Working Hard for Their Money, So Hard for it Honey.

Class Dismissed, a movie presented in class about how TV frames the working class, shows many different television families and their struggles being part of the working class. What class you are in is decided on the income that your household makes per year. There are three different types of class: economic, political, and cultural. 62% of Americans are working class, made up of white and blue collar. The working class is racially and gender segmented, and often not spoke about. Class doesn't make you who you are, but it does frame you sometimes. We spoke in class if we believe that if you are born into one class, can you move up to another. I believe that this is possible. Even though you are born into a working class family that isn't rich, I think that you have the possibility of moving higher to the upperclass by what you accomplish in life. However, I do believe that you always have your roots in your "original" class.


Some TV shows that will be listed below are some that were listed in the movie as television families that are working class.


I Love Lucy: about a woman and her husband, who is a singer and bandleader. They are typical working class couple working hard for their money. They live in a house that they rent from their landlord friend. They strive to be better than what they are, but are stuck with what they got.

Good Times: A show of a working class black family who live in the ghetto. They are working hard to move up in life and try to move out of the projects. In the last episode, they do so.  

Jefferson's: One of the most famous African American families that are trying to " move on up to the east side." They don't want to live on welfare, so they make it on what they have. They are trying to gain access to a better life. 

Cosby Show: They are a family who are content with what they have. They are not trying to move up in life.

Will and Grace: This is a series based around gay friends who are working class. They are trying to make it big and wirking to be better and rich,

Gilmore Girls: A single mother and daughter duo who are constantly working just to get by. They daughter wants to move up and is trying to make better for herself by going to school and doing better stuf then the mom.

Roseann: This is one of the rare shows that shows a woman who works for the family. She is always ripped apart for being so rude and loud mouthed. She is a hard worker who is trying to get by for her family.

King of Queens: about a married couple who are trying to better their lives. He is a typical jokester who works for a shipping company.

All pictures were retrieved from google images.

Class Dismissed

Don't Hate the Player...Hate the Person Behind the Player

In class one day, we viewed a video called Game Over. This video was about violent videos games and how the affect people who play them. 90% of American households have video games, to which people play about 2 hours per day. Throughout the movie, there were different sections in which video games were broken down in. Video games have began to be more and more interactive emotionally and psychologically, by allowing people to actually become the character. Realism is the holy ground of video games, and what draws people in to the violent ones. Video games tend to be very true to life, in the sense that you are the character fullfilling each and every mission sent to accomplish. They are very violent and explicit, showing off the anger that the characters hold in the game.

The characters in the game are another issue that video games have. They give children and even adults a warped sense of what people should look like. Men tend to be hyper masculine, who are large, mean, muscular, loud, and rude. Men are viewed as violent in many of the video games that people choose to play. They force other characters to give them what they want. In wrestling games, the character taunts and bullies the other players, forcing them to give in to their demands through intimidation.

^ The character abover, from Call of Duty: Black Ops is a typical character from a war game. He is hypermasculine, with large muscles, tattoos all over, angry, and violent. (Retrieved from Google Image)

Women on the other hand, in video games, are depicted at the damsel in distress, typically. They tend to be of white ethnicity with large breasts, small waist, pretty faces, and skimpy clothes. It is rare that a female is the main character in a game, however, there are some that have them. Laura Croft Tomb Raider is one of the rare games that has a lead woman character. She is very energetic in the game, and has the common women features that games give off. Women are often sexual objects in video games, which carries out to the real world.

^Above is a picture of Laura Croft Tomb Raider. She is small, with large breasts, a pretty face, and a little waist.

^The woman above is from Grand Theft Auto she is the typical slutty character with large breats, a pretty face, and little clothing.

Race in video games is generally stereotypical. Black men are often looked at as gangsters and bad guys, and whites as the main characters and heros.

