CMJ 410 Exam 3 2025

Describe the three implications that Lemish identifies for children's television in a global context. - - 1) Loss of the local 2) The dominance of the Western Beauty 3) Gender Segregation Loss of the local - -- American programming for children has been strongly criticized around the world for many reasons: 1. stereotypical of gender and race, 2. irrelevant to indigenous cultures, 3. too limited in scope of content and issues for children as they mature, 4. unnecessarily accelerating adulthood, 5. encouraging wasteful consumption. - It idealizes a stereotypical way of American life with dominant representations of gender and race roles. - -- Values identified in the form of American TV broadbast to children around the world includes: 1. lack of respect for adults and local cultural traditions, 2. individualism and estrangement from the collective, 3. dominance of the English language and slang, 4. dominance of popular culture, 5. and celebrity adoration - nothing regarding the lower class, nontraditional family arrangements, or on the streets - Social issues in the world are not discussed. 2) The dominance of the Western Beauty - -Children's TV perpetuates an unattainable beauty model, particularly for girls. - -The "beauty myth" by Naomi Wolf (1991) says the desired female "look" is -thin, -attractive, -heterosexual, -wealthy, -predominantly white CMJ 410 CMJ 410 - -This demonstrates the priority given to selected images of Whiteness on TV viewed by children conveying the message that Western beauty is superior to any other racial form - -The struggle to attain the "Western look" also imposes an economic strain on children and families. It encourages heavy consumption of leisure goods and fules production such as: clothes, fashion accessories, surgeries, and exemplars of Western culture popular culture. - -Lastly: unhealthy eating habits have promoted the American "fast food" industry which has been encouraged by healthy consumption of TV as well as correlated with obesity. Gender Segregation - -Promote a worldview through which boys and girls are encouraged to inhabit different electronic and cultural spaces. - -Disney examples: -High School musical or Hannah Montana (girl oriented) -action-oriented cartoon network (boy oriented). In addition it is common in that industry that girls would watch boys shows but boys would not watch girls shows. - -Now networks are making an effort to address gender segregation by -selecting lead characters from both genders, -diversifying genres and narrative styles, -and modifying packaging and names, which Lemish believes is a marketing strategy. - --for example: Disney's effort to attract boys from 6-14 and making Disney XD cable channel and websites does not diminish gender segregation it just creates Disney X as a "boys world" in addition to the already existing girls one. Describe how popular culture contributes to the sexualization of girls and the hypersexualization of femininity, according to Dines. - -Dines article talks about the idea of feminine in todays culture and compares them to pop culture icons. Dines uses Britney Spears as an example and talks about how now she is a role model for her success in mother-ship but in the article it talks about how although she is a role model she is still ridiculed for her mothering skills. As for social media, she posts a lot about her children which is nice and cute but does not imply she is a good mother. CMJ 410 CMJ 410 - -Dines also talks about Sex in the City and how this displays post-feminism (the choices to be a sexual person but really doing it to perform to normative ideas. The show represents female independence from men. The four main women share their sexual desires. This notion is referred to as the "hook up culture" ridiculing this culture of woman being victims because they are 'less sexual' and men just benefit. Statistics show how woman are depressed within the hook up culture and have low self-esteem. - -In society, objectification of women is very current in our culture. In advertisements they use faces of celebrities for the money and the fame but also to represent the same desires that are represented in porn → therefore we live in a porn culture. Dines talks about how post feminism is a result of pop culture. How we understand females completely reflects the desires and wants in the way that males want to consume sex. For example, Cosmo is a way for women to conform to the ways that culture wants to consume sex. Cosmo gives tips on how to build a relationship of ways to develop intimacy—as if talking dirty is the only thing that matters. In Cosmo, hypersexualization is normalized by virtue of both the quantity of articles on sex and the degrees to which they are explicit. - -Dines says that thanks to porn culture, men see woman as interchangeable hook up partners. To feel the sense of power, women need to keep sexing themselves up so they can become visible to the man whose attention will be grabbed. - -Lastly, Dines says that women have internalized what men see as gazes and therefore pick apart their bodies to posses a 'slim tone body' and such persuasiveness has turned women against their bodies. Women have become their own critics due to this hostile porn culture. Rather than focus on beauty ideals, Goldman emphasizes the role of race/ethnicity in the history of Barbie. What does this analysis offer to our understanding of children's play with dolls? - -There are more than 1 billion dolls sold in 150 countries that represent 45 different nationalities. Barbie culture has increased from its original blue eyed, blonde Barbie to more hegemonic and oppositional manifestations. - -Such Barbie's are marked as 'ethnic' or foreign only to the extent to which they differ from the original Barbie. The original Barbie empathized the association of the middle class Caucasian femininity with "Americanness". Barbie had specific outfits 'evening splendor', career aspirations 'ballerina, registered nurse', leisure activities 'ski queen, movie date', specific occasions 'Easter parade, Bride's dream, while also having the 'deam' accessories such as the 'dream house, dream kitchen... all of which fall under the middle class Caucasian Americaness. Barbie