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Point; The Hunger Games-May the Odds Be Ever Against Hegemony

This is my point analysis of The Hunger Games with my partner fourforyoufeminism

When I first saw The Hunger Games in theaters when it came out, I was mesmerized and absolutely in awe! I absolutely loved it! The Hunger Games is truly a movie that while may be extremely fictitious; it also portrays women in a way that we may not often see in films. Women are portrayed as skilled and gifted at surviving and doing more “masculine” activities. While this movie does reinforce hegemony by having few characters of color, and having the two main and most successful characters being heterosexual white teenagers, it also disrupts hegemony significantly. 

For starters, the individuals in The Hunger Games, especially our main character Katniss, goes against all of our original views and opinions of women in our society much of which is done to boost our viewpoints of this ideal, powerful women. Katniss comes from a lower income “district” as according to the movie, and therefore isn’t “up to the standards” of those at the Capitol when she goes to the capitol for the first time and gets a complete makeover. According to Gallagher and Pecot-Hebert’s article You Need a Makeover!  “Self-image plays a key role in feminine identity construction. How women view themselves is not as important as the image they project to others” (Gallagher and Pecot-Hebert, 68). In other words, Katniss didn’t really give two you know whats about the way she looked because she was proud of where she came from, however, if she wanted to gain sponsors at the capitol, she had to dress the part to have this perfect image to them. It’s absolutely insane in my opinion. Also, this plays a role into how Katniss is viewed by everyone as a whole. When she gets this makeover, she is almost being forced to conform to the ideal female in the society. Hidden beneath all the glamour, glitz, and outfits, Katniss is strong, and capable of doing all that a man can do. Above all, Katniss truly breaks the hegemonic idea of femininity, because of her strength, and overall “masculine” like ability. She is not your typical woman and therefore goes against all aspects of hegemonic ideas of femininity. 

Another point I’d like to make about The Hunger Games is that there are very few representations of race throughout the movie. There are actually only two strong characters that are black (from District 11) with the most commonly known being Rue. Rue lasts for a long time in The Hunger Games and proves to be strong and quick minded. 

We don’t think much of Rue at first because she comes from a District that is mostly populated by people of color and therefore we immediately assume they will be weaker than the “white man”. According to both the articles Marxist Criticism by Lois Tyson and It’s All in The Family by Patricia Hill Collins, race and social class play a large role in our society’s views on certain situations. Lower class individuals typically are African Americans in movies especially which ultimately means they’re “SOL” (shit outta luck)! Race and class are two large themes through out The Hunger Games and ultimately are the reasons for many comments from other characters.

When fighting and preparing for the games, all the teens are together and there are many different comments made both about race and everyone’s class based on the District they come from. Due to this, there is a lot of conflict because of the determination to prove that race and class don’t play any factor in winning and being successful. Ultimately, while class proves to mean little, because Katniss wins The Hunger Games although she’s from a poorer District, the idea that race does not overpower is just disappointing. Ultimately, Rue and District 11 represents so much more and goes against all hegemonic beliefs because the power is not where we’d assume it would be. Rue’s strength both mentally and physically truly helps in going against hegemony and ultimately making her a very “strong” character. 

Overall, The Hunger Games disrupts hegemony because it shows women and people of different races and social classes in ways that we don’t traditionally think of them in. By showing lower class people as successful, and individuals of color as successful, The Hunger Games truly does go against hegemony in multiple ways. 

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Mini Media: Teenagers WANT to have a Baby?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Blh3KBZ-P8

When I first saw this video, I almost peed my pants completely enraged. These teenagers are barely 16 years old and they are stopping at NOTHING to have a child. They think they know everything about having a child because they "have everything the child would need" and "because they love each other". I honestly cannot believe that kids nowadays WANT to have a child at such a young age! They're babies themselves! They don't know the full responsibilities of having a child. I understand the idea of teenagers not thinking they can get pregnant from having a ton of sex, but these two have sex every single day in order to get pregnant! I just think that it is absolutely insane and I have no words to even begin to describe this! 

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Q&A: Teenage Pregnancy and Purity

Q: What does the phrase “policing young women’s sexuality” mean?  How does this policing happen?

 A: The phrase “policing young women’s sexuality” means exactly what it says. When we think of a “traditional” women we think that perfect, beautiful, sweet, caring and a virgin girl next door. In reality, many girls aren’t that way at all. By trying to tell women how to be, and how to act in society we are policing their sexuality as a whole because are constantly trying to get women to fit the “perfect” model. In reality, women aren’t seen in the same light that they were years ago. Today, women are used as sexual objects, as things other then being treated like an actual person. By encouraging women to buy certain clothes, listen to certain music, watch certain TV shows, etc we are putting this “policy” in place that forces women to be something their not.  Ultimately, women’s sexuality doesn’t mean a lot to society because women are often seen as just an object. If there’s ever going to be a change, there must be some sort of reconstruction of this “policy” in order to see any sort of change.

