Is Mr.McGinniss on to something? (Social class)

Ooh the scandals and controversy associated with the former Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin.  Who has not heard the media talking about the life of this politician that has been running for the Vice President in the presidential elections in 2008 with Senator John McCain?

Yet, it is not my intention or goal to be talking about politics this time. It is the former governor’s relationship with the media that strikes me.  Sarah Palin has been the attention of the media not only because of her political input but also because of her personal life that is very much talked about publicly.

Joe McGinniss, a best-selling author recently wrote a book “The Rogue” where he targets Sarah Palin and talks about her personal life but of course not leaving out any political connections.

Now to be clear Mr. McGinniss decided that the best way to be able to write a book as such, he should probably move next door to the Palin’s residence, which he certainly did.  In an interview for MSNBC he stated that Sarah Palin is “An absolute and utter fraud”. Mr.McGinniss interviewed many people in Wasilla, the hometown of Sarah Palin, where he said he found that “the people that know her the most like her the least.”

I am not a Sarah Palin supporter and I certainly do understand that celebrities or such people as Palin are in the public’s eye and went into this career knowing that they are going to be exposed. I understand that public personalities are into some extend not protected by the law when it comes down to privacy and they all are after all stepping into this knowingly. However, my question is if the book ”The Rogue” is in fact a credible, useful and critical source for us to read?

Is it in fact crucial for somebody to read in order to understand Sarah Palin’s political views or are you just going to learn bunch of rumors that Mr. McGinniss heard from that guy or that girl? After all would a non-biased person who is trying to look at FACTS critically call another person a fraud?

 I wonder what it says about the author of the book. I believe that the author either went there with the intentions to find the negative and the “garbage” about Sarah Palin.  We all are well aware that no matter who you are somebody out there has something bad to say about you. If the author of the book wanted the reader to take his book seriously he would have provided us with more useful information and not just a word of mouth rumors. And if he would in fact decide to focus on such topic he should have provided the reader with both the negative as well as the positive outlooks from people that know her to some extent. 

I guess my final question is what is in today’s society really newsworthy? In my opinion this book is not a news piece worth looking at.  But what is your take on this?

You can watch the author’s interview for MSNBC here:  MSNBC "The Rogue" author interview

One other question that I constantly have in the back of my mind is how much does the fact that Sarah Palin is a WOMAN that is strongly politically active affect the media and the coverage they take on her. I cannot help but see a little bit of bias being there.  Instead of focusing on her campaigns most of the time I hear something that has nothing to do with her political career or life.

Besides seeing the bias being present I wonder how much can we really stand behind Sarah Palin being dragged on the news for non-sense media coverage. After all wasn’t it the former governor’s idea to start her own reality show? I wonder what was she thinking? Reality show is exactly what people do when they want the whole world to see their personal lives and the way they live. Isn’t that a personal invite for the media to discuss it then? I believe we are walking on a thin ice when it comes down to this issue. 

What do you think she was hoping to change with her reality show? Was it just a way to gain attention for the upcoming elections?

All in all it is interesting to see what lines people are capable of crossing in order to gain attention or publicity.  With that being said I am interested to see how well the book is going to do on the market. I guess that will give us an idea on what people really consider to be newsworthy and why are such topics being covered by the media.

Another great link you can check out to see what do media really think about the book is here: 

 'Lamestream media' defends Palin 

Another think that strikes me about the Sarah Palin's reality show is the way she is trying to represent herself and her family. In my opinion she does not belong to the working class but yet is trying to present herself as a working class mother who is in its own way a so called "tomboy". How does this help her relate to the viewers? Any ideas?

References

Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.) (2008) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Third Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage           

Butsch, R. (2007). Ralph, Fred, Archie, Homer, and the King of Queens. In Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (101-109). Location: Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Is Blockbuster getting a hang of it?? (Video games)

I could not help by think of Blockbuster when we had a discussion about video games in class. Blockbuster is now providing customers with video games directly shipped to their house. But what is it about video games that attracts people? I believe it is the fact that you can become somebody else and do things that you could not in real life. It is however the question of influence of these games that might be troubling. How much do games really affect us? Can they really lead people to violence? I believe that video games are a part of our experience and that even though they might not result in violence they do ultimately add to who we are as a person. According to the movie "Game Over" the video games are a part of our environment and our environment shapes who we are. Now to get deeper on the issue with Blockbuster:

What really caught my attention this week is the controversy surrounding the Netflix Company. Not only Netflix decided to split the company into two parts that will provide two different types of service that used to be under one bundle they also decided to raise the prices not only to the new customers but also to the already existing members. What was the result of such actions? Millions of dollars and customers lost due to poor public relations solutions.

