Talking Posts #11

I found some cool videos of teens speaking back to what being shown in the media about them. This post will be mostly of videos.
The first video I want to show you guys is this one:
where girls talk about how they feel pressured to look or act a certain way.

There is also this video:
This video is a project done by teens to show how they are portrayed in the media. How the most of the times are confused as to what media is actually trying to sell or say, because it just shows nudity.

This is a documentary of teens asking if its FAIR for certain representation and acts be placed on them, just because one teen did it.

This video is asking teens how they feel about the representations of them in regards to alcohol consumption.

 This video is not necessarily teens talking back about media representations but showing how these representations of teens in the media have have an effect on us. This is the trailer to Killing Us Softly and it talks about female exploitation in the media and how teens should look like, which can be very dangerous for body image and the problems related to it.

And the last video I want to put up is a positive message, its really short but to the point and very effective, well I think so .....

Talking Points #10

I have never seen an episode of Glee.
I thought it was pretty interesting how in the Pilot episode they talked about how teenagers feel or are invisible because of media outlets like myspace, but then if they try to fit in somehow within their school by trying to get involved then its seemed as a waste of time.

I actually loved how the characters were sorta portraying a stereotype but deep down inside they were the opposite.
For example the jock Finn who is the start quarterback for the football team, is not as confident as everyone sees him. He is pretending someone he is not, and basically just doing football to fit in.
But later on in another episode I loved how he let that go and stood up for Artie in front of all his football teammates. And how afterwards he took control of the Glee club and gave them some sense of direction after their teacher had quit on them.

I also think its a sad and hopeless example to young kids and teenagers the idea that in order for you to become an adult you would have to let go of your dreams, or that when you are having a baby you no longer living for you but for your family, instead of trying to make it work where everyone is happy.

In the Never Been Kissed episode, I didn't think it was funny how they assumed that because they were talking about an all boy school, the idea was that they were all gay, and if this was true, I still don't get the joke.
I also did not appreciate the teacher making Kurt join the boys team when he obviously does not feel like he belongs there, why is he forcing him to do that?
Because Kurt is the only gay kid out in the school, he feels alone and that he just has to deal with it on his own, but when he finds out that someone in the football team is also gay, even though he is terrified of him, he is also relieved in some ways I think, because he wants to help him come out, and let him know that it is ok. The last thing about this episode that I was wondering was if Williams kissed Beast because he felt pity for her?

In the last episode Furt, the idea that when you are being bullied in your teenage years makes you a stronger person, I thought is not a good, to throw that out in the media, because teenage kids that being bullied watching might think its ok and they just need to get through it, which might not necessarily be safe. Bullying can be shown in all sorts of ways, not only verbal or physical.
Also the message that if you were bullied as a teenager you then become an adult bully is crap and just a load of excuse for taking your anger about being bullied on others, who had nothing to do with it.
It made me sad that school won't enforce or try to help those kids that come forth and ask for help about being bullied, and this might be the reason why most of them do not ask for help, which then again can be dangerous.

Overall, I think I am glad I have never watched this show because of the problems I have with it.

Talking Points #9 (Extended Comments)

On this post I will try and do an extended comment on Andrea's Blog.

I agree when Andrea point out that:
We need more "conscious" rap on the radio. We need a diversification of what we have access to. As it stands, the popular rappers with the popular tracks are simply saying exactly what the Machine wants us to hear. The message being shared and what we are taking in falls in line with the dominant ideologies of society. 

 When I read this I also agreed with all the songs that Andrea put as examples. I also couldn't stop thinking off this song:

 I'm pretty sure everyone or almost everyone from class has heard this song in the radio before. Not only does it degrade women, it put money at as the most important thing you can have, because you can be a nigga but if your a rich nigga is a different story (paraphrasing). There is no question of how heterosexual this song tries to be.