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Analysis: 16 & Pregnant and Purity

Teen pregnancy is a subject that has become more and more visible in our society as the years have progressed. Teens are finding themselves becoming pregnant due to lack of knowledge regarding sex, and lack of use of protection. We watched an episode of 16 and Pregnant and class and while watching it, I could almost feel my blood pressure rise with how crazy this girl was.  16 and Pregnant is a show that follows teens in their journey of becoming parents and often times makes pregnancy seem extremely glamorous regardless of age. 

In the episode we watched however, there were many different aspects of teenage pregnancy that were discussed. In the episode two sisters became pregnant around the same time. One chose to get an abortion for she felt it was best, while the other decided to keep her child because she thought she and her baby’s dad would stick around and truly help her. Which was proven to not be accurate. Her baby’s dad practically gave up on even helping her with their child especially after she decided to choose a name for their child without his approval. She also gave the baby her last name, which caused much anger from him and forced him out of her life and the life of raising their child together.  After everything, this sister was talking with her sister who had the abortion and was telling her that she feels as though she made a mistake of having a child and that she should have gotten the abortion as well.

 The topic of abortion makes this episode rather “different” from other episodes because it is a topic that many people strongly about. Some watching may be livid that the sister had an abortion while others feel that abortion in general isn’t a bad thing. I could go on and on forever about my opinion on abortion and the counter argument on it, but honestly it’s not worth it. An opinion is an opinion, and there’s nothing we can do to change it. Overall, I think this episode of 16 and Pregnant really touched on more personal topics then perhaps other episodes may traditionally do. 

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Mini Media: Bad Lipreading Twilight Style

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYC-waukYWo

I absolutely love these bad lip reading videos because they truly poke fun at the original movie or song that they are portraying! I thought that while this video doesn't exactly relate to the whole Twilight purpose/ discussions we've had about it, it gives viewers a comical look at Twilight and at the same time pulls out some of the major themes of Twilight. For example; sex. From the start of this video, the sexual topic is brought up quickly and stops the viewer dead in their tracks. While I truly enjoy and love this video and the other lip reading videos, sometimes the fact that things don't match up, can get very frustrating! 

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Q&A: Twilight Twilight, Strong Female Star I Don't See Tonight

Question: How are constructions of masculinity and femininity presented in Twilight? What narratives do these images construct concerning the roles of young men and women in society? 

Answer: In Twilight, masculinity is presented as being strong and powerful whereas femininity is presented as being more fragile and delicate and extremely weak. Twilight emphasizes masculinity more because like many movies nowadays, the guy must take on this tough guy role to win the hearts of women all over. Females are supposed to be delicate like flowers who are purely there for men's amusement and entertainment. It's been this way for years! Do I agree with it? Absolutely not! However, do I recognize that although I am a female I do not have the same focus as men do in the film/ book industry. 

These narratives construct roles of young men and women in society very quickly because they almost define the male and female roles in our society today. While women have more of a significant role and say in today's society, the male will still dominate 9 times out of 10 because 'that's the way it's always been'. It teaches young men and women that men are the better sex and that females should just accept that they'll never be as good as their male counterpart. 

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Analysis Post: Sex and the Supernatural

So I know that what I’m going to say may end up biting me in the butt, but I’m actually not a fan of Twilight. There’s just something about the entire story line that doesn’t interest me and therefore I tend to turn away from anything related to it. However, for the sole purpose of this class and this assignment, I’ll put my personal feelings aside and truly analyze Twilight for the things we discussed in class. For starters, I’ve never read the books but I have seen bits and pieces of the film and the character of Bella is just extremely complex overall. While some say that Bella is more of a flat character because she allows viewers to project their current life “problems” onto her to make her relatable, I just think that’s crazy!

 While I understand that by Bella being more flat, she’s not all that relatable in my opinion. The supernatural idea of werewolf and a vampire fighting for her love and affection is just so unrealistic. I do understand that it’s not supposed to be 100% believable or “true to life” and that it’s supposed to be a true love story that people can relate to in someway. While I know that there are some “creepy” moments where the two guys are creeping on Bella for attention, I just think that overall Twilight is giving young girls incorrect expectations in their lives. The world doesn’t work where two or more guys are madly in love with you and will fight for your love and affection. Yes, it happens once in a blue moon but really how often does it really happen? Overall, sex and this supernatural book and movie may be enjoyable for some; it just doesn’t give realistic or correct messages to girls.  

