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

I would be interested in how you would like television shows to be paid for if not by advertising in between commericals. I don't pay for television in any way so, why am I getting basic cable for free? I always assumed it was the advertising.

I don't think consumerism is to blame for poor wages across the world. I think that's supply and demand, capitalism. It's the reason we're losing jobs overseas... it's because, with the amount of workers searching for jobs in this world of 7 billion people, there just aren't enough jobs to go around, so they're willing to work for less and less just to get any money at all. I can't see how the rich consuming a lot is hurting the poor - would you rather they keep their money and do nothing with it to make a stagnant economy? Or, are you hoping for sudden, altruistic intentions? Fact is, capitalism works because people are greedy (see Adam Smith).

As for the natural resources part - I entirely agree that we need to do something about that. In economics, they're called negative externalities. But I don't think it's consumerism that's causing it. I think it's the fact that we can't properly internalize the effects of hurting the environment on corporations that are doing so.

I didn't even read the original post though... but I was bored and read this and thought I'd post my objections...

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm an economics major and I love capitalism.

Question: What kind of TV do you watch?

Because the TV I watch has probably more ad's selling products that display ZERO "body flesh" then ones that do. There is no way as a woman, I can say that there aren't negative degrading images out in the media. However, although I do have no stats to back this up, I would say close to 85% of the commercials or products sold to the consumer generally are selling the PRODUCT, with NO image of a human being at all. Open up a magazine, generally the deodorant is sitting in front of a white page with some words on it. Again, there of course are images that are 360degrees opposite from this, however, whatever media you look at, I'm not sure it's the same, or at least taken in the same perspective because I don't see an over skinned culture. Answer this...when a commercial comes on, would you prefer a bio of the model/actress before she speaks? Would you prefer if all information was given to you in text across a TV screen of magazine page? I understand you said that you don't like commercials and do whatever you can to avoid them, and you're completely right I don't speak for everyone, however, if you were not to view every form of media as a negative patriarchal attack against women, you might realize that the fact that you have a roof over your head, and the fact that you go to such an prestigious school can come from the prosperity of capitalism.

I agree, tuition and cost of living in this country are WAY to high. And the emissions put into the atmosphere from large corporations are slowly (emphasis on slowly)impacting our environment, as well as the labor wages and conditions are not ideal. That being said, if you have such a problem with the way this country functions LEAVE!!! I cannot emphasize enough that you are taking for granted the culture you live in. It's not perfect, but it sure as hell is better then any where else in this world. As for your article, this was from a city in Brazil, first of all, I'm sure the break away from mass media is great. However, you think women are treated and portrayed poorly in this country, you're in a rude awakening sweetheart. You probably take for granted walking down the street with out a nasty man making cat calls at you or treating you like a piece of meat...literally only there for sex. They don't need media there to do that, they live it without the influence of their pop culture. I doubt you really worked at that Applebees without this knowledge, as a two and a half year TGI Fridays employee, I can tell you that treatment by the "cooks" is not something to tell grandma about. A good friend of mine lived in Brazil for a good portion of time...I can give you her number.

Of course our country is not perfect and large factories are not the happiest places to be, nor to many people wish their lives to be there, but with out them, million of people would be jobless. These low wage jobs provide for those that might not have the will or the way to make more. But in case you forgot you lived in America, you can move up and out from these positions. Easier said than done, but what would you like instead, more homelessness? Instead of education, do you think illiteracy is more ideal? How would you suggest that our country survives on us all living in shacks and sleeping on the dirt ground. There are plenty of places on this earth where that is the living conditions, I'm sure you could make yourself at home.

While this is a rather harsh response, and very opinionated, it's not meant to be an attack personally. I know for some, what I'm saying is absurd and not even coinciding with feminist theory what so ever. While I do agree, to each their own, believe what you want, I'm not here to sway you in any which way. As I'm sure you feel, there are a million other things I could say and topics to discuss. What I do wish to say is take what you believe in with a grain of salt, and don't insult everything that people before you have given up to make your life what it is today. Not perfect, but it sure as hell isn't a warn zone where your being abducted into sex-slave service while your 9year old brother is beaten and then drafted into the Rebel army to fight in combat to kill your best friends mom in the nearby village. Is advertising as bad as that?!?!

