Comm 300: Levi Commercials

First of all, let me tell you that I have a love hate relationship with this commercial. I love it because of the voice actor they have doing the whole narrative for the whole commercial. It reminds me of the movie we watched for the Chicano movement. ( of course, I can't remember the name of it now). Then of course, I absolutely hate this commercial because the narrator is talking about the children of the world, being brought up in peace and equality. Yet, there are hardly any minority people in this commercial. There are three black people, two are children, and one of them is an adult. But, there are no Latino's or Asians, or Native Americans, or Indians, or Israeli;s. The vast majority of these people are white... not a really equal place actually..

Comm 229: T.V. Everyone's best friend

I had to work this evening, and as I am sitting in the break room three other of my associates came in. Immediately they started talking about work, but once that was done they turned to the one subject that everyone has in common: t.v. shows. I just find it intriguing that television has become the one subject that everyone can relate to. We all watch far too much of it, love our favorite shows and vehemently detest the shitty ones. So, I wonder what our children will be talking about when they are at work.. because the technology is changing rapidly. Will they be talking about the 3-d adventures they are having, or the holographic programs that have become available to them?

Comm 300: Chicano Movement II

I was reading for my Women's history class, and the chapter I was reading is focused upon the '60's and the '70's and what happened during this era. What was really cool was that this book addressed the female side of the Chicano movement. Turns out that these women had to fight against their men to try and gain rights for themselves. The men involved with the Chicano movement wanted the women to go back into the kitchen, because that was the best way to alleviate racial tensions. So, the women decided that in order to achieve the liberation they wanted, they had to separate themselves from the male Chicano movement, and that is exactly what they did.

Comm 229: Christmas

Allright, so has anyone noticed the Christmas commercials this year? I never realized how capitalistic we actually were until watching all of these commercials telling people that the best thing to do is buy your kids junk. The best thing about these commercials is that they are not even promoting Christmas at all. Because, in actuality Christmas is not supposed to be about buying each other things, it's about God. I just find all these commercials very interesting, especially since no one can really afford anything right now. Great how the thing to make things perfect is to buy more things that you don't need, and your kids won't really play with three months later?

Comm 300: minorities in the movies

I don't know about the rest of you, but as I have been learning about this course I have been trying to see the minorities that are in the television that I watch. Shockingly, enough, or perhaps not that shocking at all, I don't see very many. And then, if there is a black man, or an Asian man, or a Latino man, they are never the main character. And if they do have a crucial role in the movie/t.v. show they are the bad guy. Of course, this knowledge is daunting when you think about the groups that are trying to correct it. The amount of invisibility they have to surmount is almost incomprehensible. I really don't think they will be able to overcome it... it is far too big, and has been around for far too long.

Comm 229: Freedom of Choice

We have just read the chapter on Freedom of choice, our ability to choose and things like that. And I just watched The Dead Poets Society, which is a great Robin Williams movie. This movie has to do with the life of private school boys. And in this movie, we see that, especially as young adults, our choices are limited by what our parents want us to do. And this plays out through the rest of our lives. WE have the ability to choose whatever it is we want to do, but if I choose to become an Actor instead of a Doctor, I have just disappointed my entire family, and they will use that against me for the rest of my life. What kind of a choice is that?

Comm 300: Memory

I was thinking about what I was going to talk about today and I happened to remember this thing I had seen. I say thing because I'm not sure if it was just a report or a sixty minutes thing, or something else entirely. But, it was a study about what people would do if they were face to face with racial discrimination. They had a black woman go into a store and had an employee harass her and make racial comments about how she shouldn't be in the store because all she's going to do is steal. Both the woman and employee are in the know, it's the other shoppers that don't know what's going on.
What's interesting is that women were more likely to stand up for the woman than men, especially if the men had a gf/wife with them.
So, what would you do if you came face to face with racial discrimination? Would you walk away or stand up for a stranger?

Comm 229: Elf

Watching television while I'm eating; nothing better than that right? But, the movie ELF is on, and I always forget how awesome it is. This is one of the few Will Ferrel movies that I actually like, I tend not to like the stupid comedies that he usually does. Though, Talladega Nights was o.k.
But, yeah. ELF is fantastic!! It's one of those movies that you only really want to watch during the Christmas season. But, when you do see it, it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy.

Comm 300: G.I. Joe

This was an o.k. movie, the reason I chose it for this class blog is the fact that it's secondary character is a black man. Who is providing comic relief.. like all black side kicks don't provide comic relief in action films. Not only that but he is chasing after the red haired white girl. Of Course he is!!!! When is everything going to change? When are black people going to be cast in roles that aren't drenched in this stereotypical nonsense? It drives me crazy. I've done my whole research project on the few roles that African Americans are allowed to play in the media... and they're everywhere!! So, my question is what exactly are we going to do about it?

Comm 229: New Moon

I've read all four of the Twilight books, and I will admit that they were o.k. I am a bit dissapointed with how everything turned out.. and just a bit disappointed in the entirety of the series. This is an exceptionally interesting notion because I was OBSESSED with the first book, but the whole story just lost something for me somewhere, and I don't know where exactly it all went wrong.
But, that's not really the point of this whole thing. I want to talk about the movie. Or, the fact that I haven't gone to see it yet. The reason: I am afraid that it will be just as bad as the first one. I can't stand the two and a half hours of nothing going on except Bella drooling at Edward. And Unfortunately I have heard that this second movie is along the same lines. (Who am I kidding? The whole series is just about Bella drooling over Edward.....) So, in light of this, I have decided to wait until it comes out on the Redbox, where it will only cost a dollar and hopefully not be as bad

Comm 300: Where'd the time go

I finished my research paper this afternoon, fully preparing to hand it in. And I have been thinking about all the things we have done this semester and with dawning horror I realized that I hadn't blogged in who knows how long!!!! It's horrible how the time just gets away from us like that. And of course, once we haven't blogged in forever I get all these ideas for it. But, I am assuming that is the problem with my blogging, I am only blogging because it is required for points for this class. And that's not a good enough reason for me to continue it. Blogging is an interesting idea... I just don't like the thought of everyone reading what I'm writing. But, then again if I had a purpose or a mission or something like that I would probably love to have all these people reading my thoughts. But, not at this moment....

