Awesome!

I really enjoyed being in this class, it was great and it made so much sense its scary. I would recommend this class to anyone. It was very interesting and I learned alot. I think everyone should take this class and learn something :)
Thanks Dr. Lambiase

Just Add Sex

Question of the day - I mean year - I mean life...Why does sex sell? Why are we so interested in sex that almost everything we see, hear, or do revolves around it? Sure, we're mammals so I understand why we have sex and that it is healthy to have interest in it, and it's fun, but why is everything about sex? It is interesting, yet frustrating at the same time, that if you want people to buy, watch, or use something then all you have to do is add sex to it.
It is no different with movies and movie previews. They are just like ads or commercials or TV shows. Sex just sells...but why? I have no answer. Fin.

Hollywood

Hollywood is the initial source of stereotypes. It is the mother of all things stereotypical. It is why all girls have to be skinny and perfect if they are going to be significant to anything. For example, in the casting ads, the girls for the "Girls Night Out" film are all young, thin and pretty and they get to party at exclusive clubs. The girl who is supposed to be "shunned at the velvet rope" is to be plain and possibly "chubby." This of course gives the image that only skinny, gorgeous girls with attitude get to get into clubs, party and have fun.
However, they also stereotype the girls in the club: caucasian girl is an attractive and innocent small-town girl looking for fame, African American girl has attitude and is attractive, Asian girl is stylish and "hipper-than-thou" with street smarts (stereotypical of Asians fashion and Asian gangs).
Thanks for the encouragement Hollywood...Not. If it's fake, chances are it was made in Hollywood.

Who's A Nerd Anyway?

Wow, I don't think I have EVER thought about nerdiness being related to being white or "extremely white." I have never put a racial association to who nerds are. It is interesting however, to read Benjamin Nugent's article and see the different views on the language used by white nerds, popular whites, and blacks. It seems as though all black people talk the same way and white people have 3 different was of talking: regularly, nerdy, and like black people. I think some black people are nerds too just not as many because like Mary Bucholtz said, black students choose not to openly display their scholarly abilities so that they are not labeled to the nerd clique, whereas many white people don't mind or would even be proud to be labeled nerds. My own opinion on nerdiness is that it is just someone being goofy or silly. I will call any of my friends or family nerds from time to time when they act or say something strange or goofy, even though they do not exhibit any of Bucholtz's findings or studies on what nerds are, wear, and do.

Women's Image in Music Videos and The Media

After class discussion and watching that documentary on Nov. 2nd in class, it opened my eyes to how much women actually are exposed as "sexy" pieces of property and accessories. It is rather disgusting to see women behave that way and give men that much power over them. The whole time I was watching the documentary, however, I couldn't help but wonder how it all started. Back in the 1940's and 50's, women would have never acted the way they do today. It seems women were respected more then even though they didn't have the same rights that they do now. Then they were portrayed as respected wives and mothers, even though they were thought inferior. It is hardly different in that aspect today - though women have the same rights they are still thought of as inferior to men partly because of the way they act. In addition to being less respected, the way women are portrayed today in videos and in the media makes them seem less smart and all the same: they are just sex objects with no personality. It actually upsets me to think about how women let this happen. Women today have more power than they used to and this is the way they use it (or not use it for that matter)? Though there are women out there, such as feminists, who are smart and strong and try to show that women have more to them than just physical attractiveness and sex appeal, they do not get the upper-hand in the media or in music videos. Therefore, the "sex objects" in the media are how most of the population think of women since that is how they are shown. Come on girls, we're smarter than that.

Back in Black...and White

I'll admit that I am one of those people who say African-American more often than Black. Thinking on the subject, I suppose it's because I do not want to offend anyone but it was put in my head by society that describing someone as being black is wrong or offensive. So the only other thing that I could think of to say was African-American. Now society is saying that it too is offensive and/or wrong because not all black people are from Africa. Thinking about it though, I think it would have been more incorrect to call all black people African-American as opposed to black because of the origins. That's what black people are though; black. Just like white people are white so why can't we just leave it at that? White people aren't picky about how you identify them, society just calls them white. Besides, aren't things easier in terms of black and white?

Chapter 12: Pronography

This chapter was also a good one. I agree with a lot of it as well but would like to add onto the part about the images of women giving men the power. While that is true in most ways, women also have the power when they are being seductive to control men, as long as they aren't submissive. Even though this isn't really a dignifying thing or even a good thing to do, women's bodies can be used as tools to have power over men. It is still sexist though and can be degrading. And unfortunately, the stereotype of sexy women being very skinny and having nice-sized "assets" is what people want. We definitely live in a world where sex sells.