Breaking Bad--Cultural Resistance

·         Resistance is defined as “those symbolic and material practices that challenge, subvert, or suspend the cultural codes, rules, or norms, which through their everyday operation create, sustain, and naturalize the prevailing social structure in a particular space and time” –Ott & Mack

·         Walter is performing the practice of cooking meth that clearly challenges cultural codes, rule, and norms. He is able to cover this secret identity of his because his brother-in-law is DEA agent, which allows Walt to become knowledgeable of how they catch drug cartels. He is able to easily imitate normal emotions to keep his appearance socially acceptable by coming home to his family each night and eventually, is able to get his wife, Skyler, on board and together they launder money through their car wash business that they open up together.

·         5 intertwined principles of resistance—contextual, tactical, creative, cumulative, and incremental.

·         Resistance is contextual: the time and place of Walter's act of cooking is crucial to its status as resistance because rather than being a fixed quality, it is specific to particular times, places and social relationships. He carefully chose Jesse to be his cooking partner because of his connections and knowledge of how exactly the drug business works. Together, they chose particular places and times to cook the meth in order to avoid suspicion from Walter's family and obviously the police and DEA.

·         Resistance is tactical: Walter's resistance is an action or practice, not a product or outcome that exists spatially. A tactic is disappearing almost as quickly as it appears. Because of Walter's highly profound knowledge in chemistry, him and Jesse are able to produce mass amounts of high quality meth. This leads him to having a quota that he much meet each week to satisfy his boss, Gus, and the needs of the meth heads.  

·         Resistance is creative: Resistance is about “making do” and turning the rules to one’s advantage, taking advantage of the system. Walter is set up perfectly in his situation to take advantage of the legal system. Every time he comes into contact with Hank, he is able to find out more information about how they are tracking down this blue meth, which allows Walter to cover up his tracks that much easier.

·         Resistance is cumulative: In isolation, acts of resistance rarely constitute a serious threat to the prevailing social structure, but over time, multiple acts will accumulate. In this case, Walter is literally producing thousands of pounds of the purist meth, which makes the audience questions whether or not someone is going to start noticing and if he is going to get caught. This aspect of the show is what keeps viewers tied in and keep watching.

 

• Resistance is incremental: Because of his chemistry background and knowledge of how the DEA operates, Walter starts his meth cooking business of small, but smartly chooses when to expand according to the connections he obtains. He spaces out each act of resistance to keep the level of suspiciousness low, but is still able to satisfy his needs of more money and eventually complete power.

The Framing of Media and News

I apologize for the bad quality but it's the only one I could find.

Basically I always wonder what drives American News to report what they do. I think that this clip does a fantastic job of summarizing some ways in which they select and choose what they report--in this case pertaining particularly to race.

Furthermore, I always talk with my Grandparents, and every time I am at their house, they are either watching a sports game or the news. Every time the news is on, my grandmother always makes a comment along the lines of: "I hate watching the news. It's so bad and it just shows us how bad of a world we live in."

Congruently, my brother and I have a joke running between us mocking the news in that they'll briefly report how "X" person donated however much money to a charity or whatever organization put on an event for "Y" group of people, and then they'll "Dispatch with the boring stuff" and get on to the latest pop-cultural, political, or violent scandal.

What I find interesting is how the media frames their reports in the above said fashions, but yet we as Americans can criticize it all, and still be big enough hypocrites to return the next day to absorb some more.

Looking at the Modern Family Episode : ClosetCon ’13 Using Queer Theory

The premise of this episode contains two main parts that perpetuate the existence of binary:

• The couple Mitchell and Cameron visit Missouri where Cameron’s southern family is still coming to terms with their relative’s homosexuality.
• Father and daughter Jay and Claire are attending ClosetCon, and Claire believes that her father may have had an affair twenty years ago.

Sexual preference plays a large role in this episode of Modern family because not only are the characters Mitch and Cam visiting Cam’s family farm for the first time since their engagement, Claire assumes her father had an affair with an old colleague simply because she overhears a weird conversation between the two. I also found a major focus on ‘the closet’ in this episode, which spreads the idea heterosexuality as normative behavior within the show.

