Build Them Up Just To Break Them Down...

We have all been at that magical age. The age in which we are infatuated with Disney characters and are obsessed with all the magical things that go on in Disney movies. Many little girls dream about one day being in that perfect imaginary world in the arms of their very own prince. Little girls are often so influenced by these ideas of being the perfect princess, that they spend hours fantasizing and dressing up with their very own dresses and beauty accessories. Is it smart to be instilling these ideas to little girls that in order to be happy, successful, and able to find their one true love they must be the perfect “princess”?

With just the flick of the magic wand can every girl turn into a princess? From the Disney movie Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother turns the ordinary pumpkin into an eccentric carriage, the mice into strong horses, the dog into a carriage driver, and lastly plain old Cinderella into an extravagant princess.

These images that are instilled in young girls minds may be harmful in the sense that it encourages them to learn a false sense of reality; that the world revolves around beauty, even though this is not truly the case.

Not only have these fairy tales influenced little girls, but they also seem to have infiltrated the way that romantic comedy movies are produced. To a certain extent almost all of romantic comedies contain a key element taken from fairy tales. This element is that in the end love is almost always guaranteed between the two main characters and they live happily ever after. In the movie She’s All That, Freddie Prince Jr. falls in the love with the nerdy girl Rachael Cook. After Rachael gets her makeover, she then becomes the popular girl who is dating the most popular boy in school. In the end, Rachael gets swept off her feet by her very own prince, Freddy Prince.

Do you think that only little girls are affected by this fantasy world? What about little boys dreaming of becoming that star professional athlete, the athlete that has fame and fortune. Is this highly unlikely dream of theirs comparable to little girls desires to become princesses?

Do you feel that these fantasy worlds are indeed damaging to little girls or do you feel that these make believe lives that girls recreate is just an absolutely harmless part of growing up?

“Mercedes is black, I'm gay... We make culture”

Glee is about the lives of the McKinley High School show choir, New Directions. They are considered to be nerds by the rest of the student body. They work to gain acceptance and win the vocal contest. The show focuses mainly on 12 cast members and many of them are part of a minority group.

Kurt Hummel, a member of Glee club, is a homosexual.

Another member of New Directions, Mercedes Jones, is black.

Tina, one of the female singers in New Directions is Asian.

There are also 2 male background dancers in Glee club. Mike is Asian and Matt is black.

Two homosexual fathers raise Rachel Berry, the lead female vocalist.

The Principal of William McKinley High School, Mr. Figgins, is from Pakistan.

Quinn Fabray is a cheerleader and member of Glee club who gets pregnant.

Sue Sylvester, the cheerleading coach, visits her developmentally disabled sister.

Artie Abrams is a member of Glee club and is in a wheelchair.

Two other members of the group, Santana and Brittany, are rumored to be bisexual with one another.

Several of the episodes also include a deaf choir.

So, was this group part of your typical high school experience?

The characters play up their minority stereotypes in a very over-dramatic way. Kurt tries out to be the kicker on the football team to please his dad and before he kicks he has a “unique” preparation.

Mercedes plays up many stereotypes in this video where she sings "Bust Your Windows". Not only the choice of song, but also the car and how she portrays herself demonstrate this.

If this does not represent how high school was for anyone then why has this show become so popular?

Besides the fact that this is not your average day in high school the show is also popular because of the music it incorporates. Glee is the equivalent of a musical condensed into a TV series. The cast takes popular songs from many different generations and genres, and they make them their own. It is ironic that the show gives popular songs to “unpopular” people. The show also features many celebrity guests that draw more viewers to help make the show more successful. Some of the stars include: Eve, Kristen Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, and rumor has it that we may see Lady Gaga in the future.

This show has also become such a success because there are so many characters, and although many of them are a minority they are easy to relate to. There is at least one character that everyone can relate to in one way or another. Even if you feel like you don’t relate to them they are still entertaining to watch. So which Glee member are you?

We know that Glee is popular, but do you think that its popularity will last? Is it this generation’s Saved By The Bell? Are you so addicted that you have become a Gleek?

Look again, I'm on a Horse

If you are a male and have watched television lately, you have seen numerous Old Spice and Axe Spray commercials. These companies are showing you what smelling like their product can do for you. With some hilarity and wit, Old Spice has tried to renew itself as a popular brand, battling Axe for the top spot in male grooming products. So, are you enjoying the competition?

