Coming into this class I heard that it was going to be an online class but I didnt know that we were going to have to be using Blogs. I was nervous because well first off I had never even heard of Blogs and then second I was a little nervous that I wasnt going to understand how to use it. But, it turns out I did it and I am happy that not only in the class did I learn a lot about popular culture, but I learned about Blogs and actually made one.
I really enjoyed using Blogs over the course of this small semester. I thought that it was a lot easier to turn things in and be able to get a response back the next night. Through use of the Blogs it gave us an opportunity to work getting our homework done around our busy lives. I felt that the class was very laid back with using Blogger in the sense that I didnt have to stress about getting a paper done and printed out before class. I felt that through the use of Blogger it gave us an opportunity to make the class move faster and be able to get everything in with the short time we had for the course. To tell the truth I really didnt see any problems with using Blogger and really enjoyed the way that the class was run. It was a neat way to be able to look at what other people in the class were doing and check out there Blogger site as well as just our partners. I like that with Blogger we were able to put pictures in it, giving us visual learners a better sense of what people were sometimes talking about.
I would have to say that the most important thing that I learned about my topic during this process was how the Real World--Road Rules Challenge--The Duel, has such a negative influence on our adolence today. Before really looking at different aspect of the show I really never noticed, how much "hooking up" it shows, how much partying it shows, the amount of breaking promises and being fake to your "friends" to get ahead it featured. This show really does have too many good messages in it and I am not too sure if I would like my cousins that are at an influencial age right now to be watching this kind of "trash." I use to really like this show a lot but I really see beyond it now and I actually hate the pettiness of it and the cast members.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Video Clip
I decided to do my clip on episode 10 called “Harsh Words.” In this clip Robin comes back to the place after a crazy night of drinking and being at the clubs. When she gets back Aneesa was there making food and Robin starts to lie into her. Robin tells Aneesa that she confuses the shit out of her; she doesn’t know whether Aneesa is Gay, Straight, White, Black, Hispanic, or what? This comment doesn’t sit to well with Aneesa and tells Robin that she is a disgrace to women, and that she is embarrassed for her. Aneesa tries to talk to Robin later that night or early morning telling Robin that she will never understand what it is like to live a day in her shoes. Robin then proceeds to say that Aneesa is so hard to trust because it is like she is always a different person. Everywhere they have been together it is like Aneesa is someone different from her accent to her hair. Robin asks Aneesa at the end who the hell are you? Many of the cast members in the house saw this argument and were very offended and embarrassed for Robin and what she said.
When this episode was coming out about 6 weeks ago, I found it interesting how much this argument was flashed up on the previews for this episode. I thought that maybe is was maybe because of the topic’s that Robin brought up to throw in Aneesa’s face are issue’s that we are dealing with in our American culture today.
This clip did not have a hidden message rather the message that Robin sent was quiet overt. There wouldn’t have been a hidden message in this clip because its real life and Robin was drunk she wasn’t trying to make anything a secret message rather she said exactly what was on her mind. I thought however during this clip that Robin might have said something things that maybe were unintended but actually she defended herself and really wanted Aneesa to pick what she was and stick to it.
I thought that when in this clip after Robin went off at Aneesa and the other cast members didn’t know what to say and others felt embarrassed, that it reminded me of in class the other day when we watched the clip from “All in the Family,” where there were many racial jokes and comments that were brought up. I know that at least from my back of the room it made us uncomfortable and feel embarrassed for Mr. Jefferson. This related to my clip because embarrassment was the mutual feeling that many of the cast members felt and really made them uncomfortable the things that Robin said. I think that this is an interesting thing in our culture today, this feeling of embarrassment and feelings of uneasiness when racial cuts are made at others. I mean it is great that people aren’t ok with it today but how can we get over that embarrassment part and address it when it happens or do you think this is something that will always surround the sensitive topic of gender and race?
