Idol

        Feminism is constantly represented in media, unfortunately in primarily negative ways. Brummett  suggests that gender is socially constructed (Brummett, 2011). This is evident infamous "cat fights"between celebrities are constantly making news headlines. These "girl fights" label girls as drama queens, unforgivable, and even being emotionally unstable. Because people believe what they hear on TV and the internet it has caused representations of real life in some sort. I feel that most female celebrities give other women false representations which makes it difficult to gain positive representation.
       The popular TV series American Idol thought they would spice things up and possibly gain more viewers by signing fueding pop-stars Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj. Throughout the last season of Idol the co-stars engaged in several different confrontations from on stage, behind scenes, and even on twitter. These two popular artists have been feuding for a period of time and it does not seem to get better. Personally I enjoyed watching the two judges and anticipating the moment where one of them said something negative directed toward the other.
        In a resent interview Mariah Carey admitted that for her "Being on 'Idol' was like being in hell". Although she toughed it out throughout the season she will not be returning this next season. The Yahoo post pointed out the coincidence that Carey just released a new single titled "The Art of Letting Go" however, she is still holding on to her bitterness toward Minaj. (Yahoo) This feud will be represented in media as long as the two women continue to feed it. They both criticize the other for being insecure and immature yet neither of them will take steps to resolve the issue. Since this fight is so popular I hope that it does not send misleading messages to girls who are in a feud. Although these two artists have failed to move past their differences it does not mean that they are satisfied with their relationship.

Parker, 2013, http://tv.yahoo.com/blogs/tv-news/mariah-carey-says-being-idol-being-hell-214816434.html

Brummett, 2011

Rihanna's photo shoot!

Rihanna has turned heads this week as the British GQ magazine has been suspended around media websites. On the cover of the December issue of British GQ Rihanna posed nude with snake hair and a python around her neck. Rihanna tweeted prior and post photo shot proclaiming her love for such a dangerous species and power, which only added to the controversy surrounding the photo.

This photo is very symbolic; Brummett explains that symbols can express various things. Medusa who is notorious for not only being beautiful but also turning those who looked at her into stone creates a very intense photo. The big question is what is Rihanna trying to get across? This has been very controversial and has many people wondering what she is symbolizing. Interpreting this photo is difficult due to the number of symbolic principles. However, the red flag that is apparent to me is what her tweet stated after she took the photo. Rihanna states “Medusa head on me like I’m ‘luminate!!!!” One of the biggest controversies in R&B history is the notion of the illuminati, an organization that is said to be a secret organization of the most powerful and influential elite in the world.  This organization has demonic ties and is very satanic. People attribute very negative connotations to the illuminati and by her so boldly stating what she did it draws very negative attention. After reading her tweet, looking back on the photo it seems as if her attentions was to draw attention and get people to over think her intentions.

Assuming the photo would get attention the photographer posted a side not as to why he chose Medusa. He sates that he has been working on a project for four years in which his subject matter has been Medusa. There might not be any meaning to Rihanna’s photo, but she did want attention and now she’s getting it! 

PHOTO: http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/watch-rihanna-photo-shoot-might-turn-stone-211704055.html

Prince Harry

Culture is “that which sustains and nourishes those who live and move within it” (Brummett, 2011,pp. 21). Although we Americans have an interesting culture of our own, something about other cultures seems to intrigue us. With the recent wedding of Prince William and Kate, American’s are especially interested in the culture of England. This week on Yahoo’s trending page the one of the top listings is “Who is Prince Harry’s Girlfriend”.  As American’s being exposed to this life style of the royals helps us become more “cultured” (Brummett, 2011).

Prince Harry is being featured on magazines and websites due to his “serious” relationship with a girl who reporters call “anti-Kate” (Famous Relationships. 2013).  Cressida Bones is not as well now as Kate Middleton, however, with the talks about a wedding she will soon be a very hot topic. As expected Harry has found interest in a girl who is nothing like Princess Kate. Cressida comes from an aristocratic family and enjoys the finer things in life; she is always at high-class clubs living the life of the rich and famous (Famous Relationships, 2013). However, her wardrobe suggests otherwise, this blonde beauty is usually seen in grungy, layered clothing and never appears to look “classy”. Personally I feel that Cressida knows that she has a hard role to fill and a lot to be compared to, in her case it seems as if it would be easier to be the complete opposite of the notorious Princess Kate.  She was also photographed before her relationship with Prince Harry and seems to have not changed her appearance just because of the role she is now playing as the Prince’s girlfriend. This could both the positive and negative.  It is good to see that she is not changing who she is just because of who she is dating, but also for Prince Harry’s sake investing in a more classy wardrobe would help him and her receive more positive publicity.

References: 

Barry Brumett, 2011, Rhetoric in Popular Culture, Third Edition

Famous Relationships, 2013, Inquisitr,  Website:http://www.inquisitr.com/984414/cressida-    bonas-who-is-prince-harrys-girlfriend/

Unstoppable

Media is such a diverse spectrum in today’s society.  Movies especially, offer many different viewpoints, and often time’s very controversial scenes. Going to see a rated PG 13 movie now shows more nudity and violence than what a Rated R movie showed ten years ago. With the growing popularity of these scandalous movies there are still directors who seek to write a film based on religious morals. However, these directors and film writers seem to get much more negative publicity than the major produces releasing filthy movies all around the world.

            Kirk Cameron, a former star on the hit TV series Growing Pains, recently released a movie titled Unstoppable. The film is about faith and God it is based on the popular question asked by numerous people: Why does God let bad things happen to good people? Social media blocked the trailer to the film stating that it was offensive, and unsafe. Watch the trailer here: http://kirkcameron.com/2013/09/social-media-blocked-unstoppable-trailer-fans-complained/

            This trailer was very conservative and provided no “unsafe” or “offensive” connotations. In a society where there are racial discriminations and other offensive subjects being placed into movies it is absurd to me how this film was blocked from social media sights. However, Facebook as well as YouTube did block the trailer and it remained blocked until a large group of people complained and fought to get the trailer back onto these sights. This movie appealed to a certain cultural groups (Christians) and the symbolic meaning (Brummett, 2011) of the movie was very important and deserved to be advertised regardless if some people disagreed with the content.  The movie is portrayed to use symbolic language upfront, they did not try to hide messages throughout the content of the movie unlike many popular big named movies.

Text: used for symbolic meaning-

 Brumett, Barry (2011), Rhetoric Popular Culture- Third editi