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Why can’t girls play with guns too?

. In this video, the Nerf company, Hasbro, collaborates with Dude Perfect. Dude Perfect is a group of guys who record and share trick shots to impress their online audiences. Although their videos are interesting and fun to watch, women are not represented at all. The Nerf-Dude Perfect advertisement also underrepresents females and is clearly directed towards boys ages 9-15. The ad showcases a new gun as preteen boys compete in a Nerf battle against the guys from Dude Perfect. From experience, Nerf fights can be a co-ed activity. In fact, girls are just as competitive in the fight and enjoy it just as much as the boys.

The issue of underrepresentation of females in this context is much larger than just Nerf. This underrepresentation supports the stereotype that women do not partake in any action with a weapon involved. Today’s U.S. military is made up of 16% women and there’s an increase of attendees. This increase has been seen in the stats of female hunters as well. Around 14% of hunters are female, and the number is growing. The reason the number is so small to begin with, is because of the stereotype that women don’t use weapons or fight. This Nerf commercial does not help to disprove this claim, in fact, it supports it. With mass media and the internet as relevant as they are today, commercials can influence people in many ways. Therefore, this Nerf ad only reinforces this degrading stereotype of women into viewers’ minds. Unfortunately, this is an example of a typical ad you would see for a toy weapon. The box may say “for boys,” but anybody can play with them. 

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The documentary, The Mask You Live in, is a documentary that focuses on boys and the problems of what is socially acceptable to be masculine. How boys are supposed to act and what role they play in society. They’re supposed to be strong and not show emotion such as sadness. The documentary digs into why boys feel the need to not share their feelings and how it can lead to issues. Men and boys share their stories about the problems with growing up as a boy and the troubles they go through trying to be someone they’re not, so they’re seen as masculine from their peers. This documentary helps show that gender is socially constructed because let’s say you’re a male and have a loud pitch voice, then people assume or joke that your gay because “gay people talk like that.” Or if you cry or don’t fight, you’re a sissy. Tony Porter, an educator and activist, was interviewed in the documentary and he say’s, “By the time a boy is five years old, he’s taught not to cry in public. He may do it still, but by the time he’s ten he’s perfected it and if he’s twelve and still crying, there’s a problem.” I thought this was interesting and I agree with him because when we’re young it’s more acceptable to cry and as you get older it becomes less acceptable in society, but it shouldn’t be this way, which also leads to the problem of boys being able to talk about their feelings and pain with someone. The documentary shows that boys don’t like to talk about their feelings and what their going through, which can lead them to become depressed. Depression can lead them to have thoughts to commit suicide, as some of the people interviewed had said. They have so much feelings and thoughts in mind that they can’t handle, and they feel they can’t tell anyone because then they’re seen as less masculine. If they’re depressed, they’re more likely to act out and show aggression. Which can lead to a tragic event such as a school shooting, as mentioned in the video.

           Later in the video a group of boys are sitting in a circle with a teacher, who hands them a sheet of paper with a mask on it. The teacher has them write on the front how they present or show themselves to people and on the back of the mask write what they’re hiding or how they really feel. Most of the kids in the small group had written either sadness, pain, or anger on the back, which isn’t a coincidence. It brings up a good question, why do you think they hold back the pain. People are willing to listen to them, but they don’t want to talk about it. Is it because then they will be seen as less masculine and men aren’t supposed to show emotions?

           Drugs and alcohol are seen to be excuses to be able to show emotion, hug friends, have sex with a girl and not feel afraid of what people will think. Drinking and doing drugs has become more socially acceptable, even though drugs are bad, boys and girls are starting to use more. It’s become expected of you to drink or do drugs and your looked down if you don’t participate. I’ve seen this myself such as if someone doesn’t feel like drinking, people make fun of them. It’s like if you don’t drink or do drugs your not cool. Drugs and alcohol can also be used as a way to help boys with their emotions without having to talk about them. They can drink or smoke marijuana and it will treat they’re loneliness or the psychic pain they’re going through.

