Final Post: Sweatshops

Assignment:  How much responsibility for the well being of these sweat shop workers should lie on the producers, and how much on the workers? How do you think this can be fixed? Do you make an effort to know the production history of the cultural products that you use (movies, music, clothes, food, etc.)

I believe that the responsibilities of the workers should be primarily on the producers, as they are the ones that are ultimately controlling the way things work. I also believe that some responsibility should be on the managers and supervisors who are working in the factories. The sad reality is that the workers often don’t have any other choice or option than to work in these factories. What I feel the factory workers need is better treatment and better pay. The sweatshops are extremely crowded, work long days, with poor ventilation and are often exposed to toxic chemicals. And most are paid extremely minimal amounts, as compared to their living expenses. These people are being paid low wages in terms of the price that consumers actually pay for the product. The big companies should be paying these workers more and taking less money for themselves, which they can easily afford. I also think that they should improve the working conditions in the sweatshops. In reality, I do not believe this will ever change, but I truly hope that it will.

            I try to make a conscious effort to know the production history of the cultural products I use. Although, I often try not to think about where it comes from, as I know. Being a future teacher, it makes me disgusted to think that innocent children are being forced to work in sweatshops under terrible conditions, and that this is their future. I find it difficult to find clothing that has not been made from a sweatshop. I believe most of the clothing that is not made in sweatshops and that are being paid for fairly are expensive and I cannot afford them.

Within the past few years, this issue has had more light shed on it, through numerous documentaries and articles. With people becoming more aware with where their products are ultimately coming from, people can try and change this and make the big companies aware that this is wrong.  Wal-Mart may be rolling back prices for us, but they are rolling back standards and the conditions that the sweatshop workers have to endure.

Post 8: Globalista

Assignment: Regardless of whether you support the terminology, do you identify with the kind of globalista Dacks describes in this article?

            

Dacks defines a globalista as a citizen of the world, someone who embraces the world and everything it has to offer. 

Relating myself to a globalista, I wouldn't say that I go around, embracing the world and everything it has to offer. In terms of music, I celebrate the bands that I like and tell my friends about them, but most of them are from North America and the UK, and are already well known. 

Music is becoming more hybridized, and more global because of global culture. 

Most of the music I like is from North American and Europe, mainly from the United Kingdom. My favourite bands are from:  

      -  Canada, (Arcade Fire, Hey Rosetta!)
      -  The United States (The Black Keys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bon Iver)
      -  The United Kingdom (Mumford and Sons, Radiohead, Foals) 
      
I do agree that because of these globalisats, "world music" is more prominent in North America. With YouTube, it is easier to access it and with the rise of popular culture, and websites such as Pitchfork, music from around the world is more well known. Dacks describes world music as a hybrid combining different genres to create one sound. While I do like the typical "western" music, I also do enjoy Dacks' version of world music. Two bands that I also enjoy listening to are Lykke Li, a Swedish singer and songwriter, and Beirut, which although they are an American band, there use elements of Balkan sounds. In that sense I would be considered a globalista, but I tend to stick to the music I enjoy listening to, which is primarily Western music. 

Post 7: Shaun of the Dead

Assignment: We discussed principles of intertextuality. How does Shaun of the Dead help you understand these principles? What aspects of the reading on postmodernity can you incorporate into an analysis of this film? What other films/tv shows that you like embrace elements of postmodernity? Be specific about which elements, referring to the Hebdige reading whenever possible.

Shaun of the Dead plays heavily on the principles of intertextuality. This is shown as it draws on other films for meaning. Most notably it plays the famous zombie movie, Dawn of the Dead which is clear from the title, as well as 28 Days Later. It is similar in terms of subject matter, but where it differs is through the use of humour, romance and other semiotics. Although the film is clearly shown to be a horror movie, with the use of zombies, it uses intertexutality as it heavily uses comedic and romantic aspects. The zombies in the film appear the same as in other traditional zombie horror movies. Shaun of the Dead was one of the first comedic zombie films that lead the way for other films. Zombieland, which came out years after the film was released, uses some of the same strategies as seen in Shaun of the Dead with combination of horror and comedy.

