exercising power and resistance

Foucault’s theories of power and ethics were described in chapter 6 of Gauntlett. Foucault describes power as something that is exercised, rather than as something that is held by an individual. It is found in relationships and nearly everywhere, and it is more complex than just labeling an individual or a group as powerful. Power causes things, or brings about something new, because when power is exercised, resistance is also exercised in some form or another. Foucault’s perspective on ethics is that they exist on an individual level; They are an individual’s standards for himself. ‘Technologies of the self’ is what an individual does about his own ethics.
Chapter 7 deals with the “queer theory,” which is an approach to sexuality and identity. One of the main points was that identity changes because it is developed through social and cultural things that you express. Judith Butler argues against feminism, which, she points out, creates a definite distinction between men and women. Butler says instead that an individual has a body, an identity, and desires and these aspects may or may not connect in a particular way that our culture would expect. Gender is not something we have, but it is how we behave and express ourselves.
The beginning of this episode of King of Queens shows an ordinary interaction between a husband and wife having a conversation over dinner. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srh0Nl4Stm4
Even in a typical conversation, there is power being exercised and resistance to the power being exercised. In this case, Carrie asks Doug to walk over to the other table to confront a man who is staring at her (and making her uncomfortable). She is exercising power at this moment, and Doug resists by saying “Yeah, I never agreed to that.” Power is exercised again when Carrie insists that Doug stand up for her. Doug’s reluctency as he stands up and goes across the room is an additional exercise of resistance. The exercise of power brought about Doug’s conversation with the wig man, which could be considered positive that they found out why he was staring at Carrie, and maybe negative because Carrie later got a really bad haircut to sell her hair to this person’s company.

That's just wrong.

Chapter 5 of Gauntlett explains the position of Anthony Giddens on society and self. Gidden’s theory of structuration is that social life should be studied at both the micro and macro levels because both influence the overall structure of society. The structure is created by the repetition of actions, and it is possible to be changed. Social structure is maintained, for the most part, by the expectations of “other people” in society. According to Giddens, self-identity is established by keeping a consistent “story” about oneself and is defined by things that we own. Giddens believes that choices we make determine our society, our lifestyle and our identity.
This episode of Two and a Half Men is a great example of how we are easily disturbed when someone goes against social codes. There are some things we don’t even question, such as: a woman should not date her son’s ex-girlfriend who has become a man. Or anyone her son has previously dated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-QmM7DA_Bk
Anyone in our culture would agree that this is inappropriate simply because it is not normal to our society. Maybe there is a culture somewhere that considers it okay for parents and sons or daughters to have relations with the same people…but I can’t think of any. The point is that it is unexpected behavior and people are surprised by it and don’t know how to react. In the case of this sitcom episode, it is intended to be funny just for the sake of how ironic and strange the situation is. Initially, it is odd that their mother would date someone half her age, and then it is disturbing that she is dating the same person who Charlie dated. A social structure can be changed by individual acts, but it would be a long time before certain things would be considered an acceptable part of society.

the front cover of newsweek

According to Gauntlett in Chapter 4, from 1990 on we saw changes, some improvements, in gender portrayal in media texts. A main example he gave was the sitcom Friends, which centered around a group of friends consisting of three men and three women. The depictions of the characters were pretty widely accepted as fair representations. Gauntlett pointed out that a recent method of avoiding gender stereotypes is to develop characters more deeply through the plot over the course of a series. Issues still exist, such as some programs that exclude females or have one “token” female character, while other programs may take the other extreme by favoring the women and belittling male characters. When it comes to recent shows and films including gay or lesbian characters, it has occurred very gradually. To avoid controversy, advertisers pulled out from t.v. shows that first included homosexual content. Even becoming more acceptable, there are few gay characters included while the majority of the characters remain the same as before.

