I pride this class on being able to make me see something I never thought I'd see in myself: prejudice.
I mean, prejudice in inside all of us, the catch is that we don't always see it, or just choose not to see it. But this class has caused me to take a very pervasive look into myself and see my own prejudices. I knew I had them, and then I realized which ones I had, and I was surprised to see that I even had them.
I was surprised to find that I actually do get mad if I lose to a girl. When I see a gathering of African-Americans in the inner city I think "gang". Now, that may be true, but it also might not be true. 132
This class opened me up to the thought process, it opened up my mind to my own prejudice. This isn't something people are usually comfortable about opening up about, because it causes them to come face-to-face with who they are as a person. When we get a good look in the mirror, sometimes we don't like what we will see, and therein lies the inherent fear of opening ourselves up to such self-evaluation and scrutiny. 211
But it's not all bad. With these realizations, if made with the right mindset, comes the ability and desire to change and alter your outlook on race and gender relations for the better.
I have addressed topics in this class that I had seldom thought I'd ever address my entire life, and I know that sounds cheesy but there's no other way to describe it. Somehow I have the feeling that I will leave this class a much more mindful and knowledgeable media student than when I entered. 300
I didn't have very many expectations for this class when I first enrolled in it. I thought I would be learning about all of the subjects stated in the class's title. What I received was a look into these subjects but also, as previously mentioned, a look into myself.
There was a time initially when I didn't like what I saw, but it gave me the opportunity to realize where I was lacking tolerance-wise and ensure I took progressive steps to better it. Don't get me wrong, I was never so racist or sexist that I hated women and minorities, I just worked on the tiny little hidden racisms and sexisms that hiding in all of us, not necessarily though our own fault but through the conditioning of our own society. 433
I really enjoyed all of the blogging opportunities we have had this semester. It's been truly an eye-opening experience, and has officially turned me onto the rest of the blogging scene for the frist time. I wouldn't have thought about it unless I had blogged for this class first, so I suppose I have that part of my life to thank this class for now. 499
We mentioned much earlier in class how we all need to step out of our boxes, our comfort zones, and try on a new life outlook that may force us to act a little uncomfortably than we were used to. No one likes to discover any kind of flaw within themselves. No matter how much we will never be, we all strive for perfection, especially perfection in ourselves. After all, we can always polish an external form of weakness, but internal ones aren't so simple to fine-tune.
So I hope I can take what I learned from his class and use it become a much more open-minded and welcoming member of the media. In this constant world of changing fields and fluid ethics, it's always important to keep one's moral compass pointed in the right direction, and I will use what I learned here to aid me in not being biased or prejudiced, and I want to thank Monica for the opportunity to do so.
Thank you.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Hip-Hop Blog.
1) You're asking me what my own definition of hip-hop is? Well personally I've never listened to it much, and I'm very white so I'll give it my best shot. I believe hip-hop to be an upbeat musical style that appears to be a combination of rap and pop tunes with a single or multiple artists. That good?
5 Artists I listened to:
Talib Kweli
Manges-King (German)
Dead Prez
Chamillionaire
Pitbull (French)
5 Music videos I watched:
1) Talib Kweli "Get By"
-We see Talib Kweli standing on a high rooftop overlooking a large city, probably showing off Talib's neighborhood or to re-affirm that he is, in fact, from the "neighborhood" even though I'm pretty sure people would already assume that because he was black, what with the stereotypes we already cast on them. The focus of the video appears to be several scene od street vendors, homeless, and numerous types of workers. Talib is singing abouy getting by in this loveless world, trying to make a decent living in a place like this, when all we really need is love here, and he cites the work of John Lennon to prove his point.
2) Manges "King" German Hip-Hop
-The artists begin the song standing within a structure that looks like a parking garage. There's grafitti on the walls. I have no idea what they're saying, it's in German. It just shows him rapping outside several locations in his own neighborhood, but at the beginning and end of the video it shows him writing a letter. He may be writing to his parents in some far away place, saying he is doing just fine now that he's away from home and come into his own in this neighborhood, or he could be writing to a far-off girlfriend.
3) Dead Prez "Hip Hop"
-Well they start out the video in an ingenius way to get everyone's attention, by showing a close-up of an African-American girl's butt as she walks away, then a title that states "now that we have your attention" appears, and the video begins. This one appears to have more depth than the previous two. Messages about how the political system in Africa doesn't work flash across the screen and it shows many angry people holding up picket signs, protesting in some dark corner of the country. They broadcast how every day is struggle and life is what we make it.
