This project was so much fun. I have been reminded how wonderful, horrible, honest, decetful, photography is. A photo can say whatever the photographer wants it to say. In the end pictures are truly worth a thousand words.
What I Understand:
Greenfield's project must have been so fascinating to undertake. Everything I know about L.A. I have seen in film and heard first hand from friends who live and visit there. Her subjects were diverse enough to give a pretty good idea about what the life or a teen in LA is like but I also liked that she explained "This work in no way aims to present a definitive picture either of growing up in LA or of any particular individual". I think it's important that she stated she wasn't speaking for an entire culture, she was speaking from her personal experience.
Our culture is filled with all sorts of disturbing dominant ideologies and Greenfield pointed out that one such ideal for youth in L.A. is "the importance of image and celebrity. Magazines, TV, and any sort of mass are filled to the brim with pictures of Photoshoped celebrities. L.A. is where Hollywood lives, where everything media is filmed, and where kids growing up in that community learn to follow by example. Greenfield points out that socio-economic status has little to do the fact that teens growing up surrounded by an superficial and image driven community "are preoccupied with becoming other than than they are".
Connections:
I think that Greenfield would most definitely agree with Rebecca Raby's five discourses. In fact, Greenfield essentially put Raby's principle's into action by finding evidence and examples in the real world. For example Greenfield gave countless examples of how kids are subjects of pleasureable consumption in that teens are a target group for corporations and kids tend to buy what they are told to buy if it's cool. Capitolism takes advantage of the vulnerability of young buyers through product placement or advertising using a celebrity to sell products.
Greenfield points to the growth in popularity of hiphop in the 90's and it's effects on youth. As we spoke about last class, popular forms of hiphop have become something quite different than the art form began as. Greenfield describes "affluent kids dressed and talked like gangsters; inner city kids simulated the trapping of wealth". These same kids are not only extremely image conscious, they are also acting older and wanting to be older. I found a video of some teen girls talking about the negative aspects of kids acting like adults; check it out.
Questions:
I feel as if the terms teenager spans beyond 19. Maybe its just me but I constantly feel teen-like. I'm not saying that I think I'm inmature, I just think that Raby's five discourses and Greenfields field research are apparent in "kids" in there 20's and beyond. As we discussed in this classes contextual framework, teens are so often seen as an alien life form. I don't think we're all that different, we just see things through a new set of eyes that allow better perspectives of the world. Am I alone?
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Notes on Glee
Where to begin.
Well, I honestly am confused after watching Glee. I'm a bit bewildered because I can't decide if the show is funny or not or whether it is attempting to be ironic. It is of course a comedy on my least favorite channel FOX (although the Simpson's have always rocked) so it already has a few points going against it in my opinion. The stereotypes are obviously suppose to be entertaining and characters an audience could potentially identify with. I think we have all seen these same themes in countless teen movies; Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, and the list goes on.
As for the content within the show, I found it all very predictable, dull, and offensive.
The discussion of the hierarchy of the social status's within the school sounded and looked a lot like this clip to me. It's a scene from Mean Girls in which the new girl befriends two of the schools "freaks" who tell her about the social order of the school.
As for the characters on Glee, I don't think this show could be any more politically incorrect and stereotypical.
Quinn is the quintessential bitchy cheerleader who torments everyone around her. She is beautiful in every fake and mass produced way.
Kurt is "the gay guy". He loves fashion, singing, dancing...is there anything new or original about this character? Hopefully in class we can discuss the large amounts of encouragement of stereotypes this show includes.
Rachel is the perfect, sort of preppy-nerd, who has a crush on the hot guy, who has a hot girlfriend, therefore Rachel doesn't stand a chance. I knew everything about Rachel the second she came on screen. I can't tell if the show wants you to assume things about these characters or if there is suppose to be more mystery.
This show is a clear example of just how much media matters. Each individual character represents someone that everyone in modern mass media culture can identify with. Many of these characters were made by cinema and TV shows and have been shoved down our throats in teen related entertainment for years. I am sick of all of it. I can only see this show as one in a million because there are so many others just like it. Is is just me or do all of these stereotypes seem to be invading our actual reality? It is as if our culture has normalized and institutionalized these ideas about self image. Sometimes I feel that teens are acting out parts they are told to play through the media.
Well, I honestly am confused after watching Glee. I'm a bit bewildered because I can't decide if the show is funny or not or whether it is attempting to be ironic. It is of course a comedy on my least favorite channel FOX (although the Simpson's have always rocked) so it already has a few points going against it in my opinion. The stereotypes are obviously suppose to be entertaining and characters an audience could potentially identify with. I think we have all seen these same themes in countless teen movies; Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, and the list goes on.
As for the content within the show, I found it all very predictable, dull, and offensive.
The discussion of the hierarchy of the social status's within the school sounded and looked a lot like this clip to me. It's a scene from Mean Girls in which the new girl befriends two of the schools "freaks" who tell her about the social order of the school.