To RowGophs

I must respond to your comment.

R.S composed an arguement, an intelligible, respectful, supported arguement.

The least you could do is return the favor.

Though you claim to mean this as "not a personal attack" i cannot believe you honestly mean that.

EX)

"That being said, if you have such a problem with the way this country functions LEAVE!!!"

"However, you think women are treated and portrayed poorly in this country, you're in a rude awakening sweetheart."

Your comments are condescending and rude. I respect whatever points you choose to argue. I will NEVER respect an argument that seeks to personally attack, belittle, and silence. That is what you have presented.

I apologize if the post came off in a personal manner in a "condescending and rude" way, the intent was meant to be my response to the type of thinking, not the individual. I realize how it could be taken in that way and I don't disagree with you. I feel very strongly, as you can tell, about certain lacks of faith in what many have given us. While the subject has been very deviated from the original topic, I still stand by each part I say. I wrote it in a mild fit of frustration, so I do apologize for any disrespectful comments. Since you've stated that you no longer have respect, I can do nothing but accept that as it is. I wish you the best of luck and hopefully each of us can take a positive aspect from this and move forward for the better

I concur, Row Gophers, that was a little rude. And I do believe we have passed a point in this country where we can believe in the illusion of our pollutant emissions "slowly" harming our environment. Global warming is a fact, children playing in toxic dumping grounds is a fact, the harmful chemicals we bring into our home to clean it while killing ourselves and the environment is a fact. Our lack of consciousness as consumers is not something to be dismissed so easily.

To Karin-

Thank you for your response. I appreciate the economic background you bring to this discussion.

I completely agree that capitalism is the broader aspect being discussed here, but isn’t consumerism part of capitalism? Isn’t it directly related to supply and demand? If people keep buying and buying, the demand increases, thus the supply must increase to match that demand. This creates a cycle that forces us to do whatever might be necessary to match that demand, (i.e. harm the environment, employ people at lower wages to be able to afford to hire more people and still keep prices low).

Like Kate said, I do think that consumerism has a direct effect on some of our current environmental issues. I think it’s time for consumers to be conscious and stop denying the damaging results simply because it’s easier to remain ignorant.

To RowGophs-

I never said that I viewed “every form of media as a negative patriarchal attack against women.” I was simply suggesting the possibility that we shouldn’t have to settle for the derogatory media that does exist. I am aware that advertising is a successful way to make money for televisions shows, products, etc. Why does that mean it has to be the media that you suggest “doesn’t put men and women in the best light?” I completely acknowledge the existence of progressive media/advertising/etc. and I certainly think it is a wonderful, positive response. That being said, I was under the impression that one of the purposes of this class/discussion was to examine the existing forms of representation through a feminist lens and possibly challenge them in order to entertain the possibility of envisioning alternatives if needed. Perhaps we had different understandings/goals for this course, and that is okay.

Second, please do not assume that the reason I “go to such an prestigious school [comes] from the prosperity of capitalism.” I can’t afford to go to this school. If your understanding of capitalism is prosperity for all, then the fact that both of my parents have worked every day of their lives in respectable jobs should mean they have enough money to afford to provide me with this educational opportunity. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Through loans, scholarships, and working my way through school I am able to be here. I do not mind working hard for what I want, that’s not the problem. But I do no appreciate you assuming my personal experiences under the “prosperity of capitalism.”

Third, I think it is inappropriate to make vast generalizations about the rest of the world. “It's not perfect, but it sure as hell is better then any where else in this world. As for your article, this was from a city in Brazil, first of all, I'm sure the break away from mass media is great. However, you think women are treated and portrayed poorly in this country, you're in a rude awakening sweetheart.” Do you think we can’t look to other countries for ideas, information, theories, etc? I’m not sure why you disregarded that article simply because it spoke of a city in Brazil. Also, I never said that women weren’t treated poorly in other places besides America. I don’t think that this means American women should just accept their oppression because it could be worse. You could make that argument about anything if you wanted too, and then what would be worth fighting for? Maybe this fight is not worth it to you. If that is the case, that is fine. But it is worth it to me. So please do not undermine my fight just because you think life is good enough.

