Men in the Media

I'd be surprised to hear anyone argue with the documentary we watched in class on Thursday. I mean sure, there could be discrepancies with a few things; I won't deny that I was absolutely shocked to hear what Howard Stern had to say about the Columbine tragedy, and of course he is rather degrading to women, but any woman going on his show has to know what she is in for. I think maybe the maker of the documentary looked a little too deep into "Rocky" as I truly see that movie as nothing but an underdog story. But, as far as his main points went, I agree.

Especially in the south, so many boys are raised from the beginning to be "tough," and even as boys begin to grow up, I still think that many have the mind set that they need to be strong, they need to assert themselves to other boys, etc. I think it's probably a combination of having to prove to themselves that they are "manly" and that they are strong as well as feeling as though they have to prove this to other boys. I don't think this assertion includes violence against women in any way...I think men who engage in that sort of violence have some deeper seeded problems than just wanting to prove manliness. I think women do this as well, but not necessarily in the same context.

I think in many instances women dress for other women. They want to look nice so that other women will think they look nice. I personally have just gotten to a point in my life where I don't feel like I have to be, act, or dress in any certain way to fit a certain mold, or impress anyone other than myself. I think it just takes growing up, and even getting an education, for many men and women to realize that they don't have to fit those molds that are traditionally set for men or women.

GLBT in the Media

I have plenty of gay friends, and it always breaks my heart anytime anyone puts them down in any way, shape, or form. I think I've said it many times in this blog already but they are just people, they just live differently than I do. I know that everyone has their reasons for believing in the way that they do but I truly don't see the harm in someone being gay.

This time last year, I was visiting a few friends in Uptown Dallas. Uptown is an area of Dallas with a large gay population. While at a friends apartment, the two of us went downstairs to let in our friend, who is gay. While walked to the door, we walked upon a young man (who seemed to be drunk), staring out the door at our friend and saying derogatory things like "No fags allowed," etc. We walked past him and let our friend in and the three of us kept walking, trying to ignore what was said. He couldn't ignore the guy anymore and immediately started to defend himself as we pulled him into the elevator with us to avoid any more confrontation. After that happened, I remember being absolutely livid that there are such close minded people in the world that would say such hurtful things to someone they had never met before, just because of their sexual orientation.

In class we discussed an organization that call themselves Christians, who boycott soldier funerals (soldiers who are not gay) because of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. In my opinion, I'm not sure how these people can call themselves Christians. I think they are just a group of people who want attention and need to attack others in order to get it.

Onto the documentary, I mentioned last week that not very much can shock me but I must say I was shocked by a few of the scenes that were shown, that were apparently shown on television...but I wasn't so much shocked by the fact that they were between gays or lesbians...I would have been shocked if it were a man and a woman in the scenes.

Until next time...

Music Videos

Music videos have never been something that are known for being conservative, especially rock and rap videos. Based on the things I've heard about the "Tipdrill" video, it would be offensive, even to me, someone who considers herself not easily offended. I have no desire to watch the video as I've heard many describe it as basically, porn. Making music with "raunchy" lyrics is one thing, but making a music video that is just as disgusting, seems pointless to me. Ok, so you like women, you enjoy sex, you do drugs, fine...but is it really necessary to feature this kind of stuff in all of your music and all of your music videos? Are you just going for shock value or do you really lack that much talent that you can't think of anything else to talk about in your music?

Eminem, even though not my cup of tea when it comes to music, I've always thought was quite talented but still, I hear some of the things he raps about and my previous thoughts come to mind. At the same time though, I laugh at some of the lyrics I hear in today's music.

I love music and always have but at lot of the crap I hear and see today, I don't really consider to be music, but that is just my opinion. It takes all kinds and all tastes so I respect what anyone likes, but I personally just don't get it.

Projects

It was really interesting to see some of the first projects other students tackled last Thursday. Based on the presentations, we were able to see other student opinions and I think in a class dealing with race and gender, having an opinion is really important. Some students chose to take on "touchy" issues and hearing different opinions on those was great. My project was over the women in Lost, primarily in the first season. I don't think that Lost portrayed them in any stereotypical way (except for one character) and portrayed them all very differently and fairly. I chose Lost for my project simply because it is one of my favorite shows and I've watched it so often it was easy to write an essay over it from memory.