother to The Bachelor and Survivor. The Real World is one of the longest-running reality series in history with 26 seasons to date. The list of reality shows could go on forever, but what exactly do reality shows have to offer? Why is America so fascinated with the daily lives of "reality stars"? In an attempt to answer said questions, I began to reflect on my own reality TV vices...

I am not proud to admit this, but The Bad Girls Club is a "reality" show that I have been a ridiculously avid fan of since season 1. Over the years and various seasons, I have seen the chosen girls evolve from "bad" to "worse" to absolute train wreck. The season 8 premier aired this Monday night, and I found myself swaddled on my couch at 8:59 p.m. giddy with anticipation for the 9:00 introduction of this season's "bad girls". Embarrassing I know, but I'm addicted. Soon after the premier, I began to reflect on the past 7 seasons in an attempt to find out why the hell I even watch this show. I get so much flak from my friends, family and peers for watching The Bad Girls Club so I decided to look inside myself for some answers. And guess what? I really didn't find any convincing arguements...

I have come to the conclusion that I do not have one valid arguement as to why I watch this show besides the entertainment factor. I do not look up to these girls, nor do I envy them, nor do I ever want to be included in their "club". I guess I just get a kick out of the outrageously amazing things that happen within the walls of The Bad Girls house, knowing that the things I see on the show will in all actuality, never happen in my life. It's ironic to say that I watch "reality" shows as an escape from my reality. Not that my life is boring in the least bit, but on a Monday night I typically don't get belligerently drunk and pull my roommates hair extensions out because she was a "skanky betch" and destroyed my favorite pair of Jimmy Choo's when she was prancing around in the club wearing them last Saturday.

My inner reflection revealed this about Americans: we like crazy. We want to watch trashy reality TV because we can. We're American damnit. We enjoy watching physically attractive people with heinous personalities destroy other physically attractive people's belongings. We want to know just how many shots it takes to get to the center of someones drinking problem. We want to watch "bad girls" act like they're all that and a bag of chips because it's entertaining and we don't really act like that when we go out in public. So as long as we are continually entertained by reality stars and their antics, whether "real" or not, reality TV will continue to reign supreme in the American arena of pop culture awesomeness!!

What is quality television really? by Kevin Mccarthy

Everyone defines quality in different ways. Whether it be a prime steak or a McDonald's hamburger, everyone has there own definition of quality.  When discussing our favorite shows in class, it started to think what my definition was.  I watch some TV but not as much as many others and when i do it is more sporting events then anything else.  I commonly watch Archer and The League, Spartacus, and Entourage.  My definition would say that those shows would be quality but that could be different for other people because some would say that Archer and The League are crude and stupid, Spartacus is way to violent and Entourage is what is wrong in society today because of how it profiles women.  Sure those things might be present but they are essential to the storyline.  Archer is James Bond with mommy issues. The League is mostly improv so there is bound to be some rude stuff in there.  Spartacus is about gladiators and there masters and Entourage, well the tag line says it all, "Maybe We Can Have It All".  Opinions are voiced everyday through the Internet, TV, and other media sources but when those opinions are being shoved down peoples throats that is when it is OK to say Shut up and leave it at that.

Hegemony & Entertainment News

     After reading and discussing hegemony in class, I could not help to think about all of the entertainment news we have in media such as celebrity news shows, magazines, blogs, twitter, and so on.  E! News is a perfect example of this source of media.  This is a show that’s on nightly and has all the breaking news and gossip about celebrities.  This show glamorizes celebrity gossip such as whose hooking up, breaking up, etc.  They focus on issues and stories that are in reality, trivial to our society.  Yet, the way these stories are presented make them seem important stories for its viewers to be informed on.    However, the fact that this show, along with other entertainment news, has been on for awhile and receives ratings suggests that people in America watch these shows and are in fact interested in what is going on in the lives of celebrities.  I will admit that I often find myself watching E! News or reading through a tabloid magazine.  This had me thinking about the whole issue of hegemony and the influence the elite and celebrities have over others.  It seems that a lot of celebrities unintentionally control what is in the media.  Not all celebrities choose to necessarily have their personal lives in the media, yet, because people are interested in their lives they do, however, influence the media.  Therefore, the elite, in certain ways, are the ones that choose what is in the media, but without a mass amount of people to consume this media, there would be no audience and this type of programming would not be aired.

