Soundtrack to My Life:
1. Boy's of Summer- This song reminds me of running high school cross country. This was the time of my life when I was most fit and active.
2. Pursuit of Happiness- This song is one of my favorite songs to listen too when I'm just hanging out and relaxing. I think being able to sit back and relax is a very important aspect to living a healthy lifestyle.
3. Bitter Sweet Symphony- This song is a very good some to work out too. It's very relaxing as well.
4. 40 Miles to Denver- This song reminds me of living out in the mountains with my best friends. I believe having a solid set of friends is crucial to having a healthy lifestyle
5. Soundtrack to My Life- This song is a great song to relax and hang out with friends too
6. Wagon Wheel- This song reminds me of backpacking and camping. I think have a strong connection with nature is very important aspect to living a healthy lifestyle
7. The Good, the Bad, the Ugly Song- This song I use while I'm riding intervals on my bike. This song always gets me pumped up and excited to push myself harder and harder.
8. Skinny Love- This song reminds me of spring which is such a good time for being outdoors which I think are very beneficial to living a healthy lifestyle
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Blog 9
All these ads come across as very sexist to me. I chose to find ads that were sexist for both men and women, but the ones that were sexist to women were much easier to come by. The ad with women being portrayed in a sexist way usually used sexuality to degrade them. In the first ad, a woman's role is expressed to be the cook and only the cook. It expresses that the man is the head of the household and makes all the decisions except what's for dinner because that's the woman's role. This ad is very sexist because women deserve more respect than that and are just as capable as men.
In the second ad, the man is stepping on a woman's head connected to a tigers body. This is very disrespectful towards women because she is being treated like an animal instead of a human being. She is also being portrayed as more of a piece of meat or an object instead of a human.
The third ad is sexist because it is portraying the woman as strictly a sex object/ a piece of meat. First of all she is naked which degrades her and second of all, different cuts of meat are traced out on her back. This is harmful because it creates false images in both men's and women's minds.
The fourth ad is sexist because the women is being treated like a sex object. She is obviously in a very sexual position and looks like she is about to be taken advantaged of by the other men. This is harmful because it promotes rape in the eyes of men and women.
The fifth ad is sexist because it is portraying men as animals. There is a woman walking two guys on leash. This ad promotes the idea that men are dogs. They are also naked which is degrading to men as well.
Ads like these are harmful because they create false stereotype of men and women in the eyes of the viewer. They also encourage viewers to act upon those stereotypes.
Blog 8
Characters that Sterotype Men:
In both these advertisements, men are portrayed as either super manly or animals. In the brawny advertisement, the man is portrayed as a super strong mountain man. While some men wouldn't mind being expressed that way and even strive for that stature, some men seek other things. This advertisement creates a stereotype that men need to be super strong and have no weaknesses. Some men are more interested in being sensitive and this ad prevents them from seeking what they desire.
In the Old Spice ad, men are represented as animals. In this ad the man is half human half horse which further represents the stereotype that men are animals. This stereotype is bad because it creates a negative image of men in the eyes of everyone watching the ad. It also reinforces the idea which could encourage guys to act like animals and treat women badly.
Blog 7
-Eating Disorders-
Eating disorders are anything that disrupts someones normal eating patterns. Eating disorders can come in a variety of forms such as undereating or overeating. Sometimes the person with the eating disorder feels uphappy with their physical appearance and feels that being thinner would make them happier and sometimes the person with the eating disorder uses eating as a form of therapy to help them escape the stresses and troubles of the everyday world. Eating disorders happen to all kinds of people and to all walks of life. Often times the eating disorders stem from something deeper than just wanting to stay thin or wanting to escape the trouble of life.
Popular culture has helped to create our general image of beauty which in turn has contributed to eating disorders. In our society popular culture has created the image that thin is desirable which has led some people to go a little over board. In our culture, we are constantly exposed to images of beautiful women who are always thin. We see these women on the cover of magazines and on Victoria Secret commercials on TV. Many women have developed a false sense of beauty which has led them to believe that the only way to be considered beautiful is by being thin. This has led them to start extreme dieting in order to achieve this. Here are a few examples of popular culture that further promote that thin is most beautiful.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Essay 2
In the novel The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and the film “Precious” beauty relating to black girls is treated very similarly. In both the novel and the film ideal beauty is expressed through the characteristics and traits of a white woman. Especially in the novel, the ideal and desired lifestyles are represented through the standards and depictions on whites. All the chapters in novel begin with excerpts from a story containing a white family who has everything desired in life. These excerpts promote the idea that according to all the characters in the novel, being white is the ideal life and beauty is only depicted in white terms. These ideas cause both Precious and Pecola much trouble and stress throughout their lives which in the end causes much pain and discontent.
