April 25: Latino/Latina images in media

The population of Hispanic/Latino surprised me a little. I know there are a lot of Hispanics/Latinos in Texas but overall not so many in the United States.  Hispanics/Latinos are usually never portrayed in the media unless it is about immigration or crime. Blacks on  Hispanics/Latinos are usually the ones in portrayed as criminals. In american movies there is a  Hispanics/Latinos stereotype, usually they are a gangster, cleaner, or lawn person. I noticed a  Hispanic actor that was in a few films. He always played the same thug character with a shaved hear, long white t-shirt, and long sagging shorts. I don't know if this was on purpose or if he just played a stereotype in films.

I think it's ironic that there are laws in some states that push  Hispanic/Latino immigrants out and are against migration when this country was settled by immigrants! not only was it settled by white English immigrants but also taken.  Hispanic/Latino Immigrants as well as others helped build and shape this country! I also don't believe they take away jobs. They are hard workers and must be a harder worker if they can get a job over the person complaining about it. I know a lot of employers pay them less, which is wrong and I think considered modern day slavery, but there is no reason to complain about taking away jobs!

April 18: Princesses, wicked stepmothers and representation of race in Disney films

I can totally understand how Disney has raised some of children that are Disney fanatics and have seen many Disney films. A lot of Disney fairy tales use a formula throughout their films. There is usually a princess, a wicked step mother or an evil being of some sort, and a hero. The princess is usually very beautiful, skinny, white, and the one little girls and boys admire. The evil being usually has darker color hair and darker features, sometimes old, and usually ugly. These are the characters children learn to not like for obvious reasons. The hero is usually handsome, strong, and white. All these characters are influential to children and scene throughout Disney films. Girls that watch them usually want to be like the princess and the boys usually want to be like the hero.

I grew up watching some Disney films and I feel it has effected me somewhat.

April 11, 2011 - Spike Lee films and breaking stereotypes in Hollywood.

I've enjoyed many Spike Lee Films. The most recent ones I've seen are "Do the Right Thing" and "Inside Man." "Do the Right Thing" seemed like an early 90's version of the movie "Crash." it portrayed almost every stereotype for it's time period and showed how much stereotyping and racism can destructive and harmful. Spike Lee films had a high demographic of the African American community and I think his films about diminishing stereotyping was a good message because racism and stereotyping exists and is used by all races.

Stereotyping in Hollywood and the use of it in films seems to always be popular. It's used in a humorous way but can be offending to some, especially if it isn't used well. I think it will always be apart of film and used in Hollywood. actors are willing to take parts of stereotypical  rolls, especially actors trying to make it in Hollywood. Money can buy almost anything even a person's dignity.

April 4, 2011 - Video Games, Sports.

I guess women are still considered objects or products even in video games. Sex sells and it obviously works to sell the latest and most popular video games. Women in some of the games are half naked or even fully naked when using a "cheat code" to unclothe them, as in Grand Theft Auto. Grand Theft Auto is one of the most popular and controversial games to date and it's even banned in some countries. Its virtual world is very stereotypical and some of the women in the game are prostitutes. You can even beat the prostitutes up or kill them and take their money. I remember a game called Dead or Alive. It's a fighting game with an almost all girl cast of fighters. the girls wore very little clothing in the game and their breasts bounced when they jumped, attacked, or got hit... later the creators of the game made a Dead or Alive game that did away with its original concept and came out with a Dead or Alive Beach Volley Ball game. The girls in the game wore tight stringy bikinis.

It's sad to say but I think women in sports wont be as popular as guys. Not tennis or golf but the highly popular sports such as basketball, football, hockey, and baseball. Sure, there is the WNBA and womens softball but I don't think the popularity will be on the same level as a all mens league unless these women wore less clothing and or bikinis. I would def like to see a future with this not being the case... but in all honesty, sex sells and any girl wearing full gear playing sports is not interesting to a large audience.

March 28, 2011 - Absence from media

It seems like once a particular race of people are almost extinct or if that race has a really low population compared to others then it's okay to portray them as  mascot. Its almost like kicking someone when they are already down. Teams such as the Cleveland Indians, which displays a giant red colored Indian face as there logo, Minnesota vikings, and much much more teams. Other teams such as the Notre Dame's football team have a little Irish man for there mascot to represent the fighting Irish slogan. the mascot looks more like a leprechaun rather than an actual person. I guess this would go in the end stage part of a dying race diagram.

It was interesting to finally hear the topic of male stereotypes and how media can have an influence on how males are brought up in the U.S or this world... Ive definitely played a victim and grabbed the bate of advertisers to become more muscular looking and what to look like to get a chicks attention. Overall it all seems to be a waste of time. Media should teach males and females to just be yourself and to be confident in yourself. Both males and females become victims in the media brainwash game!

March 21, 2011 - Gays, Lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals and straights in Media

I found it odd but not too surprising after a student showed our class a video on how some commercials are segregated in society. I know that some commercials are for certain demographics and some are even in different languages to pertain to their audiences but I didn't know until tonight that some commercials are edited or shown only on "gay" TV networks to fit with the type of audience that watches those networks. I guess regular society isn't ready for gays or lesbians to be in commercials acting in a normal way. They usually are portrayed as their stereotypical counterpart or in a comedic way. I guess being seen in a comedic way is a way of accepting it.

Some shows on television have helped homosexuality to be accepted in society such as Will and Grace or Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Also I've notices that every season of Real World up to this day has had a gay cast member. This has helped to see through their eyes for their age group at the time of each season of Real World.

I think homosexuality will be accepted in society soon but not in the same way as being straight just because it is considered a sin in a lot of religions. Its good to know there are a lot of gay friendly churches popping up around the country though,

March 7, 2011 - Music Industry

I did my project on music video, it was interesting to see some music videos in class and discussed the influence and portrayal of some of the artists in them. It's funny how some of the most violent and sexual artists are on top of the charts and their videos are very popular also. If their music is popular and if there video gets played the most then the message the music and video are trying to portray is reaching a wide audience. That audience are usually middle school, high school, and some college students. Music is a very influential part of society and is one of entertainment medias main components. It would be nice to see a change in the type of videos and music that are being played a lot on television. The music and videos out now can cultivate its audiences in a negative way and lead our society down a wrong path.