Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Influence of The Media
After watching "Merchants of Cool", I hadn't really thought of how much the media tried to cater to me as a teenager. Looking back, that was the "richest" time of my life considering I had no bills, and could spend all my paychecks on anything I felt like buying. I never really bought into the whole MTV TRL scene, but I definitely remember going through different fads and feeling the need to fit in. I thought it was interesting how the episode talked about Britney Spears and the Mid-drift being a form of empowerment for women even though they also talked about Mooks and how males don't have to care about what they look like, but females are shown in media to be obsessed by appearance. I guess I've never really thought of exposing my mid-drift as empowering considering all the derogatory comments and gossip there has always been toward female icons such as Britney Spears. I also found it interesting how ICP first talked about how the teens could feel they were a part of their music even though they later decided to get a record label and fit in. Overall, I thought the episode brought up some interesting insights into the minds of the media and advertising toward young adults. I had not thought much about the symbiotic relationship between the two.
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You say: "I guess I've never really thought of exposing my mid-drift as empowering considering all the derogatory comments and gossip there has always been toward female icons such as Britney Spears." I have always thought that there has been an interesting shift in the way women are portrayed in the media in recent years. There has definitely been a bigger push towards sexualizing women in media. I think this has been accepted by a large portion of the population. I think of shows like Sex and the City and how these shows are supposedly empowering women because they show women in provocative ways (cussing, sexually open, engaging in multiple sexual partners, dressing in certain ways, etc.). But are these really empowering images of women or are they simply contributing to stereotypes, or even in a way attempting to seize power of roles traditionally set out for men? Are women just stepping into men's roles or are they authentically in roles of their own? Not sure that makes sense, but what do you think?
ReplyDeleteI think that women have indeed become increasingly sexualized in America. It's okay on the T.V. or in songs, but girls like that aren't always considered real people. If they sleep around they're a whore, while there isn't the same stigma for guys. I think girls really absorb this and try to dress provocatively while keeping how sexually active they are (or are not) quiet.
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