Comm 229: Food Network

So we have been talking a little bit about how the media affects all of us. And I have realized that my greatest influence has been the Food Network Channel. First off, I love food network after dark, it's phenomenal. And, it has actually gotten me thinking about an actual career, something that I haven't seriously considered since about ten. But, the real point of this whole thing is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Love the show!!!!! And Guy has gotten me dying to try all of these restaurants that he goes to, and I finally got to do it. Eric and I went to Louie's restaurant in Providence and it was fantastic!!! I order their gnocchi, and it was delicious and freshly made. The owner went out back and made me some even though he didn't have any on hand.. how can you beat that? Next time though... Buffalo Chicken Ravioli!!!!!

Comm 300: My Name is Earl

So, I was watching My Name is Earl last night and I was interested in the bank scene with Joy and Crab Man. Joy was trying to get a loan from the bank and had told Darnell to stay in the car. When he comes into the bank she says " You know I don't see color, but I'm trying to get a loan and they won't give it to me if they see me with a black guy." After Darnell storms off she yells after him I'm sorry honey, it's the way it is, I don't make the rules, this is just America." Isn't that terrible? I know that My Name is Earl is a comedy, but I think that that last statement is a bit too close to the actual truth of the matter..

Comm 229: Television Scenes

I was watching a re-run of My Name is Earl last night. It was a great episode, Randy got go to back to High school so that he could finally get a touch down that Earl didn't allow him to make. And of course, Joy is out to steal all of Earl's lottery money, got to keep things interesting. But, anyway, there is a scene in this episode where Randy and Earl walk out the front door of the high school after their first day at school. They come out into the parking lot and they immediately see that their car is not there. The first thing that popped into my mind was that they had to go out onto the football field and find their car flipped over by the jock on the school. Of course, in reality Joy just stole the car. But, that scene, the car flipped over one, is so prominent in High School movies/t.v. shows that I immediately thought that that was what was supposed to happen.

Comm 300: Research Project

I've done my research for this project, and need to throw the actual essay together. It's interesting that the idea I started with the beginning of this semester is not at all what I ended up with. I am focusing on The Cleveland Show, by Seth Macfarlane. I wanted to see how this black family has been represented by white people. Well, it turns out that I am going to be doing a more historical analysis of the characters than anything else. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the characters in The Cleveland Show, are directly related to the first African American archetypes that were created by white slave holders. Pretty interesting if I do say so myself..

Comm 229: The new Prilosec Commercial

I was watching television the other day when the new Prilosec OTC commercial came on. You know the one, it's all about heart burn and how one pill a day will make everything just fine. But, the kicker about this commercial is the spokeswoman is talking about how she needed it while she was dating, because she kept getting heartburn. At the end of the commercial, she talks about how Prilosec helped her snag husband number 2.
Now, that last bit is what gets me. Television can be seen as a kind of extension of real life, not an accurate extension, but an extension none the less. This commercial needs to relate to middle aged women who may need to take heartburn medicine. I think that it's horrible that these middle aged women are hunting around for husband number 2. What does that tell you about divorce and remarriage? A person watching this commercial is more likely to associate with this woman who is remarried than with a woman who has been with her husband for years...

Comm 229: Demolition Man

Eric and I were watching Demolition Man the other night, it was on AMC. It's one of those movies which are really good to watch for action, but not all that great for anything else. I really enjoy this movie, Sylvester Stalone is freakin' awesome looking in this movie, never seen Rocky, but I'm sure he is as muscular in this one as that one, and Wesley Snipes does a great job.
The best thing about this movie was how the franchies who supported the film were advertised. The fancy restaurant that Stallone gets to go to when he saves the life of the leader: Taco Bell. Because Taco Bell was the only restaurant that survived the franchise wars. Really?? Could they be any more obvious??

Comm 300: Because I'm Black

I've been doing research today for our research project, and I came across some YouTube videos that are really good. They are created by black people and address what will happen to them because 'They Are Black'. This one is the most recent one I found, I liked the dichotomy between the two people. This one is also awesome when she first started I thought she was being serious.
Remember, black stereotypes were first propogated by slave holders, to help them feel better, allow themselves to sleep at night, and to make white southern women seem that much better.

Com 229: Where the Wild Things Are

I was sooo excited to see this movie. It was my favorite book growing up, except for If You Give A Moose A Muffin, of course. And I decided that I was going to treat myself and my grandma and have a wonderful outing. Everything went great... until the movie.
To be honest, I have never been more disappointed in a 'children's' movie than I have with this one. I'll be honest some kid focused movies are junk, but this one topped it all. All I can figure is that something went wrong with the script. Some one threw junk on the page, and some producer ate it up!!! It's probably down to the fact that the screenwriter had to make up a plot, because there really wasn't all that much to work with from the book. But, man... not even the little kids in the theatre would sit down for it. If I hadn't had my grammy with me I would have walked.
I won't spoil anything for anyone reading this, because who knows you might just like it. But, in all honesty, I would recommend waiting until it comes out on the Redbox before you watch it. It really isn't worth the 7.50 you have to pay for the ticket.

