Crash, a crime and drama movie that was released in 2004 that highlights racial tension between white and black, specifically tension between law enforcement and civilians. The movie also tackles many other social such as gender roles. The traditionally male movies roles are usually providers and protectors; we see something a little different in this movie. In one scene a black character named Cameron is pulled over by a racist police officer. Cameron's wife is with him, and soon begins annoying the officer and refuses to comply regardless of Cameron’s request. When Cameron responds without aggression as John searches his wife, she perceives him as failing to protect her. She later accuses him of allowing her humiliation so the people he works with wouldn't "read about him in the paper and found out he’s black". In the scene at the studio where Cameron works, this seems to be a fear, as he agrees to make a scene more racially stereotypical to please the studio. Fear of job loss did factor into his failure in his protector role. However, if Cameron had become unemployed, he'd eventually fail in his provider role. So he is torn between two roles, this role strain is shown though the racial discrimination he encounters. A void occurs between him and his wife after the incident.

Mac 'Vibe Tribe'

The photo above shows Mac's makeup line 'Vibe Tribe' which is as you can plainly see is inspired after native American culture. Mac is a very large and popular makeup brand. It is all too common for Native American culture to be inappropriately used as inspiration. Native American culture is one of the most common cultures to be appropriated and abused for brands on devices. Mac swears their 'Vibe Tribe' collection is not inspired from Native American culture. Although you can plainly see that this is not true. The packaged Native American culture and are mass producing it and selling it to the masses. This is something that happens often. Consumers were not happy with Mac for this line. Another example is Free People recently got in trouble for selling rain sticks, medicine pouches, beaded chokers, and spirit animals essential oils. Not only that, but Victoria's secret got in trouble in their 2012 fashion show in their calendar girls section for featuring a model in Native American costume with a headdress. They apologized and removed it from broadcast. Every year on Halloween people dress up in Native American costumes. Native American culture is one of the most culturally appropriated group of people. Native American's are not portrayed well in the media and their culture is often mass produced and sold.

Feminist: Two Broke Girls

Two Broke Girls is a sitcom that follows the lives of Caroline Channing and Max Black as they attempt to get their cupcake business off the ground and find financial stability. Caroline comes from an affluent background but due to her father’s involvement in a Ponzi scheme, she must get a real job. She then meets Max and the two work together as waitresses and become roommates. The show has gotten a lot of criticism because of the ways in which it reinforces some of the patriarchal notions that are seen as the “status quo.” Oleg, the cook at the diner where Max and Caroline work, is constantly shown harassing and berating the two with sexual innuendoes and this is seen as comic relief rather than an actual problem to be dealt with. Max is even shown sometimes thanking Oleg for his sexual compliments and that his comments are welcome and can help other women with their insecurities as well. 

Sociological: Mean Girls

Mean Girls is not only a large part of pop culture, even to this day, but it also is an interesting look at how we view and interact with certain members of society. When Cady Heron is first introduced to The Plastics she suddenly learns what a girl “should be” according to the girls. They are consumed with their appearance and value their sex appeal. While Mean Girls does a nice job of pointing out these stereotypes of women the movie doesn’t really do much to challenge or address them. The movie resolves with a notion that in order to be cool you have to be like the plastics. While The Plastics might think they are following the rules of feminism they are really just reinforcing the roles that society has set up for women and girls.  

Cultural: A Beautiful Mind

A Beautiful Mind is a biographical film based on the life of John Nash a Nobel Laureate winner in economics. The film was inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book of the same title by Sylvia Nasar. The movie did receive some criticism for the way in which it presented Nash’s schizophrenia. While the portrayal of the mannerisms of a schizophrenic individual was seen as extremely accurate by many psychiatrists the notion that Nash’s own willpower helped him overcome schizophrenia was farfetched and somewhat damaging. The film did not address how schizophrenic individuals manage their illness which if often down by a combination of medication and therapy, instead, it presented schizophrenia as something that can be defeated. This gives not only the general public but also schizophrenic individuals the idea that a recovery is an option when most often than not partial recovery is the best one can hope for.  