4) Chamillionaire "Hip Hop Police"
-An interesting video to say the least. The scene starts out with cops pulling up next to Chamillionaire, criticizing his latest album and asking him what the next one's gonna be like. When Cha responds with "It's gonna be bigger" the cop mistakes him for saying the n word and all hell breaks loose, basically. The song is about the fact that there are Hip Hop police out there, ready to criticize your independent work and possibly try to suppress you so you have to keep a sharp eye out.
5) PiBull "Booba" (French Hip-Hop)
-There is nothing but instrumentation in the beginning of the video, the introduction, showing off several scenes of this guy's own neighborhood possibly. It shows him alternating between walking the streets in street clothes in somewhere in France and standing in a nice suit in other parts, probably indicating this song could be about his rise to respect. I can't tell, it's in French. It shows several scenes of possibly criminal activity, men in black suits handing off suitcases and the like, maybe indicating that he had to do a few things that he wasn't proud of to get where he currently is.
For the radio stations I listened to 92.1 the Beat and the Beat-713.
I know Jay-Z, a hip-hop artist, has been used in commercials promoting the HP personal computers. You know, those commercials where they have the person standin up but you don't see their head and they're showing you everything they can do on this computer with the movements of their hands? Yeah, that commercial.
I have seen commercials where the Gap has used hip-hop muscis to promote the sales of their khahis by having glamorous people dance around to the music in them.
The Dodge Nitro has employed hip-hop music in its commercials, showing a Dodge Nitro trying to squeeze in between two care in a parking garage, but then blasting hip hop music, the vibrations of which cause the other car to move aside in place so they can roll right in.
Hip Hop is essentially viewed as the cool thing to listen to. If you listen to it, you're cool. Or pimpin', or krunk, or tight, or whatever it is the kids say these days. I stick with cool. Anyways, it's been broadcast as THE thing to listen to in this day and age, the new trend. If a product or corporation can utilize this genre to sell their merchandise, it's just expected to sell much better as compared to an ad that does not employ hip hop music. You can also find the medium in fashion, which is one of the impacts of hip hop. People will dress the way these artists do, walking around their own neighborhoods and are immediately assumed to be "hardcore" or "up to no good". Other ways mainstream culture has been affected may be the way we look at relationships. These videso probably show off the physical characteristics of women more than their personalities (i.e. face, chest, and butt). Tis may be promoting women to be more subservient to the hip-hopper's vast accumulation of wealth that he has attained through his means of gaining respect.
It has also changed the way we operate our cars. People may request an adjusted low-suspension in their vehicles to get that low-rider feel. It has obviously also changed our conversation in this day and age, adding and continually inventing phrases and words I still have never heard before in my life.
My parents never listened to this or rap in their lives. They're products of the 60s and 70s, I grew up with the Styx, the Beatles, John Denver, the 'Stones, ZZ Top, Steve Miller, and Aerosmith. Mostly rock, country, and metal.
Hip hop has basically become a mjor development and influence in our everyday culture. For better or worse, it is on the rise and will continue to affect our culture,in my opinion. The more media is garners, the more it shall spread. It's a fact of life. I have nothing against it, but I know some of the more conservative mindset may try to resist it. However, I believe it had gained too much recognition as one of the key lights everyone wants to cast their lives in for it to be hindered at this point, at least until something else comes along that is somehow cooler than it is.
5 Artists I listened to:
Talib Kweli
Manges-King (German)
Dead Prez
Chamillionaire
Pitbull (French)
5 Music videos I watched:
1) Talib Kweli "Get By"
-We see Talib Kweli standing on a high rooftop overlooking a large city, probably showing off Talib's neighborhood or to re-affirm that he is, in fact, from the "neighborhood" even though I'm pretty sure people would already assume that because he was black, what with the stereotypes we already cast on them. The focus of the video appears to be several scene od street vendors, homeless, and numerous types of workers. Talib is singing abouy getting by in this loveless world, trying to make a decent living in a place like this, when all we really need is love here, and he cites the work of John Lennon to prove his point.
2) Manges "King" German Hip-Hop
-The artists begin the song standing within a structure that looks like a parking garage. There's grafitti on the walls. I have no idea what they're saying, it's in German. It just shows him rapping outside several locations in his own neighborhood, but at the beginning and end of the video it shows him writing a letter. He may be writing to his parents in some far away place, saying he is doing just fine now that he's away from home and come into his own in this neighborhood, or he could be writing to a far-off girlfriend.
