Celebrity activism

Celebrities become pundits at their own risk (2003)

The backlash grows against celebrity activists (2003)

The celebrity solution (2008)

Some examples of celebrity activism here.



Bono, Bob Geldof, and Live 8

Plots in Politics

Quest frame: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Conspiracy frame: Wag the Dog (1997)


Soap frame: West Wing (2005)

SNL

Gender in Media Coverage

Michelle Obama "Baby Mama"

Candidate's Wives

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Candidates' Wives

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

The Gender Card?

Music and Politics

Alan Jackson's (2002) "Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)"

Toby Keith's (2002) "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)"

Dixie Chicks controversy: "Shut Up and Sing"

Entertainment Weekly Cover

Politics as Soap Opera

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Final Project: Google Knol

Update (4/16/2009): Knol templates

Directions for the COMM 491 Final Project (Google Knol) can be downloaded here.

According to Google, a knol is “an authoritative article about a specific topic.” The contents of your knol should address the central question: “What are the most important things to know about this media text?” It should be well-organized, with a table of contents at the top, helpful sub-headings, and clear transitions between the sub-sections.

See the various Knol Help pages for additional information on:

What knols are and how they work

Basics of writing knols

Managing knols

Advanced knol techniques

Before sitting down to write your own knol, I would recommend browsing the “good knols” listed on the best practices page to get a better idea of how to go about constructing, organizing, and embedding images.

Study guide under construction (4/16)

Hetero/Homosexuality in Classical Hollywood + Sexualities on Film Since the Sexual Revolution

• Aspects of traditional Hollywood narrative that present heterosexuality as natural / default
• How homosexuality was connotated in classical Hollywood cinema (the pansy, gender inversion)
• How the Production Code regulated heterosexuality and homosexuality in film (+ what it was responding to)
• How changing views of homosexuality post WWII changed sexuality (and homosocial affection) in film
• Negative portrayals of non-straight characters in film (stereotypes, linked with violence or death, etc.)
• Improvements in the representation of LGBT film characters over time (give examples)

Study guide under construction (4/14)

Gender in American Film Since the 1960s

• First-wave feminism vs. Second-wave feminism vs. Third-wave feminism vs. Post-feminism
  
• Influence of feminism on film in the 1960s & 1970s (avoidance, sexploitation, buddy films, violence)
  
• How Nine to Five (1980) is representative of the 1970s “Women’s Film” genre
  
• How backlash to feminism influenced film in late 1970s and 1980s (hyper-masculinity, film noir)
  
• The relationship between gender, sexuality, and violence in the “slasher” genre
  
• Positive and negative portrayals of femininity/masculinity in contemporary film (give examples)
  

Feminism and the Backlash

Nine to Five (1980)

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Study guide under construction (4/9)

Masculinity in Classical Hollywood Filmmaking

• Why early American cinema emphasized male virility and strength
  
• How (and why) Hollywood attempted to prevent the sexual objectification of male movie stars
  
• Ways in which masculinity was performed in film during the 1920s and 1930s
  
• How the form and content of film noir reflected gender anxieties post World War II
  
• Films in which masculine ideals were challenged / were reaffirmed in the 1950s
  
• Why Rebel Without a Cause is both progressive and regressive when it comes to gender
  

Masculinity in Classical Hollywood

Sandow the Strong Man (1894)


Rudolph Valentino in 1926


Gone with the Wind (1939)


Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)


Double Indemnity (1954)


Rebel Without a Cause (1959)

Women in Classical Hollywood

Mary Pickford in Pollyanna (1920)


The Women (1939)


The Women (2008)
Click here

Study guide under construction (4/7)

Women in Classical Hollywood Filmmaking

• Virgin-whore complex (and how this relates to Victorian ideals of femininity)
  
• Why Dorothy Arzner and Ida Lupino were able to succeed as female directors
  
• How the enforcement of the Production Code changed images of women in Classical Hollywood
  
• Haskell’s major themes of the “women’s film” genre (sacrifice, affliction, choice, competition)
  