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Relevant Reblog: Toddlers in Tiaras Parody with Tom Hanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPLWKBWkn3s

I thought this was absolutely fantastic! Tom Hanks and his daughter do a hysterical parody to Toddlers and Tiaras which is just so outlandish in the first place! This reblog is so relevant to our class because it reflects and shows the glorification of girls at such a young age. We ideally think that they should be this perfect little girl that fit all the gender stereotypes and that's what makes us look at Toddlers and Tiaras as something crazy! I absolutely love this parody because it makes fun of the show in so many way, which truly makes it hysterically entertaining! 

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Relevant Reblog: Les Mis (Coming soon to a Theatre near you)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1698036/les-miserables-anne-direction-live-singing.jhtml

So, let me start out by saying that I love me a good musical! I've grown up around music and I love all Broadway musicals! When I first saw Les Mis as a child, I almost peed my pants with excitement! (I know, I know TMI!) There's something about the story line and the way that there are no speaking lines through out that captured my attention. Knowing that, when I saw that a movie adaptation was coming out in December I couldn't contain myself. The strong characters create for an excellent story line, and the singing sounds fantastic. When making the movie, the director insisted that the actors do not lip sync and that they sing live to create a better, and more "real" feeling. Overall, I can't wait for this to come out in theaters because I'm interested to see how it is adapted and to see how the women in this film are portrayed. Women in Les Mis weren't always the focal point and while they had their moments, they weren't always the focal point. I'm looking forward to seeing where this film goes. 

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Relevant Reblog: Lohan at it Again

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1698096/lindsay-lohan-arrested-new-york-club.jhtml

I swear, Lindsay Lohan is CONSTANTLY in the news for just about anything nowadays! In this particular case, she was arrested for punching another woman in the face. Really, Lohan? What's your issue? I remember the good ol' Parent Trap days where you were this sweet innocent and caring little girl. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU? I've always enjoyed many of Lohan's films especially when she was in Mean Girls, but now when I read about all the crazy shit you're doing nowadays I can't help but change my viewpoints of you. I feel like Lohan gives a bad name for women because of all the crazy things she's doing and honestly I don't like it. Someone needs to sit this girl down and have a serious talking with her soon, before it's too late! 

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Mini Media: Too good to pass up!

http://i.imgur.com/x2e2C.gif

While I know this doesn't have a lot (if anything) to do with our class, I saw this on my friend's Facebook page and could not stop laughing! While it's just an image of the a M*ch*g@n coach being overly sexual looking with his hand signals, I couldn't help but find relevance to our class with it. We talked about sports and athletics at one point and it really got me thinking of how our media portrays sports.

In this specific case, we watch this clip and can't help but to laugh a little bit. Whether that's because we can't stand M*ch*g@n or just find the sexual innuendo to be humorous, our media and knowledge of media makes us laugh at this! If media didn't provide us with this clip, it wouldn't trigger our minds to subconsciously think of the worst thing possible. I know when I watched this for the first time, I busted up laughing! I figured I'd pass it along to you all for a serious laugh, especially after we CRUSHED That State Up North on Saturday! Go Buckeyes! 

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Relevant Reblog: 90's Child's Dream Come True!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/26/ben-savage-girl-meets-world-danielle-fishel-boy-meets-world-sequel_n_2194186.html

When I first saw this article I literally started FREAKING out! I am without a doubt your typical 90's baby and I love me some good 90's shows and music! I grew up watching Boy Meets World and I cried over and over again watching the season finale! When word first came out that they were thinking of making a "sequel" to Boy Meets World, I absolutely freaked with excitement! The story line of Boy Meets World always kept me laughing and on the edge of my chair because I felt like it was not only hysterical but was also the ideal life that I dreamed of having when I got to the age of the characters. 

In this remake, the story is a bit different from the first Boy Meets World. This remake will be called Girl Meets World and will be about Cory and Topanga's 14 year old daughter making her way through middle school and high school. Creators have gotten Ben Savage (original Cory Matthews) to return and be in the series as well as Danielle Fishel (original Topanga Lawrence) to be in the series at least for the pilot episode. 

Regardless, I don't want to give too much away because I'm only reporting the information I know of. I can't wait for this to come out and to see the similarities and differences between the two. I can assume that while there will be similarities, the differences will greatly reflect the present time and will represent our current views and feelings in popular culture. 

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Relevant Reblog: Nicki Minaj calling Steven Tyler racist?!

