#wgss 2330

[beccawalker11-blog]

May the Odds be Ever in Everyone’s Favor: How The Hunger Games Challenges Hegemony

The Hunger Games is the latest series to captivate audiences of all ages. It features a female, Katniss Everdeen, who volunteers for the annual Hunger Games in the newly formed country of Panem. The Hunger Games is a survival of the fittest experience where 24 tributes from 12 districts fight until only one tribute remains alive. Katniss captivates the audience as she fights for her life.

The Hunger Games does an awesome job of disrupting hegemony in more than one way. Firstly, there is a female protagonist, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss proves she is an independent, strong young woman. Also, in the film race isn’t tied to power and in the end the poorer district wins and beats the wealthier districts. It’s a great break from the typical teenage movie where rich white girl falls in love with rich white guy; they get married and live happily ever after. Douglas Kellner’s article “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture” says, “Media spectacles demonstrate who has power and who is powerless, who is allowed to exercise force and violence, and who is not.” The Hunger Games gives people power that usually don’t have it. It shapes the way we think about power, as the media is a reflection of societal values and norms.

Katniss Everdeen becomes the provider in her household after her father dies. Hunting in generally seen as a masculine sport/activity, but Katniss is an awesome hunter and even impresses men with her hunting skills. When participating in the hunger games, Peeta even acknowledges her superior hunting skills by joking about him taking the arrows. In Susan K. Cahn’s article “From the “Muscle Moll” to the “Butch” Ballplayer: Mannishness, Lesbianism, and Homophobia in U.S. Women’s Sports” she says, “…longstanding linkages among mannishness, female homosexuality, and athletics cohered around the figure of the mannish lesbian athlete.” Katniss is an excellent athlete (even in a male dominated sport!), but she disrupts the hegemonic perception that female athletes are lesbians. As we see in the film and following books, Katniss is heterosexual and ends up with Peeta. The Hunger Games disconnects the masculinity associated with hunting from sexuality. During the games, women kill men just as often as men kill women. Usually in media, men only perpetrate violence against women. There are also other women of power in the film, such as Effie Trinket, who is the escort of district 12.

There are 12 districts in the post-apocalyptic nation of Panem. There is diversity among the 12 districts and the 24 selected tributes from them. The film depicts people of color, and they aren’t immediately killed off. There are even scenes where people of color kill white tributes. Rue is an excellent example of this. She makes it pretty far in the game and she and Katniss form an alliance. Thresh, who is a person of color and is from the same district as Rue, makes it until the final 4.

In Sut Jhally’s article “Image-Based Culture: Advertising and Popular Culture”, he says, “Society is guided by the principle that satisfaction should be achieved via the marketplace.” He is essentially saying the way to win in life is through money and consumerism. Jhally also says, “A popular mode of self validation is integrally connected with what one has rather than what one is.” Of the 12 districts in Panem, most of them are very poor. However, districts 1, 2, and 4 are relatively wealthy and train for the games from a very young age. Typically, these are the districts that win. However, Katniss and Peeta are from the very, very poor district 12. This shows that money doesn’t matter. The poorer district rises up and ends up winning the whole thing, thus disrupting the hegemonic idea of consumerism.

Although The Hunger Games disrupts hegemony in many ways, Maria Paskell discusses the ways in which it reinforces hegemonic power.

[samco526-blog]

Unit Post: Funny Women in Hollywood, Pushing the Boundaries

Female comedians in hollywood: moving us forward or taking us a few steps back? Women have made major progress as far as capturing the audience and gaining relevancy in the world of comedy, with significant powerhouses such as Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ellen DeGeneres, and Melissa McCarthy. These women are a part of some of the most successful shows, stand-up comedies routines, and movies from the past decade, but, while women have made significant strides in comedy in the past twenty years they still only make up a small percentage of comedians in the business.

There are different classes of female comedians; Melissa McCarthy embodies the carnivalesque form of comedy, doing almost anything to get a laugh out of the audience in a manner that doesn’t necessarily group her with the average woman. She’s seemingly harmless because she’s all-out ridiculous, and doesn’t threaten the masculinity of the male-dominated comedy world with her vulgar, and in a sense, manly actions.