Although I am talking about Netflix it is not my main target. I am looking at the overall market when it comes down to the streaming and DVD services. We now know that blockbuster has been ALMOST out of the business, but it looks like they are not ready to give up yet. Blockbuster has not only created a DVD rental service, online streaming service so called “Total Access” but now is also became a part of Dish Network. This video streaming service is limited to the subscribers of the Dish Network provider.

So not only we have Netflix and RedBox, now we also have Blockbuster pushing the competitors to move ahead. All this makes me wonder what is going to happen since Netflix is facing big issue regarding their prices as well as the service that is not really convenient to the customers.

Could Blockbuster come back by trying to come back by targeting the customers through different types of service?

Here is an interesting video:Netflix vs. Blockbuster: Tips from Consumer Reports - YouTube

 I believe that it is all a question of the price as well as the inventory. Who has the biggest and the up-to-date movies? Besides the prices being the problem with Netflix I believe they have created somewhat of a bad reputation that was created by their “apology” letter to the customers that was after all not as much an apology.

Who do you think is going to be able to target the market and the audience successfully? What do you think is going to be the biggest a challenge for Blockbuster compared to Netflix?

For some reason I am a big fan of RedBox. I think their prices are great and I can rent as many DVDs as I can. I can return them easily and the new movies are available pretty quickly. What is your opinion? Is RedBox even comparable to the Netflix and Blockbuster service? What do you think do customers prefer and why?

You can find some additional info here: Blockbuster Movie Pass bundles Dish with streaming video - Sep. 23, 2011

Works Cited

Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.) (2008) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Third Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage            

Game Over. movie

          Pepitone, J., (September 23, 2011). Blockbuster launches Netflix streaming rival -- sort of.CNNMoney. Retrieved on September 24, 2011 from http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/23/technology/blockbuster_streaming/index.htm

The portrayal of race in the media (Race & TV)

     Last week the class was supposed to discuss a documentary about the race and the portrayal of race in the media. It was obvious that most of the students were uneasy about this topic. It is interesting that people are still this reserved when it comes down to the discussion about race and racial issues. I also have to reference one section in the book where Rosenberg ties violence to the issues of race. He believes that violence is caused by people causing pain to others and the others believing that they have to punish such act. I was trying to think of how exactly it translates to the race and the issue with it.

It is the relationships between people that have been in the past that are here till this day affecting the way we sometimes act. It is of course the fact that there have been violence involved in the past, however what interests me is that these issues are not much talked about. I cannot really remember a serious talk about the racial issues and how it affects our everyday life in the media. Before watching the documentary I did not really realize what a difference there is in the portrayal of minorities in the media.

It shocked me to see the chain of actions and behaviors being linked to a certain racial group. It was especially the black people being represented as only the comic and funny people. This is what creates problems. It is when we see certain group of people as one instead of seeing them as one culture full of individuals. I believe that the media was in fact trying to help ease up the situation in the past by breaking the habbit of not having people of different race on TV. I however do think that they did not realize the way they were portraying them and therefore making the situation much worse. I also believe that they were creating this image of people of difference race on TV because of the way they viewed them. It was mostly white people directing and creating the content of a certain show. Their views and ideas about a certain racial group are of course present in the content of each and every show they created.

I was trying to see if there is a pattern of racial group being portrayed in a certain way in today's society. I agree with what we said in the class. It is not as apparent but there still is the same message being send. People of minorities are usually portrayed as criminals or people without much education. I am hoping that this pattern will change. However I do not know what it is going to take in order for it to change. Any thoughts?

References

Hall, S. (1981). The whites of their eyes. In Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (81-84). Location: Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Facebook vs. Reality (Masculinity)

In order to help you out with the reading you should check out this video. Its humorous and informational: Facebook vs. Reality

I could not help but think of a video and the concept of reality vs. Facebook while reading the article written by Marshall McLuhan again this week. The article talks about how media shape our perception of things and the world around us. This ultimately changes the environment around us as well as we change by adapting to the media. What surprised me was what the author considered to be the media. Media in his opinion is anything and everything that creates an extension of man’s abilities and anything that alters our natural self and the natural environment around us.

            Looking at this concept I wanted to bring attention to the video made to point out the difference between the two worlds of reality and Facebook. Ultimately the online or virtual world of Facebook is nothing like the reality that we live in. Although the question is what is reality? Is Facebook now our reality as it altered the way we communicate with each other as well as it changed relationships. We no longer have to know somebody well in order to add them on Facebook and be able to see what is going on in their personal life. Facebook ultimately changed the meaning of friends as well as the issue of privacy.

             I have to agree with McLuhan when it comes down to the innovations or inventions changing us and the world we live in. Facebook not only changed the way people interact but changed the whole concept of reality. People now pay special attention to what is posted on their profile page rather than spending a real time with their friends online.

            What do else do you think was influenced and ultimately altered by Facebook? Can you see any connections between Facebook and the interaction of people in real life?