3) Dead Prez "Hip Hop"
-Well they start out the video in an ingenius way to get everyone's attention, by showing a close-up of an African-American girl's butt as she walks away, then a title that states "now that we have your attention" appears, and the video begins. This one appears to have more depth than the previous two. Messages about how the political system in Africa doesn't work flash across the screen and it shows many angry people holding up picket signs, protesting in some dark corner of the country. They broadcast how every day is struggle and life is what we make it.
4) Chamillionaire "Hip Hop Police"
-An interesting video to say the least. The scene starts out with cops pulling up next to Chamillionaire, criticizing his latest album and asking him what the next one's gonna be like. When Cha responds with "It's gonna be bigger" the cop mistakes him for saying the n word and all hell breaks loose, basically. The song is about the fact that there are Hip Hop police out there, ready to criticize your independent work and possibly try to suppress you so you have to keep a sharp eye out.
5) PiBull "Booba" (French Hip-Hop)
-There is nothing but instrumentation in the beginning of the video, the introduction, showing off several scenes of this guy's own neighborhood possibly. It shows him alternating between walking the streets in street clothes in somewhere in France and standing in a nice suit in other parts, probably indicating this song could be about his rise to respect. I can't tell, it's in French. It shows several scenes of possibly criminal activity, men in black suits handing off suitcases and the like, maybe indicating that he had to do a few things that he wasn't proud of to get where he currently is.
For the radio stations I listened to 92.1 the Beat and the Beat-713.
I know Jay-Z, a hip-hop artist, has been used in commercials promoting the HP personal computers. You know, those commercials where they have the person standin up but you don't see their head and they're showing you everything they can do on this computer with the movements of their hands? Yeah, that commercial.
I have seen commercials where the Gap has used hip-hop muscis to promote the sales of their khahis by having glamorous people dance around to the music in them.
The Dodge Nitro has employed hip-hop music in its commercials, showing a Dodge Nitro trying to squeeze in between two care in a parking garage, but then blasting hip hop music, the vibrations of which cause the other car to move aside in place so they can roll right in.
Hip Hop is essentially viewed as the cool thing to listen to. If you listen to it, you're cool. Or pimpin', or krunk, or tight, or whatever it is the kids say these days. I stick with cool. Anyways, it's been broadcast as THE thing to listen to in this day and age, the new trend. If a product or corporation can utilize this genre to sell their merchandise, it's just expected to sell much better as compared to an ad that does not employ hip hop music. You can also find the medium in fashion, which is one of the impacts of hip hop. People will dress the way these artists do, walking around their own neighborhoods and are immediately assumed to be "hardcore" or "up to no good". Other ways mainstream culture has been affected may be the way we look at relationships. These videso probably show off the physical characteristics of women more than their personalities (i.e. face, chest, and butt). Tis may be promoting women to be more subservient to the hip-hopper's vast accumulation of wealth that he has attained through his means of gaining respect.
It has also changed the way we operate our cars. People may request an adjusted low-suspension in their vehicles to get that low-rider feel. It has obviously also changed our conversation in this day and age, adding and continually inventing phrases and words I still have never heard before in my life.
My parents never listened to this or rap in their lives. They're products of the 60s and 70s, I grew up with the Styx, the Beatles, John Denver, the 'Stones, ZZ Top, Steve Miller, and Aerosmith. Mostly rock, country, and metal.
Hip hop has basically become a mjor development and influence in our everyday culture. For better or worse, it is on the rise and will continue to affect our culture,in my opinion. The more media is garners, the more it shall spread. It's a fact of life. I have nothing against it, but I know some of the more conservative mindset may try to resist it. However, I believe it had gained too much recognition as one of the key lights everyone wants to cast their lives in for it to be hindered at this point, at least until something else comes along that is somehow cooler than it is.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Discrimination in Ads Blog Reflection.
1) Ad for Golf Institute of Canada in "Golf Magazine".
2) Ad read in "Men's Health".
3) Ad in "Good Housekeeping".
4) Ad in "New York Magazine".
5) Ad in "People Magazine".
6) Ad in "Black Enterprise" magazine.
7) Ad in NCAA basketball.
8) Ad in Internet advertising.
9) Ad on Reality TV.