• How Hollywood persuaded women to join/leave the workforce during/after WWII
  
• Femme fatale vs. Blond bombshell vs. Girl-next-door (what each character type reflected)
  

Revised schedule for media presentations

March 17 and March 19 
:: Spring Break ::

March 24 and March 26
:: Classes Canceled due to Flooding ::

March 31 and April 2
:: Classes Canceled due to Flooding ::

Tuesday, April 7
Lana Waters

Thursday, April 9
Kim Balega

Tuesday, April 14
Matt Thompson

Thursday, April 16
Rebecca Peterson

Tuesday, April 21
Exam 2

Thursday, April 23
Pinaz Sharma
Tyler Axness

Tuesday, April 28
Evan Johnson
Chelsea Turner

Thursday, April 30
Alison Baumgarten

Tuesday, May 5
Rachel Stearns

Thursday, May 7
Last day of class

Update: No class Tuesday, March 24

Due to the continued need for volunteers, classes are still canceled at NDSU. So we won't be meeting on Tuesday, March 24.

The PPT for "Women in Classical Hollywood Filmmaking" can be downloaded here. There is a list of upcoming assignments/exams on the first slide. Note that you may opt to skip the next E-journal deadline (on April 9), and turn in two entries at the same time (on April 30).

Let's plan on covering both of this week's chapters on Thursday. If classes haven't resumed by that point, I'll send out a revised course schedule.

There's been an awesome turn-out of volunteers at NDSU:

Keep up the good work!

NDSU classes canceled until further notice

A message from President Chapman:

NDSU will cancel classes effective at 9:00 am today, Monday, March 23 until further notice. University offices will remain open, however, they may be operated at minimal staff levels.

Students, faculty, and staff are needed to help with the flood prevention efforts. Volunteers are needed for sandbagging. It is estimated that 2 million sandbags will be needed. With the current and predicted rain, the Red River is anticipated to crest for the first time on Thursday, March 26.

Please report to the NDSU Flood Protection Volunteer Center on the Main Floor of the Memorial Union (next to the Bison Connection) to check in and sign up for shifts. You may also call 231-7870 or email NDSU.floodsupport@ndsu.edu to sign up for future volunteer shifts.

Transportation from the Union will be provided to the locations where help is needed. It is important to use the bus transportation that is provided.

Thank you for your time and help. Our communities need us.

If class is canceled tomorrow, I will post the PPT and move Tuesday's media clip presentation to Thursday. We will then have two presentations that day (Lana and Kim). If classes are canceled on Tuesday and Thursday, I'll send out a revised schedule.

I encourage everyone to volunteer if/when they can.

African-Americans on Television

No Smooth Ride on TV Networks’ Road to Diversity

"On the eve of Barack Obama’s election last fall as the first African-American president, television seemed to be leaning toward a post-racial future. In October two prominent cable networks — CNN and Comedy Central — began new programs that featured black hosts, a development that was notable because so few current programs on cable or broadcast channels have minority leads.

Five months later both programs — “Chocolate News,” featuring David Alan Grier on Comedy Central, and “D. L. Hughley Breaks the News” on CNN — have been discontinued. In addition, CW, the broadcast network that regularly features comedies with largely African-American casts, announced in February that it was renewing six popular series, but its two with mostly black performers — “Everybody Hates Chris” and “The Game” — were not among them. (The network says it is still deciding their fates.)"

Study guide under construction (3/12)

Cinematic Class Struggle After the Depression

• Labor unions in Hollywood before, during, and after World War II 187-190
  
• How Hollywood used the “Red Scare” and the HUAC to weaken power of labor unions 189
  
• How America and capitalism were equated (and celebrated) in 1940s and 1950s film 193-195
  
• Why independent and avant-garde films found greater success during the 1960s 199-202
  
• Key differences between 1970s and 1980s films (link differences to broader social changes) 198-202
  
• Contemporary images of class struggle: Titanic (1997) vs. Bulworth (1998) 203-205
  

Class in Contemporary Film

Silk Stockings (1957)


The Graduate (1967)


Wall Street (1987)


Bulworth (1998)

Study guide under construction (3/10)

