superheros and stereotypes

Categories are essential, helping us to function successfully in society, whether we are conscious of the practice or not. The media has played a large part in the classification of "beauty" as we perceive it (at least in Western civilizations.) The video we watched last night was especially meaningful to me, as a woman. It's just one of those unfortunate realities of being an average-looking female in today's culture. The standard of beauty is set impossibly high. Most of us can never live up to the magazine covers that line supermarket checkout stands. And if Michelle Pfeiffer can't even measure up without a generous helping of Photoshop magic, what hope do we mere mortals have?

Men have it pretty tough, too, I think. There are relatively few superheroes in the world - and those super-heroic standards of male beauty, strength, honesty, integrity and fidelity are just as imposing. (Thankfully there is only one Diana Prince. Whew.)

Fortunately, characterizations can overlap. Generalizations can change. People can adapt. But changes are slow, and without much conscious effort on all of our parts, stereotypes emerge. As if there isn't enough pressure to deal with. And we're probably all guilty of perpetuating many of them, sometimes innocently, oftentimes carelessly. I know I'm grateful to be part of a community that seems more open to inviting new cultures into our lives. I also know that sometimes I'm caught off guard. Being a white bread girl, growing up in a white bread world, if I'm honest, has probably afforded me some advantages in our society. It's must also be challenging for most people not to see color in this pale corner of the world.

I grew up with my cousins, Greg, Terri and Jimmy, in a fairly small town in Washington state, and never once questioned their skin color. They were adopted as infants, Greg's nationality was Native American, Terri was French Canadian/Native American, and Jimmy was Filipino/Native American. I was always envious of their darker skin, quite frankly. I freckled and burned. Still do, and it's still irritating. They turned gloriously browner every summer without smearing white goo all over their skin. (My ex-husband is of Spanish descent, and our kids got his skin color, dark hair and brown eyes. My contribution was wit and humor, I suppose. My daughter may have inherited a freckle or two...) The Norwegian blood on my side is pretty well diluted from this point on.

I didn't learn of the "Indian"-alcohol stereotype until my late teens. Greg was habitually in and out of jail in his teens, and his addiction to alcohol destroyed him. A tragedy that perpetuates the stereotype is so unfortunate, and so unfortunately real. But fortunately for our family, not always the fate of their siblings.

media on media makes the best news

In terms of Comedy Central, that is. In class today we sampled various news outlets to compare coverage of the BP oil spill. There weren't too many surprises, in terms how public broadcasting, conservative stations and the news-via-comedy-approach handles the news. Both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show actually report more specifically on the media itself, a more indirect - but infinitely more entertaining - approach method of covering current events. A consequence of this type of news reporting must keep the media on its toes. Or at least it should. A news reporter, commenting on the containment cap debacle said (in all seriousness!) that he'd like to know what that robot was thinking. Hilarious. Especially because it was so obviously unscripted.

more than a demographic
Don't we all want to feel that we're more unique than that? Even if it is true. Do targeted ads provide a solution to the noise and clutter? Does it really feel less like being persuaded, that we're more in control? Am I getting tired of the dating ads Facebook filters onto my page? Certainly no feeling of control there. I'd like to find that stats on how effective those ads really are. I've yet to click on one.

ways of seeing - art as commodity

Great video - no matter the decade recorded. What are the hidden ideologies in the art of Western civilization? And regarding value: Where, as the narrator asks, does this value come from? "Art offers something sacred." Does photography lend itself to similar line of thinking?

Really enjoyed the children discussing the painting (episode 4) - relating it to their own experiences - and the children recognized the sexual ambivalence of the central figure (having no idea of Caravaggio's homosexuality.)

Quotes to remember:
"We are now so accustomed to being addressed by these images that we scarcely notice their total impact."

"The oil painting showed what its owner was already enjoying among his possessions and his way of life. It consolidated his own sense of his own value. It enhanced his view of himself as he already was. It began with facts, the facts of his life. The paintings embellished the interior in which he actually lived. The purpose of publicity is to make the spectator marginally dissatisfied with his present way of life. Not with the way of life of society, but with his own within it. It suggests that if he buys what it is offering, his life will become better. It offers him an improved alternative to what he is."

"No two dreams are the same. Some are instantaneous, others prolonged, The dream is always personal to the dreamer. Publicity does not manufacture the dream. All that it does is to propose to each one of us that we are not yet enviable - yet could be."

"Reproduction makes art ambiguous - used like words, to connect our art with other experiences" ... "Access to television must be extended beyond it's present narrow limits." Prophetic, what constituted a personal computer in 1972? Two-way dialog now exists beyond his imagining in the digital age.
(John Berger, Ways of Seeing, BBC program)

on the news front
Must add to my news aggregator: newseum.org. I usually catch up on international news thru the bbc link. It was so interesting to see the design of newspapers on a global scale, and see how much we have in common in terms of page layouts, techniques and imagery.

Second Monday

Interesting how much can be learned in a brief time span. (Contrasted with how much time I seem to lose in front of the monitor on any other given day.) Working in groups on our salad ads was very entertaining. I was impressed with the quality of the imagery, and the imaginative ads and copy that were created. It's really a challenge to work within the time constraints of this much abbreviated "quarter," but all the teams rose to the occasion admirably. And came up with some gorgeous images and clever captions.

In speaking previously of time lost in front of the computer - I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Remembering those commercials made me a little nostalgic, to be honest. And were they ever a representation of a particular decade, in terms of dialog, fashion and content. We've gained so much in quality, but lost the perception of "innocence" of previous generations. Didn't Wrigley try to bring back the "Doublemint" twins concept a few years ago? It would be interesting to see how many originals have been re-tooled for today's audiences.

