Credibility, Gender and the Media

Tuesday’s lecture discussed many of the issues of the portrayals of women in the media; one of the most interesting though was the lack of credibility that we see in the portrayal of women. This lack of credibility is seen through the low number of female castors. However there is no shortage of women delivering ‘fluff’ news pieces. For example Kathy Lee and Hoda, the female duo who host NBC’s The Today Show. These women host segments on things like finding the perfect pair of jeans. This is far from the hard hitting news that their male counterparts on the network get to deliver.  The fact that women are the only ones who deliver these ‘fluff’ pieces sends a damaging message to young girls—that they cannot be taken seriously. Women do not have any credible role models in the media; therefore they cannot see themselves as credible.

 This idea is further proven when looking at women in politics. For example the news media has questioned many women in politics on their appearances. This was seen when many thought that Nancy Pelosi had plastic surgery. This is someone who has been the highest-ranking female politician in the United States. Although Nancy Pelosi is a very accomplished woman, news anchors were not talking about her achievements or her politics, but rather her appearance. This sends an even more damaging message to young women because if even extremely accomplished women like Nancy Pelosi cannot be taken seriously, how can any women be taken seriously? This issue of credibility and women is an ongoing problem because the media insits on focusing on women’s appearances.

This is an image from The Washington Times, which talks about how Nancy Pelosi supposedly has had plastic surgery. This is one of many parts of the media who focused on this. 

A Response : Coaches as Preachers

After reading Erika’s post on Coaches and Preachers I began to think about other parts of popular culture where coaches and preachers function in the same way. I am not a sports fan, however I am familiar with the tv series Friday Night Lights. The show provides good examples of how injury can affect young athletes (which is why we were suppose to watch it in class). The show revolves around a football team in Texas. The Coach of this team, Coach Taylor is depicted as a preacher, just as Erika discussed with her examples. The football team player’s looks up to Coach Taylor as a means of motivation on and off the field. For example, Coach Taylor works with one of his former players in order to help him train after his injuries so that he can get into college on a football scholarship. In this example we also see the power of commitment to helping other that a preacher would. Coach Taylor did not have to help, however he wanted to show him that hard work and determination would pay off. By training this athlete Coach Taylor proved that hard work could pay off, as the player did eventually get a scholarship and a chance at playing professional football in his future.

Coach Taylor works with his former player, Smash, after his injury. 

Coach Taylor coaching the East Dillion Panthers, a new team who have few resources and little football spirit. However through work with his team and their community this changes. 

As the series continues Coach Taylor begins coaching in a depressed area of Texas. When this happens Coach Taylor does things that help this depressed area become safer, like putting the lights on at night in a park that is notoriously dangerous. He also hosts a football team between his team and the rest of the community, which helped unite the young men.  This dedication to improving the community once again show the function of Coach Taylor as a preacher, as he goes above and beyond his coaching duties to motivate an entire community, just as a preacher would. 

           

A Response to ‘Jesus and Pals: Drink, Drank, Drunk?”

 I was very intrigued to see Estela’s post on St. Patrick’s Day, as I have also seen some of the craziness and absolute mayhem that takes part on St. Patrick’s Day and it has made me wonder why people act this way.

            For example this past St. Patrick’s Day I saw group of people drinking on the roof of their house. I am not sure what the reasoning behind this was, but it seemed like a dangerous combination of alcohol and bad ideas.

This post also made me think of other holidays that get blown out of proportion. For example holidays like Valentine’s Day are no longer about St. Valentine because they have become so commercialized. Not many people even know what the purpose of celebrating this holiday is. However people continue to celebrate Valentine’s Day because of societies rituals that we believe go along with the holiday. Just as we believe people are suppose to drink green beer on St. Patrick’s Day, people feel that they need to buy their loved ones over priced chocolate.

St. Valentine

Films like Valentines Day enforce the view that expressing love through gift giving is the purpose of  this holiday

I see why people take advantage of these holidays, as they are a way to have fun and a way to make money. However, I still wonder why Christian holidays have become so popular with people in western culture. By commercializing Christian holidays it is clear that the true meaning behind them is lost, an aspect of this commercialization, which seems a little sad.  

Sports and Christianity

The lecture on sports and christianity gave light to a daunting reality of the dangers that sports can include. The connection that sports and Christianity share is that they have the same function because share many of the same characteristics, such as large gatherings with a common goal. Many people believe in their team in a way similar to their belief in God. People put a lot of faith and belief in the players of the game, because they believe that the players can bring them a higher level of achievement by winning. As we discussed in Lecture, this kind of worship can be seen in American school football teams like Notre Dame and Pennsylvania State.

This kind of faith in sports can also be seen in the television series Friday Night Lights, which we briefly discussed in class. This show takes place in Dillon Texas where the entire takes pride in the high school football team, the panthers. Young children look up to the panthers, many people donate thousands of dollars to fund the football program, and almost the entire town attends the Friday night games. However, this show takes a darker tone when the star quarterback becomes paralyzed during the first game of the season. This type of injury not only affected his football career (that the show indicates would have been his future), but also affects his entire life. We also see the other effects of his injuries, such as financial hardships for his family, friction between his family and the rest of the town after they file a law suit against the coach, and personal issues with accepting the fact that one moment has shaped the rest of this young man`s life, as he can never walk again.

Jason Street from Friday Night Lights 

            Football is obviously a very dangerous sport and injuries are not unexpected, but the severity of the particular injury depicted in Friday Night Lights shows how damaging these injuries can be. After hearing the lecture and looking back on the tv series, I began to question why people take sports so seriously knowing all the risks involved. Even knowing the benefits that a team can give to young people (team work, responsibility ect.) the though that these injuries occur is almost enough to re consider the advantages that sports can have. 

I Just May Be A Bilibier …

Tuesday’s lecture opened my eyes to a whole new world …the world of Justin Bieber. Of course I had heard of Justin Bieber, and his enormous popularity but I had no idea the fandamonium surrounding him was this large. Furthermore I had no idea of his many charitable efforts. After going home and doing a quick Google search on him I learned two things:

 1) Teenagedr girls really, really, really love Justin Bieber and are absolutely not afraid to say it.

And 2) Justin Bieber donates a lot of time, money and energy to chairty

Whether these efforts are sincere or not are of course hard to tell. As the issue was brought up in class we truly never know what motivates artists. However, I do think that all this charity work and the all around good image that Justin Bieber promotes should not be put down. Of course the music video we watched in class was ridiculously cheesy, but what do we expect,? He is  (or was when the video was created) a 16 year old talking about foreclosures and other world wide issues that he most likely knows little about, and furthermore has little authority to talk about. However, his authority  and expertise on the world economy is not really important. What is important is the message that he sends out to his viewers with music videos such as “Pray”. In this case, as with most of Bieber’s music, it is always a positive message. This positive message, although a little unauthentic is important to young listeners. When it really comes down to it wouldn’t it be better for tweens to be listening to music that makes them think about the world around them, and question how they can help, as opposed to other artists who do not have this same kind of attitude?

One thing that I learned this week is that young girls will literally do anything for Justin Bieber, and if that is the case, isn’t it best that they are doing something positive?