Keeping up with Who?

For the last class of the year it was a very painful to watch the show “Keeping up with the Kardashian’s.” Over the past few years this family has received more and more attention, my question is for what? What have they done that is so great? They haven’t starred in any movies, came up with a cure for cancer, nothing that has impressed me or anyone in this world. The whole point of their lives is to have an image. What is the image? Well in my opinion the producers and family try to make it seem like their life is glamorous and perfect. Yes in the first episode the topic of Kim Kardashian’s sex video came up, which by the way is the only reason why I knew who she was in the first place. They try to make it seem like if you have money you have power and you can do what you want to do. I mean the mother showed up late to her own Anniversary party at her own house because she was drunk. They try and act like they live above the normal society. My one roommate loves this show and I have seen recent episodes of it, what amazes me is that that the first episode kind of seem like it focus on the mother and Kim. Now the show focuses on just Kim. To me all I see is a bunch of terrible want to be actors that don’t know what makes them happy that is why they have new events and different problems. They are concerned about one thing and that is making money. The lifestyle of living rich and fake is all they know because they are blinded by their bank account.

Sports Fans vs. Movie Fans

We discussed in class yesterday whether or not a sports fan is the same as a fan that may follow a movie series or music group. I think that is not true at all. A sports team that is in a city can be that city's identity. Would I say fans of sports team go a little to far yes I do, but I feel that they are proud of their city and that's why they support that team. I look at it like a relationship, for example the Chicago Cubs seem to choke some how some way every year, yet they have the most loyal fans in baseball. Its something that makes them feel good at the end of the day whether the result is good or bad. For movies I think people that dress up like the characters take it to the next level. What is the point of dressing like Jack Spario from Pirates of the Carribean? There is no point no one will care at the end of the day whether or not you look like them.

television changes

This was actually my favorite topic because I am a requent television watcher. I always stumble upon shows like Leave it To Beaver and The Dick Van Dyke Show, and really I am just amazed by how much times have changed. Yes, America has changed but was it television that changed America or did America change television? I believe that people changed television through the different generations. What we talked about in class is how they portray different genders, ages, sexes, and races is true in my opinion people always talk how America is a melting pot. Well, in my opinion I think there are more Joe the plumbers then successful doctors. At the same time I think it is more entertaining to watch shows about Joe the plumber then the person that is successful, because in reality no one can really relate to people that have tons of money.

b hook

For this week Bell hook explains how people are blinded by what is important to society. Money is the only thing that is important people they influence people. They give a false identity of what is power and what isn't. All I know is that people are so money driven that they forget the important aspects of life. At the same time though this is why our society is so image oriented. What people have is what is important. It is really unfortunate that our society has excepted this as being okay.

Who is fake

 What is realistic and what isn't? Our society cares about only a few things which are power, money, and have a great self-image. We as people always judge people by their appearance rather than the knowledge or experience they have. In the movie The Pursuit of Happiness it’s about a man that is very qualified for a many positions because he has a lot of knowledge and experience. He is turned down several times because of his appearance also this was during a time when the African American race was still upcoming in the work force. He got judged by his appearance rather than the knowledge that he had. When we talked about the one article about Barbie. It is pretty accurate on Barbie's lifestyle she can peruse any goal or dream she wants because she has the typical all American girl look, which is tall blonde, and a great body. It makes young children realize that if I look like that act like that my life will be glamorous, and I can get whatever I want. So get frustrated and upset that these companies ingrain this thought into children’s heads however, it is very accurate in the society that we live in.

shows change

As time has changed so has the entertainment that has been on television. Back in the 70’s and 80’s talking down on another race was acceptable to society. As the late 80’s and early to mid-90 came around the so called “minority” stood up for themselves and their rights. Now during our generating of people the topic of race isn’t much of an issue. In fact in my opinion I feel that there are more shows that portray the white race as the struggling race now. Most shows now are about a blue collar couple that is trying to support a family. For example, Grounded For life, Still Standing, and According to Jim are all about simple families with parents with not much education trying to live a semi normal lifestyle. They are trying to raise kids to the best of their ability with the knowledge that they know. I think as the times change they base it off of what parents and families go through. In the next 15-20 years these shows are going to be based off of people like our generation. Parents with an education and having a successful life, but struggle to relate to their children because times have changed and we will be out of the loop of what society views as acceptable.

