TOUGH GUISE

“Tough Guise” really explained why and how guys are the way there are today. In our society, there is a lot of violence and that violence is portrayed vividly in the media. As the movie starts, a scene from the Wizard of Oz begins playing. It’s the scene when Toto pulls back the curtain and the crew finds this nervous and weak man pretending to be a strong wizard. From there, the talk starts about how guys put up a front and wear a mask to gain respect through violence. They like to hide their vulnerability because if they don’t, they are not men. A couple of teenage guys were asked what a real man is. Some of the answers were physical, hard, muscular, tough, athletic, powerful, respected, and many others along that form. These are the qualities that make up a real man according to these guys.
Jackson Katz, who is the man who spoke throughout the documentary and is the one who examines this relationship, said this is the box that defines manhood for many young men. They are restricted to this box and if they are not what a “real man” should be, they are outcasts and called queers, sissy, etc. Where do boys learn about this? Their family and community sure do have a role in this, but media also has an immense effect. Throughout the years, media has depicted violent masculinity as a culture norm. Years ago, the bodies of Superman, Batman, and other male figures in movies were not as rippled and muscular as they are in almost all films today. Even the action figures have gotten bigger. When they compared the toys such as those of G.I. Joe to the action figures of today, I was shocked at the masterminds behind the manufacturing of these things.
A part that seemed really interesting to me in the documentary was how the “dominant” group goes unexamined in society. When we watch the news and hear about a rape or a sexual assault that has occurred, it is said ‘how many girls were raped or assaulted’ or ‘where they were raped’. I did not realize that most of the time we say ‘she was physically assaulted’, not ‘he assaulted’ or ‘he raped‘. This is what Katz means when he says that the dominant group in our community is not examined. But when a female commits a crime, it is talked about as a gender issue. When the movie, “Thelma and Louise” came out decades ago, there was a bit of controversy. Thelma and Louise were two females who were violent characters in this film and soon after, the trend was questioned by many people. Men don’t want to feel threatened and they don’t their manhood questioned. How can a weak, fragile female be a violent woman who carries around a gun? That’s what a “real man” is supposed to, is it not?
This documentary really examined the social roles and gender expectations of men and young boys in society today. Some statistics were a bit surprising but it was very interesting to see the comparisons of men today and men decades ago. I wish young boys were not expected to grow to be so violent and to learn these attributes. If we can somehow control the content of certain video games, that will be a start. But I don’t think it’s that easy. Thanks to the media, masculine violence has unfortunately become a culture norm.

3 Ads

1. http://www.groove-quantize.com/grooveblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/ethiceze.jpg

This ad promotes the product “ETHIC-EZE”, a medication that puts your conscience to sleep. If you are a man, this will help you feel better if you’re having any guilt or “nagging doubts”. It is also recommended by 4 out of 5 psychiatrists.



2. http://www.emergencemarketing.com/images/prozac.jpg

Prozac is a medication given to treat depression. In this poster, it is advertized as a household cleaner and with a quote that says, “Wash Your Blues Away!” It has a woman in a bright yellow dress opening her arms to it with a glad look on her face.


3. http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kt9gvpNtyi1qaqi8oo1_500.jpg

In this ad, they make fun of the weird and confusing names given to the Starbucks sizes and how ridiculous their prices are. It says, “Starbucks coffee: overcharging since 1946”.

SPOOF ADS

BIG MAC ATTACK :this type of ad called the McDonald MacAttack, shows what the end will be for those people living on Big Macs from McDonald’s. They actually have the “M” sign that we are all used to seeing as we drive down streets or on TV’s on the heart monitor. It’s actually a pretty neat way to drive the point across.


cK ChicKen : when I first looked at this ad, I didn’t realize what the point was. Then I realized the Calvin Klein sign and underneath the word “chicken”, it says, “Great Legs Nice Breasts”. This shows what type of shallow industry the fashion world is, but I think it’s a bit degrading to women to use chicken as the way to advertise the meaning. But I can understand why they did. In this type of industry, they don’t care about people and use them for their benefits and profits. Women with great legs and nice breasts are needed, which is the only way to grab the attention of the public.



