Psychoanalytic Analysis "That Teenage Feeling"

In the article "That Teenage Feeling" the Twilight series is used as an example as to why woman who consider themselves "feminists" were so captured by the series that has no "feminist" qualities. The series is about a 17 year old girl, Bella, who is new to town, is a loner, and really has nothing special about her until she meets Edward. From that point on Bella is willing to conform to everything that Edward wants and is willing to give up things like college and having a normal life in order to be able to be with him forever. Psychoanalytic analysis argues that literary texts "express the secret unconscious desires and anxieties of the author, that a literary work is a manifestation of the author's own neuroses." The article went to explain that the Twilight story was so capturing that the series broke out of teen fiction and went to capture older women too. The way that the fantasies are laid out, feelings of abortion and pleasure allow us to escape to the Twilight world. Thus the story hits home with unconscious desires that truly captured millions of women.

Marxist Rhetorical Analysis on Fight Club

Fight club is a movie that is about a man who has an alternate life next to his real one. In his alternate life he has set up a club where men come together to fight for no other reason than to deal with their "real life" problems. Why this movie fits in so well with the Marxist analysis is because the main character of Fight Club, Edward Norton, is apart of the working class. Through the fight club that Edward Norton created he is able to "fight out" his frustrations that often happen in the work place. Marxist "considers how capitalism influence media industry and practices that perpetuate class inequality, promotes status quo, and creates a sense of complacency in audiences." In Fight Club when we do see the shots of Edward Norton while he is at work it is clear that he is upset/ depressed and it is clear that there is class inequality between him and the man in charge. Edward's action (creating Fight Club) clearly shows his actions based on the fact that he is and seemingly always will be below someone else.

Desire and Fantasy: Our Hopes Achieved

Blog Post Psychoanalytic Theory:

In high school I was addicted to World of Warcraft. I no longer play the game but I think that  Psychoanalytic structure and give some insight into why roll playing games, of which Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs like World of Warcraft are only a sub-genre, are so addictive in general. I will divide the examination into two sections: 1. An examination of the way in which our desires are fulfilled and 2. how the mechanism of fantasy, specifically rpgs, opens the possibility of fulfilling those desires in unique and previously unimaginable ways.

When I speak of desires in this context I'm not referencing any specific delineation of the manner in which sexuality, or other internal drives, cause our minds to change but instead about the more grand desires of human existence; to feel success, to feel comfort, to feel them easily and quickly, to be able to link the fulfillment of our desire directly to our own immediate and controllable action, in short, the security of knowing that our success was not in vain and is in our control. In a world that is real we must set and reach goals to succeed; often these goals, if worthwhile, cannot be accomplished easily or quickly. Perhaps most traumatizing in this process is the fact that we are often not solely in control of the outcomes of our goals and, as such, cannot ensure that we succeed and are even more unsure of whether or not they will last.

If this is the nature of our desires then how can fantasy roll playing games give us unique access to their fulfillment? First, they offer us immediacy in the fulfillment of our desires for success and power. Even if you have to grind to get gear or experience points it is still substantially faster than our everyday lives. This factor alone, however, is not enough to make them adictive. Secondly, and quite significantly, fantasy rpgs give the player an opportunity not only to be the hero, something that fantasy shows cannot access in quite the same way, but gives the them a very visual representation of where they are. They can see how much power they have, how much they have left to gain and exactly how to do so. Essentially, the game turns the social-realities of our existence, the fear of the unknown in-so-far as how we stack up against life and the standard of success, and turns it into a knowable and achievable factor. Finally, and most importantly for all of these to tie together is some kind of permanency. In the real world even if you succeed today you could be ruined tomorrow. We have no way of ensuring our success and even less surety that it will remain; fantasy can fix that.

By showing us a world in which we will always know where we are, where we have to go and what we have to do rpgs basically manufacture success by creating a beatable challenge and rewarding you for doing so. As a player everything is there at your fingertips waiting for you, all you have to do is come and take it. There is no risk because in most cases, even if you die, you can still come back and try again. Roll playing games show us our desires, make them obtainable and then convince you, by giving you exactly what you desire, that it is always worth coming back.

