New England Patriots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJBM-WMZ5_s&feature=related

Tom Brady masculine

Tom Brady sexual orientation, class

The team itself class

            The Sports franchise “New England Patriots” is the ideal example of America’s personality. They are resilient and in the pursuit of perfection every. They symbolize what most Americans believe to be the acceptable way of life.

            Tom Brady; the team Capitan, plays many role for the patriots and America. He is a quarterback, but also is a symbol of a certain type of social identity. He represents the heterosexual orientation, because he is a male icon that is married to a super model. So he is a very good looking person, and he chooses to mate with people from another gender. This is important, because many people tend to follow his life. He is rich famous and is married to a very good looking woman, which in Devor opinion is a goal of both genders. Devor’s explains that women dress and act is certain ways to grab attention of males, and this fulfills the ultimate goal of heterosexual relations with a person from the other gender.

            The New England Patriots and Tom Brady also represent a certain class of Americans, and that is the blue collar type. This is because; both the team and Brady had a rise to power through hard work and dedication. Brady as a player was always underestimated, and even was doubted when performing at a high level. His senior year at Michigan he fought against a freshman for the starting job, and proved to be a winner. He still was doubted at the next level, because he picked after a 198 player in the draft. But, his blue coaler hard work ethic still propelled him to the top of the football world. So the class that he and his team represent is the wealthy, but they are the wealthy that were poor prior to becoming so powerful. Brady is a multi-millionaire, and who is the worth of the Patriots. However, this wasn’t the case before Brady’s reign at New England.

            Football is a highly masculine sport, because of the aggressive nature of the play. People that play the sport seem very large compared to the average person, and this is a feature that Devor explained to be highly masculine. The New England Patriots are considered to the best team in football in recent years, and because of that it is appropriate to consider them as the symbol of masculinity.

            The Pats and Tom Brady have many unique features of social identity. They represent a class of people, sexual orientations and masculinity, which are all things that people of this sport and American in general tend to support.

Carry out

The carry out video illustrated many different examples of racial and gender stereotypes. This video has a black man and Justin Timberlake as the leading singers, along with a few females of African descent. The main lyrics of the video had women being compared to carry out food, and the whole theme made the video seem disturbing and inappropriate. Along with degrading women the both artist also accomplished giving out strong stereotypes of blacks, whites, and the female gender.

            The purpose of Justin Timberlake in this video was unclear, because if he was there for the rap or hip hop theme it was really off. He is known for being in a pop boy band many years ago, and that type of personality seems to not fit with the type of theme this song has. Also if his purpose was to bring two different races of singers together, then that failed also. Because, this video seems to put a greater gap between whites and blacks than bringing them closer. I feel this way, because there were many small hints of racial stereotypes in the video between the two singers. Fist detail that I noticed was; that timbaland only wore the color black, while Justin only wore close dominated by the white. Seems kind of like a racial divider, because both singers only wore their own races defined color. Also the chairs that they sat on had the same trend of black and white. I feel like these two small details show that Justin had very little business being in this video in the first place.

            There are stereotypes that Justin’s presence help construct in this video. I saw in a scene that Justin seemed to be very dressed with a tuxedo on, while the black male had on a sport coat. There was a stereotype being constructed in this scene, and it had to do with how white and black people dress. It seemed the clothing on the singers supported the idea of white people being dressed more formally then black people all the time. This is because, both were dressed with some type of sport coat or tuxedo, but Justin’s had a more dressy feel to it. Although this stereotype isn’t true; it is something that youth of America could look upon as a limit to what they can succeed in life. Omi wrote “Since popular culture deals with the symbolic real of social life, the images which it creates, represents, and disseminates contribute to the overall racial climate”; Omi explains what the purpose of all these little details were. They are placed there to construct a stereotype that will be used to generalize an entire race. Omi also at explain that blacks are excluded from the front office in the music industry; so they really have very little control of their videos, and only make them to acquire a good paycheck.

The stereotypes are not only limited to how the singers are dressed in the video; the females in the video have also posted a stereotype. In this music video most if not all the women are of African descent, and they are degraded to an extreme amount in this video. The Women are dressed in tight clothing, and at sometimes they either have very little on, or what they have on is very appealing. Also the women behave extremely sexually, and this seems to give a low self esteem stereotype. The stereotype isn’t true, but “carry out” makes it seem like the women; especially black women, are very easy to get. The lyrics also compare them to hamburgers, because Justin and timbaland talk to them as if they are some type of fast food meal. Devor’s theory that women wear clothing to appeal to men is taken to the extreme as previously discussed, and this altogether puts a bad image out for women. These steroypes about women are seen by the young, and this can be very hindering to a young girl, because it sends a negative and false message to them about how they should act a feel about themselves. Women in the modern day are independent and confident, and this is the message that should be put out there, not the one “carry out” is portaying.

