Blog #3

Sydney Horton

Communications 160

Christina Ivy

31 October 2017

There is a lot that can be said about the evolution of feminism throughout the generations. I’ve always found the subject to be very inspiring and empowering to me not only as a woman, but as a person. The more I learn about famous feminist and the books,shows, and movies they do, the more fascinated I get with the topic. Someone I found extra inspiring was Audre Lorde and the reading we had on her. This was one of the most interesting to me because she was oppressed in 3 ways and that is a lot more than the average person. That got me thinking about situations I’ve been in where I think my problem is the biggest when in reality, there are people that have it a lot worse. She was present for the third wave of feminism in which people finally came to the conclusion that if you are a person who believes everyone of every gender should be treated equally, then you were a feminist. I believe it is extremely important for that message to finally come across to everyone. Especially now, if you call someone a feminist there is a 50/50 chance that they will get offended just based on the stigma that some women have added to it. I, of course, am a feminist but it took awhile to realize it because I had this view of feminism as a way for girls to complain about small, insignificant stuff. However, that was years ago and now I am loud and proud to support a movement about equality. I’ve been eager to learn more about it and about the ways the different women are oppressed. It is a simple concept that women are treated differently in society and not given the same “rights” and privilege that men are. It is difficult to realize when people are being anti-feminist sometimes because a joke here and there doesn’t seem bad but it is hurtful to women kind. I feel very strongly about some of the needs to movement represents such as reproductive rights, anti- slut shaming, and in general, just the right to live the same way that many men do. That is why our particular president…. Irritates me because he is the absolute opposite of progress especially with feminism. Half the reason I was so upset with the election was not only because he got away with everything and all the allegations toward him and is now able to represent us as a country, but people all around me let it happen and contributed to it. It almost hurts my feelings knowing that people can simply overlook sexual assault allegations that easily. Sexual assault and domestic violence are still and huge problem and by giving Trump the platform that he has, we are saying it's okay for men to continue to do that because no repercussions will come from it. I believe every women has, in some way, been subject to either assault or slader due to myology. However, it does warm my heart seeing all the support that women have been getting lately due to allegations toward sexual predators and I think it brave for those women to step forward and speak out. I understand how dangerous and overwhelming it can be to come forward but it is more beneficial to come forward so the same thing doesn’t happen to another girl. All in all, feminism touches on many aspects involved in being a woman, and I think it is an essential tool for change around the world.

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Blog 3

Being a communication major, I have taken many classes regarding how we should communicate with people in the most effective way. However, I have never been in a class before that has challenged my views of the world so much. I never really realized things that happen and I have found to be appropriate and they are not appropriate to other people. As I learn more about the world we live in, I increasingly have a better understanding of people.
The documentary that we watched about Disney was not only confusing but evoking. I never really looked deeper into how Disney portrayed characters and now that I watch it in this documentary, I can see what people are talking about when it comes to the writers being misogynistic or showing that abuse is ok. As a child, I did not pick up on these cues, but now I see why parents would be concerned that their child is watching shows like these. It really can put out the wrong image when children see things on tv.
Also, the idea of abortion is a really touchy topic. I believe that woman should have the right to do whatever they want, but in my opinion, I do not understand how someone could live with the guilt that they killed a child. Their child. I understand that some women do not have the option of being pregnant because they were raped, but that is not the child's fault. That child should be given the chance to life a happy and full life with a family that has adopted them.
In conclusion, I think there are many controversial topic in this class that will cause us as students to really think about our world and how we are living in it. We need to make conscious decisions to be good role models for the generations to come. Otherwise, children will grow up in such a way that there will be no way to recover from the emotional damage.