On a different note: lets look at this song:

Not many have heard this one I'm sure because it talks about the reality of white supremacy and the way the black body is not valuable in our society. How it is easily dismissed by laws put in place to prevent us from moving forward and get any type of white justice. Could be a reason that radio station don't play this song, or that maybe her record sales are not that high.

In the video clip Andrea shared with us in the blog, I noted that there were some youth protesting to the "type" of hip-hop that radio stations put out there. My only problem with that is that, that is the only hip-hop we know. I know that it may not be the most positive but at the same time what is positive about living in the projects, feeling unsafe and hearing gun shots in the middle of the night, being scared that your child might fall into drugs because you have to work 4 5 different jobs. At the other side of that coin, I do agree that it has changed into money, hoes, bitches and weed. Which of course does not help the situation of the way the white folk look at us.

Hip-hop is a huge part of our culture and there are a lot of youth that identify with it. The problem is that they are identifying with the stereotypes and the yunk that The Machine wants us to listen to. Just another way for them to control our minds. This gives us a sense of self or identity when in reality is there plan all along.





Smile :)
kt
 

Talking Points #8 (Argument)

Kimmel argues that all school shooting have the same thing in common: masculinity. Therefore in order to understand the shootings we must take into consideration gender specifically the constellation of adolescent masculinity, homophobia and violence.

I am going to agree with Kimmel on this one, gender is a huge factor in these shootings, but why is the real question. Boys are thought to be tough, strong to the point of even violent at times, vulgar especially to girls, physically fit, and most importantly not a girl. I can only imagine a boy in school who does not fit into these criteria, the shame and humiliation he must get from his peers. the torture he must go through on a day to day basis in a place where he is supposed to be safe. I am sure many of these boys went up to teachers and principals and told but no one listened.

Why not girls? I think the answer to this might be that girls can pass easily as either a lesbian or straight, also girls can go back and forth without any consequences and its okay for her to do so. A boy on the other hand cannot.

This might also answer the question as to why only boys open fire and not girls, since they are also getting tortured and picked on. One side of it might be that girls are not as severely damaged as boys are, and to boys might be more of a pride thing and proving something, to themselves and also to everyone else.

I also noticed that every time there is shooting; the news and the media want to then make this teenager a bad person: gangster, bully, came from an unstable family, or was abused as a child, teen violence, etc., but then of course overlook gender. The reason all these excuses come up is because all or most school shootings occur in white neighborhoods by white kids, so media wants to make sure they give a reason that the public would be okay with and not ask too many questions. I found this Wikipedia of school shootings in the United States alone, and I can’t even express in this blog my initial reaction to it.

Here are some of the faces of some of the suspects of a few of the recent shootings:

 

Smile :)
kt

Media Final Project

Topic:

Stereotypical Representations of Black Youth in American media

Group Members:

Julie Kessler

Daury Rodriguez

Andrea Sterling

Myself

Smile :)
kt

Talking Points #7 (Connection)

I want to connect this text Cinderella Ate My Daughter to the movie we watched in class Brave.

I think the main connection I saw was in the text when Orenstein talks about her daughter having the first ever fight with her best friend in school, and that fight was precisely about who can be the princess. The main idea of this fight was that there can only be one princess therefore one of them couldn’t be. Is this taken very seriously and if Orenstein wouldn’t have told her daughter to apologize that could’ve ended their friendship forever.

In Brave we see this same kind of competition, when the clans arrive with their first born sons to compete for Merida’s hand in marriage and become the prince, again because there can only be one, and competition between them must be involved in order to win the throne. 

This need for competition and need to be the only person able to shine is embedded in us from a young age. We grow up wanting to be the fastest, biggest, better, the center of attention, etc… There is I think no "safe" competition, because there always has to be a winner and on the other side of that coin there must be a loser, this can bring about anger, fear, low self-esteem, and many other feelings in any person. This article about competition tries to soften the blow.

This can torn apart families and friendships because in order to want this so bad for yourself, one I think must have greed and a sense of feeling that you are better than everyone else.