Those who “have it all” in the realm of comedy are the females, such as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who still embody hegemony. They are white, beautiful, and non-handicapped. While they are witty, smart, and extremely funny, they are still held to a standard that men are not- if they weren’t sexy, they probably wouldn’t be as famous as they are today. Famously known is the example of Tina Fey who worked as a writer for Saturday Night Live and only after she lost thirty pounds was she asked to be put in front of the camera (I wonder, were Chris Farley or John Candy ever asked to drop a few pounds to be more visually appealing for the audience?...hmmm.)

These double standards of visual appearance in the comedy scene give me the idea that although women are becoming more relevant, the boundaries of hegemony and the male gaze are still very apparent in this male dominated realm. The women in comedy either have to be outrageous, manly, and vulgar or beautiful, physically fit, and most of the time white to fit in, it’s considered to be an “added bonus” that they are extremely funny as well. I think there are still so many boundaries within this area of Hollywood that need to be broken through, but as long as we have women, such as Tina Fey, doing interviews that question the important issue of double standards (shown in her interview seen in class) women will make more strides in equalizing such a male dominated area of Hollywood. 

[glennazofcin]

I fight rape culture because...

...I have 8 friends from home who are my world and not one of them deserves to be hurt or abused.

Unfortunately, one of these girls was a victim of rape a couple years ago. She was at a party and never thought her male friend would take advantage of her. She wasn't the only girl he took advantage of that night either. This other girl didn't want her parents to find out she was at a party underage and so she decided not to take action.

WRONG. 

If you or someone you know has been the victim of rape, please tell someone. These crimes won't stop if we stay quiet. 

[glennazofcin]

I was browsing Buzzfeed this afternoon (normal procrastination ...research?) and after reading about "9 reasons to be depressed that you'll never marry Adam Levine" (linked for your viewing pleasure), I came across an article entitled "What Would Fully-Clothed Female Superheroes Look Like?"

In talking about video games and sexism today, we talked about the overly sexualized female characters in these games and the trivial roles they play. We've also discussed the Hawkeye Initiative, where the character of Hawkeye is imposed on the drawings of female superheroes to show you how ridiculous the pose and outfit actually look.

Seeing female superheroes completely clothed was, sadly, a weird sight. I say "sadly" because we are so used to seeing women overly sexualized and on display. The line that stuck out to me was, "Wonder Woman in a kind of ugly, but way more functional battle suit." Which brings up the point- how do these female superheroes DO anything in those skimpy little outfits?! 

Anyways, kudos to whoever drew these. Let's hope that someday we will actually see these in our pop culture mediums.

[glennazofcin]

While I have heard some people argue that Glee inadequately portrays the lifestyle of the LGBTQ community (I have no right to say whether I agree or disagree as I do not have firsthand experience), I think the show has made great strides in simply getting the message out there— that there are homosexual teenagers who struggle with their identity and coming out to friends and family and simply being accepted. High school is a scary place. It tears you apart inside, no matter if you’re at the top or bottom of the popularity pyramid. I’ve mentioned it before that I have been an avid Glee watcher since day one, but my interest is on the decline as the storylines get weirder and weirder. I’ve seen all 500+ musical numbers, so there are quite a few that have slipped out of my memory. However, one that will never leave is the number “Cough Syrup,” sung by Darren Criss, who plays Blaine, one of the gay males on the show. To set the scene, Blaine and Kurt (his partner) meet at an all-boys school that Kurt transfers to in an attempt to end the bullying he receives from a football player named Dave Karofsky. *Spoiler alert* As we find out in the episode this song is from (season 3 episode 14), Dave is also gay and is being bullied by his fellow teammates in the locker room and classmates on social media. He finally sees the torture that he put Kurt through. This builds up inside and he attempts suicide. It’s a chilling number and I wish YouTube and other video sites didn’t have such strict copyright rules so this could be seen in its entirety. *Spoiler alert again* His dad finds him and rushes him to the hospital where he does survive. Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee, likes to push boundaries and write nontraditional storylines. While most primetime shows display the “safe” depiction of the LGBTQ community, Glee does go beyond that and show homosexuals in serious relationships, having sex, coming out in public. The Karofsky storyline is so intense and unpredictable because he was a “macho man”; he was on the football team, hung out with other tough guys as well. But this tells us not to believe all the stereotypes that are out there, and I continue to commend Ryan Murphy for his creativity and risqué topics.

