15th Oct 2008
Here’s the deal….Bill Ayers and Media
So, unless you have been hiding with me in Iceland, you should know about the whole Bill Ayers / Obama thing. This is the deal…it is about media and literacy. Joe and I have known Bill for over 20 years, have been friends with him and think he is a great guy. Was he a domestic terrorist? ah, yes. Did people die due to his group’s actions? ah, yes. So Bill gets through the 60s and escapes jail, even raises one his friends’ kids (they went to jail)…becomes a professor, does great stuff. Now we are in 2008 and find that Obama was on a board with Bill, knows Bill, and lives in his neighborhood. So the moronic McCain gang is spinning media to get it on with Obama. Following, so far?
Obama can take care of himself. He will handle this. What is putting a hole in my panty hose is the fact that professors all over the world are bonding together to “support Bill Ayers.” I am getting email after email petition to protect the “crucifying of Bill Ayers.” These professors have never sent a note around with rage about how immigrants are treated, how Muslims are hated, how bad some schools can be…but they have time to “protect” a man who doesn’t need protecting. This is pissing me off.
Pretty ridiculous. People just want to get their two cents in regarding whatever scandal is presently in the forefront. It seems to me that it’s this insatiable urge for people to get into each others’ business, especially when it has nothing to do with them personally. A few years back, it was all over the news that a girl from Montreal had been on one of the major New York magazine covers (with a lengthly article to go along with it) stating that she was NYC’s #1 Escort and that she was paid $1000/hr for the service she provided. Well, this is not HUGELY out of the ordinary, despite the fact that this is an illegal activity and that she had an outrageous hourly salary, there’s not much else that can be said about it, as this is something that happens. The shocking part for me personally was that this was a childhood friend of mine, and nobody knew about it. My mom and her mom are close friends to this day, so naturally it was upsetting to find out. However, what I found the worst part about all of it was that people felt the need to call and try to gossip about it, and stick their noses in where they didn’t belong. I refused to partake, only discussing in ways that would be productive for the family. However, with reality television, the internet, and all other forms of media invading our society and lives, it’s not really a wonder that people think that they have the right to get involved in matters that are not their’s to discuss. People feel like they know the people that they see on tv and on the internet, when in reality it is quite the opposite. Our society has become anti-social, and we are increasingly knowing less and less people. All this to say, though, is that I feel your pain.
I had no idea that the Bill Ayers linked to Obama was the same Ayers I’ve read in one of my classes. I have no sympathy whatsoever for someone like Bill Ayers, and cannot understand why anyone would. I tend to feel more sympathy for the victims of terrorism rather than the terrorists themselves. Bill Ayers may have done good things later in life, but I find it very disturbing that
so many professors would support and defend an unrepentant terrorist. In my opinion the left is very wrong on this one.
I completely agree wtih Alison when saying that people, in reality, know each other less and less. It feels as though the majority of consumers take what they hear on television, newspapers and internet as truth and feel they can use that information to classify the person or situation into one category. Lets say for instance good or evil. For example Bill Ayers, it seems almost instinct to either define him as good or evil. But he is human, he is complex. His motives for doing whatever he did are unknown to us. I am obviously not agreeing with his acts of terrorism but I believe it to be essential that we see the gray in every situation.
Agreeing with Alison, it seems the media gives us a false sense of power. We are made to feel knowledgeable about a topic, therefore, believing we have the right to judge it, gossip about it- but do we know the whole truth? It was just as we talked about yesterday in class- The holders of power are the gatekeepers of knowledge; filtering what they want us to know and not know. What they want us to know does not mean it is the truth.
First off. I somehow, for some reason, do not even want to imagine a hole in your panty hose.
Second, allow me to drift into our own national miasma for a second. Imagine me as Charlie Brown: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!
Again, Conservatives… ugh…
And what unsettles me just a tad is how the French media I have seen so far has been putting analyst after analyst on the air saying this: Yes, we have aminority government, and it’s mainly because we have “small parties” that are dividing the vote further. We will not have a strong majority government until we are rid of those.
WHA…? What is wrong, exactly, with diversity of opinion, and, huh, I dunno, politicians putting partisanship aside for a while and sitting together to get things done. Here’s a novel idea. To quote Henri Rollins: “you need to take all those leaders, put them on a bus and drive them down to St-Paul’s Presbyterean for spaghetti sunday. Maybe, just maybe, in that kind of unpretentious setting, things might get done.”
Can I just give up… just for a few minutes?
I love how people just jump onto the whole humanitarian bandwagon when the cause suits them. A great example of this is all the celebrities who decided one day that they were animal lovers. They all decided to follow Paul McCartney in his battle against clubbing seals. McCartney is a longtime vegetarian, who works closely with Peta, and other humanitarian organizations, but when i see little poptarts wearing “Club Sandwiches, Not Seals”, that’s just ridiculous. All of a sudden they’re these huge animal rights activists, oh but only after they’re finished their Big Mac and Popcorn chicken. But hey, why tackle the cruelty in your own backyard? No, let’s attack a group of people struggling to maintain their traditional liefestyle in this technological world, not the big guys making millions off of scolding live chickens and castrating pigs without pain relief.
