Everywhere we look..

Intertextuality the ability interconnect or influence other aspects of our life by intersubjectivity or allusion from an original text.  This occurs everyday in our lives from a song in a commercial, to the song in the commercial and the singer, or a great song, the latest version of a car and a new movie coming out in the theater and the star in the movie.  Next thing you know, you want to see a movie, want a new car, or need a new CD! I found that example in a Volkswagen commercial with a child dressed as Darth Vader, can we say Halloween plug. I left wanting a car and wanting to watch Star Wars and go Trick or Treating. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0
The ability to combine several different areas into one selling point is genius for the companies at hand and really annoying for us at times.  The use of  subliminal messages we see ,or don't see, in advertising everyday influence our buying, the popular actress/singer selling makeup, to the infamous Calvin Klein ads.  Ann Taylor has the actress Kate Hudson and prior to that had Katie Holmes and Demi Moore advertising their clothing line.  An attraction to the consumer, actresses wearing and selling clothes that are affordable to the woman making them relatable, also helping their image and giving them exposure.
 They have always placed the most well known man of the time in the ads, selling the man and the underwear.  The last 007 movie that came out sold anything, Heineken, cars, Coca Zero, Sony, Omega.  Plus the plugs in the movie itself. Sorry but never saw James Bond drinking Coke Zero, and I missed the Martini the beer was so Cop not Secret Agent, no offence. 
But there can be good crossing popular culture into awareness using intertextuality in a positive way can help people, why we have Adam Levine and Jessica Simpson selling Pro Active, a Benzoyl Peroxide product repackaged as a Wow, but these people made it ok to suffer from it and to buy a product and make it better.  They made it, don't be embarrassed we all have or have had it. 
We just have to watch out and not be brainwashed into buying everything!

It's not shameless

It has relevance, it is not just superficial. When I thought of Pop Culture all I used to think of was trends, who was hot today, who was wearing what, what the hair cut will be for fall, what lipstick, what shoes will be popular this winter? Will Color blocking still be OK for fall. Why is Iowa last to have certain styles come our way. I never realized Popular Culture had super power! I don't mean super power to change bra styles, to make lingerie sexy, or to prove hey if we push up women's breasts they appear sexier! Duh, that is just physics.

 I am talking seeing what can help people, and making a difference in society. Noticing that there is a decline in self esteem in women and children and pointing it out blatantly and saying, "This needs to Change." Dove has done a wonderful job allowing women to accept and love themselves exactly as they are. My daughter looked at a Victoria Secret magazine, and found the women unnatural, she claimed "they need to eat mom," I was so proud that she did not compare herself, or felt no need to pick herself apart. She was proud of her athletic build; she is a Rower and goes "I'm ripped."

I was also amazed watching the Iowa vs. Ohio State Football game this weekend and seeing a penalty called for a Helmet to Helmet hit and the opponent being ejected from the game.  We are changing! http://btn.com/2013/10/19/ohio-state-cb-bradley-roby-ejected-for-targeting/ 

If we did not have Popular Culture and coverage of how dangerous these hits are for kids, they would continue to go on unnoticed, uncalled with a higher rate of mortality.
The same goes for smoking we as a nation are at an all time low, because of Popular Culture and awareness. The Cowboy may of changed the persona, but Culture changed how we as society see smoking. It is no longer cool, it is dirty, smelly and disgusting. Maybe that is an opinion, but it seems to be a popular opinion.
Popular Culture has an ethical and moral side which I was glad to see, they care about today and tomorrow. Popular Culture has a place in society, beyond fashion, and the Perez Hilton of gossip, Popular Culture found a purpose beyond Kim Kardashian's plunging neck line, and I love it!  I found it ironic it even has conservative and liberal opinions. But then again doesn't everything have a right and wrong side?

Are you not Entertained?????