            One other thing that stood up in my mind is the difference in how people act on Facebook and how they are in real life. The world of Facebook and Internet in general provides people with this “invisible shield” where nobody can see you and therefore you can make yourself to be anybody.  Can this affect the way we then act when we are not on Facebook but rather talking with somebody face-to-face?
           To make sure we connect this issue to what we talked about in class I also thought about how Facebook shapes the way men connect with women and how men portray their "manhood" on Facebook. I believe that man are definitely affected by Facebook. Not only they can see what women talk about they also seem to get "more talkative". Men also post pictures of themselves and look for an approval of women. For some reason this behavior is portrayed by women as well. Does this mean that Facebook brings men and women closer ? What do you think? How do you think Facebook affects the way men behave and interact with the world around them?

References

Dines, G. (2007). The white man's burden. In Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (275-282). Location: Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

How does hegemony affect the portrayal of women in the media (Everyday pornography)

     What really got my attention while watching the video about the portrayal of women in the media was mainly the reoccurring pattern in which women were represented. It is shocking to see that we are exposed to these types of messages on everyday basis but do not realize how to content can alter our own thoughts and meanings.

            While looking at the ads in the magazines or in the newspaper I could not help but think about music videos and the portrayal of women on the screen. It is particularly the rap music videos I am talking about where women are mainly seen as objects not capable of rational thought and their only desire is men or sex with men. It is also portrayed, as women are lonely and not capable of living without men. It is shocking to see how acceptable those messages are among people. Women are also often being portrayed around money. It is mostly in the context of women wanting men with money and power and for that money they would do anything.  Another very striking idea that is being sent to us through these videos is the behavior of women. I am now specifically referring to the submissive behavior women have as they often have to wait their turn to get to the men. To be more specific, there is usually many women in the video surrounding the man. It is necessary for the women to know their “place” and wait there turn to get to the man. So in other words they share everything. I cannot help but think of pimps while seeing this type of a behavior. It is exactly what they do. One man has power over these women.

            So how is it possible for people not seeing this pattern until it is pointed at? I believe that we are already so saturated with the media and constant advertising that we do not read much into these types of messages. We also may just see it as pure hegemony. Or in other words something that is “normal” in our culture and it is normal to have music videos such as I described earlier. It is sad but obvious that at this point it would take a lot to change all this. It is not only the responsibility of the media but also the women who choose to be seen and portrayed in certain ways in the media. Most likely I do not think women realize this until it is pointed to them.

References

Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.) (2008) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Third Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage           

Caputi, J. (2007). The pornography of everyday life. In Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (311-320). Location: Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Pornography of Everyday Life (2006). movie

The un-common portrayal of women in the media (Femininity & Advertising)

            This is something that caught my attention as we talked in class about men and the contemporary represantation of masculinity in the media. Masculinity and femininity both have a certain image or idea that is reprresented in the media. People do not realize it but it affects us and the way we perceive ourself and others on everyday basis. Men are often pictured as tall, strong and very mascular without any desire to be emotional or show their inner self. They are supposed to be the cold and not very talkative supporters of the family.
            Women on the other hand are mostly portrayed as very skinny, sexual and object-like. The idealistic beuaty is in fact represented as skinny, long hair and not very professional. These of course are western-society ideals.
            It was because of these that this particular add caught my attention. It was not only because of the model and her looks but also the stroy behind it. This particular model is 60 years old, does not color her hair and says the less make-up the better. This I believe is a big step especially in our society where youth is celebrated and wanted by every women. It is almost as only the young without any skin wrinklers are perceived as beautiful.
          This story is therefore a challenge to the otherwise youth-oriented society. I wonder how many women look at this and wonder if they are in fact supposed to celebrate their age and be proud of what they look like. This add celebrates age and Cindy Joseph, the model is trying to support women to feel comfortable with themselves and their skin.
You can find the add here: http://vitality.yahoo.com/video-second-act-cindy-joseph-26992874
Also do you think we can find any parts in this add that reinforce our norms or ideas about femininity and beautiful women? Or is this in fact really a challenge to those adds celebrating and pushing women into thinking that they need to look young in order to look beautiful?