Most horror films teach us to be scared of zombies. The characters show fear towards the zombies, so they make the viewer fear them. In scenes that would otherwise be scary in other horror movies, Shaun of the Dead uses comedy, to make the scenes less scary. An example of this is shown when the main characters are throwing records at a zombie that is coming towards them. In other films the main characters would likely be scared and run away from the zombie, but in Shaun of the Dead, the characters were trying to decide which records they should and shouldn't throw (shown on the YouTube clip above.)

Post 6: Simulacra

Assignment: Think of a movie that follows the structure of the simulacra

Movie: She's The Man

1) Normal Life Before Adventure
- Viola is one of the star soccer players on the girls soccer team at her high school, Cornwall. 
2) Catalyst
- The girls soccer team gets cut, so Viola wants to join Cornwall's boys soccer team but they would not accept her. Viola decides to have a makeover and impersonate her twin brother, who is away in London, and enter Illyria as a new student and join their boys soccer team. 
3) Reluctance
- Viola doubts that everyone will believe she is a boy and thinks everyone will think she is unpopular.
4) Help 
- Viola's friend Paul, who did the make over and the support of her friends Kia and Yvonne.
5) Crossing theThreshold
- Viola goes through the make over to impersonate her brother and moves into his new dorm at Illyria.
6) First Obstacles
- Viola (impersonating Sebastien) is not popular and her room mates think Sebastien is weird. 
7) Rock Bottom
- Viola doesn't make first string for the soccer game, she is falling in love with her room mate Luke, who is in love with Viola's lab partner Olivia, who has a crush on Viola (impersonating her brother Sebastien) 
8) Rising Above
- She practices with the help of her room mate and her hard work pays off as she is now first string for the Cornwall game. Viola uses her friends to make her alter ego seem popular and it works. 
9) Close to Victory
- The truth is revealed that Viola is impersonating her brother Sebastien while the soccer game against Illyria is going on. 
10) Resolution
- The coach allows Viola to continue playing and they end up winning the game. As the movie ends, Viola is seen playing on the Illyria soccer team as herself. 

Post 5: Music

Assignment: Some people say we are living in fortunate times cause of ways in which new media makes music accessible (downloading it). Other people lament the demise of music industry and say people suffer from current practices. What are your thoughts on this? What are some of the positive and negative repercussions of being in the information age when it comes to culture/music? How would you describe the relationship between music and culture in this era to someone in a different era? Who ‘owns’ culture, who as the power to change it, right now? How might this change in the future?

Today, music is more accessible than ever before. In the past, music was more of a social event. A person could not separate music from the social context because that was the only place it was heard. People didn’t own music in the way we do today. It was not a commodity. Technology changed this in the 20^th century. With the internet it becomes a product; constantly traded, reproduced and frequently played. It is still meaningful, as the value exceeds the fact that it is a commodity by people continually going to concerts.

Positive repercussions of being in the information age include the easy access we have to so many different files. This is especially important for schools, as I have noticed it has been easier if I don’t know something to just “Google” it and can easily find an answer in a matter of seconds. Negative repercussions include piracy and copyright infringement. In the past few months, piracy has become more of an issue and the government has stepped in with the SOPA and PIPA laws to try and stop it. Illegal downloading websites like “Megavideo” and “Limewire” were shut down to because of this. People have responded by creating websites to replace the ones that were shut down.

Music production companies are the ones who ‘own’ culture. They have the power to change it and manage the way its distributed. This is most noted in the rules regarding how music it shared. Although it is ultimately the consumers who buy the products, the music production companies decide what is popular and what to sell. 

Post 4: Twilight

Assignment: Try and relate your interpretation of the Twilight to your interpretation of Radway's reading. How does it hold up to the romance Radway talks about and how does it diverge? Trace your thoughts as you watch this. Look for codes (index, icons, symbols) that signify meaning and elicit emotion from the viewer. Why does this work as a thriller/romance for you or why doesn't it?

My interpretation of Twilight is that it is a story of young endless love. Twilight is so popular with young girls because it is the perfect love story for that age group, as they can relate to the main character. Often romantic movies show a heroine who is perfect, where as in Twilight, Bella is just an average girl. She has flaws to her, just like every other person, which makes young girls identify to her. She is insecure in herself and at times awkward, as are most of the young girls who read or watch Twilight.