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Blog #3

            The past couple of weeks, we have been talking about how media influences culture. Something that really stuck out to me was the video about Disney that we watched in class. I grew up in a little surf town in Southern California where the predominant race was white. My parents tried their best to monitor everything that my sister and I heard, watched, and learned. They never wanted our bubble to get popped, so to speak. Disney movies and programming were one of the few things we were actually allowed to watch. I don’t think my parents ever thought about how Disney was sexist and gave women unrealistic standards, or how it was racist and made certain characters out to be certain races.

            After watching this video, I thought about the ways that it could negatively affect children. I’ve always had very powerful women in my life, and very supportive and encouraging men, so I never felt like there was a certain way that I had to be. I was never raised in the mindset to be racist, so I would never recognize if an animated character sounded like an African American. Now that I am an adult, I see what Disney did throughout many of these children’s movies. It really does ruin a little piece of my childhood, and I’m sure many other’s as well.

            I think the way you were raised helps a lot with perception. Sexism and racist are also very difficult and dense topics to bring up to a six year old. It is important to educate children, but for topics like these you should probably wait until they bring it up.

            Overall, there are many ways media influences culture, but Disney is not something we should be stressing about. There are plenty worse influences to tackle.

Blog #3- Chapter 10 Interpersonal Relationships in Culture

Amanda Gould

1, November 2017

Blog #3- Chapter 10 Interpersonal Relationships in Culture

I am in my second year of college and have taken around 4 communication classes already and I have learned so much about myself and how we communicate daily with one another. It is amazing how people work with one another and how cultures and diversity play a major role in the way we perceive one another. “We want connection even as we celebrate our independence.” (Chapter 10 Interpersonal Relationships in Culture pg. 200) Remember back in the good ole’ days when we were younger and any movie or television show seemed to make this perfect fairytale story in our eyes? Well our little minds only knew as that to be true because of how naive we were when we were younger. As we have gotten older we have only learned unfortunately that is not exactly how relationships in life work. This article https://relevantmagazine.com/life/relationship/features/25275-distorting-love that I have found speaks numbers on how comparing our own relationships won’t help the ones we have already built get stronger but only make it weaker. 

As we sit in our living rooms we get wrapped up and become so engaged into a film and imagine ourselves in a perfect relationship or living the best life when in reality relationships are not perfect because we are not perfect individuals. We indulge ourselves in the thoughts that the relationships and couples the media portrays to us is what we need, when in reality we are missing out on learning more about ourselves and one another. I believe we as a society need to stop imagining those unrealistic relationships to be true. We are not appreciating what we do have and before we know it, those loved ones in front of us can be gone. By facing the challenges that come across our paths will only help that love and bond grow even stronger, instead of ignoring it and comparing it to something that is not even real.

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Mediated Culture

            My favorite sentence from this section’s reading is in chapter 11; “Like fish immersed in water we swim constantly through media, which develop and shape our perceptions, goals, desires and beliefs”. * (italics mine.)  I then wondered if this were true?  Aren’t we in control of our goals, desires and beliefs? Doesn’t media, through its never-ending opinion polls and surveys, actually try to discern what our goals, desires and beliefs are so they can decide what products to sell us?

To answer I considered a couple of television commercials I viewed recently. What is a Mountain dew commercial selling? Soda pop or the youth lifestyle you can experience by using their product? Or the “Toyota-lets go places” ad campaign for the Toyota Camry. There is no mention of the car itself but rather the depiction of an idyllic suburban middle-class lifestyle, a young couple with two children (boy and a girl) happily living the American dream (in the Camry). Are these lifestyles created by the media or merely reflect what was already there?

Next, I reflected on my own behavior.  Not trusting advertising, I have always tried to be an informed and shrewd consumer. Subscribing to “Consumer Reports” and avidly reading through each issue. Carefully reading ingredient labels before purchasing a product.  Following the research of organizations like the Environmental Working Group www.ewg.org  Yes, I’m one of those people who can’t buy a coffeepot without studying the specs and reading the reviews on all the different models. It is essential living in an economy dependent on the never-ending consumption of disposable commodities where “Buyer Beware” is the prevailing policy.  