Comm 300: Production

So, I am going to stick with the topic of Twilight for this blog also.. I know.. I know!!! but, I can't help it I am reading the series now and it is on my mind. But, anyways for this week I watched the film Lost in La Mancha, which takes a look at the production aspect of movies. Very interesting, but depressing because the movie still hasn't been completed yet. But, that is a whole nother story.
But, I am wondering now about the production of New Moon. Twilight I guess had a very very small budget, and it was the director's first time doing a movie... what luck that it turned out to be a great success. What I am really interested in is how the budget of New Moon has been effected by the huge success of Twilight. I'm sure that the producers took one look at it and said "Yes!!! We will give you millions more to make this movie even better." It only makes sense.. as awful as the first one was I am intrigued by the second one. (Really though, I'm hoping that an increased budget will have helped it along a little bit...)

Comm 229: Belated Halloween Story

Allright, so for Halloween I ended up staying at home, as I had the whole weekend off. And instead of working on homework, I decided to watch Ghost Hunters live.
Now, I have never really watched this show, just every so often. Mostly I have been disappointed with this show, it tends to be a whole lot of hype with nothing to show for it. BUT!!! This top five scariest count down was freakin' awesome. I ended up only watching two of the episodes because they were really freaking me out. The lighthouse was wicked haunted. They have footage of someone/something looking over the railing down at them... with none of the investigators at the top of it. Talk about freaky!!!!
Of course, I think TAPS is an interesting group because they go into the haunted places to try and disprove the fact that there is a haunting. They do they're absolute best to try and figure out what natural phenomenons are creating the disturbances that people are witnessing. I think that that is pretty awesome... not taking the easy way out.

comm 300: No television

So, I have found difficulties with posting blogs for this class because I pretty much don't watch that much television. Every so often I will get an urge to watch , but I mostly focus on Food Network. But, really and truly my media love is books.So, today I am going to talk about books.
To my horror, I must admit that I am now a fan of the Twilight series. Let's get one thing clear before we move on: I only like the book, the movie is absolute trash and should never have made it to the screen. So, I have only read the first book, waiting with bated breathe for the second one to arrive so I can continue our adventure. But, I was surprised to note one small difference between the book and the moving. The movie follows the book fairly closely, and in the baseball scene one of the bad vampire's is a black man with great dreds. In the book however, during this same exact scene, this black vampire is actually pretty white. I believe he has some color, but is not black.
So, that raises some questions for me of course. Did they change the character color in the movie to fit Affirmative Action? Or did they decide that this actor was better suited for the part. What exactly motivated this decision?? We could get some interesting answers out of this question couldn't we??

Comm 229: Chapter nine

So, like a dummy the other day I was doing homework for this class and I read chapter nine. Of course, after I've read the chapter I find out that it is actually chapter 10 that we are reading for this week. Exciting...
But, I figured that this opportunity could not be wasted, I might as well get my blogging done. To my horror, I haven't been on here in over a week...there goes all of my points.
But, neway, chapter nine talks about advertisement. It's a really good read, actually very interesting. But,as I'm reading this chapter I am reminded of Michael Crichton's book Next. This is a fairly good book, not as good as his other ones... Jurassic Park and such things,but they all can't be winners can they? But, anyway. This book talks little bit about advertisement too, mostly of where advertisement might be going. One such example from the book is using animals as advertisement billboards. Anything can happen right?
So, I recommend that you read some of his work. Next is fairly good, but I really really love Jurassic Park, Sphere, Timeline... basically all his other ones. Except of course, The Great TRain Robbery total rubbish...

Comm 229: Awesome Impressions

So, for this last chapter we were talking about audiences. And we watched videos of people making new videos about old songs. And I know that I posted about it a couple of days ago with the t-shirts. But, I think another type of fandom is being able to make yourself sound like a famous actor. I happened across this video, and this guy is freaking awesome. I know there was that comedian out there a couple of months ago, but he could only really do George W. Bush. This guy, Josh, does waaaaay more than George W. and he has an amazing Morgan Freeman impression. I just wanted to share the awesomeness. Allright, so I am having trouble uploading the video so I am just going to have to give you the link to check it out.

Comm 300: Disney

Once again, I was stumbling across the internet and was surprised to come across a website dedicated to Disney, and the messages it has produced. After clicking around the site for a little while I came across the link to the original uncut version of Fantasia. The part with the female centaurs in it. Little did I know that they wanted to have a black horse as a servant for all these girls!!! I figured that some of you would like to take a look at it. Here's the link so that you can check it out.

Comm 229: Star Wars t-shirts

I stumbled across some really great Star Wars t-shirts. These guys have created brand new looks with the old Star Wars characters we love. It is certainly an interesting medium for fandom. Here's the link so that you can check it out.

Comm 300: T-shirt

I decided to Stumble this evening while waiting for Hocus Pocus to end. Great movie, one of my favorites. But anyway, I came across this new Star Wars t-shirt that some fans have come up with. I thought it was pretty relevant to the class because we are talking about the Chicano movement right now.

Comm 300: Trident Commercial

so, the other night I am watching television and a new Trident Layers commercial comes on. And supposedly, this gum is so good that you would be willing to be paid in gum. It's interesting that there are minorities in this commercial, and they aren't showcased in a stereotypical way. The best example is at the very end of the commercial, there is an Asian construction worker who complains that he doesn't get paid in gum. This is interesting, because most times a person of Asian descent will be put in an office position of some sort. And this time, he's just a regular joe doing construction. I'm going try and find the commercial online.. but am having no luck currently.

comm 229: Zombieland

Oh man!!!! I just saw this movie last night and it was wicked awesome. You have to love Woody Harrolson. (or however it is you spell his last name). This movie was really very well done, and was actually very funny. I must admit that I was a trifle worried that it wouldn't be as good as everyone has said it is. Sometimes I tend not to like 'funny' movies. For example: Anchorman.
But, anyway. In one scene of the movie Tallahassee and Columbus are hijacked (again) and the little girl is in the back seat. Columbus mentions her efficiency with a gun, and do you know what she replies? "It's all those violent video games".
So there!! to anyone who says that the violence we see in films is all negative. One day it just may help us fight off zombies.