In both the novel and the film, skin color plays and extremely strong role in the thoughts and feelings of the characters. In the film “Precious,” the main character Precious is constantly feeling a sense of worthlessness and sadness due to her skin color. In the film, she most desperately wants to be white and marry a white man. While in school she fantasizes about marrying her math teacher and moving in to live with him in a white suburban neighborhood. She also periodically fantasizes throughout the movie about being rich, white, and famous. In different portions of the movie, often times whenever Precious is experiencing painful situations she reverts into a dream world where she is white and famous. In her fantasy world, she is loved by all and is a famous singer. This fantasy Precious periodically experiences greatly explains what her deep down feelings and desires are and helps depict what in her eyes and the eyes of society real beauty is. In the novel, The Bluest Eye, Pecola is constantly searching for a way to become white and not ugly anymore. In Pecola’s eyes, she is ugly because she is black and she envies everyone who is whiter than her even if they are still black. Her greatest desire in the novel is to have blue eyes instead of the ugly brown eyes she was born with. She is so desperate to have these blue eyes and become whiter that she is willing to kill a dog in order to attain them. This fact is very sad in the novel because Pecola kills the dog, but her eye color does not change.
In the film, the longing Precious has for lighter skin explains quite a bit about the culture she is currently living in. In the film, everything that is wonderful about the world is expressed through being light skinned and she is unable to achieve this happiness and is forced to settle for less because of her skin color. She wants nothing more but to be loved and care for, but in her mind this cannot occur because of her skin color. Until she becomes lighter, she will forever be undesired and unloved. Throughout the film, she strives to become smarter and educate herself, but her mother continually berates her telling her that she is black and because of that she is worthless and will never be smart. These constant remarks of hatred and disgust by her mom are definitely one of the reasons Precious desired to be white so much. And throughout the film, the only people Precious came across who were struggling in life were black just like Precious. Lighter skin represented happiness and pleasure to Precious. Everything Precious dreamed of pertained to her having lighter skin.
In the novel, Pecola’s longing for lighter skin also explains quite a bit about the culture she is living in. In the novel, everyone Pecola is associated desire to be white. Pecola is even neglected by her mother in the novel, to work as a maid for a wealthy white family. Pecola was frustrated in the novel because the white family her mother worked for called her by her first name, Pauline while Pecola and all her friends had to call her Mrs. Breedlove. Pecola’s mother treated the family that she worked for better than her own and treated the Fisher’s daughter more like her child than she did Pecola.
Pecola and her friends are constantly being exposed throughout the novel to the message that ”you ugly! Black and ugly black” and being white is beautiful (73). These messages cause Pecola to desire blue eyes in order to look whiter and be more beautiful more than anything in the world.
I think that the life Precious lived throughout the film would not have been any different if her skin color was different. Precious was unfortunate to be given a horrible living situation. She was born to a mother who was jealous of her and therefore took out her hatred and frustration on her and a father who sexually abused her and had 2 kids with her. Precious was also born into complete poverty. She was given very little opportunity and was always at a disadvantage. The story or Precious’ life is very sad and unfortunate, but that same story could have occurred to someone of a lighter skin color. Regardless of skin color, the situation could happen to anyone. Although Precious does not feel this way, she believes that if her skin color was lighter, life would be much easier for her.
In the novel, light skin meant happiness and beauty to Pecola. The idea that white was beauty and constantly reinforced to Pecola and her friends causing them to believe they were not beautiful. They began to hate themselves and long for lighter skin and envy those with lighter skin. Lighter skin was also associated with wealth and an easy lifestyle. The people with lighter skin that Pecola could compare life too her much better off and seemed to have a much better and easier life. In the novel the girls envy Rosemary for her light skin and social standing, “we stare at her, wanting her bread, but more than that wanting to poke the arrogance out of her eyes and smash the pride of ownership that curls her chewing mouth" (9).
As the film went on, Precious began to grow stronger and stronger as a character. As she becomes more and more educated her confidence begins to grow and she begins to love herself as well as her children. In the beginning of the film, Precious seemed to have given up on herself as well as the world, but as the film progressed; she became a much stronger person. She left her mother and her destructive home life and began providing for herself and her kids. She also began to love herself for the first time in her life and be happy.
Unlike Precious in the film, Pecola’s attitude throughout the novel did not change for the better. Instead of growing stronger and becoming more confident in herself, Pecola obsessed over having blue eyes to the point where she was willing to poison a dog to get them. Pecola never became comfortable with her skin color or her personal beauty she "was an ugly little girl asking for beauty,” the novel explained Pecola (174). This was the biggest difference between the film and the novel.
Both the film’s and novel’s titles played very significant roles. Both titles were very representative to their theme and idea. The titles were very well thought out and greatly promoted the underlying theme of both the book and film.