For this week’s blog, I decided to write about South Asian media and the readings. I’ve never realized how much we stereotype groups of people, and the strong power these stereotypes actually have on society, until Tuesday’s lecture on South Asian media. The media often gives us false representations of people, and speaks for them. The problem is that the media’s information is often inaccurate, and the people the media is stereotyping don’t have a voice. When we were asked in class to list the names of people in movies/television that were South Asian, everyone was naming “brown” people, without really knowing where they’re from. Honestly, I didn’t know who was from South Asia, and I felt completely ignorant naming people because I knew half the stuff I was saying was probably wrong. Something else that particularly interested me during the lecture that I’ve never really thought about before, is that in Disney movies, the “bad” characters are noticeably darker than the “good” characters. For instance, in Aladdin, Jafar is much darker than Aladdin and Jasmine. In the Lion King, Scar is much darker than Simba, Nala, and Mufasa. In the Little Mermaid, Ursula is dark and extremely scary. Even in my favourite movie, The Wizard of Oz, there’s a “good witch” and a “wicked witch.” The “bad witch” is dark, and very unattractive, while the good witch is beautiful, with blond hair, always wearing a fancy dress. One of the lines in the movie is “only bad witches are ugly,” which is actually a really inconsiderate thing to say! If children are used to watching movies where all the bad characters have dark skin, inavertedly they’ll think all people with dark skin are evil, which is horrible!
The first time i heard about Bollywood i was so confused i thought they somehow made a mistake with the spelling but then a friend of mine told me it was a mixture of Hollywood and Indian filmmaking. I thought it was an interesting concept. Then my friend told me about the movie “Bride and Prejudice” i figured it had something to do with Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice which i had never seen. As soon as i saw the cover i decided to watch it. It looked like such a fun movie, there were so many pretty colors. I have to say it was a good movie i liked the concept of bringing together Indian culture with western culture. I also thought they chose good actors for the main characters, they were both very good looking which of course helped to attract more viewers. The movie though probably didn’t depict what the country looked like for real but i find it gave a beautiful picture of what the Indian culture was realy like, although i don’t know if this is for real, if it is i liked it a lot. As i read in chapter 27 i agree alot that the director of the movie did a great job to attract viewers from both cultures, she made sure to have some western ideas and American actors with a twist of Indian culture and pretty actresses. All in all LOVED the movie.
The people who hold power are the gatekeepers of knowledge…this is so incredibly true. Just take a second to look around at the media influences surrounding us. We are brainwashed every day into thinking “this is beautiful” and “that is right” and “you need to have this to be cool.” My biggest concern with this is how it is affecting youth. If it is the people with power who are controlling the “knowledge” that our society perceives as truth then we are evidently raising children with a warped knowledge base. Some of the things that people (not even necessarily young teens, because this is true of older people too) talk about, as though they know absolutely everything about the issue, completely amazes me. Celebrity lives, the newest vitamin water that makes you lose weight, the newest style in jeans…the list goes on forever. It is absolutely fascinating how these people with power can influence, to such a great degree, the thoughts, words, and actions of society. The unfortunate part about this is that teachers evidently are not holding enough power to sway this false information being imprinted in the minds of today’s youth. The power holders are the negative manipulators…teachers need to really pick up on this and make every effort they can to teach and inform students against this.
This is becoming such a prominent problem in society today. Those who have power use it for their own ends, with total disregard for others. The Bill Ayers instance is just another case. I just did my Powerpoint mid-term on Media Propaganda and just researching the topic made me realize how scary it acctually is. Large cooporations, politicians, the wealthy in general have so much power over society it’s ridiculous. They are essentially capable of dictating our thoughts, emotins and actions towards the world around us. This is what propaganda is after all, the ability of the powerful to change our coginitive behaviors. The media has become so prodominant within society today, you are able to see the effects it is having on the lives of students. Younger teens especially, have grown up in posibly the worst time. The media over the past decade has become so prominant in advocating certain themes it is overwhelming. One of the most common themes has to be body image, specifically for young girls. Their is a never ending supply of the ‘perfect body’ plastered all over just about every advertisment we’re exposed to. This really gets into the heads of young impressionable teens, they begin to judge themselves and think they are not worthy as they don’t look like all the models on add campaigns. It really is a shame that soceity has been given no choice but to follow along with the select view of those in power. How can we react agaisnt this when they have taken away our voice?
Didn’t they execute Timothy McVeigh for his act of terrorism? Just a thought. To me Ayers is one lucky son of a b%?ch. How is it he got away with it and can openly discuss it today? Statute of limitations?? Sure that generation was quite radical especially with the anti-war sentiment. But he was a communist; A left-winger. Weren’t they brought to ‘justice’ by the U.S. government in the past? He was in the same room as Obama once….McCain seems desperate. Ill admit my knowledge of Ayers is somewhat vague but I agree I’m not quite sure why professors are banning together to support him. Protecting one of their own? It is true they could be advocating for more important things as you mentioned. Like bad schools. However I do not agree with how immigrants are treated at least here in Canada. I think being able to come to Canada and consuming large amounts of social services including health care sounds pretty dam good to me. Hey why not even have grandma and grandpa apply for landed immigrant status also. Then they can go back home and lie to the government about how long they have been out of the country. Then of course they can return and use their Medicare card every time they are sick. It’s a lot cheaper to use my tax money then their own. And if that doesn’t happen the family can just send every penny they make back to their relatives to help them. Its not like we need any money to be reinvested back into our economy. Money is free here in Canada. Its great knowing that a newly arrived immigrant can apply for help and receive more money then a pensioner who has worked and paid taxes and reinvested their earnings into Canada for 50 years. Let me make it clear that I have nothing against immigrants or other cultures and races. I simply think there are big problems with Canadian policies.
Whether Bill Ayer is a good guy or not does not change the fact that he is or was a terrorist. He can be doing great things with his life now but that will never change what he did in the past. Why are these professors trying to protect him? He deserves what he gets. He knew what he was doing when he was doing it… plain and simple. If he’s being “crucified” for his past actions, so be it! He believed that what he was doing was right. So he should be able to defend himself and why he believed in what he did.