 

So to think of masculinity as portrayed in the media, I thought of the Movie The Gladiator http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvTT29cavKo.  Russell Crow plays Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius.  He is portrayed as handsome, muscular, and has the most well groomed facial hair ever!  He is fearless, dangerous, a risk taker and willing to die to be reunited to be with his family in heaven.  He was deceived by the Emperors son Commodus and after finding his family slain, found and perceived to be a slave. Where he was made a Gladiator and had had to fight to the death in order to survive.  He eventually avenged the murder of his wife and child in the Coliseum and killed Commodus.  Only after brutally killing hundreds of men, some of which were his friends; but were willing to die for his cause.  The protagonist Maximus is strong, fearless wins by his own strength and intuition, the antagonist Commodus is shown as weak a coward.  Commodus never stands up to the battle he always cheats and uses intimidation to win.
These analogies are taught at an early age from the toys children play with, why give a child a gun if you are not going to teach him how to play with it properly? To the handsome young prince who rescues the princess. 
We also classify things in a masculine non masculine way in careers. The white collar,  blue collar jobs the white collar jobs are held by professionals those who don't get their hands dirty, the weaker. Blue collar jobs are held by those who are stronger and can handle getting a little dirtythose that can do some physical labor.  Same goes for the crimes, we have heard or white collar crimes, those that are not a threat to society computer crimes; they are let out for work release the weaker guys with the pocket protector.  Then the blue collar crimes those that are threatening to society; they are the larger, muscular, and threatening the murderers and rapists.
But here is the question where did those blue collar criminals learn their behavior?  Did they start modeling what they saw on T.V. as a child, were the white collar professionals playing chess and studying while the blue collar criminals were watching Hannibal? 
We as humans imitate and learn through observing imitating, monkey see monkey do!  Dr. Albert Bandura  proved learning through observation with the Bobo experiment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHdovKHDNU.  Children learn and copy violence through observing other people do it.  How does someone learn to rape and murder if they never see it?  How does someone know to take another life, or what it is to tie another person up, or to tape another persons mouth unless they see it.  We are not talking motor skills.  My only hope is that those who think that their should be no guidelines are those who have no children or those who don't want a different tomorrow.  I understand the right to freedom of speech and we as adults need to take the responsibility to shelter our children but we need to meet in the middle.  Because we also need to shelter the victims who are going to become victimizers.  Those who have no parental supervision, whose parents are addicts. We as a community can do our part to step in and maybe be that one piece of the puzzle that can make a difference.  But don't worry I don't want to take away all your violence I am talking murder and rape prior to the average time kids up to the age of sixteen go to bed.  I just want hear no evil see no evil, before bed!! 

I am soooo Glad I have GIRLS!!!!

Don't get me wrong there are more concussions each year in Girls soccer than there is in Football, yes you heard me right!  But the attitude is completely different, I was shocked with the "every shot is a kill shot" attitude in Football High.  We as parents to girls do not teach that, I do teach give it as good as you get it!  Play through the pain, NO, those injuries last a lifetime!  You can ask her father, an ex wrestler, he learned values but did it cost him in the end YES!  I never want my kids to learn succeeding is at the cost of causing harm to someone else.  I wonder if the coaches ever think of the long term psychological harm the kids who take that kill shot go through the rest of their lives.  Succeeding should be because you had better skills and knowledge of the game.  Some of those children in the movie could not even sell that they what they were saying, one kid kept repeating he enjoyed it that is why he was playing after just being released from the hospital, it seemed rehearsed, as if it was vicarious, or what he was supposed to be doing.  It seemed he was doing it for his parents, there was no excitement, no joy, he could only seem to tell us what he was supposed to be doing.  That is the wrong reason to be playing the game, then it seems hostility is brought to the field. 