My question is why can’t we just work together to be one great unity of many different styles and ideas.

In Cinderella for example: why can’t all the girls in the house have a nice dress, be beautiful and pleasant? Why do we always have the need for competition and the need to belittle others in order to make us feel better about ourselves?

This also ties into all the discourses we’ve been talking about in class that are feed to us via the media, we watch these movies, shows, videos, etc. … judge whoever is on the other side and say to ourselves “at least I’m not like them”. I think this is a horrible way of doing better or trying to do better for you, by belittling others.

Smile :)
kt

Talking Posts #6: Final Project Ideas

Wow!
Thinking about final already. This actually gets me very excited because it means that I will soon graduate :).
Ok so I did not put up my post by Sunday night because I had no idea on what to do it on, but after reading my classmates ideas, I got one of my own, not sure if it'll work.
So, my idea is to do something with the Spanish teen community and tie it together with the idea of discourse and the themes we have learned about thus far and the ones to come.
What I would use for an artifact, not sure at this moment to tell you the truth but what I'm sure of is that I'll think of something soon enough.

Smile :)
kt

Midterm Assessment Talking Points

sooooooo.......
all i can say at this point is that ....

1. i do have all my information written down on a piece of paper (yay me!)
2. i am trying to do an xtranormal video BUT i guess i can only use 2 actors .... soooo i am extremely frustrated and confused on how to use the damn thing.
3. aaaaaahhhhhh!!!! i'm going to end up pulling the little bit of hair that i have out .... i will be bald by class time.
4. i don't really have a 4 lol

ummmmm ......
i was very excited at first about this project and had it all mapped out in my little old head....
and now it seems like its a disaster .....
nothing came out like i thought it would :(
i'm so sad and disappointed ..... sucks!!!
a very frustrating process ...

well y'all can be the judge of it tomorrow .....

ok well i'm over it lol

smile :)
kt

Talking Points #5 (Hyperlinks)

i really liked this article and also the video it was very funny.
both article and video were i think mainly talking about how media controls the things we learn and do while trying to learn. we are focused on other things while at the same time trying to learn, which in turn we really aren't learning because we are so focused on the other things we are doing: facebook, twitter, youtube, instagram, etc...

this a cool video that talks about information, how we will eventually use it and how the revolution of information works to our advantage, it also gives you some interesting facts:

like in the article Wesch talks about how information is at our fingertips and how anyone from anywhere in the world can become an expert on something they never knew about about just by going on the web.
for example:
blogging anyone can blog, there is no "set" structure to blogging and if there is you can also learn about it, but mostly blogging becomes people's outlet, a way to get their voices heard, even if its not.
so while reading this article i thought: uh? "diigo" what is it? well google answered me: diigo is a place where you can bookmark, highlight and use sticky notes, look up or do research, have your own personal learning space, use it for pictures, screenshots, audio, etc... and to top it all off you can use it on any tablet, computer, laptop and even any cell phone (well android or iphone).
the new trend now (or maybe not so new, not sure) is #tag, everyone is doing it, on facebook, twitter, instagram, you name it. its the new thing.

once again i keep reading the article and Wesch mentions netvibes portal again did not know what it was until i looked online and found the website and its basically your entire life in this one dashboard, that once again you can access from anywhere there is internet (maybe this will change too) on any device. this stuff can hold hundreds and thousands of informationand it can also be used in any language.

the story that Wesch said at the end of his TED video was the story of the little bird.
then i thought to myself:
"i want to be the little bird that saved the world".

smile :)
kt

Talking Points #4: Hine (Quotes)

“Maybe I’m something special, and maybe I’m not. Maybe I’m here for a reason and I might be going somewhere after this, but then again I might not. I wonder where I fit in?”

this is unfortunately many of teen’s fears that in their world might just be true. this happens because they do not seem to fit into a teenager stereotype nor the societal stereotype, they don’t fit their parents ideals nor do they have many friends and are most of the times shy, lonely and socially awkward. adults sometimes feel this way as well, and so they become even more of loners and depressed, they do not have much of a social life and close themselves to relationships.

