halatemybrain-blog

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Post #2

To me, PVMC comprehends any visual content that is widely available and consumed by the majority of the population. It includes Film, Television, Print formats such as magazines, newspapers, books, and some formats of art that are meant to be consumed by the masses. My most frequent interactions with PVMC come through social media and streaming services but also, living in Richmond gets me in contact with lots of street art manifestations. I think being critical entails comparing the media that is consumed with any prior knowledge we have related or unrelated to the subject. It involves gathering different perspectives about the particular topic and balance them in a way that reveals the truth. I am very critical PVMCI consume through social media because sometimes it is widely based on opinions. Also, when watching a movie or show, I like to analyze the visual langauge utilized and how characters are represented on the screen. Overall I think it’s possible to interact with PVMC while being critical of it. I think how we perceive information says a lot about the sender and the receiver, so being critical doesn;’t only help us figure out any specific agenda the sender might have, but also helps us getting to know ourselves better and the way we interpret things.

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Field Trip

Women in Advertising was a panel organized by the Richmond Advertising Club. In it, 5 women from the advertising industry described their experiences and challenges that they faced in order to climb up the corporate ladder. I was really looking forward to the event. The sexual harassment case at the Martin Agency made it obvious that there is a big problem in the advertising environment when it comes to gender equality. As a guy, sometimes it’s hard to differentiate what is right and what is normal just because well if a situation or behavior has been normalized, you don’t pay special attention to it and probably won’t bother in analyzing it. Nevertheless, a lot of normalized behaviors are plain not right. I try to be as progressive as possible in every role of my life, so this seems like a great opportunity to try to put myself into someone else’s shoes and learn from their experiences. What challenged my thinking was how the extent of how different a woman can be treated at the office, even when it comes to writing emails. Words can have such an impact on someone’s day. And sometimes can mean a difference in someone's mood, depending on the circumstances. Since then, whenever I write an email or look back on a situation at work, I ask myself if this person would identify with different gender, would my wording change? And if so, how? Would my attitude be different? So far, I haven’t caught anything significant. But checking ourselves and our own biases is vital, not only to grow as a person but to make those who surround us, comfortable. And after hearing the different situations where a woman can be demeaned at work, in such subtle ways, it’s honestly the least I can do.

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Post #10

1. Being that I am 28, I am in Generation Y aka the “Millenials”. I find it interesting that I fall into this category because millennials are usually stereotyped as being young and technology obsessed. Many older generations look down on the millennial generation because they believe that they lack an understanding of the world, are stuck up and are way too emotional. While my generation does favor technological advancements more than the baby boomer era, every other stereotype seems to be rooted in false perceptions. People of the Baby Boomer era associate someone as being “too fragile” if they simply come to terms with their emotions and seek advice and help. Many people from this era grew up facing harsh wars, so in a sense they feel that their struggles held more weight than anyones that followed behind them. This leads to a poor perception of the millennial generation that eventually creates a rigid divide of hatred between the different generations. These generalizations are hurtful because it means that they see us as being weak and less suitable to take on the world than they are. This can be toxic because the people in my generation have Baby Boomers as their parents, which means that many of our parents see us as being fragile rather than one of the many.

2. I currently have the perception that the Baby Boomer era is not in touch with their feelings which leads them to be more likely to bottle up feelings and be misunderstood. This generation feels to tough to face these emotions head on and often shy away from getting a therapist help because they underestimate how necessary therapists are.

3. I useful way to transcend the blanket of generalized generationalism is to see beyond the confines of age based stereotypes and rather asses people by their environments and character. It is not fair to assume that people are a certain way because of the generation they were raised in and we need to take a more personal approach before judging people.

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Post #8

Representation in the media matters because it shows the people struggling with societal differences that they are not alone. A major example of this is in the gay community. Many people are homophobic because of the way they are raised, whether that be from culture, religion, their environment, etc. They are unable to accept their lifestyle simply because they can’t relate to it and refuse to learn. The best way to contour this oppression is through proper examples and representation in the media. By giving a narrative to gay characters, oppressive audiences are better capable to understand them.

This becomes a slippery slope, however, when negative connotations are brought to light by the oppressed few that are now being represented in the media. An example of this is the AIDS epidemic correlating solely with the gay community, making them seem like the sole ones responsible/subject to having this disease when in fact this is not true. Straight men and women often get diagnosed with HIV and can be given the disease through heterosexual sex. Examples of the gay community being the sole victums of this disease include Bohemian Rhapsody and Dallas Buyers Club. By representing a topic so narrowly, it gives heterosexuals the feeling that they are immune to this disease when this is not true.

The right way to approach representation is by showing the full truth with full representation of everyone effected. The media should stop skimming over important details because it skews the worlds understanding of major topics.

A positive representation of sexuality in the media is in the show Transparent. Jeffrey Tambor is the biological father of three children and doesn’t come out as having been transgendered most of his life until well into their adulthood. This show demonstrates the raw vulnerability and power that comes with accepting oneself for who they are, and the struggles they may face with acceptance along the way. I believe that this show is a good example for the community because the main character experiences basic human emotions that everyone can relate to, no matter their sexual orientation. The show doesn’t generalize the father as being a stereotype but rather an emotional human being.