Another interesting point that I saw in this clip was that the "verbal attacker" was white and the "verbal victim" was black. Now I am not sure if this has to do with power or not but it just seemed like it in this clip. It was like Robin was Ms. Big O' Mighty and Aneesa just had to stand there and take what she was saying and had nothing to say back to Robin. I mean I felt like Aneesa was the bigger person when she just walked away and did blow up and hit Robin for the things she said because I am sure I would have. But for Aneesa to approach Robin when she was calmed down and told her that she would be able to forgive her some day, was just awesome to see how big of a person Anessa was there and really kinda threw that power thin out the door for me, at least.
When this episode was coming out about 6 weeks ago, I found it interesting how much this argument was flashed up on the previews for this episode. I thought that maybe is was maybe because of the topic’s that Robin brought up to throw in Aneesa’s face are issue’s that we are dealing with in our American culture today.
This clip did not have a hidden message rather the message that Robin sent was quiet overt. There wouldn’t have been a hidden message in this clip because its real life and Robin was drunk she wasn’t trying to make anything a secret message rather she said exactly what was on her mind. I thought however during this clip that Robin might have said something things that maybe were unintended but actually she defended herself and really wanted Aneesa to pick what she was and stick to it.
I thought that when in this clip after Robin went off at Aneesa and the other cast members didn’t know what to say and others felt embarrassed, that it reminded me of in class the other day when we watched the clip from “All in the Family,” where there were many racial jokes and comments that were brought up. I know that at least from my back of the room it made us uncomfortable and feel embarrassed for Mr. Jefferson. This related to my clip because embarrassment was the mutual feeling that many of the cast members felt and really made them uncomfortable the things that Robin said. I think that this is an interesting thing in our culture today, this feeling of embarrassment and feelings of uneasiness when racial cuts are made at others. I mean it is great that people aren’t ok with it today but how can we get over that embarrassment part and address it when it happens or do you think this is something that will always surround the sensitive topic of gender and race?
Another interesting point that I saw in this clip was that the "verbal attacker" was white and the "verbal victim" was black. Now I am not sure if this has to do with power or not but it just seemed like it in this clip. It was like Robin was Ms. Big O' Mighty and Aneesa just had to stand there and take what she was saying and had nothing to say back to Robin. I mean I felt like Aneesa was the bigger person when she just walked away and did blow up and hit Robin for the things she said because I am sure I would have. But for Aneesa to approach Robin when she was calmed down and told her that she would be able to forgive her some day, was just awesome to see how big of a person Anessa was there and really kinda threw that power thin out the door for me, at least.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Image Analysis of Topic
In our world today pop culture pretty much controls everything that we do, especially our money and how we spend it. Our pop culture also controls who has this money and even more important who has power, for we all know with money comes power. One can tie pop culture into almost everything that we do for work. From a Doctor to a housekeeper or nanny, so many occupations can be seen as relating back to pop culture.
With Marxism it has been seen applying to our pop culture in both terms of a straight economic reading and also seen in the Gramsci’s Idea of Hegemony as well. With Marxism, pop culture fits in well with this theory, “that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.” It fits in well because that is what goes on in our world today. The working class citizens who make the luxuries for the rich and allow them to live the way they want day to day don’t get the respect or recognition they ought to. The economic system is so messed up in that way. There are those people out there that do the jobs that our rich wouldn’t dream of doing and yet this people get paid next to nothing to do this “bitch” work. Also, the harder these people work to lets say make bags doesn’t really matter; they don’t reap the benefits of that access in production. And when we talk about money it of course correlates to ones social class leading to a “predominance over others,” which would be Gramsci’s Idea of Hegemony. And if you don’t think that hegemony is seen in our pop culture today then you might be living under a rock. Today, our celebrities are so rich and famous that many of them have this hegemonic attitude about others. They have this attitude that it should be common sense that we “common folk” know where we stand in our social class and we should just accept that. I just used celebrities as an example but we can see this attitude with anyone with a lot of money and power.
