Blog #6

            The Bush and Cheney responses to 9/11 discuss the stereotype of the terrorist as a Muslim male. This deals with the facet of gender. Terrorists are never considered to be female because women in Middle Eastern countries do not have the freedoms American women have and as Bush stated in his speech, “women are not allowed to attend school.”

The terrorists that attacked our country on September 11, 2001 were part of a terrorist organization known as al Qaeda which is Arabic for “The Base”. The goal of al Qaeda is not to make money, but to remake the world and impose its radical beliefs on everyone. These terrorists "practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics, a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam."

Terrorists are also described to be haters of America. Cheney says that Osama bin Laden is filled with hate for the United States and for everything we stand for because we are freedom and democracy. The stereotype of the terrorist also creates the men to be masculine because they are directed to kill Christians, Jews and all Americans, even the women and children. The terrorists plan and train for years for these operations. They even commit themselves to die in the process. Those who took over the U.S. aircrafts came to America to train. They got visas, entered the U.S., enrolled in aviation schools and learned to fly. To later execute the plan, they needed to be on the airplane, have correct timing to attack and also have weapons such as knifes, razor blades or cardboard cutters. They then were able to take over the aircraft. 

              A 100 minute long training video was released by Osama bin laden. In the video, according to Tim Russert, bin Laden says, "We have to practice the way of the suicidal commandos of faith and the heroism of the resistance fighter and we refuse their culture and we will take advantage of their misfortunes and the blood of their wounded." Bin Laden later says, "With small capabilities, and with our faith, we can defeat the greatest military power of modern times," and that “America is much weaker than it appears." This shows how al Qaeda believes they are superior and should spread their beliefs. 

     

Blog #5

The Feminist Frequency web series discusses negative portrayals of women in pop culture. One trope talked about in the video is the Magical Pregnancy. This is when women’s ability to get pregnant is taken advantage of to create a more dramatic story. It makes pregnancy seem disgusting, terrifying and nightmarish. An example of the Mystical Pregnancy trope is Bella Swan’s pregnancy in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.

            When Bella and Edward go on their honeymoon, Bella seduces Edward and finds herself pregnant two weeks later. Although she has only been pregnant for a few days, the baby has grown very quickly and Bella has a large baby bump. Bella becomes weak and thin because the human-vampire hybrid child takes away all of her strength, nearly killing Bella. When others hear of this event, they begin to believe that Bella’s baby is a demon, and they threaten to kill the child. Bella becomes so weak that she has to drink human blood out of a sippy cup to satisfy the fetus’ vampiric thirst and regain strength.

            Bella goes into a painful labor involving an emergency C-Section where Edward’s adopted sister cuts Bella open with a knife. Bella is so sickly thin and bruised that Edward has to bite and inject his venom into her heart to save her life and transform her into a vampire. Bella appears to be dead but at the end of the movie, her heart finally stops, the venom heals her wounds, and she awakens as a vampire.

Blog #4

In Naomi Wolf’s novel, The Beauty Myth, she discusses how images of beauty in the media are used against women. Through the media, the beauty myth enforces the idea that to achieve “flawless beauty,” is to have a thin physique. Wolf also talks about how the modern woman has more freedom and power than ever before and that this successful woman has put fear into male-dominated institutions. After the Industrial Revolution, technology improved and advertisements were able to be mass-produced. The media has created a false image of what they believe women are to look like.

Wolf discusses the differences between a female model and an average American woman. The article states, “the weight of fashion models plummeted to 23 percent below that of ordinary women,” which has led to a rise in eating disorders. The average American woman weighs about 160 pounds and stands at about 5’4” tall. The average model in fashion advertisements weights about 130 pounds and stands at about 5’10” tall.

The female models in fashion advertising are usually seen as sex objects. They use their bodies to attract attention and tend to make the female reader feel bad about themselves. After seeing these perfect, but usually photo shopped or airbrushed advertisements, women become self-conscious. Introduction to the beauty myth begins at a young age. Barbie is an example of this myth because young girls grow up playing with Barbie dolls and they become acquainted with this ideal tall, thin and blonde image. A beautiful, plus-sized model, that many women look up to and idolize, modeled in a photo shoot to argue the beauty myth. She is seen with plastic surgeon’s dotted lines all over her body to show what would need to be cut away to have the body of a Barbie doll.

Victoria’s Secret models are another obvious example of how the media displays this myth. Victoria’s Secret has become a major fashion industry that now appeals to girls of younger ages. The models are called “Angels,” and the models have a very similar image to that of a Barbie doll. The models are shown as confident, tall, thin and feminine women. The text on one Victoria’s Secret advertisement says, “No one’s perfect. Until now.” The brand is creating the idea that women who wear their new “Perfect One” bra are perfect.

