Accidental Racist

The song "Accidental Racist" created a lot of controversy and I can definitely understand why.   Like Brad Paisley says, "When I put on that t-shirt, the only thing I meant to say is I’m a Skynyrd fan."  The shirt was not picked out in response to a thought like, "Hmm.. I wonder how many people I can offend today." LL Cool J says, "Just because my pants are saggin’ doesn't mean I’m up to no good.  You should try to get to know me, I really wish you would."  I think Brad Paisley and LL Cool J are just talking about how easily someone can be offended.  The fact that they felt the need to compare the confederate flag to a do-rag caused a lot of problems, and it is a bit extreme and uncalled for in my opinion.

This song relates to both of our readings for this week.  A country song needs easy to understand lyrics, clear meaning, and southern themes.  When Brad Paisley sings, these features are there.  A hip-hop song needs materialism, violence, and mumbly speech.  When LL Cool J does his part these features are also there.

The Happiest Place on Earth

In class we talked about Walt Disney World and that it is a place you must go if you wish to be an effective American.  It has entertainment for people of all ages and its all included in that one location.  I think New York would be a place that everyone should visit at least once in their lifetime.  You would get to see Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and the 9/11 memorial.  All of these have a very important role in America.  The roles may be very different, but they are all three a place everyone should see.

Intertextuality

This is an example of intertextuality because it is combining two different ideas to create a new thing.  If you don't know what the game of Operation is and you have never seen Star Wars you would never understand this.  Instead of operating on a normal looking guy with brown hair, you are removing the defective droid parts from R2-D2.

This is an example of the Mona Lisa portrait combined with Lucy van Pelt from the Peanuts cartoon.  Lets say you have no idea what the Mona Lisa portrait is- you wouldn't know what this picture is.  You would be able to recognize Lucy, but nothing else.

Coolness

Klosterman and Quart both talk about the effects of coolness and teens, but they talk about it in very different ways.  Klosterman's view says teens don't focus on being cool, they only focus on being the uncool one.  Klosterman refers to cereal commercials to prove his point.  In the commercials, the fictional character that is chasing the cereal is uncool because he is not allowed to have the desirable product.

In the interview we read in class, Quart says teens focus on setting new trends and trying to be the cool one.  They try to stand out.  She says if teens really want to change a certain trend they certainly can.  Teens seem to be the focus for advertising because companies know that if they direct advertisements towards teenagers then they will create brand loyalty.  

Football High

In class we watched the video Football High and I will admit it was intense.  I totally understand being dedicated to sports and wanting to win; however these high school kids are pushed to the extreme.  When the coaches were being interviewed they said they don't cancel practice because they have to win.  I'm sorry, but if it 100 plus degrees outside those boys should not be out running back and forth with a full set of football pads on.

This video definitely relates to Klosterman's example of intimidation culture.  The teenage boys in the video were huge.  It had been drilled into their heads that if they did not lift and work hard to become big they wouldn't have a very strong chance at winning.  Intimidation culture is kind of a scary thing if you really think about it.  One of the coaches in the video said its kind of like a chain reaction.  If team A is full of tiny guys and team B is full of averaged sized guys then obviously team A is going to bulk up to be the size of team B.  Now lets say team C comes along and they are ginormous (like the teams in the video) teams A and B will work to become the size of team C otherwise there is no chance at beating team C.  It is going to continue to get worse and it will sadly lead to more concussions, heat stroke, and other related injuries.

Romance

One of the readings this week was "This is Emo" by Chuck Klosterman.  He talked about how no woman will never be able to satisfy him.  He also says that he will never be satisfied by a woman.  "Mass media makes it impossible to fall in love with any acumen of normalcy."  Klosterman talked about how he  created a prefect girlfriend in his head.  The girl was a friend of a friend who he hadn't even met yet.  In class we talked about how the expectations don't actually measure up with the reality of how things go in a real relationship.  In movies and TV shows we see fancy first dates, big beautiful weddings, and perfect children, but in reality we get a not so fancy first date, a wedding we can afford, and children who are exhausting and have temper tantrums.  When we don't get these perfect situations the stress of the relationship increases (some people even start having second thoughts and end it).

We want a relationship that is just as good and just as easy as the media portrays relationships to be, but that never happens.  In real life, relationships take time, work, and commitment.  It's not always a walk in the park.

Advertising

This week we watched the video "Killing Us Softly."  Jill Kilbourne showed some advertisements that were bothersome to her.  I would have to agree with what Kilbourne said.  Girls are made to look super young and vulnerable in most ads we see.  This Calvin Klein ad is for a pair of jeans.  When I first saw this ad, I'll be honest I barley noticed the jeans.  The fact that she looks as if she is a defenseless twelve year old, half naked, and an unbelievably thin (notice her spine protruding from her back) girl is what Kilbourne talked about a lot in her video.  Why do women have to be so ungodly thin and look so vulnerable in advertising?  Just as Kilbourne said men advertisements are no better.  The men have to be macho looking and most of the time they are shirtless.  Why have companies decided that this is the way they want to display their products?