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Video Project

I did my video project analyzing masculinity presented in the western archetype of the cowboy. I went with a fairly broad approach to explain the origins of the hyper-masculine and individualistic qualities and their effect/reflection in today’s North American society.

The Western and Masculinity

The video assignment was a lot of fun but also quite difficult. It’s a totally different mode of presenting information and PowToon is a bit temperamental. I’d started off in iMovie but it didn’t allow for the amount of text/layout flexibility that I wanted (and I hate using Powerpoint for movies) so I switched over to PowToon despite many people in the class having trouble with it. However, once you get used to its controls it’s fairly user friendly… I just couldn’t work out how to include video clips without pauses which limited my presentation somewhat… I’d meant to include some modern day clips of the cowboy imagery in action like in the Doritos commercial here. Regardless I think the video was successful without it, just forced me to change the content to focus more on movies and history than exact examples. The same can be said for its audio function which limited the video to the song’s 3:10ish duration. The rest of the tools are fine though and allow for lots of little details like the appearance of images and figures at various times. I quite enjoyed making the video and playing around with getting the sound to line up with image or word popups.
I think videos allow for both the condensation of certain information and the expansion of others; they also allow for concepts to be supported by images and sound which is not often found within papers or other media types. The only issue is perhaps timing and effort, especially when doing videos with text that has to be paced or with a voice over that has to be lined up with the content. Without effort into the details as much as the content the video is not as successful – as seen by videos that lacked audio or had issues with their pace in class. For me, this effected how I approached the project, with a focus on getting basic information out as clearly as possible without too much garbled text or speedy voice over.
Overall, I really enjoyed doing a video project as it’s rarely done in classes. It’s an interesting way of doing a paper and presenting research which really helps you think about what to include and what can be omitted through the use of other mediums.

Food Waste

We’ve discussed the subject of consumerism in regards to many things like products, media and even society itself. We have looked at ‘food porn’ and the food network as another pillar of the industry as food has just as strongly adopted notions of aesthetic to sell and promote itself. One thing we did not consider is the waste, at least until last class where Zizek discussed how we assume waste products just disappear and are no longer part of our existence. When I was watching Masterchef and other cooking shows recently I began to wonder about what happens to all the groceries and completed dishes that are produced? Now naturally they set up the pantry in these shows, have the contestants use what they will and redistribute the rest to food banks (or so one would hope), but what happens to the rest? Just last week on Masterchef Junior they spilled countless gallons of syrup on the judges – you can’t exactly mop that up and give it to a food bank.
Another such interesting point I’ve seen recently is the new super market that is selling ‘miss-shaped’ foods in France. Obviously in the past people used to use these fruits and vegetables without a care but now with the need to conform and sell as many like products as possible, even these basic foods are forced into unattainable standards. Most people do not consider the fact produce even comes in strange shapes until they spot a radish that happened to by pass the “quality check” and looks like a man or a potato with a face to post on instagram.
So much food is produced and then not used or misused while food banks are having trouble keeping up and the price of produce is on the rise, resulting in the decline in health of poorer families who have to buy what they can. If more food passed the appearance test, there would be more food on the market and prices would go down and overall health would increase. Not to mention less waste on transportation and packaging of unhealthy foods.

Focus of Media

The question of who’s lives matter is a major point in todays news and popular media. News channels focus strongly on negative or tragic events to garner for views than ever before and even commentate on popular culture and celebrities. The lives of celebrities especially gives an escape from the tragedy shown on the news, but does not amylase problems in the local area or government. There are many examples of this such as the focus on the wars and uprisings in the Middle East over the events in Ferguson, Missouri in America. The media coverage is also very biased, which is even more evident in American news sources like Fox News which are heavily conservative.
Viewers are forced to look to outside news sources, the trending tweets, comedians like John Stewart or to youtube commentators to learn about issues and not media culture like what Kim Kardashian is wearing this week. The lives of celebrates are being used to cover up the lives of minorities or disagreeing parties in North America. The number of views and shock factor has become more important than actual news, positive events hardly even get a mention outside of Facebook shares.Canada is significantly better than America in this respect, just from looking at how the shooting at Parliament was covered compared to similar events in the states.
What does this say about North American society? Do we not care about the news and world events or are we simply too hungry for drama? I would argue that the prevalence of other news sources and the circulation of trending topics says we are not just drama mongers; however, then where are news outlets getting the notion that this is all we want to see?