Timbaland himself is creating certain stereotypes about the black males, and how they act and think. He is portrayed to be masculine and aggressive throughout this video. According to Devor he is very masculine, because Timbaland takes up a lot of space, and has his arms away from his body. This gives him an aggressive aura, which is the stereotype this music video is creating. Although he seems to be very aggressive; this does not mean that all black males are. He also act, talks and wears clothing like gangsters do, but that is also just a stereotype, because not all black males are gangsters. In conclusion he gives of a certain stereotype, but as proven before these stereotypes are false. President Obama is black, and he isn’t gangster or very aggressive; this is just proof by one person alone that racial stereotypes are false.

Stereotypes in general are false all the time, because there is always one person that can defy the certain stereotypes. “Carry out” constructs many different stereotypes, but the reality is they are all wrong. Women are portrayed to be objectified to the wants of men, segregation of color, and aggression of black males are things that are frowned upon in society today, but we are letting such ideas be played publicly in this music video. It is time to stand up to such irrational media, and demand that appropriate material be made. We need to stop such explicit material from being published, because tit is hurting the progressing of the next generation, and the image of American pop culture.

stereotypes in music videos

source: youtube

           Music videos are a way for artist to express their thoughts on life, and many artists tell about what they see on a day to day basis. The music video “Kush” by Dr. Dre seems to be a harsh point of view on life; especially when this video seems to be the representation of an entire race. I feel that the video seems to give a stereotype that all black males are aggressive and people who do drugs. I think this is a stereotype, because all of the artists in this video are black, and they are acting aggressively while talking about doing a drug. These types of videos are a bad influence on the next generation, because this is the media that children tend to listen too.

            The lyrics in this video suggest that doing drugs and acting irresponsibly is something normal for African Americans, but the fact is that it isn’t. The line “Go ahead ask him B#$%% ’bout how I be smokin’ out, party all night, oh yeah, it’s goin’ down” is an example of how the lyrics of the song give a bad stereotype of African Americans. These lyrics illustrate all people of that race being partiers and drug dealers, but the reality is that they all aren’t. This music video’s lyrics send subliminal messages to children that it is normal to do weed, when it isn’t. This bad stereotype is something that needs to be excluded from rap videos.

            Also this rap video gives the stereotype that all African Americans are hyper masculine, because they take up a lot of space. In Devor’s readings it is explained that people who take up a lot of physical space are considered to be more masculine. In the video rapes like Snoop Dog wear large baggy clothing to achieve this illusion, and because of his close he seems to be more masculine than other in the video. This stereotype is completely false, because not all people of African American decent wear baggy clothing to be more masculine. One example is president Obama, because he is of the same race, but he never wears such articles of clothing.

            The last stereotype that is portrayed by this video is that; all people of this race are criminals. Black people are seen smoking weed throughout this video, and this is a way to suppress the race from contributing to pop culture. Most people don’t understand that in the music industry Dr. Dre isn’t the one that chooses to make such videos and songs, but rather it is the executives of record labels. Omi says in his reading “The record industry is overwhelmingly segregated and discrimination is rampant. No other industry in America so openly classifies its operations on a racial basis”, which is proof that these types of videos are put out there to suppress the race from being able to get to the executive position. These stereotypes brainwash children into to thinking drugs is the only available path, and this in turn leads to those kids never achieving the necessary goals to become executive in major business. So in conclusion these types of videos need to be boycotted, because they pose false stereotypes, and do end up hurting the upcoming generation.

Skyy vodka Ad

            There are many ways to interpret this Ad, but what everyone can easily notice is, that skyy is projected to make ones life more “grand”. What I mean is; the advertiser makes me as a consumer feel that skyy vodka is going to make me feel like a rich wealthy person. There are a few particular reasons why I say this, but the main point is that Skyy vodka targets the consumer want to be wealthy, and in essence reach their ultimately financial peak.

            The setting is the first feature that gives the feeling of class escalation is possible when looking at the Ad. In the Ad the setting is some high rise in a major metropolitan city, and makes me feel as a consumer that Skyy is a drink of the wealthy. I say this, because only wealthy people can afford penthouse suits in a downtown high-rise. The product is automatically given a direct connection with wealth, because of the setting of the background. This is turn is a connection that a consumer makes subconsciously, and in the end is a reason for the consumer to buy the product. The advertiser tries to use a very small connection with the background to give the product an aura of wealth, and this in turn makes consumer feel as though wealth itself could be contained inside the bottle itself.

            There is another aspect of the Ad that make a small connection with class, and that is the furniture in the Ad. I say this, because the furniture that is shown can’t be afforded by the average person. So when a person looks at the Ad, they could easily assume that Skky vodka is a drink for the elite class. This part of the Ad also appeals to men and women, because both look for wealth, but women in many cases can relate to having nice furniture as wealth also.

            Lastly the Ad targets the sexual orientation of many consumers by showing a beautiful female preparing a drink a man that is drinking Skyy. This part of the Ad really hints to the fact that Skyy vodka could be a key to having a relationship with such a women. Not only does this target consumers to by their vodka, because of the strong sexual tension in the picture, but it also at the same time puts pressure on people from other orientation to see that as a norm. So this strategy of showing a beautiful woman serves two purposes, and they are: first to grab a consumer by their sexual orientation and secondly to impose the advertisers view on sexual orientation.