If Bill Ayers were of a minority (ie black, muslim, ect) would he still be getting so much support from his fellow professors??? I think not! They would leave him out in the cold. It’s unbelievable how quickly some people will “hop on the bandwagon” when it involves one of their own. They don’t even stop to think for a moment about why this is happening and if these actions are justified…
And before McCain’s group makes a big story out of nothing, they should try to get their facts straight! That goes for the democrates as well. Nowadays all it takes is to be in the same photograph as someone else, and you’re in bed with the person. Give me a break!
I think this issue is a reflection of how our society is. People just want to be a part of the latest scandal or news story, even if it has nothing to do with them. Other important issues that are not spoken about as much in the media seem less important to people that want to be part of the latest issues in society. When there are far more important things to be fighting for, why is it that people are suddenly so concerned with things that dont even concern them!? This is just gonna keep going on until the next scandal comes up, and i’m sure they’ll have something to say for that as well…
As for the McCain administration…they must love that they have something to use against Obama…what a way to frighten the American people and get in a few more votes. And since people are so brainwashed by the media, they’ll listen to whatever he has to say and believe it without questioning his motives. Obama’s response to this tactic is the following: “They’d rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. That’s what you do when you’re out of touch, out of ideas, and running out of time.”
People need to make sure they don’t let themselves be manipulated into believing things that are untrue…cause people have a tendency to do that…
Maybe they see Ayers as one of them, and if they do not protect him and they find themselves in a similar position in the future who will protect them. I mean to tell you the truth I think it’s all about looking out for themselves more than supporting the “Ayers cause” (I don’t really see the cause here but hey). Also it seems that Ayers pretty much has everything under wraps. I mean he has reinvented himself and become a very integral part in the Education field’ I believe he’ll be just fine. To just keep picking and picking at the life of Obama or McCain is just getting to be exhausting. Apparently the Republicans were sending automated messages to voters in swing states to try and secure their vote for McCain. These messages talked about the Ayers/Obama relationship and how voters should be afraid because Obama was in cahoots with a “terrorist”. However the messages were apparently nasty and based on a tactic of instilling fear of Obama in these voters and in many cases, that I read about, achieved the opposite of what this campaign was trying to do. Life long Republicans have decided to vote for Obama after being so turned off by these methods of slandering. It is more important for me what the future president stands for more than who his neighbour is or was or will be.
I agree with Juliana when she says that professors may be signing the petitions to support Bill Ayers because they hope the same would be done for them if every they were caught up in a political scandal. Whatever the reason for this huge rally of support, it does seem a bit blown out of proportion when you consider the many other injustices in the world that we could be advocating against.
This situation emphasizes the important role that the media plays in sparking interest in particular social or political issues. Because there has been a great deal of coverage on the Bill Ayers/Obama slandering, the public feels compelled to get involved…for better or for worse. When I think of other recent events that received a lot of public support, they also received a lot of media coverage. But of course there are injustices happening everyday that go unnoticed by the media and therefore, are ignored by the general public. I think that is important to remember. The media plays an important role in creating awareness about certain issues but it is selective and doesn’t always give you the whole picture.
I have never really watched any South Asian movies. I have only seen parts of Bride and Prejudice which I actually found fun to watch. This movie had a comedy side to it and was much more colourful. Since it is based on Jane Austins “Pride and Prejudice”, I expected the movie to be a little more serious like the one with Keira Knightley. When asked whho are South Asians, many people do not seem to know what to answer. When they begin to name characters who they believe are South Asian, they all follow stereotypes. Society tends to stereotype certain groups of people. This is wrong since there are many differences between these groups. When I tell people that I am Spanish, the majority automatiacally assume that I am Mexican and that I love tacos. This is actually insulting to me. Not many people think of Spanish as coming from Spain. Society needs to be more careful about stereotypes and should learn more about the different groups and not just assume that if one has brown skin they are from India.
This whole Bill Ayers thing has me pretty aggravated, with Palin and McCain attempting to convince people that Obama associates with terrorists. I got really riled up when McCain began advertising that Obama got his political career started in Ayers’ living room. I know this is politics, and the name of the game is discrediting the opponent, but McCain and Palin are just playing on the fears of ignorant Americans. However, i’m not entirely surprised. McCain and Palin haven’t been making the smartest judgment calls as of late. Just this week McCain decided to highlight a hardworking average Joe, Joe the Plumber, a man who approached Obama with concerns of having to pay higher taxes, should the democrats come to power. In the most recent debate, McCain highlighted ‘Joe’ and many other hard-working blue-collar Americans, and tried to explain why it was in their interest to vote republican - the party that ‘understands’ them. argghh. John McCain didn’t mention all of the tax credits he’d be giving to the rich…. but the jokes on him since ‘hardworking, all-American Joe’ owes back taxes and is an unlicensed plumber. It was also somewhat ironic to hear that the plumbers union in Ohio endorses Obama. I seem to have digressed. Back to Ayers, it’s frustrating that McCain and Palin have made such a big deal of this, but I can understand why they would. They’re afraid of the very real reality that Obama is going to win, and they need to do anything they can (however slanderous/ridiculous it may be) to try and get some extra votes. As for all of the professors flocking to Ayers’ side, I agree with the first post - there are far more important causes to support in the world..the academic community needs to move on. Obama will be fine, as will Ayers.
First of all, of course it is very frustrating that the professors are reacting like that to the situation. I agree that there are a lot of causes that would requirer our attention around the world that are much more important and those causes would need people to send e-mails around to inform the society. For sure we are right in the middle of the U.S. elections and it takes a lot of our attention, but lets not forget all the things that are happening in the world because of the elections going on. I believe they have made such a big deal with this and just because this story was brought in a political context just to put Obama in a really bad and awkward situation. In conclusion, it is normal in a sense that teachers are kind of getting together to try to protect a colleague, but lets not forget that McCain only dug that story out, because he wants people to think that Obama is a terrorist or that he was one so we shouldn’t be giving that much attention to this story.