Applying this to the Real World, Road Rules Challenge, The Duel, this show is actually centered around the idea of money and what people will do to be “rich.” The grand prize at the end is a huge check for $150k and not only that but throughout the show at each challenge and duel if you win you also receive a prize which is usually the newest hottest thing out. But, when looking at the show and the idea of Marxism closely, the idea of the show is the opposite of Marxism. At the beginning of the show everything starts off with nothing and then the harder you work the closer you get to winning the grand prize, with Marxism, work as hard as you want you still wont become rich. So, you can see how these two ideas are different.
In terms of the show and hegemony the show really relates to the structure of power that exists in America today because this show is giving those who don’t really have a lot a change to work hard and maybe through there performance and hard work of winning and getting the grand prize they would be able to change there social status due to there new found economic status. This relates to the structure of power that exists in America today because if you work hard to get what you want, it is easy to climb your way to a better life and a better social and economic status.
With Marxism it has been seen applying to our pop culture in both terms of a straight economic reading and also seen in the Gramsci’s Idea of Hegemony as well. With Marxism, pop culture fits in well with this theory, “that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.” It fits in well because that is what goes on in our world today. The working class citizens who make the luxuries for the rich and allow them to live the way they want day to day don’t get the respect or recognition they ought to. The economic system is so messed up in that way. There are those people out there that do the jobs that our rich wouldn’t dream of doing and yet this people get paid next to nothing to do this “bitch” work. Also, the harder these people work to lets say make bags doesn’t really matter; they don’t reap the benefits of that access in production. And when we talk about money it of course correlates to ones social class leading to a “predominance over others,” which would be Gramsci’s Idea of Hegemony. And if you don’t think that hegemony is seen in our pop culture today then you might be living under a rock. Today, our celebrities are so rich and famous that many of them have this hegemonic attitude about others. They have this attitude that it should be common sense that we “common folk” know where we stand in our social class and we should just accept that. I just used celebrities as an example but we can see this attitude with anyone with a lot of money and power.
Applying this to the Real World, Road Rules Challenge, The Duel, this show is actually centered around the idea of money and what people will do to be “rich.” The grand prize at the end is a huge check for $150k and not only that but throughout the show at each challenge and duel if you win you also receive a prize which is usually the newest hottest thing out. But, when looking at the show and the idea of Marxism closely, the idea of the show is the opposite of Marxism. At the beginning of the show everything starts off with nothing and then the harder you work the closer you get to winning the grand prize, with Marxism, work as hard as you want you still wont become rich. So, you can see how these two ideas are different.
In terms of the show and hegemony the show really relates to the structure of power that exists in America today because this show is giving those who don’t really have a lot a change to work hard and maybe through there performance and hard work of winning and getting the grand prize they would be able to change there social status due to there new found economic status. This relates to the structure of power that exists in America today because if you work hard to get what you want, it is easy to climb your way to a better life and a better social and economic status.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Applying the semiotic method to the Duel Offical WebSite
Well since "The Real World--Road Rules Challenge--The Duel," season has not ended yet, there wasn’t a DVD cover to do but the Official Website on MTV was great and had that I was able to comment on.
The way that MTV has found that for there shows to sell is by making the cast member look sexy and fun. And that is what they did when putting this Website together. The pictures they choose to show had the women looking sexy and guys looking hott and making it look as though everyone is having a great time. When entering the Website the first picture you see is one featuring two guys and the rest are women. They had one of the guys looking "hott" and the other guy with his tongue out looking goofy. I guess they did this to make this show appealing to different audiences. One’s looking for hott drama and others looking for a show that will have some comic relief to it. The choice of picture really relates to the meaning of the show because they were able to capture a lot of different things that this show is about. One they had some people looking intense like the side pictures with CT at the Duel, which the show at times was very intense, between the arguments that happened to the competition at the duels. They had the main picture with the cast in front of a beautiful background where the show was shot, it is fun to watch the show to see the awesome place that they are at and see the amazing house they all get to stay in. And like I said before they have the cast looking "hott" because at time the show does get hott between all the different hookups that happened during the course of the show.
