Final Project :) Male Teens in the Media

This project to say the least was definitely challenging. I underestimated how hard the project was going to be when I first heard about it. However, when I went to start the project I could not figure out iMovie to save my life. I texted the teachers and after still not being able to figure it I finally went to the Apple store. They helped me download software and I finally figured it out. I was originally going to do my project on rape victims, however when doing more research; I switched my topic over to teenage males in the media. I watched dozens of video clips before finally figuring out which clips I wanted to use.

The first thing I noticed when my project was done was that every clip showed some parts of S.C.W.A.A.M.P in it. I saw straightness in the sense that whenever a male was doing anything, his focus was always on a female. All these men were also abled bodied and American. Maleness was a given when I watch my final video. The simple fact being that I focused only on male teens. Finally, a lot of the males in my video had property ownership in some sort of way; whether it was shown through their house, clothes, cars or money. Another text I saw was Christensen’s “Unpacking the Myths that Bind Us.” Every stereotype I saw, I felt guilty because it’s often what I think of when I think of black teen males. Even though I have black guy friends who don’t act like these males, I still fall victim to these stereotypes. It’s something that I grew up learning was the norm. For the future generations I think all we can do is teach them at a young age that these stereotypes are not only untrue but offensive. The final text I saw when doing this project was Raby’s “A Tangle of Discourses.” The first discourse I saw was the Storm. These young men were all in turbulent situations of some kind or another. Some of the men were also hormone driven. For example; when Will constantly hit on all the girls he saw. The next discourse was At Risk. The two boys who beat and killed the Asian man were definitely in trouble. They had the free will and chose to do something bad. You also saw sexual scenes and the use of drugs. Finally, I felt I really saw Pleasurable Consumption. With the clips from TV and music videos, the guys were all in nice clothes, had money and women hanging all over them. For any young male, this is a very impressionable view.

When this project first started I really felt like a digital immigrant. I could not figure out IMovie at all and felt really pathetic. I had to get help from not just the teachers, but also the Apple professionals. However, once I got over the initial hump of figuring out the software, the project flowed smoothly.

Enlightened Sexism talking points # 8 Connections Blog

In the article Enlightened Sexism by Susan J. Douglas she defines this as the perceived threat of a new gender regime. It insists that woman have made plenty of progress because of feminism, so now it’s okay, even amusing to resurrect sexist stereotypes of girls and women (pg. 9). Douglas then goes onto to give different examples of enlightened sexism. She states that enlightened sexism is targeted to girls who have it all. Douglas also says that enlightened the media and that are producing all sexism they are calling the shots. Plus that it is “undoing feminism.” Douglas then continues by saying that enlightened sexism ignores any girl who is not middle or upper class and makes girls and women compete for a male’s attention. Finally, Douglas states that any person who is on television whether they are rich, good looking or spoiled, that we as viewers are better than them because we can judge them and we make better choices than they do.

Douglas then states that enlightened sexism pulls girls and women into opposite directions “between serious success and respect and wanting acceptance, approval and love and wanting power and dreading power.” So girls now have to figure out whom they want to be and that if they choose to work and have success then we have to be able to deal with the consequences, because it was “our own choice.”

I feel that with all the shows that Douglas mentions in the article, all the shows portray S.C.W.A.A.M.P. These shows portray straightness by showing relationships. They show whiteness because majority of leading cast members are all white. These people are all able bodies and American. Finally, you really see property owner for the reason being all the cast members have al these rich extravagant lives and don’t see to have to worry about money problems.

Another previous reading I thought of when reading Douglas was Raby’s Discourses. Girls today are the storm, at risk, becoming and pleasurable consumption. The storm because girls on TV are easily influenced by all the opportunities that are presented to them. They are at risk because they have complete access to sex and alcohol. Becoming because whenever a girl does a reality show, it is a huge milestone in the girls’ life. They look back at that time and see how much they have grown and changed from that time. Finally, with girls now on TV it gives viewers an idea of what is “in” and “popular”. It makes advertisement easier because they have now have models to base future products on.

talking points # 7 extended comments blog

For this blog I decided to the extended comment blog. I agree with Dean that in earlier years, that gays were always hidden or had some kind of major problem, whether it being a disease or coming to terms with having to come out. 

Keshia mentions that a normal teenager “makes fun of teachers, dine and dash, explore sex and hang out, talk and get kissed.” I think for some of that, it is true. Teens are constantly trying to find themselves through each other, sex and drugs. However, Glee’s portrayal of a “normal” gay, I feel is not represented correctly when it comes to Santana. I agree with Glee that glee club is not considered “cool” and being a part of it makes you a loser. I do agree with Keshia when she mentions that gays are portrayed as being inferior in this episode. Whenever Kurt is talking about his gayness or anyone else says anything, then it is always in a negative way. I do think that Glee did a good job with not making Kurt out as a diseased gay.

Whenever we watch something for class, we always have to keep in mind who gets rewarded and who gets punished. In Glee Santana gets punished for having sexual thoughts. She is no longer to finish what she had started with the boy in the Science room. Kurt also gets punished in the end of Never Been Kissed because when the boys are all have to apologize they make Kurt actually sing everything in the front.