Another advertisement has text in small print that says, “nothing to hide.” Six models are lined up wearing only stiletto heels and black gloves. They are also covered in diamond necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets. Each of their hair is the same length and looks as if it is blowing in the wind. Most of the models have very seductive facial expressions. The women are nude, but covering themselves with their arms and legs. This shows how female models can be used as sex objects.

Fashion advertisement portrays images of what they believe to be the ideal woman. Of course most women would love to look like these models, and although these advertisements make women self-conscious and can lead to self-hate, but I believe they can also give women hope and determination. 

Blog #3

The myth of the “Final Girl” is shown in the 2013 horror film Evil Dead. This film starts out just like any other, with five teenagers in a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere. The Final Girl, Mia, goes to this cabin with her two friends Eric and Olivia, her brother David, and David’s girlfriend Natalie. They all meet up at the cabin to help Mia get over her cocaine addiction and they make it a game called “Cold Turkey.” It is obvious that Mia is dressed less feminine than the other girls. Mia wears baggy sweatshirts while the other girls wear tight jeans or dresses.

Soon after they begin the process, Mia starts complaining about a terrible smell she cannot stand. She says “something is dead and it wreaks.” No one else can smell anything so they blame it on her being extra sensitive because of her withdrawal. This shows how the Final Girl notices something amiss before anyone else. The kids find a hidden basement trap door, and once they open it, everyone finally notices the smell. The basement is covered with dead cats hanging off the ceiling. They see a book covered and tied up in wire. Mia warns them that they should not have touched anything in the basement. Out of curiosity, Eric opens the book and reads the words out loud, releasing the demons. The human flesh bound book that they found in the basement says that once five souls are dead, the skies will bleed again and the abomination will rise from hell.

Mia is outside at this time and sees a ghost in the distance. She tells her friends she wants to leave but her friends just say that she is going insane and losing her mind. Mia takes the car keys and sneaks out of her bedroom window. She drives away in the pouring rain, spots a demon in front of her car and spins into the lake. After she climbs out, while making her way back to the cabin, she is tied up and choked by tree branches that come to life. The demon stands in front of Mia and barfs up a black, slimy, worm-like creature that crawls between Mia’s legs. This is a phallic symbol and is also how Mia becomes possessed.

When Mia tells her friends about the ghosts she saw in the woods, everyone once again says it is crazy withdrawal talk. She begs her brother to take her out of there because there is something in the woods and she thinks it is inside the house with them. He responds that it is just all in her head.

Mia’s friend Olivia also becomes possessed before she dies. While she is possessed, Olivia stabs Eric with a sharp piece of glass. She also stabs him in the eyeballs with a needle which is another phallic symbol.

After it is believed that everyone but David and Maria are dead, David buries Mia and apologizes for not being there for his sister when she needed him. Mia becomes unpossessed and is brought back to life. Eric is actually not dead, but has now become possessed. Eric tries to kill David and Mia, but to save his sister, David sets the house on fire once Mia is outside.

            Finally, the prolonged, fifteen minute final battle between Mia and the demon begins. The sky starts bleeding and the demon rises up from the ground. Mia gets in the car to drive away but the car will not start. The demon then burns her with its hand. After, Mia crawls into a small cave to hide. The cave leads to a shed where Mia knocks down a shelf of tools to block the demon from moving closer. She is stabbed all over by the demon. This shows how Mia is tortured and wounded by the killer during the battle and also shows how she is resourceful under pressure. Mia later hides under the jeep, but the demon knocks the jeep onto Mia, causing her arm to get stuck underneath. Mia gains willpower and strength and then rips her arm in half and out from under the jeep. Mia winds up a chainsaw, cuts the demons body in half, killing it and causing it to sink back into the ground. This is an example of how the Final Girl is masculinized because she is able to work machinery. Mia penetrating the demon with a large chainsaw as her weapon is also a major phallic symbol adding to her masculinity. The sky stops pouring blood and Mia walks away alone into the sunlight. Mia portrays the myth of the Final Girl because she confronts the demon that has killed her family and friends and she is the only person left to tell the tale. 

Blog #2

Isopure TV Commercial Link:

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAdNKunW97Q

            Isopure is a brand that makes pure protein drinks and powders that are lactose and milk sugar free. This print advertisement is specifically for their liquid protein sports drink. This advertisement is a great example of the stereotype that men are to be extremely muscular and manly.