RoboCop Reboot

RoboCop is a movie that originally came out in 1987. There was a remake in 2014. The original was considered one of the benchmarks of the 1980s. The original movie was full of satirical themes like desensitivity to violence, unchecked capitalism, gender equality, and technology. However many of the themes that make the original great are not present in the remake, as the remake is not an exact replica of the original. There was reference to themes of man vs machine, drones, and media callousness. However, there was no reference to capitalism or gender equality. Neither film passes the Bechtel test, however in the original RoboCop's partner Lewis was a woman and was a feminist character. In the remake the character was played by a man and the only women are behind desks and are protagonists of some sort. They are whiny, villains, or RoboCop's wife. Women are not key areas in the movie and not received well. There is very few women at all. This movie also goes into what it means to be human. He starts out being RoboCop as wanting to keep people safe and help his family, but his old personality is limited by his creator. He is cut off from human society and sleeps in wires and sockets. He also only eats baby food. There is nothing left of his physical body besides his face and right hand. Murphy has a kill switch and his dopamine levels are regulated by his creators. With how little of him is left it provokes what is human vs what is machine. How long before humanity fades.

Possibilities for Change

Blog Post Marxist Framework:

            Through the Marxist framework of examination we desire to discover narratives which: 1. Perpetuate class inequality 2. Promote normativity (Status Quo) and 3. Create a sense of complacency in the audience. While we recognize that many of the direct and immediate harms shown through these systems appear in the first two questions I feel that the prevalence of normativity as a demand for complacency can actually be far more damaging to our sense of urgency in regards to change. In context the question I want to ask regards the manner in which content and form manufacture consent for the perpetuation of capitalism, specifically in context of the grand narrative deemed ‘Stability.’

            This grand narrative is actually perpetuated through its counterfactual. Throughout the past two decades the genre of doomsday films has taken off. These films display a world which usually possesses the vestige of civilization necessary to show what once was while maintaining a decay that proves civilization’s fall. In Day After Tomorrow (2004) we see the Statue of Liberty fallen, and direct reference to a nation’s collapse. I am Legend (2007) shows a world of human dismay too powerful even for the purest of living beings. The Avengers (2012) shows an estimated $160 Billion of infrastructure damage to Manhattan necessary to solve for the greed of tyrants. Every single one of these films displays a direct destruction of the subject’s safety, a destruction causally linked to the collapse of superstructures around it.

            This lack of safety is not just linked in a physical sense to the collapse of necessary infrastructure for life but is also connected to the identity we feel in connection with the artifacts of a capitalist system. In immediate riots subjects do damage to the infrastructure directly around them. They realize that the destruction of their neighbor’s car in no way impacts the superstructure they critique but they still feel as though the limited access to these symbols of success are nothing more than acquiesces given to placate the suffering majority. In the same way the places like Manhattan, the artifacts like the Statue of Liberty and even the innocence of a domesticated friend all fall prey to the destruction of a society, not even relationship can withstand instability.

            What is at issue then? My contention is that narratives like societal destruction actually encourage complacency within a system because they never suggest that instability is good. It can only be dangerous, a threat to our very goodness. We ignore the fact that change can only occur, for better or worse, when we are willing to step away from the security of a system with known values, set by the price we will pay.

As we have seen over the past several years American society is slowly transition to a more open and accepting culture. People are slowly becoming accepting of one another's difference and creating a more free and welcoming society. A lot has changed over the years specifically racial, we are seeing more ethnicities being represented not only in main stream media but also politically. One thing that has not change is the name and logo of the Washington D.C. based NFL franchise the Redskins. The Redskins are somewhat of a staple franchise in the National Football League. They are one the oldest teams in the league, first debuting as the Redskins in 1937, and garner a large fan base not only found in the nations capital but around the country. IN more recent years the franchise has received quite a bit of backlash over the name of the team, Redskins. I do question why in this evolving society that a clearly derogatory name is being used for a large sports franchise. There are both numerous professional and collegiate teams that have changed both team mascots and nicknames because of there disrespectful depictions of Native Americans.  Whys is it okay for a professional organization to ignore this?

Diversity is Beautiful - A Cultural Analysis

I love this commercial because for me, it reflects the modern United States of America. Coke brings attention to our diverse nation, yet this commercial received backlash for using other languages to sing “America the Beautiful”. This backlash highlights the dominant ideology in place about the “true” America as an English-speaking, white power. In a way, Coke challenges this ideal as they embrace America’s multiculturalism.  The inclusion of “America the Beautiful” brings more significance to its message.  What makes America beautiful is our diversity. Diversity is beautiful.  