and Ken had traveled the world (tourists), and each came along with a narrative for the places and clothes as well. - -Moreover, today, all ethnic Barbie dolls vary in skin tone and hair color but typically wear the same clothes and accessories as Caucasian Barbie. There are more CMJ 410 CMJ 410 similarities than there are differences so children are still seeing Barbie as the same way she used to be. - -Little girls will still want Barbie dolls. Part of this is that Barbie appeals to some other desires and pleasures. There is the "hard body argument" where what kid's don't have is power and control and Barbie represents an adult. - -Working with ethnicity and race is at a superficial level of changing colors etc. and critique how Barbie is working and how Barbie is of the world. For a stereotype example, there is only one Barbie from Peru and this is therefore basing all women in Peru based off of one identification. Goldman points out that when you do critique Barbie people talk about her unrealistic proportions and beauty but do not talk about her ethinicity and race. Kids get into it because Barbie is powerful. - -In conclusion, in Barbie's 43rd year, Barbie reflects the dreams, hopes, and future realities of an entire generation of little girls who still see her as representing the same American dream and aspirations as when she was first introduced in 1959. Describe how the narratives of contemporary Disney films naturalize an ideology of social class hierarchy and hyper-individualism (Artz). - -Disney leads the world in the production and distribution of popular culture. Artz criticizes how the ideological themes of Disney's animated narratives (including race and gender equality) represent hierarchy and hyper-individualism (rags to riches story). - -Disney shows social class in terms of none of the shows or movies are completed until everything is in order and all the leaders are who they are supposed to be. Disney movies always have a hero and heroin to gain independence and freedom (only characters that can do that) because the supporting characters simply help them on the way and are passive. This brings up social elitism requiring a social structure. Good people tend to be beautiful whereas bad people are poorly drawn/'ugly'. - -Disney tries really hard not to go outside of what is natural to present connections to others and moral reasons behind actions → a double advocate. Disney's princesses have been known to be weak and be saved by someone else (a common theme). - -Disney reinforces social order and hierarchy. Disney presents the importance of family (e.g. finding nemo, frozen), Disney characters never go on self-empowered adventures it is always to help family and social values while getting help along the way (e.g. Mulan). The movies are made neat so that children can figure out. We often dumb things down for kids so that they can understand. - -Most Disney films are original stories in the 16th ad 17th century however it has been revamped for a modern age. Ideology becomes more difficult when tis original stuff is based off of many different variations and different endings. Disney represents narrative conventions that adopt the direction of stories. Disney is so popular because they are safe and not sexism or racist and they have built a reputation around that. CMJ 410 CMJ 410 - -Hyper-individualism asks what the social class critiques. In regards to the rags to riches, who are the natural leaders? Focuses more on class than gender, those that are good, resorting of society, sees democracy as a problem and that rulers are the ones who are wise and benevolent, the hero saves the hierarchy. Also as far as structure goes, hero's can go against societies rules but if anyone else does it they are called out for it. - -Disney focuses on the individual and making decisions as part of a neoliberalism so if you fail it is because you made bad choices, not because of social structures but because of your choices. Describe how the girls that Durham interviews illustrate the argument for "cultural hybridization" in their negotiation of U.S. and Indian popular culture. - -Durham talks about cultural hybridization as a way in which the girls in the interviews negotiate within their U.S. and Indian popular culture to interlace the global and local symbolic and material collaboration they are faced between. This situation presents a double standard because the young girls that they interview have never lived in India and are technically American citizens; since their parents were from India. - -However, this created female sexually that was used as a political tool. Men weren't worried and could do whatever they wanted. But the Indian girls weren't allowed to hangout with American girls or date American boys, This was a big struggle in current culture because women were hyper-sexualized but Indian woman weren't allowed to be (creating a double standard and political power). Their parents didn't experience American culture as teenagers so the girls were restricted because of this, which created a major gap. - -It became segregated because it was part of an American culture. These girls lived their whole live but were still expected to live up to the Indian cultures that their parents grew up in. The girls felt a major obligation to the culture their parents were from. This was especially tough on them throughout the teenager years where they were trying to figure out where they were at. This relates to Disney movies due to the underlying message to look back to heritage to figure it out. Kids in our generation look to movies and are fed their messages since day one. Indian girls don't know how to act therefore the media shaped their attitudes. - -This reflects the cultural hybridization because the Indian parents came to America for a better life for their children but won't let children live that life because of cultural standards. Parents are holding on to cultural standards and how they grew up makes it seem like their home but in the end the girls will end up doing what's comfortable for them. - -Indian parents were against kids going to problem because of what media has portrayed including the images of hotel rooms and drugs but that's also what