The Newsweek issue that is available in the library right now has the words “What Women Want” written in red lipstick. The cover story is about Palin and generally about women in politics. It was a long article, so I just glanced at it- but the cover struck me after reading this chapter. For one thing, “What Women Want” is the title of the Mel Gibson film discussed in this chapter for its broad generalizations made about women. The cover also makes an immediate connection between women and cosmetics, indicating a basic perception of women. I thought about the cover, and I decided that the design might be ironic. It could be intentionally stereotypical; mimicking some of the attitudes expressed when women first entered politics years ago, and pointing out that red lipstick and chick-flicks is what some people still see when they look at a female politicians.

keeping feminists happy

“Difference of opinion and interests appear to exist among women also, and are not a male preserve,” Zoonen explains in “Feminist Perspectives on the Media.” There are three different divisions of feminism, and their ideas often conflict. Feminists agree that women are not treated or portrayed equally, but liberal feminists believe women and men could be equal, while radical feminists believe women are different and should be set apart from men. Socialist feminism encourages women to be employed and also encourages both men and women to have household responsibilities. They all seem to agree that the portrayal of women in media should be improved, but also that separate feminist media texts should be produced. Zoonen makes the critique that the empowerment-of-women ideal that feminists encourage actually suggests that women need to strive to reach the level of men. Zoonen also criticizes radical feminists for creating a separate society of women that thinks it is elite, while they disapprove of the patriarchal society which does the same thing with men. Feminists often blame media for stereotypes, but there are disparities between reality and what is seen in the media.


Is Sex and the City socialist feminism media? Although each of the four women has her downfall, they are overall represented as intelligent, beautiful, and reasonably successful. They have the freedom to enjoy the nightlife of the city, to hang out with their girl friends, and to date whoever they would like. Despite the fact that their relationships with men are often the center of discussion when they are together, they are not tied down to a husband or a household of children. Radical feminists might object that the characters do not “cut off all ties with men and male society.” Over the course of the series, a radical feminist critique of the show might be disappointed that marriage becomes the goal of the ladies’. In the case of this series, I would say that the women are not striving to “live up to the standard of men,” but that they are proud of their femininity. I think the show represents these women without comparison to men. Then, this brings up the argument of why the roles of men in these shows aren’t studied or critiqued, or why no one objects if a man is portrayed in a particular way.

mommy magazine

Guantlett describes the representation of women in media, especially in movies, as progressing very gradually from the 50’s to the 80’s and 90’s. By the 80’s, Gauntlett describes in “Media, Gender and Identity,” some movies had strong female characters and some more contemporary portrayals of men. But for the number of years that went by, there remained a number of classic stereotypes of women.
By the 60’s and 70’s some women’s magazines were going beyond the original magazines that were designed for housewives. Ms. and Cosmopolitan were including articles on politics and various issues, and were encouraging women to be sexy and confident.
Good progress, but the same stereotypes from earlier years were, and often still are, returned to for advertisements especially, which target women for home products and men for outdoor equipment, for example.

I paged through a current issue of Parents magazine, glancing at all of the ads. If the ad had an adult in it- it was a woman. The ads were for dryers, cleaning supplies, hair products, wrinkle cream... advertisers clearly expecting the audience to be women at home. The thing is that I expected it to be much more realistic- it is 2008- and include an even representation of moms and dads. It's not called Mothers, it's called Parents, but they still expect the woman to be reading the magazine not the man. Finally, I found an ad with a father. A State Farm ad with a young dad holding a baby. The tagline read "You know where Dude meets Dad? I'm there." It was the only ad with a man actively being a father, but then I started thinking- this might STILL be targeting women. He is young and attractive (he has scruff on his face, a tattoo on his arm, and a wedding ring), so I couldn't help stopping to look at the ad and think "how sweet, look at him with his baby." Then the ads continued with more women's hair products and kitchen appliances.

stay at home?

According to “Introduction: The Symbolic Annihilation of Women by the Mass Media” by Tuchman, women have been misrepresented throughout media history. In television and movies, there are few female characters and limited roles in which they are portrayed. Women tend to be represented as housewives and mothers who are content to remain in the home. Other representations include being secondary to male characters, such as being the romantic interest or needing to be rescued. In newspapers and magazines, Tuchman believes that such stereotypes are maintained for the sake of reaching the widest audience to benefit advertisers and sales. If women continue to be encouraged to stay in the home, they may not strive to find employment.

Laverne and Shirley created a new representation of women when the series came out in 1976. The main characters of the show weren’t men- they were women. The two women weren’t married and they didn’t have children- they were single women sharing an apartment and working at a beer brewery.