Note: Shoutout to my friend Ale (lady in photo) who made an appearance in this ad with her family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiMMpFcy-HU

Twilight- A Psychoanalytic Analysis

Twilight, a saga based on the writings of Stephanie Meyer, are based on a family of vampires that are known as the clan of The Cullen's. This saga became very popular starting in the year of 2008, when the first film of the saga was released. Many of us were young when we first watched this particular film and we did not see the dangers of the relationship between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen because we were much more enthralled with the aspect of passionate love and  This film can go through a psychoanalytic analysis, as well as cultural. Their relationship has been known to be seen as a very unhealthy relationship because Bella, portrays the victim in the relationship who has a low self-esteem and easy to have her become committed to him and only him. Edward is seen as the abuser because of his dominant trait of being controlling and keeping Bella isolated to himself and away from her childhood friend, Jacob Black. This is also a perfect portrayal of ultimate sexism and abuse of power; considering that since Edward is a vampire and easily have more power. This can be seen through a cultural analysis because this portrayal of a romantic relationship is seen to be as the most desired. This is because we desire a man who "protects" us like Edward does with Bella. However, this is damaging to the psyche because the female becomes too dependent on the dominant controlling individual, which then leaves Bella in the second film- New Moon unable to live without Edward when he leaves her.

Native American Assimilation Into Pop Culture

The cultural assimilation of Native Americans has been occurring for a years, but it seems to have gained a lot of attention recently with models in the Victoria Secret fashion show wearing what looks to be and what was meant to be Native American headdresses. It's not just Victoria Secret, the Native American "look" has always been popular for halloween costumes and we even seen what looks to be a Native American woman on the packaging of Land O' Lakes butter. When doing this our culture takes on the invisibility of whiteness. We see the white race as "normal" and we are making the Native American race seem "different." While some people see taking on the Native American "look" think that it is cute and fun to dress in, they don't understand that they are dehistoricizing and stripping Native Americans of their culture. This is called Assimilation. We need to realize that dressing up as another culture is not okay. When doing so we should really think in their shoes and think about how it would feel if someone dressed as us mockingly.

This Is Us

"This Is Us" is a new show that first aired on September 20th on NBC. It follows the life of the Pearson family. The mom and dad were expecting triplets, but unfortunately one dies in birth. However, a man drops off a black baby at the hospital. They decide to adopt him because they are meant to have three. The year is 1980. As the show follows their lives, we see how Randall struggles with being raised by a white family and not knowing any other black people. He keeps a notebook with a tally of how many black people he meets. He struggles with not knowing his biological parents and as a child he asks all the people of color he meets if they can roll their tongue. He is trying to find a connection between himself and a potential relative. It is possible to do both a cultural and a psychoanalytic analysis on "This Is Us," but I am going to talk about the psychoanalytic analysis. What motivates Randall throughout his entire life? His family. As a child he is constantly asking his parents about his biological parents and reaching out to the few black people he knows. He attends a mostly white school because he is intelligent, but never wants to stand out or be better than his siblings. When he is an adult he hires an investigator to find his birth father and reconnects with him. Throughout his whole life he was motivated to succeed because his father wasn't good enough to keep him. When he finally meets him, he tells him off, but then is invited inside and creates a relationship with him. At one point in the season he is reconnected with extended family and the audience can tell how happy he is to not only have a white family, but a family he can relate to. He often talks about how he was raised by white people. In this scene, when Randall is connecting with his extended family, you see that his motivation has always been family. There was a feeling of lack throughout his life when he could not relate to his family on a deep level, but this feeling of lack is lessened when he connects with his family, but may continue on because his father has cancer.

Black Doug

In the movie The Hangover there are two characters named Doug. One of the Doug's, white Doug is a main character who is barely in the film because he has been missing since the mix up with the other Doug. The other Doug just happens to be black and a drug dealer that Zach Galifianakis meet on the streets of Vegas. The whole movie is basically about how black Doug gave Zach Galifianakis the wrong drugs and it ended up messing up their entire night/next day. When the Wolfpack is trying to find white Doug they get a hint that Mr.Chow might have kidnapped him. When they meet up with
Mr.Chow in the desert because he says he has their friend Doug, he brings Doug out of the car takes the bag off his face to reveal black Doug who is not the one they are looking for. They are "othering" the Doug's based on their race and nothing else. Why could they not describe the Doug's as noncriminal Doug and criminal Doug?

Click it

Click is a movie featuring Adam Sandler where he has a "magical" remote where he can fast forward through the bad times, slow down the good, and pause when ever he feels like it. He becomes completely out of touch with reality very quickly and becomes extremely bitter and next thing he knows life has got away from him. He is completely escaping reality through doing so and in the end loses his entire life. Escaping reality is not something that should be shot for and suffering is part of what makes the good times so good.