Bittersweet

Hey y'all I just wanted to say that I truly enjoyed this class. This was really the best class that I have taken so far. I am so sad that this semester is over because I learned so much from each and everyone of you in the class and I want to contiue learning, but we must keep it moving. I am excited to take what I have learned and apply it to my daliy life. CONGRATULATIONS AT ALL THE GRADUATING SENIORS!!! until next time(if there will ever be a next time) haha...later guys :-D

TALKING POINT #11

I didn’t know where to start so I decided to look up “Teens talk back” into the Bing search box and I found that there were a lot of parent advising sites that help parents to control their children when they get out of hand. I find that very interesting because it gives parents pointers on how to deal with their annoying and disobedient teens etc.  I just don’t understand why everything has to be so negative when it comes to teens? I also noticed that a lot of sites are run by adults who are trying to spark up conversation within the teenage communities about dominant ideologies. But actually came across this website called teentalk.com which brings up different topics that teenagers go through and have teens talk on it. I think that this website/blog is a great opportunity for teens to really go in and express themselves and prove to the adults and everyone else that they are not annoying, disobedient, disrespectful and other negative things characteristics.  I love the fact that a teen got up the courage to start the blog, and start a youtube show that helps everyone see and understand how teens really are and also what they think about themselves. Although this is a great opportunity for teens to express themselves, this blog is not being utilized as much as it should, that is just a tab bit disappointing.  Another thing that is disappointing is out of all 10 pages that I looked at in the search I only seen about three sites that were ran by teenagers.  I feel like there should be more teens who is willing to take a stand and talk back. If we can get more teens to participate in this moment we wouldn't have all there stereotype of Teenagers. 
Question: What do you think the reason is for the non utilization of these teen blogs? 

GLEE!!!!! talking point #10

I must say that this is my first time watching Glee and I LOVE it!!!! For years my sister has been trying to get me to watch this show but I refused because for some reason I thought it was whack. I was wrong, this show is the bomb.com!!!  I was in show choir in high school and I would have loved to have a glee club, it would have made my senior year experience more enjoyable. But anyways the reason for my post, in the pilot of the show I could clearly see struggles of being a teen, many people not wanted to join the glee club because it was not the popular thing to do. Finn Hudson who was on the football team was talented and had a very beautiful voice but chose not step up and join the glee club because the pressure of feeling like he was going to be a outcast by his football teammates. Because it was not accepted  in the football community, Fin felt like he couldn't branch out and do what he loved which was sing because the boys would make fun of him and call him a wimp. But the episode that really got me was “Never been Kissed”. It brought up a very touchy subject in the teenage/high school world which is homosexuality.  Kurt was an openly gay male and that didn't sit well with one of the foot ball players (Krofsky). I later found out that this Krofsky was also gay but he seem like he was confused about it. It reminded me of the Kimmel and Mahler reading. Clearly the reason why He was bullying Fin is because he felt like he was not a man anymore since he was gay. He used force and violence to try to prove to him and others that he was masculine(tough Guise act). Poor Kurt, I felt for him because he did nothing wrong, he was a normal kid just like all the other high schoolers and for him to get bullied because Krofsky (the loser) is beside me. It’s also interesting that for a while no one paid attention to him getting bullied. They all turned the other cheek and didn't treat it how they would normally treat the situation if it was a straight student.  It hurts my heart to know that LGBTQ bullying is out there running rampid in schools. This episode definitely pushed against some of the dominant ideologies masculinity and what it is to be a “man”.

Talking point #9 Reflection on Tricia Rose

I have never really been a fan of the hip hop world. I was more of an R&B type of girl but I listened to hip hop every now and then because my older brother was a big fan of it. I believe that back in the day the quality of music was definitely a lot better and had deeper meaning than what it had now. I completely agree with Tricia Rose when she said in her interview with TIME magazine that hip hop isn’t not completely dead. We still have some great artist who are out there, granted they are not as popular as Two chains, or Kanye West but they are out there making great music. I respect the fact that people like Common (which I LOVE listening to his music),Most Def, and Talib Kweli decided not to transform their music and follow the dominate ideology of “dumbing” down their music to sell more records. They are doing their job right; they are reaching others and having a positive impact on who they reach. The ones who started to dumb down their music slowly began to change the game(and made it harder for the rap songs with substance). They set the stage for the rest of the rappers who come after them.  There is just something about listening to a song that actually has meaning, it becomes more relatable and people appreciate it more. At the end of the day the majority of artists are going to go with where the money is instead of staying true to who they really are and that in my opinion they are selling themselves short. I believe if we continue on this road in a few years hip hop will be completely dead, there will be no substance in any kind of music.

Question: why do you think people feel the need to dumb down there lyrics?

Masculinity, Homophobia and Violence...Talking point #8

This reading was very interesting to say the least, some ways it made me a little uncomfortable. Because this is a slight shift on what we were talking about the past few week, I was not expecting to read this for our reading assignment and I must say that it took me by surprise. When I first started reading this I was totally against what was being said.  The writers disagreed with experts who made very great and valid points. Points like violence stems from a violent house hold, exposing child to violent movies when younger, allowing children to play video games that involve shooting, and killing, child abuse, absent fathers etc. I was all for what experts had said until a point was made that violence and shooting was only a male problem. This made me atomically shift my thoughts, I began to think about girls who come from broken homes, who play violent video games along with the boys and whole love watching violent movies and listening to music that talk about violence.  I then began to really think. It just didn't make sense to me, there had to have been more to this. As I began to get more into the reading I started realizing certain things. There are a few quotes that I to address and add my few cents to. 