10) Ad in the Oklahoman.
2) Ad in "Men's Health" is actually a spread copy taking up both pages in the particualr segment of the magazine. On one side we see a black Boston Celtics player and the left we see an out-of-shape, hairy white man who just got out of the pool. The writing compares their drastically different stories, but does not overshdow the fact that they are both athletes and are passionate about their respective sports. This doesn't break down the tradtional "blacks are more athletic" stereotype well, but at least it's acknowledging that they are both at least called athletes.
1) Ad in "Golf Magazine" shows beautiful greens and scenic environments from which to play gold upon, and a group of white men standing, their backs toward us, looking off into the the majesty of the course of the Golf Management Institute of Canada. The thing that's wrong with this advertisement is that all of these men look white and well into their middle ages, cutting out the sense that young people as well as people of other races can be out playing gold and excelling at it, but there is no other racial representation in the ad.
3) This advertisement surprisingly broke down the traditional streotype that women cannot play active sports, that they are confined to the kitchen and are physically incapable of performing such tasks. But wee on the ad a small young girl playing with a croquet mallet. The mallet is almost two feet taller than her and yet she is playing with it. Granted, it's not the revolutionary non-conventional effect that, say, an ad that showed a woman playing football would but it's definitely a start.
4) Ad in "New York" magazine shows an ad for ShopVogue.tv. We see all the features that the Web site has to offer and everything that we will be able to do should we log on. But the smiling faces/models that they use to advertise this with are all white, skinny, beautiful women. Almost as if, byt placing these faces up there and by ordering their products, customers can then look like these wondrous women. Which is not only folly, but just plain ignorant.
5) Ad in "People" magazine was an ad for clothesoffourback.com and showed that items were being offered up for auction, the proceeds going towards children's charities. The two most famous items are a collared-down shirt worn by Clay Aitken and the blouse of Jordin Sparks. It's easy to see the advertising parallels in this. After all, if you're gonna have one "Idol" in this ad, you have to include other "Idol" competitors of different races to increase your scale of marketability.
2) Ad read in "Men's Health".
3) Ad in "Good Housekeeping".
4) Ad in "New York Magazine".
5) Ad in "People Magazine".
6) Ad in "Black Enterprise" magazine.
7) Ad in NCAA basketball.
8) Ad in Internet advertising.
9) Ad on Reality TV.
10) Ad in the Oklahoman.
2) Ad in "Men's Health" is actually a spread copy taking up both pages in the particualr segment of the magazine. On one side we see a black Boston Celtics player and the left we see an out-of-shape, hairy white man who just got out of the pool. The writing compares their drastically different stories, but does not overshdow the fact that they are both athletes and are passionate about their respective sports. This doesn't break down the tradtional "blacks are more athletic" stereotype well, but at least it's acknowledging that they are both at least called athletes.
1) Ad in "Golf Magazine" shows beautiful greens and scenic environments from which to play gold upon, and a group of white men standing, their backs toward us, looking off into the the majesty of the course of the Golf Management Institute of Canada. The thing that's wrong with this advertisement is that all of these men look white and well into their middle ages, cutting out the sense that young people as well as people of other races can be out playing gold and excelling at it, but there is no other racial representation in the ad.
3) This advertisement surprisingly broke down the traditional streotype that women cannot play active sports, that they are confined to the kitchen and are physically incapable of performing such tasks. But wee on the ad a small young girl playing with a croquet mallet. The mallet is almost two feet taller than her and yet she is playing with it. Granted, it's not the revolutionary non-conventional effect that, say, an ad that showed a woman playing football would but it's definitely a start.
4) Ad in "New York" magazine shows an ad for ShopVogue.tv. We see all the features that the Web site has to offer and everything that we will be able to do should we log on. But the smiling faces/models that they use to advertise this with are all white, skinny, beautiful women. Almost as if, byt placing these faces up there and by ordering their products, customers can then look like these wondrous women. Which is not only folly, but just plain ignorant.
5) Ad in "People" magazine was an ad for clothesoffourback.com and showed that items were being offered up for auction, the proceeds going towards children's charities. The two most famous items are a collared-down shirt worn by Clay Aitken and the blouse of Jordin Sparks. It's easy to see the advertising parallels in this. After all, if you're gonna have one "Idol" in this ad, you have to include other "Idol" competitors of different races to increase your scale of marketability.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Blog Reflection: News and the Media
1) I would like to think that it's the people who decide what the news is. That's one of the roles of the media as a watchdog. We watch how the people react to what is going on in the world around them, and judging by the scale of the impact on them, we base the level of coverage.