Violent video games are negatively affecting young men and women. Through the characters and missions that they are sent on, they learn how to become more violent in life. They are taught through games that violence is normal and that it is accepted. They are rewarded with each person that they kill and taught that stereotyping people is ok. However, even though video games are mostly negative, they do have there positive roles too. F.A.T or fire arm training, is used to train men and women in the military. It is set up just like a video game, where they take on the role of the shooter. However, they are the good people and are shooting the enemies. They are punised if they shoot the wrong player, and they are rewarded for good. This allows them to become part of war and train to see what it is "like."

Images were retrieved from Google images. Information gathered from Game Over.

They're Here and Queer...Gays in the Media

On November 16th, 2011, Parkside's LGBTQ organization came and spoke to our Communication class in regards to how LGBTQ is being represented in the media today and how it is changing over the years. Ana Guerriero, the director of LGBTQ, first spoke to us about how the LGBTQ community is portrayed in the media, now. She spoke about how shows that are some of the most watched are ones that have the best understanding of gays. Some of the main shows that have characters that are gay are: The Ellen Show, Glee, and Modern Family.


Shown below is a song from Glee that is performed by the character Santanna. Santanna is a "closet gay" who has feelings for her best friend Britney. Britney and Santanna have had sexual tension throughout the whole show. Although they have had several boyfriends throughout the seasons, it is known that they are gay. However, while Britney excepts her sexuality, Santanna does not. She feels as though she won't be looked at the same if she comes out. In the video below, you will see how she thinks she will change, and how she does have feelings for Britney but wants to make sure that they stay concelled.

(this video was taken from YouTube)



Glee is one of the top shows on TV now. This show is one that tends to push the limits on the "norms" of television. While it is one that everyone tends to enjoy, it is also the one that has some of the deepest messages that it is trying to portray.

Another show that the LGBTQ group talked about was Modern Family. Modern Family is a new show that has a great rating on TV. It is about a family who is all connected through each smaller part of the groups. One of the families includes 2 gay fathers who care for their adopted daughter. While they do tend to face many difficulties of being gay, the 2 gentleman mostly have normal lives. The one man is the "man in the relationship." He is the one who goes to work everyday and makes sure that everything is taken care of. Cam on the otherhand, the other gay man, tends to be the woman in the relationship in the sense that he stays home with their daughter and takes on most of the woman roles. Below is another video...this one from Modern Family, which shows the two men interacting about how Cam takes on the "woman" in the relationship. While he believes he doesn't, all the mothers that they family hangs out with, reassure him that he does.

On a more serious note during the presentation, the members of the LGBTQ club opened up and shared their own coming out experiences. Some were very touching, making the atmosphere in the room quite tense. I really enjoyed hearing each and every one of the experiences that they shared, because this topic is very close to me. My sister is gay and she recently came out a few years back. I find it hard for people to talk about, because these are some of the most hard times in their lives. My sister used to be teased about certain issues, and I know that that made it much more difficult for her.

While reading throught the book from class, Gender, Race, and Class in the Media, I found many of the short articles to be very fitting to the topic of homosexuality. In Chaper 37. The Limitations of the Discourse of Norms, there is a section in which people sugest that gays should be "quietly gay" and not flaunt it to the world. They believe that the parades that are held during "gay pride week" are too much for many people to face. In another chapter within the book "Resisting, Reiterating, and Dancing Through" Ellen DeGeneres is the main topic of writing. Ellen is a famous talk show host who is openly gay. However, in this chapter there is a section that basically questions why she isn't someone who flaunts during the show that she is gay. Guinevere Turner, a famous lesbian actress states, "How could you dance like that and not be gay? That's a way of saying with every opening representation, I'm Gay!"

While I do believe that people should be able to speak openly about being gay, I do have to agree that there are other ways of showing it. I find it interesting, because there are many people who are in the media who are gay, and we know it without them even having to say so. This is the difference that the book shows. The TV shows like Glee and Modern Family do a great job of depicting gays, through their actions, words, and feelings...They don't have them stating every 5 minuteds that they are indeed, gay.

Works Cited

Clarkson, J. (2011). The Limitations of the Discourse of Norms. In. G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender, Race, and Class in Media (pp 335-340). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.

