Here are quick links to the links listed in the syllabus for this week, as we wrap up the course and take the temperature of the current environment of mass media.
First, I ask you to check out a few alternative and independent media sources: http://www.projectcensored.org/censorship/news-sources/
Second, please watch this video: Save the Internet!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Toys and Socialization
In light of the holiday season, in which our usual consumer culture gets pumped up into a frenzy of consumerism, and the focus is largely on children receiving toys, it's fascinating to take a look at toys and toy advertising: how they play a role in socializing children into gender roles, and how toys present certain ideals and limited representations to children.
I want to present a curious development in the advertising of children's toys: the increasing gender segmentation of toys. Take these ads from the 80s:
The toys are not presented as gendered (i.e. as a boys' toy or a girls' toy). The girl in the Lego ad is not styled as stereotypically feminine- she is just wearing denim overalls and a t-shirt. It looks like she's wearing the clothes she might be playing in, rather than being presented as particularly fashionable. In the Fisher Price ads, boys and girls are presented as playing together, with the same toy. A red sports car is not presented as a boys' toy. Girls are not the only ones interested in cooking (or, I suppose, working at a fast food restaurant).
However, it doesn't seem like this trend has continued and grown. In fact, we are more likely to see toys presented as girls' toys and boys' toys, with the same toy even coming in different colors and marketed as (or assumed to be) the boys' and girls' version.
We even have previously gender neutral toys/games suddenly being split up into the "original" and the "designer" version, with the "designer" version in pink and purple ostensibly being equated to the "feminine" version.
Does this mean that the original is now the "masculine" version? This doesn't do much to combat the normalization of hegemonic masculinity, if girls are encouraged to use special version of previously gender neutral products. It also serves to separate boys' and girls' play, to segregate them.
Why is this increasing gender differentiation in toys happening? One reason I would suggest is that there is simply more money to be made in creating more versions of products which are tied to more aspects of an identity which is shaped through advertising. If boys and girls aren't going to play with the same toys anymore, then someone needs to buy them their own unique, personal versions of each toy.
Also, take a look at these Nintendo DS titles. Who do you think they are for?
This goes really well with the Massoni article- what kinds of occupations are being presented as viable/desirable for girls? How realistic is it? How limiting for how we encourage girls to approach the world of work?
Finally, I also recommend this column on Jezebel today about the problem with Black Barbies- how inclusion doesn't include everyone.
I would really love to hear from you guys in your blogs. What kinds of critical readings of race, class and gender can you do of some contemporary media?
(Images from various posts on Sociological Images.)
I want to present a curious development in the advertising of children's toys: the increasing gender segmentation of toys. Take these ads from the 80s:
The toys are not presented as gendered (i.e. as a boys' toy or a girls' toy). The girl in the Lego ad is not styled as stereotypically feminine- she is just wearing denim overalls and a t-shirt. It looks like she's wearing the clothes she might be playing in, rather than being presented as particularly fashionable. In the Fisher Price ads, boys and girls are presented as playing together, with the same toy. A red sports car is not presented as a boys' toy. Girls are not the only ones interested in cooking (or, I suppose, working at a fast food restaurant).
However, it doesn't seem like this trend has continued and grown. In fact, we are more likely to see toys presented as girls' toys and boys' toys, with the same toy even coming in different colors and marketed as (or assumed to be) the boys' and girls' version.
We even have previously gender neutral toys/games suddenly being split up into the "original" and the "designer" version, with the "designer" version in pink and purple ostensibly being equated to the "feminine" version.
Does this mean that the original is now the "masculine" version? This doesn't do much to combat the normalization of hegemonic masculinity, if girls are encouraged to use special version of previously gender neutral products. It also serves to separate boys' and girls' play, to segregate them.
Why is this increasing gender differentiation in toys happening? One reason I would suggest is that there is simply more money to be made in creating more versions of products which are tied to more aspects of an identity which is shaped through advertising. If boys and girls aren't going to play with the same toys anymore, then someone needs to buy them their own unique, personal versions of each toy.
Also, take a look at these Nintendo DS titles. Who do you think they are for?
This goes really well with the Massoni article- what kinds of occupations are being presented as viable/desirable for girls? How realistic is it? How limiting for how we encourage girls to approach the world of work?
Finally, I also recommend this column on Jezebel today about the problem with Black Barbies- how inclusion doesn't include everyone.
I would really love to hear from you guys in your blogs. What kinds of critical readings of race, class and gender can you do of some contemporary media?
(Images from various posts on Sociological Images.)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
In media conslidation news...
I wanted to call your attention to the newest potential big media merger making news. It looks like Comcast will be buying NBC. The Free Press is urging people to oppose the merger, with the argument that the merger will further hurt the public interest by severely limiting competition in the online video market by combining a major internet and cable provider with a major content provider. There is concern that this partnership will squeeze out entrants into the online video sphere, where it seems a lot of viewers are moving towards.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Palin on the cover of Newsweek
This week Newsweek is receiving a lot of criticism (from Sarah Palin and Fox News, mostly) for their use of this image of Sarah Palin on their cover:
Palin originally posed for this photo for a feature in Runner's World magazine, where it would seem more in context, though it still features some not-so-innocent ideological associations, from Palin's cheerleader-y stance, to the American flag next to her. On the cover of Newsweek, however, the choice of photo, critics say, is "sexist" and "demeaning." When presented alongside a critical story about her as "bad" for America, this presentation of her in short shorts, pigtails and with a smile seems intended to disempower her, make her out to be a joke.