Marxist Analysis of Modern Family

Modern Family is a popular sitcom show on ABC Family. This show is about three families in the modern world. Each is different. It shows ethnicity, racially mixed households. It also shows a gay couple with an adopted daughter. This show breaks boundaries regarding portrayal of race, color, and sexuality, but it fails to address poor or working class people. Each family in this show is at least middle class and makes well above the average American. Money or struggling to make ends meet is never an issue at all. The problems that are addressed in modern family are uptown family with house flipping, college, or hiring a nanny. The gap between the working class and the rich are growing. What is shown in modern family is not the reality for most American's. Most Americans cannot even begin to imagine being able to afford the lifestyle shown on Modern Family. Viewers must identify the problems of the elite. The fact of the matter is the majority of families are poor. There are not many portrayals of the working class that are in a good light. Modern Family is no exception with money or poor people problems not being addressed at all.

Sociocultural Analysis- Undercover Boss

Undercover boss is a reality tv show that follows the CEO of a company that for a short time works in one of the jobs, as a new employee, the expect their employee's to do. In this show the boss meets some of the working class employees and is meant to show the divide between the boss and their employee's. This is an interesting concept because the employees do not know that the 'new employee' is actually their boss. The employees do not change their behavior and act as they normally would unaware. If the employees did know who the new employee is their boss they would act differently than they do in the show. By doing this the boss gets to see an employee's genuine behavior. The boss gets to see the employee's unrestrained backstage. This is not something that would usually happen. Employees unknowingly put their backstage up, which the boss sees. This sets up an unique opportunity. Those that are good employees are often rewarded by the boss on this show. This show is a break from the usual frontstage and backstage. When the boss is around undercover the employees are not playing the part of good employee in front of boss, which is rare.

Sociological Analysis: 13 Reasons Why

Netflix's original series 13 Reasons Why is about a young girl named Hannah who committed suicide and left thirteen tapes, with thirteen reasons as to why she killed herself. Each episode is a new reason about something someone did for Hannah to commit suicide. The show's producers wanted to create an awareness of mental health. I am going to use the Equipment For Living form to analyze this text through the sociological lens. The show is using a fictional story of a young teenage girl who committed suicide to raise awareness of the social issue of suicide. The majority of the show is flashbacks, giving the viewers the reasons why Hannah killed herself. The show helps us "size up" the situation of suicide and gives us strategies to respond to it. We see the motives Hannah had to kill herself and the show is made to help us in real life see those signs and symbols of mental illness before someone gets to the point of suicide. I think the show does a pretty decent job at showing the struggles of a teenager in high school who is being bullied, but it doesn't show any other generation outside of high schoolers. The show may be helping high schoolers to realize that their actions in their school lives can have affect on someone with a mental illness, but they don't show any other generation how their actions in a daily work life, home life, or adult social can have an affect on someone struggling with mental illness.

Sociological Analysis- The Bachelor



I think the Bachelor demonstrates a great example of sociological analysis. On a show like this, there are a lot of group dynamics that emerge from when people are isolated from their normal everyday lives. Its evident that people are selected for specific reasons to go on the bachelor and are usually slim, fit and attractive. It can almost in some ways be comparable to a cult or institution as they are cut off from the outside world and stuck in a mansion. Women are being selected by the producers to spend certain time with the bachelor and one women will be chosen as "the one". The show can be compared to the Stanford Prison experiment too, where people will change their behavior and expectations based on the setting that they are in. The women are not working and living in this fantasy world where its easy to become passive to what is really going on  and conform to the roles that they are given or fall into during the course of the show and at the end of the day the producers have defined their position for them. In the prison experiment, people who were prison guards fell into their role so easily and let go of their normal inhibitions which does occur to people on the bachelor.