parents in America think and feel too. American parents are able to say that might not necessarily CMJ 410 CMJ 410 happen however Indian parents weren't able to draw that line because of the lack of resources. They were supposed to assimilate but also adapt the culture and create multigenerational views. What lessons does Farrell take from the case study of viewers responses to the HIV narrative arc on Queer as Folk? - -HIV getting portrayed. HIV and AIDS have been portrayed on television. Early history: slow to appear. Initial reports took place on news shows=really depressing journalistic history. Representation and theway it plays out. TV fictional earliest example were the Made of TV focusing on social problem. HIV & Aids = social problem tackled by movie. Focus and who are the major characters. Summary- social problem primary theory on gay men and sexuality that isn't normative and coverage is not like other social . When characters appear they are reduced to their problem. Typical approach. See it and move on. Initial characters were sympathetic. - -White men- fluent and middle class who have a moment of indiscretion. Slip up & problems are not their fault and can still be constructed that way. Focus is what is impact on family and what happens/ what works and doesn't work. Same elements in movies: Tom hanks b c he can because it is tom hanks. Representations typically individualism the issues. They divorce the major character from any other gay character. HIV & AIDS out of activists groups out of New York. Work constructs victim as a good victim out of gay culture and community to focus on white men who are indefinable. - -Clear as folk (example they work with) jump into 2000's. Article how does that construct w white men/ same class structure/ clear as folk looks for rating. One sex scene. Reduction of sexuality to sexual behavior. Compression that often happens. Televisions problem in trying to write what's going on. How to people watch. Researcher does focus group on how to talk about what is going on in the show : example condom use or sex education and how they think about fictional views. - -Extra notes: -What are some of the lessons people take away from watching these narratives? -Use them to talk about HIV, what's going on with it, not a news program, have a way to talk about what's going on as a way to talk about transmission -What's the message of the show? Always use protection, but then think about it in terms of their own lives -Recognition of some things are bad and some are good -Example of breast cancer, telling success stories, "I won my battle" meant to be upbeat, but not everyone has that same response to cancer How do videogames work to integrate capitalism and "instrumental realism" (Sanbonmatsu)? What can "historical simulation" videogames teach us about the "ideology of games" (Schut)? - -Sanbonmatsu talks about the medium in the videogame CMJ 410 CMJ 410 itself conveys an educative 'message' that instrumental manipulation of the world, pf self and other, is natural and socially producing. ** Also discusses the extent to which the player's cognitive and behavioral modality is oriented toward manipulation of the representative world than receptivity toward it. 1st: we have no value outside of our ability to manipulate them 2nd: we have a mode of thinking and action that is reduced to quantitative measures. - -Games are desensitizing the younger children and how violent they can be and then it goes into the real world - --Instrumental realism -What's the importance of playing video games? What does it teach us? Ways of relating and acting out, teach us how to master the game. -Mastering a game is instrumental, -Instrumental reason: what can I do with this? Taking control of the environment, using the environment to do things (win the game) -Video games are both fun and teaching us how we should interact with the world, and what the world is there for -Also think of it in terms of who are the bad guys? What do you do with them? Eliminate them, -Video games don't require thought, they require doing -Historical simulations teaching us about the world? What's history? What great men are doing. Series of wars, or "big events" -Acquire territory, eliminate opponents -Ideologies of games going on How are patterns of boys and girls play incorporated into videogames? What challenges do these patterns present for cross-gender play? (Bertozzi) - -Hyper masculinity hasnít stopped girls from playing video games- they play it as often as males. Females are punished for challenging males on what is "their turf." When males play against females they are affected by: standards of civility, their own self- definition, and sexual desires. - -The results of this play results in everyone being unhappy. Girls playing boys is bad because it they win they lose their feminity, if you lose you are seen as incapable. Boys want to win because they cant lose to a girl but its also seen as bad for boys to always beat girls. It is a lose lose situation - -To break these cross gender play issues you must add more variety at a young age. Have kids grow up with mixed play Describe how the use of working-class stereotypes (such as men as buffoons) help networks to reduce costs and risks in production. (Butsch) - -Small percentage of working class of familis in the show. Didn't start showing more of them until the 90's "Blue collar families". One parent was more the working class compared to others. In Rossane it was more of the smaller side of them. One parent "baffoon" . in I love Lucky →lucy was the quirky character. Producers pick out shows that they think will attract the most people—not that much research done on them. CMJ 410 CMJ 410 - -Many shows ppl r more adapt to watch it if they can relate or dream life they'd want. example the Middle. Working class baffoons are good because they are economic. Why are they economic: Its been successful before so why fix it →keep doing it until it stops being successful.. riding out course attitude. - -Risk avoidance- new is risky so don't do it or avoid it. Rosanne¬- constant clashing of stand up comedy. Producers were nervous about what was going to turn off audiencses. All American girl- pushed in many direction that didn't