Comm 300 and Comm 229: Sprite Commercial

I know I don't usually do a double post, I try to keep them separately but this commercial is relevant to both of my comm classes.
This commercial is a German made commercial which is banned in the United States. After watching This Film is Not Yet Rated and learning that we condone violence over sex, you will understand exactly why this film is banned.
Then, of course one of the only characters in this film is an African American male whop is engaged in a common stereotype that surrounds his minority status in regards to sexual prowess. I hope you all enjoy it.
Of course, tell me what you think.

Comm 300: A song for us

I was listening to 92.9 the other day and a wicked awesome song came on. It's by a new band called Muse and the title of it is Uprising.
First of it's an awesome song!!! I am in love with it. But the chorus reminds me so much of our class, talking about the Chicano movement and how other minorities are struggling to find their places in the media.
The Chorus goes something like this: They will not force us. They will stop degrading us. They will not control us. We will be victorious.
And the way it is played is like a marching song. I definitely encourage you to listen to it. Here is the Muse link. When you get to this page just click on Media player at the top and it will take you right to the song.
Awesome!!!!

Comm 229: Che Guavera

Eric and I went to dinner the other night at a pretty nice bar. It's the Battleship Brewery in Fall River. I've lived here for almost three years and only just noticed this place that's tucked into the corner. (But, of course that is a discussion for a different day). Anyway, we are sitting down at our table and I am casually watching the group in front of us. I have a terrible habit of people watching when I am out at restaurants. They are all so interesting!!! But, anyways. A couple of guys walk in and very soon they start talking very loudly about how they love Che Guevara.
I was shocked. I hadn't even really heard of him until we started reading Chapter 7 in our book. Then, here I am just sitting at the table minding everyone else's business when he crops up again. I just thought that was pretty neat-o how things I am reading about in class get played out in the real world.
By the way, wouldn't recommend their clam cakes, but I would definitely have their Manhattan chowda again.

Comm 300: Chicano Movement

Since we are reading about the Chicano Movement, I was wondering what would pop up if I googled it. And, I found this really cool website that breaks down the Chicano Movement into parts. It also has some really neat pictures on it, that are taken from the era of the Chicano Movement itself. It's really awesome that the internet has enabled us to learn more about these movements which would have become obscure without the vigilance of historians to write them down.

Here's the url for the website I found. http://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/chicano/chicano.html

Comm 229: A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

I came across this photo Stumbling, I thought it was pretty good.


It's interesting how one thing that happens on one media source the VMA awards then gets translated into different media works. I had also found a video of a stand up comedian telling a joke about Kanye's little problem with interrupting people. It was really good. I'm going to have to try and find it and post it for you guys.

Comm 300: I am Joaquin

I just watched this film clip and I really enjoyed it. It's a very interesting film using only still photographs instead of the movies we are used to seeing. I thought that this did a wonderful job of allowing you to focus in on the narrator's words, instead of what you are seeing on the screen. Since watching this film I want to try and watch the other two films that Noriega talks about in his first chapter, though I'm not sure if they will be available. I'll post links if I find them.

Comm 229: The Belgariad

I am taking a Women's History course with Professor Lowe this semester, and it's really interesting. Of course we have gone into the discussion of the Republican Mother, and the Ideology of True Womanhood. What a bunch of crap that is..
But, I am rereading The Belgariad, by David Eddings. It is an awesome series, filled with monsters and adventures and romance of course. But, it's interesting because books are a media source, though we often forget about it. And in these books Polgara, who is a sorceress and a character of great importance is basically spoon feeding us the Ideology of True Womanhood. What crap is that?? She is constantly being shown contently sewing up shirts or cooking food and things. And her life's dream is to get married settle down and do housework!!!!
I find it so disappointing that the books I love are trying to get me to think that a woman's perfect place is within the home, tending to torn shirts and food...

Comm 229: Observe and Report

First off, let me tell you that this movie blows. Truly you don't want to waste your money on it. Unfortunately, I watched the whole thing last night, but I figured I wouldn't let this horrid experience go to waste.
A couple of chapters ago our book was discussing how visual and audio clues will inform you as to what type of movie you are going to see. Every single commercial I saw for this movie showed it as being a comedic movie about a mall cop, who terrorizes the citizens. They lied. This movie was not funny at all, and it was more a look into the life of an average citizen who does the same job over and over again, who is being pushed around by the system.
Now, why would we think this is a comedy???? SETH ROGAN. They chose him for this role, and we all assumed that he would be doing another funny movie. Horrible misconception. What is interesting though is for the 'bad cop' they chose the actor from the 'Goodfella's'. Though, he wasn't very mafia like in this movie, he was definately a bad ass.

Comm 300: Exclusion from the beginning

I had my women's history class on Tuesday and we are currently looking at women's experience during westward expansion. Of course, when you first think about women, I think about white women, it isn't until a bit later that you realize that you have forgotten about the Mexican women who had already occupied California and the southwest, or the Native American women who helped these traveler's over the course of their journey, or the Chinese women who came over with their husbands during the gold rush.
During this class Professor Lowe (who's great), asked us all to close our eyes and think about the West. All of us in the classroom thought of the same thing: a vast land with empty grasslands, perhaps some savage native Americans roaming around, but mostly nothing but expectations. This of course isn't the truth, but it is an idea that we have thought of since the 1800's!!! It is incredible how ingrained these thoughts become, and of course all of them came from media sources, even way back when. The Buffalo Bill show was the first one to start it, and it has persisted to today.
No wonder it is so hard to change these ideas. They get ingrained, and before long the whole nation just sits back and thinks that that is exactly how things are supposed to be.

