Question 13

Discuss how the three waves of feminism are each trying to build on, and address shortcomings in, the earlier waves’ treatment of gender politics. In the first wave, in other words, what are they trying to fix about society? In the second, what are they trying to add to and fix in the first wave? In the third, what are they trying to add to and fix in the first and second waves? Discuss this through an image or video you find online. (150-200 words).

Question 12

Discuss the South Park episode “With Apologies to Jesse Jackson” (S11E01) in terms of its construction of race, particularly, as with the Chappelle Show episode (S1E01) we watched in class, in terms of whiteness. What elements of this critique come from the aesthetic, critical, and ontological modes of postmodernism (be specific about each) (150-200 words).

Question 11

Find two critical texts from the semester (at least two weeks apart), and discuss how they relate to or expand the argument of your overall topic for the semester, drawing on a specific advertisement you did NOT discuss in your papers (250-300 words).

The overall topic that I researched this semester was the construction of community to sell a demographic lifestyle. Two readings that help support this topic are Franks “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” and Schor’s “The New Politics of consumption: Why Americans Want So Much More Than They Need” These two articles help support my overall argument of using advertising to create an lifestyle because they both talk about consumerism. In Frank’s article Johnny attempts to dissent and create a new lifestyle only to find himself stuck in the demographic of the “hipster.” The creation of the “hipster” is to create this desirable lifestyle, which in most cases in now desirable because they want the lifestyle to seem better. Creating a community through advertising proves to the consumer that living this lifestyle is better than it looks. As Johnny tries to dissent from the suburban lifestyle, he is sucked into the hipster lifestyle. In Schor’s article it argues that America continue to buy into consumerism. This relates to my topic because this community is created just so the consumer can by into it and be easily persuaded. These articles help support that creating a “hipster” community is an easy way for people to be persuaded and become a consumer.

Question 10

Using a video or image you find online, apply three critical texts we read during the semester (each at least two weeks apart), and discuss how they relate to and build on one another, giving us different but related perspectives on critical media and cultural studies (250-300 words).

The three readings that I am going to discuss and connect are the reading by Bodroghkozy “As Canadian as Possible” and Ghosh “Con-fusing’ Exotica: Producing India in U.S. Advertising.” and Frank “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent.” These three readings discuss being stuck or sucked into America’s culture. In Bodroghkozy’s article it discusses how Canada’s television overcome by Americas television. They are trying to free themselves from American television, but they cannot get the rating on their own, Canada is sucked into America’s culture. In Ghosh’s reading India’s meaningful significance behind all of the saris and traditional signifiers of Indian culture are no longer significant. India becomes sucked into another part of America’s culture because it loses its original meaningful signifiers. Also in Frank’s article, Johnny is boy from the suburbs who continually tries to dissent away from regular American culture, but he is never actually able to dissent because even though he is rebelling he still a consumer. He is also just another part in America’s culture. These readings can be linked back to being sucked into American culture without even trying. Canada cannot break free from the popular American television and India cannot regain the lost meaningful signifiers and Johnny cannot full dissent because he is always apart of American culture.

Question 9

Find a “news” story from the Onion News Network, and compare it to a contemporary news story or clip from a “real” news source (a TV channel, newspaper, etc.). Discuss them both in terms of gatekeeping and agenda-setting functions, as well as the breakdown and reevaluation of discourse that Baym talks about in his article. Citing Baym will help (100-150 words).

In

the two sources I found, one from the Onion New Network and the other from CNN.com, there was a distinct difference between them. In the CNN video, they are speaking to a representative of Biden and interviewing him about the tax cut. In the video of from the Onion, they too are taking about the tax cut, but they are doing so in a way to mock Biden. They are reporting on a story of Biden hosting an intimate discussion of the tax cut in a mountain Chalet for all women of America. In the Onion video they are mocking the story and the Vice president and even uses representative to talk for Biden as they do in the real CNN news story.

http://www.theonion.com/video/biden-invites-nations-women-to-tax-code-discussion,18245/
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2010/12/08/exp.ps.bernstein.tax.deal.cnn?iref=allsearch

Question 8

Watch the first part (at least) of Mouse Trapped 2010 and Mickey Mouse Monopoly, and explain USING SPECIFIC ELEMENTS FROM THE FILMS how they are good examples of the different approaches of political economy and cultural studies. Define each approach briefly, and CITE GROSSBERG’S ARTICLE IN YOUR RESPONSE. (100-150 words)

The videos Mouse Trapped 2010 and Mickey Mouse Monopoly both approach their negative views on Disney differently. In Mouse Trapped 2010, it uses the appealing to the viewers emotions because they are interviewing people working for Disney who are not able to sufficiently pay the bills each month. These interviews are personal as the people tell their sad stories about having trouble making a good salary. In Mickey Mouse Monopoly they use different clips of different Disney movies to expose hidden meanings and interview people that are against Disney. These movies only depend on their interviews and the information they can show, but they do not acknowledge the other side. As in Grossberg’s article Cultural Studies and Political Economy he talks about how writers only use information for their arguments that are convenient to their story.