Unfortunately, it is my realistic opinion that the government and the higher-ups at the stations and newspapers that determine the news and set the agenda for coverage. If they personally do not believe it to be newsworthy, then it is no covered, like Bill Moyers mentioned when he covered the anti-war protests. It seems like individual reporters are relying less on their own intuitions when it comes to newsworthy materail and more on the conventions set on them when thinking about news. I myself am guilty of this.
2) The interests of those of different races are definitely everyone's interests. After all, tell me how their race makes them less of a person than I. If something in the world affects them in a positive or negative way, the same news standards should be applied to them as anyone else.
Coverage, like freedoms, should not be contingent on the color of a person's skin. That's bias if I ever heard of it. I think we could increase the interest in other topics by not only bringing more minority representation behind and in front of the camera, but also by allocating a broader sense of freedom amongst reporters.
Let them decide what they want to cover and don't hinder them with titles like "newsworthy" or not.
3) The war was initially reported in a rather biased and ignorant way. Nearly everyone took the prospect of going to war with Iraq as absolutely necessary.
Why? Because the government as well as the president backed the idea 100% and fed the media exactly the propaganda that was needed to further the same sentiment to the American people.
There was hardly any questioning of the initial findings by the Bush administration sbout weapons of mass destructino and whether or not Saddam Hussein and his country was involved with the tragic events of September 11th.
Ironic, one of our main principles is always to question. Always double-check, never take anything as a token truth until you find hard evidence proving it to be so.
4) As I mentioned before, the coverage of recent protests has been downright abysmal. I mean, for Bill Moyers to report that such an esteemed newspaper like the New York Times didn't run a single article about a large anti-Iraq War protest in their own neighborhood is to me scarier than the war itself.
5) Yes and no. It all depended on the specific coverage. I think the media definitely helped to wake up the American people to what was actually going on right under their noses when it came to the movement.
Broadcasting and printing pictures showing police turning firehoses and dogs on not just men but women and children really drove the point home.
The media served the civil rights movement best when it was coverage that built the movement up, when it was receptive to what it was truly trying to accomplish and when it was willing to go that in-depth, discover the truth behind the picket signs, and ensure everyone else knew it as well.
6) I do agree with Bill Moyers. What has annoyed me more than anything when I turn on the broadcast news is that I see 4 or 5 or 6 windows on one screen, each containing a person with an opinio that in some way, shape, or form contrasts with someone else's in another window.
Just this morning I saw a story about how the chair of thew Republican National Committee could pursue a bid for the presidency.
Correct me if I'm wrong, did we not just inaugurate our newest president not two months ago? And we're already talking about four years into the future?
Seems to me that that Iraq War is much more important than that story. That's my opinion of course, but Barack Obama hasn't been president for a year already and instead of reporting on a war that we've been in for almost seven years now we're going to talk about how one guy is thinking about running for president, but doesn't know for sure just yet, and the fact that he's a Republican makes it a huge headline.
Too much politics, not enough war. That's my view. Let's talk about what's happening in the world, not whether or not we agree on politics. Trust me, that's never gonna happen.
Unfortunately, it is my realistic opinion that the government and the higher-ups at the stations and newspapers that determine the news and set the agenda for coverage. If they personally do not believe it to be newsworthy, then it is no covered, like Bill Moyers mentioned when he covered the anti-war protests. It seems like individual reporters are relying less on their own intuitions when it comes to newsworthy materail and more on the conventions set on them when thinking about news. I myself am guilty of this.
2) The interests of those of different races are definitely everyone's interests. After all, tell me how their race makes them less of a person than I. If something in the world affects them in a positive or negative way, the same news standards should be applied to them as anyone else.
Coverage, like freedoms, should not be contingent on the color of a person's skin. That's bias if I ever heard of it. I think we could increase the interest in other topics by not only bringing more minority representation behind and in front of the camera, but also by allocating a broader sense of freedom amongst reporters.
Let them decide what they want to cover and don't hinder them with titles like "newsworthy" or not.
3) The war was initially reported in a rather biased and ignorant way. Nearly everyone took the prospect of going to war with Iraq as absolutely necessary.
Why? Because the government as well as the president backed the idea 100% and fed the media exactly the propaganda that was needed to further the same sentiment to the American people.