Comm 300: Action Heroes

Allright, so I'm watching Transporter 2, and that got me thinking about how many action heroes aren't white. And honestly, I can't think of very many. Of course, the first one that comes to mind is Blade but he's not really an action hero, I don't think that being a half vampire, killing machine really counts in this catagory. It's a great movie, but it's not a role that could happen in real life, unlike the Transporter, there could be some guy somewhere working for the mafia dropping packages off. There probably really is.Though, I would have to argue that Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp fiction was a pretty awesome character, but wouldn't really categorize him as a hero.
Now of course I tend to focus on African Americans, because they are the first minorities that come to mind. But what about Asian good guys? Is Jackie Chan really the only one? Some of his original movies made in China are really awesome, but there aren't that many Chinese heroes in Hollywood films, that focus upon an action theme. I wonder how different Star Wars or Indian Jones would be if they had a minority as the main character...

Comm 229: Movies as a Commercial

So, in the book it talks about how televisions shows and movies now a days seem to only be a commercial for certain product. I was just watching Transport 2, and couldn't help but notice that the entire movie is an Audi commercial. Every time they went to do a stunt in the car, they made sure to show the emblem. I mean, don't get me wrong, it is a sweeet looking car. But, really? Are they that desperate for money from
Audi that they need to be that obvious about it.
So, over the next couple of days I want to watch some t.v. and see what other brands come out in the television shows I am watching. I know some of them are quite obvious but others are hopefully not so.

Comm 300: My Name is Earl

My Name is Earl is my favorite show that is out. One of my favorite characters is Darnell. Darnell is a black man who has been placed in the Witness protection program, we haven't quite learned what he did to deserve this. But anyway, Darnell is an interesting character because he has to pretend to be stupid. He is married to Joy, who is the quintessential white trash woman. And, in order to fit in, he has to play dumb. However, he is wickedly smart as he admitted a couple of seasons ago he graduated high school at fourteen and was through with college by 20. Every so often the writers give him lines which show that he is in fact a very educated black man. For Example, on "Sweet Johnny" Joy buys a gun, and Darnell is very offended. When he trades the gun in for a honey glazed ham, he tells Joy that perhaps the 'boys brought it to school because they mentioned being downtrodden and depressed." Great line.
Of course, the other minority on the show, Catalina, is an illegal immigrant working as a maid in the motel where Earl is living, and of course she works at Club Chubby as a 'bouncer'...
This show is awesome, and it really is the characters that make it great.

Comm 229: New Scary Movie

Everyone knows that in every story ever there is the evil step mother. Interestingly enough, Hollywood has decided to go a different route. I just watched a commercial for a new scary movie entitled 'Stepfather'. In this movie, the new father is the bad guy who goes around murdering people. This is a great new twist, because a lot of the 'family' scary movies that have been released focus upon the mother or step mother who goes around terrorizing the kiddies. I'm thinking that I'll have to see this movie, see just how horrible a step father can be..
Oh, also. Where the Wild Things Are. Gonna see it. I am super excited to see this movie, this was my most favorite book when I was little. It makes me want to go out and buy it... just to remember.

Comm 300: The Cleveland Show

Sunday night was the pilot for the Cleveland show. I rather liked it, though it will take some getting used to having Cleveland as the main character, because I absolutely loooove Family Guy. I don't quite understand why the next door neighbor is a russian bear who hides his smoking from his wife, but I suppose we will find that out in later episodes. It was actually quite interesting that this pilot mentioned something that we had read about in Gray's book.
The daughter, Roberta, is talking to Cleveland about television shows and mentions that white people never make television shows that black people want to watch. And then, as if to prove the point a clip a show comes on entitled "That's what I was saying before." I don't get the reference but perhaps that's a line from an older black comedy??

Comm 229: Re-Representation

I rather liked the idea that the book proposes that the media is a re-representation of real life. In a way it makes the media seem that much better. They really aren't showing what real life is, I mean we all know that but it's hard to get over the fact that they aren't. It's relieving to know that really, truly real life looks nothing like what we see on the television, and that includes the good, the bad and the ugly. Though in a way, it's almost that much worse. The media is a re-representation, and they are striving for a perfection that will never exist. So we are all caught up in this perfection that will never, ever exist. Though, I suppose if the media only showed how the real world actually is no one would watch it. I would guess that that is what the news is for... let you know what's actually going on. Though, if we take OutFoxed into account the news isn't all that reliable either.

Comm 229: My Name is Earl

Allright, I'll admit it. I am in love with this show. Well, I am in love with seasons 1-3 of this show. I just watched one of the new season four episodes, and I must admit I am a bit disappointed. They must have gotten a new writer or something, because something is off.
I believe it's because this show hasn't started the same as all the other shows. They've tried to switch things up a bit, and I must say that I don't like it. Of course, I'm going to give it a try, it is one of my favorite shows. But, it's a bit disappointing to know that shows can just be changed due to a small change in the way the show starts and what is depicted in it. And of course, this season got off to a shaky start because Earl was in the hospital...

Comm 300: The King and I

Watching the music video of Burn Hollywood Burn, and seeing the black characters from early movies got me thinking about the time not so long ago when white actors painted their faces to become black. Then of course, the ball got rolling and I started thinking about other movies and shows that have taken a white actor and passed them for a minority. The first one that came to mind was The King and I.
The king is supposed to be the king of Siam, which is an Asian country, I believe it's Taiwan or Vietnam. One of those two, but anyway. The actor who was chosen to play this role is a white man. A more recent movie in which a white woman played a woman of color is Changeling, and the actress was Angelina Jolie.