Moore, C. (2011). Resisting, Reiterating, and Dancing Through. In. G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender, Race, and Class in Media (pp 531-540). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.



Audiance Reception: The Effects of Violent Video Games On Gender

Introduction

The following research was conducted to study the similarities and differences between male and female perception of violent video games. We observed and interviewed male and female gamers between the ages of 21 and 30[1]. Each participant was chosen because of their interest and experience in playing violent video games. Our research focused on first person shoot games in which individuals are rewarded for violent behavior within the game. Individuals were observed separately in their respective houses to prevent any outside distractions from influencing their playing habits.

Videogame research is incredibly important in our society because of the sudden expansion of games and gamers within the last 15 years. Over half the population play video games, that is approximately 170 million people. With the rise in violent video games, the question of how they affect gamers, specifically dealing with aggression, is being studied more and more. For our research, we chose to take this dilemma and relate it to gender in order to get a different perspective on the topic.

Prior to our research, we assumed that the playing habits amongst opposing genders would differ considering stereotypical gender roles. Specifically, we thought that not as many women played these types of violent shooter games. Also, we assumed that the women who did play these games would not demonstrate aggressive behavior while playing. However, after concluding our research, we found our initial assumptions to be inaccurate. Class discussions, text readings, and observing and interviewing the participants allowed us a better insight of the video game world and how it affects players positively and negatively, specifically regarding gender.

With the information gathered, we were able to relate our findings to two class readings, “Video Games and Machine Dreams of Domination” by John Sansonmatsu and “You Play Like a Girl- Cross Gender Competition and Uneven Playing Fields” by Elena Bertozzi as well as the documentary, Game Over: Gender Race & Violence. This allowed us to dive deeper into our topic and prepared us to answer some of our own questions as to why there are similarities and differences between male and female gamers’ perception and reception of first person shooter games.

Male Gamers’ Responses to Violent Videogames

Three male gamers were observed playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 individually for one hour. After the observation, they were asked to respond to 20 questions regarding violent video games, the gamers’ views, and the behaviors they demonstrate while playing. Interestingly, the three gamers agreed on the majority of their answers. As a whole, the male gamers play first person shooter games an estimated 30 hours a week, specifically the game series COD in the online multiplayer mode. All of them have at least five other friends that play online with them and said that they play because their friend play, making this type of gaming a sort of social network. Two of the gamers said that they enjoy the competition aspect of the game and how they are able to demonstrate their skills and knowledge to other gamers.

The development of realism throughout the history of the series has captivated all of the male gamers, especially regarding the graphics. One gamer stated, “everyone wants to feel as if they are doing the missions and objectives themselves.” Although they agreed on the importance of realism, they also agreed that COD is not a real depiction of war, specifically because once players have died during a battle, they come back to life a few moments later to continue on in their mission. Also, they do not consider COD to be “very” violent because players see minimum blood spillage. In response to this, on gamer said that he does not feel remorse for killing others in the game because “you kill them and they lay there and die, disappear, and start playing again.” Finally, all the gamers said that they do not believe that such games affect them negatively, although they may have that effect on other players. However, all the games stated that they do demonstrate much more verbal aggression when playing, with two of the players affirmed that they demonstrate some sort of physical aggression, such as throwing their controller. These results seem to indicate that such violent video games do have some form of negative effect on players.

Female Gamers’ Responses to Violent Videogames

Three female gamers were also observed while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, for an hour each. After each of the females was observed they answered a series of 20 questions relating to violent video games, the way they respond to the violence, and the behavior they obtained while playing. Surprisingly, all three of the female participant answered the questions in similar ways to the male participants. On average, the female participants played COD, an online multiplayer game, about 35 hours per week. While playing the game, they tend to play along with their friends, encouraging each other to do well. When questions were asked about how they react when playing the game, they responded that they all tend to swear and get frustrated if it is not ending how they want it to.