In seeing the ads of Old Spice products over time, a noticeable progression has taken place. In the beginning of Old Spice “manmercials”, the half-man, half-horse character that was created not only enforced male stereotypes, but also tried to convince the viewer it was a smart buy. Following the half-and-half commercials were those featuring Brian Urlacher and LL Cool J that showed the before and after effect of using the product. These depicted that it would transform the user to be manlier. One of the current commercials being shown is of the perfect man, who is shirtless while presenting diamonds and other wonderful things (as you know, he’s on a horse). Not only does this address men, but it also is addressed to women about what the perfect man should be. Another more recent line of commercials is for Old Spice Odor Blocker, which includes an extremely muscular man, telling other males how the product is strong like him. Basically, it’s a ripped man yelling and breaking shit. These commercials are increasingly straying away from the product, and focusing more on male stereotypes. Is this progression effective or beneficial to the product, giving you a stronger desire to buy it? Or has this transition caused the commercials to lose all seriousness and possibly even be just plain annoying?

Or what is your take on the “Axe Effect” commercials? This campaign appears to be selling their product on the basis that it will cause sexy women to act like animals and throw themselves at you.

Axe has produced similar commercials in the past, but their focus in this new campaign is even more clearly the products’ effect on women. For each of their products there is a different part of the campaign. For example, their hair product campaign is called “Axe Hair Crisis Relief”, their shampoo and soap line commercials are called “The Fixers”, and their body spray line follows the “Double Pits to Chesty” move. Each one has a different story line, however they all have one thing in common; each has beautiful women who cannot resist the Axe using male. Whether he smells good, is clean, or has beautiful hair, each product seems to make the male who uses it into a woman magnet. It resorts the women to animal-like behavior, and their only goal is to get their hands on the boy who uses the product. Similar to the Old Spice campaign, it appears that each new ad group is pushing the limit more. When the first ads came out, the women in them would simply cling to the male, or smell him. Now the females in the ad are resorting to animal qualities, bending the males over tables and attacking their hair. While it could be interesting to think about, is such a blunt tactic effective? Does the idea of women flocking to a male affect his psyche in a good way, or does it just make him forget the product because the ad is so over-the-top and ridiculous?

For these two types of manmercials, many questions can be asked. Do women hold men to the standards that are portrayed in the commercials? Is the idea to be the perfect man what truly what motivates men? Do women feel insulted in being portrayed as brainless? Or are these commercials just something funny to make you remember the product?

A final and important point to note is the development of these campaigns. Old Spice is an older brand that has been around for years, yet recently the new Axe products have made Old Spice take a back seat in its own game. So, in an effort to rebirth the Old Spice brand, these new commercials have surfaced to imitate and do one better than the Axe commercials. Due to the competition, each brand is looking for the funny new thing, or the advertisement that will put them to the top. While this produces new products and ads for viewers, it may be starting to go too far in content and number. However, in the end the effectiveness of the ads relies on how you, the viewer, respond. So, are the ads working? Or are the manmercials too much, and the Axe Effect too ridiculous?

Works Referenced

Neff, Jack. "The Battle of the Brands: Old Spice Vs. Axe." 17 Nov. 2008. Web. 17 Apr.

2010. .

Comic Heroes Turned Movie Stars

Comic books have long been a staple of our culture, with the US being the most prolific producer of the media type since it was invented in 1934. Now, however, it has taken a hit as the fandom’s popularity suffers from competition from other forms of media such as television and the internet.

Fortunately, there seems to be a cure. Lately moviemakers have taken to a new trend of adapting previously established comic book heroes to film. These films have been quite successful, and examples include the X-men, Fantastic 4, The Hulk, and The Dark Knight, among many others. Why, though, does this trend continue to be so popular?



Perhaps it has to do with the special effects that these movies tend to utilize, effects that have become more available recently as our technologies have advanced. Moviegoers also seem to enjoy more realistic movies, which may be why these movies are more popular than the original cartoon and low-end renditions of the same characters. Why though, are comic book movies as a whole moving up when there are so many other choices out there, genres that have been established by decades of success?

One theory we’ve concocted is that good material is good material, no matter what form it takes. Just like bad writing is bad writing, no matter how grammatically perfect it is, bad movie material still doesn’t deserve the big screen even when it’s juiced up by all of our modern-day special effects. Good material, though, may be difficult to appreciate when it is viewed through the lens of outdated media.



It is for this reason that we propose the recent proliferation of these comic book movies to be the result of good material finally having a chance to prove itself by being produced as good media. Other previously established realms have moved to the big screen as well when their opportunities came, such as C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Our American superheroes have just been waiting for their chance, and now the recognition they deserve is finally within their grasp.



Even now the trend continues, and film producers are currently working on movies such as Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and The Green Lantern.



So what do you think - are comic book movies here to stay? Will their kind continue for generations to come? Only time will tell, but in the meanwhile there’s much work left to be done in bringing our already popular heroes up to par with our current capabilities.

Immortality is SO romantic.

If you’ve turned on the TV, seen a movie, cracked open a book, or looked through a magazine in the past couple of years, you know one thing to be true: vampires are EVERYWHERE. No longer do these creatures only appear in children’s nightmares, but now, in very popular blockbusters and novels as well.