Making an Awkward Moment on Television

The producers of television shows have realized that awkward is funny. We all experience them at one point or another. An example is seeing someone that you weren’t really friends with in high school five years later and you both make eye contact, and there is a panic to whether or not you should wave. Television shows take it to the next level to using stereotypes of sex and races. Seinfeld is notorious for these moments especially because during the shows popularity really got big during the mid late 90’s, when people started to become more liberated about their true identity. One episode Jerry the main character has an interview with a college reporter that catches her ease dropping on his conversation not knowing who she was, him and his friend George acted homosexual towards each other. Once the reporter realizes who Jerry is she ends up writing an article describing how Jerry is homosexual. The famous quote “Were not gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Jerry was trying to justify his sexuality with out put another down, when in reality by the ton of his voice it was obvious that being homosexual was not acceptable. Another episode was these two men came up to Kramer another character and were interested in the wood cabinet even though they didn’t announce their sexuality the two made it obvious that they lived together. As well as, who controlled the relationship. Shows like this make television entertaining because these are everyday occurrences.

Real life Television

What most people can't wait for each week are their week night shows that tell a story. A story that they feel is true and a part of their life. Producers and writers know that what they feed the audience each week will keep them coming back for more. Shows like Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill, and many more have the same plot. Each week there is a problem between a couple or group of people, later in the show they get in more depth about the problem, finally resolving the problem. Yet as one problem is fixed a new one arises and leaves and leaves the viewer wanting to know what happens next week. Over the years it has become very obvious that this type of plot is what draws the most viewers, which is the reason why I think more game shows have taken a reality approach to revolving their show around it. The first game show to do this was who wants to be a millionaire. The show would always end for that day with the contest getting close to the million dollars. Now the audience could feel the suspension of what will happen next week. The one thing that the show didn’t have was a preview for the next episode. However, shows now like American Idol, The Voice, The Biggest Loser, will preview to the next episode to let viewers get hooked and wonder what will happen on next week’s show. Shows may not have the same characters, but they all have a central plot.   

Sterotypes for each generation

People have sterotypes about every race, sex, and gender. The question is how does it start? What drives people to say what they say about different groups of people. Does this shape how we watch television and movies. The sad thing is it does. This is what entertain people, so when we talked about the show Family Guy and how it may step over its boudries is because it is true. This show has made millions of dollars throwing in lttle side notes that are races and uncalled for. This is excepted in America I feel because there are so many different ethinic groups and races here. So the creaters feel that they would be able to appeal to an audience that like it when they bash other races. I feel if this show were to be broadcasted in other countries I feel the rating and popularity of this show would be much lower than what it is.

The Knowledge of the US

The people of the United States have all the sudden taken an interest to what is going on in the political world. Ever since unemployment, poverty, and many more issues have risen in the past 8 years the people of the United States want answers to why. It’s funny though that people take an interest in something whenever their wallets are going to be hit the hardest. In my opinion not to many people, especially college students really understand what is going on in our world. These people usually side with what their peers or with what their parent’s side with; no one really understands true policies and the government. Even though the Howard Stern show is not the most creditable shows in the world, they did a bid a few years ago during the Presidential election. The question was who they are voting for in the 2008 Presidential election? After that they would switch the policies of each Candidate. The most amazing part this was that no one caught on what they were doing. They even switched who each chose for vice President and no one still caught on. So for example they would say “so you’re voting for Obama because he wants the troops to stay in Iraq?” The individual would answer “yes!” For people that answered McCain they asked “Are you happy with the selection of Joe Biden as his Vice President?” The answer was once again “yes!” This alone would really contradict what Dewy was trying to emphasize by giving people a choice, because they don’t even have a clue as to what they are talking about. In my opinion the government should have more of say because they can get properly educated people to make rational decisions. I am not saying that corporations should have a say either, because of their bank account. What I am saying is people that aren’t educated on a topic should not have a say to what our government should and shouldn’t do.