Similar to the male participants, the female participants thought that the evolving graphics in the game made it more realistic in the sense that they felt more a part of the game. However, when asked, “Do you find COD to be a real depiction of war?” one of the female participants, a former US Marine, answered “compared to the wars I have been in, no.” All of them responded that they use a head set while playing the game, which allows them to interact with other player around the world. This made each of the participants feel as though they were more attached to the game, because it allowed them to give off certain missions that they want the others to accomplish. Interestingly, all of the female participants responded that they were not affected by the violence in the video games, but they did say that they tend to swear more when in the zone. They believe that younger teens would be affected by it, because they feel like they don’t know when to differentiate reality from games. Because the females tend to swear a lot more when playing the game, it shows that the games do have some sort of negative affect on each of them.

Interpreting the Results

The question concerning if violent videogames increase aggression in individuals has been heavily researched throughout the years. Sanbonmatsu proposes that “video game culture ‘hails’ or conditions us into an aggressive, socially destructive form of consciousness (p 428). Similarly, Craig A. Anderson, PhD states that although some studies have found no significant effects of such video games, they are still associated with an increase in aggressive behavior and thoughts, an increase in arousal, and a decrease in “helping” behavior. With our specific research, we focused on gender behavior while playing such videogames and how they differentiate.

We decided to have the gamers play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (COD) because of its recent release and large fan base. It is a first person shooter games in which individuals work as teams to destroy the enemy in war. Gamers are rewarded with experience points every time they kill an enemy player. When a player kills anywhere from 2-25 people in a row without dying, they are given greater rewards such as air support and even tactical nukes, which kill everyone on the map, giving the team an automatic win (Modern Warfare). The documentary Game Over: Gender, Race & Violence specifically talks about how individuals are rewarded for their violent behaviors within the game. Such rewards convince the gamer that violent behavior is condoned and pushes them to play more often. It provokes them to continue violent behavior within the game

Our results yield a uniform conclusion that both male and female gamers demonstrate similar behaviors while playing violent video games. Both genders partake in verbal aggression such as swearing, yelling, and slandering the other team. However, only the men responded that they occasionally demonstrate physical aggression, although we did not observe this first hand. Although it is important to keep in mind that other forms of violent media may also be a factor in their behavior, Craig A. Anderson, PhD agrees that because videogames are interactive forms of media, they have a stronger effect on individuals. The gamers must actually identify with the violent characters because they are controlling their every move, from what weapon they carry to who they kill and how they go about it. Such active participation increases the learning process of such behaviors, specifically in young children. Since each battle is only about 15 minutes long, gamers are able to play multiple battles during one play period. This repetition instills the idea of aggressive behaviors in the mind (Anderson).

Some researchers have argued that it is important for males to demonstrate aggressive masculinity when playing video games because their physical bodies are not seen by other gamers. Terms such as “pussy” and “fag” are acceptable among men and less acceptable among women. Males strive to emphasis their masculinity by displaying such behaviors that separate themselves from females (Bertozzi). However, as we have concluded, female gamers use similar words and actions to display aggression. Is this such a display a way for them to be on the same playing field as men, so male gamers know that the female gamers are just as serious about the game as they are? Or rather, is it something deeper, perhaps a sincere way for them to display their competitiveness and release their anger? Whatever the reason is, the similarities among male and female gamers’ behaviors while playing violent video games proves that video games do help shatter gender stereotypes in some way.

Each gamer replied that the more realistic the game is, they more they want to play. As a first person shooter game, COD allows the individuals to only see the gun that their character is holding, not the actual character himself. This gives the players the perception that they are actually holding the gun and that they are actually the character inside of the game. All the interviewees responded that although they may play third person shooter games, they prefer the first person affect. Such realism captivates the player by placing them a fantasy situation that is depicted as real life, making them feel like they are actually in the game. However, in COD players are brought back to life right after they are killed, the most unrealistic aspect of the game. Also, interestingly enough, when shooting, the bullet doesn’t have to actually hit the target to count, it only has to hit the area directly surrounding the target.