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1697941/nicki-minaj-steven-tyler-cornfield-diss-racist.jhtml

I hope I'm not the only one who thinks that Nicki Minaj is brilliant yet absolutely out of the box CRAZY! This article I found online discusses the twitter comments made by Nicki Minaj regarding Steven Tyler. Tyler is quoted by saying that "Nicki Minaj would have had Bob Dylan sent to the cornfield" and in turn, this comment set off Nicki in a furious rage! 

Minaj took great offense to this comment, as she should, and because of this "lashed out" saying Tyler is racist. When I read this, I couldn't help but think about racism in our society today and all that "goes into it". I know we have addressed racism in class at some point or another and felt that this article was extremely important in saying that although racism isn't the same as it once was, it still is extremely popular and common in pop culture today. 

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Mini Media 

Not only do I adore Ellen, but I really enjoy reading 50 Shades of Grey! I thought this was a spectacular combination of both of my interests! Anyone who reads 50 shades out loud is by far one of my favorite people because it is almost so taboo to read about that hearing it is like an OMG WHAT!?! type of feeling! 

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Mini Media/ Relevant Reblog

http://www.buzzfeed.com/annanorth/why-50-shades-of-grey-is-less-about-submission-a

I found this reading about 50 shades of Grey and I thought it was interesting to read more on why people and women enjoy reading this book so much! I couldn't decide if it would be considered a mini media or a relevant reblog so I turned it into both! Don't know if that's the best idea but I felt that it was so good that I couldn't pass it up! 

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Q&A: 50 Shades of Grey

QUESTION: Did anything in the text disturb or shock you?  Did you find anything particularly interesting?  Why do you think you reacted the way you did?

ANSWER: While I enjoyed this book, I was also a bit disturbed and turned away by multiple things throughout the book. Call it crazy, but I’m a pretty sexual person however the parts where Christian is literally BEATING his submissive, Anastasia, with a riding crop or tying her up and hurting her made my stomach twist and turn with discomfort. As someone who claims to be pretty sexual (making sex jokes, etc) the fact that I was grossed out by this over the top kinky actions says something, in my opinion. I just don’t understand how women can be okay with being treated that way, which is why I found it to be rather repulsive.

I actually found the contract between Anastasia (the submissive) and Christian (the dominatrix) to be rather interesting. I never thought that a contract had to be drafted up and signed for something like this and I found the “rules” of said contract to be extremely interesting to read and “learn about”.  I think I reacted the way I did because I’m not used to these over the top actions described throughout the book.  I’m used to the traditional ‘love making’ that we as college students are more familiar with, and comfortable with that these actions just seemed to be above and beyond our comfort level, which then caused me to almost reject this incredibly sexual text, in part. 

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50 Shades of Disrespect: Analysis Post of Claiming Sexuality

Go ahead and call me perverted or super messed up in the head, but I LOVE 50 Shades of Grey! I have actually been working on reading it for quite some time now but with school work, I can’t seem to get through it just yet. However, I must say that it is absolutely a book that you don’t want to put down! It’s overly sexual message and “topics” are those in which we don’t always see or hear about from day to day! While many enjoy this book, others often frown upon it because of its overly sexually message and because it glorifies overly kinky sex. To those people, I must say that while I agree it can be a bit over the top at points, it really captivates readers, whether good or bad for different reasons.

According to our class PowerPoint that discusses how people of different ages view this novel, “20-30 year olds: Fifty Shades is a conduit for expressing positive desires about sex.  Especially important given the current policing of women’s bodies. 40-50+ year olds: Fifty Shades allows women enjoy and openly discuss erotica and sexual desires with friends and partners. All women: gives insight (if problematic) into BDSM community and sexual practices; gives a detailed picture of consent and portrays a positive attitude about sex; provides an escapist fantasy of submission”  

Overall, I found this to be extremely interesting because while I have my opinions on the book, people who are older than me view it in a completely different way! I couldn’t believe this in part because I would assume that people would view the book relatively the same regardless of age. The overwhelming concepts of submission and domination are prevalent throughout the book, which often time stirs up controversy on the book as a whole. Personally, I know that while I love this book because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before I was a bit “turned off” by the actions that occur between Anastasia and Christian. While reading some of the over the top dominatrix or submissive parts in the text, I couldn’t help but to cringe with disgust. As a female and as someone who visualizes things very intently from books, I was almost insulted and appalled by the lack of respect to Anastasia from Christian. Personally, if my boyfriend ever treated me like that I honestly would have to rethink our relationship! Women are not just sexual objects; they are actual people with feelings and therefore should be treated with respect!