Bridgette's Weblog

My Reaction to ‘Watermelon Patches’ and ‘Back Porch Alabama Monkies’

bridgettem — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:42:47 +0000

Okay, where on earth do I begin to describe my reaction to this film thus far. To sum up my viewing experience, i felt believe the film was hilarious but, i must admit, i was wondering whether or not i should be laughing at this film’s overly politically-incorrect racist jokes and events. This film, despite its comedic tune, is much more serious than it seems. The main character, Pierre Delacroix, is an educated, Harvard alumni, African-American man who is urged to think ‘more black’ to save ratings of CNS’ television shows. He thinks up, what he believes is a brilliant plan, to satire African-Americans in the most politically-incorrect ways on a minstrel. What he thinks will flop and possibly cause several lawsuits, ends up succeeding and producing much popularity. This is an atrocity; disgracing and ultimately, exploiting a race. He is afraid that if he stays with the production of this minstrel that he will develop the same attitude that his father, Junebug, has acquired over the years. This film highlights the sadness that can be found with disgracing culture and heritage. This becomes evident when the two stars of the minstrel prepare for their performance, the sadness on their faces as they transform their black skin to an even blacker shade is indescribable. These points in the film overcast the sometimes omniscient humor found in ‘watermelon patches’. I love this film; it’s not only hilarious but deep, the best combination. Can’t wait to see the rest!!!

Masculinity or lack thereof. .

bridgettem — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:55:52 +0000

In the article Men Growing Up to be Boys the author provided some insightful claims concerning the present attitudes, concerns, wants, and portrayals of men. The author talked about how men are perceived as having a ‘peter pan’ complex in which they are resistant to grow into adulthood, fearing marriage, children, responsibility and security, but the author explains this is just one of the many false perceptions that the media gives to the public. The media, in an attempt to sell products, advertises a facade of masculinity where men have a teenage mentality in a grown-up body. From this article a study was conducted where men actually enjoy spending time with their family and find joy in domestic chores. This proves that the media and society, for that matter are intrigued with the perception of a ‘metro sexual’ male who cares more about his appearance than his family and duties.

I feel as though the media is guilty of portraying men as domestically-challenged and lazier than they really are. We must credit this sex for something, right? I mean come on, not all men are guilty of being too self-indulged, lazy, or reluctant for commitment. The media, as explained in the article, has to sell products to males, thus providing a vision of something to be admired. Men, like women, want to buy items that make them into something that they really are not; we often aspire to resemble the lives, people, and attitudes depicted on t.v., but that does not mean we are those people or will ever be, for that matter. I do, however, agree with the shift from male ruggedness to metro-sexuality. Men, like my father and his father could have cared less about the latest fashion trends, hair styles, shoes and for god-sakes, having a tan. Presently, men care sometimes more than women about their appearance possibly because they feel as though they are compared to the men found in the media.

The last article, in reference to the film Brokeback Mountain, I felt as though the popular consensus of most ignorant, close-minded people where accurately captured in that article. This film was articulate in that the director chose a backdrop and characters that were contradictory to the imagined homosexual setting and people. This contradict is exactly why the film worked. The men were not gay, but shared love, something that does not discriminate according to gender. The stereotypical gay male was not found in this film. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaul are anything but feminine. They exude male masculinity, especially in this film where all hair gel, fake tan and veneers are absent. They were rugged, cowboy-like, mountain men and yet, they loved each other, something that many would call gay-ish. This article did an excellent job of clearing up any misconceptions one might have in accordance to the role of masculinity and its relation to homosexuality in this film.

Topic Proposal for Final Paper

bridgettem — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:02:42 +0000

My topic for the final paper will be something along the lines of the importance of symbolism in the film American Beauty. My original entertainment analysis paper on this film was, in my opinion, terrible. I feel as though it needs to be rectified and improved. The strongest part of my paper was the part were I proved the relevance and importance of symbolism and imagery in American Beauty. After having done plenty of research on this topic, I have realized that there is much to be said of the symbolism in this film. I hope to interview my friends, and family (people who have all seen this movie) to find out if they believe symbolism was a major element in the film, in terms of plot development and contributing to their overall experience of viewing the film. I plan to argue that symbolism is the main contributor to the plot of this film, and without the presence of this element, the film would mimic many of the other mindless dark, melodramatic genre films of this time.

