http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p72UqyVPj54&feature=player_embedded
A friend put this on my Facebook profile. Enjoy!
~Jennielee
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Women, Sex and Music
One of the biggest representations of an artist's music is how they want their lyrics and meaning of the music to be represented in their music video. When I was looking for a topic to write about regarding women and music, I found myself spending hours on YouTube looking at different music videos. What I really found to be interesting was the way certain female artists portrayed themselves in their music videos. For example I will focus on 2 female singers that I have been a fan of and I think are pretty popular in today's society: Rihanna and Chrisina Aguilera.
So in my middle school years it was always the battle between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and of course I always chose Christina because I wanted to be different from everyone else in my class who were choosing Britney. I think at this age I wasn't concerned about the lyrics but more about what song I thought was "in" or popular at the time. Now, as a college junior and definitely after this class, I really listen to the lyrics and find it interesting to see how and what their music videos are like. Christina Aguilera was very popular when I was younger and then she kinda faded out. But she is now making a comeback!! The ironic thing is that she is no longer this innocent teenage appealing artist anymore. She is more sexualized and her videos display that. Lets look at one of her old videos vs one of her newest ones. The old video I chose specifically because people feel that it is a very empowering song, especially from a female perspective.
Christina Aguilera "Fighter"
In this song Christina talks about taking negativity and turning into positive affirmations. I find this song to be very empowering, relateable, and not just for women. She talks about becoming stronger: "Thanks for making me a fighter!" This kind of song was one I listened to when I was younger and used to sing around the house. I even at one point think I put it on my Myspace after a boyfriend broke up with me in like 7th grade. Like I said it was very relateable for all ages! Now lets look at one of her newest songs that just came out.
Christina Aguilera " Not Myself Tonight"
Ok, what is your first opinion on how she represents herself in this video? What about the lyrics? She talks about how "she is not the same girl tonight". Seems to me that she is talking about how how she is going to act while having sex, about how she is going to act like someone other than what she thinks of herself to be like. Is it because the script of these "dirty girls" or how women who display their sexuality more are more attractive? Maybe its this idea that women who are dress and dance sexy are more attractive to men. I think what most shocked me was how I feel that media has sexualized her more because they know that sex sells. The idea is that she is making a comeback now in music, so how do we get her noticed? I know just from keeping up celebrity news that during this time where she faded out of the high celebrity status for a bit, she had gotten married and had a child. I think this is why it surprises me that in this new song, she is displaying her self in a raunchy, sexualized way. I mean I am sure that many people could argue and say well she is just showing everyone that just because she is a mom, that doesnt mean she cant be sexy But c'mon, do you really think that she is gonna want her child to grow up and watch this video? I guess the whole point I am trying to make is that the media is going to extremes to make women become more noticed and to boost their celebrity status. And how are they doing this? By really emphasizing sex. The fact is that sex does selll, and this is probably why this song is becoming increasingly more popular.
Rihanna
Here is another artist whose newest music video I think really is a good example of how sex sells.
Rihanna "S&M"
First of all, I have no idea what S&M stands for and still don't after watching this video. But, to focus on this video and the lyrics, what is obvious is what Rihanna's message. One of her main lyrics are " sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me". She is trying to portray herself as bad girl, in a positive way. Again it is this whole idea that being a "bad girl" is attractive. One part of the video that I found to be really interesting was where she is tied up and it has on a poka dotted outfit with a lot of bright colors. This immediately got me thinking if she was trying to go along with this idea of there being a fantasy men being with younger girls, or school girls etc. This tied into the whole the discussion we had about porn and how women are displayed in it. What men are attracted to and what they find to be sexy. There is no doubt that this song emphasizes the whole sexual script of a "bad girl". That "bad girls" are hot and experienced. Now lately I really have looked at the type of music that Rihanna has come out with after the whole incident of physical abuse that she experienced with her ex Chris Brown. Since that incident, her music has been talking about the physical abuse in a sexual way. She has focused on talking about getting abused but liking it because she refers to it in a sexual way. Its this whole idea of a dominatrix, or about being forceful with a partner in a sexual way. Is this how the media is wanting her to represent herself as a powerful symbol against physical sexual abuse? This is what I think. I think that Rihanna has chosen to take what happened to her and through her music, express that she is a fighter and stronger woman now for having experienced what she did. This I think is wonderful because I feel that music and lyrics can be very powerful. But I think that the entertainment world has helped her express this in the wrong way. They have taken it and sexualized it. For the sake of being recognized and being sucessful in the music world, Rihanna has been drowned into this world that focues on the importance of sex. It seems that the music industry will do anything to promote a female singer. Women are being seen as sexual objects. I think that is sad that sex is becoming so important in order to become noticed in the entertainment business. Think about some female artisits that you listen to, is the focus on her voice or her body?
