After checking out this website :
http://diyfather.com/content/the-21st-century-dad-no-time-for-old-stereotypes
I really started to think about dad's and how they are portrayed in TV roles on today's popular shows. The first typical "dad" stereotype that comes to mind is the silly, stupid, incompetent, lazy dad-the one who forgets everything, doesn't help with the kids, and always manages to get himself into tight (but comical) situations. Everybody Loves Raymond, According to Jim, King of Queens, Family Guy, and My Wife and Kids are a few prime time shows that fit into this generic mold. Another stereotype I can think of would be the dads that are too busy with the hustle and bustle of life, and are disinterested and disconnected from the family. Some of these dad's include Meredith Grey's dad on Grey's Anatomy, and a few of the fathers on Desperate Housewives. These are the dads that are consumed by alcohol addiction and or something else that keeps them from being attentive to their wives and children. And lastly is the "All-American Dad." He's dependable and trustworthy, and fully capable of making decisions while keeping the best interest of the family in mind. An example of this could be the dad from 7th Heaven. Sadly--that is the only "dependable dad" that came to my mind.
This is a big shift from a few decades ago when all dads were portrayed as the patriarichal leader of the family, the breadwinner, and the go-to-guy for all the tough stuff. Funny how things change.
11/30/07
11/17/07
Spike Lee's Bamboozled
While watching this film, I have to say I was a bit shocked, to say the least, but Lee's courageous approach at conquering the negative effects of race and stereotypes in the media is definately something that gets your attention.
After some google-ing, I figured out the meaning behind the main characters name-Mantan. Mantan was the name of a famous black-face character in a minstrel show in the 30's who became extremely popular. The use of this name and the other "performer" SleepN'Eat-it is unmistakable what message Lee was trying to embed in his viewers' minds. Dunwitty, the big-wig, white, TV exec and Delacroix, the prim and prober African American character are portrayed at opposite ends of the spectrum...which I think speaks for the gap in our culture. Whether you love this movie or hate it, there is no denying it's impactful message-If the American media doesnt make a change, we will never make progress in race relations and the stereotyping of other races. The way TV, film, music, etc portray blacks isnt much different today than it was almost a century ago; we have to do something now.
My favorite part of the movie that really speaks volumes about its true intention is when the two characters Mantan and Sleen'NEat are performing and one of them says: "Go to your windows and shout, Im not going to take it anymore." (or some version of that saying) To me, this is his call to action, for people to try and make a difference.
While this film is controversial, disturbing, and offensive-it definately makes a point-One that I wont forget anytime soon.
After some google-ing, I figured out the meaning behind the main characters name-Mantan. Mantan was the name of a famous black-face character in a minstrel show in the 30's who became extremely popular. The use of this name and the other "performer" SleepN'Eat-it is unmistakable what message Lee was trying to embed in his viewers' minds. Dunwitty, the big-wig, white, TV exec and Delacroix, the prim and prober African American character are portrayed at opposite ends of the spectrum...which I think speaks for the gap in our culture. Whether you love this movie or hate it, there is no denying it's impactful message-If the American media doesnt make a change, we will never make progress in race relations and the stereotyping of other races. The way TV, film, music, etc portray blacks isnt much different today than it was almost a century ago; we have to do something now.
My favorite part of the movie that really speaks volumes about its true intention is when the two characters Mantan and Sleen'NEat are performing and one of them says: "Go to your windows and shout, Im not going to take it anymore." (or some version of that saying) To me, this is his call to action, for people to try and make a difference.
While this film is controversial, disturbing, and offensive-it definately makes a point-One that I wont forget anytime soon.
11/11/07
More on the Cleveland shooting...
One of my previous blogs was about the Cleveland shooting and how the media covered the story and described the shooter, Asa H. Coon, by his race- "white." I was surprised to see someone left a comment for me! (I get excited...no one ever leaves comments, much less someone famous!) It turns out, the person who left a comment was Loren Coleman, an esteemed international consultant, successful author, credited professor, and award winning researcher of the "Copycat Theory."(Imagine my excitement after I read his blog and googled his name!) According to his blog: "The copycat effect is what happens when the media makes an event into a "hot death story" and then via behavior contagion, more deaths, suicides, murders, and more occur in a regularly predictive cycle, as per the book The Copycat Effect (Paraview Pocket - Simon and Schuster)."
His work and research includes highly publicized masacres like Columbine, Virgina Tech, Heaven's Gate, Waco, and more. He also predicted an increase in school shootings after the Dawson College shooting in 2006.
Coleman blames some of the "copycat effect" on the media, for their coverage of events such as these. When the media creates stereotypes from shootings, it basically encourages the other sicko's to take notice-recreate, and out-do the last occurance. He takes a really interesting stance on the topic of race in the media, that really corelates with our class studies. Here are the links to his blog and his entry in Wikipedia.
http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Coleman
So, I got "blogged" by a famous person--pretty cool.
His work and research includes highly publicized masacres like Columbine, Virgina Tech, Heaven's Gate, Waco, and more. He also predicted an increase in school shootings after the Dawson College shooting in 2006.