Question 7

Explain how the following video, How To Make Your Breasts Look Bigger, is both an appropriation and reappropriation of sexual signifiers, and discuss the implications of the film from both perspectives (i.e., the appropriation and reappropriation of sexual signifiers from early pornography) (100-150 words).

Appropriation is the act of taking a signifier from a dominant and appropriating it as part of their own. This means taking something from another dominant or culture and making it part of another dominant or culture. Reappropriation is the act of taking back the signifier from the new dominant and returning it to the old dominant. In the video, How To Make Your Breasts Look Bigger, they are appropriating the sexual signifiers of early pornography by making the woman look as if she was in an old pornography advertisement and they are mocking it. Also the man in the video seems to have no interest in the old pornography because he does not to like the woman at all. This video is also being reappropriation because it is bringing back the old pornography look trying to make this woman look and feel sexy.

Question 6

By drawing on the articles on the exotic and globalization from class, discuss the following advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIZCtDJtFPw (100-150 words).

In “Con-fusing” Exotica, by Sanjukta Ghosh he claims that America does not fully understand their culture in India and that in different advertisements Indians merely become the pretty borders on the saris. The saris meaningful significance of India becomes absent because it no longer signifies the Indian Culture. An American woman can be dressed in a sari and it no longer has any meaningful significance. In the video, all of the people in the streets know Conan as if he was very popular in their culture and he is familiar with their culture. This is globalization because America is spreading a popular American figure to an exotic culture. Conan in this video portrays himself as part of the exotic because he can spin silk.

Question 5

Discuss the following Flash game in terms of ideology and hegemony. Define each term, and then explain them through the game (100-150 words).

http://gamescene.com/The_Urinal_Game.html

This game in terms of ideology and hegemony is that a man cannot use a bathroom urinal near or around another man. Ideology is the goals and aspirations that one has set for their life and their way of looking and interpreting things. Hegemony is the construction and maintenance of the ideology. It takes from religion, family, education, and social environment, the things that influence the ideology. The game focuses on the ideology and the hegemony because it shows how because of the hegemony of culture and religion it changes the ideology. A man feels that because of culture he cannot pee near another man because it would seem gay and that you must be far another guy or pretend you no longer have to go. The hegemony effects the ideology and the idea of peeing near another man is gay.

Question 4

Discuss the implications of the following image for cultural studies and the process of signification (semiotics): https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3rTJsnLZ9D0SnzepKmUs9gcWYS-JgWaz6B_YVI1VVgMAIKQ32Y4JSVOIhlClLHiK2tBVrkcag1t9nEno4FHLfPo2O-jtOiQawNAbG66MhreLZTKamZ4W8BNJxjIb4sQLvxBKHBqE9jc/s320/fs_Magritte_Pipe.jpg (50-75 words)

The implications of the image for cultural studies and the process of signification is that you cannot judge a book by its cover. On this painting there are the words “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” which means this is not a pipe. The painter wants you too look at this painting and say this isn’t a pipe, this is an image of a pipe. A person can look beyond that this is a just a pipe, but it is a image. You cant judge a book by its cover comes because just because it’s a pipe doesn’t mean it is just a pipe, you have to look beyond the pipe.

Question 3

Discuss the way in which race is portrayed in these two videos:

a. Ghetto Delta Airlines

b. Everest College advertisement

How are they the same, and how different? (50-75 words)

In Ghetto Delta Airlines, race is portrayed that black people are lazy because of the depiction of the man lounging around. It also stereotypes black women of having a large behind and it also uses many swears to stereotype race. In the Everest College advertisement they use a black man to talk about people being lazy and how they should go to school. These videos use race as an stereotype to attempt to appeal to a demographic.

Question 2

Why do we avoid what I call “audience fallacies” and “authorial fallacies” in our writing? Define each, provide a brief example of each, and explain the significance. (50-75 words)

“ Audience fallacies” and “authorial fallacies” are avoided in writing because they are tactics that are used to appeal to the audience. Audience fallacies are intended to “suck up” to the reader to get the reader to appeal with the authors argument. In “authorial fallacies” the author doesn’t intend to appeal to the reader but does. The significance is that a reader should not be persuaded just because the author appeals to the audience, they should be persuaded by the argument.

Question 1

Why do cultural studies theorists separate words with capital letters from those without, even when the words in question are not proper nouns (e.g., woman vs. Woman)? Explain why we do this (i.e., what is the convention a shorthand for), and what significance it has. (30-50 words)

Cultural studies theorists separate words with capital letters to being personalized and give it some kind of ownership. The capital letter is significant because it becomes separated from the regular word.