Finally, I want to end this blog with a song from a singer that I think truly empowers women. I have always loved India Arie's music because of the lyrics and because her messages are always very clear. This is an extremely talented artist that I think has not received as much recognition as she should.I think a big reason why is because she doesn't put herself out there in a sexual way. She doesn't let herself become a sexual object. She doesnt let the entertainment world impact her in this kind of way. What is wonderful is that some of her songs even talk about this.She is singer that I have much respect for because she doesn't allow her audience to focus on her body, or the way she dresses. She forces us to focus on her voice and in fact, she represents her femininity through her music and lyrics. I absolutely fell in love with this song, and for any woman I hope it is as inspiring for you as it was for me!!
India Arie "Because I am a Queen"
Erica
So in my middle school years it was always the battle between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and of course I always chose Christina because I wanted to be different from everyone else in my class who were choosing Britney. I think at this age I wasn't concerned about the lyrics but more about what song I thought was "in" or popular at the time. Now, as a college junior and definitely after this class, I really listen to the lyrics and find it interesting to see how and what their music videos are like. Christina Aguilera was very popular when I was younger and then she kinda faded out. But she is now making a comeback!! The ironic thing is that she is no longer this innocent teenage appealing artist anymore. She is more sexualized and her videos display that. Lets look at one of her old videos vs one of her newest ones. The old video I chose specifically because people feel that it is a very empowering song, especially from a female perspective.
Christina Aguilera "Fighter"
In this song Christina talks about taking negativity and turning into positive affirmations. I find this song to be very empowering, relateable, and not just for women. She talks about becoming stronger: "Thanks for making me a fighter!" This kind of song was one I listened to when I was younger and used to sing around the house. I even at one point think I put it on my Myspace after a boyfriend broke up with me in like 7th grade. Like I said it was very relateable for all ages! Now lets look at one of her newest songs that just came out.
Christina Aguilera " Not Myself Tonight"
Ok, what is your first opinion on how she represents herself in this video? What about the lyrics? She talks about how "she is not the same girl tonight". Seems to me that she is talking about how how she is going to act while having sex, about how she is going to act like someone other than what she thinks of herself to be like. Is it because the script of these "dirty girls" or how women who display their sexuality more are more attractive? Maybe its this idea that women who are dress and dance sexy are more attractive to men. I think what most shocked me was how I feel that media has sexualized her more because they know that sex sells. The idea is that she is making a comeback now in music, so how do we get her noticed? I know just from keeping up celebrity news that during this time where she faded out of the high celebrity status for a bit, she had gotten married and had a child. I think this is why it surprises me that in this new song, she is displaying her self in a raunchy, sexualized way. I mean I am sure that many people could argue and say well she is just showing everyone that just because she is a mom, that doesnt mean she cant be sexy But c'mon, do you really think that she is gonna want her child to grow up and watch this video? I guess the whole point I am trying to make is that the media is going to extremes to make women become more noticed and to boost their celebrity status. And how are they doing this? By really emphasizing sex. The fact is that sex does selll, and this is probably why this song is becoming increasingly more popular.
Rihanna
Here is another artist whose newest music video I think really is a good example of how sex sells.