Joe Chemo Bed : at first I didn’t understand this but I found out that this is based on the brand Camel cigarettes. Joe Chemo is the “camel” and is in the hospital, looking like he is about to die from cancer. He is obviously taking chemo therapy, hence the name Joe chemo but it’s doesn’t seem like its working. I think this is a clever way to send a message to all the addictive smokers that they’ll probably end up in the same position as Joe Chemo is they don’t quit their dangerous habit. I wish these were the type of ads that you can see out on the streets or on buses because all of the “truth” commercials are getting a bit lame.


Obsession for Women : this is not the usual ad you see in the Calvin Klein “Obsession” collection. They usually have beautiful men and women who send a pretty seductive message across. I’m guessing this is why they named their perfumes and colognes “Obsession”. But in this ad, it’s a different type of obsession. It’s the obsession for women who aim to look and be like those models who advertise basically every product out there. It’s a deadly obsession that causes them to develop psychological problems and hurt their own bodies. I think this ad was an excellent way of showing what all the advertisements of today are really selling.

How Does Media and Propaganda Manipulate Culture?

I did not know how much media and propaganda manipulate culture. In the beginning of the video, the speakers talk about the origin of the word “propaganda”. In 1622, the word “propaganda” originated from religion, when the Pope set up a counsel to spread the teachings of the Church to the rest of the world. They also showed pictures of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, while playing a piece of classical music. After the pictures stopped playing, the speakers talk about how music and art can make “a violent death seem mesmerizing”. This is completely true and I had not realized that until it was mentioned. As I was watching those slides, I really was mesmerized. If they had shown the pictures by themselves and without any music, the effect would not have been the same. This was the beginning of the video where they started talking about propaganda by introducing religion. One of the speakers said that “Art, propaganda, and ideology come in a mix.” Propaganda and media are used as means of persuasion when it comes to ideas, culture, and religion. They act as little shoves that are meant make you think in a certain way and have specific views on various issues. Through propaganda, the idea of “execution became salvation”. Leading from this, the topic of functional myths was brought up. We all look for something to believe in and media helps us find it. Historical traumas, such as that of 9/11, have a great influence on our emotion and actions. On September 11th, 2001, terrorists flew planes through the towers and thousands of people died. We decide to go to war with Afghanistan. This is a time of grieving so we are not able to think in a rational way. When we are in a vulnerable state of mind, it’s easy to believe things people tell us. I remember every single house putting up American flags on their porches following the attack on the Twin Towers. Not only that, but there were posters and commercials, as well as documentaries that promoted a sense of needed unity. If it were not for the media and propaganda, the actions taken after September 11th would not have been the same.
In the video, they showed slides of Russia and Korea during wars and political issues they faced. If you were a part of either country and saw those pictures, you would feel a strong connection to your people in a time of need. There were slides of armies at war and posters that influenced people to take action and be a part of the country. This is what media and propaganda do. They manipulate culture by influencing people to think and act in a certain way. It may seem that it completely controls us, which is not true, but it does have an immense affect on us. If media did not play a huge role in our culture, it wouldn’t be a culture. Through media and propaganda, people come together to protest, celebrate, as well as for support. The way media and propaganda manipulate culture is not necessarily a bad thing, it has been happening since the early ages.

Functional myths and how media shapes reality

If we think about it, we all need and look for something to believe in. It’s a part of human nature, I suppose. We don’t only have one functional myth, but many. For many of us, there are cultural gender expectations and if we do not follow society’s norms, there is something that is wrong with us. Even though we are different people and personalities, what is expected of us is not that different. And media feeds on the things that oppose the norms of society. If everyone did whatever they were expected to, media would not have such a huge impact. There would be no drama and no entertainment.
Functional myths also include those that deal with appearances. If we notice, all the ads and commercials always have good-looking men and women. These men and women have to appear perfect, as if all people should look like that. All these ads are successful because they drive their point across very well. Many women now go on endless diets and they are constantly after the next beauty product or fashion trend. Sometimes, we don’t realize that we’re good enough. Media promotes that idea, always showing that we need to look like certain people and dress in a certain way, otherwise we are not good enough.
In the video of “What Orwell Didn’t Know”, there were a few comment said that stuck out to me. Mazoor says, “Man’s desires must overshadow their needs”. This was such a genius quote and I think this is the basis of all corporations that use media to sell their products in order to keep consumerism on the right track. We all have basic needs but they’re not enough to keep consumerism running. So all the things that we want and desire are shoved in our faces in order to tempt us in the form of advertisements, billboards, and commercials. These desires also have to seem more important than our needs. The people behind all the media, are great masterminds. They know how to use the weakness of the masses to their own advantages and profits. A quote stated in the “What Orwell Didn’t Know” video says, “If we understand the group and how it groups, we can manipulate them without them knowing”. This is exactly how major businesses and companies work. They know what really reaches out to people and their flaws, and by understanding this, they are able to influence and control what we think we need. A commercial of 30 seconds is full of well-thought thinking. Even if we think the commercial is stupid, it always grabs our attention.
Everything we believe in has a link to media and this is how it shapes our reality. We are brought up with certain values and virtues and media promotes them, not always in a bad way, but in a way that has the ability to manipulate our feelings.

