Real Housewives Of EVERYTHING

I've already written a blog about reality tv shows. But this blog focuses on a different type of reality show and the message it portrays. With shows such as Real Housewives of Atlanta and the new hit vh1 series Basketball Wives, it seems there is no positive image of the smart, educated woman. These shows glorify and glamorize the lifestyle of stay-at-home wife or mother and tell teenagers and young girls that they should aspire to having a famous husband.

Reality TV is breeding a generation of gold-diggers.

TV needs more shows that chronicle a woman's life who isn't a fashion designer or something of that nature. I want to see College educated women, being successful in their field of study, or chronicles of a single mother continuing her studies. That would make for an interesting story line. At least I'd prefer it over the drama and pointlessness of at home women married to rich people.

Women. Independence. Please.

The Boondocks: Controversial Satire or Simply Inappropriate?

The third season of The Boondocks is currently airing on Adult Swim. It may be because I was younger and not college educated, that at one point I found the Boondocks to be complete hilarity. Now however, I can see that it is really black social satire. But is it satire to the point where it is offensive? So far the first episode featured a song entitled "Dick Riding Obama" and the episode was generally about people who voted for Obama for the sole reason that he is Black. The second episode was about Thugnificent a washed up rapper (Ice-T reference), whose music wasnt selling anymore due to the increase of music being made by Sergeant Gutta (soulja boy reference)who made pointless songs about dances. The following clip is from last weeks episode about a racist recording artist (who apparently really exists under a different name).




Here does Boondocks go too far? Throughout this episode I think I've heard every negative stereotype possibly in existence about Black people. What was this episode setting out to prove or demonstrate? It didn't have any real value and if I had been watching it with Caucasian people in the room I would have been angry and embarrassed that it was perpetuating such stereotypes. Not many laughs were had from watching this episode. I felt offended.

However, this past week's episode hit home more so. The episode is about a crew who we assume come to get revenge on Grandpa Freeman after he accidentally kills their friend in a street-fight.




The episode speaks of an equation known as "A Nword Moment" which is defined as "A moment where ignorance overwhelms the logic of an otherwise rational negro man." plus "Nword Synthesis" defined as "Perpetual bond between Nwords over an appreciation of trivial or ignorant things. This is the opposite of a Nword Moment, which is perpetual conflict between Nwords over trivial or ignorant things. This is unlike a bond between friends or family members, which is mutually beneficial to all of the parties involved. When a Nword moment collides with a Nword synthesis, you get a Complete (fucking) Disaster: Nword Moment + Nword Synthesis = Complete Disaster."
{definitions taken directly from episode}

In the end the three people kill this man (this incident is known as the complete disaster) and state that they didn't even do it for revenge. More so they did because they could. This is the basis behind gang behaviors and the reason people die in Chicago's streets. People are apart of a gang where the members don't even care about them, and murders occur for no reason. Senseless violence.

But is the way Boondocks addresses these issues appropriate? I am still undecided. Sometimes funny, but sometimes I feel objectified.

Im a 5 Star B**CH, Harajuku Hyphen Barbie

Since we are discussing Fandom this week it was only appropriate to introduce you to Nikki Minaj. Self-Proclaimed Bi-Sexual Rapper, and more commonly known as a Barbie. This girl is the idol of girls all around the world right now. There are men getting her face tattooed on their bodies.

Under the many characteristics of fandom, we see the young female audience desiring to become Nikki Minaj, me and my friends ourselves have sang this very verse numerous times along with others songs she has that are quite catchy. Also Imitating is huge with Nikki Minaj fans, as they do her dramatic looks gestures and manner of speaking. Resembling comes in with her signature bang and pink streaks in her hair, that many people have adopted. If I see someone with bangs I'll say "Ok I like your Nikki Minaj bangs" indicating that they resemble her as a result of their hairstyle. Copying can be noted on Halloween when people want to dress up as her as their costume. Also girl's refer to themselves as barbies (Harajuku at that) which is a style of dress in Japan. So there are alot of girls going to Clubs in Tutus and other odd/eccentric looking clothing as they copy her style.