In conjunction with the Walsh article, this would seem to be another example of how the mainstream media is able to make powerful statement through images- statements which often rely on stereotypical understandings of race, class and gender, as they relate to power. Palin is presented as having less power by being presented in a sexualized manner (despite what you think of Palin herself, and the fact that she posed for this photo in the first place). Just as Hillary Clinton was pushed (and perhaps shaped herself) as having masculine characteristics in order to be taken seriously as a contender, in order to make sense of her as a female candidate, so too did the characterization of Palin as sexualized (maybe even as a "super-mom" who could nurture a nation?) seek to make sense of her as a female candidate.
The main point of the Walsh article is that even supposedly objective mainstream media representations of race, class and gender often serve to reinforce the primacy of white male hegemony. We rely on commonsense understandings of race and gender, which generally aren't that complicated or nuanced. This is true across news and entertainment media.
The general point should be made that it is not that one image is likely to have that much of an impact, but that we can better understand how our society talks about these issues through their representation in the media. How powerful do you think media representations are?
Palin originally posed for this photo for a feature in Runner's World magazine, where it would seem more in context, though it still features some not-so-innocent ideological associations, from Palin's cheerleader-y stance, to the American flag next to her. On the cover of Newsweek, however, the choice of photo, critics say, is "sexist" and "demeaning." When presented alongside a critical story about her as "bad" for America, this presentation of her in short shorts, pigtails and with a smile seems intended to disempower her, make her out to be a joke.
In conjunction with the Walsh article, this would seem to be another example of how the mainstream media is able to make powerful statement through images- statements which often rely on stereotypical understandings of race, class and gender, as they relate to power. Palin is presented as having less power by being presented in a sexualized manner (despite what you think of Palin herself, and the fact that she posed for this photo in the first place). Just as Hillary Clinton was pushed (and perhaps shaped herself) as having masculine characteristics in order to be taken seriously as a contender, in order to make sense of her as a female candidate, so too did the characterization of Palin as sexualized (maybe even as a "super-mom" who could nurture a nation?) seek to make sense of her as a female candidate.
The main point of the Walsh article is that even supposedly objective mainstream media representations of race, class and gender often serve to reinforce the primacy of white male hegemony. We rely on commonsense understandings of race and gender, which generally aren't that complicated or nuanced. This is true across news and entertainment media.
The general point should be made that it is not that one image is likely to have that much of an impact, but that we can better understand how our society talks about these issues through their representation in the media. How powerful do you think media representations are?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Current Potential Blog Topics
Current blog topics on the table, and some potential ideas to explore:
Globalization and Social Movements (from last week)
• How do you think America relates to the rest of the world in terms of media and globalization? What is your experience with global media products?
• Overall, do you see globalization as a positive or negative trend? Why?
• How do local populations interact with globalization in active and unique ways? What are some strategies transnational media corporations might adopt to recognize this?
• What are some examples of hybridization of culture?
Violence in media, Media effects
• Can you think of other "folk devils," or examples where the effect of media is used to express our concern over other, more complex social issues?
• Can you find other examples of media coverage that blames other media for a social issue? Do you see any problems with the account?
Game Over
Active Audiences and Polysemy
• Think of a current media text, and try to explore how different audiences might interpret it differently. What is it about social context that influences different interpretations?
• Has you interpretation of a media text ever changed over time? What changed?
Globalization and Social Movements (from last week)
• How do you think America relates to the rest of the world in terms of media and globalization? What is your experience with global media products?
• Overall, do you see globalization as a positive or negative trend? Why?
• How do local populations interact with globalization in active and unique ways? What are some strategies transnational media corporations might adopt to recognize this?
• What are some examples of hybridization of culture?
Violence in media, Media effects
• Can you think of other "folk devils," or examples where the effect of media is used to express our concern over other, more complex social issues?
• Can you find other examples of media coverage that blames other media for a social issue? Do you see any problems with the account?
Game Over
Active Audiences and Polysemy
• Think of a current media text, and try to explore how different audiences might interpret it differently. What is it about social context that influences different interpretations?
• Has you interpretation of a media text ever changed over time? What changed?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Outsourcing Art?
Via Sociological Images
In line with our exploration around the effects of globalization, did you know that there are Chinese painters trained to produce artwork that is then sold to tourists around the world? They copy paintings or photographs of images (at a much lower payrate than artists from the various locales would undoubtedly request), producing them in these workspaces in China. These paintings are then shipped to various tourist location and sold as if they are local products, painted by local artists. These artists produce images of the American West, Venice, etc. They are obviously quite technically skilled, even if they are forced to copy certain types of images, which are in demand as touristy schlock.
This is one example that ties together many of the themes we've been looking at, probably more towards the negative end of things. The interconnection of cultures and economies that globalization brings means that we outsource many jobs to locations where labor is the cheapest. Usually we think of this as applying to factory work, or other manual labor that requires little skill or creativity. But here we see it even applies to work we think of as highly skilled and creative.
It also exposes the blurring of time and space that we talked about with regard to the spread of technology, as well the postmodern idea that we can no longer distinguish between the virtual and the real. When we buy art to represent a place that we have visited, we imagine that it connects us more deeply to that place. But are we really connected to that place, when the image of Venice has been painted by an artist in China, then shipped to the gift shop in Italy?