Claire finds out later in the episode that she had simply jumped to the conclusion that since her dad and his colleague were whispering about something that they must have been keeping a secret about their sexual relations when in reality they had never been together in that way. Their interactions also bring to light the idea of playing the prank of putting a skeleton in the closet because it is Claire first time at the convention. The skeleton in the closet may be a play on the idea that Cam and Mitch were trying to find a way to tell Cam’s grandma that he had fallen in love with another man. Jay and Claire may have been at ClosetCon, but the binary highlighted in Queer theory is also present in this episode because Cam is trying to “come out of the closet” for his older family members.

      I saw the binary being most present during the scenes where Claire is sneaking around trying to get evidence of her fathers’ affair, but she never really hears anything. It is because her dad is a well known individual and his colleague was a woman that it seems obvious that the two were hiding a sexual past. In the scenes with Mitch, Cam, and his grandmother, it almost seems like she would accept the two for their love, but when Cam ‘comes out’ the old woman immediately expresses her disapproval. These two occurrences are almost opposites, which a perfect example of how the binary works. Simply because a man and a woman were whispering to each other a third person assumes there must be something sexual happening, whereas when a homosexual couples finds the courage to come out of the closet they are shot down with denial from a close family member. ClosetCon becomes a representation of Cam and Mitch's attempt to come out of the closet, while Claire embarrasses herself by accusing her father of cheating.

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)

Fall Out Boy

The hit single My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) is from Fall Out Boy's new album, Save Rock and Roll. The music video for the song is the first of the Young Blood Chronicles, which is an ongoing series with the band filming a video for every song on the album, Save Rock and Roll. This song is very popular and is played at many sports events. It also has been featured in the movie, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, and the new TV show, The Originals (a spin-off of the show Vampire Diaries). The song has a fun beat and is catchy, however one has to wonder what the lyrics mean.

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) Lyrics

The lyrics don't really make any sense when first read but one does get the sense that he is singing about exposure or "seeing the real." In an interview with the band members, Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz, they talk about the meaning of the song. Patrick explains that the song is about the anger adults keep hidden that we might have expressed freely when we were younger. He says that adults keep this side of themselves hidden because that is what we are supposed to do, and it's not "gentleman like" if we were to blow up and get angry at people. This reminded me of dramaturgy from sociological analysis.

Dramaturgy explains that the self is not stable or an independent entity. Rather the self is a performed character that we are endlessly staging and restaging the presence of others. The example from Patrick's explanation is that he says people construct and mediate their behavior to act appropriately as "adults." The second part of dramaturgy is impression management. This is the art of successfully staging a character or "part", of enacting a performance that creates the desired impression of the self. Patrick's example of this is that people manage their behavior to not appear as angry or crazy, so they construct the "well manged and put together" adult. Finally the last four things to look at in dramaturgy is the stage, setting, part, and team. Below are examples of how My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark does each of these four things.

1. Stage (front stage and back stage): The front stage is adults appear as following the norms society expects them to obey: they are well put together and act "ladylike" or "like a gentleman." The back stage is that adults do get angry and need to channel that emotion. The song acts as a release that lets the frustration and tension out in an appropriate manner.

2. Setting: Adults compose their front stage in front of other people, so the setting would be places where they have to socially interact with other people (i.e. work, home, internet, etc.) The back stage would most likely be in a setting where a person doesn't think anyone is watching or could possibly overhear, like driving alone in a car.

3. Part: The pattern of actions adults use to define their front stage character would be acting cool and collected. If something or someone angers you there should not be any expression of frustration (verbal or nonverbal). The patterns of actions that define the back stage character is yelling, hitting things, maybe even crying.

4. Team: Adults are a cast of players who share the same performance. They all know that it is socially inappropriate to show the emotion of being angry. Therefore they share the same performance of remaining clam and cool in a frustrating situation.

the mean girls

How many people enjoy or enjoyed watching Mean Girls when they were younger? I know for a while it was one of my favorite movies. But it is so unrealistic and really is not what high school is all about. Our discussion in class today talked about how we want to fit in with the cool crowd and the things we would do to "fit in". Don't you think texts such a Mean Girls influences people especially children to be a bully, or girls to have blone hair big boobs and wear a lot of makeup.