Additionally, with Nikki's openness regarding her bisexuality, there is a large increase in the number of girls who claim to like girls. This is problematic in itself because there is absolutely nothing wrong with being lesbian or bisexual but if girls are doing it because Nikki makes it look and/or sound fun then they are just imitating what they see.

Sexuality and Television

I wouldn't be too surprised if not many people have seen the show Noah's Arc. The show is about 4 main characters, all gay men and all black. Now I've never seen more than one episode myself (mainly because once I discovered it, I was here at school where Logo channel isn't readily available). Also in case you don't know Logo is a channel with mainly gay programming on it.. I've turned to Logo in the middle of the day before and came in on the end of a raunchy gay male sex scene. MID DAY!

But I would like to say that I am proud of how far television has come in its depiction of ALL people. There aren't many good shows anymore that center on African-Americans and this one happens to focus on African-American Gay males. This is a huge barrier that has been crossed by society. Although I'm quite sure there are plenty of people who do not watch this show (homophobia is rampant in the black community) and I'm sure there's plenty of Questioning males watching this show trying to find themselves. That is why a show of this nature is positive. It's something homosexual men can relate to instead of watching a show such as The Game which although it has an interraccial relationship in it, and deals with the problems a football wife may face (I mean how many problems can they really face though??!), is not comparable to being a double minority. Homosexual AND African-American.

Claps for Logo Channel and Noah's Arc.

Scopophilia in terms of Women vs. Men in Videos

Here I present you with two different videos. The more recent Ciara video feat. Ludacris (who will be at FEST by the way) called Ride, and Young Jock- I Know you See It from a few years ago. Using these two videos the concept of scopophilia is conveyed, which is the erotic look. However it varies because one song is by a woman and one is by a man.

In the Ciara video she has since we last saw her has lost a considerable amount of weight. She is dancing erotically and imitating the act of riding....well you know. Lets call it the cowgirl position. So she is gyrating and moving her body and the song speaks about how she is catering to the man "he likes the way I ride it". She never speaks about how she feels about "riding because the woman doesn't have that kind of opinion. Her one purpose is to be a sexual image, that men can look upon, therefore she is conveying to-be-looked-at-ness. Also it creates an ego ideal where women want to strive to be as fit or good at "riding" as Ciara, instead of striving to be say a business woman or a intellectual woman with integrity. It is assumed that what we watch we identify with based on our gender, but this doesn't apply for women who are just viewed as sexual images. This is demonstrated appropriately here. This video is not used to empower a woman but simply for a man's viewing pleasure.

On the contrary in the Young Jock video for I Know You See It, the man is portrayed with power. In the beginning the theme is like an episode of Cribs on MTV showing his large house and all the women half naked in the video just walking around for his pleasure. He throws money on the ground and looks generally happy.

Can women make videos to show that they too can possess power?
-Alicia Keys said I am SUPERWOMAAAAANNN.

Stereotypes in the Media, Perpetuated by Children's Movies

It may or may not be common fact that Disney has created many characters within their movies that stereotype various races, to the point that Disney could be considered racist. For example in Aladdin for the song Arabian Nights the lyrics go "Where they cut off your ear, if they don't like your face, it's barbaric, but hey it's home". This stereotypes that the Middle East is barbaric and dangerous. In The Little Mermaid the crab Sebastian is depicted as Jamaican and sings about how under the sea you can play all day instead of above ground where you have to work. It gets worse with the crows from Dumbo which are black, and speak with diction of an individual from slave times. ALSO the lead crow is named Jim Crow. WHAT DISNEY? Really. That is the worse of it, apart from the underlying ideal that each Disney Princess's lover should be of the same race (or of the superior race i.e for Pocahontas John Smith was white, the man that Arielle loved from The Little Mermaid was not a fish from the under the sea, but instead a white man named Eric. Tiana Even Nola was lighter than Simba!) Even the villain's skin tends to be darker as if to say that darker people are dangerous or villainous. (i.e Jafar from Aladdin, Scar from the Lion King, the evil guy from Princess and the Frog)

But how do these stereotypes fit into the Ramirez-Berg reading from this weak? There is no misconception made by Disney about certain races. Over the years these movies have been developed without regard or sensitivity, because they are meant to cater to children, however as I have grown up I have began to notice all the things listed above. Disney has come drastically far and the times have changed so if they were at once misinformed about Racial issues, behaviors and actions of the out-group they should not be anymore and should start creating movies that integrate many characters from across various cultures. If not just to try something different, then just to prove they're not racist after all.

