Coco

The Matrix happens to be one of my favorite movie series of all time, and I’ve studied it in my other favorite class from college ironically enough.  To be honest, I think I love The Matrix because I understand and am fascinated by its message.  As a broadcast journalism major, I see and experience the media constantly, I, essentially, am the media.  To an extent, I have control over what my audience sees.  What I’ve learned above all though, is that I don’t agree with mass media.  I don’t agree with “the system.”

  It’s semi apparent when you read some of my posts that I’m very open and understanding to a lot of things.  I would like to think that I am able to see the pros and cons to every side of a situation.  However, when a position of power gets out of hand, I somewhat put up a defense to the system and somewhat rebel.  It’s hard to explain what I’m trying to say, but basically, if I were to take a test on which character I was in The Matrix, I’m pretty sure I would be Neo.  I prefer to separate myself and find my own way within the system, but not necessarily following the system.

  I see myself as different, therefore, a freak, who is similar to Neo in that my thoughts and ideas are very different than that of most people I interact with.  I understand practicality, reality, logic, etc., but there is more to life than that.  Again, there isn’t only one way to do everything.  There is no rule book to life.  What even begins to constitute “normal?!”  Once I asked myself this question and delved more into the idea, I started to accept and embrace the differences in people more than ever.  Since, people have absolutely FACINATED me.

Dear Future Pop Culture Students,

I went into this sociology class as a broadcast journalism major who considers herself a social butterfly, if you will, so I figured, why not take a "social" course?

As it turns out, I was more than pleased with my choice.

If you're already active in social media and such, good.  That means you'll be a little ahead of the game when it comes to the assignments.

If you want to be more active in social media, well that's also good, because this class will get you working in all different aspects of social media, and everything you do is so relevant.

In my opinion the relevancy makes it that much easier to engage and most importantly remain engaged in the class.  Professor Kidd is an awesome teacher.  He switches things up in class constantly so it never gets boring.

BUY THE BOOK!

I don't just say that because it will benefit you on the quizzes.  I say that because, and I'll be honest here, I never buy books (don't take after me!), but anyway, I say that because it is honestly an entertaining and informative book.  It's also easy to read, which is a major plus!  If you didn't get the hint already, I bought the book.  Haha.  WORTH IT!

Also, one of the major things I can advise you is to not be a procrastinator like I am.  I had 2 part time jobs, school, and a very long commute this semester, and I didn't have very good time management skills.  Needless to say, DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO COMPLETE YOUR ASSIGNMENTS!  It's not like the assignments are boring or necessarily OVERLY difficult, so don't be like me, START THEM EARLY!  Professor Kidd will tell you that all the time anyway, but he's not kidding.  There's no need to wait until the last minute.

Lastly, enjoy the class.  I can honestly say that this was the most enjoyable class I've had my whole 4 1/2 years in college, so just enjoy it.  You'll be glad you took it!

It’s definitely becoming more apparent that women are gaining more respect and equality among men.  In fact, research has been done, and it seems as though the process is actually happening “organically.”  It is true that women are still underrepresented in much of pop culture such as television and film as well as the workplace, but because of this “organic” process, certain researchers suggest that women will likely start to become the “breadwinners” within the next decade or so.

  In an infographic by EDUCATIONALLEADERSHIP.COM, their research shows that what used to be perceived as “Women’s work,” is now just “work.”  They found that in 2011, father’s were cooking a third of all meals, so that kind of argues the stereotype of a woman’s place being in the kitchen now doesn’t it?

  Another infographic I found was related to gender inequality in film.  Unlike the equality seen in households presently, this infographic shows that there is still major inequality and stereotypes regarding gender in film.

  The most astounding thing, and what I’ve noticed consistently throughout my own personal research is that there is a VERY small percentage, compared to men, of women with speaking parts in film.  This specific gender inequality in film infographic recorded only 30.8% of women were characters with speaking parts in film between the years 2007 and 2012.  To add to their findings, the average ratio of male actors to female actors is 2.25 to 1!  And female nudity in film is MUCH more prevalent, which I’m sure many feminists are not too happy with.

While studying gender roles and issues in popular culture, the thing I noticed most was that gender roles are constantly evolving.  Things that were socially unacceptable for certain genders before are starting to become acceptable.  Men are getting more in touch with their feminine sides and women are taking on more “head of house” roles.  Take this infographic by Haute Look from back in 2012 for example.

Though male and female stereotypes still exist, we see commercial popular culture taking some new approaches to the depiction of genders and mixing things up a bit.  Strong women roles are seen in shows such as State of Affairs and How to Get Away with Murder, which is a different approach than the comedies Veep and Parks and Rec, where the lead female roles are constantly poked fun at and portrayed in an exaggerated but stereotypical way.