Relationship to Media/Consumerism

Everyday, the media tightens its hold on us and its effect in our lives gets stronger. Media tells us what to do and how to do it. From what we eat, to what shampoo we should use. It is what sets seasonal fashion trends and dictates the economy to a certain extent. Media grabs people of all ages, from toddlers to senior citizens. I have never actually thought to count how many ads I see in a day. It would be way too much for me to realize. There are numerous ads on TV, as well as the various ones on the internet. You always see them when you’re waiting at the bus stop, as well as when you get on the train. You also see them when you drive. They are everywhere in malls and supermarkets. You cannot go 30 minutes without seeing an advertisement. And I did not realize this until I had to write the last few sentences. There’s an ad about everything, whether it’s orange juice or underwear. They also send the same message, regardless of the product. ‘You will be a better person if you buy this, or do that, or look that way.’ That’s the message. We sometimes underestimate what 30 seconds can do.
In schools, we are encouraged to think on our own and have our perspectives and opinions on the happenings in society. But it’s a lie. If everyone was able to speak for themselves and be our own person, the economy would be down and the country will not be running the same way it is today. If advertisements were not successful, there would not be any consumers. If there are no consumers, there’s no strong economy which is a major factor of a strong country. The media has a great influence on the way we think and the way we feel. For example, a few years ago, when skinny jeans were first beginning to show, I was really into them and wanted to buy a pair. After a few weeks, I went to the mall with my friend, Jess and decided to look for the jeans. Jess totally hated them and said they looked disgusting. Months later, almost every girl has a pair. Same thing happens on the radio. There’s always this one song that you hate yet, they play it over and over again. After a while, you’ll get so used to the song that you’ll probably go home and pay the 99 cents for it, or if you’re like so many others, you’ll download it for free, illegal or not. Even the foods we eat are influenced my media. I love to cook and try out new “experiments” in the kitchen. So as I flip through the TV channels and get Food Network, I’ll watch a few shows and hopefully get an idea. Once the show is over, I’ll head to the supermarket to get the ingredients to make the recipe.
Media has a very strong control hold on us, and we have become so used to it. It affects our lives every day since it indirectly tells us what we should buy , eat, wear, and use.

Write from the perspective of an inanimate object

I need to take a break. I am buzzing, vibrating, and ringing all the time. I wish I had a different owner, one that will not be pressing my buttons constantly. And I wish my owner had friends who respected the late time of night and not use me to communicate their anxieties or wishes. I am dropped and scratched, and I fell into a toilet once. I wish she took better care of me. My inbox is full and I’m tired, I wish she can relieve me of my multimedia burdens. Every day, I get bombarded with incoming satellite connections and I have to give her the call. I think my time is done, and she’ll need to find another one.