Sources:

Rucus, Derek P. ” An Analysis of How American Beauty Relates to the Melodramatic Genre.” N/A. http://www.angelfire.com/film/articles/american_beauty.htm
Hundland, Erik. “Review: American Beauty (1999)”. 14. October 1999. http://www.movie-page.com/reviews/a/american_beauty_b.htm
N/A. “American Beauty Movie Review”.N/A. http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies/american_beauty.html
Edelstein, David. “A Good Year For the Roses?”. 18 September 1999. http://www.slate.com/id/35005
Freeman, David. “Writer’s Score: Why ‘American Beauty’ Works: Focus on the Use of Symbols.”. N/A. http://www.writersstore.com/article.php?articles_id=4

Reaction to Johnson Book and its connection to my Entertainment Paper

bridgettem — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:11:39 +0000

The book, Everything Bad is Good For You was a very interesting and profound look at different aspects of popular culture that seem to have transfixed society. Johnson is out to prove that popular culture, with its taboo attributes included, is not all that bad for its audience, viewer, or society in which it influences. I particularly admired his uncanny, yet insightful analysis of recent and controversial things which fall into the realm of popular culture i.e., the films, Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Big Fish, and Pulp Fiction, as well as popular television shows, video games, and the list could go on. Something that did stomp me, however, was his reference to the Sleeper Curve. This is one of his introductory topics and was prevalent throughout the book. I believe when he talked of films in this context, he referred to the Sleeper Curve as cinematic Sleeper Curve in which successful films of the past include little character complexity whereas, present box-office hits include various, complex characters. Johnson compared the first Star Wars to the modern Lord of the Rings. Both films were extremely successful, however, the latter had three times the amount of characters, causing the audience to have to keep track of them as well as a very intricate, heavy plot. Overall, I liked this book, at times it was hard to follow. Sometimes I felt as though he was redundant, especially when he referred to similar topics such as, television and films, video games and computer games. The Johnson book was interesting and unlike anything I have ever read before.

In relation to my Entertainment paper, the Johnson book provided a very helpful section which he talked of films. My Entertainment paper is on the film American Beauty; hence, his section analyzing weird and, yet successful recent films was extremely helpful. Johnson included the films, Magnolia, Twelve Monkeys, Memento, Pulp Fiction, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Big Fish, and Adaptation. These are all films which are not generally understood and accepted to the public, and yet remain iconic and popular. My film also shares this quality. He talks of how these films are complex and have very difficult plots to understand; he says, “. . .films built around fiendishly complex plots, demanding intense audience focus and analysis just to figure out what’s happening on the screen. I think of this as a new microgenre of sorts: the mind-bender, a film designed specifically to distort you, to mess with your head.” I believe that American Beauty does not exactly fall into the cateogory of Big Fish or the Matrix; however, it is a difficult film to comprehend, to understand the small, yet significant aspects of the film. I used this section of the book to understand the genre of my film. I concluded that like the films included in Johnson’s book, American Beauty also falls into a microgenre of drama, dark drama.

Entertainment Analysis

bridgettem — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 18:41:03 +0000

My proposed topic for the upcoming entertainment analysis is the highly-popular HBO television show, Sex and the City. I am very interested in this television show. Having watched just about every episode of every season, I believe I will be able to precisely comment and analysis this source of entertainment. I plan on investigating why viewers are so obsessed with the sexually-driven shows of present time; hence, the importance of using this particular show. Sex and the City, in my opinion, is a great choice for an entertainment piece. It has definitely defined itself in popular culture and has been a successful hit among the recent years. A motion picture is even being produced. What better source to choice than a cultural icon of present-day.

Social Networking

bridgettem — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:05:00 +0000

Everyone knows college students are in the “know” about social networks, specifically facebook; hence, what better way to excel in this assignment then to venture into the cyber abyss that I and every college kid knows like the back of their hand. The facebook page that I chose to analyze was found through a friend of a friend’s page (complicating, yes, but relevant). Anyways, it is important to note that my friend knows this friend through their sorority; thus, as you might be able to tell, her page is stereotypical of what a “sorority” girl’s facebook might look and be like.