I think that is it interesting that on this website one of the things that they feature is the "Duel after Show," where they feature the Duel loser, and have a sort of Q and A session with them. I think that this is interesting for a couple of reasons. Yes, they know that their viewers are always looking for more but some of the questions the host asks I feel are really just to pull as much drama or even create even more drama out of the show. I just think that is tactic is quite interesting to get MTV viewers even more into their show.
Another feature on the website is an intense photo shoot of each cast member where they have at least 3 pictures of them. In these albums you find many of the guys with their shirts off, with a "sexy face" pose going on. Also, you see the women in very little clothes in suggestive poses as well. At first glance, yes, this is nice of MTV is give the viewers some more pictures of their favorite cast member but really when looking at it, its like MTV did this to show that "Sex Sells." Make the cast look sexy and people want to watch.
The way that MTV has found that for there shows to sell is by making the cast member look sexy and fun. And that is what they did when putting this Website together. The pictures they choose to show had the women looking sexy and guys looking hott and making it look as though everyone is having a great time. When entering the Website the first picture you see is one featuring two guys and the rest are women. They had one of the guys looking "hott" and the other guy with his tongue out looking goofy. I guess they did this to make this show appealing to different audiences. One’s looking for hott drama and others looking for a show that will have some comic relief to it. The choice of picture really relates to the meaning of the show because they were able to capture a lot of different things that this show is about. One they had some people looking intense like the side pictures with CT at the Duel, which the show at times was very intense, between the arguments that happened to the competition at the duels. They had the main picture with the cast in front of a beautiful background where the show was shot, it is fun to watch the show to see the awesome place that they are at and see the amazing house they all get to stay in. And like I said before they have the cast looking "hott" because at time the show does get hott between all the different hookups that happened during the course of the show.
I think that is it interesting that on this website one of the things that they feature is the "Duel after Show," where they feature the Duel loser, and have a sort of Q and A session with them. I think that this is interesting for a couple of reasons. Yes, they know that their viewers are always looking for more but some of the questions the host asks I feel are really just to pull as much drama or even create even more drama out of the show. I just think that is tactic is quite interesting to get MTV viewers even more into their show.
Another feature on the website is an intense photo shoot of each cast member where they have at least 3 pictures of them. In these albums you find many of the guys with their shirts off, with a "sexy face" pose going on. Also, you see the women in very little clothes in suggestive poses as well. At first glance, yes, this is nice of MTV is give the viewers some more pictures of their favorite cast member but really when looking at it, its like MTV did this to show that "Sex Sells." Make the cast look sexy and people want to watch.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Blog Assignment # 3
I interviewed my roommate who loves to watch reality shows her favorite one is the Real World--Road Rules Challenge--The Duel! I asked her many questions, some that had to do with how much TV she watched growing up others had to do with her thoughts on pop culture today. Some of her answers I was able to predict and others caught me by surprise. I started off with asking her some questions about her life growing up around TV and how she got into watching reality shows.
To get her talking I asked her to discuss the “chapters of her life.” I also asked her how she thought she identified herself and the multiple cultures and traditions in her life? I also asked her if she were to write an autobiography what would each chapter be called and why? She said that chapter one would be called Pre-Knowledge of TV, she said that it would be entitled that because it was the time in her life before she knew what TV and just really watched it for the entertainment. Next would be called I like TV, she said she would call it this because she knew what TV was at this time in her life but never thought about it or what the programs she was watching meant. Then would be The Englightenment Period, this part in her life would be considered this because this is when she started to understand the programs she was watching and when she started to choose what she was wanted to or not watch. The last chapter up to date in her on-going book would be College, she said she would name it this because this time in her life is when she really had the freedom to watch whatever she wanted whenever she wanted, and she choose to watch reality TV.