This week I decided to blog on one of the chapters from the book….. I choose the one about call centers and job advertisement in India. I was surprised at what I was reading, first of all I had no idea, there were call centers there and that the people working there were trained to sound as though they were North American; so that to me was an eye opener. I found the advertisements to be somewhat deceiving to the people they are trying to get, the marketers make it sound like if they join in on the call center life that they are going to be one step closer to the North American way of life. To me I think it is unfair to promote a life style to people in a different country that have their own way, and try to get them to move away from that. I found if you read between the lines it is like saying well to be successful you need to follow the North American way of doing things; because I mean if they were trying to promote something different then they would have had Indian people or piece of different Indian culture on the advertisements. Honestly I think it is wrong what they are doing, especially making the men and women change the way they talk in order to meet the needs of other people. In all I think I was just disappointed to learn that people even in their own countries are being torn away from their culture and are being persuaded to give it up in order to have the lifestyle of other people.
I blog at 12:41 sunday night … which is technically monday morning……
McCain’s attempts at discrediting and scaring the U.S public away from Obama are weak. So what! They’ve been in the same room. That does not mean they share the same ideologies and I really don’t think that a democratic candidate would have ever been nominated if there was any beliefs that Obama was a terrorist. Ayers is getting the support from professors around the world because he is one of their own. Although I do not think he needs the help just like the first post indicated I do agree with the idea that many professors would want this kind of support in return. I believe there are hundreds of other very important and more pressing issues out there that require more of our attention than his but sometimes it just hits too close to home and maybe that’s what professors are feeling with this whole Ayers situation. McCain and Palin have blown this way out of proportion. They are grasping for straws in this election and fear Obama will win and I believe they should be scared. There has been a little too much light shined on this detail of Obama’s past and I think Ayers just got caught in the cross fire of dirty election schemes. I think it would be great if professors were coming together for a fellow colleague if the reasons were a bit more substantial and they were a bit more deserving of the support.
Shame on me! I never really heard about the Bill Ayers and Obama scandal until I read Shirley’s blog. Funny enough, the same night I read the blog, Access Hollywood covered the story. I find it quite funny that a celebrity gossip show is incorporating the Bill Ayers scandal into their programming. This just shows that McCain has nothing better to do with his life than to start scandals just to hurt the opposition. Talk about a cheap shot. Personally I agree with Alison A’s view that people just like to gossip and stir up trouble. It is unfortunate that the American people are so focused on Obama’s association with Ayers, instead of what he has to offer. People should just stop and realize that in a few weeks from now they need to select a president, and if they become so involved in such a scandal, I am afraid that their vote will be based on a cheap shot rather than the candidate’s platform.
For this week’s blog I decided to look at Chapter 38: Masculinities on The O.C. I remember in my high school years The O.C. was the show which we talked about all the time. Every girl wanted to find a guy like Ryan; strong, muscular, good looks and compassionate. I am pretty sure that deep down inside the guys wanted to be like Ryan too, in the sense that he was strong and he always got the girl. However, reading this chapter I realized that gender stereotypes were in fact strongly enforced in The O.C. Ryan was depicted as the ideal man. He was always getting into fights, always rescuing people, and he was the bad boy. When young children look at Ryan, they begin to believe that being though is what being a guy is all about. This is further reinforced with the character Seth. Seth is introduced as this nerdy and scrawny guy, who can’t defend himself. However, throughout the whole show Seth tries desperately to be like Ryan, in hopes of getting Summer to fall in love with him. Once again this produces the messages that guys need to be strong in order to “get” the girl. Gender stereotypes are further enforced through the two female characters, Marissa and Summer. These two girls love shopping, they always have the latest trends, and they always need rescuing. This projects the idea that a “real” girl is one who loves shopping and can’t defend herself. In all The O.C. was a great show (minus the last season), but it is unfortunate that they had to depict guys and girls in a stereotypical fashion.
Today i will blog about South Asian Media. Never did i notice how stereotypical we can be when we laugh about Apu or the love guru. Apu’s character is the indian who works at a corner store called “Kwiki Mart” who has an indian accent and whose marriage was arranged as well has 8 children. He is basically a caricature of a common stereotype. Is it not strange that we the audience actually laugh or smile to the character of Apu? Another character i would like to talk about is that of THE LOVE GURU, a character created by Mike Myers. He mocks the classic bollywood genre and the india movie genre. He takes on the character of a Hindu self-help coach who tries to solve the marital problems of a Toronto Maple Leafs player. This movie contains a turban, magic carpet ride, bollywood music scene. Once again, we see how the media portrays south asian media.
I was not aware of the fact that the media linked Bill Ayers and Obama together. The fact that the McCain campaign is trying to link these two together so that people will not vote for Obama shows how desperate they are. McCain has no chance to win these elections because Obama has beaten him during the debates in every category that they argued. This is his last resort; he is trying to show that his opponent is good friends with a domestic terrorist. He is hoping that with a miracle people will find this appalling and vote for him instead of Obama. Yeah right.
On Family Guy, they attack McCain and Sarah Palin to show that they should not be elected into the white house. In the episode, Stewie and Brian go back in time to the Holocaust. They beat up some Nazis and when they wore their close of the Nazis, they had McCain and Palin buttons pined to them. It’s funny how they try and show that if you vote for McCain it’s like voting for Hitler.