Some assumptions that I make as I look through her pictures, many of which were filled with bud light cans and passed out friends, was that she was a typical, fun, happy-go-lucky sorority sister. This young, beautiful girl talked about her favorite movies: Legally Blond, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Into the Blue, The Notebook, her favorite books: Cosmopolitan and any Nicholas Sparks novel, her favorite quote: “Shake-n-bake”, and among various other information concerning her likes and dislikes. After seeing and searching through this girl’s life, I concluded that she was like so many of the other girls that I have come into contact with, she was the quintessential sorority girl.

Like I said previously, she gave out her interests and things she likes/dislikes. Her name was given and her page said she was a sophomore at Clemson University. I did not see any contact information except a phone number, foolish girl. By the looks of this girl’s facebook I would assume that she utilizes this fun, time-consuming, and highly-addicting network for sheer amusement and for keeping in contact with old and new friends. Contrary to what it might seem, I don’t mean to bash or hate on the sorority types out there. Personally, I believe they are just like me and every other girl out there; however, her profile just fits the stereotypical mold that our culture as placed in society.

“Speaker of the House Appears to be wearing women’s clothes…” lol

bridgettem — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 01:24:20 +0000

I chose two articles, one in the onion, the other on CNN.com. Each appear to about the new speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi. The onion article’s headline reads something like this, “New Speaker of the House Caught Wearing Women’s Clothing”, ironically enough, Pelosi is a woman. The article is in more of a congratulatory tone, “Pelosi becomes first woman House speaker”. The onion article is satirical in that it pokes fun at the fact that the new House speaker is a woman by saying,” …the newly elected speaker of the house, Rep. Pelosi (D-CA), was caught on camera wearing what appeared to be a skirt, ladies top, necklace, and pair of high heels…”, is proof that this was an obvious joke. The language the onion uses makes it quite obvious that they are being satirical and comedic. They know that the public is aware of Pelosi’s gender; therefore, they attempt to obviously poke fun at the fact that she is a woman doing a man’s job. The onion was very successful in their attempts, I believe.

In contrast, CNN outlined the facts of how and when Nancy Pelosi became the speaker. Using very proper and less offensive wording, CNN proved to be a serious news source. Rather than poking fun at this new milestone for women’s rights, they tell the story of what importance this truly is for America.

A Fast Food Nation

bridgettem — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:53:10 +0000

I chose the book Fast Food Nation because I am very interested in the American fixation with this modern-day phenomenon, fast food. Secondly, it wasn’t long before this assignment was presented to me that my boyfriend brought up how interesting the movie rendition of this novel was; needless to say, once I saw this choice on the book list I was tempted to choose it, as I already have. Unfortunately, I have already begun reading this novel, though I have not read too much.

I knew that this book was going to be about fast food, hence the title. I think this book will be based upon a man’s investigation and observations of the fast food industry. I expect to find much criticism to the capitalistic society of today as well as the government for allowing too much of a free market to emerge. Also, I believe that this novel will be reminiscent to Upton Sinclair’s, The Jungle. I have read The Jungle and I hope to find as much slim and dirt in this novel as I did in the previous “meat packaging” and “muck-racking” story line. Ultimately, when I put this book down I hope to know more about how fast food is made (processed, packaged, etc) as well as how it has become such a cultural phenomenon.

I haven’t read anything or heard anything about this book until my boyfriend mentioned the film. I have seen the movie on HBO quite a bit; however, I have yet to watch it. My curiosity is peaked, I can not wait to find out what it is exactly that we digest daily. For most of us, fast food has become a daily routine, even a part of our meal plan. After this book I believe my idea of a “free” meal might not be so “free” after all.. sooner or later I believe we all might have to pay a price.

News from Weblogs vs. CNN or Fox News

bridgettem — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:58:03 +0000

Before being introduced into the world of “weblogging” I would have inferred that media sources such as, CNN, Fox, or even MSNBC were more reliable than weblogs. But after reading the heart aching story of a young Iraqi girl who is constrained by a constant curfew and the insecurities caused by the lack of safety, I realized that even though she lives in Iraq she is like me and every young girl who shares her age. Wanting nothing more than to be “someone else”, this young girl is faced with real-life horrors of bombs, warfare, and a 10 o’clock curfew. This girl denotes, many times, that she wishes that things would resume back to the time in which Saddam was in power; here is just a portion of her anecdote, “I can’t forget that during Saddam’s time, we were go to eat ice cream everyday after midnight. Oh, I want the old days to come back, I want the old day to come back. I want to see the moon, to see the sky afternoon, to see the hope coming soon, to see the life like a movie cartoon not like a frighten movie night, not like that. I want to be a normal girl, living a normal life” (iraqigirl.blogspot.com).