In the film, the title “Precious” was a very ironic and telling aspect. The title was ironic because it was the exact opposite of the character’s life. The name precious promotes a warm and loving image, but in reality, Precious experienced the exact opposite of that from the world. The title did end up becoming true in the film because throughout the story, Precious grew and grew as a character and finally became precious in the eyes of her children and her teacher and classmates.
In the novel, the title “The Bluest Eye,” was very telling like Precious, but was not nearly as ironic. In the novel, the title played a very crucial role in the explaining the key ideas and themes of the story. After reading the novel, the title became more and more understood and fitting.
I think both stories ended pretty poorly. I felt neither story had a happy ending which was probably the most realistic, but it made for a sad ending. I thought in the film, Precious even though she was free from her mother; she was still very bad off. She was most likely infected with HIV and was jobless trying to survive and provide for 2 kids. I thought this ending was very abrupt as well. I would have liked Precious to have found more happiness and maybe a job, but life does not always end happily and the film seemed very realistic. In the novel, I thought the ending was very sad as well. I felt very sorry for Pecola. Unlike Precious who still had her 2 kids to love and to be loved by, Pecola had lost everything in the world that meant something to her and was left in mourning. I envision both Precious and Pecola to both continue having lives filled with struggle and hardship. Precious was forever be fighting poverty trying to support her 2 kids and remain healthy. Precious will be the best off out the two characters in terms of self esteem because she has her 2 kids to love her. Unlike Precious though, I envision Pecola never being able to overcome her self esteem stumbling blocks. She never fully realized her inner beauty and I do not see her ever finding it.
In popular culture, many of these issues are reinforced on an everyday basis. Fortunately over the past few years, many of these themes and ideas have been reinforced in a more positive manner. More and more these days, I experience television shows and commercials that promote beauty as being both white and black. Some of the most beautiful and successful people in our culture have lighter and darker skin color. One example of a positive reinforcement is on television, Oprah is one of the most influential people to women in our country and I do not feel that lighter skin would make her any more popular. Oprah’s power to promote ideas and products is enormous and I think that through her lead our country has become much more open to new ideas regarding beauty and its different forms. One negative example of these beauty issues is through beauty’s portrayal in cartoons and Disney movies. In most cartoons and Disney movies, the beautiful princess is white. This message continues to promote the idea that beauty can only come in the form of white.
In both the novel and the film, skin color plays and extremely strong role in the thoughts and feelings of the characters. In the film “Precious,” the main character Precious is constantly feeling a sense of worthlessness and sadness due to her skin color. In the film, she most desperately wants to be white and marry a white man. While in school she fantasizes about marrying her math teacher and moving in to live with him in a white suburban neighborhood. She also periodically fantasizes throughout the movie about being rich, white, and famous. In different portions of the movie, often times whenever Precious is experiencing painful situations she reverts into a dream world where she is white and famous. In her fantasy world, she is loved by all and is a famous singer. This fantasy Precious periodically experiences greatly explains what her deep down feelings and desires are and helps depict what in her eyes and the eyes of society real beauty is. In the novel, The Bluest Eye, Pecola is constantly searching for a way to become white and not ugly anymore. In Pecola’s eyes, she is ugly because she is black and she envies everyone who is whiter than her even if they are still black. Her greatest desire in the novel is to have blue eyes instead of the ugly brown eyes she was born with. She is so desperate to have these blue eyes and become whiter that she is willing to kill a dog in order to attain them. This fact is very sad in the novel because Pecola kills the dog, but her eye color does not change.
In the film, the longing Precious has for lighter skin explains quite a bit about the culture she is currently living in. In the film, everything that is wonderful about the world is expressed through being light skinned and she is unable to achieve this happiness and is forced to settle for less because of her skin color. She wants nothing more but to be loved and care for, but in her mind this cannot occur because of her skin color. Until she becomes lighter, she will forever be undesired and unloved. Throughout the film, she strives to become smarter and educate herself, but her mother continually berates her telling her that she is black and because of that she is worthless and will never be smart. These constant remarks of hatred and disgust by her mom are definitely one of the reasons Precious desired to be white so much. And throughout the film, the only people Precious came across who were struggling in life were black just like Precious. Lighter skin represented happiness and pleasure to Precious. Everything Precious dreamed of pertained to her having lighter skin.
In the novel, Pecola’s longing for lighter skin also explains quite a bit about the culture she is living in. In the novel, everyone Pecola is associated desire to be white. Pecola is even neglected by her mother in the novel, to work as a maid for a wealthy white family. Pecola was frustrated in the novel because the white family her mother worked for called her by her first name, Pauline while Pecola and all her friends had to call her Mrs. Breedlove. Pecola’s mother treated the family that she worked for better than her own and treated the Fisher’s daughter more like her child than she did Pecola.