References

Jhally, S. (1990). Image-based culture. In Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (199203). Location: Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.) (2008) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Third Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage           

How the media affect public opinion (Cultural Studies & Kellner's Multiperspectival approach)

Media and the influence they have on public

      Kellner's multiperspectival approach talks about the three factors that influence cultures and the way people within cultures perceive thing and create ideas. To understand a culture we should look at it from the three perspectives: political economy, text analysis, and audience reception. This idea ultimately brought me into analyzing how the media can influence the public's opinion. The different media outlets among different cultures broadcast message in different ways, in ways that fit the communication style in the particular culture.
      I could not help but think of our class while reading and following a recent coverage on Amanda Knox trial in Italy. Although the trial might be interesting it is not my intention to be talking about who did what and why. What I really find interesting and very recent when it comes down to our class is the way media covers and handles this case as it is followed internationally.
            This case involves natives of three different countries while this case itself took place in a country by itself. So how does the media cover it? Of course they are going to take sides depending on what country they are from and what the person involved did. In this case the media portrays the young American as an innocent girl who just happens to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. How does the American public react to this? Very recently there was another case that is somewhat similar when it comes down to the media attention. The Casey Anthony trial was aired live and people were able to watch everything that was said in the courtroom. The question I have to ask is if people are going to get influenced by what the media says or if they have already made up their mind before even paying attention to the trial itself.
            Besides a young American woman involved, it is the victim who was from England. Here we can see the difference. The media in England are in general opposed to Amanda Knox and refer to her as another Casey Anthony. I guess my question is how much of the opinion of people is influenced by media? Is most of the opinion based on the media as people assume that the media probably know what they are talking about? Or are people influenced more by what country they belong to as it plays a big role in this particular case?
            To be honest I see it from a little different perspective. I believe that media are standing behind their opinion and picked a particular side because they know that no matter what the case looks like nationality and the feeling of belonging to a certain country is a very powerful emotion. That is why they do not have to repeat twice that Amanda Know is in fact a cruel American woman who did do whatever she is accused of. The same is happening here in America. The media know very well what people are going to feel like since the young woman “belong” to this country. It is not that they pay close attention to the trial and believe she is innocent it is the powerful feelings that are the main drive behind this.
So as we can see bias is all around us and it is not possible to deliver a message without influencing its content a little bit.
            How do you think the media portrays the case and Amanda Knox in Italy? Do you think that the local media is probably a little less biased? How do you think people perceive this case in Italy or in a country that is not involved?
You can follow the trial here: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2095586,00.html

Renfrences

Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.) (2008) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Third Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage        

Kellner, D. (2007). Cultural studies, multiculturalism, and media culture. In Dines, G. & Humez, J. (Eds.), Gender, Race and Class in Media (7-18). Location: Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage.

            Burleigh, N. (2011, September 30). Why there will always be three Amanda Knoxes.                                   TimeWorld. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2095586,00.html

Gender Roles in the context of Hegemony (Overview of Gender/Race/Class)

     So what does Hegemony actually mean? It is the explanation for why people consent to and are complicit in their own subordination. So why do people consent? It is because the dominant system of oppression or customs in our culture are perceived and viewed as "the standard" or as "normal", natural, unchangeable. These gender roles have been present ever since we were born and are pressed into our minds since day one. Gender roles are something like boundaries or walls that put us in certain categories and upon those categories we receive massages through which we understand they way we are supposed to view the world and relate to the people around us.
     No matter what culture you are born into you are shaped into an individual depending on what customs are associated with the sex you are born with. It is however challenging for me to call it normal or natural. In my terms natural is something that is shaped and present inside your DNA and that even without the cultural influence you would "practice" it. Since gender is so deeply rooted in the way we perceive our surroundings as well as what we are influence by what we are told, gender is somewhat of a question when it comes down to natural instincts.
    This video will be helpful to clarify my statements: Interviews with Kids (Gender Roles)
To get to the main point I decided to write about my early experience with gender roles. Ever since I was a little girl I have never played with Barbies or dolls in general. The same goes for my sister. She was more of an "extreme" as she loved to play with cars and instead of dolls she would get cars for presents. It was our grandma that would always remind us that the neighborhood girls do what girls are supposed to. Play with barbies, be quiet, sit still and most importantly don't get dirty or get in trouble. Of course it was me and my sister that would run around the whole day with our dog, yelling and hiking in the woods nearby. Although it would not be enough. What would really get my grandma talking about our gender roles would be the climbing on trees. She would always say that we are not boys to be doing such things.
    Looking back at this I can  say that she had the idea of gender roles deeply rooted in and had an idea of what girls are supposed to do. My sister and I were not meeting the criteria and we were reminded of that. Not only that but I was aware of our behavior. I knew that we are not acting like girls. I knew the gender criteria and the behavior criteria. The problem was that it was boring for us to play "like girls". So the gender stereotype was already present in my head it was however our choice to not act upon it. So we were aware of the "normal" behavior we were supposed to portray in relation to hegemony.
     Overall the gender, race and class in the media are interactive and send certain types of messages to the viewers. On the other hand the viewers understand the message depending on their gender, race and class that they were or are exposed to. The world around us is ultimately shaped by our gender, sex, race, class and many other factors.

Resources:

Dines, G. & Humes, J. (Eds.) (2003) Gender, Race, Class and Media (Second Edition) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage

GoldenHSCsac (2008). Gender Roles-Interviews with Kids [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWc1e3Nbc2g