Radway's article states how women have been taught that men must be their sole source of pleasure. They enjoy themselves being tenderly cared for and solicitously protected by a fictive character who inevitably proves to be spectacularly masculine and unusually nurturant as well. Edward, the hero in Twilight, is shown as having every great quality any woman would ever want in a man. Edward is made to be the perfect male character, except for the fact that he is a vampire and will stay that age forever. He intently listens to Bella, he is good looking, smart, and most importantly he genuinely cares for Bella. Radway mentions that the ideal romantic fantasy is directly dependent on the character of the heroine and the manner in which the hero treats her. Throughout the film, Edward continues to prove to Bella that he would do anything for her, which is shown by continually saving her life. As Bella’s character is so easily to relate to, girls can imagine themselves as her and being cared for by Edward.

Radway also explains how most wish to participate in the slow process by which two people become acquainted, explore each other’s foibles, wonder about the other’s feelings and eventually “discover” that they are loved by the other. This is precisely what is played out in Twilight. All girls aspire to one day met their own Edward and be loved just like Bella was in the book. 

Post 3: 2 Movies

Assignment: Pick two of your favourite feature length movies. What is the equilibrium for the film. What event disrupts the equilibrium. What re-establishes it and/or invites a new order of stability. What social values are reflected in this film?

The Goonies (1985)

Equilibrium - The town of Astoria has been bought by a golf course and they plan on demolishing all of the houses in order to put in a new development. With only a few days remaining until they have to leave their town, the main character, Mikey will have to move away from his best friends, Chunk, Data, Mouth. 


Disequilibrium - While packing in their attic, Mikey and his friends come across a treasure map of "One-Eyed Willie's" fortune that they believe can save the town. The group consisting of Mikey and his friends, Mikey's brother, his girlfriend and her friend Stef, call themselves "The Goonies." The end up in an abandoned house where the treasure is supposed to be under when they encounter a visit with a family of fugitives, the Fratellis who are trying to find the treasure for themselves. The Goonies also face a number of booby traps and near-death experiences while trying to find the treasure which also impedes their journey, as well as having the Fratellis trailing them.


Equilibrium - Each member plays an important role in the journey to find the treasure. The Goonies send Chunk to go get help, but he becomes captured from the Fratellis. Chunk gets placed in the same room as Sloth, the deformed brother of the Fratellis. Sloth befriends Chunk and they go and save the rest of The Goonies from the Fratellis. The cave the treasures is in begins to collapse from a booby trap being set off. The Goonies all manage to escape through a small hole and show off the jewels they were able to keep which value is more than enough to save the town.

Miss. Congeniality (2000)

Equilibrium - Gracie Heart is an agent for the FBI and is seen as a tom-boy, with no feminine qualities in her appearance. She is dedicated to her job, she lives alone, and the only people she talks to are those who she works with. She made an error in judgement with her last assignment which caused her boss to put her on a desk job.


Disequilibrium - The FBI learns of a bombing threat to the Miss United States pageant. They have to send a female agent undercover in order to prevent the bombing and keep the contestants safe. FBI agent Eric Matthews is assigned the case and has to pick a female member of the FBI to go in the contest undercover. All of the females are either on maternity leave or are unsuitable for the contest, except for Gracie. She has to undergo a full make-over in both her appearance and demeanour to compete in the pageant. 


Equilibrium - During the competition, the FBI believe that they caught the suspect but Hart and Matthews believe otherwise and stay back to continue the investigation against their boss' wishes. Gracie learns that the director of the pageant is being replaced. Gracie becomes the runner-up to her close friend Cheyrl Fraiser when she discovers that the bomb is inside the crown and saves her from being murdered. In the end, Gracie was chosen as Miss. Congeniality by her fellow contestants.

Post 2: "Psycho"

What may be seen as Hitchcock’s best film, the 1960 horror film “Psycho” is one of the most recognizable movies in cinema history. The lighting and different angles were two major parts of the filming and in my opinion made the . The music also played an important role in the film as it helped build suspense. Shadows are a main element that Hitchcock uses to create a dramatic effect. The use of shadows is a technique he uses to build drama, that is most evident in the shower scene which I will be discussing in more detail below. Another example is the stuffed birds shadow over Marion when she is eating in the back room with Norman. Also, only shadows of Norman’s mother are shown (until the very end of the film.) The Bates' house is always darkly lit, only being able to see the outline and the shadow of Mrs. Bates in the window.

