Week 7

Media Representation of Politics, Ideology, and Race

This season of politics has really entrenched me in consuming a lot of news reports on politics. I tend to keep the television tuned into the CNN, the local news stations, and I record The View. Majority of the time, these news sources present their reports on the 2008 presidential elections strictly along the lines of politics without too much elaboration on other influencing factors. OK, not exactly, because discussions pertaining to Obama’s Jeremiah Wright , Sarah Palin’s pregnant teenage daughter, and McCain’s close association with President Bush definitely influenced voters perceptions of the candidates. The factors that were not discussed included how the personal beliefs and biases of news anchors affect how they present the news to the public. I think this particular aspect influences how Americans perceive the news no matter what the facts may be.

One of the most popular and influential television shows during the height of politics is day time talk show, The View. The show is composed of a group of women from diverse backgrounds with various views and beliefs. The cast members consist of Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherrie Shepherd, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbra Walters. The first segment of the show is designated for hot topics, in which the 2008 presidential elections have been the focus. Based on the discussions, it is not too difficult to determine what political party the cast members are affiliated with. Whoopi Goldberg and Barbra Walters appear to be Independents with host Joy Behar as a Democrat and Elizabeth Hasselbeck as a Republican. Sherrie shares her political views along the lines of neutral because she seems to never really position herself along any party line.

Recently there have been several heated discussions about politics that have called attention to the hosts' personal beliefs about race and culture.



In this particular video, Whoopi Goldberg and Elizabeth Hasselbeck bump heads in a discussion about the N word and whether blacks and whites are from the same world. The conversation was initiated by a discussion that Jesse Jackson was participating in about Obama and the N word. Elizabeth argues that we are all from the same world while Whoopi argues that we are from different worlds. The phrases black people and white people are not used in the conversation, but listener and audience participants can allude to this idea. The commentator of this video clarifies this idea by explicitly stating that there is black America's perspective and white America's perspective. Because the experiences of two races of people are different, the perceptions are different. This is one example of how race and culture influence how the hosts of the show convey topics to the public and how it is perceived about them.

In another session of political controversy, the hosts engage in a heated discussion ignited by the decline in poll results of Sarah Palin's likability. During an argument with Joy Behar, Elizabeth states that Barack Obama almost had her vote before the DNC. She says he lost her vote due to his extreme left wing views. After Elizabeth has tolerated all she can from Joy’s advocating of democratic candidate Barack Obama, she asks Joy if she wants some more of Barack Obama's kool-aid. Joy responds to Elizabeth’s statement by saying that it was low, but no other interjections were made to the statement. What exactly did Elizabeth mean by the kool-aid statement? Why does Elizabeth choose to associate the beverage of kool-aid with Barack Obama? What personal ideologies and cultural upbringings might influence Elizabeth to make this comment? Does Elizabeth's comments and political views imply that she is a racist?



Complete clip of kool-aid discussion


After the invitation for the Obama kool-aid, Elizabeth defends herself for wearing The Great AMERICAIN Hero t-shirt. She says the t-shirt was not meant for any negative connotation. She says if people are complaining about her t-shirt, then it must be because they are voting for Barack Obama. John McCain definitely has Elizabeth’s vote and the republican party has her allegiance because Elizabeth states McCain be seen across her shirt even if she was naked. Wow!!!!




During a CNN segment, AC360: Race and Politics, a panel of political panelists engage in a discussion about the effects of race in the 2008 presidential elections. Before the discussion CNN advertises the most recent poll results in which 70% of Americans says that race is not a factor in their decision for voting for a presidential candidate. The political analysts discuss how the race of voters determine how they perceive the world and ultimately how they will vote. This ideas relates to the previously mentioned discussion between Whoopi Goldberg and Elizabeth Hasselbeck on The View about the N word and the different worlds of Americans. The analysts talk about how the candidates' appeal to voters using code words such as “soccer moms”, and “Wal-Mart Moms”. This discussion forces you to think about all the colormute ways in which the media presents the world of politics to America.



How do the ideas and opinions of the media whether implicitly or explicitly stated affect how news anchors or television talk show hosts convey the ideas of the 2008 presidential election? Although the jobs of these media sources are to convey the facts to the public, sometimes their personal belief systems influence how the message is presented. When a close ear is given to the statements and responses of media reporters, there is an obvious message being conveyed. If you listen hard enough, you will discover that people are telling you about their culture, race, beliefs,and prejudices, and not only about a political party affiliation. The media has a method of appealing to our concerns by releasing fears that remind us that we are all products of different worlds. In the mist of this turmoil, we are reminded that the equilibrium between the conflicting worlds may not be as tangible as we think.

Week 6

The setting of this online social network takes place on YouTube. YouTube is a video sharing website that allows users to upload, share, view, and comment on videos. Participants consist of unregistered and registered users with only registered users having complete access to the social network’s features. This media analysis will entail examining responses of a group of YouTube participants after viewing a skit of Sarah Palin and Tina Fey on television show Saturday Night Live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdDqSvJ6aHc). In the skit, Palin and Fey engage in a discussion about sexism which is drenched in comical commentary that contrasts Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton. There are a total of 4,250 comments listed for this video, and I will focus on the most recent posts within a 24 hour period. The group’s responses are charted in a chart in order to analyze to conversations in response to the video. Many of the responses of the participants deviate from the discussion of sexism to talk about related but unrelated topics.

