Monday, September 30, 2013

Gender Roles


This week in class we discussed several readings, including the Simone De Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex”, Anne Waldman’s “Feminafesto”, and Shakespeare’s “Taming of The Shrew.” Beauvoir’s piece brings attention to the binary relationship between men and women. It talks about how a woman is incomplete without a man, and how essentially a man creates a woman; making women the “second sex.” Talking about this led to a class discussion about other binaries, including the “master/slave” relationship. The slave must come to consciousness that the master does not have all the power and is nothing without them. The master has to see the slave as his equal, because knowledge comes from both of them. Relating it back to the man/woman binary, Professor Wexler mentioned how the repressive apparatus is the very means of normalization. There was one line from “Feminafesto” which I particularly enjoyed: “I propose a utopian creative field where we are defined by our energy, not by gender.” I think this is a vital line because it shows the one thing that many feminists are striving for. Society has certain stereotypes for gender roles, and if anyone steps outside of those “boundaries,” it is almost as if a little red flag goes up. More often than not in the media, women are portrayed as being sexy, sensual beings and men are shown as being overtly masculine and strong. When society sees these images in the media, many of which are photo shopped, they strive to be like them because that is the example. We as a whole need to recognize that just because we are not like those images we see, doesn’t mean that anything is wrong with us.

Monday, September 23, 2013

Creating a Superhero: The Reader


         

Jesse, better known by his superhero name The Reader, was born in Paris, France on March 5th, 1988. He is twenty five years old and currently resides in the United States in the city of Los Angeles. He moved to the United States with his family when he was ten years old. He graduated high school at the top of his class and continued on to college at UCLA. He had a loving mother, father, and older brother, all of whom he looked up to dearly.

Just before his first year of college, Jesse and his family were going on their annual family vacation when they got into a terrible car accident. The impact of the truck crashing into them was so severe that all of his family was killed instantly. Jesse was in a coma for one week, and after that, his life changed forever. He woke up dazed and confused. He was devastated to find out the tragic news about his family. He knew life had to go on, so he promised himself he would do whatever it took to make them proud. It was soon after that when he realized that he had the ability to read the minds of others. He is able to instantly empathize with how someone is feeling and see where the roots of their feelings stem from. Although he is a super hero, his powers do have limitations. Sometimes the thoughts he reads come out unclear or in fragments, and if he stays in one person’s mind for too long, the person will notice. Jesse is handsome, six feet tall, with dark hair and vibrant blue eyes. When he is in full costume as The Reader, he wears a full black body suit with bright blue streaks on it. He has a black eye mask which allows his piercing blue eyes to shine through.

The Reader uses his powers to protect his fellow citizens and military forces. The villains are everyday criminals and people who are plotting against the country. Superheroes are very rare and unusual in the city of LA. The majority of people embrace The Reader and look to him for help. They admire how he has not let the tragic events which he has gone through stop his own life from continuing, and are grateful that he is using his power to prevent evil from occurring. However, people do feel as if their thoughts are not secure and are being invaded. They do not completely trust the reader and some feel a sense of uneasiness around him. They almost view him as a "Big Brother" figure, considering that he is always watching and can be aware of what is going through people's minds at any given time.

 The Reader is needed to keep citizens safe from the schemes of criminals and for military reasons (i.e. figuring out the plans for a terrorist attack and preventing it from occurring.) At the end of the day, The Reader is utilizing his power to help others to the best of his ability. Like Moss mentions in his article, many of today's superheroes are flawed. The same goes for Jesse/The Reader. He had to learn to live his life without the support of his family. Many people can empathize with that, whether they have lost loved ones or if they grew up in a broken household. The fact that The Reader is not perfect is what makes him more real and relatable. Humans have a desperate need to connect with one another, and they want to look up to someone who they can relate to. The people of Los Angeles and the United States as a whole would be in danger and at risk without the Reader and his ability to dip into the minds of others. My superhero suggests that the mind is a very powerful tool. The Reader had to set his mind to go on with his life after a terrible tragedy, and used the power that he was given to help others and himself. He illustrates how knowledge really is power and that being in tune with the feelings and thoughts of both yourself and others can promote positivity.
 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Who Wants To Be An Elephant Man?