The Texting Dead

In class last week we discussed movie monsters and their reflection on society at the time. Zombies have always been an area of some debate as they are such a prevalent feature of media today with shows like The Walking Dead and dozens of zombie movies like Zombieland and Warm Bodies. While zombies do express much of the concern we have today about infection and immigration (just look at the media around Ebola and the CDC Zombie plans), zombies in pop culture have begun speaking more about the current capitalist society than simply infectious disease. The Walking Dead is a prime example as the zombies have not been the central issue since about season 2, sure they are ever-present and a problem, but the true opposition and conflict comes from other live people. It’s more an analysis on the response of various groups to the world’s collapse, especially considering how there are turf wars over safe areas and resources, not just an all out war against zombies. Zombies had become just another force of nature in much of The Walking Dead. The other hint to this is that (spoiler) everyone is infected. They are ALL the walking dead, not just the zombies – and this means there is less to do with concerns of zombies as a metaphor for immigration, but as something we are all infected by: the need to consume. I would argue the underlying messages in zombie films have definitely changed over time, but modern zombie flicks all focus on consumerism the fear of economic collapse. In these movies and shows: we are all already zombies, we are all consumers that can’t be stopped. As seen in Warm Bodies “before the infection” we are already vacant faces stumbling down the road – just were starring at our phones instead of off into the void.

Health and Individualism

In today’s society one’s own health, life failures/successes and the responsibility to help, at least by donation (and generally enacted by consumerism) is placed entirely on the person due to individualism. While having responsibility for yourself and those around you is not a bad thing, neoliberalism has taken it to a problematic extreme. People are told to maintain their good health and balanced life style, not to take unnecessary drugs (while pharmaceutical companies are making more and more of these drugs “necessary”) despite the fact there are many factors in the environment that can still cause problems. People with cancer are now asked ‘what had you done’ and ‘what will you do about it?’. People also feel more and more pressure to control all aspects they can possibly get their hands on, as if they alone should be able to fix the droughts in Africa.
With the amount of outside responsibilities placed on the individual it’s not surprising how many people are suffering from anxiety and depression. One cannot simply wake up and decide ‘today I will not be depressed’ nor can many take medications without serious side effects (including more depression) without society and the medical system bearing down on them as having not taken care of themselves properly. The death of Robin Williams, while tragic and unfortunate has at least opened up the discussion on mental health. The most interesting observation is that media often blames depression and suicide on substance abuse, assuming the person must have done something to alter their perception to kill themselves. Depression and other mental issues are just as debilitating as physical diseases, but there is even more emphasis on the responsibility of the person as we are meant to be in control of our own minds. Individualistic societies need to learn that moderation is key, many things are a person’s responsibility and in their control – but health (physical and mental) is effected by many outside forces as well.

Module Review

I’m not sure how successful a quick look of the module was as a test but it seems that it functions quite well – the instructions are simple and easy to follow. Considering some of the assignments, I would assume this is an entire course or month long activity and not to be done in one class. It might have been more helpful to also analyze one class’ worth of content directly as it’s hard to gauge the amount of work and time in this review of the entire module. As such, though we were instructed not to do the assignment portion, I thought it best to analyze the module by actually giving it a try. I found it helpful to take little notes on the content and use them to support an argument or point of view. I did this primarily with sections one and two, and did a short, mock response. I’m not sure how effective the merging together of these 2 parts is but here is an example of a rough blog entry on section one using the materials from one and two:

Unwanted pregnancy is a nightmare for any woman as we have to make a choice in either keeping the child and all that entails or going through the process of abortion – which can be just as complicated due to social stigma and personal beliefs. The media also plays into the stigma of abortion and the keeping of the child as seen in Juno and the clips viewed. Choice becomes a problematic word as these women are often influenced to one decision or the other. Politics and religion should have no place in controlling anyone’s body but the portrayal of the process, interactions and fear induced by abortion and the depicted effects on others.
I very much agree with doctor Morgentaler, I think every woman should have the right over her body, no one else. It is entirely possible that complications from a pregnancy would result in the death of the mother so ‘pro-life’ has always been problematic. It values one life over another, especially when we should be more concerned with the existing life of the mother than the developing one. Abortion should not be used as a form of birth control, but in the case off danger to the mother or problems with the child (including the mothers ability to raise the child in any way), she should have no guilt in terminating the pregnancy. It is her well-being that will be affected for the next 9 or more months and it is her (or the state) that will have to care for the child.

(Time spent on section one content: about 30 minutes; section two, excluding juno: about 40-50 minutes; plus writing the rough response)

Overall the content seems to go well together and opinions are easily merged with the videos and readings. It might be helpful to have specific links to some of the readings as they are not always as easily found at home as opposed to accessing them online on campus. The module overview is also quite helpful to keep the themes in mind; however, some of the points fit better with specific sections and should maybe be referenced back to in each section beyond a few short words or switched around altogether. The final assignment could also use more explanation and clarification. Otherwise the module seems quite successful and could be used as a template for a course/class.

Skin and Race

I’ve had to hold off further analysis of the Race chapter until I’d completed the book as issues of race are prevalent in the entire book. Paul Gilory (chapter 8) explains how race has to be socially and politically constructed to secure and maintain ‘racialization’ and diversity today, despite the ideology being born as a distinction of skin colour during the colonial period. One aspect that was not discussed in the book is First Nations cultures. I personally come across this issue often in my own artistic work as people in Canada question my right to various ideology, imagery and symbolism. I’m from Eastern Europe, where we have populations that have a similar belief system as that of the North American aboriginals. My own great-grandmother was a village healer or white witch; though I would not necessarily define myself as “aboriginal”, the issues between traditional beliefs and those imposed by Christianity, colonialism and mass media are of great interest to me. Aboriginal cultures (especially those of Europe) are even less evident in the race/culture debate than African or Asian populations due to the belief they simply no longer exist. There are also many aboriginal people that are now of mixed decent and are facing discrimination from both sides, here O-Mie makes a great point that racism – “It’s not races we fear or judge, it is cultures, and not understanding them”. As exemplified by O-Mie’s quote- there are plenty of cultures and aboriginal peoples of every skin colour, including white as seen in the Sami people of Finland and the Setos of Estonia and Russia. The focus on race as defined by color is faulty to begin with but is even more problematic when groups or individuals do not fall under their socially defined race or culture.

Culturalism: Appropriated

In class we explored the pop culture timeline (Chapter 2 and 3: culturalism) which begins largely with the Victorian era where industrialization and mass production create the climate for the collection of culture. The introduction of human rights movements in the 1950s and later the introduction of the internet, sparked the expansion of social justice movements all over the world. These factors have all created a new social justice phenomenon today: cultural appropriation.  Wikipedia‘s definition is “the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group”, usually that of a minority. This is especially interesting when compared to last week as well when we watched a clip from The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema and Zizak stated “The other is the one who tries to steal our cultural enjoyment”, now Zizek was discussing racism specifically, but the same idea clearly prevails. There is no argument that stealing important or even sacred objects and imagery is wrong; however, many cultures have naturally overlapped in ideologies and traditions due to close proximity and trade which is not accounted for in the colloquial use of this terminology. Globalization has simply accelerated this process significantly and allowed for discussion of even some more taboo subjects of various cultures; this is not always a negative but usually a positive as everyone can learn from world events and problems. However, it is interesting to note that this concern over cultural appropriation, while stemming from good intent and political correctness, now is being used to spread racism (“reverse racism” is in fact just racism) and isolationism or the separation of all cultures and, subsequently, knowledge. It is impossible to undo the effects of globalization or looking back further, colonialism. Are there any solutions to both preserve various cultures and continue their trade today or is there any benefit to attempting isolationist tactics?

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