Figure Skaters are Sissies

I'm watching "Blades of Glory" right now and it made me think about stereotypes and representations of characters in the media. This movie is hilarious because it really runs with the idea that male figure skaters are sissies. Except for Chad Michael Michaels of course. One of the main characters, Jimmy, is the perfect example of the stereotypical ice dancer. He has feathered hair, wears lip gloss, and has a certain grace to his movements. Will Farrell's character is the antithesis of what people think of when they think of male figure skaters. Let's face it, Brian Boytano (sp?) has never been seen as the epitome of manliness.

In this sort of comedy, the stereotype is hilarious. What makes it even funnier is the addition of the alpha male figure skater and his interaction with the sissy man figure skater. The movie is so ridiculous no one could ever take it seriously.

Baby Thongs

I recently read a quote where the person was discussing the new trend in children's clothing. It would be inaccurate to even say children's clothing in general, as it seems to be a trend concerning little girls clothing. The quote cited an example from a t-shirt made for young girls that read, "So many boys, so little time". That's not the worst thing I've ever encountered, but what struck me as strange was where it said stores are now making thongs for young girls. When I say young, I mean nine year olds.

I was chatting with a manager the other day about this particular topic, and she told me that a few years ago, Abercrombie & Fitch was sued because they were selling thongs at their children's store, abercrombie. I had never heard about this, but was totally put off. Why do girls that young need to wear thongs? I can't even imagine what kind of parent would buy this for the daughter. It's just so crazy to me.

We're robbing our little girls of their childhoods. They have all the rest of their adult lives to be sexy. Let them play with their dolls and ride their bikes. Leave the thongs for a few years down the road.

(Stereo)typical

I've always considered myself an open and fair minded person. I think a lot of people feel that way about themselves. But have you ever found yourself drawing conclusions about a perfect stranger based on their nationality, how they dress, or even occupation? I think a lot of people do this subconsciously. Not because they're racist, or unfair in their thinking, but because stereotypes are an easy way for us to know a little bit about eachother. The downfall is that not everyone is the same just because they belong to a particular culture or subculture.

Working in the city is a challange for me. Everyday I work with people from all over, and I have to check myself to make sure I'm not drawing unfair conclusions about people. Last semester I took Intercultural Communication and it was so interesteing to learn about where stereotypes come from, and to also see that what you think to be true about a particular group of people is often inaccurate. It's kind of like the telephone effect where as the message is passed along, it get distorted. It would benefit anyone who works with the public to educate themselves on differences in culture. As Americans, we take for granted our rights to speak our minds and challange authority. The right to be an individual and strive for what makes us happy and successful. A lot of other cultures aren't like us, and if we're as smart as we think we are, we would put some effort into learning how to communicate effectively with different cultures, and not to draw trite conclusions based soley on stereotypes.

Boozy Floozy

In the Media Students Book it says that post-feminism is upon us. It basically means that we're past the feminist movement, and have entered into a period where women no longer need to fight for equality. In this new era of post-feminism, we see women who are in the working force, yet are paid less. Women who are free with their bodies and sexuality, yet are under pressure to be skinny and sexy. I thought that these lines of contrast were striking. Women have come so far, but it seems like we have some ways to go.

One thing in that section that was interesting to me was the comment made about women drinking with the boys. This is something that's very notable in my generation. When I was growing up I was a party girl. In college I was a party girl. Now... not so much, but I can still party when the occassions arises (it's just not a tri-weekly occassion anymore!). This comment, and thinking on the drinking habits of my wonderful female generation, made me think of Ke$ha. We all know her, and her catchy tunes and garbage pail wardrobe. But I'll tell you right now. I'm not a fan. I understand some people are mature enough to see the humor of her lyrics, but what about the young girls that are listening to her sing about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack? If you think of it this way, we didn't grow up with songs so blatant, and look at me? I was out drinking all the time. What are these young girls going to be like when they grow up? YIKES! I don't want to know...

I guess my main concern is safety. If you're out with your girls, make sure you are not putting yourself in vulnerable situations. Waking up in a bath tub can't be a good sign, right?

After reading the chapter in our book about media industries I started to think about the types of movies that are made now-a-days. The book goes over the types of films that are likely to be made, and I noticed that the film industry has been slacking in a few of those categories. Mostly original screenplays. The last few years, I've noticed that a bunch of the "new" movies coming out are actually remakes of old movies and television shows. I think that sucks. I have no interest in seeing a remake of a great movie. All I have to say is, stay away from the Breakfast Club! They already tried to make a franchise out of Dirty Dancing. So, I think the studios need to buy more original films and stop making a mockery of great films. Unless they can figure out a way to make it better... but they most likely can't recapture what made a classic movie classic in the first place. There are plenty of brilliant ideas out there, use some of those and make some new, original classics!

Extra! Extra!

I was reading the Boston Globe today and work and I got to thinking. Do people get the paper delivered anymore? Obviously people do, but if you get it e-mailed to you, it's free. Kind of a no-brainer here. But I feel guilty getting the news e-mailed to me everyday and not paying a penny for it. As we all know, newspapers are a dying breed. It makes me almost want to get a legitimate subscription and support those hard working reporters. But there are several things working against them here. First and foremost, I'm lazy. I have no motivation to go and get a paid subscription (I'm sure it's easy but still...). And second, like most of you out there, I'm never home. So when would I actually have the chance to peel it off my driveway and give it a good read? Mmm pretty much never. So for now I will continue to cheat our journalists and have it conveniently (and tree-friendly) delivered to my e-mail account. At least they can sell ad space right?

Is it just me or...

Is it just me or does anyone else think it's super rude when a friend of theirs is non-stop texting while you're hanging out with them? I mean maybe I'm just boring, but I honestly don't think that's the case.

I was hanging out with a very good friend of mine yesterday, and I figured this might be something worth writing about here. Pretty much every time we hang out, he's glued to his phone. It's mostly texting, but there are a fair amount of unnecessary phone calls sprinkled in there. I've experienced this with not only him but a few of my very good friends. Am I the only one who thinks this is rude? Or how about those girls (sorry ladies) who are with a friend and they're both on the phone? Are you actually spending time with someone if you're always talking to someone else?

My argument is this. If you're hanging out with someone, you should be enjoying the time you're spending with that person. If you're constantly texting or talking to other people on the phone, it gives the impression that your friend's company isn't enough.

Call me old fashioned, but unless I absolutely HAVE to take a phone call or answer a text, I just ignore my phone when I'm with my friends. I often wish they'd do the same when they are with me.

I was speaking with an old professor, and we were talking about how influential the media is. The funny thing about it is, people are aware of the media's influence, yet they believe they are not influenced like other people. I think that someone can be aware of the influence, but not totally immune to it. Obviously, there are times where it's obvious that some form of media, be it an ad, television show, etc is trying to wield influence. But what about the other things that influence us that we're not totally aware of? I don't think any one person can say that they're free from media influence. Not even me, and I fancy myself to be an independent thinker (I say this, but other people may say I'm just strange).