Television series have started going to drastic lengths in order to get new viewers, but how much is too much and what messages are our youth getting from these shows?!
There is a new show on the CW Network called L.A. Complex which I'm assuming is a modern spin on the failed Melrose Place that the CW tried redoing a few years ago. This series is about a group of young stardom seeking 20 somethings who all live in a fairly shabby but somehow still nice apartment complex in Los Angeles, California. The show delivers the struggle that most actors, comedians, musicians go through in order to achieve fame and at what cost they are willing to pay.
The new girl in the building Abby Vargas is the main star of the show, and it is through that the show crosses some dangerous lines. Abby moves into the building and her first night there has unprotected sex with a man she had just met while on extacy, and over buying the morning after pill falls in love with him. Huge woah factor here, this show is supposed to be aimed towards teenagers and it just glorifies unprotected one night stand with a false happy ending of falling in love? While this MIGHT happen in very few cases this is not the case always, she could have caught a STD, or worst gotten pregnant. But this show is saying if you choose the right guy to have unprotected sex with when drugged then your set. This is not the only questionable decision Abby makes. When talking about money problems another tenant of the building says that Abby should become a stripper like her in order to get money for her rent. Abby's face lights up as she watches her neighbor dance seductively half naked on the stage as men throw money at her, and she takes the job. In what world do we live in where television is suggesting for teenage girls who are struggling to make ends meet to sell their bodies and dance in front of men half naked while getting thrown money at them. The fact that Abby is excited by the idea is even more sickening and convincing to young girls that this is acceptable.
Ratings wise I understand where the show was trying to go sex sells but the messages teen girls (who besides me are probably the only ones watching) are getting from this show are very dangerous to our American youth. Shouldn't there be some limit or some censorship company scanning the airways for wrong messages sent to extremely impressionable teen girls?
Sexism has been appearing more and more in many new popular television series. The idea of men as the dominant protector, caretaker, and savoir has been constantly flaunted on almost every channel. New shows such as Walking Dead, and Mad Men I believe are guilty of this. In these two television shows women are left behind tending to children, doing the laundry, making dinner, and having no opinion besides that of their husbands. The popularity of these shows and their blatant sexism worries me.
Walking Dead is a fairly new television show, that came out back in 2010 and is now on its second season. The show is about police officer Rick Grimes leading a group of survivors in a zombie apocalypse world. This show is extremely popular it has been nominated for a Golden Globe, won 6 awards, and has had 25 other nominations. The women in this series have little to no power, and that little power that they do possess is by the men giving them permission to carry guns. Besides being able to carry guns for their own protection they are shown tending to their, doing laundry, watching children, and making dinner. The series gives off the impression that women can not survive without the protection of the male survivors in the group. The women are sometimes asked their opinions on certain topics but at the end of the day it's the men who make the final decisions. Is this show trying to say that in a apocalyptic world that women lose all of their rights? While I am entertained by zombies I can not agree with the message the show is sending to its viewers. I'd like to think that the feminist movement of the 70's has gotten stronger and in a apocalyptic world that women would rise to the same power level as men and be just as sufficient as men when it comes to surviving the zombie attack. .
Mad Men has been on television a little longer having come on the air back in 2007, and now being in its fifth season. This show is set back in the 50's/60's, it is about a group of caucasian males who work in advertisement and are at the top of their game. This shows just oozes with sexism. Women are shown as sex objects not as human beings, and men have all the glory and power and answer to no one. Wives are stuck watching the children and taking care of the house while the men are at work flirting/ having affairs with their secretaries and drinking with their friends. The wives lives are very sad in this show. Women seem to have no opinion or voice whatsoever while men walk all over them and their is nothing they can do about it. While during the era that this show is set in women's rights were very limited, I still believe this show is extremely offensive to women. Wives are shown having nightmares about their husbands divorcing them for other women and work hard to keep them ignoring their affairs.