It is crazy to look at the movie Mean Girls from the feminist lens. Women in this movie are completely objectified, and women today think it is funny, (I know I thought this movie was funny). You can see from the movie that "the plastics" are the Queens of the school, but this is only because the male gaze objectifies them as queens. For anyone who has watch the movie we know that the plastics are queens because all the guys in the school want to have sex with them, they are objectified. In the Halloween scene Lindsey Lohan dresses up as a modest zomibe bride, but all of the other girls are wearing lingerie and bunny ears because of the male gaze.

The feminist analysis that could be done on this text could go on and on. But the main point I am trying to make is that so many women are completely ok with this text, it doesnt even phase us that we are being objectified by the media. Are we desensitized to this objectification? Or do we just not care?

Thats My Kind of Night

"That's my kind of night" is yet another chart topper for Luke Bryan. The more I listened to this song the more and more I thought about the male gaze, fetishism, voyerism and other components of a psychoanalytic analysis. If you have ever listened to a Luke Bryan song or watched one of his music videos you would find that he is all about the ladies, his truck and everything a red blooded American man would love.
Luke Bryan's infatuation with his truck goes above and beyond in "That's my Kind of Night". I would even call it a truck fetish. In this song Luke Bryan sings about his ideal fantasy night and of course his truck is extremely involved. In this song the descriptions of his truck always come before mentioning his ladies. The first verse of the song details his "big, black, jacked up truck" then he goes on to mention here is a pretty girl by his side. This is a common theme in the song. I find it funny but there is as much of a male gaze on the truck as there is with the women in this song. They pan the truck up and down, give random shots of its tires and tailgate all the while Luke Bryan does not leave the bed of his truck.
Speaking of male gaze this music video (and lyrics) have a strong prominence. Through the entirety of the music video there are constantly shots of women and groups of women in bikini tops, daisy duke shorts and boots. The majority of the shots of the women are from their neck down showing off their bare bikini torsos and legs, these shots are of the women dancing in groups, playing in the river or taking off their tops to get in to the water. The second verse in the song is what any man would want to say to a woman in their truck "you got that sun tan skirt and boots. Waiting on you to look my way and scoot your little hot self over here, girl hand me another beer, yeah!" In this song Luke Bryan even sings phrases that most men wish they could say to women, a.k.a., "lay you down and love you right" as well as "make it rain".
Voyerism plays a strong role in this music video. Luke Bryan is never seen with any of the women but rather watching them from his truck. At one point in the video he even shines a spot light on the ladies in the water. He safely watches the women dance and strip from the comfort of his own truck.
I must say that this is a very catchy song and I really enjoy Luke Bryan's songs but to watch this video from a psychoanalytic lens is very interesting. I recommend doing the same!

Green Lantern: Coming Out of the Closet

The super hero movies have always been a huge hit, especially now since DC Comics and Marvel have been making remakes or releasing new films involving the superheroes. For instance Thor: Dark World was released about a week ago (11/8/2013) and is the #1 film in theaters right now. In the domestic box office sales have reached $104,964,877 and international box office is $240,900,000, totaling $345,864,877 worldwide. It still has not surpassed the worldwide box earns for the first Thor movie, totaling $449,326,619 but it is still in theaters so it is likely earn more.

However, this post is not about the box office earnings for the popular Thor movies or any of the other superhero movies. Rather it is to talk about the recent announcement that DC Comics has will be releasing an old iconic superhero character in a new story, but as a gay man. Who is this? It is none other than the Green Lantern (although most of you could have guessed because the picture up above gives it away).

I have chosen to talk about this under the lens of queer analysis. After learning what this analysis is about it got me thinking about superheroes in general. I thought about how the superheroes are portrayed in the the typical stereotypes of men and women (more so the men being manly), and they are always heterosexual. I thought about the hetero/homosexual binary that these characters create. The typical superhero is a strong man who is very masculine and every girls' dream guy. Any superhero who does not fulfill the stereotype of being a superhero is an "other." Although this could mean that the "other" is a civilian, but for most people (whether they realize it or not) this means that a superhero could not be a homosexual, transgender, or bisexual person. So how does this change the outlook for the Green Lantern?