Sociological analysis-Women in Military

As being a son of a family of father, grand fathers, and Uncle who was in the military I have heard all the different generations of military. From the line from all men to more women starting to be in the military. That women still get criticized to this day on who should be allowed to join the military is blasphemy to me. I believe if you really want to join the military and fight for our country you should have the right to do so without being judged of denied. It has been very small sample size of women fighting alongside the men in war. There have been women in war in WWI and WWII but most of them were not with men in the smaller areas or nurses or cooks. So for women to be in combat is a more of a hot topic discussion. In 1993 after a vote 63 percent of the military were open up to women. Just last year they finally open up all combat jobs to women. As they were very limited to what job they can do in war. Women should be allowed to do this years ago as if you feel ready to fight for our freedom why not. Why was it okay to let men go over and sacrifice their lives but women not. Women are just as powerful as men are there is still the stereotype of women are weaker then men. Which is completely false some women have more balls then some men in war do or in the higher position in government for war. It is funny though the people saying women should not go to war are the men sitting at home and being to scared to go to the war themselves, so unless you have the balls to do it your self then shut up. Women should just be on the front lines as much as men are on that line of sacrificing your life for our freedoms.

Psychoanalytic: Scandal

Scandal is an ABC drama about Olivia Pope who is a "Fixer" in Washington D.C., basically if there is a problem with a major politician she is there to put out the fire. But the real scandal is that she is having an affair with the president of the United States. Living in one of the most power driven states, the audience sees that power is what Olivia craves. If she is not with with the president she starts to date the next up and coming senator or the director of the NSA. We learn that Olivia has a deferral in her pursuit of power. Each man she is with can never give the end satisfaction she looks for. When it becomes okay for her to date the president, she is not satisfied and ends up leaving him. The desire for what she thought it would be did not match up to the reality of what it was. 

Feminist: Ghostbusters

The 2016 remake of the popular film franchise Ghostbusters, first sparked some outcry when the cast the cast was announced.Why? Because it was all female. The 2016 remake starred  comedians Melissa McCarthy, Kate Mckinnon, Leslie Jones and Kristen Wiig. In a society where remakes are looked up on with harsh criticism, this remake was also looked through with a fine tooth comb because it was a female cast. Some say the movie was not as good as the original, but what movie is? The movie grossed almost double the cost to make the film. This movie broke many gender stereotypes. First the women scientist, women are usually not portrayed as scientists in film and if they are it is somehow sexualized. Another way they broke down gender barriers was not needing help from men, the one male main character played by Chris Hemsworth, is the ditsy secretary usually played by a female. The other way this movie plays as a trailblazer, is in the casting and writing. The writting showed that women can be funny in film and that a man is not needed. The casting also shows that you don't have to look a certain way to star in a movie.

Pride and Prejudice - Sociological Analysis

I picked this movie, first because I just love it, but second because I think it does a great job of showing how people interact with their surroundings based on how they interpret the world.  This story follows several characters from varying socioeconomic standings in English society in the 1800's.  These characters, throughout the course of the story, must confront the ways that they interpret their worlds and must reassess their outlooks.  The main two characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, are both prideful and prejudicial - but their outlooks in this way are incredibly circumstantial to the ways in which they were raised and their current surroundings (it takes their meeting to change each other's perspectives).  Elizabeth is a child of a lower, middle class family struggling to secure their future.  Mr Darcy, in contrast, comes from a very wealthy family, but that has been through periods of betrayal at the expense of the ones he loves.  The meanings and value that these two both place in their worlds revolve around family and protecting the ones they love. Initially these two do not like each other, but after slowly learning of each other's loyalty and integrity towards their family, they come to respect and eventually love one another.  Both of these characters are guided by strong values and connections to family - that is what drives them and that is what the overarching message of the story comes to be, that family is essential.

Queer theory-Acceptance of gay players in sports

When is comes to certain situations in life that involve people and their sexuality of how things are supposed to happen based on previous history. Rather than allowing for things to change like in sports with openly gay players. People need to get over the old fact of that it's uncomfortable to be around gay players as they think they’re gonna get at them. Which is an old fashioned view of it but people should be open to what is acceptable in the sports for openly gay players. There is the queer theory behind this as just analyzing the scenario and how people can say they be fine around gay players but when it actually happens they find it very hard to be around. I see that the world says they are open for change but really are not. For example when Michael Sam got drafted by Rams some players were open and some were out front cold about the fact of sharing a locker room with a gay player. Overall people should be open and this should not keep people in captivity of their feelings due to others.

