Thursday, November 20, 2008
Dicks
The Most Ludicrously Promiscuous Five Minutes of Film
The most ludicrously promiscuous five minutes of film is portrayed in the movie Superbad which was co-produced by Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson. To begin, clarifying promiscuous is necessary so that the definition incorporates a notion of casual, randomness and irregularity. The scene is preceded by Seth, one of the main characters, being invited to a party by a girl named Jules whom he lusts after. The following scene demonstrates the most ludicrously promiscuous five minutes and is entitled “Dicks” which begins with Seth and Evan eating lunch in a cafeteria conversing about the invitation to the graduation party they had received shortly before. They continue by describing their feelings about the girls they would like to “hook-up” with and date until Seth disses the girl that Evan desires. Hence, the history of his ill feelings are revealed by an anecdote of Seth’s childhood obsessions with drawing dicks and Becca, the girl whom he despises, is the reason for his low social standing as well as the announcing of this hobby of dick-drawing. By exploring this anecdote, the most ludicrously promiscuous five minutes of film suggests that society determines a child’s innocence through his/her interest in sexual attraction. The clip playfully illustrates an array of male penises which is comically portrayed yet is obscene and unpure in the American Puritan values that today’s society was shaped and founded on. It is an unconventional secretive obsession that mocks Seth’s purity as a child when he is forced to see a therapist after the “religious fanatic” principal thinks he has a problem because of this advanced knowledge of the male reproductive organ. His creativity is interrupted by the thought of society’s reaction to his art. His obsession over a part of human anatomy is marked as a problem yet several children obsess over materialistic items on a daily basis.
The most ludicrously promiscuous five minutes of film is portrayed in the movie Superbad which was co-produced by Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson. To begin, clarifying promiscuous is necessary so that the definition incorporates a notion of casual, randomness and irregularity. The scene is preceded by Seth, one of the main characters, being invited to a party by a girl named Jules whom he lusts after. The following scene demonstrates the most ludicrously promiscuous five minutes and is entitled “Dicks” which begins with Seth and Evan eating lunch in a cafeteria conversing about the invitation to the graduation party they had received shortly before. They continue by describing their feelings about the girls they would like to “hook-up” with and date until Seth disses the girl that Evan desires. Hence, the history of his ill feelings are revealed by an anecdote of Seth’s childhood obsessions with drawing dicks and Becca, the girl whom he despises, is the reason for his low social standing as well as the announcing of this hobby of dick-drawing. By exploring this anecdote, the most ludicrously promiscuous five minutes of film suggests that society determines a child’s innocence through his/her interest in sexual attraction. The clip playfully illustrates an array of male penises which is comically portrayed yet is obscene and unpure in the American Puritan values that today’s society was shaped and founded on. It is an unconventional secretive obsession that mocks Seth’s purity as a child when he is forced to see a therapist after the “religious fanatic” principal thinks he has a problem because of this advanced knowledge of the male reproductive organ. His creativity is interrupted by the thought of society’s reaction to his art. His obsession over a part of human anatomy is marked as a problem yet several children obsess over materialistic items on a daily basis.
In Barker’s fifth chapter “A New World Disorder” there is a section that discusses the patterns of consumption. I believe this is significant especially in times like today when the economy is poor and disorganized and we must observe the actions that lead us to this consequence. This subdivision also notes “changing class identities” which I believe is something society presses on us from day to day. For example, the Cinderella story is a prominent story that every American child is due to encounter whether in literature or media and if not that particular story then the “American Dream” is engraved into adults. I find it interesting that the word disorder is used as the heading of this chapter because it denotes a sort of lacking or irregularity.
Hence marks the distinction between making and buying or as Barker puts it, “production to consumption” (153). We focus more on what people have rather than what they really make. What we do not see is the massive credit card bill they hone or their house about to foreclose. Although one critic says that we are “moving toward a society without fixed status groups” I feel that not only politically we are changing as a nation but also our ideologies will begin to shift and the division of groups will become more distinct and apparent socially.
Hence marks the distinction between making and buying or as Barker puts it, “production to consumption” (153). We focus more on what people have rather than what they really make. What we do not see is the massive credit card bill they hone or their house about to foreclose. Although one critic says that we are “moving toward a society without fixed status groups” I feel that not only politically we are changing as a nation but also our ideologies will begin to shift and the division of groups will become more distinct and apparent socially.
Selfish individuals
Individualism is repeatedly brought to our attention in every aspect of our lives. The type of car you drive is a direct reflection of your income (hypothetically?). The type of clothes you wear is a reflection of your awareness of style, social standing and confidence (imaginative?). The genre of music is an indication of your behavior (theoretical?). Although the class revealed that the two are unrelated and are equally significant we increasingly are concerned with what happens to us. I was once told in a philosophy class that there is no such thing as an unselfish act. We are so worried about fitting in with the collective yet stressing our individualism that our lives actually lack hybridity. Even though we cannot ignore the intricate strings that are attached to us in society are we truly saying it is impossible to dodge them?