As previously stated, we assumed that female gamers would not be as interested in such violent videogames as male gamers. Also, we assumed that they would not demonstrate similar levels of aggression as male gamers. However, as our research has indicated, this is not the case. Despite the hegemonic male roles displayed in the game (only male characters in a power role are displayed), female gamers are still drawn to the game. In fact, the female gamers averaged a higher amount of game play per week than the male gamers. Despite gender, individuals are drawn to power and control, especially through competition. Therefore, female gamers will want to play first person shooter games just as much as males. Sanbonmatsu describes the visceral power of the medium of such videogames saying that those who play can attest to “the degree to which intense player involvement heightens the psychological connection between human and machine (p 428).”

Elena Bertozzi argues that some studies suggest that “the emphasis on violent/shooting-based conflict keeps females from being interested in this type of play (p 443).” She goes along saying that females are more prone to playing games that involve more social interaction. However, as we have discovered, COD focuses quite heavily on social interaction, especially in the online multiplayer mode. It is also stated that the reason that males and females play with their respective genders is because “single gender playgrounds are arenas in which players feel somewhat freed from having to deal with the complexities of cross-gender interactions which affect every other area of their lives (p 444).” All three of the male gamers affirmed that they have never played first person shooter games with females. However, all the females have played such games with males. The reason for this may be the lack of other female gamers or that the female gamers want more competition and feel that male players are able to provide that for them.

Conclusion

Throughout our research, interviews, and observations, we have concluded that both male and female gamers demonstrate similar aggressive behaviors while playing first person shooter games, despite what we initially hypothesized. As stated in the intro, we thought that the stereotypical views of males and females would affect the way that each group reacted to the violence of video games. However, in reality, the views were almost identical within each group, although the male gamers were more prone to physical aggression while female gamers relied more on verbal aggression. These results demonstrate the metamorphosis of gender stereotypes in the world of video games.

Each participant thought that the updated graphics gave a better insight to the reality of the game. While each of them agreed that COD was not a real depiction of war, they did state that it allowed them to feel as though they were in the shoes of the shooter. Despite this realism, every interviewee responded that they are not affected by videogames, despite their demonstrations of increased aggression while playing. Their unawareness of change in their behaviors has now been brought into the light. Having the interviewees answer questions after playing the games for one hour not only provided us information, but also allowed them to reflect on their own views and behaviors. Several of the interviewees stated that this was the first time they thought about video games in a way regarding violence and that it gave them a better insight of their own game play.

Although there were a few questions brought up about the similarities in gender behaviors that we were unable to completely answer, the information and research gathered from this project allowed us to think about violence in the media in a new way. It provoked us to come up with possible answers to difficult questions that arose and challenged us to step into the playing field with these gamers and experience a hobby that, for most of them, takes up much of their time and energy. We were able to conclude that although there still may be gender stereotypes within video games, they are slowly fading away in regards to the gamers themselves.

Works Cited

Anderson, Craig A. (2000). Violent Video Games Increase Aggression and Violence. Iowa State University of Science & Technology. Retrieved on November 12, 2011. http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2000-2004/00senate.pdf

Bertozzi, E. (2011). You Play Like a Girl: Cross Gender Competition and Uneven Playing Fields. In G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender Race, and Class in Media (pp 443-446). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.

Modern Warfare. (2009).The Modern Warfare 2. Retrieved on November 15, 2011, from themodernwarfare2.com: http://www.themodernwarfare2.com/mw2/multiplayer/killstreaks/

Sanbonmatsu, J. (2011). Video Games and Machine Dreams of Domination. In. G. Dines & J. Humez (Eds.), Gender, Race, and Class in Media (pp 427-429). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, INC.

Girls Like Pink...Boys Like Blue. True Story?