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

Maybe for the first time, independent young women were represented on television. Laverne and Shirley earned their own money, they were each opinionated and had distinctive personalities, and there were probably a number of young women who could relate to these characters. I enjoy Laverne and Shirley episodes because they are funny and I can relate to the interactions between the roommates and their friends (probably because I am twenty and single- a little younger than them but still able to relate). The only thing that this series did not defeat is the stereotype that women are ultimately defined by men. Various plotlines include Laverne or Shirley dating men and hoping that something will finally work out with one of them. Of course, this is typical of young women, but then the show almost falls under the stereotype of “woman works/supports herself only until she gets married and has children.”

fairy boys

The first chapter of Gauntlett’s “Media, Gender and Identity” discusses the roles of men and women in our society. At this point, men and women have equal rights but this means that individual roles are undefined. Men used to fill the role of the provider and head of the family, and they were encouraged to be reserved and keep emotions hidden. Women were recognized as housewives and mothers, and they were expected to submit to men. These roles have changed throughout most of the society, but even now women do not have the same work opportunities as some men. Men need to find a new role if women do not entirely depend on them, so they are often encouraged to have a closer relationship with their families.
In chapter two, Gauntlett criticizes media effects studies, saying that the study tries to force a connection between violent media and violent behavior when there may not be one. He also says that the media effects studies can focus more on the media text than on the particular individual. The studies may also take a scene of violence out of context and judge it without finding meaning in why it was in the movie and a part of the plot.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kh5LAJs3I8
This episode of Everybody Loves Raymond addressed the gender roles of boys. Boys don’t know how to be fairies. Girls were probably their competition when they tried out for the play and didn’t make the cut. Ray tries to teach the boys how to be graceful because they only know how to act like screaming monsters or airplanes. As pointed out in the chapters, boys are often taught how to be “masculine” early, and young girls would be taught how to be graceful and lady-like. I can see each theory, chromosomes or instruction influencing behavior of the genders, being logical because in addition to being raised a certain way, boys may naturally be more aggressive than girls. The best part of this scene is the end when Frank walks in because he expresses what the audience may have been thinking: “Holy crap.” The assumption is that fathers don’t raise their sons to prance around wearing fairy wings. They might turn out, you know, different from other guys. In this case, Frank believes that if you teach them one way, that is how they will be. Ray seems less worried about threatening the masculinity of his sons. Maybe it’s a better idea to be laid back because shoving the whole “gender identity” thing down the kids’ throats (like, not letting a boy touch a doll) might infringe on the fun years of being a kid.

"i feel like the most free woman in the whole world"

In Chapter 5 of "Gender, Race and Class in Media," James Lull defines hegemony as "the power or dominance that one social group holds over others." In our society, that often refers to the uppper class, who tends to be dominant over the poor, some minority and religous groups, and others. This dominant social group emphacizes particular lifestyles and values. Hegemony works when the society is cooperative and follows the ideologies that are being promoted. It reaches a point where hegemony just seems natural and the dominant ideas are accepted.

There are two levels of hegemony in this news piece on a polygamist sect in Texas, which was featured on Good Morning America. The hegemony of mainstream American culture over the polygamist society allowed our authorities to enter the compound and take custody over children. This would never have occured in reverse, with a polygamist group entering one of our homes, because our society is dominant over their's. Another level of hegemony is evident through what we know about the men in such polygamist groups having control over women and children. The women have clearly reached a point where they simply follow ideologies of the men who control the compounds. These women being interviewed could be a good example of individuals who have not resisted the influence of the dominant social group (the leaders of their religion). The question is why haven't they resisted, even when they are no longer in the compound, and it could be a number of reasons. Their responses and facial expressions during the interview seem rehearsed and strangely unnatural.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVGK2Aa4uEk

they tell us what we want

“Ideologies and Power” by Branston and Stafford describes how power in society determines what values and ideas are “universal.” According to our society, there are certain things we should believe and particular goals we should have. The Marxist perspective is that the dominant ideas of society are developed in the best interest of the upper class who wields the power, disregarding the input from the working class. According to pluralism, the ideas and values found in media are not controlled by political or social power, but they reflect the views of the majority.

A dominant idea in our society is that we should have new gadgets. There are tons of commercials for iPods, Blackberrys, and other gadgets or accessories. The persuasion goes beyond television or the internet when I see someone using one of these and I notice it.