These two shows are set during different time periods one in the 50's and the other set in modern times however both are sexist, with men having all the power and women having little to none. Also both of these television series are shown on the AMC channel, could it be that this channel is trying to say that times haven't changed, that the feminist movement changed nothing, and power will always remain in the hands of men? I greatly disagree with the message these two shows are giving out to their constantly growing audiences and believe that something needs to change.
As a child, I grew up in a generation where its become common to have atleast 3 or more television in each household. Most people have televisions in their bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, dens and even more recently trending in their bathrooms.
Back in our grandparents generation televisions were rare and only wealthier families owned them now they are seen everywhere. It has also become trendy to watch television on cell phones, or to have mini televisions in your cars. Its almost impossible to avoid television and with this being true its become even more impossible to avoid marketing and advertisements.
Many families try keeping up with modern societies standards and fighting to keep up with the Joneses, due to this many parents lack the time to spend with their children. Parents being too exhausted to come home from work and play with their kids rely on television to do the entertaining and playing with them. What these parents do not know is that their kids are being manipulated and brainwashed in the process. Its a vicious cycle, parents work to keep their kids happy meaning lesser hours to spend with their children and due to this children spend more time watching television wanting more expensive and "cooler" things.
I do not think parents should be to blame for this. The deregulation of marketing to kids in the 1980's is no doubt to blame. The government however likes that children are spending it keeps the economy afloat but what they don't realize is what long term effects this overwhelming marketing is having on children. Children are being brainwashed to want more, buy more because it will make them fit in more and it will make them cool. This abusive invasion of the minds of children has caused rises in ADHD, ADD, child obsesity and child diabetes.
In my opinion to resolve this horrible trend in marketing (aka brainwashing) children the government needs to step in again and save our children from these horrible marketing corporations. I'm not saying cut off advertisements to children all together but atleast give them some limitations to which they can study, observe and sell things to kids.
While many people refuse to admit to watch porn because its seen as dirty or naughty, we all watch it. I admit as a guy I watch a good amount of porn. However I never noticed how extremely racist and sexist the pornography industry was until I read "The White Man's Burden: Gonzo Pornography and the Construction of Black Masculinity" in my class textbook. This article makes it seem like pornography is designed for a white male audience. The industry is designed so that white males can live out their fantasies and experience new types of sexual activity that they might not be normally able to live out. The phrase "its a white mans world" appears to be true within pornography. While there are many black and white porn stars who are very famous and make loads of money having sex on film, how these porn stars are represented are very different. Black male stars are almost always portrayed as "hung thugs from the hood" in street attire and having wild animalistic sex. It is very rare you see black male porn stars that do not fit into this stereotype. This is extremely offensive being a black male, not that I personally have a issue with being portrayed as "hung" but not all black men are thugs. I thought that society had finally come to understand and appreciate that black people are no longer the intimidating wild creatures we were once thought to be. I find it even worst that I never noticed this until reading about this topic for class. This view of African American men is very outdated and stems from a white males perspective. Not to mention that Asian or Hispanic men rarely get a career in porn unless they are doing gay porn. Why is it that only white males are portrayed as normal while African American men are thugs, and Asian and Hispanic men are not even visible?
Black males are not the only ones discriminated against in the porn industry. Women are rarely shown having any power unless it's dominatrix or something of that nature. A women's power is usually judged by how many penises she can cram into her multiple holes or how rough she can handle a man pounding her. Female's are objectified by men in most porn that is made these days. They are portrayed as sex rag dolls. It has become common in a porn films for women to be called degrading words like "slut", "whore" and many many worse names. In no way does calling a women a whore and pounding her holes empowering to women. But I understand why these women do it, the money is good and the industry is booming, but can their not be some guidelines to what is said and done in these films?
Sex And The City features four girls who became friends in New York City; Charlotte, Samantha, Carrie, and Miranda. The show follows the work lives, love lives, and friendship between these four women. When reading the title of the show one might conceive its a show full of smut, which isn't all false but the show also has a lot of redeeming qualities. Through friendship these four come to power, wealth, and love.
