Young and Beautiful

In class this week we watched "Killing Us Softly 4," a documentary I've seen before and recommend to just about anyone, male or female.  One theme Kilbourne talked about was youth and how youth in advertising was desirable.  Almost all ads feature young models or models that appear youthful; they may have youthful clothing, pose like children, or have so much airbrushing done that they appear younger than they really are.  This gives many people - especially girls - the impression that they must be young to be considered desirable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otW9z2ABQu0

As we watched the documentary I kept thinking of this Lana Del Rey song, "Young and Beautiful," in which she repeatedly asks, "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?"  Many people, including me at times, get this idea into their heads that once we are no longer young, no one would want to pursue a romantic relationship with us.  That once we get older, our looks fade and we are no longer seen as beautiful.  Advertising in this day and age does not help this.  We are bombarded with ads featuring young, beautiful models that we are supposed to aspire to be like.  The ads are telling us, "You have to look like this in order to be accepted by society, and if you do not look like this, you are considered ugly and undesirable."  It's as if we should be ashamed of the fact that we age.  Is there something wrong with being "old?"  Is there no joy in getting older?  How come I don't see any song asking, "Will you still love me when I'm old and STILL beautiful?"

Personally, I would love to see ads that feature more "older" people.  Not just in ads for medication and health insurance, but in ads for fashion, cosmetics, food, etc. just like the younger models.  In my eyes, there should be no shame in getting older - it's human nature!  Just because you age does not mean there is not someone out there who finds you beautiful and youthful in your own way.  More importantly, you can still feel beautiful and happy whether you are 21 or 81.

Cell Phone Usage

As we discussed the trends in cell phone usage, it got me thinking about what I use my cell phone for and how this has changed over the years.  When I got my first cell phone, it was this cheap little thing my grandmother used to have.  It only made calls, take low-quality pictures and, when I was lucky, sent text messages.  I didn't have too many friends, though, so it's not like I used it a lot unless it was to tell my mom I would be home in ten minutes.  As more technological advances were made and my family was able to afford better-working phones, I started using my phone for more things.  I lost track of how many phones I have owned, but I remember almost in order what trends I started giving in to; soon enough I was texting nearly everyone, then I finally got the e-mail feature on my phone (which I was very happy about because I had been waiting forever to have that feature), and soon enough I had Internet on my phone.  I would mainly use it for Google and Myspace (because that was still a thing back then).

When I got my iPhone, everything changed.  Instantly I went around asking my sisters and friends what their favorite apps were so I can join in.  Now I use my phone for everything - memos, Facebook, shopping, photos, videos of my little sister, Google, games, and even banking.  I can even deposit checks from my phone!  I used to only use my cell phone sparingly, but now I barely do anything without it.  It's also become a go-to device when I feel bored.  The minute I feel bored I go to my phone to see if anyone has texted me or if there is something funny on YouTube.  I think we all can agree that all the features on our phones nowadays has made us less productive.  That begs the question: even though all these features have made our lives easier and more convenient, are these features really a good thing?

Tip Drill

For the third online assignment that was due this week, we were instructed to watch a documentary on masculinity in hip hop.  The "Gender Violence" segment was disturbing to watch.  Men frequently called women degrading names such as "bitch" and "hoe" as if talking down to women like that is socially acceptable.  While women were being interviewed one guy went so far as to videotape her butt while the woman seemed to be oblivious to it.  This guy did not even care that she was talking about how these men were degrading her.  One prevalent topic of the video was Nelly's music video for "Tip Drill" and the controversy surrounding it.

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/classroom/genderpop.html

In the video, Nelly slid his credit card down a girl's backside, causing a tremendous amount of backlash against him.  Nelly cancelled an appearance at a bone marrow drive, a shocking move since his sister was in need of a bone marrow transplant at the time.  In this article, Nelly defends his music video, saying that the video was played at three in the morning and was aimed at adults.

http://www.sohh.com/2010/09/nelly_still_defends_spicy_tip_drill_vide.html

Even if this was mainly aimed at adult fans, this is still not the image of women artists should be portraying.  We like to assume that adults are mature enough not to treat women in a similar fashion as shown in the video but, sadly, degradation of women is still an issue no matter how old you are.  Nelly also went on to say that the women in his video may end up furthering their goals by appearing in the "Tip Drill" music video.  Whatever those goals may be, it can be assumed that the women in the video will go on to do more degrading music video appearances, depicting them as mere sex objects and not as high-class women with integrity.

The music video is not easy to watch.  It seems like the only thing the women had to do was show off their naked body (partly naked or fully naked), show off their butts, and hump the men and some women.  The phrase "It must be yo ass cause it ain't yo face" is repeated throughout the song, encouraging the idea that women are intended to be looked at because of their bodies.  It is almost like it does not matter what a woman's face looks like as long as they are willing to fornicate with the men.  This is not the image of women that should be shown to people of any age, whether it is at three in the morning for adult fans or three in the afternoon for younger viewers.

Poppy Hartlow's Misplaced Sympathy

This week in class we discussed Cameron D'Ambrosio and how different news media outlets portrayed him in different lights.  Similarly, when a young woman in Steubenville was gang-raped on video by a group of men from her high school, Poppy Hartlow from CNN tried to tell the story from the rapists' points of view, which sparked outrage from many viewers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvUdyNko8LQ

Hartlow reported that the rapists were convicted of raping the young woman and even photographing her naked.  However, Hartlow made it seem tragic because the men were star football players that were devastated by the verdict.  The report went on to say that the men will be in a juvenile detention facility for about two years and the men's lives will be affected by this forever because their sexual offender status will haunt them for the rest of their lives; they will be unable to get a job and neighbors will be aware of their status.  Clearly Hartlow's comments made a lot of viewers angry because she seemed to be sympathizing with the rapists.  As much as newscasters try to tell every side of the story, it is difficult for many to agree with Hartlow's sympathy for the rapists.

Hartlow failed to mention how the woman who was raped will be affected by this for the rest of her life.  This woman was unconscious, but the two men (and perhaps more men) proceeded to rape her as well ask take video and photos throughout.  Hartlow seemed to be mourning the rapists' "tragic fate" as the two high school football stars were convicted of rape.  Many people, myself included, do not agree with this view and claim that the two men deserve the verdict.  As much as a guilty verdict in the case of rape will haunt someone forever, being the victim of a rape will haunt someone forever as well, perhaps in worse ways.  The woman may have to deal with PTSD, a mistrust in men, and distrustful relationships in the future.  Hartlow never mentions this, though; she only mentions how this will affect the rapists.