I think that the reason why the other professors are bonding to protect Ayers is because he is one of them. They probably know that Obama can protect himself, but they are just supporting a fall brother. For example, in baseball when a pitcher hits one of your teammates, he can defend himself, but his pitcher will go out the next inning to hit someone on the other team to show his support. That’s what the others professors did they just wanted o show support to Bill Ayers.
This is an election. In elections candidates will do whatever is in their power to get elected. This is especially true in American presidential elections. You get someone to dig up dirt on your opponent, then you wait for the best possible moment to shove this information in front of your opponent’s face and have them try to talk their way out of it. Luckily for Obama the media isn’t making that big of a deal out of it, and even when it does come up, he quickly moves on to something else. Have you seen McCain or Obama give a straightforward answer to a hard question? They always just start talking about something that is vaguely related to the topic, but does nothing to answer the question.
Getting back to Ayers… The 60’s were crazy, stuff got blowed up. Listen to my Dad ramble on about the 60’s and apparently everyone was doing something stupid or illegal or both all the time. When is it too early to tell your child about your drug-induced sexual escapades? Always, those are the kinds of things that you have to keep under your hat. But before this turns into a cheaper version of a psychiatrist’s couch I did have a point, well not a point an opinion more like. I really don’t care if Obama got his start with this Ayers guy, who he was denounced. McCain had that Savings & Loans scandal which nobody seems to talk about. Which is worse? I guess it depends on your opinion, which is why i like democracy, your opinion kind of matters if you live in a hotly contested area.
I know it is politics and it is the job of each person to attack their opponent but really this is too personal and rediculous. It’s just one scandal after another….Who cares if obama knows bill ayers….it is not like obama bomed the pentagon. And it was previously mentioned that ayers did a lot in the education field (working on school improvement plans) along with obama…therfore the obama/ ayers links were benefitial and for a good cause. I feel that obama does not need to justify how he knows bill ayers….clearly the mcCain campaign is blowing it way out of proportion, thus continuting with the notion that the media can “hide” and “show” certain aspects of an event.. anyways eventually the united states is going to have to elect a new presedent and take in to consideration the platform and ideas of each canadit and not attacks and scandals.
I found it very interesting to read chapter 40, which is about homosexuality in today’s media, and how homophobic America really is (although they like to pretend they are not). I think I found this chapter interesting because it is the first time I can examine the media through a homosexual’s eyes. It made me see things most people overlook. Kalamaras argues that today’s homophobia is actually worse than it was decades ago. Why? Because we like to think we are not homophobic because GLBTs are more visible in the media, more specifically, TV. But, just because we can openly see them and be entertained by them, it does mean that we accept them. The better phrase would be ‘we tolerate them’. Kalamaras analysed the show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He says that this show does not necessarily help people be less homophobic. It gives the message that we should not hate gays because they can be useful to heterosexuals. In other words, straight men end up having power over gay men. Also, a lot of the homosexual content on TV is nothing more than a plot twist/dramatic element to hook viewers. It adds a little spice to the show and makes it more of a guilty pleasure. Another thing that hurts GLBT’s public image is actors who play gay characters and in real life they must make it known that they are not gay, as if that would taint them and give them a lower status. All in all, Kalamaras says that “feeling sympathy for queers, but denying them certain rights and freedoms is still homophobic…it is UNDEMOCRATIC!”
It seems to me as though these kind of political “strategies” (if you can call it even that) are often used in the US, especially during election campaigns. It really is immature…poking into someone else’s history and trying to bring that to the present day. I mean obviously it is much called for since these individuals are running to be elected to run the most powerful country in the world. However, we must still consider that while Obama was once acquainted with Bill it was a long time ago and they worked on something that was (according to the above persons) education related and for the betterment of society. Frankly, there was much worse things that we heard about Bush, that did not stop people from voting for him…guess the Bush administration know how to scare their nation badly, so badly that they got re-elected so that they can be “protected” from terrorists by Bush. In fact, Bush did worse things compared to Obama. If a political party is trying to win votes by poking into another politicians background rather than policy making or improvements that they would make if they are elected than that is reason enough to not elect that political group.
The whole thing with petition signing for Bill’s “rights” (because of course he has been truly treated unjustly..right?)is a joke. There are a million and one issues out there that need a voice and help and yet our professors are signing petitions for another professor who has established his path as a professor; while there are millions and millions of people who are dying, displaced and killed/murdered ruthlessly. Can we not see clearly? Can we not understand that there are greater issues awaiting to be heard and given voice to? I rest my case.
This week I wanted to blog on one of the chapters in the book, about word tricks. I found it so interesting, and found myself recognizing so many of the types of words discussed. It’s amazing how the media can be so selective with their words when talking about certain issues, as to give a positive overtone when discussing certain issues and a negative one when discussing others, all to encourage you to feel the way they want you to feel about the issues at hand. I learned that purr words are those that media uses when they want you to feel positive about something. I noticed politicians used these types of words a lot, to try and convey the sense of responsibility, stability and accountability. Although we may not realize it, these kinds of words greatly affect how we feel about what the media is saying. Terrorist is a word that’s so commonly used, in order to instill fear and bring the public onto their side with regards to anything the politician/news broadcasters is saying. I never really noticed these strategies, and find them so sneaky and underhanded, but I completely understand it. As I was reading this chapter, I also realized that commercials use these same kinds of tricky words, like “new & improved” and “help”, which can trick into thinking that the product was either modified to be better, even if it was just the packaging, and “help” in regards to headache medicine, which means that it doesn’t actually make it stop, just “help” it. Anyways, I found this really thought-provoking, definitely worth reading.