[glennazofcin]

Unit Post: Disability Visibility

My dad is a speech pathologist and works with mentally handicapped individuals, so I was taught from a young age how to respect and help others who were less capable of certain activities than me.

Disability, as defined by Jackie Stotlar, is a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. It can be visible or invisible and happen to anyone at anytime.

I want to share this quote we read in class from Ynestra King that states, “Disabled people rarely appear in popular culture.  When they do, their disability must be a continuous preoccupation overshadowing all other areas of their character.” Basically, a disabled character’s storyline is about their disability and nothing else.

For example, Artie on Glee is in a wheelchair (though the actor is actually a phenomenal dancer) and his storylines focus on what he can and can’t do because of his disability. Over the course of the show, he has had a few episodes where he is transferred into this dream-like state where he’s dancing and nothing is wrong with him. This portrayal tells us as viewers that “all he wants to do is not be in a wheelchair”, when in reality not everyone in his situation feels that way.

I had never heard of the show Push Girls until this unit, but watching it was a very interesting experience. The show follows three paraplegic women and one quadriplegic woman in Los Angeles as they deal with their everyday struggles of being in a wheelchair and how they overcome them, and the long-term struggles they have as well. For example, Angela is trying to get back into the modeling career she was forced to leave when she got into her accident. This show breaks hegemonic standards by showing disabled women, one of whom (though she doesn’t like the label) is bisexual. We don’t see these characteristics in everyday society, so to have a show devoted to that is commendable. What I don’t like about it is the Los Angeles setting, where there is a focus on beauty and high class, like cars, homes, etc. Each woman on the show is clearly good-looking, and Tiphany drives a fancy car that allows her to drive without using her legs. Just another day in the life, right?

Disabled people are applauded for their accomplishments in “overcoming” their disabilities, but over-emphasizing this makes it seem like every disabled person is like that. Some people don’t have that ability, and some don’t want to change who they are. They just want to be treated like a normal human being.

And we can help make that happen. It may take a while for the media to display such equality on TV, but we can help by displaying it in our everyday lives.

[glennazofcin]

Unit Post: Wedding and Makeover Shows

Fun fact about me: I LOVE weddings. It’s been my dream since like, age 12 to be a wedding planner. (I have 11 different pinboards for different aspects of a wedding…) Another fun fact about me: I’m VERY frugal. And weddings and money-consciousness don’t exactly go together…

One of the important ideas surrounding wedding and makeover shows is that money is the key to a happy woman. Happy wife = happy life, right?

While I truly believe that your wedding day is one of the best days of your life and you should make it as memorable as possible, I don’t think you need to break the bank to do so. (Like I said, I’m frugal.) And I also think the man should be involved in the planning process. Wedding shows tell us that men are useless in the decision-making process, and they could be dressed in scrubs and no one would think otherwise, as long as the bride looked flawless.

What we see in wedding shows:

Women in control, lots of emotional outbursts (a.k.a. bridezillas)

High-class affairs

Predominantly white, heterosexual couples

Makeover shows tell us that we can be truly satisfied if we turn our inner beauty into outer beauty, and others will like us more for it. We can see in this clip from Extreme Makeover that even our closest loved ones will appreciate our new face and body. Notice how the wife says she “can’t wait to get to know her new husband?” …I’m sorry, did they replace him?

Women have low self-esteem because they are constantly trying to conform to these ideal images of beauty and physical perfection. However, what we don’t see on these makeover shows is literally the parts we don’t see: the psychological effects, the monetary issues, the inability to keep up with the appearance in the future…

So let’s talk about the ultimate combination of weddings and makeover shows… “BRIDALPLASTY”!

http://youtu.be/wVmOez447mM

This clip made me laugh, made me cry (of horror and disgust), and made me so angry at the rest of society… These women leave their fiancées for four months to compete to have almost their whole body redone before their big day, even the skinny ones! A man falls in love with a woman and wants to spend the rest of his life with her, more than likely just the way she is… I mean, the bride-to-be literally says, “My fiancée thinks I’m beautiful the way I am…” So WHY does she feel she has to change herself entirely in order to marry him? And WHY is losing the “Bridalplasty” competition like the end of the world to them?? Even the creators/writers/producers/host think so! “Your quest to be the perfect bride is over… Your wedding will go on, it just may not be perfect.” …like really? F*** you!