First Draft - Narrative

I never knew how cold it can get in Upstate, New York. It is the middle of December and my friends and I are on our high school senior trip. We are on our way to a hotel, but we will soon find out what kind of hotel it really was. As we left the busy streets of the New York boroughs, our surroundings began to look greener. Three hours later, we were finally almost there. The area was completely deserted so it was a wonder that the bus driver was able to navigate his way through the pitch black roads. The roads were wet and slippery, and mountains of snow bordered the side of the freeways. Once in a while, you’d see a dark green sign on the side of the road and by the time you read it, you would have already missed the exit. Every few minutes, you’d wonder if the huge Coach bus will fit on these small, narrow local roads. But as the driver proved he can, we’d look at each other and sigh in relief. Along the lonely roads, a house would pop out of nowhere. I would turn to my right, and ask my friend, Connie, “How do people know where their driveway is?” I can never imagine living in a no-man’s land like that.
We finally arrived around 9 PM that Friday night. We were staying at some type of cowboy’s hotel that I actually felt we were somewhere in the west. It was a huge cabin-type resort all made out of wood. As you walk in, you see dried deer heads hanging on the walls. There were wooden statues of farmers and everyone was way nicer than necessary. We had no phone service and technology was not popular up there. I stayed with five of my closest friends in a room, sharing one bathroom. It wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. There were two Queen beds on either side of the room with a twin bed in between and another twin bed across from them. It was so dreary and dull. There was only one mirror in the room for six girls to share. That was a dumb idea.
The trip was 3 days and it was so lame since there really was nothing to do. We tried to play laser tag the next day but the equipment was so old, it could not function right. It was a very sad attempt. It was insanely cold, the type of cold where you feel your fingers are about to fall off. The second day my friends and I decided to take a walk outside and hang around. I have been with this group of friends since the sixth grade so we are all incredibly close to each other. It was a bittersweet trip because it was the first time that we would all spend the weekend together, but it was the last time we’d all be going to the same school. None of us wanted to think about that so we all tried to focus on having as much fun as possible in this lame place our school brought us to.
We all woke up in the morning on the third and final day and ate a breakfast that we didn’t have to question the contents of. That was something we were thankful for. Then we wore our many layers since we planned on spending the rest of the day outside in the bitter cold. As you step through the doors, all you see is white everywhere. The sky is that pale blue, the type of blue that tells you it’s freakin’ cold out, and completely cloudless. The sun is there but it’s not doing much work. It's very bright, causing the snow to sparkle like millions of tiny diamonds scattered all over the ground, covering it fully. It’s completely quiet and every once in a while, that silence is broken by a laugh from one of us. Even though we were all in boots, I remember holding on to my friend Connie’s arm because it was so hard to walk on the layers of ice. We finally got to the top of the hill where the snow tubing was going on. We all took our turns sitting down in the tube and being pushed down a white hill of snow while screaming at the top of our lungs. When I slid down the hill, I didn’t know how to push myself out of the tube. I must’ve voiced my question out loud since some wise guy yelled out, “It’s called using your feet!” Well, who would’ve thought of that…The four of us repeated this over and over again. A few hours later, as we were walking down the hill back to the hotel, some guy came up to us and asked if we would like to take a picture. So we did. We stood next each other, arms around the person on each side of us. We put on goofy smiles that were so big, we thought our faces will freeze in that position due to the ridiculously cold weather. We are on the slippery white hill, terrified of slipping, with bare trees behind us and nothing else. I remember that day perfectly, and every time I look at the picture, all the sounds of our laughter come rushing back to me. . It’s a plain picture, with no scenery and no colors. But there was really no stand in front a beautiful mountain or an iconic statue. The four of us were enough to get the point across.
Even though the trip was so lame and the food was not restaurant quality, it was a time that will forever be embedded in my memory. We are separated in different colleges now, but each one of us has that same picture.

RUTGERS SUICIDE

Even though I don’t know Tyler Clementi, I was in shock that this has happened to him. Those two students had no right to tape him and should not have posted it on the internet. This is a complete invasion of privacy, which led to his death. I don’t know how they’ll manage to sleep at night knowing that somebody has killed himself because of them. I know they didn’t mean for it to go this far, but what did they expect? They knew that by taping and streaming the video online will cause a lot of embarrassment for Tyler and he will face a lot of cruelty around campus. From what I’ve read, he is a very nice and shy guy, who probably didn’t go around looking for trouble. It is not a joke, or a way to pass the time by, when you think you can secretly tape someone having an intimate moment. What happened to morals and ethics? This is not the first time that someone has killed themselves due to public humiliation on the internet and I think that something should be done because it probably won’t be the last. Everyone’s lives are online now and everything is shared. But there are certain limits and boundaries that should not be passed, and it is important to know them. Otherwise, get off the internet.