For our presentation, my group chose the play “The Elephant Man” by Bernard Pomerance. I found this storyline about John Merrick’s deformities and how people viewed him on a daily basis to be extremely touching and eye-opening. To me personally, the most prominent themes of the play are beauty and loneliness. Both of these themes can relate and are directly correlated to popular culture today. I contributed to this project in numerous ways. I knew that I wanted to do well on this assignment, so I decided I was going to make every effort I could to achieve my goal. Our group decided that we needed to compare schedules to plan out a suitable meeting time. Considering there are nine in our group, we needed to know when everyone was available. I quickly e-mailed my group members the days and times that I would be free to meet. After the majority of our group had sent their availability times, I compared everyone’s schedules and came to the conclusion that the most ideal time for most of us to meet was on a Saturday afternoon at CSUN’s Oviatt Library. I took on a leadership role and e-mailed my group about the meeting time. I left my contact information and explained that if anyone could not make the meeting, they should still come up with ideas and communicate them with the group via e-mail. Two other group members and I attended our first official group meeting at the library to discuss our ideas and plan out how we would engage the class in a discussion about this play. We met for two hours, brainstorming ways to tell the class about “The Elephant Man” in an interesting way. We discussed the themes of the play, and I contributed my view on how social class and the perception of beauty are weaved throughout the story. I explained how I was particularly intrigued by Mrs. Kendal’s character. She is a beautiful on the inside and out, and both she and Merrick were able to step beyond their boundaries of their own class and looks to form a seemingly genuine friendship. I also brought up the idea of how our society and popular culture are so intrigued by abnormalities.  There are plenty of reality shows based on the lives of people who do not fit the image of what is “beautiful.” After we discussed our ideas of theme, each of us was assigned to come up with five creative questions regarding the play to incorporate into the activity we would be performing in class. Since we decided on involving the class through a game of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” I came up with the idea of giving the winning team Mother’s Circus Cookies, since it perfectly correlates with the “circus freak” nature of the play. Our group planned on meeting once more and I attended, along with six other members. We discussed in detail the rules and outline of our classroom activity, and I contributed my idea on how I thought the order of our presentation should take place. Overall, I know I was a great asset to this group. I promptly responded to any e-mails or texts sent my way, attended meetings, and presented my views and ideas on the play to my fellow group members. I am proud of our work and hope the class finds our game engaging and educational.

 
 
 
 

Monday, September 16, 2013

How Do You Know Who You Are?


One of the stand out moments to for me this week in class was when we were asked the question. "How do you know who you are?" I believe that our interests, values, and behavior on a daily basis all contribute to who we are as a person. However, I also believe that we are frequently evolving as individuals due to everything that happens around us. Becuase of this, we can't limit ourselves to a certain idea of who we think we are, since it may change in a week. 

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Planting a Problem


     This week in my English 313 pop culture class, my professor showed us scenes from the musical "The Music Man.” I have never seen this film before, so I was eager to find out the reason why we were watching it. The scene we watched was when Harold Hill starts singing and convinces the whole town that the new pool table for billiards will bring nothing but trouble for everyone. I was amazed how he achieved this so quickly and successfully! He planted a seed into the townspeople’s heads by saying that if they didn’t follow him, their children would become corrupt! Most parents feel some sort of parental responsibility to keep their kids in check, so they had no problem listening to Harold if it was for the good of their children. This correlates directly to salespeople and the marketing world. Just like Harold, marketers pay attention to consumers’ needs and have a target audience that they are trying to appeal to. After they convince their audience that they have some kind of problem, the salespeople introduce their product or idea and are very good at convincing people that their way is the solution to the problem. I happen to be a marketing major, so I know how crucial it is for companies to empathize with consumers and seem like they are catering to their needs. Pulling on heart strings and bringing the well-being of one’s family into play definitely works for many salespeople’s advantage, as it did for Harold. These days it seems like companies are ruling the world. They introduce us to a “problem” that we may not have even been aware of, and make us believe that that problem is important enough for us to pay attention to and fix by using their product.  It is definitely something to think about, so maybe next time you won’t be so quick to feel a “need” for this weeks’ hot new item.
 
 

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Intro to Popular Culture

Popular culture influences us on a daily basis, even if it's in a subtle manner. Whether it is music, literature, fashion, film, or social networking, there is at least one category that each of us enjoy hearing about. For this reason, it is important that we share what we know about popular culture on a global level. These days, the media provides a wide range of sources from which we can easily access our information. But what is "the media"? Essentially, it is a way for us all to communicate and discover what the current leading topics are. This can be done via blogging, watching videos, browsing the web, or simply getting a notification from a news app on your smart phone. Just like with technology, what's current in popular culture changes at a rapid pace as well. The term 'mainstream' frequently comes into play when looking at what's trendy with the younger generation. With the radio for example, there is always a certain amount of songs from various artists that are considered to be mainstream because most people are at least somewhat familiar with them since they are so constantly played. These artists are swiftly interchanged within the mainstream group. Apart from the fact that we are constantly craving change, I'm interested in exploring the characteristics that make certain artists gain popularity over others. These days, everyone wants to fit in in one way or another, while simultaneously trying to stand out. For example, many celebrities have generously chosen to donate a portion of their money to charities. Some have even developed their own charities, which have grown to be very successful. If we see popular icons donating their money for a good cause, we may get inspired to do so ourselves. In an effort to work for a good cause but do something a bit different, the company that makes TOMS shoes decided that for every pair of shoes sold, they would donate one pair to someone in need. This is great example of how even businesses are paying attention to pop culture. Many people model their own style after their favorite celebrity. Today there are clothing lines and even makeup collections which can help you achieve that celebrity's look. This is aimed to aid the consumer in keeping up with the latest styles that their favorite celebrity embodies and make it their own. Literature is another field that is heavily influenced by what is popular. If someone reads a book which they immensely enjoy, then they are going to spread the word about it. Soon, a large group of people are reading it and raving about how good it is, peaking the interest of others. Even if someone is on the opposite side of the world, they now  can still have access to these highly read books at tips of their fingers via e-books, and don't have to miss out just because it may not be available at their local bookstore. It is clear to see that we are all intertwined through popular culture. There are always new ideas to be discussed and trends to be set that will impact the way society thinks.