Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Man's Last Stand and Gender

The media text that I decided on was one that I have seen before and really enjoyed because of its creativity, but also due to how sexist it really was and how the entire commercial was based on patriarchal gender ideals and what we have been socialized, or in some cases, brainwashed to believe.  This commercial was from last year’s superbowl in 2010 and was considered one of the funniest out of the bunch because it shared the inner thoughts of men when they are standing in front of you with a blank stare on their face.  It is called “Man’s Last Stand” and it’s an advertisement for the Dodge Charger car.  
The first words from this advertisement are “I will wake up and walk the dog at 6:30 AM, I will eat some fruit as part of my breakfast, I will shave, I will clean the sink after I shave.”  It is important to note that as far as race, there is a good amount of diversity but not nearly enough to consider it an equal opportunist advertisement considering they only really showed four men in the entire commercial and the one that had the most focus in the end was an attractive middle aged white male in a business suit.  This is what Silverblatt, Ferry and Finan call “A Hierarchal (Rather than a Democratic World).  Where the main star of the group (who is the one that drives the car in the end) is the leader while the men that are the supporting cast are left in the background leaving the decision making to the main actor.
It’s unfair how the Dodge Charger commercial took the top least oppressed population, which is white, middle class, heterosexual males and turned them into something that everyone should feel sorry for because they have to deal with things such as putting the toilet seat down. There is a phrase for white privilege that women’s studies and family studies students like to call an “invisible line of power” that white privilege gives a person and it is plastered on both the Dodge Charger and the Spoof commercial.  It goes along with a deeper understanding than just class, and gender.  

Monday, June 6, 2011

Portland Public School

    Over the years schools have gone through a roller coaster in funding and how they are going to get those funds.  Due to this lack in support from the government and school board they have come to conclusions that take away importances of school learning.  They cut sports, arts, and music which are extremely important in the way a student learns and finds passion in learning.  For some reason people don't put together that if you are participating in sports you are required to get at least a 2.5 grade point average.  If you do get anything lower than a 2.5 you have to sit out of any game or performance and also have to take a study class so you have the time to improve the grades. 
    In portland public school news for may "Gov. John Kitzhaber proposed a State School Fund budget for 2011-13 that falls $1.1 billion short of the level that legislative fiscal analysts say is necessary to keep Oregon school districts running as they are now." With this kind of proposal the schools would have a two year fall and an 85 million dollar loss.  This means that not only will programs from all of the portland public schools be cut, but also hundreds of teachers and professors would lose their jobs and push us even deeper into a recession that we are currently struggling to get out of financially and mentally.  
    The inner workings of media such as twitter, facebook and blogs have had a strong opinion for what to do with Portland Public Schools.  Jack Bog's Blog shows a deep disappointment and anger towards what happened with the measure and as a parent, what his kids had to go through in order to push the survival of Portland Public Schools. This is what one of the bloggers suggest for portland public schools "If you really want to fix the schools, tell your elected representatives that you want the money that's being earmarked for trains and streetcars spent on schools instead. Call Earl Blumenauer, Mr. Bike and Rail, and tell him that you want federal stimulus money spent on school upgrades, not real estate scams."  I completely agree that there is way too many funds spent on things that are not necessary or immediate such as school education for the young children or Portland, Oregon.