During the car scene, the camera is dead centre on Marion, not slightly off but precisely in the middle. The audience can tell by the music that something bad is going to happen. Because she is the main character, the audience thinks that nothing bad could happen to her. She battles her subconscious while driving to the Bates Motel as the voices of people talking about her wondering where she is are played in the background. Marion is focused on the road the entire car scene with a worried look on her face which creates a sense of fear and suspense for the audience. Eventually the camera slowly zooms in on her face. 

The infamous shower scene is one of the most well known scenes in cinematic history and has become iconic in popular culture. It is shot through the killer’s eyes, not Marion’s eyes. The scene is mostly shot through close up shots, making it feel more subjective. You can see only the shadows of the killer from behind the curtain and slowly walking up towards the curtain. The screeching music begins and Marion’s screaming creates a sense of fear from the audience. After she is stabbed, the camera focuses in on her hand sliding down the wall, and reaching for the curtain (as pictured above.) Then the camera focuses on the blood being washed down the shower drain, such as they are washing away Marion’s character. The audience doesn't actually see the knife penetrating Marion's skin, but there is still a great sense of fear and terror felt by the audience even though they never see it.

Killing off the main character in the first half of the film was one of the biggest surprises of the movie, which the audience would not have suspected (at least I didn't suspect it.) The emotions felt by the actors were felt by the audience through making the audience a subjective character within the plot. 

Post 1: Sitcoms

List three/four sitcoms you watched when you were young or watch now. What society is expressed or is referenced in the sitcoms? What is normal in society? Reflect on the society. 

"Friends"

"Friends" is one of the most watched and well known television sitcoms. The series revolves around six friends and their daily lives. It demonstrates what community and friendship looks like. I found that often it can be a little exaggerated in what happens in daily life, but it does display problems that can arise in a friendship and in life. The friends live in an urban centre, in New York City. Despite their jobs and sometimes their financial problems, they all live in nicely furnished apartments and are well dressed. They are all good looking people with mostly successful lives. The society that is referenced in "Friends" is a homogeneous culture, where all of the main characters are white with hardly any minorities being shown throughout the series. 

Even though the series has ended for quite some time, it has made a large cultural impact that is still evident today. Whether it be old episodes still being played on tv, or people quoting a line off of the show, Friends is still evident in society today.

"Full House"

"Full House" is about a man in San Fransisco whose wife is deceased and has to raise his three daughters, with the help of his two friends. The sitcom is about family values, and shows a middle class family dealing with everyday life situations.  It shows typical problems that a family may go through. People were able to relate to the characters and the situations. It was often cheesy compared to television shows today, but at the time, the situations may have been realistic. The series shows an all-American typical family (except the fact that there is no mother figure) and the struggles that a family goes through. Family values were the most important feature of the show and how to resolve situations within a family.

"Full House", like "Friends", also had a large impact on culture. The show ended four years after I was born yet it still was popular when I was growing up, which demonstrates that it impacted children years after it ended. 

"The King of Queens"

"The King of Queens" is about a blue-collar family in Queens, New York. Normal family and problems arise. This sitcom mainly deals with problems with parents and with relationships. It is the typical pattern where the women does chores and is not happy. Then the man screws up, but by the end they always resolve the issue. Out of all of the three sitcoms I chose, "The King of Queens" seems to be the most realistic and relatable, in that these are situations the everyday family or person deals with. Examples such as being laid off of a job, struggling with financial problems, and other issues that arise with the everyday blue collar family. It shows an average society, a couple living in an average house in Queens. 

In all, the three sitcoms show the comfort of a middle class society, which most people bask in and seem to enjoy. They all are realistic in the sense that they show problems most people can relate to and how to resolve those situations. Whether it be problems with a friendship, in a relationship or family problems. 

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Intro!

Hello and welcome to my blog!

This blog is for my course "Understanding Popular Culture" that I am taking at Wilfrid Laurier University. We were given the assignment to keep a journal or create a blog where we would be responding to questions and topics that were assigned in class. I decided to create a blog, given that the course is all about popular culture, what better way to write about popular culture then on a blog! Blogging is something that is becoming so popular in society, so I wanted to try it out! 

ENJOY !