Race, Class, and Gender in Media

In this weeks class, we were asked to team up and work together to find different articles, images, and video that depict either race, class, or gender in media. I was in a group of four and we gathered up all kind of different examples and information to present to the class on these subjects. It was interesting to try and find this information on the web as it was such a broad topic and we could literally use just about anything if we could back it up as to why we used it. Our group ended up getting two examples for each of the three topics. 

For race we showed an article that dealt with Hurrican Katrina. In the article it showed a white woman and a black man fighting through the flood water both carrying different items in their hands. Under the photo their were two captions, the first read a white woman carrying a loaf of bread and some groceries. the other caption said a black man looting a local store. It was an obvious unintentional racist depiction of two people essentially doing the same thing only viewed in a different perspective.

For class we found two photos showing the two extreme sides to class, wealthy and poor. The poor photo showed a white trash pair of men, one in overalls and the other with his shirt off and beer gut hanging out. They were standing in front of a beat up old vehicle outside of a trailer park in a run down part of town. The picture was entitled West Virginia Proud. The other photo was a shot of two high class, well dressed, jewelry covered females that were in a bright red corvette in a upscale part of Beverly Hills. They both seemed very materialistic and perfect from head to toe.

Finally for gender, we had two group photos of both men and women. For the women, the photo was out of Maxim Magazine and showed all of the females that did spreads for Maxim during 2010. All of the women looked about the same, they were all what the media would describe as the perfect females, skinny, big breasts, big butt, all of which really didn't have a flaw on them. The male photo was from a body building magazine in the same format, where it was just the men that had been featured through 2010. All of these men were tall, dark, and solid muscle. These two pictures I think showed how the media tries to make people think that they need to look this way to be relevant. I however think both the men and women in the photos looked phony and desperate. I think to focus on your looks as much as these people do shows weakness in one's self esteem.

This assignment was really interesting to do. It was fun to work with my group and get others opinions on the assignment. Overall it was good project that showcased exactly what is wrong with the media these days on three important subjects.

The Longest Yard

In our latest class, we watched the movie “The Longest Yard”. She picked this movie to point out certain aspects of masculinity depicted throughout the film. It is clear from the first scene that this was a “mans” movie. The movie is about a once pro football player named Paul Crew that is notoriously known for shaving points on a football game who ends up being imprisoned for stealing his girlfriends car and going on an all out drunken police chase. While in prison he is asked to lead a team of inmates against the guard’s football team in a “tune-up” game to start off the guard’s season.

            

The character’s in this movie were all mostly male, and for the most part they all were roided out jocks. The guards were all big tough no nonsense guys, that had little remorse for Mr. Crew or the rest of the inmates. The inmates were mostly the same as the guards. They all joked around with one another, and were ready to fight at any moment. This movie showcases the competitiveness of men when put around one another. The majority of the inmates were very happy that they get the chance to hit the guards that ridicule them on a daily basis. The guards were equally pleased to beat up on the prisoners and blow them out on the field. The black inmates at first were hesitant of joining the team due to Paul Crew’s reputation of turning his back on his team, but Crew earned their trust and respect by taking a beating in a pick up basketball game. We stopped the movie right as the team had been fully assembled and were preparing for the big game.

            

All in all from what we watched, this movie had many instances of masculinity throughout. The men’s attitudes and demeanor in this film reminded me of Social Darwinism. It had a “dog eat dog” or “survival of the fittest” tone to it. The male characters had very few feminine traits about them, and there were very little female roles. Between all the testosterone, fighting, hitting, and dirty comedy infused action, The Longest Yard was a great example of a masculine film.

Mid Term

Tonight in Race, Class, & Gender we had our Mid Term. At the midway point in this semester, I must say I did not expect this class to be as informative and complex as it is. It is a lot of work, but nothing to difficult. As long as you come to class and do the homework asigned it isn't so bad. The Mid Term exam was interesting. It was not your normal bubble sheet multiple choice set up. This test was broken into two parts. The first part was a written exam consisting of like ten or so question dealing with social stratification and gender. It had scenarios that dealt with gender identity/performance, social theories, and definition to common terms discussed in class. It gave a few bonus questions to help out. The questions were pretty difficult if you didn't know the material and understand what was being asked of. I think that I may have missed a question on the front part of the test dealing with a boy named Dom being lead through schooling and life by his parents and elders. I think after going back though the material that the answer was contest/sponsorship theories. I chose the elite theory thinking that because he was helped by a "elite" group of people, meaning wealthy and intelligent, that this would be correct. I guess i'll find out when we get our tests back after spring break.

For the second part of the test, we had to watch an episode of NCIS and write down all the instances of class and gender.  The episode dealt with a homicide and the NCIS team trying to find who committed the murder. It had many twists in the plot, and for the most part, picking out class and gender wasn't that bad. I think I had about ten answers for both and overall had a much easier time with this part of the test than the other.

All in all, the midterm was interesting and unique. It made you think about what has been discussed in class and also use your context clues when understanding the material. I hope that I did alright on it, and I am looking forward to what our teacher has in store for the final.

The Women

In our last class, we got to watch the beginning of The Women, a remake from the 1939 film which follows the gossip, bitchy, wisecracking, and overall disillusionment that erupt among a group of socialite friends when their dearest and most envied girlfriend learns of her husband's marital infidelity at the hands of a backstabbing shopgirl. It includes an all female cast and shows some of the common stereotypes that a group of women often have in the eyes of most people.The central character is clothing designer Mary Haines, who lives in a beautiful country home with her wealthy financier husband and their 11-year-old daughter. Her best friend Sylvie Fowler is the editor of a prominent fashion magazine, a woman who dictates the latest in taste and style for New York City fashionistas. When Mary's husband becomes involved with Crystal Allen, a perfume salesgirl in Saks Fifth Avenue, her friendship with Sylvie is put to the test. All of her friends want what is best for Mary, and at first were hesitant of telling her the big news. Turns out that she figures it out for herself, and when the movie left off, all of Mary's closets friends confront Crystal at her workplace and let her know that they are on to her wrongdoing.


This movie showcases the close friendships between women. It shows every side of a woman; from the emotional, to the caring, the bitchy and deceiving, and of course the gossip, it touches all the bases. These women in this movie depict what I think is ideal persona of a group of close female friends. They all have something unique to bring to the table, and they all see things differently, but they all can somehow gel together and get along like a family. Even though Mary's relationship is the one on the forefront of this movie, the others all have relationship problems of their own. The way they deal with their problems in the movie is dysfunctional and often pretty funny as they just can't keep their mouths shut and yell and talk over top of each other until they get everything off of their mind and out in the open. Im sure as the movie progresses it gets more interesting and in depth, but from what little I saw it seemed that the girls will do whatever it takes to get Mary back on the right track and make sure that Crystal gets what is coming to her.