Media has started to romanticize vampires, saying that their immortality is like a permanent commitment to the human they’re romantically linked to. They will always be there for you. Never mind that they drink blood and have fangs, at least they have magically good looks for life. The risk of danger and the mysterious appeal of the vampire also play a big part in a young girl’s fascination. Like in Twilight, Bella is drawn to Edward even though he seems very dangerous and basically admits to her that he is.

Twilight may have started out as just another romantic novel with a slight twist (one of the lead characters being the undead and all), but then it exploded into a movie, a clothing line, and little Barbie dolls with six-pack abs and sparkly skin.

Now, many other movies and television shows are following suit. Starting out as a book series just like Twilight, two standout shows are Trueblood and Vampire Diaries. The HBO series Trueblood has gathered a strong following throughout its first 2 seasons. The only difference is that Trueblood is intended for more adult audiences, as indicated by its very strong focus on sex.

Stemming off the over-sexualized view of vampires comes the CW’s Vampire Diaries. It involves two vampire brothers both competing for the same human girl, who is in love with them both. When it aired in 2009, Vampire Diaries is rumored to have attracted the largest audience the CW has seen since its beginnings in 2006. Is it because the show was about vampires? Probably.

Maybe not as big as the vampire craze, but definitely worth the mention, is an obsession with zombies. The 2009 hit Zombieland was a comedic approach to an otherwise frightening subject. Zombies are typically scary creatures that bring fear and an end to the human race, but in Zombieland, 4 people team together to fight off the zombies and save everyone. And they're hilarious while doing so.

When our parents were growing up, one went to a vampire or zombie flick to be scared out of their wits. Dracula definitely wasn’t meant to make a girl swoon. Nowadays, it’s just the opposite. These movies, books, and shows are no longer meant to scare the viewer, but for them to see these “monsters” in a more human light. Girls are almost encouraged to want the impossible: a charmingly undead man that will be devoted to them forever and never lose his attractiveness. Young boys are now held to unobtainable standards and will never be an "Edward." This is unfair to both parties since, in reality, vampires don't exist. These story lines are only meant to entertain and by throwing in a unique character, like a zombie or vampire, the media almost automatically becomes more interesting.

But whether you like Twilight and all the vampire-inspired media or not, you must admit this craze has captured the hearts of young girls and intrigued many more.

So, the real question is: are you team Edward or team Jacob?

Social Networking Sites

The effect of social networking sites, facebook in particular, is that they are damaging towards our interpersonal communication skills. Ever since the invention of social networking sites the way we communicate has changed tremendously. We went from being a society with no internet and relying on human contact to being a society which is very dependent on the internet for communication rather than face to face contact.

In this episode of South Park Kyle demonstrates facebook can be rather addicting. People strive to have as many friends as possible even if they have never met each other. We have all received that creepy, random friend request from someone that we do not even know. So while some have thousands of friends on facebook, how many do they actually know and talk with? Our guess is not many. Odds are most people do not talk to half of the friends they have on facebook, and the friends they do talk to are only a phone call or a short walk away.

This cartoon is the perfect example of how even people as close as family members chose to communicate through the internet rather than talking to each other across the table. Although this cartoon is a bit of an exaggeration it is not far from the truth. We seem to know what our friends and family are doing throughout the day regardless of if we have actually talked to them. People are always updating their twitter and facebook including details no one would possible be interested in.


Social Networking Sites have not only ruined interpersonal communication skills, but have also destroyed the concept of privacy. In the next video, you will see a real life example of the damaging effects that social networking sites have on privacy.


It seems that people will post anything on the internet with no concern for privacy. People have the tendency to have personal conversations and/or comments that they may not realize or care that everyone can see. People have gotten so used to talking through the internet and forgotten that it is open for the world to see. Some people believe that only their friends can see the things they post, but that is really not the case. With society straying so much away from face to face communication it has also strayed away from the idea of privacy.

This lack of concern for privacy is shown perfectly through chatroulette.com. This website invites random strangers to look into your home. While this is a good example of lack of privacy it is actually encouraging face to face contact in a weird sort of way. It enables you to meet new people and have real conversations even though it is kind of creepy. However just as with facebook or any other social networking site the people you encounter are most likely not your real friends and you will have no contact with them past that one conversation.

We are sure everyone in the class has used a social networking site sometime in their lives so this issue seems to be very relevant. Who’s to say this trend of retreating into a virtual world will not continue in the future and if this does continue will we lose all taste for human contact? That seems a bit ridiculous, but have you ever talked to a friend via facebook when you could have just as easily picked up a phone or walked down the hall.

As far as friends are concerned are you really friends with all 800 of your facebook “friends”? For that matter have you ever met or even talked to them?