           The documentary also talks about technology and how boys’ brains are wired to technology. They’re was a statistic that 99 percent of boys play video games. The violence in video games can have an impact on boys because if they’re playing a violent video game for four hours a day and they’re taking their anger out on people they’re killing in the game; it’s got to have an impact. It raises the question does video games have a positive or negative effect. People say video game violence can lead boys to become violent, which is valid point, but maybe it’s a way to get they’re anger out instead of talking about it with someone. I never really noticed that boys don’t share they feelings, I myself has a hard time sharing my feelings and this documentary allowed me to become aware that lots of other boys are going through the same thing.

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The documentary, Out In The Night, involves a lot of the topics we’ve talked about in class this semester involving gender, sexuality, and race. Four African American lesbians were being harassed by a man, so they attacked him and killed him using a knife because he was harassing them. It was self defense, but the media tells the story a different way. The media makes them look out to be a group of killers even though they were using self protection because they man was harassing them. If he hadn’t provoked them, then it wouldn’t have gone the way it did. The media is just targeting them because of their race and sexuality. It makes you think, If the four lesbians were a different race would the story be told different? Or if they weren’t lesbian? Or if they were males that were gay? The documentary shows the media misrepresented the group and focuses on them more and fails to talk about the other facts of the case. It was a case of self defense and it’s taken in the complete opposite direction. 

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I remember when the song, Love The Way You Lie by Eminem and featuring Rihanna released years ago and enjoyed it for what it was. I thought it started slow and then once Eminem started rapping it became a more fast pace and fun song to listen to. I had never seen the music video and we watched it in class, and it made me change how I interpret the song now. It’s more of a sad song talking about abusive relationships. I also listened to the lyrics more carefully and it made perfect sense because of what they were talking about. Such as the lyrics, “Just gonna stand there and here my cry well that’s alright because I like the way it hurts.” She’s not going to leave because she still cares for him and is going to deal with it because now, she’s use to the relationship being abusive. Noticing these things after watching the video it made me even listen to the lyrics more in the songs, I listen to just to see if I’m interpreting the song correctly or figuring out what the artist is talking about. Watching the music video made me understand the message more and listen to the lyrics more to understand what the performer is trying to communicate.

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UW-Madison Homecoming 2019 video and the lack of diversity present

The University of Wisconsin-Madison released their homecoming 2019 video and it got a lot of backlash for the lack of diversity in the video. A student named, Payton Wade, spoke up on twitter about the video (picture seen above), as well as her personal relationship and feelings toward the school. The video was taken down. This isn’t the only time an incident involving race and diversity has happened at UW Madison. The first time watching the video I hadn’t heard any of the news surrounded by it, so as I’m watching I didn’t find anything to be wrong with the video. I thought it was a well put together video. After watching it and finding out about the backlash the video had gotten. I watched it again and I did notice a significant lack of diversity in the video. I maybe only saw a one or two people that weren’t white. It shocked me because I felt like I was blinded by seeing the lack of diversity present. It’s not that I’m against anyone or any race, but it made me question how the media has influenced me and others to not notice the problem. Racial inequality and gender inequality are seen in many commercials and advertisements and I started to notice that through other examples in class. It’s as if I’m blinded by seeing these issues involved in advertisements and commercials. Watching it in class I know I wasn’t the only one that didn’t notice the lack of diversity watching the video the first time, but the second time it really stood out. This shows that there is an effect by knowing the whole story because without knowing the backlash behind the video I would’ve never thought anything was wrong with the video and it’s unfortunate to say that.

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The Washington Redskins won’t change their name

The John Oliver Commentary is about The Washington Redskins and starts out talking about President Obama visiting the Standing Rock Sioux reservation, becoming the fourth sitting president to ever visit an Indian reservation. His trip was focused on the struggles of Native Americans. While Obama was there the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced they were allowing seventy million dollars available to improve the conditions of tribal housing including the removal of mold. Mold isn’t the only thing they want removed. Native Americans have wanted The Washington Redskins, professional football team, name changed. The Redskins owner, Dan Snyder, made it clear he did not want to change the name of his team. Snyder said, “It is a symbol of everything we stand for: strength, courage, pride, and respect.” He also mentions that they’ve had the team name for eight decades and that’s another good reason not to change the name even though Native Americans have been around way longer. This commentary was published in 2014 and the football teams name has still not changed. I remember this happening and the Oneida Indian nation wanted it change because the word Redskin is labeled as an offensive term. So, I see where the Oneida Indian nation are coming from, but I think the Redskins Owner does have the right to decide whether to change the name or not. I don’t think he means to come off as a bad guy by saying he will never change the name, maybe a little excessive, but he should maybe at least consider it or meet with the Oneida Indian nation. I think he respects where they are coming from, but since there is so much history with the team name it would be hard to change, and it could maybe even affect the team overall. They possibly could lose longtime fans leading to decrease in sales which then obviously affects them financially.