Classical Hollywood Cinema and Class

• How class is determined and talked about in the contemporary United States 167
  
• How the American dream, rugged individualism, & Protestant work ethic erase structural barriers 167-170
  
• Labor trends of the Industrial Revolution (and how they contributed to class differences) 171-173
  
• Class themes in early American cinema (how did Charlie Chaplin challenge these themes?) 176
  
• The Horatio Alger myth (be able to give examples from classical and contemporary cinema) 173-178
  
• Influence of 1930s Depression on Hollywood film (and how this influence shifted over time) 184-186
  

Today's PowerPoint

A copy of the PowerPoint for today's chapter (pages 171 - 186) can be downloaded here. Please look it over and write down any questions that remain after reading. We'll cover the next chapter (pages 187 - 210) as planned on Thursday. We'll also have today's media presentation on Thursday.

The deadline for the next E-journal will be Friday at 5 p.m.

Ideologies of female beauty

Channeling the Ideal of Modern Beauty

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Native American portrayals (group activity)

Classical Westerns (early to mid 20th century)

Native Americans portrayed as blood thirsty savages, bad guys, head dresses, bow and arrows, chases on horses.

Classical Western themes in Back to the Future 3:
We see them the first thing when going back and they were attacking him. They were there to show that he was in the west. Battle between whites and Native Americans were thrown in there to saw they were in the old west. Almost used as a prop.


Key themes/portrayals in Dances with Wolves (1990)

• Portrayed Native Americans as people that could be reasoned with and understood, but required Costner’s character to lower his standard of life to fit in with them.
  
• More complex Native American characters than the basic “bloodthirsty savages” that dominated earlier films.
  
• Music was softer and more appealing than earlier movies.
  
• Actually used Native American actors.
  
• Interesting dynamic of positively portraying Native Americans, but had to use a white man’s perspective to accomplish it.

Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black in Twilight (2008):


Twilight Casting Angers Native Americans

-

Study guide under construction (3/5)

Native Americans and American Film

• How bloodthirsty/noble savage images, manifest destiny, genocide influenced representations 104
  
• How ethnographic films functioned to naturalize stereotypes of Native Americans 106
  
• Key themes and iconography of the Classical Western (be able to give examples from films) 106-108
  
• Why post-WWII social problem films focusing on Native Americans were still problematic 110
  
• How images/involvement of Native Americans in film has and has not changed over time 102-122
  
• Positive and negative images of Native Americans in contemporary film (give examples) 115, 118
  

Native Americans on film

Stagecoach (1939)


Little Big Man (1970)


Back to the Future 3 (1990)

Back To The Future Part 3 (Theatrical Trailer)
by NakedBrotha2007

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Dances with Wolves - Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Tropic Thunder blackface controversy

Study guide under construction (3/3)

African-Americans and American Film

• How the legacies of slavery and minstrel shows/blackface contributed to representations 78-81
  
• Film stereotypes of African Americans (Coon, Uncle Tom, Mammy, Tragic Mulatto, Black Buck) 79
  
• How the production code of Classical Hollywood limited roles available to African-Americans 82-83
  
• Progressive themes and problems associated with post-WWII social problem films on race 85-87
  
• How Hollywood profited from “blaxploitation” films and black & white “buddy movies” 88-89, 91
  
• Positive and negative images of African-Americans in contemporary film (give examples)
  98-99

African Americans on film

The Little Colonel (1935)


Song of the South (1946)


Shaft (1971)


Lethal Weapon (1987)

Media conglomeration

A larger version of the image used in Tuesday's presentation can be found by clicking here.

Study guide under construction (2/24)

The Concept of Whiteness and American Film

• The social construction of race (+ arguments for/against saying race isn't important) 53
  
• How “whiteness” is represented on film (how it is made invisible, the default category) 51
  
• Tokenism (how minority characters are used as a stand-in for their race/ethnicity) 52
  
• Othering (how whiteness is constructed through the portrayal of non-white characters) 53-54
  
• How portrayals of white groups (Irish, Italians, Jews, and Arabs) has changed over time 56, 60, 65, 70
  

Structure and History of Hollywood (2/19)

Differences in the ideologies and impact of "Hollywood films" vs. independent "Non-Hollywood Films"

How does the Classical film form reinforce dominant ideologies?