Rihanna "S&M"
First of all, I have no idea what S&M stands for and still don't after watching this video. But, to focus on this video and the lyrics, what is obvious is what Rihanna's message. One of her main lyrics are " sticks and stones may break my bones, but chains and whips excite me". She is trying to portray herself as bad girl, in a positive way. Again it is this whole idea that being a "bad girl" is attractive. One part of the video that I found to be really interesting was where she is tied up and it has on a poka dotted outfit with a lot of bright colors. This immediately got me thinking if she was trying to go along with this idea of there being a fantasy men being with younger girls, or school girls etc. This tied into the whole the discussion we had about porn and how women are displayed in it. What men are attracted to and what they find to be sexy. There is no doubt that this song emphasizes the whole sexual script of a "bad girl". That "bad girls" are hot and experienced. Now lately I really have looked at the type of music that Rihanna has come out with after the whole incident of physical abuse that she experienced with her ex Chris Brown. Since that incident, her music has been talking about the physical abuse in a sexual way. She has focused on talking about getting abused but liking it because she refers to it in a sexual way. Its this whole idea of a dominatrix, or about being forceful with a partner in a sexual way. Is this how the media is wanting her to represent herself as a powerful symbol against physical sexual abuse? This is what I think. I think that Rihanna has chosen to take what happened to her and through her music, express that she is a fighter and stronger woman now for having experienced what she did. This I think is wonderful because I feel that music and lyrics can be very powerful. But I think that the entertainment world has helped her express this in the wrong way. They have taken it and sexualized it. For the sake of being recognized and being sucessful in the music world, Rihanna has been drowned into this world that focues on the importance of sex. It seems that the music industry will do anything to promote a female singer. Women are being seen as sexual objects. I think that is sad that sex is becoming so important in order to become noticed in the entertainment business. Think about some female artisits that you listen to, is the focus on her voice or her body?
Finally, I want to end this blog with a song from a singer that I think truly empowers women. I have always loved India Arie's music because of the lyrics and because her messages are always very clear. This is an extremely talented artist that I think has not received as much recognition as she should.I think a big reason why is because she doesn't put herself out there in a sexual way. She doesn't let herself become a sexual object. She doesnt let the entertainment world impact her in this kind of way. What is wonderful is that some of her songs even talk about this.She is singer that I have much respect for because she doesn't allow her audience to focus on her body, or the way she dresses. She forces us to focus on her voice and in fact, she represents her femininity through her music and lyrics. I absolutely fell in love with this song, and for any woman I hope it is as inspiring for you as it was for me!!
India Arie "Because I am a Queen"
Erica
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Dollhouse: woman power? Or violence against women?
Over spring break, I did something embarrassing. No, it didn't get drunk on national TV or feature in any revealing photos, but I did...watch sci-fi. A lot. A whole season of a show, in fact. And...I watched the second (and final) season during the rest of April. (Now you understand the lack of posts!)
The show was Dollhouse, and if you plan on watching it ever, be warned: SPOILERS. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!! Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, what do my embarrassing Netflix habits have to do with women in the media?
A surprising amount, actually. I chose to blog about Dollhouse for quite a few reasons. First, the creator, Joss Whedon, self-identifies as a feminist. Given the representations of women we see in quality programming like Jersey Shore and Gossip Girl, I was very curious to see if having a self-declared feminist with creative power over a show would make a significant difference in women's portrayal. Second, and related, I felt like the show was purposefully trying to say something about women and their access to/use of power. It's true that I've been hyper-aware of how women appear in various media forms ever since beginning this blog, so maybe that accounts for it, but regardless of whether it was intentional or not, the messages are still interesting.
Dollhouse is about (of course...because it's sci-fi) a new, underground technology that removes a person's existing personality and temporarily implants a false one into their body. These "custom made" humans, ordered by rich people, can be whatever the buyer wants--slavishly in love, an expert in any given field, stunningly talented, you name it. The technology is secret and housed in a compound called the Dollhouse hidden underneath LA (it's one of many across the globe). The unfortunates who inhabit it are called...obviously...dolls. In their mind-wiped state, they show no personality at all. They are merely passive victims waiting to be imprinted with a new set of parameters. Over the course of the show, one doll, code named Echo, somehow manages to hold on to a few fleeting memories of her past selves, including her original, real personality, Caroline. She works with various others throughout the series to save the dolls. In the end, we discover that her genetic code makes her resistant to the technology, and that a vaccine can be made from her cells that, after the technology becomes widespread, has the potential to save all of humanity from becoming dolls and slaves. (Or does it? I won't ruin the ending.)