Throughout the show these four women are show having breakfast, lunch, and dinner once every so often to discuss men, sex, relationships, and work issues. (As a child these type of discussions is what I imagined women having when they went to the bathroom together.) During these meetings they would provide insight on the other's issues and explain a situation they had been through which was similar. A very effective way of helping one another out, in my opinion. These four had a strong bond, and through this bond have been there for one another in times of financial debt, weddings, birth, adoptions, deaths, and heartbreaks, you name it.
These are possibly the four best friends that anyone could have. This dynamic bond was based around how different the four women were. Carrie was a writer, she was very modest about her sex life, lived a extravagant lifestyle. Miranda was a lawyer, married to her job, and had a child. Charlotte started off the show as a art director for a museum but ended up getting married converted to Judaism, adopted a child, and became a house wive. Samantha ( the true star of the show in my opinion), was a well known publicist who slept with A LOT of men, and did not believe in relationships or love just sex. And of course the they all had a passion for fashion and boy did these women have taste.
While these four had their ups and downs, financially, emotionally, and have even fought they had always sought out their problems and helped each other in any way they could. I feel like this show sends a positive message to the female community. It is rare for any female to have a group of female friends they can rely on these days. Most of the girls I know all hate each other. Girls now view women as competition for men, which is just sad in my opinion. Instead of joining together, they have turned on one another. This show says that women can be friends and can survive without the need of a man, as long as they have good friends. I feel like this message can provide relief to many people who believe they need to find a soul mate to fulfill their life's destiny, when really you can get by and be happy with just really great friends.
This show explains the coming of power, wealth, and love for these four women who got there all thanks to the help of one another. In class we discussed this as being "queer", and yes I agree on paper I can see how one might mistake this set-up as being "queer". Actually watching the show and viewing their chemistry one would see more of a family than a "queer" relationship. This show is not only just about sex, its about dating advice, fashion, life lessons, heartbreak all rolled into one excellent show.
(I have seen almost every episode of Sex And The City, so i guess you could call me a huge fan. My mother and I would watch the show back in 1998 every night before bed. I must admit that it might seem rare for a 7 year old to find interest in such a show but then again I was no normal 7 year old. What really grabbed my attention about the show was the four ladies extreme tasteful fashion. This show is the reason I hope to go into fashion journalism after college.)
Cartoons for adults? Ten years ago the closest thing to a adult cartoon that was television was Beavis & Butthead, now we have many more like Family Guy, The Simpson's, American Dad, South Park and a few others. These shows while still being animated do more than just entertain they talk about current events, and issues going on in the world in a comical demeanor. These shows do very little to reach out to a younger audience, many of the jokes of these shows are from 80's references or political views things that children aren't too interested in. The three most popular adult cartoons, The Simpsons, American Dad and Family Guy all have a family as the main cast. The cast is almost identical with one dad, one mom, a daughter, and a son, and then one character who is the wild card who you never know what to expect out of. This identical cast set up in all of these adult cartoons are to reach out to families specifically parents and people over 20 who can easily relate to these shows by seeing a similiar family set up in their own homes. The parents are usually the main characters while the children are used as comical relief which also proves that these shows are reaching out to a older demographic.
While many would argue that the Simpsons have been around longer so therefore they have started this trend of adult cartoons I have to disagree. The Simpsons have not always been targeted at a adult audience. The Simpsons have been on television since 1989 which means it has been on air for about 23 years. The original audience that started watching the Simpsons has grown older and since the show has adapted to the current trend of adult cartoons to keep their original audience while still hoping to gain a wider audience. Since the show has been on the air it has also gone through many different writers which also has changed the dynamic of the show.