Fourth, you make an interesting statement about the ability to decide our own wealth and success in this country. “But in case you forgot you lived in America, you can move up and out from these positions. Easier said than done, but what would you like instead, more homelessness? Instead of education, do you think illiteracy is more ideal?” I would argue that although we think we exist in a culture of equal opportunity that this is, in fact, and illusion. When I took AP classes in high school, there wasn’t a single person of color in any of those four classes. When I took the SAT in 7th grade because someone decided I was smart enough to get to practice before “the real thing”, there wasn’t a single person of color in the room with me. All of this despite the fact that I attended a school where I was a racial minority because I was white. Do you think those are coincidences? Do you think that there were no people of color who were just as intelligent and deserved to be sitting in those seats? I would argue that educational opportunities are still not equal for a multitude of reasons and that directly affects who is successful in this system of capitalism. And I’m hoping these are rhetorical questions, but just in case, of course I don’t want more homelessness and illiteracy. That is just absurd and in no way is what I am suggesting.

The last two things I have to say about all of this deal with your accusation that I have in some way “insult[ed] everything that people before [me] have given up to make [my] life what it is today.” How am I insulting the work of those who provide me with my lifestyle when I am acknowledging their unacceptable working conditions all for the sake of my cheap prices? When I am suggesting that they do not benefit from the big money advertisements? I’m not sure where you get the idea that I am insulting people. I am thankful for the life I have. But I am also conscious of who has paid, who has possibly suffered, who has worked to give me this life. Sometimes it was me, sometimes it was my family, and sometimes it was people I will never know who made the products I demand at such cheap prices because I am a poor, college student. I am aware, and I am not okay with that, and this is why I demand alternatives. I’m not sure how that is insulting. The final comment I wish to address is your final statement, “Not perfect, but it sure as hell isn't a warn zone where your being abducted into sex-slave service while your 9year old brother is beaten and then drafted into the Rebel army to fight in combat to kill your best friends mom in the nearby village. Is advertising as bad as that?!?!” This is a vast generalization about some “other” world that relies on an appeal to my emotions (pathos) in order to make me feel bad for not accepting the negative representations that exist in mainstream media. Bad things happen to people here, to people “there”, arguably to people everywhere. That is not an excuse to remain ignorant to the affects of representations. If anything, it should be a motivator to examine those affects and create more progressive representations.

To all those who care to read-

Derrick Jensen’s book A Language Older Than Words talks about some of these things we’ve been discussing in the opening. I’ll include a few passages below that I found particularly interesting to think about.

“In order for us to maintain our way of living, we must, in a broad sense, tell lies to each other, and especially to ourselves. It is not necessary that the lies be particularly believable. The lies act as barriers to truth. These barriers to truth are necessary because without them many deplorable acts would become impossibilities. Truth must at all costs be avoided. When we do allow self-evident truths to percolate past our defenses and into our consciousness, they are treated like so many hand grenades rolling across the dance floor of an improbably macabre party. We try to stay out of harm’s way, afraid they will go off, shatter our delusions, and leave us exposed to what we have done to the world and to ourselves, exposed as the hollow people we have become. And so we avoid these truths, these self-evident truths, and continue the dance of world destruction.”

“This silencing is central to the workings of our culture. The staunch refusal to hear the voices of those we exploit is crucial to our domination of them.”

“We don’t stop these atrocities, because we don’t talk about them. We don’t talk about them, because we don’t think about them. We don’t think about them, because they are too horrific to comprehend. As trauma expert Judith Herman writes, ‘The ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness. Certain violations of the social compact are too terrible to utter aloud: this is the meaning of the word unspeakable.’
As the ecological fabric of the natural world unravels around us, perhaps it is time that we begin to speak of the unspeakable, and to listen to that which we have deemed unhearable.

A grenade rolls across the floor. Look. It won’t go away.”

“We pretend that other humans—the women who are raped, for example…or the one hundred and fifty million children who are enslaved to make soccer balls, tennis shoes, Barbie dolls, and the like—are happy and unaffected by it all. We pretend all is well as we dissipate our lives in quiet desperation.”