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Here is the link for the Mickey Mouse Monopoly video:

https://uww.kanopy.com/video/mickey-mouse-monopoly-0

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Disney Monopoly

              Disney, one of the biggest companies of all-time comes off as a family friendly company that produces films, tv shows, toys etc. for people of all ages, but corporate power and politics have influence in this billion-dollar company’s films. In this documentary, it explores how corporate and political views and values are incorporated in their films that have an effect on children as they grow up watching their films. Disney comes off as this family friendly company, but Disney is dangerous because of their sublime education that absorbs children’s minds as entertainment. There’s an underlining meaning in their films and some people think it hurts children and some disagree. Henry Giroux, Pennsylvania State University, said, “Disney is political. Disney has made a spectacle of innocence and hides behind innocence in a way that helps separate corporate culture from corporate power and treat Disney as an ultimate form of fantasy, a fantasy that never has to be questioned.” This really opened my eyes and changed my mind on how I view Disney as a whole. I still like Disney, don’t get me wrong, but it’s interesting yet scary on how they influence children’s minds and has an effect on children’s views of certain things that leads them to believe in social norms. Disney owns most of the media that people consume such as ABC, ESPN, and more. We live in a media-based system where we consume a lot of media and Disney it seems has taken advantage of that and incorporate their political and ethical values in the content they release. Giroux was talking about his book on Disney and he said the publisher of his book stopped it from being published and had the cover be changed because the cover had Mickey Mouse in a mouse trap and he didn’t want to get sued by Disney for it. Disney has monopolized the market on how itself is represented. No one wants to mess with Disney because of how much power they have.

              Another thing in the video they talk about is the gender representations of characters in Disney films. It focuses on females particularly and how the image of female characters has changed very little over time. The female characters bodies are highly sexualized with body features such as large breasts, tiny waist, and use their bodies to be seductive certain times. This presents girls with a notion of what femminity is about by using their bodies to get what they want and shapes how girls want to look. I thought this was very interesting because I never thought of it in that way and it brings up a good point. I never noticed it until now because myself watched many Disney films as a kid and could’ve in fact made me believe nothing was wrong with it because I grew up and thought it was normal.

              This documentary is very eye opening and I see where the documentary was going and how Disney could influence and have an effect on children. Personally, if I go back and watch a Disney film I watched as a kid I notice and understand the movie more than when I was a kid. I think as a kid we follow the story as it goes, but don’t necessarily pay attention to what is being said or certain actions the characters do. And were probably too young to understand certain things as a kid and I think we pay more attention to the actions the characters do then what is being said and the deeper meaning behind those actions. Dr. Gail Dives, Wheelock College, said, “It doesn’t really matter if it’s intentional or not because the effect is ultimately the same.” And I agree it may not be intentional, but it does have an effect on children obviously and in a way brainwashes them on how they view things. 

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TED Talk Why Domestic Violence Victims Don’t Leave by Steiner (My Thoughts)

This TED talk is about Leslie Morgan Steiner as she talks about why domestic violence victims don’t leave. She tells her story about being involved in an abusive relationship when she was twenty-two years old. To who she thought was her soul mate would hold a gun up to her head threatening to shoot her and choking her to where she couldn’t breath. She talks about the steps that abusers take to get their victim. Step one is to seduce and charm, step two is to isolate the victim, step 3 is to introduce the violence and see how she reacts, and step 4 if it comes to it is to kill their victim. I thought this was interesting because I didn’t know their was a step system abusers usually followed or acted out. It’s scary to think and it kind of makes sense because if I see a movie or read an article that involves an abusive relationship it seems like they’re a normal person, but once the relationship gets stronger you start to see their true colors. 