In the discussion, Timebandit720 and Trepidorz agree that McCain and Palin are not the best choice for president and vice president. Trepidorz states that McCain is more of the same and Trimebandit720 supports Trepidorz by stating that McCain lacks suitability based on his incompetency to select a descent vice president. Onlyoneme72032’s response to the discussion is to vote for McCain and Palin because Obama is clearly affiliated with the wrong people. Parathesia intervenes and reverts the conversation back to the topic of sexism. He also neutralizes the debate between the participants by stating that he is not a supporter of any of candidates for president. The topic of sexism is also discussed by Hellboy1976, DarktoothTM, Rappmastert, and Fatjoshk. They all comment in saying that Tina Fey is hot. It’s difficult to understand if Hellboy1976 is referring to Fey doing a hot job with the skit or Fey as a “hottie”. The participants that post the hot comments only post once, but their playful and sexist comments assist in redirecting the conversation back to sexism.

For many of the participants, the Saturday Night Live clip was not the focus of their discussion. The common ground that was shared by all of the participants is that they used this video as a space for discussion about the presidential elections and social connections. During the discussion, none of the participants changed their perspectives on the candidates or attempted to discuss sexism. Respondents remain loyal to their candidates and previous beliefs before the discussion. In a similar manner, participants much like the presidential candidates are using the discussion platform to bicker rather than talk about the topics.



People 3 hrs ago 4 -5hrs ago 6-9 hrs ago 18-19 hrs ago 20 hrs ago

Onlyoneme72032 Argues that feminists are for pro-abortion and not prochoice Vote for McCain-Palin, Obama’s experience is working for Acorn, took him 20 yrs to spot a racist like Jeremiah Wright

Hellboy1976 Tina fey does a good job , she’s hot and Palin twat

Trepidorz McCain won’t be more of the same, right? Connection between Obama and Ayers (lol he was only 8 yrs old

DarktoothTM
Rappmastert
Fatjoshk Tina Fey is hot indeed, watch my videos, their pretty funny

Parathesia I support neither candidate and I thought we were talking about sexism, palin is not only being criticized b/c she is a woman

Timebandit720 U really got to wonder about the suitability of McCain if he choose someone as dimwitted and inarticulate as Sarah Palin

Week 5

I thought the phenomena of femininity would be an interesting topic to explore. In thinking about my own adoption of femininity, I realized how various media representations shaped my perceptions. Television shows and movies are consistently enforcing the ideas of femininity into the minds of young girls and women. Television shows such as America’s Next Top Model and soap operas such as The Young and the Restless are advocating for femininity acceptable roles of women. Tyra’s America’s Next Top Model shows women the beauty of wearing makeup, couture clothing, and obtaining an acceptable friendly and lady-like attitude. Women who are lesbian are even transformed into becoming more of an acceptable lady. This modeling TV series exemplifies its tolerance for diversity while silently adapting the lesbian women (“the other”) to mainstream feminine identity. The overall message being conveyed implies that it is not enough to take good pictures unless you really believe and consume the values that produce a true American woman.

Along with these television shows, commercials are constantly aiding in shaping the idea of femininity for women. From the CoverGirl and Revlon commercials to the Electrolux commercials, women are being conformed to consume a feminine identity. As depicted by the Cover Girl commercial, pretty girls use Cover Girl products and are eye of attention where ever they go. If women don’t want to appear as odd and weird individuals, then they need to use the products that make them appealing and that validate them as women. There have also been several advertisements from the Electrolux appliance company with Kelly Ripa from Live With Regis and Kelly. The commercial shows Kelly as the all-American mom who can take on anything with the Electrolux appliances. The commercial begins with Kelly doing her laundry chores and ending with her making warm baked chocolate chip cookies for her three daughters. This is comical because all girls and no boys are shown as her children in this commercial. The girls will soon follow in their mother’s footsteps and become good wives, mothers, and nurturers. The media representation of femininity in the
Electrolux commercial was definitely structured to appeal to women and encourage them to be the best woman they can be.

I can recall consuming these identities as a young girl and even now as a young woman. One of my favorite movies and greatest model of femininity was the 1995 movie Clueless. Obtaining the identity of Cher and Dionne was the ultimate goal of every young girl. The movie even contrasts the old version of Tai and the reinvented version of Tai which depicts the reinvented Tai as popular and desirable. Today’s Sex and the City has every young woman thinking about fashionable clothing and relationships. The idea of femininity has been so strongly instilled into the minds of both men and women until they are unable to reject the ideas. Ultimately, women will have stand up and decide on how they want to define their identities and not given into the readily available media representations.

Sheila Jeffreys, a writer of feminism psychology, discusses how femininity has transformed over the years. In Jeffreys’ book, Beauty and Misogyny (2005), she critiques modern western beauty practices. Jeffreys’ views of femininity differ greatly from the views depicted by the media. Practices such as lipstick wearing and enlargement of the breasts that were once loathed are now admired and acceptable practices for women. She argues that western beauty practices are performed only for the satisfaction of men. These choices are not for women’s individual expression of self, but as a means of oppressing women. The ideas within this are of psychology are not aligned with the ideas that are depicted in the media. Women need to become self-advocates of their feminism without the oppressive values of the media.