I want to say right upfront that I am very ambivalent about Dollhouse's representations of women. While I thought the series showed women in more complex ways than most, not all of that complexity was positive. So, in this order, I present to you the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good: Women had a surprising amount of power in the show, and some of them used it in non-stereotypical ways. In fact, sometimes the plot relies on viewers' stereotypes of women and then twists by debunking the stereotype in some way. For example, we learn that the creator of the most impressive, cutting-edge technology is named Bennett Halvorson. Any tech problems not resolvable by the LA dollhouse are referred to Bennett in DC. One of the characters brings a problem to Bennett's lab. Encountering a petite young woman at the front, he asks for Bennett somewhat condescendingly, only to find out that the young, pretty woman IS Bennett, tech master extraordinaire. Engineering and technology are normally male dominated fields, so I appreciated the shift, and the acknowledgment in the show that society holds this stereotype.
However, far more impressive is the character of Adelle DeWitt, the woman in charge of running the LA dollhouse (though she does begin as a stereotype: the madam).
I love this character because she defies the two ways women usually get power on TV: by being sexy and manipulative (think Mean Girls or Gossip Girl) or by taking on "masculine" qualities (NCIS, Bones--these women have disdain for emotions and act aggressively). While both methods can represent strength in certain circumstances, I dislike the idea that women must embody the traits associated with the worst parts of femininity or reject it all together in order to be powerful people.
Adelle has both "feminine" and "masculine" traits: she wears blouses and pencil skirts and serves tea in her office, and she gives orders to her entirely male staff and is obeyed. She does not use her sexuality to get what she wants, nor does she use physical violence. She shows emotion--she cares about the welfare of the dolls and tries safeguard their well-being--but she also shows a cut-throat business sense. Adelle does not fall into any easy stereotype: she's not a mother or a wife, but she's also not a spinster or a witch. She fights for what she wants, and gets it, but she uses her brains, not her body or her brawn.
Occasionally she exploits stereotypes about bodies or brawn, however. In one memorable scene, Adelle must convince her boss to send her back Echo, the most lucrative doll. She acts seductively and implies she'll sleep with him. I was bitterly dissapointed to see Adelle sink to such tactics, but once he lets her get close enough, she literally grabs him by the balls. Then, she demands Echo back. "What if I don't?" her boss squeaks out, "Are you going to have me killed in some dark alley?" She says no, and details how she'll use the tools she has at her disposal to make herself invaluable and get what she wants. Echo is returned.
Echo is another positive aspect. She is humanity's savior, the hero of the show, and she is also a woman. From inside the dollhouse, she organizes and schemes, using her limited resources to make slow progress toward freeing the dolls. We learn that when Echo was Caroline, she was a student protester who wasn't afraid to break into secure compounds and expose unethical practices. Her attempt to expose the company running all of the dollhouses is what got her stuck inside.
The Bad: Unfortunately, though Echo is the savior, the ways she takes power are fairly stereotypical.Two episodes, "Briar Rose" and "Belle Chose," deal with this subject explicitly.
In "Briar Rose," Echo talks with a young girl who has recently entered foster care after being abused by her mom's boyfriend. The girl is angry with herself because she didn't run away when she had the chance. She reacts violently to the story of Sleeping Beauty and screams "Why didn't she just wake herself the f*** up?!" Echo reinterprets the story for the girl, explaining that the princess dreamed of the prince and drew him toward her with the power of her thoughts. The prince seems to rescue her, but really, she rescues herself by admitting she needed help and summoning him. Of course, the reinterpretatoin also applies to Echo herself, who tries to get FBI agent Paul Ballard to expose the dollhouse by momentarily breaking free of her "imprinted" personality when she sees him. It's nice, but it's still the same story: women can't rescue themselves--they need men to protect them.