What surprised me the most about the documentary was the subject’s willingness to be on camera and tell their stories of being homosexual in the Islamic faith. By opening up about their experience, they accept the newfound violence and hatred they may have bestowed upon them for opening up. A Jihad for Love challenges western whiteness by showing that you don’t have to compromise your religion and culture for your sexual orientation. This documentary works towards dispelling these radically homophobic ideals and showing a potential future where homosexuality and faith in Islam can live harmoniously.

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Post #9

Critical Diability Studies seek to change people’s perception that the disabled are pitiful, tragic victims that must struggle to navigate the world around them. Many disabled people wish to not be seen as hopeless victims but rather people given the right to equal opportunity through universal accessibility. The community is challenged to think outside the realm of “charity case” and more in the realm of a thoughtlessly required thing. If a woman enters the room, it should be assumed that there will be a women’s restroom for her. Same goes with the disabled. If they would like to use the restroom, it should be assumed that there are facilities they can use with no help or questioning.  Alison Kafer wises to abolish the term disability and all the negative connotations that come with it. She is hopeful that by normalizing the disabled body, people won’t see them as any different and wont treat them like such a charity case.

2. The most common media representations of disability are: The Helpless Victim, The Magic Little People, Superpowers & Eternal Innocence. These themes in disability are vastly seen in media and make people misunderstand the disabled public on a grand scale.

3. According to Kafers suggestion, we could design a new narrative for future generations where the disabled aren’t seen as a charity case worthy of your pity. Instead, we will see them as no different from ourselves and people capable of doing the same things we can because they are provided the proper tools needed to do so.

4. The invisible disability is a condition that limits a person’s movements, senses or activities that is invisible to the onlooker. Some specific challenges include misunderstandings, false perceptions and judgements. The world could be better at representation the disabled community by not making them seem any weaker or lessor than everyone else.

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Mid-term Project

https://scapic.com/@Jcsteck/midterm-XqfAG

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Post #7

1. Many people don’t agree that gender is a social construct because their perception is limited to a biological standpoint. These people don’t see that what has been constructed is what it means to be a “man” or a “woman” and how this perception has changed over time. In the beginning stages of manhood, the role of a man and a woman was limited to being the “caregiver” and the “provider”.  This role has changed with the progress of time, but there is still the assumption that people have certain expectations they need to live by based on their gender.

2. This question was proposed by Linda Nochlin along with the argument that people don’t see women as  capable of producing greatness. This follows the assumption that women are lesser then men in both a physical AND intellectual aspect when this is not true.

3. One of my favorite examples of this is the story of Margaret Keane, a painter in male-dominated era of the 1960’s. After she marries her husband Walter Keane, he told her that no one would take her work seriously because she was a woman and it would be best for him to take the credit. He then rose to fame from her art talent and credited the stereotype that men were the “providers” (even though he wasn’t providing the work at all). This was eventually settled in court years later when they were asked to draw in front of a judge.

4. While I do think that we have made strides to fix this social construction that men are the “providers” and “leaders”, ( One example being the new CEO of the Martin Agency being a woman), it is still a major problem we face in society and we need more strong female leaders to have leadership roles in order to move ourselves towards a more progressive generation.

5. Toxic Masculinity is usually left to the women and gay community because they are the ones being oppressed against and when men have power it is hard to give that up. Men may agree that there should be more equality in the workplace but to actually relinquish power and step down in order to give women and gay men the chance to lead has been hard to achieve. We need to actually instill a sense of urgency, need and empathy within men and make them realize that having women and gay men in power sets a major example for the community.

6. Blank Panther was an import film for female empowerment because it stripped away the stereotype that women are fragile and sexualized and rather showed them as being intellectual and strong. Many of the women showed beauty I their character and their talents rather than their physical appearance. Having an example of female black excellence such as this was a major progress step for all of the communities of children watching these woman as a role model. Other examples of strong female excellence in the media today includes Killing Eve, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, and Daenarys in Game of Thrones.

7.Taught masculinity is dangerous because it shows younger boys that there is a certain standard they must live by in order to be accepted by society as a “man”. The documentary shows the different ways this can affect the younger generations and it is important to show that males can earn respect no matter how “masculine” they may seem. One of my favorite examples of this is from the movie Milk, a film that follows the story of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk as he becomes the first gay person elected into public office. This movie set an example that men don’t need to live by hyper masculine standards in order to have leadership skills, intellect and respect among the community. Rather than set  practically unachievable standard of what “proper” manhood looks like to the younger generation, we should be making more films like Milk that show that respect and societies standards for masculinity don’t necessarily have to correlate.

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Post #6

The media often portrays the lower class to be lazy and stupid. They do this in such a way that makes it look as though they are “deserving” of their situation because they don’t have the energy to fix it themselves. Examples of this include episodes of “The Simpsons” with their portrayal of The Specklers. They show them as lazy and letting their children run around with little concern for their well being, which therefore translates to the stereotype that poor people don’t care for their children which is not true.