Wedding and makeover shows reinforce the hegemonic structures of society and drive our consumer culture. We’re always looking for the next TV hit, or the next way we can shape the ideal woman or wedding! Our society feeds on achieving perfection.

[glennazofcin]

Unit Post: Sports

Just because I don’t play sports doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy watching sports. Watching a hockey game live is one of the most exciting activities, football and basketball are enjoyable both in person and on TV (and probably the only sports), and though some consider it boring, I could tell you everything there is to know about baseball. Sometimes it feels like I’m the only girl amongst my friends that enjoys watching sports, but females make up about half the amount of viewers of sporting events.

We could talk about how sports are so crucial to our society for economic and social reasons, but we would be ignoring some of the biggest issues behind the topic, like race and gender.

Let’s look at a racial breakdown of players in major league sports (stats provided by Jackie Stotlar):

NBA: 82% men of color, 18% white

NFL: 69% men of color, 31% white

MLB: 38% men of color, 62% white

NHL: 2% men of color, 98% white

There is clearly a pattern of racial participation, yet we rarely talk about race in sports because society thinks it’s racist to talk about race. Just ask Rush Limbaugh, he’ll tell you 20 times over again that you’re the racist if you think the issue is racist.  (Anyone else want to punch him after that?)

Another aspect of sports that we accept but don’t really talk about is the hegemonic structure of sports. If we think about sports, we can talk about how sporting events are expensive and therefore part of the middle/upper class, or we can talk about how talent leads to money. Or we can talk gender and sexuality… 

In our society, it is taboo to be a gay male and play sports. However, it’s frequently assumed that all women who play sports are lesbians because sports require a toughness and physical stamina that only males typically possess. I admire the courage of Gareth Thomas, the first openly gay athlete in a major sport (rubgy). He told Ellen Degeneres that he “would pray to be straight,” and if that doesn’t break your heart then you have no soul.

When a teammate scores a touchdown, the guys smack his butt. After a game, all the guys are showering and changing in the same space. And do we even need to talk about wrestling and football? Men are literally tackling each other. Male athletes are considered the “ideal” of masculinity, while females have to prove that they are feminine.

I’ll be honest, I have never gone to a women’s basketball or ice hockey game. If the OSU women’s basketball team won a championship, the coverage would probably be equivalent to the men’s team making it to the Sweet 16 of March Madness. Some may say, “Well why does that even matter?”

BECAUSE WOMEN ARE PEOPLE TOO, AND WOMEN ACCOMPLISH JUST AS MUCH AS MEN DO. We talk a big game in America about equality and Title IX and whatnot, but I think it’s a bunch of BS. We need female athletes to be our role models, to show us that you can be powerful and still be feminine. 

[glennazofcin]

Unit Post: Advertising

You’ve probably heard it once before, and you’re going to hear it again right now: Advertising is everywhere. Oh, you’re wearing an OSU sweatshirt right now? You’re promoting Ohio State. (< Every day of my life.) As noted from Jackie Stotlar’s class, the ads we consume tell a story about what it means to be a member of society, and how these stories get told determines what we need, want, and purchase. Ads are also responsible for telling us how men and women should behave and dress, what we should eat, who we should love and how we should sexually interact with them, and even more basic, what we should do for fun.

Ads are also meant to be over-the-top and ridiculous. You know, because we’re supposed to think it’s funny that Kim Kardashian is rolling around in a bed eating food from Carl’s Jr. And speaking of Carl’s Jr., let’s talk for a second about how their ads are disgusting and just plain weird.

First off, who the hell eats a salad with their fingers? Have you never heard of a fork? But the real issue at hand is that her body is on display, not the food she’s selling. She drips something and they cut to her boobs, so she goes to take a bath and… takes the salad with her? (I’m still confused about this whole salad thing.) But I think this ad is pretty blatant in its sexualization of women.