“ ….. teenagers principal preoccupation is to adapt, to find a place in life”.

this is why i think teenagers should be allowed to experiment with as much as they want and do things as far as their imagination takes them, because this way they will: 1. get it out of their system and 2. once they are old, they don’t have those “when I was a teen I wish I would’ve moments” or the best ones “if I had the chance as a teen to try and that, maybe I would have been a lawyer, a dentist, a doctor, etc…”
 i believe everyone should have the chance to experiment with whatever they want at whatever time in their lives, without any judgment from others. a lot of people would be happier and maybe would not be living through their teenagers experiences.

“ ….we remember ourselves as ourselves. Being a teenager isn’t an identity but a predicament most people live through.”

In my opinion there are a lot of so called “adults” currently living in this predicament.

2 of my favorite quotes:

-          “We want them (teenagers) to embody virtues we only rarely practice. We want them to eschew habits we’ve never managed to break.”

-          "But if our conception of teenaged lives is dysfunctional, parents suffer along with their children.”

these quotes speak loudly to most teenage experience, many “adults” demand teenagers things that they themselves as “adults” still do. so in reality what does that say about “adults.”

also we hear many parents say: “i did the best i could.” maybe they did but maybe in order for “the problem” to be solve we might need to look both the teenager and the parent to try and fix it.

the teenager:
“not quite a competent person” for some things in my opinion.
“a person from twelve to thirty-five”
“the one who will realize the American dream”
“a source of anger, irritation, or anxiety”
“not to be trusted”

this is where why i truly believe that adults envy teenagers.

“Adults fear that teenagers will go totally out of control. The teenage years have been defined as, at once, the best and freest of life and a time of near madness and despair.”

most adults feel trapped in their “responsible, professional, adult life” and so they do miss their teenage years and in some ways envy the freedom and lack of responsibility in some sense that teen age has. This may also be a good reason for them to try and make them as miserable as they are.

about the article and the stories, one thing I was taken aback by was the lack of positive views of teenagers. there are plenty young successful, independent, positive attitudes teens out there, but yet none are highlighted. only horror stories to damage more the stereotypes of teenagers.   

well here are some positive pics to inspire some:

smile :)
kt

I want y'all to meet my boy

today is my boy's 2 month birthday.
and so I thought it was perfect timing to introduce him to the class.

he is a Rottweiler 

his name you ask:
Hercules :)

my husband named him and at first i wasn't a fan of the name so i started calling him: Herc
Now i'm over the name so i call him both Hercules and Herc ..... poor thing is probably extra confused now that i think about it LOL

in this picture he was only 6 weeks old.
it was the first picture taken as soon as he arrived at his new lovable home.

this is him with his momma aka me :)

i really hope he grows up to be a mommas boy LOL

he listens to commands already and is almost potty trained, but he is still a baby so it might take a little more time to fully train him.

he is into his biting stage at the moment so he loves biting, anything and everything. we are really good in telling him a firm NO and giving him his toys which are the only things he is allowed to bite.

this picture was his third night in the house and this was at 3:30 in the morning.

Hercules refused to sleep, was crying like someone was killing him and all he wanted to do was play, while I was dying because of lack of sleep.

fun times! :)

this was the day of the storm ....
well before the storm got bad.

which was also Hercules first time in the snow ..... he was playing all around and eating it lol

this is the way Hercules likes to eat ....

talk about lazy

this is both my babies:

CindyBaby and Hercules <3

Cindy doesn't really like him because she has been an only child for 8 years now and all he wants to do is play and she is old and just wants to lay down LOL

she has put him in his place plenty of times and when she wants to be left alone she lets him know and he sure does listen, guess he has no choice.

i am glad that she has made him respect her because soon enough he will be bigger but still listen to her.

smile :)
kt

LOVE MY BABIES !!!! <3 <3 <3