  Lady Gaga has been pushing boundaries for a number of years now with her sexuality, but more so because she believes she should be able to express herself however she pleases without being stereotyped or judged according to her gender.  In fact, in one interview, Lady Gaga makes a strong reference to the idea that male musicians who make references to sexual topics would be considered "rock stars," but she, as a female musician, would be judged negatively for making the same references.  She makes a fantastic point regarding gender, and stands firm in her beliefs on gender equality in such cases.  I am a strong believer of gender equality in many aspects and having the freedom to do and be what you want regardless of gender stereotypes. If a woman wants to be sexy/sexual, she shouldn't be considered a slut.

I’d like to bring up the topic of feminism since I’m discussing gender roles in popular culture.  Feminism, and talk of it, has been appearing in my timelines and newsfeeds within the past month or so more than I have ever encountered since joining social media.  From my knowledge and awareness of true feminists, I definitely support their efforts and goals in advocating equality among men and women.  Go right to feminist.com, and you’ll see that its Founder and Executive Director, Marianne Schnall describes the site as a place to access info on “pretty much anything that could possibly support a world where men and women are allied, empowered, and equal.”

  That being said, I believe some people are taking the idea of feminism too far.  For example, Victoria’s Secret had its annual show recently, and feminism was a huge topic surrounding the event.  Many people feel as though the show objectifies women.  Comparing the past to the present, remember that for years women have been modeling in a sexy, “feminine” way.  Think Marilyn Monroe and pinup models.  Okay, so here’s where I feel things get tricky.  First of all, if some people don’t want to see women parading around in their underwear, then they don’t have to watch the show.  I can COMPLETELY understand why feminists and other critics might be upset by the VS show, I really can, BUT, here’s the thing, the VS Angels chose to be VS Angels, so let them do their job!  No one’s forcing them to model.  (At least not to my knowledge.)  Feminists want to be equal to men, but there are men that model underwear as well!  The boom in feminism lately is so strange to me because even though it’s apparent that major changes are being made such as the legalization of gay marriage, why do women want to argue feminism yet act more like males.  Don’t give up being a woman to be equal to a man.  There are many strong women out there who prove themselves, get respect, and are successful all while wearing their sexy feminine outfits.

Instead of viewing the VS Angels as being objectified, we should promote the idea of confidence in women, being a woman, and being proud to be whatever you choose to be as a woman.  If feminists are going to argue equality among men and women in all areas, then it shouldn’t be assumed that women who choose jobs such as VS modeling aren’t all for equality.  I myself am proud to be a woman, and I do believe that I should have the same rights and opportunities as men, but I’m still going to want to be treated like a lady because, to me, that’s what being a woman is.  That doesn’t mean I won’t hold the door for a man or pay for a man’s meal sometimes, but I guess what I’m trying to say is, that there is a time and place for everything.  There should be equality across the board, and that shouldn’t mean having to cover up or dress a certain way to obtain respect.  Demand it by proving you deserve it.

I don't argue about the fact that women are underrepresented in comparison to men in society, but I believe strong women will continue to prevail and the stereotypes will evolve just as society will.

I'd say I was pretty sheltered as a young, middle class, "average," Caucasian girl.  I was kept in a metaphorical box of what was acceptable and "normal" according to my family's values and such.  However, TV was HUGE in my household.  (It still is for the rest of my family, but I've since moved out and somewhat away from television.)  Anyway, I mostly watched children's television, and, as I recall, they all provided step-by-step plans/processes to a specifc solution, which resulted in the moral, message, etc. of each specific episode.

That being said, I realized once I grew older how many basic social skills I'd learned at such a young age.  Those shows I watched as a child were specifically formulated to mould me into a person who could function in society.  Sesame Street didn't just teach me the beginnings of basic colors, numbers, and letters; it also taught me about relationships.

Now that the study of pop culture has been brought to my attention, I realize that adult/PG/PG-13 programming continues the same type of process by giving the audience a more mature process to present and teach a certain and/or more complex lesson or idea.

In addition to television, I was also very into music starting at a young age. Backstreet Boys, Hanson, Nsync, and Celine Dion were my tops before I was a teenager, and then I grew to love all boy and girl groups as a young teenager.  The only thing I ever really got out of my initial musical interests was that boys were supposed to fall in love with girls and vice versa.  The specifics of the lyrics never sunk in other than that. Then people started talking about Lance Bass from Nsync, and his sexuality.  Suddenly, as a preteen, I was introduced to homosexuality, and my ideas of relationships went further than the basics of the boy likes girl, girl likes boy lyrics I had spent my childhood listening to.

Until the Canadian show Degrassi, which is a show that pushes many social boundaries and topics, became a favorite show of mine, the Lance Bass controversy was the first major pop culture event in my life that took something I grew up listening to and took it out of the metaphorical "normal" box I grew up in.  It was an eye opening, "Wait, I was listening to a gay male sing those lyrics?  I wonder what he was REALLY thinking about the lyrics he was singing..."

Now, Lance and his partner, Michael Turchin are due to wed this December 20, 2014!  When I first found out about his sexuality at a young age, it confused me and bothered me, but today, at 23, I couldn't be happier for Lance, and I think the fact that he started in a "boy band" is incredibly interesting and awesome.