I think that Glee is trying to be this show that has come along way from every other show. However, I don’t actually feel they do this. They still play into the stereotypes that kids are put into by the media and their peers.

talking points # 6 'how being a good girl can be bad for girls' hyperlinks

When I read this article, I have to admit I just couldn't seem to grasp why any girl would put herself in a position to always be at a man's call whenever he needed her. Or why she isn't able to say 'No' and not feel so bad. So I started looking around and I sifted through different video's and I found this interesting video. It made the article a little more clearer for myself. Girls are taught at a very young age on how to dress, look and act around other's. They are expected to be everything and nothing all at the same time. This change though to teach girls that 'no is okay' is going to be a tough one. It's almost like all the adult women have to be reprogrammed on how to behave. I can say this though a good girl gone bad seems to be very appealing to men. However, I don't think the majority of men are ready for women to stand up for themselves. Because the second a woman does stand up for herself, then she is considered a bitch.

How is homosexuality presented in the film?

In the movie, a Brandon has been getting picked on for his sexual orientation. He then decides to enlist the help from Olive. However, Olive is not too happy about this and tells him to actually just hide his orientation until they graduate like every other gay does, however, he's not too fond of this idea. Homosexuality is also viewed through the religious group on campus. They seem to be very against the gays and even seem to try and 'save' them. However, by the end of the movie Brandon ends up running away because he still fears what people will think of his sexuality.

What would Tolman and Higgens say about this movies representation of sexuality?

I think that they would both say that Olive is being repressed. That if she was a boy, then she would not be getting hassled for anything she has done, but yet getting praised. It shows the gender roles we have for ourselves and other's. However, I feel that Tolman and Higgens would both be happy with the approach that Olive is taking (even though it is not traditional).

Why does media matter?

Media matters in this movie because that is a big way all the rumors are getting spread. However, Olive uses media to her advantage by making the video and telling her side of the story with no interruptions. So this movie shows how media can be used in a positive and negative way.

'mastering your johnson' argument

This author Krassas argues that magazines in today’s times have become very explicit. Krassas begins with saying how women are being portrayed in magazines. Those women are placed in a certain position because that is the role they are expected to take on. However, when a male is portrayed, then he is always a dominant creature helping the situation. Another problem Krassas seems to have is the articles in magazines. Magazines today are all about subliminal messages through their articles. They are all about how a women or male should look, act or feel.

What I gather was Krassas’s main point was that magazines are just not what they used to be. All magazine’s care about today is sex and everything related to it. I personally, love Cosmo Magazine, however, I do enjoy the one heart felt story.  However, I feel that Krassas doesn’t seem to understand the new generation of magazine readers. Today’s readers, for the majority at least, do not care about issues in the world. What they care about is how to make them more valuable (as shallow as that may be.)

'Digital Native, Digital Immigrant' Quotes Blog

In the article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants author Marc Prensky discusses the education gap between what he calls the digital native generation to the digital immigration generation.  For people who do not what this means it’s simple. The digital natives are the kids who were born into the digital world. They know everything from computers and the Internet all the way to the latest gadgets. They know exactly what is going on in the world in an instant from Facebook to Twitter. However, the flip side of this generation is the digital immigrants generation. They are the people who grew up in a ‘simpler’ time. They read books, instead of finding the answer on the Internet; they take their time and enjoy doing things the ‘long’ or ‘hard’ way. These two very different groups coincide with each other and now more then ever are butting heads over the future.

The article begins with the education problem that is happening in the United States. Kids today are not learning at the level they should be and more and more kids are dropping out of school or just not attending. “This is not just a joke. It’s very serious, because the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.” (Page 2, paragraph 3) With all the teachers stuck in their old ways, I think it causes these types of problems. Teachers need to accept the fact that times are changing, so are our kids and the access they have available to them.

However, “should the Digital Native students learn the old ways, or should their Digital Immigrant educators learn the new?” (Page 3, paragraph 5) I honestly think that because our students are the future of everything, it only makes sense for the Digital Immigrants to move forwards and learn these new teaching methods. “We need to invent Digital Native methodologies for all subjects, at all levels, using our students to guide us.” (Page 6, paragraph 1) By teachers figuring out new ways to teach their students, it will open up everything. Students will be more likely to want to learn things, if it makes more sense to them.

Who are these teenagers? - Reflection

Everyone knows that the teenage years for a kid can be the most confusing time of his or her life, especially for girls. It’s that awkward time in your life where you are trying to figure out who you are and where you want to fit in the world. It’s making sure you’re living up to high standards set for you be the people before, while still being ‘perfect’ enough for the boys to notice you. I remember being a teenager and stressing not so much about school, but about what my peers would think. Making sure that I had the trendiest clothes and still focus on my looks, but without being an airhead.

Even though a teenager is a relatively new concept, the problems have always been there. It’s that time where puberty hits you and you don’t really know what to do with yourself.  Most adults pass your problems off as ‘stupid problem’.  However, the problems I had when I was a teenager were the worst things to ever happen to me. I didn’t know about the world around me, nor did I care.  My biggest problem was all the changes happening in such a short amount of time to the boy I had a crush on, nothing more. Once I got through them, I loved being a teenager. I was able to experiment with different clothes and meet new people. However, while being a teenager, you are still being judged. I remember being seventeen years old and wanting my nose pierced, but my parents told me no. They said that people were going to judge me unfairly. I finally told them that I didn’t’ care and once I turn eighteen years old; I’m going do this. They finally caved in and brought me to get it done.

I’m now twenty-one years old and I look back on my teenage years and I truly miss it. It seems like such a simpler time for me, even with the drama. With everything I’ve been through as well as everyone else, I think teenagers rely heavily on their friends. I couldn’t imagine going through some of the things I went through without my friends.