Most people are concerned that Ryan Reynolds will have to change his character and become a homosexual Green Lantern. They are also wondering if it will change the sales of the series. Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters did not do well in the box office compared to Thor. It received $231,201,172 worldwide in the box office and in domestic DVD sales it earns $19,644,793 weekly. However, there is no need for a panic for the homophobic superhero fans because this is not going to happen. Ryan Reynolds plays the Hal Jordan Green Lantern and DC has made the Scott Alan Green Lantern gay in the new series Earth 2.

Although this got me thinking about what it would be like to release another version of the Green Lantern starring this new Scott Alan. The homosexual version of Scott Alan has already been dubbed as "coming out of the closet" by the public, deeming his sexual preferences are something to keep hidden. Also as I have already stated, superheroes are not seen as having any homosexual tendencies or desires so this new superhero is likely to be stigmatized if DC considered releasing this version of the Green Lantern to cinema.

Below I have posted a video of an interview of two people talking about the new Green Lantern in Earth 2. It may seem a little long but there is so much material that could be illuminated by using queer analysis. I encourage you to watch it and notice how even though DC is releasing a gay Green Lantern it is still does not give the equality that the LGBT community deserves.

Ellen!

Many people know that Ellen DeGeneres is a lesbian even though she never actually directly addresses the issue. On her show she usually has a round about way of stating that she is. What I mean by this is that instead of her saying she likes women, she says that she does not want a man or have any interest in men but does not want to comment on the fact that she is attracted to women. I think her use of subliminal rituals also has an interest take on the media. Media events are things that happen once and go against usual rules of television and media ritual are more subtle events that go against conventions but that happen for an extended period of time. A media ritual that Elle has implemented into her show is dancing during the introduction. Many people say that you can tell that she is a lesbian just by the way she dances and therefore she does not need to state it outright. She takes her supposedly clearly visible gay dancing and repeats it until it is no longer seen as unusual or out of the ordinary. She also uses her sexual preferences to give her some leeway on interacting sexually with her male guests such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Mario Lopez, Ryan Gosling and Chris Matthews. Below is a link that shows a clip of her actually taking off Mario Lopez's clothes. Ellen, rather than being ashamed of her sexuality or trying to hide it, uses it to her advantage to appeal to her audience and make the show more interesting. I think this is one of the reasons she is such a successful and accepted comedian. Ellen is a very smart, funny and respectable individual who has been an inspiration for people everywhere to not be ashamed of their sexuality or who they truly are. She is a great subject to look at for the queer theory because she tends to go against all of the "typical" or stereotypical portrayals of gays or lesbians. 


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9v0P6avqG6w

The Male Gaze and 'We Can't Stop'

Suzanna's post about the male gaze made me think of one thing relating the the male gaze, Miley Cyrus and the apparent male gaze and the sexualization of girls and other things in the music video.  In the video, Miley is continually seen as half-naked, and trying to be 'sexy'--this was also the case at the VMA's as well, as she was seen a nude outfit that showed a lot of skin, and the different camera angles that gave the public a glimpse of her body and how she presented herself as a 'sexual object.' In both cases, the camera angles and the words to the song related to the taming of women, and the lack of control that women have as beings, as well as the 'craziness' that women display.

Music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco

VMAs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZrHTUD7AVM

Miss Representation

I watched the film Miss Representation and found it to be extremely interesting. It focused on the image that women are portrayed in and how they are represented throughout the media and this impact on girls all over. One part that stuck out to me was when the film discussed the portrayal of girls in cartoons. Girl cartoon figures are represented in much more of the same way that women are seen in R rated movies. Characters such as Jasmine, Ariel, Tinkerbell, etc. are all wearing revealing outfits. At such a young age this sexy image is being portrayed to girls and teaching them that these outfits are acceptable and ideal for being wanted by a man. Even the body types that these G movies portray make people aware of what the “ideal” body type is. 

