why do i do this?

Meeting tomorrow to talk about final project, and still can't seem to pick one. I am just iffy on this whole racism in west Texas project, because I feel I can't do much more than analyze a handful of articles, and I don't really know how deep I can dig. It's all so surface level, and I'm leaning away from it.

Other ideas: lack on minorities in prime time television... particularly The Bachelor. It's the only show I watch, yeah, I know, it's ridiculous. I never watch any tv, and neither do my roommates, but every Wednesday, we set the vcr to record the bachelor. We're usually a couple weeks behind, but it doesn't seem to ruin anything for us because we're not getting updated in the media. So thats something I could possibly dig deep into. Who knows?

Another area I am venturing into is the show Gilmore Girls. I haven't seen any episodes since high school. In high school the theme of the show was different than most other shows airing, a relationship between a single mom & her daughter. Innocent relationships, and the daughter, the main charater is very intelligent & stands up for what she believes in. Well, I saw a season premiere commercial & found out that the boy she dated a couple seasons ago got married, and he comes into town & the SLEEP TOGETHER...ADULTRY! Craziness, this show has rolled into the cookie cutter image that all these stupid shows want to fit. sex sex sex. Who knows, this is where I'm at. I will keep posting about this, I will make a decision VERY SOON & post my findings & interest.

Too much media for me, I'm so deprived, and combining that with someone who is severely indecisive is a dangerous thing...

thanks, kasey

possibly a final project? west tx drama...

Here is the story. Snyder, TX - small West Texas town... in 1998, a black boy from Sweetwater drowned in Towle Park Pond when "drinking" with a group of people. People remember the story as: a bunch of kids got drunk, and 2 tried to swim across the pond, Moses accidently drowned...

My brother (Ike) just transferred to Snyder High, he was well-known, athletic, cute... one of the seniors, Andy Parker (the other kid who swam across the pond) decided to get some attention. Andy stole the tool box out of the back of Ike's truck, where Ike kept his spare tire, his backpack, everything... so he was determined to get it back. He found out it was Andy, Ike told Andy he was going to fight him if he had to (Ike is a stupid boy for wanting to fight, he is also a strong boy) Andy told Ike this exact thing: "I drowned that nigger from Sweetwater & got away with it, I think I can handle this." My dad was very upset about this & decided to find out what happened. He was friends with the town judge & got info. from him. Andy's family was a prominent political & financial one in town. The chief of police dealing with this case (who I understand tried to investigate further) was fired soon after.

The story goes, from the judge, that Moses was in the water, Andy was wet sitting by the pond crying, and other kids were further back watching. It was late at night & the police came & took everyone home but Andy. Andy said they were racing to the other side, and something happened... he didnt realize & went on. It was then too late. They pulled Moses' body out of the water, and for some reason put it back until a few hours later. Once they pulled his body back out, there was no way to tell if there was in fact alcohol in his system. (?)

I'm not venturing to say anything more happened, or make any accusations. If I believed that more than what is shown happened, I woud probaby say that Andy might have jokingly pushed Moses, something playful, resulting in an accident, hence the need to put the body back in the water & make all the witnesses go home. I don't really know.

I would like to analyze articles from the Snyder, Sweetwater, Abilene, Lubbock, and surrounding newspapers. Sweetwater has a higher African American population than Snyder, I'd like to see the "spin" each paper might take. I've looked, and found only one article in a paper from Pecos, TX. Nothing in the archives of Snyder Daily News Online, or Sweetwater Reporter Online. I could find them, but I can't find them all from here in Denton.

Is this a good final project idea? Should I do this? Is this bad of me to stir up? Can I look at things other than Racism...

who knows...let me know!

a true reflection?

I would really like to know what anyone thinks about this! In my advertising class, we get into how nasty & raunchy advertising can be sometimes. The defense is, in some aspects, that advertising doesn't create an audience, they appeal to an existing one. They might exaggerate, over do themselves a little, but they've got to start somewhere... Sex is everywhere. Everywhere. All around us. I'm not in any way implying that the media/advertising are a clear representation of who we are, but I am wondering - who are we? Do we give just enough to get started & let the media run wild with the rest? Take a look around, in some cases, what you see in all media isn't so different from what is seen at our jobs, in our schools, in our shopping malls, in our homes.

where can any of us go?