"Belle Chose" is raunchier. It is related to one of the Canterbury Tales, in which the narrator explains that what women desire most of all is power over their husbands. It's implied that they get it through sex. Echo is programmed, in this episode, as a student who struggles with understanding the tale. Her professor's fantasy is that she will come to his office hours for help and then use what she "learns" about it to seduce him, hoping for a higher grade. Again, this shows that women can only get power through manipulation and sex appeal, which is uninspiring. The episode does twist, however, as Echo's personality is remotely swapped with one of the male doll's current imprints. The male doll thinks he is Echo's character and flirts and dances as if he were. No one takes him seriously. I'd like to think this shows how ridiculous it is that we only afford women sexual power, and how much of a double standard exists between men and women--the male doll is laughed at and not remotely powerful. Echo becomes a serial killer and murders her professor. Revenge?
The Ugly: There is a LOT of violence in the show. A LOT. I am one of those people who winces when someone so much as gets a paper cut on TV, but I understand that I am going to be exposed to a certain amount of violence in the media. I don't like it, but I can deal with it. Except when it's like this. By my very unscientific estimate, the violence in Dollhouse was perpetrated by men against women at least three times more often than violence between two men, two women, or perpetrated by a woman against a man. It is absolutely brutal to watch in some instances; for example, in one scene, the FBI agent's girlfriend (he doesn't know she's a doll) is attacked by a potential rapist. She is barely able to defend herself as he throws her into tables and drags her across the floor. However, she's a "sleeper" doll, meaning she can be remotely turned into an aggressive weapon, and, when Adelle calls and speaks the code, she promptly dispatches the man with a single blow.
As in this example, the women always get revenge on their attackers, but the amount of time it takes is short and it is much less likely to be replayed in a flashback. The example above is shown at least three times in the episode (as the dollhouse's employees check in with hidden cameras) but her killing blow is shown only the first time. I'm not saying that the answer to this problem is for equal representation in violence--I'd much prefer that we simply show less of it, period--but I was extremely concerned by how often women were shown as helpless victims. I am afraid that those images, those images that made me sick, lose their power and become normalized when they are aired with such frequency. It shouldn't be "normal" to see a woman beaten by a man, even if it's only fiction, and even if she ultimately "wins."
Well, if you made it this far, you deserve a medal. I hope my little sci-fi obsession has shed some light on the role of female characters on TV. I dutifully searched for some YouTube videos to illustrate my examples, but I didn't have much luck--you'll have to try for yourself. If you do, pay attention to what you're seeing. How are women portrayed and what does it mean? How does this compare to how they are portrayed in your favorite show, and how do you feel about that representation? Share your thoughts!
~Jennielee
The show was Dollhouse, and if you plan on watching it ever, be warned: SPOILERS. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!! Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, what do my embarrassing Netflix habits have to do with women in the media?
A surprising amount, actually. I chose to blog about Dollhouse for quite a few reasons. First, the creator, Joss Whedon, self-identifies as a feminist. Given the representations of women we see in quality programming like Jersey Shore and Gossip Girl, I was very curious to see if having a self-declared feminist with creative power over a show would make a significant difference in women's portrayal. Second, and related, I felt like the show was purposefully trying to say something about women and their access to/use of power. It's true that I've been hyper-aware of how women appear in various media forms ever since beginning this blog, so maybe that accounts for it, but regardless of whether it was intentional or not, the messages are still interesting.
Dollhouse is about (of course...because it's sci-fi) a new, underground technology that removes a person's existing personality and temporarily implants a false one into their body. These "custom made" humans, ordered by rich people, can be whatever the buyer wants--slavishly in love, an expert in any given field, stunningly talented, you name it. The technology is secret and housed in a compound called the Dollhouse hidden underneath LA (it's one of many across the globe). The unfortunates who inhabit it are called...obviously...dolls. In their mind-wiped state, they show no personality at all. They are merely passive victims waiting to be imprinted with a new set of parameters. Over the course of the show, one doll, code named Echo, somehow manages to hold on to a few fleeting memories of her past selves, including her original, real personality, Caroline. She works with various others throughout the series to save the dolls. In the end, we discover that her genetic code makes her resistant to the technology, and that a vaccine can be made from her cells that, after the technology becomes widespread, has the potential to save all of humanity from becoming dolls and slaves. (Or does it? I won't ruin the ending.)