Artificial Reality

In the essay “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception” by Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno, the authors discuss the idea that the masses have difficulty distinguishing reality from culture.  At first this was a little confusing and hard to wrap my head around.  After some thought, it made sense after thinking about it in terms of reality shows.  We can look specifically at reality shows like the Jersey Shore, the Real Housewives Series, and others that ultimately create this fictitious culture to capture as reality. 

            These shows are shows in which the people are specifically chosen and the environment set.  Then in order to create what the producers would consider the best show, they are able to edit everything in order to show only certain parts of this “reality” giving a skewed perspective to the audience.  These shows are labeled as “reality” shows because they are “real” people in “real” environments and that are supposedly unscripted.  Despite the artificial culture, the masses really don’t distinguish it as a separate culture.  This “culture” they are watching on television is not a reality as they tend to perceive it. 

            When I think about it, I think it’s kind of crazy that these shows are not separated from reality.  I feel as though it has become fairly well known that these shows aren’t as “real” as people thought when they originally started airing on television.  I wonder if this is something that is naturally engrained in us or is it something more.  In the article “The Ruling Class and the Ruling Ideas” by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the authors discuss how there is a small ruling class and they are the ones that chooses what ideas and concepts go out to the masses.  Essentially, this ruling class has a great influence over the masses and can basically manipulate them.  So there’s also the possibility that the ruling class is manipulating the masses making it difficult for us to distinguish the reality and culture.  While this is something that would be quite difficult to research specifically I think this is something that would be quite interesting to think about and possibly look more into.   

Meghan O.

Power Struggles

               In class, we talked about different types of power. We talked about if there should be or if there is a separation between monetary power and intellectual power. I think that most people would say that there should be a separation of the two otherwise someone with money would always control everything.  But, could there ever be a separation? I really do no think it could. In today's world, we tend to value money or intelligence. I bet if most of the people in the world were surveyed, they would say they would rather have a a great amount of money rather than a great amount of intelligence. With money, things, like new inventions or new music, can be pushed into the world very fast. If someone has intellectual power, they can try to get their ideas out there, but it could take a very VERY long time for this idea to become popular in the world.

                One example I can think of where there is disparity between intellectual power and monetary power is the music of 50 Cent. Ever since he last released an album in 2009, he has been attempting to release another, but cannot because of his label. It seems as though that his label continues to not like what he comes up with to the sell to the public. Maybe, his new songs are not catchy enough? Labels support artists only if they believe in the product and right now they must not believe he can sell. The funny thing is that 50 Cent probably does have the resources and money to sell the album on his own. Maybe he does not believe in it himself? or Maybe he is in some sort of contract where he cannot release independently? All of this comes back to who has the monetary power and unfortunately for 50 Cent, the label does.

Jeffrey K

Comm 330: Guy Code

The new television show on MTV networks entitled “Guy Code” discusses specific “codes” that men must follow in order to remain and obtain the status of a man. The show discusses everything from getting sex from girls, frat parties, and college life, what it means to be a “guy”, and much, much more. However, the show is not so much about giving advise on how to be a good guy but how not to be a gay guy, or rather a woman.