Gill mentions three different representations of women in ads:

Midriff: Displays woman as an active heterosexual object who desires men constantly and has an insatiable sexual appetite

Vengeful woman: Uses sexual power to retaliate against men, and is presented as powerful and in charge, but often linked with violence against men (And oh wait, violent victimization of men is unacceptable.)

Hot lesbian: Has stereotypical feminine appearance, but desires women and is empowered by her expression of her sexuality, and as a bonus to straight people, her homosexual acts don’t threaten heterosexuals

Women of color are typically presented as “wild women”, frequently represented as untamed animals, like lions. Light-skinned women, on the other hand, are typically portrayed as birds. In addition, women of color are usually presented with lighter skin than they actually have.

  Men in ads are typically portrayed as dominant and in control, with large and physically intimidating bodies. However, they maintain this sense of control with coolness and desirability. Think about the Dos Equis man.

Now, all of the Dos Equis ads display this masculine coolness, but what strikes me about this particular ad is the first clip. “He wouldn’t be afraid to show his feminine side… If he had one.” If you’re a man, you are shunned and seen as an outcast if you are effeminate in any way. There is a “bro code” you have to maintain if you’re a male, and breaking said “bro code” is a no-no. Society says that unmasculine men are unattractive. If you see a man carrying a purse, like in this Miller Lite ad, you’re probably going to give him the “I’m judging you” look.

And how often do you see gay men portrayed in ads? …Never, right? We see very specific gender roles portrayed between men and women though.

Nagging wife: It’s her goal to make her man’s life miserable, and men must do all they can to escape her hold.

Doofy husband: This man is a complete moron who needs constant supervision to complete the simplest task, so in swoops the woman to fix it. Like a dad trying to take care of his kids. I really enjoyed this Target Women clip we watched in class. It does a great (and funny) job at explaining this doofy husband role.

Speaking of the kiddies, children are incredibly vulnerable to advertising, more so today than ever before. These ads also teach them what it means to be male and female. We discussed in class the issue of the McDonald’s Happy Meal toys. They ask you flat out if you want a “boy’s toy or a girl’s toy”. And what are the toys typically? A truck or an action figure, and a doll or little animal. And what colors are they typically? Blue/green or pink/purple. We are placed into these gender roles and color schemes the day we are born. What color blanket was I wrapped in when they took my newborn picture? You guessed it- a pink one! 

I’m currently taking an advertising class as part of my Communications major, so this topic really interests me. (I could probably keep writing, but I promise the end is near.) We’ve talked about some of the same topics as we did in this unit, but this class focuses more on the societal reasons behind the ads, not the commercial reasons. In Comm 3444, we talk about what makes an ad successful, or what medium is best to display your message— the “before”, if you will. What I liked about discussing advertising in this class was the thoughtful discussions about the outcomes and reactions to these ads— the “after”. 

Advertising literally is everywhere, so it obviously plays a huge role in our society. We are exposed to hundreds, maybe even thousands, of advertisements DAILY. Looking around my desk right now, I see two Vera Bradley items, five Ohio State things, and a Disney tumbler. I’m wearing an OSU sweatshirt and Victoria’s Secret PINK pants. I’m a walking advertisement for four different brands in this moment alone. Ads are literally everywhere you look, so it’s hard to imagine a life without them. We probably wouldn’t own or be exposed to over half the things we have if it weren’t for ads. Would I have begged my parents for the Barbie Dream House when I was 6 if I hadn’t seen a commercial for it when watching Rugrats? Probably not.

I want to close with this video a friend of mine posted on Facebook recently. I think it’s a great tie-in with how our sexuality sells products and services, and this video shows men as the sex objects, not women. (I also think it’s important that everyone know how crucial breast examinations are for your health!)

[glennazofcin]

I’ll admit it- I’m a gleek. I’ve been a Glee fan since the start, and though my devotion to the show has been on the decline (mostly because their depictions of Ohio high school shenanigans are highly inaccurate), I still think there are relevant concepts that relate to our current society. 

Like this clip that I found from this past Thursday’s episode.