There was hardly any questioning of the initial findings by the Bush administration sbout weapons of mass destructino and whether or not Saddam Hussein and his country was involved with the tragic events of September 11th.
Ironic, one of our main principles is always to question. Always double-check, never take anything as a token truth until you find hard evidence proving it to be so.
4) As I mentioned before, the coverage of recent protests has been downright abysmal. I mean, for Bill Moyers to report that such an esteemed newspaper like the New York Times didn't run a single article about a large anti-Iraq War protest in their own neighborhood is to me scarier than the war itself.
5) Yes and no. It all depended on the specific coverage. I think the media definitely helped to wake up the American people to what was actually going on right under their noses when it came to the movement.
Broadcasting and printing pictures showing police turning firehoses and dogs on not just men but women and children really drove the point home.
The media served the civil rights movement best when it was coverage that built the movement up, when it was receptive to what it was truly trying to accomplish and when it was willing to go that in-depth, discover the truth behind the picket signs, and ensure everyone else knew it as well.
6) I do agree with Bill Moyers. What has annoyed me more than anything when I turn on the broadcast news is that I see 4 or 5 or 6 windows on one screen, each containing a person with an opinio that in some way, shape, or form contrasts with someone else's in another window.
Just this morning I saw a story about how the chair of thew Republican National Committee could pursue a bid for the presidency.
Correct me if I'm wrong, did we not just inaugurate our newest president not two months ago? And we're already talking about four years into the future?
Seems to me that that Iraq War is much more important than that story. That's my opinion of course, but Barack Obama hasn't been president for a year already and instead of reporting on a war that we've been in for almost seven years now we're going to talk about how one guy is thinking about running for president, but doesn't know for sure just yet, and the fact that he's a Republican makes it a huge headline.
Too much politics, not enough war. That's my view. Let's talk about what's happening in the world, not whether or not we agree on politics. Trust me, that's never gonna happen.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
10 Stereotype Occurrences
1) 2-22-09, 1:00 P.M.
Television.
"Friends", Season2
Scene at the Central Perk coffeehouse where all the women in the circle of friends have female-oriented jobs, like Rachel working at Ralph Lurean, Monica as a head cheff, and Phoebe as a masseuse.
Gender stereotypes.
2) 2-23-09 4:30 P.M.
Print.
Ad in "The Oklahoma Daily" shows a picture of a woman working out with the caption: "Lose weight for Spring Break", targeting women.
Gender stereotypes.
3) 2-24-09 10:30 P.M.
Personal conversation with Patrick Rains, Roommate, about basketball players and how they perform.
Racial assumptions/stereotypes.
4) 2-25-09 4:45 P.M.
Personal conversation with fellow news anchors in the green room, talking about races in comparison to intelligence.
Racial assumptions/stereotypes.
5) 2-27-09 1:46 A.M.
Print
Ad in "Newsweek" depicts a woman playing with a dog advertising a more low-fat form of Soy Milk, again forcing women to think they must lose weight.
Gender stereotypes.
6) 2-26-09 1:30 A.M.
Television
The show "The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air" displays Will Smith's character as the stereotypical urban black man. He lives in a family of rich, sophisticated but because he grew up without these riches, he speaks on a lower level and dances and fools around all the time.
Racial assumptions/ stereotypes
7) 2-21-09 10:00 P.M.
Personal experience
When I was filling up my car in Oklahoma City at night, a black man pulled up in a car next to mine, cracked the window and asked if I could spare a few gallons of gas. Ashamedly, I refused him, being too suspicious of his only cracking the window down a little bit and immediately fearing that he was some kind of gang member,
Racial assumptions/ stereotypes.
8) 2-20-09 7:23 P.M.
Print
The magazine "Men's Health" features an ad of a man blindfolding a woman with the caption "It's better in the dark". It is an ad for a cologne. This implies the sense of the man placing the woman in bondage and forcing her to submit to him byt relinquishing one of her key senses, and possibly the sense that could save her in dangerous situations.
Gender stereotypes.
9) 2-19-09 6:15 P.M.
Class experience
My Shakespeare Tragedy discussion group was trying to come up with different ways to spice up our class presentation of "Othello", and we volunteered the idea of speaking every line in gangster talk, which unforunately has become the stereotypical language of the African-Americans.
Racial assumptions/stereotypes
10) 2-18-09 2:20 P.M.