The show in its first season on MTV has a very anti gay attitude and anti women attitude, that reinforces the stereotype of male masculinity, and preaches anti-femininity. In only one episode of the television series, numerous anti-gay, anti-woman attitudes were established. The opening of the show begins by saying that guy code is innate code within all guys, that it is “embedded in guys DNA.”  This hear overtly explains that every guy shares the same code, and what the show will teach you, is the code for guys. The show then continues by teaching their “first lesson” of the guy code which explains the code of “getting freaky.” The show explains that men should not date women with more sexual experience because it takes away their manlihood because women should not know more about sex than guys, and if she does she’s a whore. This overtly describes women as lesser than man, and even slut bashes women. The show then continues by teaching lesson of having a job. It explains that having a job is important. The guys in the show explain that a man having a job to women, is like a man having a girl with nice breast and a nice butt. Here, the male discussing this is objectifying women by claiming that women are more attracted by men who have jobs then by looks. Even a woman on the show, who is a maxim model, explains that girls “like it when guys have jobs so they can brag to their friends about having a rich boyfriend.” Sadly, even some women objectify women and here it could not be more obvious. To conclude, the commercial break between segments of the show was a combo commercial where three guys are sitting at a table, hold hands and pray that Dallas will win their football game, and then begin to eat combos for dinner. The catch phrase for the commercial was “combos: what your mom would make for dinner if she were a man.” This show obviously, has extreme issues, and has the major potential to affect viewers watching it.

Hegemony & Justin Bieber: By Jack Gohl

99.9 percent of the time I almost always dislike reading about Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels views, because these text are always way to abstract for myself and can almost always be summed up in one paragraph or at least the 5 page conclusion. This reading on Marx and Engels text, "The Ruling Class and the Ruling Ideas" gave me inspiration towards the last .01 percent. After reading and discussing in small groups I found these ideas to be quite enlightening and actually really got me thinking about our media powers and the effects they have on society.

In doing my comparison of the texts information to the media, I wanted to use the TV News as an example. More then ever in this day of age we see entertainers swamping the media with ideas and random bull. For example, Bonos (U2 singer) thoughts on how we can save the world or Mel Gibsons drunken anti-semitic slurs, which make top headlines on various news programs. In my opinion there are 1,000's of Bono's in this world, but only 1 gets our attention and really even though it is fun to make fun of Mel after his drunken buffoonery, who really gives a poop. Why could this be?? This (to me) is because entertainers/politicians are considered the elite beings in our society, which also have some of the highest paying salaries and power.

The power these few and very wealthy individuals display, whether outrageous or normal in the events captured on news programs can (to me) be a wonderful example of hegemony. These news programs sift through the material and choose what is of importance and what is not. Do many of us not give a poop to what and why Linsey Lohan is in court for each time she breaks top story (which is a lot), rather the kid that saved a cat from a tree or the many people that die from various issues around the states and world? I blame hegemony and Justin Beiber... But really, we can not blame Justin biebs for all our problems, because he has a great head of hair. Hegel was right on, hegemony or in his words our hierarchy in society is what controls various medias. But, I may be 99.9 percent off on this...

Product Placement

Product placement, commonly used today in most media entertainment, is advertising in which branded products are placed in television shows, music videos, and movies. For example, on each episode of American Idol the judges have Coke placed in from of them. Another example is when music artists promote their perfume or clothing line in their music videos. Cell phones, cameras, and other electronics are also featured in these media forms. Shows that target younger audiences tend to promote electronics. Product placement is literally everywhere: the cars the characters drive, the clothing and accessories they wear, the cell phones they use, even the brand of orange juice or coffee they drink. It is everywhere. 

Product placement is an example of turning culture into a commodity. Companies are continuously developing new ways to make money off what is aired to the public. They make our idolized characters promote the newest devices, hoping we will then go out and buy them. Entertainment is no longer solely for entertainment purposes. Our favorite shows and music is filled with messages about what is new and improved and worth buying. There is an underlying motive behind everything we are exposed to: money and profits. 

These messages are ruining our culture. Music is no longer just rhythm and beat. Movies are no longer just about the scenery and special effects. Everything included in these media forms is there for a reason. 

Although it makes sense for Coke, who sponsors American Idol, to promote their product on the show or for Britney Spears to promote her new fragrance in her music video that will be viewed by millions of fans, it is less sensible or reasonable to promote a new camera on a television show, especially if it is extremely obvious. If the characters are actually discussing the product and its features during the episode, the advertising has gone too far. Subtlety I will settle for. 