Another issue I find with Disney is that each female character has to have a prince charming. Its a wonderful concept for a fairytale ending, however since these movies are geared towards a young audience, they need to show that a woman can stand on their own! The closest Disney got to showing a woman holding her on is Mulan, however that visual was tainted by her dressing up as a man. If females could be portrayed for once as not inferior to men in a Disney movie, I will be a little more happy and faithful in tomorrow youth, knowing that their main goal in life isn't to find their Hero.

*Disclaimer- There may very well be movies that don't perpetuate stereotypes or that do depict a woman as being superior, but I can't think of it right now, and when I do i will edit blog.

Kush and Orange Juice...among other various illegal substances

Check out these videos. A couple of my favorites!






A couple days ago I was listening to my Itunes library and began to notice that many of the songs that we're playing had the same theme. They were all about drugs! Now granted I didn't turn them off, and I won't be skipping them on my ipod because they're extremely catchy. But I am trying to figure out now why it is okay for music to have such subject matter in it. Although the videos I have posted above our from the rap genre, there are more songs I discovered about drugs such as "Cocaine" by Eric Clapton, and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles.

When did it become so socially acceptable to discuss drugs to the extent that it is present in music nowadays? It was always known that people smoked marijuana, since the 60s when the hippie's wanted peace and at Woodstock when all types of drugs were in circulation. But we must remember that such substances are banned!!! In the above video very popular rapper Lil' Wayne speaks about various drug after effects in "I Feel Like Dying". It is common knowledge that the Styrofoam cup he is often photographed with contains a mixture known as "Lean" a mixture of cough syrup (mainly codine as referenced in the song "jumping off of a mountain into a sea of codine") and alcohol. He also mentions marijuana numerous times similar to the other artist's video I posted, Wiz Khalifa, whose highly anticipated mixtape Kush and Orange Juice contains countless tracks dedicated to marijuana. The song "In the Cut" speaks about smoking weed as soon as he awakens in the morning.

The issue at hand here is that we can not stop today's youth from listening to this type of music. It is what's popular and catchy (if I do say so myself) yet does not portray a positive message. In the same manner that the Kiely Williams "Sex is Spectacular" video depicts an inaccurate representation of the wonderful sex you can have while under the influence, songs such as these may be encouraging today's youth to use drugs in order to either escape problems, be creative thinkers or just for recreational purposes.

Also a large majority of songs about drugs are of the rap genre, which cater specifically towards the black community. This can cause an increase of drug use within a community that is already falling apart from violence, and financial troubles. Many people see music as their escape. If this is what they're listening to what will they use to escape next?

Here's a video for the road!

Reality TV

"Where are you! You STUPID BITCH!!" -Classic Portia Quote



Classic Flavor of Love episodes

The first reality television show that I'm familiar with is Fear Factor, and I never watched it because it was so gross I couldn't stomach it. But wow TV has come a long way to provide wonderful, educational and age appropriate programming for everyone!
NOT!
Now I'm going to admit right now that I LIVE for Bad Girls Club. Every Tuesday I made sure I was free at 9pm Central Time (DePaul doesnt have Oxygen channel therefore hindering me watching episodes faithfully like back in high school). I'm a sucker for the drama as I'm sure millions are, and that's why channels like MTV, VH1 and Oxygen love us. They cater to our desires and in return we provide them with high ratings. For example the first season of Flavor Of Love, Flava Flav chose Hoops over New York. From this show spun I Love New York 1 and 2 in addition to a 2nd and 3rd season of Flavor of Love. Countless other shows have been created as well with celebrities searching for love, normally ending in them choosing a person who they do not even end up staying with for long. But while the shows last there's plenty of fights, arguments and generally interesting drama that one can kick back after a long day of school and enjoy unfold on the screen before you while you think "if i was there..!!!" or "glad that's not my life" (especially in the case of the MTV show 16 & Pregnant)

But reality TV isn't limited to just dating shows anymore! And not all the shows are negative. Celebrity Fit Club creates a competition where overweight celebrities compete in various activities and whoever loses the most weight during the show wins. This creates a positive image, because when viewers see their favorite celebrity making an effort to get healthy, and see how good they look in the end, more people will be willing to get in shape.