While the show Sex and the City makes several valid points and invites risqué conversations, if you watch several of the episodes from the beginning of the series and then compare them to the culminating episodes, many of the characters contradict their profound remarks on society. The women in this show are intelligent women who still fall into the traps of designer labels because what it symbolizes as status. So what is the point? The only option left is that as we individually evolve we must be attentive to the contradicting principles that society tries to inflict and decide how we want to weigh our values.
While the show Sex and the City makes several valid points and invites risqué conversations, if you watch several of the episodes from the beginning of the series and then compare them to the culminating episodes, many of the characters contradict their profound remarks on society. The women in this show are intelligent women who still fall into the traps of designer labels because what it symbolizes as status. So what is the point? The only option left is that as we individually evolve we must be attentive to the contradicting principles that society tries to inflict and decide how we want to weigh our values.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Contributions to SATC Group Project
As for the Sex and the City project I contributed in a few different ways. Initially we divided the work and I was supposed to analyze two of the characters in Sex and the City but after Tuesday’s class and over the weekend that ended up changing because the class basically already analyzed the characters and we needed to organize the flow of our presentation. Over the weekend, I designated myself to find the academic article as well as do a close reading of “Beyond the Backlash; Sex and the City and Three Feminist Struggles”. After approval of five out of the six members I posted the article as well as developed a list of questions and topics to be brought up during our presentation. Earlier in the semester when we initially started discussing in the project, it was my idea to compare the female characters of SATC to the male foursome of Entourage. I also thought of the importance of the “city” as a perspective to analyze this text which was also reinforced after reading the Barker chapter. Through my idea’s I helped shape the context of our project. After finding the article, I also decided to make a playlist of the clips that we wanted to show during class so that we would not have to waste time searching on YouTube for the clips we need during the presentation. Overall, through emails I believe our group worked very cooperatively and decided to divide the work based upon the strong points of each member.
Space and its Complications
The complications of space and its portrayal of images questions the impact of surroundings. When cultural studies is discussed, place is an unavoidable concept. Now that the internet is relevant, will that influence shrink? As noted in my response paper “Sex is Shopping”, materialism is necessary for social relations. Today we are more worried about the materialistic components of a society than the abstract values and beliefs they hold. Since we are an image-driven society, it is simpler to have a picture of the homes than the values held within it. Urban living is an explosive mix of diversity and the interactions that occur are remarkable considering all the differences of individuals. Another point about the city is that it creates alienation. Doubting this allegation, cities have not always been places of alienation therefore other factors must contribute to the alienation sentiment. Personally, I love being in large cities and I almost feel more alienated in suburbs where there is more “space”. Cities are another form of sexual and romantic powerhouses because they encase such diversity which can lead to phenomenons and underground “radicalism”.
Reversing Radicalism
After discussing the aspects of a radical text, it assumes that it is hardly radical anymore. So what would we consider radical today? To think that there are topics that we have not attempted to address because our minds subconsciously block those thoughts is ironic because it suggests that our biology is definetly affected by society. Just a thought…
Hence the discussion of audience is relevant. Mass communication has made audiences more cynical, which is why the appeal to emotion has overridden fact-driven arguments and messages. Audiences easily can find “facts” and yet also know the constant overturning of “facts” as false. Persuasion is an element audiences are accustomed to.
Furthermore, the Barker chapter on television has a great quote: “News is not an unmediated ‘window-on-the-world’ but a selected and constructed representation constitutive of ‘reality’(316). Everything fed to us has already been filtered and we base our opinions on something that has already been deemed a certain way. Now, it is routine to bash on reality shows because they are constructed with directors, producers, actors, actresses and many other editorial types; however, isn’t reality constructed by the same kinds of boundaries?
Hence the discussion of audience is relevant. Mass communication has made audiences more cynical, which is why the appeal to emotion has overridden fact-driven arguments and messages. Audiences easily can find “facts” and yet also know the constant overturning of “facts” as false. Persuasion is an element audiences are accustomed to.
Furthermore, the Barker chapter on television has a great quote: “News is not an unmediated ‘window-on-the-world’ but a selected and constructed representation constitutive of ‘reality’(316). Everything fed to us has already been filtered and we base our opinions on something that has already been deemed a certain way. Now, it is routine to bash on reality shows because they are constructed with directors, producers, actors, actresses and many other editorial types; however, isn’t reality constructed by the same kinds of boundaries?
Cultural Capital
The conversation on Tuesday was intriguing because of the intricacies of industrialism and economics. The most interesting part was the dynamic of risk management playing into the differences between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It seems as if we are at the workplace in order pay off those debts that we have acquired instead of the slow-paced pay-as-you- go society. It should also be pointed out that self-determinism has risen at the same time that exploitation is adopted and jobs are outsourced. As I jotted down notes between the two economies, one similarity is that both times were on the brink of depression. Another funny topic is the “logic of capitalism”. Basing an argument on the reasoning of advertising, wouldn’t the buying
tendency to have new products constantly a sort of irrational ideology.I think it is important that we are skeptical of the hypocrisies of
current ideologies.
tendency to have new products constantly a sort of irrational ideology.I think it is important that we are skeptical of the hypocrisies of
current ideologies.
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