Because this episode aired following our discussion of the gaze and objectification of females, my first thought was how different it was to see the sexual representation of males. After watching Dreamworlds 3 in class on Friday, we talked about how women are always degraded and sexualized in TV and film. Women’s bodies are put on display and are presented as passive things, or as the film said, “They’re just legs in high heels.”

What struck me from this Glee clip was how they were promoting the sexualization of men… And no one seemed to question it. Some of the guys were jumping at the chance to show off their bodies, because they want girls to look at them, aaaand the girls were eager to look at them too. While we do see this display of men’s bodies a lot— perfume and cologne ads, films, etc— it’s not publicized or criticized as much as women’s bodies. We spoke in class about how men typically control the camera, so the viewpoints are typically that of heterosexual males. However, in this clip from Glee, we are put in the position of a female that is gazing at a male’s body. As talked about in class, gaze does act differently upon men than women. So while this clip may be interpreted differently by different people, the message of putting a male body on display is pretty clear.

[glennazofcin]

Unit Post: Hegemony

I first learned about the concept of hegemony in a class I took last semester, English 2264- Intro to Popular Culture Studies. Coincidentally, we talked about the same concept the following week in Comm 2331- Strategic Communications Principles. So after two completely different classes mentioned the same topic, I started to think, “Hmmm, maybe this 'hegemony' thing is important to society? If a major class and a minor class are talking about it, it’s probably vital to my education and future career.” Little did I know, I pretty much knew what hegemony was, I just never knew a name for it. Or just how much our society revolves around it.

Hegemony is the power or dominance that one social group holds over others. Whatever the dominant group says or does is accepted as the societal norm, whether we realize it or not. There is a system of control and order that keeps opposing groups/thoughts/opinions quiet. Characteristics that are considered dominant in our society: white, male, Christian, upper class, highly educated, etc.

The following is a more detailed, visual way to describe hegemony that I found while browsing the Internet one day. What's important to point out is the relationship between  power and dominant culture, and what those ultimately lead to: ideologies, maintaining the status quo... But in the end, it all comes back into a cycle and starts with marginalization again.  

As talked about in Jackie Stotlar’s class, media is a key player in crafting and enforcing hegemony. We watched an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Now, I had only heard of the show; I never watched an episode, but I could tell you I recognized Carson Kressley and Ted Allen from other shows (*pop culture geek alert!). But again, why does this show matter, especially to the concept of hegemony? Well, it both enforces and disrupts the hegemonic structure of society. These concepts are enforced because the “Fab 5”, as the gay men are so lovingly called, portray the stereotype we see in society of the “gay best friend”- a guy that every girl needs in her life; someone who tells you when your outfit looks terrible, gossips about boys with you, and watches all the awards shows. The show also enlightens how social transformation is only possible if you buy these certain things, and look this certain way. It is also worth noting the lack of persons of color on the show. While one of the Fab 5 is a person of color, he is not highlighted or given as much screen time as, say, Carson. However, hegemony is disrupted because the gays are in charge, not the straight men- viewers see heterosexuals cooperating with and accepting members of the LGBTQ population. As Dana Heller explained in “Taking the Nation ‘From Drab to Fab’: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”, the show exposes viewers to something they don’t normally see in the media, which is "non-violent, mutually respectful, cooperative relations between openly homosexual and heterosexual men” (348).

We also watched a documentary called Miss Representation, which comments on the lack of representation and respect that women receive, highlighted in areas like broadcasting/media and politics. The difference is as simple as the wording in an article that mentions a male and female in the same context. For example, “Women X complained that…” vs. “Male Y told...” Last time I checked- we’re all human and we all express the same emotions. And believe it or not, women are actually the majority, comprising 51% of the population.

So after a week’s worth of talking about hegemony in two different classes last semester, I started to realize that knowledge of this concept is important to our society. But why exactly, you may ask? Our society revolves around hegemony, not just in popular culture, but in governmental ways as well. I mean, THINK about how our government works. We have two political parties that control the decisions/rules/laws of us little, non-political people all over the country. We follow the rules and norms created by this dominant group and while we may not fully agree with it, we still abide by it. As Paul Haggis, writer/producer of Crash and Million Dollar Baby, said in Miss Representation, “We see the world in a certain way and we don’t challenge it often.”