Sunday, May 3, 2009
The Girls Next Door – Next Door to What??
Any who has seen this show can attest to the complete absurdity of it. Entertainent? Yes. Anywhere close to reality? No. The problem is that many young girls are no doubt watching this show, and their views on relationships and what is acceptable and what is not can become skewed. For example, after watching this show young girls may want to imitate the look of Hef’s three girlfriends, Holly, Bridgette and Kendra. Their look is that of –pardon my French-whores. They never have any clothes on and are always doing something inappropriate.
As was aforementioned, the show focuses on Hefs three girlfriends. Herein lies another problem. Little kids watching the show may think that it is ok to have for than one significant other. They say Hef kissing many ladies and may start to think that that is ok. On the show, the girls always have to ask Hef before they can do anything, and they need his approval. This is another negative aspect that can affect the socialization of girls. Not only will young girls try to dress like the playmates, they may start to think that it is ok for many girls to share one man, and they might also think they need a mans approval before they do anything.
The fact is that even thought the show negatively impact the socialization of young girls, it will not be pulled from the air. The show brings in a lot of money and is already signed for a sixth season. It is the responsibility of the parents to control what their kids watch. That is why there are inventions such as the V-Chip. Any problems with the socialization of girls can be fixed by an observant and watchful parent.
“Good Night and Good Luck”
Prior to watching it in class, I had never seen the movie “Good Night and Good Luck”. The movie was about the conflict between radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. The conflict was related to the Senator's actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations during the Cold War. The main conflict in the movie is that Murrow and his colleagues defy corporate and sponsorship pressures, and discredit the tactics used by Joseph McCarthy to root out communist elements within the government, using Murrows CBS show ‘See It Now’.
The movie was shot in black and white, which made it very authentic. All the clothing and music and language seemed accurate to the time and really set the scene for the movie. The movie really showed the power that the media has. Murrow and his colleagues were able to go after tactics used by the President of the United States. Not only did they confront the President on his tactics, they proved him wrong. The movie really shows the power that the media had, and still has. The movie was set in the 1950s and it is clear that even back then media was an important power player in American life.
The movie was shot in black and white, which made it very authentic. All the clothing and music and language seemed accurate to the time and really set the scene for the movie. The movie really showed the power that the media has. Murrow and his colleagues were able to go after tactics used by the President of the United States. Not only did they confront the President on his tactics, they proved him wrong. The movie really shows the power that the media had, and still has. The movie was set in the 1950s and it is clear that even back then media was an important power player in American life.
Response to a Classmates Blog Post
After reading Christy’s post on limits on gun sales, and the original article. I formed my own opinion on the matter. I do agree with the points that Christy makes for why people do not need more than 13 handguns a year. I also agree that the analogy between lethal weapons and fashion accessories was absurd and erroneous. While I feel that it is reasonable for a law to be passed that a person can purchase no more than 1 gun a month, I also feel that this would not do much when it comes to gun safety. All that you need is one gun to perform a deadly act. While the law may reduce the number of guns that are sold for profits and supplied to gang members, it is a simple fact that even if the law is passed, gang members will still find a way to get guns. There is no doubt in my mind about that.
Christy also cites that Republican State Senator Marcia Karrow, who is opposed to limits on gun sales, says “the best defense she could give was that some people simply want to buy guns”. Christy feels that this is not a value argument, as the people who buy multiple guns are obviously not using them for their intended reason (personal defense). I agree with the fact that someone who buys 10 hand guns a month is surely not using them for their intended use, but I also agree with the Senator that some people just want to buy guns. I feel that a law should be passed that limits the sale on guns per month, but I think that it should allow for more than 1 a month.
Christy also cites that Republican State Senator Marcia Karrow, who is opposed to limits on gun sales, says “the best defense she could give was that some people simply want to buy guns”. Christy feels that this is not a value argument, as the people who buy multiple guns are obviously not using them for their intended reason (personal defense). I agree with the fact that someone who buys 10 hand guns a month is surely not using them for their intended use, but I also agree with the Senator that some people just want to buy guns. I feel that a law should be passed that limits the sale on guns per month, but I think that it should allow for more than 1 a month.
Californians Address the Role of Media in Politics
This YouTube video was very interesting. ‘Survey Nation’ asks attendees of the 2008 California Democratic Convention how they view modern media and its role in the political process. They wanted to see if voters really care about endorsements given by celebrities like Oprah and Chuck Norris. This informal survey offers people chance to speak out on the issues that shape this country. It was good to see people speak freely about their opinions and politics.
I do have some critiques about the video though. The way the video was presented was exactly the thing that the media does to distort the news. In the video people were shown wearing shirts that mocked former President Bush. There were liberal people who said the media lies. This would lead people to believe that if you don't trust the media it should be because you are too conservative. I think that this is the biggest lie that they could tell.
Redneck Feminist
Again, while searching Google for a feminist blog, my attention was caught by the name of this blog: ‘Redneck Feminist: A Free Market Feminist Blog’. As soon as you go on the website the author has a funny quote right under the title of the blog. It reads: “If you don't get the title of this blog, you probably shouldn't read it. You will be offended if you have a narrow idea of what the terms redneck, feminist, and libertarian mean. This is not a white-power blog, nor do I care to hear others whine about how "oppressed" white people are. If you have an open mind, please read my blog!”.