Was this culture of advertising mistrust created by these afore mentioned media sources or were these media created in response to our mistrust.  I tried to get a feel for when they appeared and how many consumer advocacy media outlets there are but the number is mindboggling.

Just one website contained a database of over 2000 periodicals alone. **

I think most would agree that the answer to whether media creates or reflects culture  is  that it probably does both.  Perhaps it’s a matter of degree. For me it provides more questions than answers.  

*Warren, John T.  & Fasset, Deanna L. Communication, a Critical/Cultural Introduction 2^nd Edition SAGE Publications Inc 2015 p211

** http://depts.washington.edu/moves/altnews_database.shtml Visited 1 November 2017

Blog 3 Bullying

Nicholas Plaskett
Communications 160

Bullying Kills

     After closely analyzing all the different readings I have done over the semester, I closely picked the article "Family Bullies" by Keith Berry and Tony E. Adams.  Bullying is a serious issue in society and can often times put a loved one in danger.  Bullying among families is also a popular issue because it can greatly affect the people living in the household.
     Growing up as a child I was bullied to an extent in middle school and it felt like there was no way getting out.  I felt trapped and lost walking around my intermediate school grounds, because I always felt like someone was analyzing and judging my every move.  "Research also typically conceptualizes bullying as a deliberate subset of aggression that involves, and is possible because of, a power imbalance between aggressors and victims. This imbalance leaves victims less able to defend themselves physically, emotionally, and relationally. Being bullied can lead youth to suffer from debilitating health issues, including depression" (Bond, Carlin, Thomas, Rubin, & Patton, 2001).  It left me in a very sad state and I felt acting on my brother and sister was my only option to cope with the pain.  By being bullied by other peers, it almost turned me into a bully myself.  My mother always use to say, "Bullies bully other children because they do not feel good about themselves."  I think this is a true fact because I was witnessing this first hand at a young age.  However, after I left middle school, I also began to loosen up on my brother and sister as well, not having jealousy towards them, like I did before.  
     Bullying is a serious issue around the world and it should not be take lightly because it can cause someone their own life.  One thing that I can take from this article, is that we all need to come together as a community and express love rather than hate.

 

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Perhaps because I just read this piece in preparation for our class last evening 10/31, but Family Bullies and the insight into how relationships affect culture was very fascinating and hard hitting. Every family has some sort of a bully and I feel that it is due in large part to our taking for granted of those that we love and co-mingle with on a daily basis. It isn't always intentional, but it exists. Most family dynamics are chaotic and wonderful and hurtful, all rolled into one lump, which we all desperately try to come out of still loving those around us that share genetics. As I read through the piece and 'felt' the disconnect of the family due to the bullying of Lily. Additionally, I felt aligned with Victoria as she reflected on her reaction choices to Lily and how that was a form of bullying itself.

I can also acknowledge the way my reaction to Lily was a form of bullying [.......] Where I could have been the friend she needed, I chose to isolate her. I chose to alienate her out of anger, out of spite and I gave myself the satisfaction of hurting her. In many ways, my behavior was a contributing source to her chaos. I was another voice telling her she was inadequate, she was a failure, and she didn't belong.

 This is just so powerful to me. We've all had people around us that bully us, whether within our families, or at work, or with our friends. Yet, here, you find someone looking within to see that perhaps she could have handled the negative actions towards her differently. This is certainly not to say that it was in anyway her fault, but it is an awesome perspective that I will use in my personal life.

From a societal perspective, relationships do form our culture. We are a product of them and how we learn to respond, treat others, carry ourselves all projects out into our community. Taking a small moment, as Victoria did in her adult reflection of her childhood and the choices she made, would be such an incredible way to begin to become a better person, having a mindfulness of not only others, but most importantly of ourselves.

Again, this was such an incredibly impactful read for me in my personal life and I'm grateful that it was part of this class.