American Dad, some might call a rip off of the Simpsons, and Family Guy but in my opinion this show has a more modern twist than the other two. The family consists of a husband, wife, two kids, a alien, and a pet goldfish. Unlike the other two the children are seen as quite unnatural for television yet more realistic for real life. The daughter, Haley is portrayed as a modern day feminist who smokes pot, has sex, and hates government policies, she is also the older sibling which is rare. The son, Steve is more on his feminine side, he enjoys reading books, dancing, and playing in flowers in the show he is a disappointment to his father. Lets not forget the alien?! Roger is probably the most humorous and inappropriate character on the show, he enjoys cross dressing, getting drunk all times of the day, and just does the most ridiculously inappropriate things. Stan and Francine, the two parents are of course the two main characters of this show, and most of the views shared in the show are from their eyes, and both are easy to relate to (Stan moreso than Francine). These racey characters no doubt prove that this show is a adult cartoon, it is very rare that the son would be considered the wuss or wimp and the daughter to be older than the son but this is a more typical American family in my opinion. This show being the freshest adult cartoon coming out in 2005, is of course going to also be the most modern cast (minus the alien) out of the 3.
Family Guy triumphs over these other two in the adult cartoon industry. This show has been on since 1999, and has many similarities to the Simpsons in the cast set up. However this show has pushed the envelope in addressing modern day issues than the other two. Family Guy has attacked many artist, political canidates, religious views, government policies, musicians, I mean you name it and Family Guy has most likely addressed it. This show is not afraid of using its power in addressing topics that most people ignore. One of the most recent episodes on the show dealt with healthcare and religions who don't believe in it. This episode delivered a very serious and deep message to this shows audience something way over the head of any child. This show's controversial topics has definitely drawn in a audience, leaving us anxious for the next episode.
If you have ever watched these shows there is no doubt that they are not intended for children. I believe with the characters being cartoons that the shows can get away with a lot more controversial/important topics than a normal family sitcom came without crossing too many boundaries, and I feel like this is a trend that will continue to grow and expand because their will always be more scandals and controversial topics for these shows to poke fun at.
So recently I finished reading I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell a book written by Tucker Max, (a friend had got me this book as a Christmas present) it is a collection of short stories regarding Tucker's wild drunken and whorish behaivor and the few to no consequences he has to pay for them. Tucker is living the all American college boy dream, he gets black out drunk, sleeps with plenty of women, and all his friends (mostly men) admire him. He admits in his book, "I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead" but women still sleep with him and men still admire him. Tucker Max has perfected the all American college dream of masculinity, or better yet the dream of college masculinity set by society. Many behaviors demonstrated by Tucker are also very popular with college frat brothers, and jocks. Society encourages this behavior by calling it entertaining or amusing instead of clarifying that while this type of behavior may be entertaining it is not how young men should actually act.
This book tells young men it is okay to treat women like whores because that is what they are and they love it, but in reality the women in Tucker Max's stories do not appear to enjoy being whores or treated like such . He, himself is getting a kick out of treating them like whores. Tucker has a very 50's sexist view of womens roles in society by his standards, they should be hot, willing to be exploited, easy to sleep with but have not slept with too many people, a freak in the sheets, and a servant to which their main duty is to worship his penis. I feel like this view of women is shared with many college teen boys these days or atleast fantasized. I must clarify that most of the time Tucker admits to being a douchebag before sleeping with these women, or they already know how much of a douchebag he is however they still decide to sleep with him. It almost leads the reader to believe that women actually do enjoy being sexually exploited by pigheaded men. The best example to help prove this point would be the chapter "Girl Beats Tucker At His Own Game", now i warn you this chapter is one of the most disturbing chapters in the entire book. Tucker meets a girl named Rachel who is shy and reserved until they are on a date one night and the subject of sex is bought up then she really opens up. From date to date the sex gets kinkier and kinkier, always involving pain and humiliation on her part but she appears to get off on it. But then Tucker being the douchebag he is attempts to push her limits and see just about how much humiliation she is willing to go through for "love". He ends up convincing her to give him oral sex while he is deficating on the toilet. (Yes, this is the type of ludicrous activities found in this book). Not only does the girl go through with it, but after he never calls her again. This girl was clearly desperately seeking love and was willing to do anything to please Tucker but being the pigheaded macho man he is, he took advantage of this to use for his own sick pleasure. While most guys wont take it to this extreme it is very popular for guys in college to promise a girl the world just to sleep with her and once they get what they are after never call her again and I feel like this type of behavior has been learned from how college masculinity is represented in the media.