There are numerous reality tv shows some may have a central purpose (Scream Queens looked for the next female to star in Saw VI), looking for love (Tila Tequila had it hard!), or the betterment of ones self (Bad Girl's Club original aim was to deal with anger issues and things of that nature that the girl's possessed, I don't know what the purpose is anymore however, there were more fights this season than last couple seasons combined). So when is reality TV going to DO something for the viewer? And what do we want it to do besides entertain us? I would like to see more College Life shows. I would gladly watch someone chronicle a semester in college and see it turn out positively so that I can feel like "I can do it too!". Or a show chronicling a woman's battle with STD's or Pregnancy then going around to different schools speaking to them about safe sex methods and ways to stay protected (because my friends from Texas say they never learned anything but abstinence based education).

Where for art thou quality reality television?
Here's a link to a listing of all reality tv shows http://www.realitytvworld.com/realitytvworld/allshows.shtml

When Disney Channel Fails

Innocence is Bliss GIRL POWER right, note the African American girl that isn't Raven Symone. Check out your daughter/little sister/niece's favorite role model now!(More importantly listen to the lyrics!)



I remember when Cheetah Girls was my favorite movie. It was so empowering and all the Cheetah Girls were sooo pretty, with gorgeous voices and could do no wrong. Oh Disney Channel why do you diminish my role model down to nothing? If the video filmed for this song isn't bad, the lyrics will sure make up for any raunchiness that wasn't added into the video. I am truly concerned about this new 'Kiely Williams' and what it means for younger generations. Fair enough many Disney Channel stars have branched off to develop music careers, such as Hilary Duff, Raven Symone, the Jonas Brothers, Ally and AJ and others. However, having appeared on Disney Channel the music that they make has always catered to younger audiences in an effort to maintain viewers of their television shows and movies. But what audience is Kiely trying to reach here? The sexually-active youth of America? Sadly, there is no positivity in this song! The basic gist is that she got excessively drunk, and had really good sex. She's not sure if she was drugged or if she even used a condom! Now what kind of example does this set for America's teenager? If this video and Kiely's actions are believed to be the Hegemonic Norm, there are going to be large numbers of underage females running around getting extremely drunk so that they can have tons of fun and experience the "spectacular" sex that Kiely has. The world has already shown that it falls easily into false consciousness, and since Kiely was a former Cheetah Girl and role model, will younger girls be influenced by this new image? The teen pregnancy rates will tell...

Degrassi (The Next Generation, and The Next, and the NEXT)

The other day I was watching old episodes of Degrassi (back when Degrassi was awesome) and I ended up seeing the one about Manny thinking she was pregnant and how she got an abortion at the end of the episode. I then remembered that it took quite sometime for this episode to be seen in United States (as the show originates in Canada) because the topic of abortion was highly controversial while Ex-President Bush was in office. I began to wonder why such topics as abortion can be banned from television, but teenage pregnancy is allowed to be depicted as frequently as it is. Tv shows such as The Secret Life of the American Teenager and movies such as Fifteen and Pregnant are all depictions of pregnancy during the teenage years. Sadly, these mediums give an unrealistic example of pregnancy and the consequences of one's actions. Do you really believe that Manny would get an abortion, and no one would ever mention it again and she'd go on living happily ever after? NO. Degrassi should have incorporated Manny's emotions after the abortion into additional episodes, and shown her peers' reaction, because in today's society it is hard to keep something of that nature of secret, and not receive a great deal of negativity from peers. Also the media tends to portray teenage pregnancy in a positive light! The intro to Secret Life is bright, and summery with happy colors, and in the show the girl is still considerably happy even though she just gave birth to a child at her ripe age. If the media continues to label teenage pregnancy as something that's "in" and never shows the negative side, teenagers are going to continue to get pregnant and have unprotected sex because the consequences that they see do not negatively reinforce the notion of safe sex. We all know that the media play a huge role in the life of many individuals, it would only be right to use the media to send a message or a warning. Otherwise we will keep having babies raising babies.