Cultural Analysis-NFL Culture

There is a big question mark in the NFL about what is accepted among the culture and what is turned a blind eye for. As this season more players have been accepted after being accused or convicted of abuse or sexual harassment cases. As for a player like Colin Kaepernick who took a stand and used his status of a player to get a political advantage. He shed light on a problem in culture of african american men being killed and cops not being held accountable. But that is not what I am arguing, I am arguing the fact that in the nfl many players get second to third chances after beating up their wife or girlfriend. Colin Kaepernick has not been signed this offseason and got ridiculed for his protest and that people do not like it. But go out and give someone a contract that was just got off even though there was evidence of him beating his girlfriend. To me it's very interesting on how he can be black balled for standing up for what he believes in like what we are taught us children to fight for what is right. But look up to players like a Ray Rice who played after video of him beating his wife in an elevator. Overall NFL needs to set a taller standard on what should be allowed and should not be allowed and where the line is on what is acceptable or not.

Frozen and Feminism

A very popular movie in our time is Frozen. What we know about this Disney Movie is that for the first time there is not a "happily ever after" but instead two women, sisters, who empower and save each other at the end. Elsa has special powers that allow her to freeze anything, and Anna is her sister who was not told about her sister's powers until the two got into an argument and Elsa accidentally froze summer. 

While this movie was an attempt at bringing feminism into Disney movies, I personally would not give it an A+. Anna falls in love at first sight and at first it does seem like Disney is making fun of their past "happily ever after" scenarios when it is made clear that everyone in the film thought Anna was out of her mind for wanting to marry a man she just met. However the movie does focus in on Kristoff and Anna's relationship and at the end they do in fact kiss. While Kristoff was not the man she fell in love with at first sight he still helps her throughout the film and the crush is made known through the duration of the film. Anna is at first characterized as being independent and adventurous but without the help of Kristoff she would not have ever found Anna.

While I agree that this film has a soft attempt at feminism with the love story not being as prominent as most other Disney movies, there are still some major errors that take away from the feminist approach Disney was trying to do. 

Shameless Queer Theory

On Shameless, a TV show on Showtime, one of the characters that is apart of the Gallagher clan, Ian, is gay. In the first couple of season we watch as Ian lets out his secret, dates, and we watch as he becomes more and more comfortable with his own sexuality. Throughout the series his character grows, faces many challenges, and is faced with some of his own challenges regarding Queer theory. In season 7 Ian meets a boy named Trevor, he learns that Trevor is trans and at first he was very confused. Ian accused Trevor of being a girl, and through patience and understanding Trevor explains that he was born a girl, and is now boy. Trevor takes hormones that allow him to grow facial hair and he had had his breasts removed. Although it took Ian a bit to understand the situation, after Trevor introduced him to a group of friends that all identified differently Ian began to have more of an open mind.
This part of the series was especially interesting because it took Shameless, Ian in particular, back to its roots. In the first few seasons Ian had to deal with people who did not understand his sexuality and some were even mean to him for his sexual preference. In season 7 the audience saw Ian on the other side of the fence and he had to learn to be open minded and had to educate himself just like a lot of the characters on this show had to do when he came out of the closet.

All About My Mother - Feminist/Queer Analysis

I chose this film because I believe it works well with feminist and queer analysis.  This film directed by Pedro Almodóvar features a mother (Manuela) looking for her son's father after her son passes away.  Manuela's journey to finding him involves looking through her past as a prostitute. One of her best friends is a transgender female named Agrado. She eventually finds out that her son's father is dying from AIDS and is a transvestite through Agrado. Almodóvar's film was widely praised for focusing on women and transgender roles, something unheard of in 1999. I thought it was interesting how Almodóvar uses hyper sexuality to present the transgender characters perpetuating the stereotype, but at the same time, he identifies them as more than an LGBTQ character. They are people who play a role in Manuela's life. Although the Vito Russo Test was established in 2013, this movie would pass because they have named characters that identify as LGBTQ playing a major role in the plot of this film.