After reading through the authors posts, I found one particular post to be very interesting. It was entitled ‘Not a Victim’. In the post the author says “So why do people think I have to be a victim to be a feminist? I don't get it. Just because I realize that sexism still exists (against both women and men) doesn't mean I think life sucks and I'm oppressed”. It was interesting to read this post because I agree with the fact that when most people hear ‘feminist’, they assume that the person is oppressed and fighting for the rights of woman. Sometimes being a feminist means simply that the woman recognized that sexism exists. The post had a sarcastic tone with some examples to prove her point, which they did. Although the blog is not updated that often at all, I feel that it was still a good blog.
After reading through the authors posts, I found one particular post to be very interesting. It was entitled ‘Not a Victim’. In the post the author says “So why do people think I have to be a victim to be a feminist? I don't get it. Just because I realize that sexism still exists (against both women and men) doesn't mean I think life sucks and I'm oppressed”. It was interesting to read this post because I agree with the fact that when most people hear ‘feminist’, they assume that the person is oppressed and fighting for the rights of woman. Sometimes being a feminist means simply that the woman recognized that sexism exists. The post had a sarcastic tone with some examples to prove her point, which they did. Although the blog is not updated that often at all, I feel that it was still a good blog.
The Environmental Blog – Original?
A quick search of ‘environmental blog’ on Google produced pages of blogs related to the environment. I clicked on one of the first links, because I liked I like the name of the blog. It was called ‘The Environmental Blog’. I don’t think it gets any more original than that. For what the creator lacked in creativity in the name, the blog is very visually appealing and creative. The home page is very clean and organized and the links make it easier to navigate the page.
The post that I choose to read was entitled ‘Biofuel from coffee’. It was about how coffee grounds can actually be used to make bio diesel fuel. The reason that bio diesel isn't being used a whole lot these days is because there isn't a cheap availability of a quality source. The post also stated that when the government tested the coffee grounds, they discovered a few things. One of these is that the fuel actually smells like java. That’s a lot better than the gasoline smell we have now if you ask me. And two it turns out since coffee has a high antioxidant content it was more stable and had a bigger advantage over other bio diesels.
I think that the government should definitely start looking more into this and trying to make it happen. It seems like a great way to save energy and protect the environment at the same time. Who would have thought that something so simple as coffee grounds could be used as fuel and be better for the environment. Not only that, but I don’t think that anyone if car exhaust smelled like coffee!
The post that I choose to read was entitled ‘Biofuel from coffee’. It was about how coffee grounds can actually be used to make bio diesel fuel. The reason that bio diesel isn't being used a whole lot these days is because there isn't a cheap availability of a quality source. The post also stated that when the government tested the coffee grounds, they discovered a few things. One of these is that the fuel actually smells like java. That’s a lot better than the gasoline smell we have now if you ask me. And two it turns out since coffee has a high antioxidant content it was more stable and had a bigger advantage over other bio diesels.
I think that the government should definitely start looking more into this and trying to make it happen. It seems like a great way to save energy and protect the environment at the same time. Who would have thought that something so simple as coffee grounds could be used as fuel and be better for the environment. Not only that, but I don’t think that anyone if car exhaust smelled like coffee!
The Huffington Post – Cluttered, Yet Organized
The Huffington Post was the first blog that I have ever looked at closely. When I first went on the website, the first thing I noticed was how cluttered it was. There were colored boxes with pictures and links and titles all packed next to each other. On the left side of the page was all the blog posts with a summary of each post. Scrolling up and down the home page was a little intimidating, as there seemed to be so much information and so many stories in such a little space.
I began to click on some of the links for different topics (media, entertainment, etc.), and I began to get used to the format of the site. As it turns out, the home page is a mesh of all that the site has to offer, and information and posts on a certain topic are easily attainable by clicking the tabs on the top or bottom of the page.
There are different authors that write for the blog, and I clicked on a few different authors to see how they wrote their blogs. One blog I read was by Elizabeth Banks. The post was her review and critique of the movie ’17 Again’. Although her post was informative, I felt that she went off topic a little too much and used way too many parentheses. Another post I read was one by Arianna Huffington entitled ‘Sunday Roundup’. It was basically a quick summary of some of the big events of the week. I felt that this was better written than the one by Banks. Something I did notice about both posts was the format in which they are written; they both seemed to have an informal tone, unlike articles that you would read in a newspaper. Overall it was interesting to actually take a look at a blog and read through it, instead of just hearing about it or skimming through one like I usually do.
I began to click on some of the links for different topics (media, entertainment, etc.), and I began to get used to the format of the site. As it turns out, the home page is a mesh of all that the site has to offer, and information and posts on a certain topic are easily attainable by clicking the tabs on the top or bottom of the page.
There are different authors that write for the blog, and I clicked on a few different authors to see how they wrote their blogs. One blog I read was by Elizabeth Banks. The post was her review and critique of the movie ’17 Again’. Although her post was informative, I felt that she went off topic a little too much and used way too many parentheses. Another post I read was one by Arianna Huffington entitled ‘Sunday Roundup’. It was basically a quick summary of some of the big events of the week. I felt that this was better written than the one by Banks. Something I did notice about both posts was the format in which they are written; they both seemed to have an informal tone, unlike articles that you would read in a newspaper. Overall it was interesting to actually take a look at a blog and read through it, instead of just hearing about it or skimming through one like I usually do.
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