Reali-TV

The article that we had to read in class was about reality television and the economic changes it had on production. After having a discussion with my fellow classmates and getting more in depth with the article, I started to really doubt everything I watch on television. I remember a few years back I had attendee the show Deal or no Deal; I was very excited and couldn’t wait to see how a game show was. When the hours started to keep going I started to lose my interest especially because it took 7 hours to film one episode. If the crew didn’t like the contestant’s reaction they would reshoot the whole scene, even though the contestant knew what number was in the box. From that point on the show was ruined for me I couldn’t watch it knowing that they already know the result.

            This got me thinking about another game show that was big about 10 years ago who wants to be a Millionaire. For years they had never received a winner on the show, people would get close but no one got within 4 answers without using all their life lines. Finally, there was a contestant that not only got all the answers right but didn’t use any life lines except for one telling his parents that he was about to win. It just isn’t possible, I think that the producers started to realize they were losing viewers because they realized the task wasn’t possible and the only way to get people to tune in again is to have a winner. Whether he won the money fair or not is up to you to believe but I have my assumptions and doubts that I believe are what producers try to do to make the show so great. They stretch the “real” truth and make it reali-tv.

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.

Is Reality TV Giving Teens the Wrong Idea

Not to long ago I was at home and there wasn’t anything on the television, so I decided to watch “Teen Mom.” A reality television show that is on MTV that follows teen moms and their struggles of being a teen parent while trying to be a normal teen as well. The show was a spin off of the show “16 and Pregnant” which still airs on television today. The concept of the first season was good because I felt it was genuine and really gave young girls and guys a reality of what life is like after you have a baby. None of these people had money, a job, or family support for their decisions that they made. As the show started getting more popular it seemed like the girls got trashier and didn’t really have any morals or values. I believe when the media started making these girls out to be stars it gave young girls the idea that if this were to happen to them then their life won’t be as bad.

            The first four girls Maci, Amber, Caitlyn, and Farah all made pour decisions in life and are trying to better their life even with the situation that they are in. All of them at least have a GED and some have an Associates degree as well. Sure their goals and dreams were put on hold for awhile, but they are now trying to pursue them again. The girls now however that I watched are nothing but white trash. They depend on other people around them to get them out of messy situations that they don’t want to deal with. The one girl that frusterates me the most is Jenelle, who cares about 3 things in life smoking pot, her dead beat boyfriend, and herself. The number one reason why they somewhat make it in society is because they receive a nice check from MTV per episode. Which in my mind is another way someone congratulating for being a screw up. I think there still needs to limits to shows and what they do because what they are telling audiences and young teens are that if you screw up there will always be someone there to clean up your mess if you don’t want to deal with it.   

How people Interpret 15 minutes of fame

The statement that we discussed in class the other day was "Everyone has 15 minutes of fame." To me there are so many different ways to describe weather or not someone someone is famous. When I look at 15 minutes of fame I look at celebrities and athletes. In my mind those people are known worldwide. I believe someone needs to be considered famous for doing more good for the world rather than bad. However, there can be a number of different things that ordinary people can do. For example, posting YouTube videos of something they have done, or saving someone’s life and getting on the news. That is something people all over the world can recognize and appreciate. People that do get their fame for doing something crazy like for example being a serial killer also falls in the category of this. To me though you have more people saying those people are crazy rather than they are well known for what they had done. As we grow older though I feel that people start to change their interpretation of what being famous really means. For example, I felt back in high school it was a big deal to be in the town’s newspaper. Now I realize that is small potatoes and really wouldn’t consider that a big deal now. For people though that don’t leave their small town habitat they may feel like this is still a like that is their 15 minutes of fame. What I am trying to say is people may interpret this in many different ways depending on their upbringing, environment, and what they exposed to in the world.