Comm 229: Visual Cues

I just saw a trailer for Couples Retreat, which is a new Vince Vaughn movie. It looks great, but what really caught my eye was because it had great audio visual cues to help you figure out what kind of movie you are going to see. There are all sorts of scenes where Vince Vaughn's character is in a situation that some one would usually rather not be in. Mostly this has to do with a super ripped yoga instructor who seems to insist on being touchy feely. The greatest audio cue that lets you know that this is a comedic movie about reatreats is the fact that they decided to use Green Day's Welcome To Paradise song as the background music.

Comm 300: Comcast

Today I have the day off, and have decided to pretty much do nothing. So, like the couch potato that I am, I have decided that I am going to watch television today. I was watching the Disney Channel Remember the Titans when they aired a commercial about some of the features that Comcast offers on it's On Demand Screen.
Interestingly enough, Comcast now offers a service which allows you to look at Wanted photos so that the average citizen can now help track down the criminals. The problem I have with this commercial is that they show some of the wanted photos and every single on of them was either a person of color or a minority of some sort. Not a single one of them in this commercial was white. Absolutely terrible.

Comm 300: Commercials

I'm watching television the other day, which is a lot of what I do. Boar's Head has a new commercial for it's Everroast Chicken breast, which is said to be better than grandma's. This commercial is interesting because it is the first commercial in a long long time, that I've seen with a black person in it. There is a black grandmother kind of off to the side in this commercial, and though she doesn't have any lines to say, she's there. I think it's great that she's in there, I just wish that there were more minorities in commercials. I can't even think of a commercial that has a Hispanic person in it, or a Chinese person in it.

Comm 229: Narrative

So, I've been thinking about Chapter two that we had to read for last week. And about the different narratives that occur within different medias. What I'm interested in are the new commercials that are coming out which are telling their own narratives. You know the ones I'm talking about, like the Quizno's commercials.
The first one takes place in the store and the worker is being spoken to by the toaster. " Put it in me Brian.." Then of course, that motif goes on for awhile. Now, Brian is at a psychiatrists because the toaster doesn't actually talk.
I just think it's kind of neat that these commercials are getting us into the stories of the people who are in them. I really really like the Twix commercials with the guy and the girl.
here is the first one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQJ2SegGWyc
I still haven't figured out how to get videos on here... any help would be great.

Comm 300: Procrastination

I knew it was going to happen, I just never realized that it would happen this quickly. Perhaps its because I'm a senior and I am sooo ready to be done with the school thing already. But, this week was terrible for me in getting all of my work done.
Though, I find that leaving the postings on Discussion Board till Wednesday was not as terrible as I might have thought it would be. The last online class I had there were about ten thousands posts made everyday. It's very nice that this one is much less dense.
But of course talking about procrastinating reminds me of the projects. I'm such a dork, but I really want to do something about the televised elections of black political leaders. I'm not talking about Obama though. What I really want to do it on is someone like Harold Washington. That NPR thing really got to me. I'd love to see a black mayor who was elected twice in a row and lived through it and compare and contrast between each election run. It would be interesting to do a comparison between black political leaders from different parts of the country. See if the south televises the candidates any differently... hmmm I'm gonna have a lot of thinking to do

Comm 229: CSI MIAMI

I remember watching this show for the first time and I absolutely hated it. And so, I was a bit leery about having to watch two episodes of this CSI that I don't care for. I am in love with the Las Vegas division however.
But, much to my surprise I really liked both episodes. I enjoyed how they had the first ever episode tie in so nicely with the Las Vegas CSI. I have never watched season openers ever before, so it was really neat watching them introduce the themes that we are going to be seeing in later MIAMI shows. For example, whenever I turn on CSI: Miami, I swear that that Eric kid is in the water. I never realized that the water was so nasty though, talking about taking antibiotics.
Though, I'm still left hanging about what exactly happens when honey comes into contact with plastic wrap.

Comm 300: American Life

This was the first time I have ever listened to the NPR radio, and I was really impressed. I was really interested in the first point that the host brought up in his introduction, when he was talking about the qualities of Harold Washington. He described Harold in almost the same terms that Cornel West describes a good black leader.
Harold Washington was an amazing speaker, it was so great to hear a politician speak the truth about the situation in certain parts of the neighborhood. It was fantastic how he was able to wipe the floor with the other two candidates. Excellent speaker.

Comm 229: The Power of Books

I find it interesting that I have been subjected to the media through books and have actually sucked up what they were telling me. The most recent episode of this was a few months back when I went on a Romance novel kick. The books were mostly o.k. they got pretty predictable after a while, but I was hooked. I remember putting one of these romance novels down and thinking about why my boyfriend wasn't able to be as perfect as the man in the book. I mean if she can have it so can I.
I eventually decided against reading Romance novels because I figured they were a bad influence. More recently I've come to the realization that my boyfriend has been greatly impacted by The Belgariad. I was rereading it the other day and there was a life lesson in there and I realized that he had adopted almost all of the lessons that were contained within the book.

Comm 229: Outfoxxed

This was the first time I have watched this video in its entirety. I had seen bits and pieces of it, but I never realized what movie it came from. I really enjoyed it, I thought that it was well done, and very very enlightening. I couldn't believe how O'Reilly treated the Glick kid. Almost a year later and O'Reilly was still bashing him.
So, since I've seen this film and have had my eyes opened to a very interesting aspect of the Fox news network I wanted to share my knowledge. I had my chance at my Grandmother's birthday party. Somehow we got talking about the news and so I eagerly explained to everyone how Fox news tells its reporters what to say and how to say it. Holy crap, it was like I had told them I created the nuclear bomb. They all went off, and do you know why??? Because every single one of them watches the Fox News Network. They all got sucked into it, and wouldn't even listen to what I had to say.