I agree with Ashley. It is amazing how by selecting words carefully and purposefully the media can change the whole tone of something even when reporting facts. The purr words is an interesting concept also. I wonder if the people writing these things actually have reference dictionaries that give them a guide on which words will evoke which emotions from their viewers. The media is all about tricks now, nothing seems to be straight forward and to the point. Even advertisments for toilet paper are following this trend, and it is litterally something we use to wipe our rears with! I wonder what would happen to all these products if the companies just told us the blatant truth about it. Like, we added 10% more lead to the lipstick to make it last longer. Would products then really sell, and would it be as important to the consumer to buy the latest if the latest wasn’t all that different from the beginning. I think that it would be a good idea if companies that claimed improvement had to label exaclty what had been changed, right on the packaging. You know just like they have to list ingredients on food packages now. I think that if we really knew what the changes were to a product, we really wouldn’t see the need to improve and pay more for them.
In relation to South Asian media, until I read the chapter I didn’t stop to think that when someone says “Asia” I immediately thought of countries like Japan, China and Korea. When really Asia covers so many other countries. The stereotypes that we’ve created, reinforced and believed by many are so strong that sometimes make you forget that under those stereotypes are people with different minds, points of views, beliefs, values etc, and that they cant be categorized or generalized by another culture. I come from a culture that has many very very strong stereotypes, so I could very much relate to the feeling of not having a voice or feeling helpless when being categorized. I’m Mexican and it very much pisses me off that some people think Mexico is a country with only criminals, where people wear sombreros and drink tequila all the time. I can’t say it’s a super safe country, but there are people there that are far from criminals. Did you know that color television was invented by a Mexican? Guillermo Gonzales Camarena. Back to stereotypes… usually when I meet someone and they learn where I’m from, the first thing they ask is if I eat spicy things. They become very very surprised when i tell them that, just like my family, I don’t eat any spicy things. I don’t like jalapeños and I don’t add salsa to my food and that does not make me any less Mexican as people tend to say “Oh a Mexican that doesn’t eat chilli is not a Mexican”. I think that media isn’t helping us get rid of these blinding stereotypes but I’m sure that by educating students in the existence of other cultures and teach them to embrace differences is a good way to start.
I wanted to reply to Kylie S. Yes, people absolutely love to jump on bandwagons. In this it doesn’t matter whether it is a cause or a type of boots- people want to be popular. When it comes to people trying to pretend that they care about a cause, this particularly bothers me as well. You can argue that it gives more attention to a cause, but my problem with it is that, using your example of people walking around with “Club Sandwiches, Not Seals” shirts, people are lulled into a false belief that they are actually doing something. Instead of donating money to an organization or actually protesting, they think they’re doing their part by wearing a shirt and so nothing actually gets done (especially since the companies who make these shirts generally aren’t actual charitable organizations). I have a problem with people allowing themselves to feel content with what boils down to a real lack of effort. That being said, we cannot automatically assume that everyone wearing these shirts are doing nothing. I’m sure there is a small (albeit very small) percentage that are actually vegans and who protest or devote their efforts to actually doing something. Although it is ironic that club sandwiches usually contain bacon and/or chicken and/or turkey. Hmmm.
Although I do disagree with the Canadian Seal Hunts, I won’t get into it here. I do believe that we should start with factory farms when trying to deal with animal abuse. I talked about a similar thing when I brought up Oprah’s episode on puppy mills. It is easy for us to get up on a pedestal when we think we’re doing something right (something that’s an easy mistake to make, and tends to make us vegetarians look bad), but I wonder how many of those people who rescue dogs go home and eat a steak? I’m not saying that their efforts are cancelled out by eating meat, but I think we have to look at things a bit more objectively.
My opinion on Barack Obama is the following: He is smart, personable, good appearance, very well spoken, nice demeanor. He is a young man with a great voice who sounds like an outsider to this city on a swamp called Washington DC. I would understand why one would vote for him if he were running for governor of another state, or something, but two years of real political experience is nowhere near enough to hold the most powerful political and military office in the entire World. Barack has 8 years in the state Legislature. He is a person of faith but he doesn’t try to tell people that they must be like him. He does not have to be White to be the RIGHT President for the United States. Overall he just has “It!”. These are my major and priority reasons why he should be elected as the next president of these United States. I could see from him that he will make a significant change not only to the USA, but also to the world. The election period has begun, lets see what the Americans will choose this time?
I personally feel going on Aaryn S’s comment is that you cannot be so harsh on people. If someone is an activities for dog rights and then goes home and eats a steak who cares? At least that person is going after a belief they think to be right. Can you really expect someone to be able to passionately identify with all types of suffering or injustices and live-by-example a completely pure, non-hypocritical life? Maybe we should all just take a break and focus on the good that animal rights activitists or vegetarians are doing. Doesn’t it seem that we are continually trying to find flaws in people? Oh she says she a vegetarian, but her reasons for being one are all wrong, plus she eats fish.
Why not try and take the approach- Think of all the money she has not given to the meat red meat industry for not eating beef, pork or chicken. Props to her/him
Obviously I am not trying to preach a lesson here but I just feel we should be more supportive to each other.
(This week I wanted to share something I came across while working on my Midterm PowerPoint….However I’m not too sure where I should have posted it :S)
As I was working on my media midterm PowerPoint presentation I came across some old children’s cartoons. What appalled me was the amount of racism and stereotyping involved in some of the episodes. These cartoons were geared towards impressionable children who pickup everything and learn from example. One of the cartoons which I came across that really blew me away was an episode of Little Lulu from 1946. If you don’t know who she is, she’s a cute and adorable little girl who always seems to be incapable of staying out of trouble. This episode however takes place in school during one of the children’s history lessons. Little Lulu starts to day dream and she goes back in time to the discovery of America. She meets pilgrims who tell her to run for her life because the “injuns” will skin her head (so they sound the “hair raid alarm”). It also showed Native Americans on the side of the path selling tobacco and hot dogs in small huts.