Billboard
Driving down I-35 towards Norman from Texas, I always see a billboard with two pictures on it, one a picture of a fetus and one a depressed young woman. It's a pro-life billboard, a caption reading something along the lines of: "One Life Lost, One Still Empty". This is making women think they have no choice but to have the baby no matter what happens.
Gender stereotypes. 474
Normally, you wouldn't give images or occurrences like these a second thought. It seems like the same situation that happens with privilege happens here as well. It seems like the norm, the standard way to live, and any deviation from this would be too radical or unwanted.
Without acquiring that extra sense of awareness that this class has provided over the last couple of weeks, I never would have looked for such elements as these in the television shows I watched or the magazines I read. I guess it was that moment in the gas station that I truly realized how much I was suffering from racism.
But is that even the right term? Suffering from it? Or am I choosing to stay where I am in this mindset? I felt genuine fear that night, I was in a notoriously bad neighborhood and I didn't know what else to think. Of course, I can't use that excuse. I walked away from the black man and when I went into the gas station, I never suspected the white man behind the counter to pull a piece on me.
I think that was when I first started believeing in the importance of this class. If I'm going to make a difference in the world as a journalist, habits like these have to be changed in order to preserve the greater good for everyone else.
Television.
"Friends", Season2
Scene at the Central Perk coffeehouse where all the women in the circle of friends have female-oriented jobs, like Rachel working at Ralph Lurean, Monica as a head cheff, and Phoebe as a masseuse.
Gender stereotypes.
2) 2-23-09 4:30 P.M.
Print.
Ad in "The Oklahoma Daily" shows a picture of a woman working out with the caption: "Lose weight for Spring Break", targeting women.
Gender stereotypes.
3) 2-24-09 10:30 P.M.
Personal conversation with Patrick Rains, Roommate, about basketball players and how they perform.
Racial assumptions/stereotypes.
4) 2-25-09 4:45 P.M.
Personal conversation with fellow news anchors in the green room, talking about races in comparison to intelligence.
Racial assumptions/stereotypes.
5) 2-27-09 1:46 A.M.
Ad in "Newsweek" depicts a woman playing with a dog advertising a more low-fat form of Soy Milk, again forcing women to think they must lose weight.
Gender stereotypes.
6) 2-26-09 1:30 A.M.
Television
The show "The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air" displays Will Smith's character as the stereotypical urban black man. He lives in a family of rich, sophisticated but because he grew up without these riches, he speaks on a lower level and dances and fools around all the time.
Racial assumptions/ stereotypes
7) 2-21-09 10:00 P.M.
Personal experience
When I was filling up my car in Oklahoma City at night, a black man pulled up in a car next to mine, cracked the window and asked if I could spare a few gallons of gas. Ashamedly, I refused him, being too suspicious of his only cracking the window down a little bit and immediately fearing that he was some kind of gang member,
Racial assumptions/ stereotypes.
8) 2-20-09 7:23 P.M.
The magazine "Men's Health" features an ad of a man blindfolding a woman with the caption "It's better in the dark". It is an ad for a cologne. This implies the sense of the man placing the woman in bondage and forcing her to submit to him byt relinquishing one of her key senses, and possibly the sense that could save her in dangerous situations.
Gender stereotypes.
9) 2-19-09 6:15 P.M.
Class experience
My Shakespeare Tragedy discussion group was trying to come up with different ways to spice up our class presentation of "Othello", and we volunteered the idea of speaking every line in gangster talk, which unforunately has become the stereotypical language of the African-Americans.
Racial assumptions/stereotypes
10) 2-18-09 2:20 P.M.
Billboard
Driving down I-35 towards Norman from Texas, I always see a billboard with two pictures on it, one a picture of a fetus and one a depressed young woman. It's a pro-life billboard, a caption reading something along the lines of: "One Life Lost, One Still Empty". This is making women think they have no choice but to have the baby no matter what happens.
Gender stereotypes. 474
Normally, you wouldn't give images or occurrences like these a second thought. It seems like the same situation that happens with privilege happens here as well. It seems like the norm, the standard way to live, and any deviation from this would be too radical or unwanted.
Without acquiring that extra sense of awareness that this class has provided over the last couple of weeks, I never would have looked for such elements as these in the television shows I watched or the magazines I read. I guess it was that moment in the gas station that I truly realized how much I was suffering from racism.