I want to say right upfront that I am very ambivalent about Dollhouse's representations of women. While I thought the series showed women in more complex ways than most, not all of that complexity was positive. So, in this order, I present to you the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good: Women had a surprising amount of power in the show, and some of them used it in non-stereotypical ways. In fact, sometimes the plot relies on viewers' stereotypes of women and then twists by debunking the stereotype in some way. For example, we learn that the creator of the most impressive, cutting-edge technology is named Bennett Halvorson. Any tech problems not resolvable by the LA dollhouse are referred to Bennett in DC. One of the characters brings a problem to Bennett's lab. Encountering a petite young woman at the front, he asks for Bennett somewhat condescendingly, only to find out that the young, pretty woman IS Bennett, tech master extraordinaire. Engineering and technology are normally male dominated fields, so I appreciated the shift, and the acknowledgment in the show that society holds this stereotype.
However, far more impressive is the character of Adelle DeWitt, the woman in charge of running the LA dollhouse (though she does begin as a stereotype: the madam).
I love this character because she defies the two ways women usually get power on TV: by being sexy and manipulative (think Mean Girls or Gossip Girl) or by taking on "masculine" qualities (NCIS, Bones--these women have disdain for emotions and act aggressively). While both methods can represent strength in certain circumstances, I dislike the idea that women must embody the traits associated with the worst parts of femininity or reject it all together in order to be powerful people.
Adelle has both "feminine" and "masculine" traits: she wears blouses and pencil skirts and serves tea in her office, and she gives orders to her entirely male staff and is obeyed. She does not use her sexuality to get what she wants, nor does she use physical violence. She shows emotion--she cares about the welfare of the dolls and tries safeguard their well-being--but she also shows a cut-throat business sense. Adelle does not fall into any easy stereotype: she's not a mother or a wife, but she's also not a spinster or a witch. She fights for what she wants, and gets it, but she uses her brains, not her body or her brawn.
Occasionally she exploits stereotypes about bodies or brawn, however. In one memorable scene, Adelle must convince her boss to send her back Echo, the most lucrative doll. She acts seductively and implies she'll sleep with him. I was bitterly dissapointed to see Adelle sink to such tactics, but once he lets her get close enough, she literally grabs him by the balls. Then, she demands Echo back. "What if I don't?" her boss squeaks out, "Are you going to have me killed in some dark alley?" She says no, and details how she'll use the tools she has at her disposal to make herself invaluable and get what she wants. Echo is returned.
Echo is another positive aspect. She is humanity's savior, the hero of the show, and she is also a woman. From inside the dollhouse, she organizes and schemes, using her limited resources to make slow progress toward freeing the dolls. We learn that when Echo was Caroline, she was a student protester who wasn't afraid to break into secure compounds and expose unethical practices. Her attempt to expose the company running all of the dollhouses is what got her stuck inside.
The Bad: Unfortunately, though Echo is the savior, the ways she takes power are fairly stereotypical.Two episodes, "Briar Rose" and "Belle Chose," deal with this subject explicitly.
In "Briar Rose," Echo talks with a young girl who has recently entered foster care after being abused by her mom's boyfriend. The girl is angry with herself because she didn't run away when she had the chance. She reacts violently to the story of Sleeping Beauty and screams "Why didn't she just wake herself the f*** up?!" Echo reinterprets the story for the girl, explaining that the princess dreamed of the prince and drew him toward her with the power of her thoughts. The prince seems to rescue her, but really, she rescues herself by admitting she needed help and summoning him. Of course, the reinterpretatoin also applies to Echo herself, who tries to get FBI agent Paul Ballard to expose the dollhouse by momentarily breaking free of her "imprinted" personality when she sees him. It's nice, but it's still the same story: women can't rescue themselves--they need men to protect them.
"Belle Chose" is raunchier. It is related to one of the Canterbury Tales, in which the narrator explains that what women desire most of all is power over their husbands. It's implied that they get it through sex. Echo is programmed, in this episode, as a student who struggles with understanding the tale. Her professor's fantasy is that she will come to his office hours for help and then use what she "learns" about it to seduce him, hoping for a higher grade. Again, this shows that women can only get power through manipulation and sex appeal, which is uninspiring. The episode does twist, however, as Echo's personality is remotely swapped with one of the male doll's current imprints. The male doll thinks he is Echo's character and flirts and dances as if he were. No one takes him seriously. I'd like to think this shows how ridiculous it is that we only afford women sexual power, and how much of a double standard exists between men and women--the male doll is laughed at and not remotely powerful. Echo becomes a serial killer and murders her professor. Revenge?