            The man in this advertisement is centered and larger than the picture of the drinks, so therefore our eyes are drawn to the athlete. The man is not wearing a shirt to also draw attention and show off his upper body strength. Boys and men who want to become athletes, or anyone who wants to be proud of their body, would love to be muscular like the man in this advertisement. This man portrays masculinity because of his expansive stance and stern facial expression. His facial expression shows feelings of confidence and dominance. The athlete also looks determined because he is not looking directly at the camera, but is looking above and beyond.

The model looks like a professional athlete or body builder, but in reality he is just a regular man. Isopure could have used celebrities and professional athletes, but instead they decided to use regular people because this is a brand made for the people. Isopure started out when the CEO of the company consulted regular people about their fitness needs and created the product around them. The athletes in the advertisements used the product to change their lives and are able to show it with their protruding muscles. These real athletes also have truly authentic and inspirational stories. By using real athletes who exercised and achieved their dreams of being in shape, these advertisements can persuade others to work hard and achieve their goals through this product.

People who read this advertisement can relate to this product when they read the text, “we are all more than muscle. We’re for shorties, ballers, marathoners, shredders, adventurers, moms and dads, because there’s so much more to each and every one of us.” Also, in the video commercial for Isopure, the athlete says that he works out every day so that his body is an example that anyone can do it too. The only problem that I have with the message that anyone can do it is that in all of Isopure’s advertisements, there is only one advertisement that uses a female athlete. Even if females are not their target audience, there are still many muscular female body builders and athletes. In the text in the print advertisement, the word “dads” is much larger, bolder and more noticeable than the word “moms” that sideways and in small font. This advertisement is portraying that only men can be muscular athletes or that men are just better at it. There are great, muscular, female athletes that girls and boys look up to as role models. 

Blog #1

           

            This Blu electronic cigarette advertisement corresponds to Soloman’s idea of elitism and belonging. The myth portrayed in this advertisement is the myth of fame, fortune and high social class.

            The first thing that caught my eye in this advertisement is the model’s seductive and persuasive gaze. It seems as though she is trying attract the attention of others who desire to be like her and have fame and fortune. The model is also wearing a large amount of bright eye makeup to pull the focus and bring out this look in her eyes. The next thing I noticed after looking at the model’s face is the shining light at the end of the cigarette. I feel as though this light makes the cigarette look fun and similar to a toy. Also, by having the model wear light pink nail polish, attention is once again drawn to the cigarette in her hands. This pink color stands out because it is the only place where the color pink appears in this advertisement. The whole left side of the advertisement is black and most of the font is written in blue because of the brand’s name.

            Since the makers of this advertisement felt it necessary to add in fine print that the model is also a famous music artist means that they are trying to exaggerate the fact that a celebrity uses their product. Fans of DJ Heavy Grinder that idolize her or any teenager that dreams to be famous will want to be just like her. They also have the model wearing an obnoxious fur coat on a private jet to portray luxury, fortune and high class. The setting of being on a jet may also be used to make it seem as though the DJ is traveling and on her way to perform. This is an example of elitism.

             This advertisement is obviously trying to be extravagant. By saying that these e-cigarettes are “smoking redefined” is trying to make it sound like the product is a new, high quality and fashionable trend. In other recent advertisements by Blu, more well-known celebrities such as Stephen Dorff and Jenny McCarthy are used.

            Next, the advertisement states in the text that their brand uses U.S.A. made flavors. People are more drawn to products that are made in the U.S. By using the word freedom, they are presenting a sense of nationalism and spreading the message that if you use electronic cigarettes versus regular cigarettes, you can have your freedom.

A main part of this advertisement is the coupon at the bottom of the page. Everyone loves coupons and if someone sees a coupon, they are more likely to buy that item. The use of a coupon is to make people think they are getting a deal but the coupon is only eligible for starter kits. This is to persuade people to leave their old brand and try this one, or for people who are just starting to use electronic cigarettes.

            Something very important about this advertisement is that it does not list any health warnings or side effects like other electronic cigarette brand advertisements include. This advertisement is also trying to make it seem like smoking electronic cigarettes is safe. Although e-cigarettes are healthier than regular cigarettes because these do not have tobacco, electronic cigarettes still have nicotine which can become highly addictive. Many countries have already banned the use of electronic cigarettes.

             I believe this advertisement is mostly trying to reach out to teenagers who desire to be popular and famous. If younger non-smokers think that this form of smoking is safe, they will likely be tempted to take up this form of smoking. These kids could become addicted and eventually move onto actual tobacco-containing cigarettes. Also, this advertisement can make cigarette smokers feel like they are a part of a popular trend and will never want to quit smoking.