Female Body Photoshop Transformations

Frequently advertisers will use a young "hot" woman on the front cover of an advertisement to help sell something. Often times the woman may be seen in very skimpy cloths, with her hair down, butt showing, or even completely naked. You see these billboards, you see these magazine ads, and you see these Facebook advertisements. These advertisements don't create the right ideas about a female body because most of the time these woman's bodies are photoshopped to what advertisers see as what an ideal woman should look like. Why are advertisers allowed to do this? Creating these unrealistic expectations for what a woman should look like isn't doing anything but harm for young and adult woman around the world. Young girls are so influenced by what they are seeing in the world around them that they will see these images and think that this is what their body should look like. Looking through the feminist lens I can uncover the constrains being put on young women by those using doing the photoshopping of these women. This technique of photoshopping women doesn't happen often with men. Creating these unrealistic ideas of what a female body should look like doesn't add any benefit to the self esteems of women around the world seeing these advertisements. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKlVyUJw3TM

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Little Miss Sunshine: Queer Analysis

In the movie Little Miss Sunshine there is a scene where the whole family is at the dinner table and Uncle Frank opens up about his recent suicide attempt. The family is rather hesitant about him explaining the situation because seven year old Olive is asking him the questions. Uncle Frank explains that he fell in love with a student in his class and explains that it was a boy. This shocks Olive because it is a boy; even though she is very young she already knows the roles of gender in society. The rest of the family becomes very uncomfortable with the situation, and the grandpa is making jokes to lighten up the situation. Olive's father is extremely uncomfortable with the situation and does not even want to talk about it. Uncle Frank is very comfortable with explaining his sexuality and how he is homosexual. Olive asks Frank to continue with the story. Frank explains that it was losing his job, apartment and losing a grant to a hated colleague that pushed him to attempt suicide -- and not him losing the student he loved. Uncle Frank does not fit the normal stereotype of the overly flamboyant homosexual or the hidden in the closet type; he is just a normal, educated and caring man who happens to also like men.

When talking about queer theory I instantly thought of one the most heralded films of the year, Moonlight. Moonlight is a story about a boy who comes from a broken unloving home. His mother is a drug addict and the boy’s father is never truly apart of his life. With all the turmoil and no real direction we watch the three different stages in his life as he tries to find his true identity and a sense of belonging.What strikes me most about the film is how unspoken Chiron’s sexuality is. It lies underneath the narrative, yet is key component to Chiron’s character all without being explicitly expressed in the movie. It emerge in unlikely moments, for example the intimate scene that he and his friend Kevin share when they are younger, or when he dream about him just before being reunited at the end of the movie. I think this is a reminder that regardless of a persons sexuality that love and human connection can find it’s way into even the darkest and closed off situations. Another reason why I found the Moonlight narrative particularly interesting is because of the lack of gay or homosexual stereotypes portrayed in the film. A lot of gay television or movies characters can be overly flamboyant. But in Moonlight without some pivotal scenes they would be no indication that Chiron is queer. In fact throughout most of the movie the character Chiron seems to take the role of a straight black male. This side of the narrative is important for people to see because it shows the challenges of queer individuals that have to deal with the burdens of traditional stereotypes, in this case traditional stereotypes about masculinity.

When talking about Queer Theory I thought about Broke Back Mountain and how it helped change the ways that society see homosexuals. The common stereotypes of a gay male were not shown at all. In fact it went against the common stereotypes. These were two men who were ranch hands, cowboys that lived in the west out in Wyoming. The love that these two men have for each other gives the classic “trapped in the closet” position because they are two men in the 60’s and living in a place where it was frowned upon. How ever one drunken move by Jake Gyllenhall on Head Ledger gives way to everything unfolding. It goes against most stereotypes of homosexual men to this point.