The Ugly: There is a LOT of violence in the show. A LOT. I am one of those people who winces when someone so much as gets a paper cut on TV, but I understand that I am going to be exposed to a certain amount of violence in the media. I don't like it, but I can deal with it. Except when it's like this. By my very unscientific estimate, the violence in Dollhouse was perpetrated by men against women at least three times more often than violence between two men, two women, or perpetrated by a woman against a man. It is absolutely brutal to watch in some instances; for example, in one scene, the FBI agent's girlfriend (he doesn't know she's a doll) is attacked by a potential rapist. She is barely able to defend herself as he throws her into tables and drags her across the floor. However, she's a "sleeper" doll, meaning she can be remotely turned into an aggressive weapon, and, when Adelle calls and speaks the code, she promptly dispatches the man with a single blow.
As in this example, the women always get revenge on their attackers, but the amount of time it takes is short and it is much less likely to be replayed in a flashback. The example above is shown at least three times in the episode (as the dollhouse's employees check in with hidden cameras) but her killing blow is shown only the first time. I'm not saying that the answer to this problem is for equal representation in violence--I'd much prefer that we simply show less of it, period--but I was extremely concerned by how often women were shown as helpless victims. I am afraid that those images, those images that made me sick, lose their power and become normalized when they are aired with such frequency. It shouldn't be "normal" to see a woman beaten by a man, even if it's only fiction, and even if she ultimately "wins."
Well, if you made it this far, you deserve a medal. I hope my little sci-fi obsession has shed some light on the role of female characters on TV. I dutifully searched for some YouTube videos to illustrate my examples, but I didn't have much luck--you'll have to try for yourself. If you do, pay attention to what you're seeing. How are women portrayed and what does it mean? How does this compare to how they are portrayed in your favorite show, and how do you feel about that representation? Share your thoughts!
~Jennielee
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Controversial Commercials
This month I decided to take a look at the depiction of women in Television Commercials. Here are a few of the commercials that stood out...
The first commercial that I came across was an Android cell phone commercial. This commercial depicts a "psycho/stalker" girlfriend who is hiding in her boyfriend's closet. While she is in the closet she is texting her boyfriend and checking his social media updates. The commercial then ends with her stating that it's a good thing that her data plan for her phone has unlimited access for only $25 per month. Although this commercial is supposed to be humorous, it reinforces the stereotype that women are obsessive, needy, and crazy! Here it is!
http://youtu.be/2l7k0BI74EE
Next, I came across a Mercedes commercial where a Blonde woman enters a library and loudly tries to place a fast food order with the librarian. The librarian then tells her that they are in a library. The blonde woman looks around and softly repeats her fast food order. Then the words "Beauty is nothing without Brains!" is flashed on the screen. This commercial depicts the typical stereotype of a "dumb blonde". Why are "funny" commercials always at the expense of a woman? Take a look at the clip for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/GHX2mvFVQMs
Another commercial I came across was a prescription drug commercial for Abilify. The main character of the commercial is an animated woman. Again, this commercial portrays a woman being depressed and needing drugs in order to feel better. This commercial also shows how women are the main targets for prescription drug sales. How ironic is it that the depressed person in this commercial is a woman, and her doctor is a man? Take a look for yourself!
http://youtu.be/tGymr78FtbU
The next commercial I think is hilarious! It pokes fun of the ambiguity of most tampon/pad commercials. Most of the time with tampon commercials, you can't even tell what they are selling. The commercials always show the demonstration of a pad's absorbency by pouring blue liquid on it, why not be more realistic and dye the liquid red? Another thing is that tampon commercials always show women wearing white. I rarely wear white pants, but I sure as hell don't wear them when I have my period! Lastly, tampon commercials many times depict smiley women, twirling, or dancing. After all, a woman is always expected to be happy, even when it's her time of the month! Here's the U by Kotex commercial...