Wow. It has been quite some time. I have been meaning to write about this for a while now! About three weeks ago, maybe longer, we talked in class about where women can go & "be women." Some women would answer Cosmopolatin Magazine. I think that a man considering Maxim Magazine, or The Man's Show on television, is about as backwards as women going to Cosmo. It was funny how in class it was sort of accepted that, yeah, Maxim is for men, Cosmo isn't so great for us, where can we go? I failed to comment, my thoughts take time to process & I don't speak sometimes unless I can clearly convey myself. Well, I went away from class thinking, "Please, don't let us settle, Maxim is NOT where men can go & be men!" Or the Playboy mansion. Ughh...not what I think of when I think of a man. I think of a true man as one who can practice self-control, who is respectful of all people, who can be a loving leader, who treats people equally, who seeks serving others as opposed to filling his own pleasures. This is not reflected in Maxim magazine in any way. I don't want to think of Cosmo as a place where I can go & thrive as a woman, because it's simply not true. Same case for men & Maxim magazine.

finally... a topic

I think I have decided on a topic, on the Saturday before it is due! Not so great, but I'll run with it anyway. I initially thought I would use the web for my first critical analysis. I really do not read any media outside of the web (I read news online, and other than that I am pretty much out of the loop). I've decided now that the web is a little broad, for a small project, magazines would be the best medium to use.

I thought I would compare ads in secular publications as opposed to Christian publications, but I quickly decided that there would be a major difference & I didn't know what parallels I would find. As far as mainstream, well-known magazines, I can't think of what I could compare. I could look at Cosmo, a sex-driven publication (in my mind), and then look into Relevent (focuses on God, You, and Progressive Culture), but these magazines have such different target markets. Sure I would find differences, but I thought this wouldn't be a very interesting study. Hmm...

I really couldn't think of what I wanted to dig deep into, something that interests me & something that goes along with one of the chapters we've read. After visiting many magazine stores & spending a couple hours in Barnes & Noble & online, I think I am going to look at women's magazines compared to the "teen" publication of the same magazine. Like: Elle, & Elle girl, Cosmo & Cosmo girl, People & Teen People, etc. I am going to look at how the women are portrayed differently in the magazines, if they are. I am going to see if there is more "sex" in the women's magazines as opposed to the teen publication. I am going to look at the advertisments & see if in women's magazines there is more sexuality. I am also hoping to find out of in women's magazines there are more suggestive ads, maybe hidden messages. I surely hope that magazines geared toward women, sexually active women, are filled with much different content then ones aimed at younger girls. Everyone seems to think that kids are growing up faster today, so I'm excited to see what advertisers are putting out there! Ok, I'm just rambling. Now I will go & find out! Off to search!

chapter nine

Kilbourne got me to think about women in advertising. I agree with many of Kilbourne's opinions. Young women are used as objects, and no real intimacy is ever displayed. I don't think real intimacy should be on display. Why isn't sex something that America keeps private? Is that even possible? Media's representation of sex is fleeting, careless, pure fantasy, and void of all committment.
Sheesh. Kilbourne throws some reality at us. Models in "sexy" advertisments really don't even look at eachother. They don't. That is crazy. No human personality is ever shown. We see an image of a "perfect" body and interaction that is purely physical between sex objects. They look upset, or confused. They make sex seem rough, temporal, and only self gratifying. I hope that is not what sex is all about. Sex isn't about two people sharing themselves, it isn't about love, or committment. It's gross & self-centered.
Television is something I don't spend to much time watching. I don't have time for it, and I don't make time for it (with the exception of the olympics). And I thought I was unaffected by these kinds of advertisments, but I am obviously affected in that I am partially desensitized by these images. I don't think about the long term effects. I have not truly understood how sex is viewed as a result of advertising. I've never even thought about some of this.
I can think of a couple of companies that advertise clothing in a postive way, in ways that I enjoy. The Gap for instance, colorful people are portrayed having fun with eachother. It seems wholesome. The "perfect" body image is still present, but this model has personality, looks happy, and seems to be having fun!
http://www.gap.com/asp/shops/gap/sjp.asp?wdid=2678&tlocation=20&inst=1
In these ads the models don't look at eachtoher. They look very serious, bored, dark, and fake. There seems to be no emotion. It's just all about sex.
http://www.candies.com/ - this girl just got out of highschool
http://www.guess.com/Advertising/ - click on the vanity fair link
http://www.vuitton.com/ - it's just dark
http://www.maximonline.com/girls_of_maxim/ - yeah, what else do we expect from maxim?

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