Even though I don’t actually think to myself, “This is materialistic,” I often find myself wishing I had a more expensive cell phone, for example. No matter what phone I had, I would still do the same things I do now (call some people, text a few times a day), but it doesn’t stop me from wishing for something different. We probably never stop to think that these thoughts are encouraged by the influential people in our society who are affected by how much money Americans keep spending.

blackberry commercial

In Douglas Kellner’s article “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture,” he explains the many aspects of interpreting media. Kellner says, “Learning how to read, criticize, and resist socio-cultural manipulation can help empower oneself in relation to dominant forms of media and culture” (10). Some individuals follow mainstream culture, while others are a part of subculture groups who resist the mainstream. Cultural studies involve studying production and political economy of a media text, using textual analysis, and taking note of audience reception and use of media culture. Different forms of media, such as television and music, follow particular, standard guidelines and it is useful to realize this when analyzing something. Textual analysis involves interpreting meanings from media texts based on who is using the media text and what kind of people or situations are depicted in the media text. Understanding audience reactions to media texts requires the reactions of audience members and the effects of the media upon them.

An example of a media text that can be studied is a television commercial, in this case an advertisement for T-Mobile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2jje8MS0Nw
A commercial is produced according to an allotted amount of time, in this case about thirty seconds. The advertisement must be squeezed into a few seconds in between programming and other commercials, so the producers make the most of the space. This calls for quick characterization of the people represented in the ad. After a few seconds, we know that the man and the woman are a couple who are probably married, and the woman is dragging him around to a bunch of stores while she shops. The hope is probably that people watching the commercial can either relate to the woman buying shoes and jewelry or to the man who is not enjoying the experience. The humor of the commercial is in the man’s inability to ever say the right thing so his wife constantly disagrees with him. This commercial depicts women as independent and slightly irritating. The woman is given crazy curly hair, an annoying voice, and she talks for her own benefit. Men are depicted as more passive (she disagrees with him… “Great.”), and also more laid back in appearance (messy hair and scruffy beard). He finally catches on to his wife’s patterns in the last scene and says the opposite of what she expects, but it implies that it took him a while to catch on. There is one other man who makes an appearance in this commercial, and he is depicted as a homosexual. He speaks in a distinctive tone of voice and has thick lips (“Wedge.”), clearly stereotyping him as gay. This makes another point that if a man is not gay, he would not understand the woman’s fashion dilemmas.
The commercial is probably trying to say that with the T-Mobile phone you can’t make a wrong choice (Red or blue blackberry? Either way, he gets it right). The audience reception of the commercial and the message would differ depending if the viewer sympathized with the man or woman, if he thought it was entertaining or just stupid, and if he was convinced to buy the product. The company won’t be selling the product to anyone who is offended by an advertisement, or even annoyed by it. Based on a couple of comments left on the youtube clip of the commercial (I don’t know who takes the time to do that), audiences find the ad humorous. They like the way the actor talks, or they like the concept.

and the role continues

Giroux’s article “Are Disney movies good for your kids?” criticized the Disney company based on its depictions of certain ethnicities and of genders in its children’s films, as well as the consumerism encouraged through the Disney theme parks, and countless products and toys. Giroux claims that Disney is insensitive in the way it portrays individuals of various races in the films. Aladdin is based in the Middle East, Pocahontas represents a Native American woman and her tribe, and The Jungle Book takes place in India. Disney films use a variety of characters in their films, but Giroux argues that most include offensive racial stereotypes. In addition to race, Giroux focuses on the roles that women play in Disney films. In general, he recognizes that female characters all hold a single objective, which is to win the affections of a prince or other man so that they may become his wife.

Giroux’s point about the depiction of women in Disney movies is particularly easy to see in countless popular films. Every Disney movie that first comes to my mind includes the “fairy tale ending” which includes the marriage of the male and female main characters. This is true in the final scene of The Little Mermaid, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plfn52bPbi0
As well as in Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Tarzan, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and the list goes on.

There are lots of examples of this same plotline in movies that target children, as well as ones that target older audiences. In Disney’s Pirates of the Carribean, a film that many different ages can enjoy and that is not necessarily recognized as being Disney, there is a typical “boy falls in love with girl” ending. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbkKpjgnMVE
The whole plot is not based around Elizabeth’s desire to be married, but her interest in Will and her engagement to Norrington is a major sub-plot. Even without the animated princess story of many Disney movies, this film still holds many of the same characteristics. Although Elizabeth is portrayed as a strong-willed individual, she is still in the role of a female who needs to be rescued by a male (her future husband). And of course, she is tall and beautiful. Despite the complexity of the plot and the focus on some other characters, I believe a number of viewers would have been terribly disappointed if Elizabeth and Will hadn’t become a couple by the end of the movie.