But is that even the right term? Suffering from it? Or am I choosing to stay where I am in this mindset? I felt genuine fear that night, I was in a notoriously bad neighborhood and I didn't know what else to think. Of course, I can't use that excuse. I walked away from the black man and when I went into the gas station, I never suspected the white man behind the counter to pull a piece on me.
I think that was when I first started believeing in the importance of this class. If I'm going to make a difference in the world as a journalist, habits like these have to be changed in order to preserve the greater good for everyone else.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Extra Credit: Big 12 Schools that do NOT have race-based admissions.
Here's a list of Big 12 Schools that do not have race-based admission.
In the Spanish: No!!!
The University of Baylor Bears:
Negative!!!
That's a big, fat, no-no!!!
The University of Kansas Jayhawks:
Nope!!!!
The University of Missouri Tigers:
Uh-uh!!!
Texas Tech Red Raiders:
In the Spanish: No!!!The University of Baylor Bears:
Negative!!!The University of Texas A&M Aggies:
I checked and came up with nothing!!!
The Iowa State University Cyclones:
That's a big, fat, no-no!!!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Written Assignment #1
I'll be honest. Before I watched Tim Wise's video, I never even thought of the idea of privilege. I never thought of myself as racially privileged. Rather, I just saw the way my life was lived as the standard, the norm. It may sound selfish, but I'm just being honest.
But as Tim Wise explained, members of my race, of the whites, are the bearers of more privileges than we know exist. Like he said, we can have our voice heard in a group and even sometimes be considered the authority in such a gathering. We can have the confidence of walking into a store and buying anything we want without a second glance. We can drive fancy cars and just have cops peg us as "spoiled little rich kids" as opposed to drug dealers.
The media tends to use this concept to their advantage in an unusually obvious manner. I have seen it in the past. If the story being covered has a setting where the people in the shots are predominantly of the African-American race, who do they send to cover it? Someone who is like them, an African-American correspondent. I can't blame them. After all, as journalists, it's our job to establish a level of comfort with our interviewees in order to get them to open up to us and make the information we receive all that more valuable. The media utilizes privilege in order to get the best story no matter where they are sending their reporters.
I managed to record some privileges that I noticed I have had in the last couple of days:
1) I can walk up to the cashier and pay them with the only cash I had (a fifty dollar bill) and not receive a single question of its authenticity.
2) I can walk up with my camera and microphone to the OU Men's basketball team's practice and be seen as a legitimate journalist and allowed access.
3) I can come to work at OU Nightly knowing that I will be, for the most part, surrounded by members of my same race and held in respectful regard for it.
4) I can sit in any place on campus and eat.
5) I can explain to my boss why I couldn't get away from class to cover storm-stricken areas of Oklahoma without being accused of laziness or complacency.
6) I can loiter about the South Oval in a black leather jacket and sunglasses on without anyone becoming suspicious of what my motives are.
7) I can wear my clothes in any way I choose and not be judged or stereotyped for it.
8) I am admitted into many extracurricular and social groups here on campus with no questions asked.
Just to name a few.
I honestly do not believe society still believes in the one-drop rule. Perhaps they have in the past, and I know this example is probably going to be beaten to death, but with the election of President Obama, all of that changed. When the country first started comprehending the fact that we would have our first African-American president, people began to argue that he wasn't black. Even though Obama did have the blood in him, he also had a white mother. For that, he wasn't seen by many as truly black, but mixed. Nowadays, you can have African-American blood in you, but you won't be seen as black in this country if you have another parent of a different race.
As I have mentioned before, Wise's and Tatum's words served as sort of an awakening for me. I started analyzing myself and the reasons behind my previous ignorance of such a race issue. I began to even wonder if I was just gripped with denial and that I was, in fact, racist because I did not acknowledge it. Everything they told us had been new information to me, information that delivered a swift kick in the butt and told me I need to start thinking bigger and not just within the confines of the OU borders. This information and the proceeding realization led to my sudden awareness that, hey, there really is a problem of race in this country.
But as Wise said, now is not the time for guilt. True, we didn't start this, but that doesn't mean we don't have any responsibility to change it. Tatum and Wise call upon us to use this new-found awareness in order to change our behavior and essentially begin to fix the problem. We have to make the conscious effort to alter the situation towards the better end, and only we can make that decision ourselves.
Speaking as a member of the race that is known best to many for their past oppressive behavior to his felllow man, I do sincerely hope that I am givien the chance to do so someday.
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