Comm 300: Old Shows

I watched an episode of The Cosby Show. It must have been a bad one "Play it Again, Russell" because I couldn't focus on it. Though, while watching it I realized that Cosby was acting as Cliff the way that he tells his jokes. I just thought that was really interesting.
Watching this show has made me think of other shows that Gray mentions in chapter four. Mostly, it got me thinking about cops. It's terrible, but bring me videos of white criminals that have done something other than drunk driving. Almost every other crime is committed by a person who is not white. Could you imagine what people would think of us if they only watched cops? Well hell, white people only really get drunk and drive around, occassionally beat their wives. Not too shabby. Those other guys though, they are the real trouble makers. Absolutely terrible. The worst part about it is that the media changes our perceptions of what's going on. I remember learning in an intro to criminal justice class that the rate of robberies had gone down. However, due to media coverage of robberies most people in the United States were under the impression that robberies were getting worse. Isn't that just dandy?

Comm 300: Semenya

So, there is more news about Caster Semenya and her test results. They are inconclusive. What this means to me is that they really wanted those test results to come back and say that actually she is a man, and can no longer run on the women's track. But, since that has not happened her results are going to be sent to a different lab for verification. They are going to be releasing her information in November.
I really hope that she comes back positive as a woman and that they apologize profusely to her. I think they are just pissed that she was able to kill on the 800 meter race.

Comm 229: Video Games

So, yesterday in a post I mentioned about how movies and media change due to the audience interaction. The audience wants to see something new and it is provided. But to get to my point...
My boyfriend just got Batman: Arkham Asylum. What's interesting about this video games is that it has incorporated parts of our everyday life into the video game. For instance, while Batman is running around the Asylum the monitors attached to the walls are continually playing an interview with one of the doctors. Except when the Joker has taken over the video monitors of course. What's really interesting is at the end of this interview it tells the viewer to go visit the Arkham Asylum website.
I just thought it was interesting that the video game has incorporated parts of our culture outside of the video game world. It makes the game that much more realistic... well as realistic as you can get with Batman.

Oh yeah, and the video game is awesome. Totally recommend it to anyone. I haven't played it yet, but I've watching Eric with it and I am dying to give it a try.

Comm 300: Gray's Book

I'm a bit disappointed with this book. Looking at the title "Watching Race" I thought that he was going to go into detail about how different shows are representing race in different ways. That type of stuff. Instead what I got was a long discussion about the politics and intrigue behind some of the shows. Not at all what I wanted or expected. It's not that I don't like the book... it's just that I don't want to read it. I find it a bit dry and boring. I wanted television shows to be analyzed by him, but maybe I haven't gotten far enough in it?

Comm 229: The Unborn

Allright, so I am officially upset about The Unborn. It wasn't all that great, and you could call every scary moment before it started. What happened to good horror movies? The ones that really scared you and made you terrified to sleep in the dark??
An interesting point however is that everyone at my house watching this movie knew what was going to happen. We all agreed that something terrible was going to happen just before it did. I find it interesting that horror movies haven't changed in so long that we all know what is going to happen before they happen. So, I am wondering now what director's are going to do to make horror movies scary again. The same old same old isn't going to work for very much longer. I don't want to see the same horror movie over and over again. I find it interesting how the movie industry must change because the audience gets bored with what they have seen. It makes me feel empowered, however little power I actually have.

Comm 229: America's Got Talent Judge's Effect??

Ok, so as we all know I loooove this show. Don't know why I just do. But anyway last night was the results show and we all got to find out who made it.
Of course some of the people I wanted to go through didn't get it. I really wanted Mario and Jenny and the FootWorkKingz to make it. More specifically, I just want them to be picked up somewhere so they can have a job like that. Because... they are both awesome!!!!!
Anyway, I have a funny feeling that the judges have a lot more to do with the outcome of this show than they realize. They can't vote, but I truly think that their opinions help sway the rest of us. For example, FootworkKingz, they had an awesome first show, they were able to show of their stuff. However, Piers didn't really like them. They ended up in the bottom two for that results show. Then, this Tuesday they had a not so great performance, and Piers Xed them. Told them what they did was career suicide. And wouldn't you know it? They got voted off last time. So I think that Piers is the person who is kind of pulling the strings. When he says something negative of a show, I usually end up looking at the contestant with a different more negative light. It may be a coincidence I'll have to keep watching to see if its true. I mean.. next season is gonna be right around the corner.

Comm 300: Reagan

All right, so lately I've been learning things about our President Reagan that really irritates me. The reason I bring him up is because he is extensively mentioned in Herman Gray's Watching Race.
More specifically Reaganism is the focus of of Chapter two in this book. Reaganism is still something that effects us today. For example: on page 17 he talks about the "Welfare Queen" and how she is sucking up all of the money. How Affirmative Action is to blame for what's been happening in America. Well, my mom and several of my aunts still believe this crap. We were at my cousin's wedding and we happened upon the idea of race and I had mentioned that white people have it good in this country. I mean, I haven't had any problems with access to jobs, housing, food, education. Things like that. Minorities have had huge problems with this. But anyway, once I mentioned that white people have it pretty good the above mentioned family members start freaking out. Talking about how Affirmative Action is taking away jobs. How the welfare system is sucking up all of our resources. Honestly, they very well may be. But, they're needed. Whites who have ruled over this country since the beginning have done everything in their power to make sure that there is no such thing as equal opportunities.
Then!!! I was watching a documentary entitled "Weed" it is about marijuana, more specifically the legal history of marijuana. And wouldn't you know that Reagan popped up again. This jerk, wen crazy over drugs in America, he wanted to be the king of the drug jungle. So, the government did an extensive research into the dangers of marijuana. Turns out there really aren't any. And do you know what that jerk did???!!!! He threw away the research. Tossed it into the trash without ever reading it, and then made marijuana a federal offense. Jerk.
So Thank you Mr. Reagan for over reacting.