I don’t seem to understand how the creators of these cartoons seemed to be able to get away with racial stereotypes like these. It is downright shocking to me, yet I almost wonder if parents and children during 1946 even noticed. Sometimes I think it’s a sign of the times. To us, this type of racism is so overt that we wonder how people could even have watched it, yet today, if we look closely we still see these stereotypes. They are just harder to catch. The media has gotten good at hiding their messages and the audience rarely seems to question or challenge the voice of the media.
I think a more appropriate Bill Ayers comparison would pertain to the treatment of black/Indigenous radicals of his era. For the record, many charges against Weather Underground folks were dropped because of COINTELPRO’s illegal methods of obtaining evidence, and some of these guys DID go to jail for a long time. But compare them to their peers in the Black Panther movement or the American Indian Movement. There’s a reason Bill Ayers is walking free while they locked up Leonard Peltier, an innocent man who was charged for murder of two FBI agents in a shootout even though there’s no evidence he had a gun at the time etc. There’s a reason it was Fred Hampton and not Mark Rudd who was drugged and murdered in his bed by the state. There’s a reason he didn’t have his house bombed while his children were inside like the MOVE guys did.
‘m going to comment here again because I feel compelled to speak to Bill Ayers’ role as a terrorist. People who bomb public buildings or kill civilians for political reasons or to achieve power fit the common definition of terrorist. The Weather Underground, though they submitted enough warnings to minimize civilian death toll, did bomb public buildings for various political reasons. [I was always under the impression that the only people killed in relation to Ayers were the individuals from the WU who botched a bomb-making attempt].
But is the United States really fighting a war on ALL terror or is it a specific type of terror? When it comes to terrorists in Latin America, the United States literally runs a school to train terrorists. The School of the Americas [or 'School of Coups'] in Fort Benning, Georgia is a place where people learn to torture political opponents, build explosives and take over states using violent means. Its graduates are Latin Americans designated to commit acts of terror that correspond with U.S foreign policy. And its graduates are terrorists.
Take the case of Luis Posada Carilles, a Venezuelan terrorist of Cuban origin, sheltered at this very moment in the United States. Posada was trained at the school of coups in the early 60s. In 1976 he bombed a plane flying from Barbados to Cuba and 73 people were killed. In 1997 he set off a bomb targeting tourists in Havana, killing 1 and injuring 11 others.
It seems that committing acts of terror are in fact acceptable to the American government as long as they agree with the target.
So I read Rachel S’ blog and happen to agree with her. I have also seen the movie Bride and Prejudice and loved it. While i was watching the movie, however, I found that there were some problems. Yes, it is a Bollywood movie, which means it has both Western and Indian influence. But i felt the movie to be a bit over the top. The “culture” made the scenes look like what a typical westerner might imagine Indian culture to look like. It also made the lead females and males very pale for Indian people. When I was in Singapore last summer I saw the Indian quarter of the city and I can tell you for a fact that I did not see one Indian person in that quarter who was as pale as the lead actress in Bride and Prejudice. it upset me that they couldn’t just have truth in a movie. why can’t a beautiful, darker Indian woman play the role? oh, right, because then american viewers (who are extremely picky when it comes to beauty) won’t watch it. My favorite scene in the movie is towards the beginning when the men and women are dancing and are singing a witty teasing song. what’s good about it is the beautiful dancing. the dancing is what you would see, the room, however, looks like the taj mahal. I did like how they were singing in their language and not in English. what really bothers me is the mix of western and Indian in the Indian culture, when the british actors in the movie are simply dressed in Indian garb, but other than that show no signs of being influenced by the way the Indian’s act. goodness gracious, can’t things be equal and truthful when it comes to the movie industry?
In response to the whole Bill Ayers thing: i feel stupid. I’m not going to lie, I have not heard a thing about this whole ordeal. I appreciate having been filled in by Shirley because I really had not heard anything about it. Usually I get my news from Yahoo and I haven’t seen anything about that on Yahoo. Then again, I’m looking at Yahoo Canada, maybe that has something to do with it. but anyway, my view on the whole thing is if he doesn’t need protecting why are all the professors trying to protect him? one of the interesting things about the teaching professsion i’ve learned is that we are not really a “brotherhood”. an example of a job where i could see everyone sticking up for someone else in their profession is when you’re a police officer. In the teaching profession it is not so common to see this kind of behavior. So let me see if I understand this, he went to jail because he was a terrorist, raised a kid who went to jail (or did he raise the kid because the kids parents, who were his friends, went to jail?), and now is a professor who has redeemed himself. he now does good work and that seems to have been a redeeming quality. and now he’s involved in the US campaign and stuff. wow. and in response to Tess’ blog, he did that too! and it’s true what she’s saying about the war on terror, I’m american and I’ve questionned it since the beginning…and I was eleven. it’s going on still and the US is now training terrorists. The media either flaunts this fact or hides it depending on which news channel you watch. but that’s america for you.
Going back to Russel’s blog, who fed off of Aaryn S’s comment, who replied to Kylie S (just trying to get my references strait) and jump in on the whole humanitarian bandwagon.
What constitutes a legitimate humanitarian? Many people have much to say when it comes to this eternal question. Is it someone who donates to charity? What is more valuable money or time? How much suffices and which causes take priority? Do vegetarians even hold a candle to vegans?Why must no good deed go unpunished? How people choose to contribute is personal and unique to an individual’s disposition.