Later on, Steiner talks about why she didn’t leave and her answer was because “She was a strong woman in love with a troubled man and she was the only one that could help him face his demons.” I thought that made sense and I guess I can see where she’s coming from. She’s hoping that he will change eventually and he will get better. Steiner also say’s something that caught my attention and it was that the victims know something you don’t and it’s dangerous to leave the abuser because he/she might kill you. She said 70 percent of murders to victims are after the victim leaves the relationship cause the abuser has nothing else to lose. Makes sense and I never thought of that. I always thought why didn’t they just leave and knowing that now makes sense and helps me understand more.

We ask why a victim involved in an abusive relationship would stay and not just leave, but it’s not that easy. There are more reasons to that question and it’s harder to answer than it may seem to be. It’s the victims choice to determine if they want to leave or not and that’s how it should be. We just need to understand that more or learn more about this topic before getting involved in a case of our own or someone we know.

VIDEO LINK:

 https://www.ted.com/talks/leslie_morgan_steiner_why_domestic_violence_victims_don_t_leave?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

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Documenting Hate: Charlottesville Riots (My Thoughts)

Documenting hate is a documentary that follows Adam Clay Thompson as he documents the Charlottesville riots that occurred in August of 2017. 

On August 12 2017, a rally called the Unite the Right rally occurred. It drew in individuals from 35 states and was the largest gathering of white supremacists in a generation. Once the riots broke out there was chaos. It looked like a crime scene and the police didn’t intervene, until a gray dodge charger, driven by a white supremist, slammed through the rally injuring twenty people and killing one. 

The biggest question I had while watching the documentary was why did the police do little to help the situation? There are two specific instances in the documentary that make me think the police own values and views were interfering with their duty as an officer. The first instance was a man named Dre, who was getting beat with a pole by a white supremist and occurred right across the street from the Charlottesville Police station. The thing that really bothered me about this was the footage of police officers standing outside the station watching and doing nothing to stop the beating. It evens shows a civilian yelling for the officers to help Dre and they do nothing. I can’t comprehend the fact they just stood there and watched this man getting beat. It questions if the people we trust to protect and serve our community are even able to do so. Now I’ m not saying all police are like this, but it’s scary to think this situation with the police can ever occur and if it can happen again.

The other instance is once the riots began, footage was shown of a woman getting punched by a white supremist and blood was dripping all over her face. As well as, people fighting and getting hit with objects. Once again there was footage of police doing nothing to stop the violence. Retired FBI Agent, Michael German mentioned in the documentary that since there were white supremist that were from out of state and involved in other riots, the FBI should have been present. This again is scary to think that they had to know there was a possibility riots could ensue at the rally, because it’s happened before and they still didn’t come. And if they did the violence that occurred could’ve maybe been handled better if they were willing to get involved and not stand around. 

Documenting hate: Charlottesville riots was a very interesting video that made me become more aware of the events that occurred and the questionable decisions by the police throughout the riots. Again, I’m not referring that all police are like this, but if another situation like this or any situation occurs and  we can’t look at the police for help, then who do we look to?

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The video is by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and is about the danger of a single story. She talks about how she grew up reading books in which characters were foreign. She believed that all books by nature had to have foreigners in them and be about things in which she couldn’t identify with. She would write stories and they would be similar to the stories she would read because she thought that’s how all books were written. Later on, she discovered African books and it led her to go through a mental shift in her perception of literature in a way that people like her could exist in literature as well. Only having access to British books blocked her from knowing that literature can be more than what she thought it could be. Another story she brings up is about Fide’s family being poor and it surprised her that his family could make something so simple as a basket because she believed since they were poor it was impossible to see them as anything else but poor. That is Chimamanda’s single story of Fide and his family. She goes on to bring up the story of the time she visited Mexico. She said when she was walking through the streets observing what everyone was doing, she felt shame because she had believed the single story of Mexicans that the media had displayed. She was so immersed in media coverage of Mexicans that they had become the abject immigrant in her mind. She had botten the single story of Mexicans. What Chimamanda means by the single story is that the single story is how we perceive someone or something because of who they are or what they look like. The single story creates stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is that they are incomplete. They “Make one story the only story” as Chimamanda says. The single story emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar to each other. If you reject the single story and get to know the whole story of the person you find out everyone has a different story and there is never just one story about them. Overall, I really like the creative approach she took to talk about stereotypes and that the single story is what you as a person tends to believe or create about someone or something without even knowing anything or very much about them. If you reject the single story you realize no one is the same and everyone has a different story.