http://youtu.be/FRf35wCmzWw
Last but DEFINITELY not LEAST. I saved the most offending, objectifying commercial that I came across. It is a commercial for Nissan. The entire 30 second commercial is focused on the chest of a woman in a teeny tiny bikini. Her breasts are bouncing up and down, sometimes together and sometimes one at a time. Then the commercial shows the words "Nissan Pathfinder with front independent suspension". How clever, NOT!!! This commercial totally objectifies women, and shows that women are their breasts. Our face and minds are not important, just our bodies... Grrrr!!! Check this out!!!
http://youtu.be/zKO-tZGuFDg
So, those are just some of the negative depictions of women in television commercials. I'm sure there are many more out there, but I just wanted to share a few of them with you all. This is Moani signing off until the next blog!!!
The first commercial that I came across was an Android cell phone commercial. This commercial depicts a "psycho/stalker" girlfriend who is hiding in her boyfriend's closet. While she is in the closet she is texting her boyfriend and checking his social media updates. The commercial then ends with her stating that it's a good thing that her data plan for her phone has unlimited access for only $25 per month. Although this commercial is supposed to be humorous, it reinforces the stereotype that women are obsessive, needy, and crazy! Here it is!
http://youtu.be/2l7k0BI74EE
Next, I came across a Mercedes commercial where a Blonde woman enters a library and loudly tries to place a fast food order with the librarian. The librarian then tells her that they are in a library. The blonde woman looks around and softly repeats her fast food order. Then the words "Beauty is nothing without Brains!" is flashed on the screen. This commercial depicts the typical stereotype of a "dumb blonde". Why are "funny" commercials always at the expense of a woman? Take a look at the clip for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/GHX2mvFVQMs
Another commercial I came across was a prescription drug commercial for Abilify. The main character of the commercial is an animated woman. Again, this commercial portrays a woman being depressed and needing drugs in order to feel better. This commercial also shows how women are the main targets for prescription drug sales. How ironic is it that the depressed person in this commercial is a woman, and her doctor is a man? Take a look for yourself!
http://youtu.be/tGymr78FtbU
The next commercial I think is hilarious! It pokes fun of the ambiguity of most tampon/pad commercials. Most of the time with tampon commercials, you can't even tell what they are selling. The commercials always show the demonstration of a pad's absorbency by pouring blue liquid on it, why not be more realistic and dye the liquid red? Another thing is that tampon commercials always show women wearing white. I rarely wear white pants, but I sure as hell don't wear them when I have my period! Lastly, tampon commercials many times depict smiley women, twirling, or dancing. After all, a woman is always expected to be happy, even when it's her time of the month! Here's the U by Kotex commercial...
http://youtu.be/FRf35wCmzWw
Last but DEFINITELY not LEAST. I saved the most offending, objectifying commercial that I came across. It is a commercial for Nissan. The entire 30 second commercial is focused on the chest of a woman in a teeny tiny bikini. Her breasts are bouncing up and down, sometimes together and sometimes one at a time. Then the commercial shows the words "Nissan Pathfinder with front independent suspension". How clever, NOT!!! This commercial totally objectifies women, and shows that women are their breasts. Our face and minds are not important, just our bodies... Grrrr!!! Check this out!!!
http://youtu.be/zKO-tZGuFDg
So, those are just some of the negative depictions of women in television commercials. I'm sure there are many more out there, but I just wanted to share a few of them with you all. This is Moani signing off until the next blog!!!
Monday, May 2, 2011
April media
Hello out there to any reader who has wandered this way...
Moani, Erica, and I are about ready to report on our media for April. We were looking for portrayals of women in TV, TV advertising, and music, and we've decided to just write about whatever grabbed our attention the most. I will be writing about the show Dollhouse and how it demonstrated themes of feminine power because I'm a sci-fi nerd.
Check back soon to see what we noticed!
~Jennielee
Moani, Erica, and I are about ready to report on our media for April. We were looking for portrayals of women in TV, TV advertising, and music, and we've decided to just write about whatever grabbed our attention the most. I will be writing about the show Dollhouse and how it demonstrated themes of feminine power because I'm a sci-fi nerd.
Check back soon to see what we noticed!
~Jennielee
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