Tucker does admit to finding love in his book, after a night out bar hopping with his friends (getting Tucker Max Drunk) he has found the love of his life, "this was the most gorgeous person I had ever seen.. piercing blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. Great body. A deep, penetrating stare that revealed wisdom and understanding beyond the average person" but dont forget this is Tucker Max we are talking about people. This love of his life that he considers perfect ends up being only himself in the mirror and he spends a hour dancing in front of a mirror by himself at a bar. Tucker only cares about himself and will do anything it takes to make sure his selfish needs are tended to which I must admit sounds a lot like the average typical American college male student. The fact that he is famous due to his ridiculous behavior and stories only makes him and others believe that what he is doing is acceptable which in reality is only so famous due to how ludicrous his actions are. Sex and being a douchebag sells. I could not put this book down due to how ridiculously hilarious it was which i am ashamed to admit due to the fact that I feel like even reading this book is contributing to this idea of masculinity.
This style of masculinity is also found in the infamous college movies, American Pie in the character played by Stifler. Stifler is rich, sleeps with lots of women, speaks his mind, treats his friends as a mean to a end, and puts sex before anything else. Stifler and Tucker are almost exactly alike, except for the fact that Stifler seems to learn some compassion through the years while Tucker never really seems to learn anything. The fact that there are little to no consequences to these characters leave young men believing that this is the lifestyle they should lead to achieve masculinity. The media makes it seem that to be achieve masculinity in college one must sleep with as many women as possible and treat them with as little respect as possible because only then will you gain respect from your fellow man.
In today's society advertisement is seen almost everywhere, its become almost impossible to avoid. Ads can be found on television, on the radio, all over the internet, and almost on any "App" you can download on your cell phone or computer. Unless your a alien or living in a 3rd world country you have some contact with these devices daily and while many people argue that they are unaffected by the powers of advertisement they are greatly mistaken. Ads have become a part of everyday American life, and there is no escaping them.
Television has the sneakiest form of advertisement, not only are ads found during commercial breaks, they are all throughout today's programming. Modern advances in technology allow people to fast forward through commercials, so now they are putting the ads in the actual programs. In a recent 90210 episode, Austin is shown getting State Farm Insurance because his ex broke into his house, he talks about how easy it is to sign up and makes it seem like everyone with valuable belongings in their home should get it as well. While this is a very blunt in your face form of advertisement found in programming there are much more subtle examples. One example would be when a character in a television show is wearing a name brand designer with a specific logo, or drinks a name brand beverage where the logo is facing the camera. These forms of advertisement are seen all throughout television, and unconsciously we notice these ads and think "oh I saw Britney Spears drinking Pepsi, maybe I should go get a Pepsi".
Advertisement has many negative and positive feedback from consumers, but without ads the American economy would crumble. After WWII, television was made as a "advertising medium" so that the government could encourage citizens to spend money again to get the economy back on its feet. They would put ads in working class family shows; showing them in almost real life situations buying new products that was essential to keep up with the times, hoping this would cause viewers to go out and do the same. This method of advertising is still being used today, for instance the 90210 example above. Ads purpose is to sell you more than just a item its to sell you a state of mind, which is to spend, spend, spend!! This idea/state of mind has actually become a main part of American society; "buy the bigger, newer, shinier thing". This spending is what keeps our economy thriving so they must sneak it into our lives by any means they can. Ads make you believe that what you have is old and outdated and that you should buy this "new" product or else you'd be out of fashion. Many people might disagree saying "What I have is completely fine and there is no need to change to something new just because I'm told its outdated" but what these people do not understand is that these ads are promoting the flow of currency and without this flow many large corporations would crumble, leaving many people jobless.