But I don't have boys, so I don't have this gender role that I see parents trying to push their kids into; I am thankful for that.  I am glad I can let my kids choose their sport, they can Row, play Soccer, and run Track and not worry about society weighing on me because my boys don't play football, or maybe my son is small, and the community feels pity because he isn't big enough to play football.  Or worse yet maybe my son is the 270lb who takes that kill shot, that helmet to helmet hit that causes his opponent. Possibly a 16yr olds brain to hemorrhage causing him to die.  Then out of guilt 2 years later my son commits suicide.  Leaving us (his family) behind devastated. 



The kids in the movie kept repeating we are only 17 once, we can worry about the pain later.  They should be told and reminded, yes you are 17 once. You should be having fun not training 12 months out of the year.  They should be concentrating on their education, their grades because that is their future.  They are not being taught balance which is what life is about.  School, study, sports, and fun. The last two are interchangeable!



died 8/18/13 from broken neck



Died 9/16/13 from cerebral hemorrhage







 



My dream guy, according to Chuck Klosterman!

So, since supposedly I will never be satisfied by my partner due to the build up of expectations set forth by media and fake couples; what do I have to look forward to? Reality? Is the relationship that I wanted mine to be like nothing but a fake, a glass house that I saw no reality of what was really going on?  Was it manufactured, so I never really saw the problems at hand.  I dedicated the song, "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Bryan Adams to these people.  To me they were the idealistic couple, never fought, always went out to dinner (date night), lived in a beautiful home, had a dog, one child, had lots of friends.  Was it all a lie?  I remember thinking myself, how am I going to find a love like that?
My parents not a movie introduced me to "Fake Love" because all Chuck talks about was in my house, I learned from it!  My dad could not stand my mom!  There is no perfect person or life, it is what you make of it.  Sometimes you do fall in love with your best friend, sometimes the stereotypes are broken, and some days you laugh and some days you argue, but I know it is not based on someone else's life, or someone else's indifference because their love life sucks!  I own my happy ending by setting realistic goals, compromising, and loving the faults just as much as the good stuff.  But in my eyes REALITY isn't bad!!!  I like the life I built....

Did we have to go there???

Jean Kilbourne's documentary "Killing us Softly 4" would agree, this Alcohol ad is using the female image in an objective manner.  This ad is marketed towards men using the imagery of the female breast.  The ad reinforces;  sex is used to sell and anything can be made to appear like a breast.   It shows the sexualization of women.  She proves her theory breasts are used to sell everything, even though we are doing nothing but objectifying women and telling our kids this is the standard.  No wonder breast augmentation is the #1 cosmetic surgery performed on females each year, because that sure as hell is not an A cup!  When is the next wine advertisement going to objectify a penis?

Sexy Baby!!

The importance of Sexiness today in our culture, first I would like to define Sexiness in my terms.  It is to be desired, to feel attractive.  To not feel like I have three kids at home when I go on that date with my husband.  It is to feel like I can walk up the flight of stairs at the restaurant and not not have to unsexily whip out my inhaler and suck in 2-3 puffs of albuteral.  It is to feel composure to look desirable across that table, to look like the "girl next door" version of the Victoria Secret Model to my husband.  But in all honesty he would rather I be in Camo sitting in a tree stand or a blind trying to kill something, then I would be an 11 on a scale of 1-10.
Sex influences what we purchase, the model over the makeup aisle, the Victoria secret magazines that flood my mail box.  The desirable models on every page, you never see the everyday average Jane on page 7, who is a size 12, that isn't 5'10".  Hell I am in love with those women! My husband watches some hunting show with a very attractive female sharp shooter.  Sex sells, we as Americans want sex, it feels good, hell it looks good.  It draws the human attention, male or female.  But as technology has changed, from sex being person to person, to Internet, to now it is an AP on your phone, what is next virtual 3D sex.  The next generation won't even have human contact, what will sexy be considered then?  Because today what is put in Playboy, and what type of porn is actually watched are black and white. (Very different than reality)  It is the difference of the Pin up and the Girl Next Door.  So Sexy does come in all shapes and sizes,  Hell Yeah!!!!!