The media portrays minorities as being more deserving of being poor than white people. An example of this is how junk food advertising disproportionately targets black and Hispanic youth in their advertisements. This follows the assumption that these advertisers think of black and Hispanics as being more interested in less healthy meals which is not the case. Since these advertisements are mass produced to areas largely populated with minorities, people assume that these cultures don’t care about their well being because they’re surrounded by poor eating options. These areas are often prone to being food desserts too so even if these communities wanted to their helthy eating options are slim to none. This generalizes these cultures as being the most likely to be deserving of being poor because they have a sense of “not caring” by eating these bad foods.

We can start to combat these stereotypes by placing more healthy eating options in every community and lessening food desserts in poverty stricken areas. If every community were given the option to eat healthy, cheap foods then the stereotype that certain races are lazy would lessen and more equal opportunities for better living conditions would grow.  The media could also focus on not targeting certain consumers based on stereotypes. Most advertisement agencies today are still predominantly controlled by white males, so encouraging more diversity within the businesses that manage the media would result in less harmfully targeted racist ads.

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Post #5

Many standards that are created by white people have created a sense of what is considered “normal” and everything outside of that culture is seen often seen as something “foreign” and “exotic” … stripping the culture and years of oppression from the narrative and experiencing only the interesting and new experiences. The media often shows different cultures through this narrow perspective and makes indigenous people feel excluded from the “normal” way of living because their basic values are that of a museum exhibit. An example of this is Disney’s Pocahontas, where the movie starts in the white men’s perspective. When they are on the island, they see the indigenous people as something of awe and wonder therefore indicating that they are that of a different species than what is “normal”. This is besides the fact that the movie didn’t include the hundreds of years of abuse and brutality inflicted on them, yet again showing a version of history that favors white power.

There is no way this storyline could have been portrayed properly without showing the terrors inflicted by the white men. If this movie had been made for an adult audience, it would have been permissive to show the entire history of the indigenous people without favoring the white race. It also would have been permissive to show Pocahontas without over sexualization and extinctualisation, and without subversion of her culture.

The languages used to describe non-white people include the words “exotic” and “foreign” which relate to differentiating them

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Post #4

Single stories are a danger because it implies that there is only one perspective (usually a white persons) to live by, and if you have anything different you are set apart from what is deemed “normal”. if a black child were to grow up watching shows dominated by a white cast, they would subconsciously swallow that feeling of being different and if every minority were to feel this way the racial divide would be set even further. 2. (Please read over this b/c my experience is different than yours and I’m just guessing how you’d respond to it) Having come to America, I thought it was interesting that Richmond had such a big diversity of people yet white people were predominantly shown on media and TV. I would go to classes filled with students from many backgrounds then come home to watch white dominated shows like Arrested Development, Friends and Breaking Bad. This made me want to take command of the city, fight against a system that was working against my odds and eventually set an example for other minorities. 3. PVMC representations of race add more oppression to an already oppressive society. Not only is it important to show that minorities are accepted in a country that was formed from immigrants, but it is also important to showcase their struggles and bring it to the public eye.

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Tumblr #1

Hey y'all! I'm Juan, also known since now on as they guy that signed up for the class at the last minute.

I don't have any pets but I live with two cats. They're pretty awesome, although I miss having a dog around. I shoot a lot of video. Or at least try to. You can see some of my stuff at www.onesteck.com I also used to take pictures but I got bored. Oh and I was born and raised in Perú so if mess up some grammar here and there, cut me some slack.

Culture... Is... Huh, it's kind of hard to define but I guess it's some sort of ever-changing belief system. Popular culture... I guess it's that system but submitted to a social consensus that kind of determines what should be valued and what should be rejected. I consume media through Instagram and I watch shows or movies through streaming services. I'm also very influenced by YouTube. I consider myself a media creator. And not only videos, lately I've been messing around with AR. And even if I'm not super critical of the media I consume on a daily basis, I'm very picky about what I produce. I like telling stories that mean something. I'm fascinated by how a video can make us feel different things and see different perspectives. And sometimes I just feel like trying something different just to see what comes out of it, like this concert a friend put together, that got shut down by the cops, ha.

[halatemybrain-blog]

Tumblr Post #1

Hey y'all! I'm Juan, also known since now on as they guy that signed up for the class at the last minute.

I don't have any pets but I live with two cats. They're pretty awesome, although I miss having a dog around. I shoot a lot of video. Or at least try to. I also used to take pictures but I got bored. Oh and I was born and raised in Perú so if mess up some grammar here and there, cut me some slack.

Culture... Is... Huh, it's kind of hard to define but I guess it's some sort of ever-changing belief system. Popular culture... I guess it's the same thing but submitted to a social consensus that kind of determines what should be valued and what should be rejected. I consume media through Instagram and I watch shows or movies through streaming services. I'm also very influenced by YouTube. I do consider myself a media creator. And not only videos, lately I've been messing around with AR. And even if I'm not super critical of the media I consume on a daily basis, I'm very picky about what I produce. I like telling stories that mean something. I'm fascinated by how a video can make us feel things and see things from different angles. And sometimes I just want to have fun. Like on this video I made for a friend's event... That ended up getting shut down by the cops. ha