Not only are girls basing what they should look life off of what they see in cartoons but throughout the rest of their lives in advertisements and commercials. All of these images of women are photoshoped and adjusted to create the perfect woman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17j5QzF3kqE this link is a video of a prime example of this ideal that has been created and is literally impossible for girls to achieve and be able to look like. It is videos like this that should be shown and shared so that girls understand that the images in advertisements and the media are fictional and to hold these to such a high standard is a bit ridiculous. Women are being miss represented in the media. Women are not being taken seriously in our society and are thought of as the lower race. The worst part about it all is that women everywhere are accepting this as their reality and their destiny. The majority of women play right into the hands of this image and this ideal of the perfect woman. When girls are young they have such high expectations for themselves and what they want to be when they grow up, but the media destroys these goals and replaces them with insecurities. 

No Chick Flick Moments

What kind of critic would I be if I didn't analyze my favorite TV show?

I have always been a little weary of calling myself a feminist. This is because I have always previously understood a feminist to be an angry bitch who complained about everything being oppressive towards women, and I didn't want to be known or associated as such. However, after really looking into what a feminist really does and what feminist analysis is I would say that I have changed my outlook on being a feminist.

Being a feminist and using feminist critique means that my purpose is to inquire, examine, analyze and critique the structures and strategies of oppression based on gender and/or sexuality. After realizing how versatile feminist analysis is I realized it could be used as a lens on any text, and for me the text that came to mind is Supernatural.

Supernatural is drama television series that follows two brothers battling supernatural beings that plague the world. The two main characters are the older brother, Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles), and the younger brother, Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki). Dean and Sam have different personalities and values that complement each other to reach their goal; save the world. In the beginning of the show the audience learns that Dean is the impulsive, bad ass brother and Sam is the cautious, reluctant hero. We also learn when Dean and Sam were young, their mother is killed by the "yellow-eyed demon." After their loss the two brothers and their father get tied up in the business of hunting, trying to seek revenge for their mother.

In the Pilot episode Sam is in college studying to be a lawyer and Dean is a hunter. Dean and Sam have not spoken to each other in years but after their father goes missing, Dean enlists Sam's help to find him. The two travel to the last place their father was and discover that it is being haunted by a ghost. In the midst of their hunting Sam and Dean get into an argument about "the family business" (aka hunting). Sam tells Dean that he does not want to be a hunter or go back to the horrible life of being one. Dean does not understand how Sam can just stand by knowing that there are supernatural beings out there hurting people. Sam then points out that whatever creature killed their mother--a task that their father dedicated his life to--will not bring her back. This upsets Dean and they almost get into a fist fight when they are interrupted by the ghost jumping off the bridge. Later the brothers are in a cheap motel room and Sam apologizes for what he said about their parents. Dean holds up his hand in protest and says, "No chick flick moments." Sam nods and says, "Alright. Jerk." Dean responds, "Bitch."

When looking at this episode through a feminist critical lens one notices the oppression of men. Dean and Sam are portrayed in the typical male role. They are muscular, manly men who do not show their emotions that would be seen as a weakness or feminine. When they get into an argument and then later try to talk about it they push it aside as if nothing happened. Their behavior supports the ideologies of what our society constructs a man to be like. Chick flick moments are not allowed and if you act weak then you're a bitch. The implications of this is that the brothers never get to release the tension of their emotions behind losing their mother and this teaches men what how they should behave even though it can be harmful physically and mentally. 

Why so sensitive?

Today in class we discussed Queer Analysis. Andre brought up a point that really got me thinking. If more people were educated about homosexuality, just as we our educated on heterosexuality would more Americans be less sensitive about the topic? Would they be more open to the idea? Would they still think it is a choice?

I feel as if today many people think of homosexuality as the "cool thing to vote on", when in actuality it is a topic that seems to get pushed under the rug. Many Americans think that we live in a post segregated society where all types of people are welcome, but this is indeed false. Today's society is full of great ideas and concepts on equality, but none of these concepts are ever acted on or talked about amongst the average American culture. If more Americans were educated at a young Age on minority topics such as homosexuality and immigration, more and more people would be able to make educated decisions on there stance and there would be less segregation or homophobia.

