COURSE BLOG for GWSS 3307: Feminist Film/Media Studies (Fall 2007)

CONTENT: Rock Of Love is a show that appeared on Vh1 at the beginning of fall 2007. Bret Michaels was producing as well as being the main character. I noticed this trend when seeing that Flavor Flav also helped produce his show. I watched the show on Vh1 online to recapture the attitude and storyline. The target audience is early twenties to early forties. It was on at 9:00 pm and on an adult style network. The commercials breaks consisted of Venus razors, music, and food. I would say the show is cast toward both a male and female audience and I know guy and girl friends who watched the show religiously. My dad also per took in the show once in awhile as Poison was more of his age group then mine.

CONTENT: The content of the show follows the original dating show strategy. We have the girls we fall in love with and the girls that we love to hate. Jess, the winner of the show, was everyone’s sweetheart. Lacey was the devil in the flesh. These are only portrayals of the characters through editing eyes. Heather after viewing her spot on the show was upset to see the pieces they kept and the pieces they cut. She was cut into what the editor thought she should be. “A study conducted for Psychology Today found that RTV viewers place a high value on both revenge and competition; most prominent among the attitudes expressed by fans surveyed, however, is their desire for prestige and status.” We like to see failure and we like the girl that is not our favorite to go home. Even better is to see that perfect Barbie doll make a fool of her self, this signifies that she is human. “Are female viewers reassured in this way that they’re not alone in their personal flaws or failures?” All of these dating shows allow us to put female against female. Why are we fighting for one guy and hurting our sex in return? The idea of many women fighting amongst each other and the audience fighting against those viewed is terrible sexism. Not of males looking at females, but females disgracing and putting down their own selves! This bothers me immensely that a show can put such misogynistic thoughts in our heads. Besides the female on female sexism there is the inevitable sexism of the males who watch. They are looking at the female as an object breaking her down quality by fault. Voyeurism at its worst is occurring, which one is the best? The outfits worn in the football episode were scandalous and half the time the girls walk around/dance around half naked. Bret Michaels hardly takes his shirt off let alone bare more. “Privileged men and exploited women, in the institution of patriarchal heterosexuality.” He is the king, they flock to him, fight over him while being partially nude and made embarrassed through stupid tasks. Another article I looked at had this to say about sexuality and sexism in RTV, “Repressive codes [of attitude of sexuality on TV and oppression of women] were replaced not by a culture based on mutual respect, but by a deluge of prurience…. An increase in “anything goes” culture… style or substance, shouldn’t there be both?” He argues respectfully in saying that it is too much, its overboard, flash is not a good thing and dating RTV is losing the feminist strength that many worked for.

FORM: The actual set of the show is made to sexually exploit the women. There is a hot tub in the kitchen, a full bar full of alcohol, AND a stripper pole in the living room. The idea is that there are many taboo items for the girls to get in trouble with. There is a certain stage set for them to walk in and use. There is red and leopard print every where as would be seen in a sensual scene of a movie. Also as in many dating show the girls are made to sleep in little beds, some even bunk beds. They are belittled beyond adults to be looked at as children playing a game. The whole set up is to make the women sexual objects for Bret Michaels to play with.

Overall it is an entertaining show with no substance. People love sex, and sexuality. The saying is ‘sex sells’. The problem is it sells more than ratings; it sells sexism and patriarchy.