What exactly is Hegemony?
As defined in Dines, chaper 3, hegemony is the power or dominance that one social group holds over others. hegemony is the "dominance and subordination in the field of relations stuctured by power." However, hegemony is more than social power itself; it is a method for gaining and maintaining power. (Dines)

As stated in our book, "hegemony is not a direct stimulation of thought or action, but, is a framing of all competeing definiations of reality within the dominant class's rage brining all alternatives within their horizons of thought." Hegemony affects the way that people view different race, gender, and much more. Because we are raised to think that boys need to be tough and girls need to be very girly, we generally all play along with the general stereotypes of hegemony. From birth, hegemony plays a role in how people look at boys and girls. When a mother finds out what they are having, typically they run out and buy clothes for the child. when they have a boy they purchase blue clothing, or green. However, when they are having a girl they tend to purchase pink clothing or even purple. Why is it that girls are stereotyped as pink and boys blue? In my 360 class with Megan Mullen, we had to look at an advertisment that went along with hegemony. In front of us was a bar of pink soap, and a bar of white soap. Because of the stereotypical views that we are raised to have, girls said that they would use the pink soap over the white...males would use white over pink. It's soap! But still, hegemonic thinking took place.
Along with hegemony comes the differentideologies. Gender, race, and class ideologies are also stereotyical views of what people are proned to being like.

Gender:
1) Women - Typically from birth, women are viewed as dainty, polite, clean, wearing pink, being frilly, having bows in hair...as they grow older, women take on the role of being compassionate, loving, a caregiver, someone who cooks, takes care of kids, and makes sure that they have a house up to standards of men.
2) Men - Men from birth are looked at as soccer/football players, humorous, loud, dirty, and rude...as they age, they become more manly and being to be rugid, tough, loud, the bread winner, someone who makes all the money for the family, tall, and masculine

Race:
1) Blacks - Black men and women are often looked at as theives, rude, innappropriate, outspoke, uneducated, and unmotivated
2) Whites - White men and women are looked at as at the dominant race. they are though to be smart, funny, driven, proper, and educated.
3) Asians -  Asian men and women are thought to be very smart, good at martial arts

Class:
1) Middle - Ambitious, working hard, supporting family to best of their ability
2) Working - Rude, lazy, irresponsible
3) Upper - Snoppy, republicans, lots of money, educated, proper


**Posted below is a video by Good Charolette called 'Boys and Girls'. Basically it talks about how girls are only looking for money and hot guys and how men are looking for girls who are hot and dumb. I think that it fits with hegemony because it is very stereotypical...I took the video off of YouTube.

Paper on Pornography :)

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walk like a man...talk like a man?

In last weeks class, we watched a video about the "typical" role that men often work at to portray. These "cookie cutter" men are what little boys dream of being, right? Tall, dark, handsome, strong, muscular, tough, badass, rebel, etc.? Masculinity in our world today, is a very narrow concept. Because of this, I feel as though the media is almost forced to meet the standards of these tough guys, by portaying this character in shows and movies. If a guy isn't masculine, than he is weak, geeky, nerdy, etc. What is a man without his masculinity?


However, what happens when a man strays away from the ideal? Is that character always made to be weak? According to what we have grown up thinking, this man must be ugly, fat, weak, and nerdy, because he doesn't fit into the role that he should. However, this isn't always true...There are many men that go against the "ideal" and are still looked up to and viewed as someone who is manly and desireable.

Justin Timberlake:
Justin Timberlake is a man who doesn't fit into the ideal image of the typical man. He is thin, funny, kinda nerdy, and not very hardcore. He is someone, however, that girls still view as being a man. Just because he doesn't fit into the norm, he is still masculine. There are many different kinds!

Ryan Gosling:
Another example of a man who isn't buldging with muscles and giving mean looks to anyone and everyone. He is a clean cut man, who is a star in many famous movies. He is the guy people tend to put in the "friend" zone, because he doesn't give off the idealism that they prefer. However, he is one that all girls admire.

Ryan Reynolds:
Lastly, is this gentleman, Ryan Reynolds. He is again, a funny man who doens't portray the typical image that is expected. He is sensitive, humorous, and often nerdy. He is a man who is knowlegdable, and doesn't act like someone who is always looking to pick a fight, also.









So, as shown above, not every man needs to be the tough meat head, with buldging muscles, to be considered masculine. In every day life, more men look like the ones above, rather than the others.