How does the economic structure of Hollywood limit the diversity of viewpoints in film?

-

Race and Popular Culture

Black actors still face Oscar challenges [CNN]


Why has it taken so long for Disney to create a black princess? [Jezebel]*


* As Alison points out in the comments, Tiana is Disney's first black princess in the ANIMATED princess series. Brandy Norwood played Cinderella in a musical version of the story produced for television, with a very diverse cast, in 1997.

See video here.

Classical Hollywood and Blockbuster Cinema

Politics of digital alteration

Jezebel's Photoshop of Horrors

Extra Credit opportunity (alternative)

COMM 443 and COMM 491 students who were unable to attend the Anti-Racism Forum on February 10 can earn the same extra credit by borrowing the DVD from me and completing a 1-page reflection relating the material to course concepts (see directions below).

Please sign up for one of the following days by leaving a comment on this entry:

Thursday, February 12 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Friday, February 13) -- Paul B.

Friday, February 13 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Monday, February 16) -- Amelia L.

Monday, February 16 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17) -- Jessica F.

Tuesday, February 17 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, February 18) -- Katie F. & Amy P.

Wednesday, February 18 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Thursday, February 19) -- Larissa K.

Thursday, February 19 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Friday, February 20) -- Drew E.

Friday, February 20 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Monday, February 23) -- Erin M.

Monday, February 23 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24) -- Lana W.

Tuesday, February 24 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, February 25) -- Chelsey T.

Wednesday, February 25 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Thursday, February 26)*

Thursday, February 26 (return DVD by 12 p.m. on Friday, February 27) -- Jamie M.


* COMM 443 Exam 1 is Tuesday, February 24; COMM 491 Exam 1 is Thursday, February 26

Remember to read the comments to make sure your preferred spot is available.


Assignment Directions for COMM 443 students

1. View the documentary, Reel Bad Arabs
2. Use examples from the documentary to illustrate/explain 2 of the functions of stereotypes on page 181 in our textbook.
3. Write-up should be no more than 1 double-spaced page.


Assignment Directions for COMM 491 students

1. View the documentary, Reel Bad Arabs
2. Respond to the following prompt: "Is it the producer's political agenda or audience demand that drives the stereotypes documented in the film?" Include course theory on media power vs. people power.
3. Write-up should be no more than 1 double-spaced page.

-

Media coverage of the "pregnant man"

Additional reading + video for Thursday January 29

Bruce Watson on Super Bowl ads:

What could possibly be too racy for the Super Bowl? A Website for cheaters

Super Bowl advertising: Men are still from Bluto (women are from Planet clean)

Sarah Haskins of Current TV on gender and jewelry advertisements:

Upcoming events

Upcoming NDSU events that may be of interest:

Faculty and Staff:

Two excellent educational opportunities are being made possible in our community by the Eating Disorder Institute in early February. In the hopes that you may want to use these learning experiences as a part of your coursework, this email is being sent to inform you of these two very fine presentations.

The first is Darryl Roberts' documentary 'America the Beautiful', which examines the question,"Does America have an unhealthy obsession with beauty?" This movie will be shown at The Fargo Theater on Sunday, February 8th at 2pm and again at 6pm. Following the documentary, Mr. Roberts will take questions from the audience. Admission is free.

In almost 40,000 media messages a year, youthful Americas are being told that, unless you look like supermodels and rock stars, you’re not good enough for anyone to love. This is a message that too many people are buying.

Filmmaker Darryl Roberts goes on a two year journey to examine America’s new obsession; physical perfection. In America the
Beautiful, we learn secrets, confessions, and strikingly harsh realities as Roberts unearths the origins and deadly risks of our nation’s quest for physical perfection.

In America the Beautiful we see how these increasingly unattainable images contribute greatly to the rise in low self-esteem, body dysmorphia, and eating disorders for young women and girls who also happen to be the beauty industry's largest consumers. Who actually benefits from this high-priced journey towards this ideal? Is corporate America’s bottom line so important that it justifies a nation’s psychosis? What are the true costs of our obsession with youth, beauty, and a slender physique?