Media Literacy: Day Three

no easy answers
The questions aren't always that easy, either. I did welcome the change of pace of "The Price of Misinformation in the Media." Corrupt politicians (just finished watching the Jim West piece on Frontline), terrorists, green deceivers...it's all so depressing. (The fact that it's now tomorrow and sleep still seems like hours away isn't a factor, I'm sure...) It was nice to read that I'm overweight because I exercise too much. Oh, pardon me... I forgot to insert common sense here. So, today we learned a little of the decisions and deadlines that force editors to publish stories based on timeliness, relevance and space constraints. Magazines have deadlines, too, of course, but seriously? Did they proof check only for spelling errors and not content?

Wow. How about that swampland, huh? "Appearing on the show gives a person with no credibility recognition they don't deserve and can persuade people to make a dangerous health decision." (Rebecca Scritchfield, 2009) People will generally believe what they want to believe - and if they don't question the authority - or the logic behind the "science" - do they get what they deserve? Thankfully, this error-fraught story was addressed, and no overweight athletes were harmed in it's telling. Whew, I knew not to blame my routine scone-and-coffee breakfasts.

Media Literacy: Day two

Very interesting day. I'd like to think I'm not overly pessimistic about the integrity of those who work within my chosen field (although, to be honest, I did not choose public relations - I chose graphic design - the location of the office and the whim of administration chose my current job title). I'm a little afraid of "guilt by association," especially after today's discussions, readings and listenings...

The old adage, "...absolute power corrupts absolutely" has had truth and meaning in every century, of course - it just feels so heightened in today's culture. Had I been a peasant toiling away on the countryside instead of sitting in front of a computer linked to 2/3 of the industrial world, I might not have questioned the excesses of the monarchy. (OK, I'd have complained and commiserated with my friends and family - but due to technological limitations (absences), the impact of my sentiments would not have traveled far. Secrets were far easier to keep in the good old days.

I didn't realize the extent to which I doubt the honesty of big business. My faith is Christian, my political leanings are conservative, I'm grounded in middle class America - but I never miss an episode of The Colbert Report or The Daily Show. (Colbert's "Word of the Day" is one of my iPhone apps, as well.) Feels like the only honest news on the air. I'm probably an odd demographic. Or just odd. Humor, for me, is as essential as breathing. And I find the need to laugh even greater this week, when I start to comprehend that a handful of corporations are ruling the "civilized" world through their greed and need for power, coupled with (supported by?) our need and greed for senseless "news" (think Lindsay Lohan, et al., - sigh -) and ceaseless advertising. Mostly I'm proud to be an American. Other days I'm a bit embarrassed when I flip to the BBC.

persuasions
So, after we've made commercials obsolete with devices like Tivo, and product placement has saturated our culture, is it true that "we've ceased to be a culture at all?" ("The Persuaders," Frontline, pbs.org) If "electioneering" is all that our political candidates and their lobbyists are focused on, are we still a democracy? If as humans we function with 80% of our emotions, and only 20% of our intellect, will it take five of us to create one intellectual?

Have I been persuaded, informed or entertained through these massive, all-inclusive advertising efforts? Yes, of course. Guilty as charged.

Have I been critically thinking about what's behind the message, or about the psychology driving the sale? Not always. Not enough. We can't fast forward through an entire show to avoid the yammering (and occasionally, I must admit, hilarious) sales pitches. We can't fast forward through our lives to avoid them, either. Side thought? I have to admit it does like I've missed several years of my life - like Adam Sandler in that movie I admit I sat through one night - but only because I saw Christopher Walken on the screen - not that I dislike Adam Sandler, necessarily - but, to get back to the point, some portions of my life are certainly more blurry than others. Hmmm, I can still remember when television actually had periods of dead air at night. Before the birth of QVC. Obviously, there must not have been enough subliminal or overt messages flashing in my direction on those days. I'll have blame the kids, certainly not my choices...

distractions
I often want to rewind my car's radio like my television - because too often I'm guilty of not really living in the moment. "What did he just say? When was that concert? Did I miss my turn?" We can't rewind our dependency on entertainment, I suppose, but after today, I'm more tempted than ever to remove that dependency from my home. But then I'm afraid I couldn't do that to Comedy Central - even if I only watch two shows on their entire network. Maybe a little corruption's not always a bad thing.

Media Literacy: Day one

corporations and psychopaths, hmmm?

As expected, this is going to be a fast two weeks. Blink and I might miss it. It's a guarantee that I'm going to miss something, anyway. I thought all weekend about the idea that a corporation is equal (legally, that is) to a morally-bankrupt (psychopathic) person, with all the assumed rights of one. It lives solely for it's own sake - or for those of it's stakeholders. Not a staggeringly new thought, I suppose. But I hadn't thought of it in quite those terms before. Reckless disregard for safety, apparently lacking the need for social norms or the need to abide by our laws (make 'em up or change 'em as the need dictates), incapable of feeling guilt, deceitful...ah. Makes a girl feel all warm and fuzzy.

It's been made more clear as time goes by (as citizen journalists become more vocal - er - verbal?) that corporate giants are like icebergs. We need to find that big pile of ice below the surface. Chances are it won't be pretty. But exposing the danger (ok - that's a stretch - we're not all miniature Titanics crashing blindly to our demise) - but knowing who's in the background, who's pulling the strings, who is attempting to dictate all we read and hear, is kind of liberating.

Are they all bad? Yeah, probably. Am I being pessimistic? Yeah, probably. Is Disney evil? Does Google really intend to "not be evil'? Is Starbucks closing in on world domination?

We'll have to ask Dr. Evil. For now, I'm eager to learn more.