As for the characters on Glee, I don't think this show could be any more politically incorrect and stereotypical.
Quinn is the quintessential bitchy cheerleader who torments everyone around her. She is beautiful in every fake and mass produced way.
Kurt is "the gay guy". He loves fashion, singing, dancing...is there anything new or original about this character? Hopefully in class we can discuss the large amounts of encouragement of stereotypes this show includes.
Rachel is the perfect, sort of preppy-nerd, who has a crush on the hot guy, who has a hot girlfriend, therefore Rachel doesn't stand a chance. I knew everything about Rachel the second she came on screen. I can't tell if the show wants you to assume things about these characters or if there is suppose to be more mystery.
This show is a clear example of just how much media matters. Each individual character represents someone that everyone in modern mass media culture can identify with. Many of these characters were made by cinema and TV shows and have been shoved down our throats in teen related entertainment for years. I am sick of all of it. I can only see this show as one in a million because there are so many others just like it. Is is just me or do all of these stereotypes seem to be invading our actual reality? It is as if our culture has normalized and institutionalized these ideas about self image. Sometimes I feel that teens are acting out parts they are told to play through the media.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Hip Hop Media Matters by Jared A. Ball, Ph.D.
I am often a bit scared or even terrified when realizing the powerful effects of mass media on the world. Unfortunately, the effects of media pressures are felt quite strongly by youth who are impressionable and searching for identity in a world of advertising and white capitalism.
Things I Understand:
I found these articles a bit dense but overall all easy to read and comprehend. Bell's article was very clear in that the production of hip hop and the consumption of it's sales and selling point are due to several factors. Rappers essentially make the music and white males run the labels and businesses that sell the records. I found it interesting that Bell refers to the audience as "victims". Is he wrong? I think he is entirely correct. Big businesses obviously want to sell as much as possible and the most impressionable of young people fall weakly to what is seen as popular and cool by attractive looking (at least according to the social construct). As we talked about in class, many advertisements for things like cigarettes seem to be strangely targeted toward young people that are not of age to by the cigarettes and can't afford to keep up a habit of nicotine. Nevertheless, teens by cigarettes in whatever way they can and develop addictions. In this same way, labels and hip hop artists know that the messages in their songs are not the most appropriate for youth to hear. Yet, young people buy albums and contribute to the success of the music industry. Yet at the same time, restricting lyrical content from rappers is to some artists ruining their art.
Also, Bells analysis of why songs such as "Fuck the Police" are restricted from the public was particularly thought provoking. Of course lyrics that undermine American authority would be deemed "Parental Advisory" because what kind of message would that be sending the little ones? What fails to be seen is that the lyrics of the songs reveal the inequality in society and the racism many people in lower income community face from the police and society at large.
Connections:
These articles connect to the concept of media matters that we so often discuss in class. The media controls what is seen on TV, what hip hop artists become popular, what is popular, and what kids accept as fashionable and praised.
Questions: I feel like there must be middle way between artists being able to express themselves through art and the censorship of of mass media. Many rapper artists have lived the harsh reality that they describe in their work, so why shouldn't they be able to articulate those ideas into song? I think this is a good example of a hip hop artist's point of view.
Things I Understand:
I found these articles a bit dense but overall all easy to read and comprehend. Bell's article was very clear in that the production of hip hop and the consumption of it's sales and selling point are due to several factors. Rappers essentially make the music and white males run the labels and businesses that sell the records. I found it interesting that Bell refers to the audience as "victims". Is he wrong? I think he is entirely correct. Big businesses obviously want to sell as much as possible and the most impressionable of young people fall weakly to what is seen as popular and cool by attractive looking (at least according to the social construct). As we talked about in class, many advertisements for things like cigarettes seem to be strangely targeted toward young people that are not of age to by the cigarettes and can't afford to keep up a habit of nicotine. Nevertheless, teens by cigarettes in whatever way they can and develop addictions. In this same way, labels and hip hop artists know that the messages in their songs are not the most appropriate for youth to hear. Yet, young people buy albums and contribute to the success of the music industry. Yet at the same time, restricting lyrical content from rappers is to some artists ruining their art.
Also, Bells analysis of why songs such as "Fuck the Police" are restricted from the public was particularly thought provoking. Of course lyrics that undermine American authority would be deemed "Parental Advisory" because what kind of message would that be sending the little ones? What fails to be seen is that the lyrics of the songs reveal the inequality in society and the racism many people in lower income community face from the police and society at large.
Connections:
These articles connect to the concept of media matters that we so often discuss in class. The media controls what is seen on TV, what hip hop artists become popular, what is popular, and what kids accept as fashionable and praised.
Questions: I feel like there must be middle way between artists being able to express themselves through art and the censorship of of mass media. Many rapper artists have lived the harsh reality that they describe in their work, so why shouldn't they be able to articulate those ideas into song? I think this is a good example of a hip hop artist's point of view.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)