Comm 229: America's Got Talent

I am absolutely obsessed with this show. I love it, and I can't understand why. It's the only show of this nature that I have actually watched. I mean, besides the day long America's Next Top Model marathons. But anyway. So last nite's performances were amazing!!!!!
I am in love with Barbara Pedia, she makes me want to go to the opera. It's great now that they've put her at the very end of all of the others because she just outshines them all. I was a bit dissapointed with the Footwork Kingz. They are totally awesome, but I wish they had gone a little techier than they did. Don't get me wrong Power rangers are awesome... but I didn't really want to see them.
Also, a bit disappointed with Mario and Jenny. I just want to see him light things on fire...

I can't wait to see who goes through to the next round. I am guessing that Henry Ou, Eric and Ricky, and FootworkKingz are going to be voted off. Maybe I'm right.. we'll have to see tonight at 9

Comm 300: Really?

Ok, so today I'm sitting in my History of Modern Japan class. Me and a couple of my classmates were discussing the horribleness of having to buy textbooks. How expensive they are, and of course every year I end up buying double because they never come in when I need them.. So, anyway we got around to talking about buying books back and keeping some. I happened to have Cornel West's book with me, and I held it up and said that I would be keeping it, because even if I never read it again it looks good on the shelf. Then, the gentlemen next to me (he's a bit older, one of those students who has come back to get a degree) looks at the book and in all seriousness says, "I'd be disgusted if I had to read that book." Really??? We're in college!!!! We're supposed to be expanding our horizons and learning new perspectives and picking up books you've probably never heard of before. I couldn't believe it. Still can't believe. I mean come on.

And then of course, in my womens history course, we were discussing Caster Semenya. She is a South African woman who just won a gold medal in the 800 meter run. The officials for the competition are contesting her gender, they think she's a man who's been dressing like a woman just because she happened to be absolutely awesome. The officials have called in all sorts of scientists to test her on genetic levels to find out if she is actually a woman. Really?? Is this necessary? She's an exceptionally gifted athlete and they are trying to take that away from her by saying that she's a man. As horrible as it is, I can't help wondering if she were white, would they do this? (The video of her race will be up here soon..)

Comm 229: The Internet

To put it simply, I am in love with Stumble. I just stumbled upon the blog of Tim Ferris It turns out that Tim Ferris is a 29 year old who is called a lifestyle experimenter. And lives out different living scenarios that are offered by the media.
But, as always the Stumble button called to me, and I clicked on. I happened across a page that explains exactly what someone should do when they encounter a
bear. Turns out you try to back out of there first, and then before running or doing anything else, you hit the bear with bear mace.
Talk about being able to bring information to me. The Stumble button is a beautiful addition to the internet.

Comm 229: The Future of Movies?

So, the newest scary movie that's coming out in theaters is "Final Destination:3-D", which of course is going to suck. Honestly, you can only beat that story line into the ground for so long before we all start to bleed, and beg for it to end.
However, bashing this horrible horror film is not my intention. I have recently noticed that many movies are coming out in 3-D. One of the first dates my boyfriend and I went on was to see "Open Season" in 3-D. This is the new big thing. So of course I'm curious, where exactly is 3-D going to be going. I have speculated ( with disapproval from my boyfriend) that all movies will soon be in 3-D, and that eventually I think that they will be basically interactive, where the audience really is living the movie. Luckily for me, it looks like I'm right!

I came across this article today: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/08/21/avatar.day.james.cameron/. Where they talk about an upcoming 3-D movie, and how it's going to effect Hollywood. Personally, I'm excited. And of course, once all of our movies are in 3-D, we're going to want all of our news and other media to be in 3-D. Imagine living in a world like Star Wars, where voice messages really are a person in the middle of the air talking to you. Freakin' Awesome.

Comm 300: The Unanswerable Question

So, I just finished watching both sections of Eyes on the Prize, all I can think about is the violence against people that we saw. It was violence against children, and one would think that adults would know better. And then, in the second portion it was violence against people just because they were different colors. In the words of the little girl in the first portion: "It's not fair."
Why does the world have to operate on this level? I find myself feeling that a lot of the racial problems this country has and is experiencing has to do with the fact that we have separated ourselves into different categories. We have African Americans, Latin Americans, Mexican Americans, German Americans, and regular Americans. I don't know about anyone else, but when I hear 'American' I immediately think of a white man.
I personally feel that we may have more success if we got rid of the differentials between Americans. Why do we have to separate black Americans with white Americans. Why can't we all just be American? I believe that once we get rid of the differential language between different groups of American citizens that we will be one step closer to a more equal society.
We learned that 'separate but equal' does not exist. It doesn't work, separate is inherently unequal. So, why do we still separate ourselves according to the color of our skin, or our backgrounds?

Movie Madness

I haven't been this excited about going to the movies in the longest time. Firstly, I have discovered the AMC theatre in Dartmouth, where every movie ticket is five dollars, any time, any day except for Fridays and Saturdays. That means that I can finally get all the candy and soda I want.

Of course, going to the movies wouldn't be as great if there weren't awesome movies out this summer. The first one that must be mentioned is of course, Harry Potter. Even for the non-Harry Potter fan this was a great movie. I haven't been impressed with a Harry Potter movie in a long long time, they always seem to butcher the great story line out of it, and end up giving you an amalgamation of stupid facts. Not this one!!!
The second great movie out this summer is District 9. All that can truly be said is "Awesome movie, everyone needs to see it".
The last movie I've seen this summer and have been truly, truly impressed with is Let the Right One In. This is a Swedish vampire movie, and it is the best vampire movie I've seen since Interview with the Vampire. This movie is so unlike Twilight that it was a relief to see it. Supposedly, some director is going to be Americanizing it, which is truly a shame

Going to the movies has always been one of my most favorite things to do, and this summer and next year look to be real block buster treats.