I wonder how anyone one isolated by distance and sea would have ever known that Iraqi civilians are unable to led a normal life, meaning a life that that does not oblige to a 10 o’clock curfew. I believe the problem with Americans is that we get so caught up in our lives that we begin to trust the news which is fed to us, completely ignoring the fact that it perhaps is slanted or even biased. Could news tell us only what we want to hear?

My distaste for the media only worsens. After reading the painful blog, Baghdad Burning, of an Iraqi refugee, I realized that there is so much that I do not know. The most memorable part of this blog is the story of Sabrine Al-Janabi, an Iraqi woman who was taken from her home and repeatedly raped by numerous Iraqi security forces. As though this isn’t bad enough, guess who trains Iraqi security forces? That is right, Americans. You sure don’t see this story headlining CNN or Fox News. Rather, we are informed of the Al-Quaeda terror camps that train six year olds. I am not condoning these camps, to say the least, but I am questioning the views of our media outlets. Why are we not being informed of other events, despite the fact that it might give America a bad name?

I know it is possible that journalists could have written many of the blogs concerning the topic of the war. Does this mean that their blogs are less reliable? No, would be my answer. I believe that most of them use blogs as a way to communicate the truth. Utilizing a way in which constraints such as the politics of a job are absent, journalists can give accurate and insightful weblogs.

Politics, I believe play an enormous part in news organizations. If one station is slightly slanted toward a republican point-of-view- and we all know Fox News is- then the chances of hearing transgressions of the war would be slim, and vice verses.

Overall, I believe that sole creditability to one source is not good. I believe that rather than looking for information, especially when politics are involved, at recognizable sources like CNN, etc., one should invest some time in finding real-life accounts.

Our Generation’s Definition of Popular Culture

bridgettem — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:50:10 +0000

Webster’s dictionary defines popular culture as “items that are well known and generally accepted” or things that are conducive to a “contemporary lifestyle”; I urge to give popular culture a different meaning. Popular culture represents the things in life that are, in a sense, unorthodox and unconventional. I do not disagree with Webster’s definition; however, I find it highly irrelevant in accordance to this generation’s ideals of so-called pop culture.

I don’t know about you, but if I hear another story headlining Fox News or CNN about Britney Spears I think I will throw-up. It seems as though popular culture has taken an almost disturbing journey to demise. “gimme more, gimmie me” rings into my head and I feel as though I am almost embarrassed to be a part of what popular culture means to this generation. When the war in Iraq is shadowed by the ominous clouds of Brit mania and the world’s obsession with Drew Peterson, it makes one wonder where we went wrong. Warhol pictures, Marilyn Monroe, Jurassic Park, Giga Pets, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan are all sad reminders of popular culture that holds merit for past generations. Britney Spears hardly resembles the coquettish blonde beauty that remains an American icon.

I can not insult all of present-day popular culture. I must say I absolutely love American Idol, Nicholas Spark’s cheesy romance novels, Abercrombie’s barely there advertisements, youtube, myspace and facebook, and, of course, my iPod. Despite my true angst for some aspects of present day pop culture, I can not help but to wonder whether or not we have lost grasp of the important issues in society. I know this might seem a bit trivial, but how can this generation ever be taken seriously when Jon Stewart and the Enquirer seem to rectify as “good” news?

On another note, the recent presidential primaries have taken center stage in the world of politics causing many to wonder who will get the democratic ticket, a woman or a black man? Years from now I know that I will be happy to say that I was apart of this milestone for American politics- something that will hopefully remain iconic for future generations.

Popular culture shifts and ultimately changes from each decade, generation, and century. The shift allows new ideas, forms of life, and ultimately ways to engage in pleasant past-times to evolve into things that are either gradually accepted or continually hated. Each generation has its Britney Spears and Nicholas Sparks, I guess it just depends on how future generations will interpret our present-day popular culture.