Leave the advertising to the commercials and billboards. Let us enjoy our music and film, without being bombarded with branded products and services. 

The Simple Life

The television show, The Simple Life, starred socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. The series took these women and puts them in the life of ordinary, American citizens. Paris and Nicole always mess up or were grossed out by their new "jobs." They did not perform well as average citizens.

This was the perfect example of hegemony. Paris and Nicole have a lot of influence and power over American culture (maybe not as much now, but when the show aired they had a lot of power). Their ideas were seen through everyone, but their ideas and lifestyles are only really possible to obtain for the elite. They themselves could not even live the life of an average person.

Another example of hegemony was displayed on Paris' show, Paris Hilton's My New BFF. Everyone wanted to be her best friend in order to go to the best parties and dress just like Paris. It was because of her business ideas or ethic. They wanted to be seen on TV (or at least that is what I interpreted from the show). 

American culture takes on ideas that the elite present to us. However, we can not truly live the lives they are displaying to us.

Wife Swap: King Curtis Episode

Even though "Wife Swap" aired from 2004-2009 in the U.S., I still think we can learn a lot about American culture with it. I re-watched an episode where the Brown family owns their own boot camp and believes in strict discipline and a strict diet for their six and eight year old. The Holland family believes that the parents and the children should be equal and anything the children want they get which includes chicken nuggets for breakfast. Something I noticed that was repeated in the show was the fathers' lack of respect to their new wives. They were very adamant to changing their lifestyle even when the wives made good arguments. This shows that although American families can extremely differ from each other they are all stubborn and upset with other people telling them they are living their life wrong. Nobody wants to be told that they are raising their children poorly. Something else that repeats is that Cliff, the Holland father, constantly mentions that money is not important to his family and makes fun of Joy's massive diamond ring. Joy even retorts that she has not mentioned money once since living in their house. This shows the tension between classes. Cliff believes everything revolves around money with Joy while Joy wants to show him what achieving monetary goals is like. He is not comfortable with her name brand clothes and jewelry and she looks down on his everyday relaxed clothing. Something that repeats in every episode of "Wife Swap" is the extreme differences in the types of families they switch the wife in. Another episode I've seen before is where an extremely atheist wife swapped lives with an extremely Christian wife. This simply shows that families in America can be very different. Another thing that repeats in every episode is that eventually each family gains something new. The Brown father realized his children do need a little more fun in their life and the Holland family realized their eating style was a little too unhealthy. This shows that despite American family differences there is a balance they can eventually agree on. No family on the show is shown as perfect and every family has something new to learn. I think "Wife Swap" has a fairly neutral view on culture. Both families are usually so extreme that it balances out to normal.

After discussing cultural hegemony in class I really began to think about the implicit messages that are sent through television shows.  A lot of the shows that have the highest ratings are reality television shows.  Shows that can be considered commodities, very straightforward, mindless entertainment.  Because there has been a huge rise in the number of reality shows on TV, you have to think of the message it sends to not only domestic viewers but international viewers as well.  Cultural hegemony is the spreading of ideas from the dominant class to the lower class.  However you can argue that the media doesn't necessarily control the public, maybe the public controls the media.

I was recently visiting my sister who lives in Spain, and whenever we were at her house the TV was always on.  There were only a few channels with english TV shows.  The shows included Two and a Half Men, Teen Mom, Paris Hilton's My New BFF, Jersey Shore, and Law and Order.   I rarely watch TV at home and when I do I would never watch any of these shows.  Even though I didn't like any of these shows I still watched them, while watching them I couldn't help but think about the fact that these shows are representing America.  We talked in class that media reflects the ideals or culture of the ruling class, however when you take examples from some of today's most popular shows, the idea of these shows representing any of our county's ideals is ludicrous. I don't think majority of popular television shows today give viewers an accurate perception of life in the United States, and in many ways I think the public controls the media.