Coleman blames some of the "copycat effect" on the media, for their coverage of events such as these. When the media creates stereotypes from shootings, it basically encourages the other sicko's to take notice-recreate, and out-do the last occurance. He takes a really interesting stance on the topic of race in the media, that really corelates with our class studies. Here are the links to his blog and his entry in Wikipedia.
http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Coleman
So, I got "blogged" by a famous person--pretty cool.
11/8/07
A little off topic, but....
I am currently taking a Modern Middle East history class, and it hit me recently, how much this history class relates to the issues we study in news and media. The War in Iraq (which I have yet to choose a side yet, because I feel like one shouldn’t take sides until being as knowledgeable as possible about a subject) brings Middle Eastern citizens into the media spot light all the time, and through stereotypes and misperceptions, our media shows the public a very biased side of the story. One of the required readings in my Middle Eastern class is "Baghdad Burning" a book compiled of blog entries from a twenty-something, middle class, college-educated, English speaking Iraqi woman, who gives the reader an inside look at her daily life and the destruction of her country since U.S. occupation.
I am ashamed to say, before I read this book, I was just like most Americans, who assume Middle Easterners are backwards, turbine-wearing, camel-riding, terrorists right? How can we think differently though, if these are the images that are always portrayed in the media? Luckily, I was exposed to this book and am now slightly less-ignorant than I once was. The blogger, who goes by "Riverbend" explains that most Iraqi's enjoy many of the things we do...the internet, Ipods, cell phones. They graduate from highly accredited Iraqi universities, and take jobs as computer engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. In her book, the author works very hard to dispel the myths and misconceptions of her people. Most of them drive nice cars (not camels) go shopping, and live in neighborhoods with real houses and apartment complexes (not tents.) Iraq is also known for some of the most astounding architecture and bridges known to the modern world. Iraqis are not all extremist Muslims either. They are Muslim, Jewish, Christians, etc- a melting pot of cultures and religions just like the Unites States. And above all, after hundreds of years of imperial occupation, the Iraqi people are still anxiously hoping for a stable government that can be run Iraqi's themselves. Iraqi citizens are now dealing with their crumbled economy and deteriorated social structure, in a time where no one feels safe. They are people struggling to survive. Security is a thing of the past. BUT, Most people do not know these things because they are not shown in images or reports in the media!
Like I said, I know this is slightly off topic, but I saw the parallel and just felt the need to blog about it! I recommend this book to anyone who is in the least bit interested in the War and current situation in the middle East. It just goes to show, once again, the media is the master of creating stereotypes when it comes to race.
I am ashamed to say, before I read this book, I was just like most Americans, who assume Middle Easterners are backwards, turbine-wearing, camel-riding, terrorists right? How can we think differently though, if these are the images that are always portrayed in the media? Luckily, I was exposed to this book and am now slightly less-ignorant than I once was. The blogger, who goes by "Riverbend" explains that most Iraqi's enjoy many of the things we do...the internet, Ipods, cell phones. They graduate from highly accredited Iraqi universities, and take jobs as computer engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc. In her book, the author works very hard to dispel the myths and misconceptions of her people. Most of them drive nice cars (not camels) go shopping, and live in neighborhoods with real houses and apartment complexes (not tents.) Iraq is also known for some of the most astounding architecture and bridges known to the modern world. Iraqis are not all extremist Muslims either. They are Muslim, Jewish, Christians, etc- a melting pot of cultures and religions just like the Unites States. And above all, after hundreds of years of imperial occupation, the Iraqi people are still anxiously hoping for a stable government that can be run Iraqi's themselves. Iraqi citizens are now dealing with their crumbled economy and deteriorated social structure, in a time where no one feels safe. They are people struggling to survive. Security is a thing of the past. BUT, Most people do not know these things because they are not shown in images or reports in the media!
Like I said, I know this is slightly off topic, but I saw the parallel and just felt the need to blog about it! I recommend this book to anyone who is in the least bit interested in the War and current situation in the middle East. It just goes to show, once again, the media is the master of creating stereotypes when it comes to race.
11/2/07
Music Videos= Sex
When the video killed the radio star, it took down a lot of other things with it...including the reputations of the women who perform in these videos. Sex sells-we know this- but how far is too far? While we still get an occasional glimpse at skillfully trained dancers appearing in music videos, it seems like all that's out there are strippers trying to make a name for themselves by taking their clothes off and dancing provacatively for the camera. And these cliches that are in every video! Cant these million-dollar/award winning directors, producers, and performers come up with anything new!? The same stereotypes can be seen over and over again in every video, reguardless of the genre. Gorgeous, overtly-sexualized, half-naked women stopping at nothing to get the attention of the "star" in the video. Women portrayed as animalistic-with an unstopable sex drive-being both the center of attention while simultaniously attracting more and more viewers to add to the credit of the musician they are performing with. Men are shown as sexy, powerful, wealthy, dominant, and deserving of the non-stop attention from his female companions. Women in lingierie, drenched in water, in the bed or shower, dancing wildly at parties--these are all stereotpyes we have seen again and again in mainstream music videos. I feel like it is safe to say that this issue might be so far out of control it is almost impossible to imagine a video without these things! I believe women should be proud of their bodies and their sexuality (because those things are some of the major factors that make us female, and those things should be celebrated) but there comes a time when enough is enough. We have to think about the future of the media and its effects later down the road. If music videos are this suggestive and provacative now...what will it be like in 5, 10, 20 years?? Thats something to think about!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