Playing the devil’s advocate: Say for example two people from diverse social economical backgrounds who based on different motives, decide to donate to the same charity. The wealthier person donates a substantial sum of money on behalf of his company, which intern stirs positive publicity that leads to an increase in sales, profiting well over what was donated. While at the same time the not so well-off fellow, who has a personal relation to the cause close to his heart, donates a whole summer to do charity work for the foundation. Despite this man’s obvious caring intent and effort, his donation although more significant and personally fulfilling, remains less valuable than that of the wealthier man who’s large amount of money plays a greater role.
In response to the Bill Ayers topic, I feel this wave of sympathetic professors finds its origins in socio-economic standing and racism. Here we have Bill Ayers, a white university professor with a radical background facing crucifixion, and a gang of inactive (when it counted) university professors lobbying for his support. I suppose when the victim troubling so resembles yourself, even the most apathetic ivory-towered intellectuals might rise in defense. What is most troubling , however, is the fact that for every one white middle-class political target, there will be abundantly more lower-class minorities facing similar if not worse persecution. Take, for example, Mumia Abu-Jamal: the beautifully gifted Philadelphia Chapter Black Panther framed for murder, now residing on death row without hope for escape. The physical evidence pinning Jamal to such charges are non-existent and in spite of GLOBAL support and rallying, Mumia still remains in solitary confinement. One must simply look to his prolific prison writings to see what a travesty this is. Yet, a black man and proudly growing his dreadlocks, Mumia sits in contemplation without any of the media coverage or intellectual support seen with Bill Ayers. Activism knows not skin colour.
“I had no idea that the Bill Ayers linked to Obama was the same Ayers I’ve read in one of my classes. I have no sympathy whatsoever for someone like Bill Ayers, and cannot understand why anyone would. I tend to feel more sympathy for the victims of terrorism rather than the terrorists themselves. Bill Ayers may have done good things later in life, but I find it very disturbing that
so many professors would support and defend an unrepentant terrorist. In my opinion the left is very wrong on this one.”
I agree with this. It is scary to think about someone supporting, let alone a professor, a terrorist. Have people lost all common sense. In the media now though it seems like even Betty Crocker can be linked to terrorists, or terroist plans. But where do we draw the line between actual security threats and just people who fit the profile?
We do what is easy, we fight for what is easy and we care about what is easy. Choosing to confront issues of racism and so on is not easy. So we leave it for the people who have time, right? Well it is obvious now that this is true. People do not care too much anymore about what matters, just what is going to make them look good in the eyes of the media. Pick a cause, any cause, just so long as I don’t have to do anything. That’s seems to be the attitude these days.
I just finished watching a documentary called, “The US Vs. John Lennon”, which was spectacular and informative. But what really hit me was the change in ‘activism’ from Lennon’s time to now. Activism has become more of a social tool and great indie accessory. It is not about the problem or the solution anymore it is about the hype.
Take PETA for example, what does naked Pamela Anderson have to do with the protection of Animal Rights? NOTHING! It just gives PETA a powerful media influence and joining PETA becomes more about being a member of an affluent organization then about the cause itself.
Stop taking up causes that you don’t care about, just to be able to say that you care. If you care, do something. I mean I am not saying that small steps do not help the cause, but make them relevant and make them stand out. Be active members of a global society. Be about change and progress and less about hip and trendy.
It is not hip and trendy to support a cause, it is real. Real animals are dying and being mistreated, real people are struggling to live and eat every day, real morons are being elected into office. It just seems that we all like to take the easy way out, and quite frankly, these issues are not easy.
The media are to blame. The American family used to sit in front of the television, together, for an hour or two (or maximum three) a day to watch whatever media was throwing at them. And whatever it was, it was alright, because the only watched one or two or three hours of it, and they were together. Now, children get home from school and watch. Partents get home from work and watch. Everybody eats when they’re hungry, the kids get put to bed and the parents watch some more. Then everybody wakes up, goes to work/school, and the whole thing starts over again.
Activism my ass. Who the hell has time for activism when Gossip Girl is on? In fact, who even has time for homework anymore? It’s all about prime time television, which, ironically, now lasts from the time you get home to the time you go to sleep. Even the 11-o’clock news has become prime-time television, and, as dicussed in Shirley’s latest Icelandic blog, who gave the media the right to talk about Obama’s Grandmother on the 11-o’clock news anyways?
The sad fact is that, today, the television watcher and the activist are rarely the same person. The person who knows that Pamela Anderson is the spokesperson for PETA is exactly the person who will never get up to do anything rlating to PETA. In a previous blog I scoffed about the idea that the media should have limits imposed on it, saying that the media already had its limits and wasn’t about to change for us. Well, I know the type of limits I would push for:
No television between 10:00 PM and 1:00 AM.
That’s right, I said it. CURFIEW! The divorce rate would probably ease by 5% annually with that one hour of spousal communication between 10:00 and bed time. And who knows? Maybe PETA would actually get somewhere…
the idea of a curfew for television is simply not going to change a thing. The prime time shows will just be shown earlier, and the 10 o’clock news becomes the 6 o’clock news. This idea of a curfew is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.
our entire lives are based around entertainment. If we have spare time to ourselves, we spend it watching tv. A “Night out” consists of going to the movies, or to a play, a concert, etc. The fact is, TV is a major outlet of media, but there are a dozen others just waiting to take its place. Radio news shows were all over this Ayers debate just as much as television. Internet blogs and websites were probably the most ruthless of all, and i don’t see any sanctions or regulations on the internet. If you are going to try and tie-down or restrict television, then you need to put the same mandates on all forms of media.
i don’t think this is the solution however. I think that we are once again shifting the blame onto someone else. If you have a problem with the system, why continue to support it? if telelvision channels or news teams are bias, why are they still getting such high ratings? We need to focus more on our own opinions, and personally “restrict or limit” ourselves to these corrupt forms of media.
however, i do agree with you about divorce rates, that was a great point!
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