            This Ad uses many techniques to lure a consumer to by their product, but they all have to do with targeting the wants of the consumer social identity. In this Ad it seems to be kind of risky, but it the end the final products seems to be the perfect mix of class and sexual orientation connection. This perfect balance would persuade me as a consumer to by Skyy vodka, but unfortunately I’m not of the age so they have failed, but only due to the nature of the product and not the advertisement strategy.

Ad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iawDvGfDBc&playnext=1&list=PL5B4F275DB7DF53ED

            Commercials usually one objective and that is to sell a product. The company that posts the ad doesn’t necessarily care how the ad is acquiring costumers, because in any case it is bring in costumers. Beer commercials are one type or genre of commercials that are truly different, because they not necessarily trying some to get beer, but actually trying to lure drinker to buy their brand. So in this highly competitive market a simple introduction of a product isn’t affective, beucase the market is filled with beer commercials. For example Samuel Adams commercials are very bland, and in many cases just introduce the company, and this tends to be very ineffective. It is ineffective, because when going go the store I don’t see as many people by Sam Adam’s as they do other bards like Miller lite. What is the key to the difference one might ask? The fact is that the commercials for miller lite in other big shots like Bud light and so on are sending a message to the costumer on how they should live their lives. Miller lite’s commercial is very specific and to the point. Their commercials subconsciously send a message to the costumer on what their social identity should be, and specifically that the male gender role is that of a strong masculine man.

            In Miller lite’s “carry all” commercial the male gender characteristics are very much set in stone. In this commercial the traditional male characterics are only apporiate, because the male with the carry all was perceived to be feminine. This commercial set a standard, and this standard in used to lure male to buy their beer, because it in a way projects itself to be the beer of men. Also at the very end this commercial it says to man up, and in a way it implies that one way of doing that is to start drinking Miller Lite. SO so far this commercial has been very straight forward about what its point of view is on the expetance for male behavior. The same can be said about sexual orientation in this commercial, because a very good looking bartender is in a certain way his path to becoming more manly. I personally implied that this commercial is trying to also impose the view of straight sexual orientation upon its watchers. This is at some points in my opinion passing the limits of what a commercial can do, and I personally I think that adding that little sexual orientation part was over the top. We have to consider what people of other sexual orientations have to say. As a straight person I still think that trying to a company’s ideals is somewhat out of line, but sales seem to point out that this is a very good strategy. I say that it is time to stand up to these ideas that are imposed on us, and demand not to be persuaded by some trick in our homes. I think that a company should states its case and let the costumer decide, beucase if we as people are to be molded into what a company wants, then at some point that company might have control over most aspects of our buying experience in life.

Reach beyond the expected

What is the purpose to life if we are told where we stand in this universe on the basis of our finances, social stature, and education. If people are to be told to what to do their lives, and only to expect the norm, then there would never be greatness by anyone on this plant. What I mean is if societies have limitations on people for how they are to accept their lives, then we wouldn’t have people like MLK, Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela. These people were given a norm niche in their societies, but they chose to disobey the norm for a better life for themselves and their people. So it easily understandable when I say that people shouldn’t accept the roles they have been given by this world if they don’t like it. One great example is Chris Gardner in the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness”, because he didn’t accept the mediocre, actually subpar life that was originally given to him. He denied to live that, and strived to a better future. Chris Gardner showed that we as a people need to bring change into our lives if the circumstances call for it. Sure there are no guaranties that you will succeed, but it is better to try to improve your life with no regrets, rather than not try at all.

(mtv.com)

            This picture is from the movie “The pursuit of Happyness”, and it the motivation that we all need to get up and be as daring as Chris was. He was a single father with little money, and yet he still took the chance of losing everything closets to him. He just wasn’t ready to take the on the subpar social identity that was previously given to him, and most people don’t do this. If you have a great idea or if you’re just looking to improve your life, because you are tired of waiting and feeling bogged down, then this is the time for action. Get up a do the little things like work harder at school, classes, and work. Chris does this in the picture, while also being a father. Off course he is not doing as much as he wants for his son at this point, but he is still comforting him while working on a way to make both of their futures better by studying and comforting. It isn't easy to start this process or go through it, but the important part is that the best effort is put forth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_yW3152Ffc&NR=1

(youtube)

            So I myself am a student looking to gain a better future from the one that was originally given to me. I’m working hard at my classes, and if that means pulling an all-nighter for math, science, English or art I will do it. I take this motivation from the movie clip, because Chris Gardner talks about holding on to your dreams. I have a dream of being a doctor to defy the role given to me by society, which was to live a life of manual labor for the rich, while I’m barley making enough to live. The clip is a motivation to the peopl that strive to do better then the rest of the average world, becuase they the need to have a goal and the will to carry out the actions needed to acquire it. Share your stories and ideas. Am I right? Are you going to try to pursue a better life or even a small goal, and if you have what were the difficulties that faced you on your way to you goal? I can easily say that in my experience, that it is hard to do all the work required, when I have many different burdens to carry, but it worth it all to see an A.