America, "the melting pot", or so it was once called but this melting pot has become predominantly Caucasian, especially in media representation. Today on television there are very few television shows that have a predominant ethnic cast, and the few that are, appear to be comedies in which the cast are portraying stereotypes of their own race.
We once had great shows like "The Jeffersons", "Good Times", "In Living Color", "Martin" and many more popular television shows with a predominant African American cast but over the years these shows have fallen off of the air. Tyler Perry has produced House of Payne, and Meet the Browns over the last few years in which the cast appears to be a all African American family, but the cast is portrayed as goofy, irrational, obese and stupid. This portrayal of African Americans makes these shows extremely hard to relate to. No one is ever truly successful, and they all appear to be struggling to achieve some end; is this how society views African Americans?! Are African Americans a race of goofy irrational people who are struggling to make it? This is a total misinterpretation of our race, Maryland alone has the wealthiest African Americans in the country. Most African American families no longer have the entire family tree living under one roof, or have tacky outdated "hand me down" wardrobes. The face of African American families has changed and with it, how we are represented on television should change as well.
There also seem to be few to no shows on television featuring a predominant Asian American cast, or Hispanic American cast on any major networks. But this misrepresentation of minorities on television does not just end at race; women, homosexuals, and handicap individuals are either not seen on television or portrayed to be over- dramatic representation of themselves. With America being a melting pot shouldn't this be represented in our media without racial stigma's or stereotypes?
It was once said that 35 was retiring age for women in the film industry, after turning 35 women are more likely to be cast as evil, vindictive, or homely types. In an article I read called "The Ageing Dilemna", Melissa Silverstein talks about how women are forced to play roles that make them older than they actually are even when their male counterparts are still older than them. It is after 35 that women began to lose romantic, and seductive roles, or so it was until recently. Women over 35 have been appearing in more and more movies playing romantic, seductive roles that were once taboo for a older women. Some films even show older women with younger men which vice versa is a Hollywood norm but in general is pretty rare to be seen on film. In "The Proposal" (2009), Sandra Bullock plays a Canadian immigrant who runs a publishing company. Sandra starts off as an evil vindictive boss to Ryan Reynolds, her secretary, until she finds out that her Visa has run out and the only means of staying in her current position at her job and in the country is to marry him. As they stage their fake wedding, the two characters fall in love with each other. When the film was being made Sandra was already 45 and Ryan was only 33. She was 12 years his elder which is quite noticeable when looking at the two. However Sandra still was able to pull off romantic chemistry with a younger man which on film is very rare to see. Another example of a woman playing a romantic role with a younger man is "Water For Elephants"(2011) with Reese Witherspoon, and Robert Pattinson. In this film Robert plays a student in veterinary school who drops out to join the circus. Once in the circus he falls for Reese who is the circus owner's wife, who ultimately ended up leaving her husband to be with him. Reese Witherspoon is 35 years old, which is on the borderline of sexy, and homely, for Hollywood films but her costar Robert is only 25. Reese is 10 years his senior yet on screen they still have romantic chemistry. These are just two examples of dominant female leads in the film industry proving to the industry that they have not yet lost it, but there are many more examples. This sexist idea of men getting better with age, and women turning into old hags needs to end!
There is a new show on the CW Network called L.A. Complex which I'm assuming is a modern spin on the failed Melrose Place that the CW tried redoing a few years ago. This series is about a group of young stardom seeking 20 somethings who all live in a fairly shabby but somehow still nice apartment complex in Los Angeles, California. The show delivers the struggle that most actors, comedians, musicians go through in order to achieve fame and at what cost they are willing to pay. 