For more information on this film, you can check out the web page.

The second educational opportunity will be on Monday, February 9th when Kitty Westin will give a presentation in the Century Theater in the NDSU Memorial Union at 4pm. Kitty Westin is the founder and former President of the Anna Westin Foundation which was recently merged with the Emily Program Foundation. The Anna Westin Foundation was started by Anna’s family after Anna died as a direct result of anorexia in 2000. The Westin’s also started the first and only residential program to treat people with eating disorders in Minnesota. For the past 8+ years Kitty has spent the majority of her time speaking to groups, offering support and guidance to people with eating disorders and advocating for an end to discrimination against people with eating disorders. Kitty is also the current President of the Eating Disorders Coalition for Research, Policy & Action and she serves on the AED Patient Career Task Force and she is the Co-chair of the AED Advocacy Committee.

Kitty is very active in national advocacy with the EDC and she travels to Washington DC frequently to fight for Mental Health Parity and to educate Congress about eating disorders. She helped create the FREED (Federal Response to Eliminating Eating Disorders Act) which will be introduced to Congress early next year.

For more information on Kitty and her daughter, Anna, go to this website.

Please inform and encourage students to attend these free educational opportunities, especially if these topics relate to your course of study in the classes you teach or in the area you work. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Marlys K. Borkhuis, MS, LPC
Assistant Director/Counselor
NDSU Counseling Center
212 Ceres
701-231-7680
www.ndsu.edu/counseling

Popular culture e-journal

Instead of writing several short papers, students will create and maintain an electronic journal on current issues in popular culture via Google’s Blogger platform.

Each journal entry should apply at least 3 concepts from our course readings to the media and popular culture that you consume on a regular basis.

You should quote and cite the course text in your entry.

An “A” journal entry will start with a brief explanation of the concepts you are using, include a clear application of these concepts to text(s) selected, and illustrate said text(s) via images...



embedded video...



or audio clips...

Click here to play clip.

I use Box.net to store and share digital audio files.

There will be a short tutorial on Blogger at the beginning of the semester. Your popular culture e-journal should be updated once every three weeks (see course schedule for specific due dates). The e-journal is worth 20% of your final grade.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty

Also from Unilever: The Axe Effect

Women on television

The Financial Times had an article on The Wardrobe of TV's Career Women this past weekend:

Say what you like about the gender division in your own workplace, on television there’s no shortage of professional women. From Lipstick Jungle to House, The Office to Nip/Tuck, examples of smart women doing smart things abound, especially on US TV. But what about the clothes? Yes, they’re smart, but are they realistic? Not at all.

Politics and film

Obama: How the Movies Made a President

From the NYT article:

Make no mistake: Hollywood’s historic refusal to embrace black artists and its insistence on racist caricatures and stereotypes linger to this day. Yet in the past 50 years — or, to be precise, in the 47 years since Mr. Obama was born — black men in the movies have traveled from the ghetto to the boardroom, from supporting roles in kitchens, liveries and social-problem movies to the rarefied summit of the Hollywood A-list. In those years the movies have helped images of black popular life emerge from behind what W. E. B. Du Bois called “a vast veil,” creating public spaces in which we could glimpse who we are and what we might become.

Case study in celebrity advocacy

Actor Morgan Freeman works to integrate the prom in his hometown of Charleston, Mississippi.

A clip from the documentary chronicling his efforts can be viewed here.

Media power versus people power

Who determines the success of films? Audiences or market-savvy producers?



This article from the New Yorker seems to come down on the side of the Frankfurt School.

Deviating from gender constancy

Burger King's Manthem ad

Welcome to the course blog!

You can view/download a copy of the COMM 491 syllabus at any time by clicking here.

Click here to set up your own blog for the Popular Culture E-Journal. Your next step should be to email your blog's URL to me so I can add it to our blogroll. Deadline is 12 p.m. on Friday, January 16.

Leave any questions (or report technical issues) in the comments.