Many people today think that homosexuality is just a choice, it is not. A person is a person no matter who they like or how they act. If more people were educated on the facts, this would be less and less of an issue in America or in the world. In schools today children are constantly preached to about slavery and civil rights, but one very important civil right that is left out is homosexuality. So my question to you is... If more people were educated on homosexuality, like they are on civil rights and segregation, would we as Americans be more accepting of homosexuality and all it can offer society?

American Horror Story

American Horror Story

Moira O'Hara is one of the main characters from the first season of American Horror Story. She is the housekeeper for the family that has recently moved into the Murder House, the Harmons, but she has worked there for many of the families that have lived there before. She is a spirit that haunts the house that has a dual personality and appearance. To women she appears as an elderly woman that has one working eye and wears a sensible uniform. When she appears in this form she is comforting and professional. To men she appears as a beautiful young woman wearing a scantily short skirted uniform with garter stockings. When she appears in this form she is seductive and manipulative. According to Moira, the reason for her dual appearance and personality is that she believes that a woman's intuition gives them insight to the true nature of people whereas men only see what they desire. However, if a man can resist his compulsion to see her as a sexual object then they will see her for who she truly is.

I thought that the character Moira was a good text to understanding the Male Gaze, fantasy, and scopophilia from psychoanalytic analysis. To men Moira is the perfect housekeeper because she fulfills their sexual thoughts and desires while their wife/girlfriend doesn't suspect her as a potential threat (because men don't know that women see Moira as her other self). She dresses in such a way that men seek pleasure in looking at her and observing her work. She fulfills their fantasies by creating visions of what it would be like if the man were to give into his sexual desire. For example in one episode, Moira is with one of the other spirits that haunts the house and is watched over by Mr. Harmon. The two women are sexually pleasing each other and Moira asks Mr. Harmon to join in. He then envisions himself in a threesome with Moira and Elizabeth, but refuses to give into his sexual desire. In another episode Moira is showing a potential male buyer the house and she takes him into the daughter's room. She talks about remodeling the room and says, "I'd paint it a deep, dark red color, clear out all the furniture, and hang a sex swing." She then gives the man a vision of her in the sex swing dressed in a red babydoll. He falls for her charms and is killed a few episodes later for not giving her what she wants (which is finding her remains and taking them from the cursed house).

The text criticizes, yet reenforces the Male Gaze by having Moira only appear as a sexual object to men. She hates men who cheat on their wives and objectify women, so she typically kills her prey after they give into their sexual desires and objectify her. This criticizes the Male Gaze for being geared towards an uneven distribution of power. On the other hand Moira's main drive for objectifying herself to get what she wants. This reenforces the Male Gaze by having a woman believe that in order to get what she wants she has to conform to the patriarchal system and objectify herself. This may seem like she has the power to manipulate a man to do what she wants, but if woman's only power is in her sexual nature and body is it really power?

Guess: Stuck In The Past!

The past is something that is held on by the media but also stubbornly enough women in advertisement portray infantilization —the idea of never wanting to leave girlhood. This aspect of the media shocked me because I had not realized how our society is afraid of getting old. In advertisements this need to stay young forever is seen in various forms. One of the ways that this is seen is in sexualized childish poses that many models exhibit. For Example, the Guess model seen in the picture above is bitting her finger, something a little girl would do. Not only that, but there are many advertisements that show little girls with older women exactly dressed. On the other hand little girls are hyper sexualized to seem older. It is as if our society is confused about what values it wants to portray.

            Another example of this confusion is reflected through the clothing company Guess. One of the creators of Guess, Paul Marciano, has expressed that he loves a time when women knew their place, and were not touched by the women’s rights movement. I would call Paul Marciano the typical “Macho.” He portrays a sense of entitlement toward women; by saying we are merely for decoration purposes.  Last I checked there is so much more to being women in our generation. Paul Marciano has aided the perpetuation of traditional views that dehumanize women and even objectifying us. Through all the hard work women leaders have done to get us to this point, it’s men like him with narrowed views that set us back in the progress. 
*Information retrieved from The Gender Codes documentary by Sut Jhally.