The first quote that I want to talk about is The quote of Eminem on page 1145. He says “The Lowest degrading thing you can say to a man…is to call him a faggot and try to take away his man hood”.

First of all I HATE that would It seems to me that the word “faggot has taken on a whole different meaning, it went from being bundles of twigs that was used to violently burn homosexuals, to being gay, to now stripping someone of their manhood? Can someone please tell me how that adds up? This was very upsetting to me to see how the horrible meaning of the word faggot losses its meaning REAL in slag and becomes something so different. I atomically thought about how this world is in constant evolution, it definitely shows in how the meaning of words are lost.

The next quote that I will be talking about is on page 1446 and it states: “There is much at stake for boys and, as a result, they engage in a variety of evasive strategies to make sure that no one gets the wrong idea about them (and their manhood)”

 This shows that boys would do anything to prove that they are not and have not lost their “manhood”, this includes killing people who have hurt them by, picking on them, bullying them, calling them names etc. If they feel like they are losing their “manhood” they automatically jump on defense and start plotting for ways to help them redeem this manhood of theirs, this plot most likely will be a violent one because that is what boy identify with for protection.

The last quote that I will address is on page 1450 which says “unlike girls, boys  do not lose their voice, they “gain a voice, but it is an authentic voice of constant posturing, of false bravado, of foolish risk-taking and gratuitous violence-what some have called the”boy code”, the mask of masculinity. The once warm, empathetic, communicative boy becomes, very early, a stoic, uncommunicative, armor-plated man."
This “boy code” stems from the dominate ideology that men are suppose to be hard. They can’t cry nor are can the show emotion, if they do then they are not tough and they are called a “wimp”. Any boy who is not in this bracket of what a “man” is suppose to be, ends up getting bullied and because this boy feels like they have their “manhood to prove they go off killing people. 

talking point 7:Connections

Although I didn't pick up all the subliminal messages in the cartoon in general, there were just a few things that I can say that I subconsciously picked up on.  Growing up I watched a lot of Disney movies but I can’t say that I was an actual fan of it. I watched it mostly because my class was watching it or because my mom or aunt put it on for me and my cousins to watch. Thinking back I was a weird child, I was very girly but never really picked up wanting to live the dream of being a princess. But I must 

say that I wanted a prince charming to come sweep me off my feet and ask for my hair in marriage. Peggy Orensteins states in Cinderella Ate My Daughter  
 “There is ample evidence that the more mainstream media girl consume the more importance they place on being pretty and sexy.” (p.16) I automatically thought back to Unlearning the myths that Bind Us.  There is little paragraph that states: “Because we can never look like Cinderella, we begin to hate ourselves. The Barbie Syndrome starts as we begin a lifelong search for the perfect body.” This also made me think about me think about a song called “Unpretty” by TLC. This song touched me and really spoke what I couldn't at the time, I felt like I was not pretty enough and all the odds were against me but when I was younger I could really form it into smart enough words to help someone understand me and what I was feeling.

Media TRULY does matter and affects everyone no matter who you are!! No, the movies don’t bluntly come out and say that you have to look a curtain way to get the boy or get a head in life but the simple fact that is it implied over and over again and there cartoon shows and movies. As children we are not smart enough to pick up on little hint like that but let us watch it a few times we will subconsciously pick up on it and it will get in our spirit and hearts.   As a kid I though Princess weren't all that cool but I sure liked the fact that they always got the man and the happy ending. Brave was so different I can actually say that I loved that movie. That movie I feel challenged some of the strong ideologies that has been floating around. First off Merida is a red head which I loved!!! Who said that blood blue eyes are the only attractive ones???  I love how Disney Portrayed Merida. She is BEAUIFUL, smart, strong minded, knows what she wants, outspoken, and in your face, she pushes the limits but was still respectful. Unlike the common movie where the girl is passive, listens to whatever everyone says and is prissy, she is the complete opposite. I admire that because not every child is the same. You have some girl who was girly like me but you have other young girl who is just like Merida. She did what she wanted even though her “calling” went against it. This movie shows everyone that you don’t have to be what society says you have to be or look like. Just be yourself. It will make the young ones more comfortable and not force them into this certain box in order to prosper and feel beautiful.

My question to yall: I know it will take more than just one movie but do you think that this will affect the way children think?  as far as what they(media) perceive beautiful looks like after watching the movie Brave or do you think that I wont matter?

Final project!!

Since music is a very big part of our everyday lives, I think it would be a great topic to do for my final project. Music touches so many different lives in so many different ways. Some songs influence and motivate, and other songs not so much. It is not a mystery that listening to music does something to the brain which then leads to curtain acts. For example, when a person is shopping in a store notice that there is music playing in the background. This is because some way somehow it keeps us in the store longer and makes us spend  money. I am a big fan of music and I can testify and say that music can change a way a person thinks, feels and acts. I thought it would be a very good opportunity to do a deeper study of music and its effect on teenage behavior. I not only want to look at music but I was thinking about also looking at music videos and dissecting curtain videos and talk about how it could negatively or positively  effect teenagers.  The video that we partly watched in class one day called “Big booty hoe” really disappointed me and upset me because one, the title itself is disrespectful and degrading to not just African American woman, but woman as a whole. Once you get past the title and actually listen to the lyrics you will see that there is more disrespect to woman. Now the video, as if the song is not bad enough the video is worse, showing woman close to being naked shaking the butts all in the camera. I couldn't even watch the entire video because I was so disgusted. I am at complete shock that a video like this would go out for the world to see. Think about what this song is doing to our young teenagers, both boys and girls.  I know music influence thoughts and emotions, and behaviors but does it influence the style of dress or is the just videos?