I really want to know what pop culture meant to her and her thoughts on this. I thought that the answer to this question would give me a good idea as to the level of questions that I could ask her. She said that she thought that it meant doing things that are most familiar with today's society. Some examples of popular culture to her would be shows like friends and sex in the city. She also said that things like today's fashion such as jeans being able to be dressed up or down is also pop culture.
My follow up qustions to that was why she thinks that she has become a fan? She said that it is due to the fact we like to see entertainment, our society is always looking for new ways to be entertained and watching games like the duel does that for us. Our society also likes to see what others will do for money. Another question I had for her is why she continues to watch the duel? She said its because she wants to see who gets kicked off and who wins. She loves to follow the drama week to week as well. She said that she just finds it mezmorizing and cant really explain why she waste's at least 9 hours a week watching these type of shows. She said it is almost an addiction. My roommate said that she loves to people watch and the reality TV is the next best thing for her to do this most intriguing hobby.
My roommate said that this season's duel was so her favorite because she absolutly loved the relationship between CT and Diem. She said that it is the main reason why she watches week to week. I asked her if she would consider being in the Duel and who she thought she would be friends with out of all the people on the cast. Her response was that she definately would be on it since she is a competitve person. She also said that she would be friends with Diem because she loves her personality and has a lot in common with her and her overcoming cancer.
This interview was great and really helped to me to get a better prospective on where Kelly stood on her knowledge on Pop Culture and about reality TV. I knew that she has taken many AMST classes so I am looking forward to asking her more questions and really getting into the core of the interview.
To get her talking I asked her to discuss the “chapters of her life.” I also asked her how she thought she identified herself and the multiple cultures and traditions in her life? I also asked her if she were to write an autobiography what would each chapter be called and why? She said that chapter one would be called Pre-Knowledge of TV, she said that it would be entitled that because it was the time in her life before she knew what TV and just really watched it for the entertainment. Next would be called I like TV, she said she would call it this because she knew what TV was at this time in her life but never thought about it or what the programs she was watching meant. Then would be The Englightenment Period, this part in her life would be considered this because this is when she started to understand the programs she was watching and when she started to choose what she was wanted to or not watch. The last chapter up to date in her on-going book would be College, she said she would name it this because this time in her life is when she really had the freedom to watch whatever she wanted whenever she wanted, and she choose to watch reality TV.
I really want to know what pop culture meant to her and her thoughts on this. I thought that the answer to this question would give me a good idea as to the level of questions that I could ask her. She said that she thought that it meant doing things that are most familiar with today's society. Some examples of popular culture to her would be shows like friends and sex in the city. She also said that things like today's fashion such as jeans being able to be dressed up or down is also pop culture.
My follow up qustions to that was why she thinks that she has become a fan? She said that it is due to the fact we like to see entertainment, our society is always looking for new ways to be entertained and watching games like the duel does that for us. Our society also likes to see what others will do for money. Another question I had for her is why she continues to watch the duel? She said its because she wants to see who gets kicked off and who wins. She loves to follow the drama week to week as well. She said that she just finds it mezmorizing and cant really explain why she waste's at least 9 hours a week watching these type of shows. She said it is almost an addiction. My roommate said that she loves to people watch and the reality TV is the next best thing for her to do this most intriguing hobby.
My roommate said that this season's duel was so her favorite because she absolutly loved the relationship between CT and Diem. She said that it is the main reason why she watches week to week. I asked her if she would consider being in the Duel and who she thought she would be friends with out of all the people on the cast. Her response was that she definately would be on it since she is a competitve person. She also said that she would be friends with Diem because she loves her personality and has a lot in common with her and her overcoming cancer.
This interview was great and really helped to me to get a better prospective on where Kelly stood on her knowledge on Pop Culture and about reality TV. I knew that she has taken many AMST classes so I am looking forward to asking her more questions and really getting into the core of the interview.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
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