Pecola and her friends are constantly being exposed throughout the novel to the message that ”you ugly! Black and ugly black” and being white is beautiful (73). These messages cause Pecola to desire blue eyes in order to look whiter and be more beautiful more than anything in the world.
I think that the life Precious lived throughout the film would not have been any different if her skin color was different. Precious was unfortunate to be given a horrible living situation. She was born to a mother who was jealous of her and therefore took out her hatred and frustration on her and a father who sexually abused her and had 2 kids with her. Precious was also born into complete poverty. She was given very little opportunity and was always at a disadvantage. The story or Precious’ life is very sad and unfortunate, but that same story could have occurred to someone of a lighter skin color. Regardless of skin color, the situation could happen to anyone. Although Precious does not feel this way, she believes that if her skin color was lighter, life would be much easier for her.
In the novel, light skin meant happiness and beauty to Pecola. The idea that white was beauty and constantly reinforced to Pecola and her friends causing them to believe they were not beautiful. They began to hate themselves and long for lighter skin and envy those with lighter skin. Lighter skin was also associated with wealth and an easy lifestyle. The people with lighter skin that Pecola could compare life too her much better off and seemed to have a much better and easier life. In the novel the girls envy Rosemary for her light skin and social standing, “we stare at her, wanting her bread, but more than that wanting to poke the arrogance out of her eyes and smash the pride of ownership that curls her chewing mouth" (9).
As the film went on, Precious began to grow stronger and stronger as a character. As she becomes more and more educated her confidence begins to grow and she begins to love herself as well as her children. In the beginning of the film, Precious seemed to have given up on herself as well as the world, but as the film progressed; she became a much stronger person. She left her mother and her destructive home life and began providing for herself and her kids. She also began to love herself for the first time in her life and be happy.
Unlike Precious in the film, Pecola’s attitude throughout the novel did not change for the better. Instead of growing stronger and becoming more confident in herself, Pecola obsessed over having blue eyes to the point where she was willing to poison a dog to get them. Pecola never became comfortable with her skin color or her personal beauty she "was an ugly little girl asking for beauty,” the novel explained Pecola (174). This was the biggest difference between the film and the novel.
Both the film’s and novel’s titles played very significant roles. Both titles were very representative to their theme and idea. The titles were very well thought out and greatly promoted the underlying theme of both the book and film.
In the film, the title “Precious” was a very ironic and telling aspect. The title was ironic because it was the exact opposite of the character’s life. The name precious promotes a warm and loving image, but in reality, Precious experienced the exact opposite of that from the world. The title did end up becoming true in the film because throughout the story, Precious grew and grew as a character and finally became precious in the eyes of her children and her teacher and classmates.
In the novel, the title “The Bluest Eye,” was very telling like Precious, but was not nearly as ironic. In the novel, the title played a very crucial role in the explaining the key ideas and themes of the story. After reading the novel, the title became more and more understood and fitting.
I think both stories ended pretty poorly. I felt neither story had a happy ending which was probably the most realistic, but it made for a sad ending. I thought in the film, Precious even though she was free from her mother; she was still very bad off. She was most likely infected with HIV and was jobless trying to survive and provide for 2 kids. I thought this ending was very abrupt as well. I would have liked Precious to have found more happiness and maybe a job, but life does not always end happily and the film seemed very realistic. In the novel, I thought the ending was very sad as well. I felt very sorry for Pecola. Unlike Precious who still had her 2 kids to love and to be loved by, Pecola had lost everything in the world that meant something to her and was left in mourning. I envision both Precious and Pecola to both continue having lives filled with struggle and hardship. Precious was forever be fighting poverty trying to support her 2 kids and remain healthy. Precious will be the best off out the two characters in terms of self esteem because she has her 2 kids to love her. Unlike Precious though, I envision Pecola never being able to overcome her self esteem stumbling blocks. She never fully realized her inner beauty and I do not see her ever finding it.
In popular culture, many of these issues are reinforced on an everyday basis. Fortunately over the past few years, many of these themes and ideas have been reinforced in a more positive manner. More and more these days, I experience television shows and commercials that promote beauty as being both white and black. Some of the most beautiful and successful people in our culture have lighter and darker skin color. One example of a positive reinforcement is on television, Oprah is one of the most influential people to women in our country and I do not feel that lighter skin would make her any more popular. Oprah’s power to promote ideas and products is enormous and I think that through her lead our country has become much more open to new ideas regarding beauty and its different forms. One negative example of these beauty issues is through beauty’s portrayal in cartoons and Disney movies. In most cartoons and Disney movies, the beautiful princess is white. This message continues to promote the idea that beauty can only come in the form of white.
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