SATIRE---GET ON THE CAIN TRAIN!!!

Wikipedia defines satire as, “literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement.[1] Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon” (2011). 

Saturday Night Live – Weekend Updates is a great example a genre that practices satire. 

Saturday Night Live recently did a satire or ‘spoof’ on the skeletons in Herman Cain’s closet that have come out to haunt him.  Before you look at the clip from SNL, first have a look at Cain’s political home page.  (Pay close attention to the train reference).

This second video is a Saturday Night Live ‘spoof’ of several interviews that republican presidential candidate, Herman Cain, participated in.  The original interviews include Cain denying alleged extramarital affairs, denying having a mistress, denying alleged sexual harassment of coworkers and subordinates.  While the incidents themselves are likely very hurtful to Mrs. Cain, we laugh.  We know that the incidents have likely killed Cain’s campaign, but we laugh. The Wikipedia definition above describes satire as “…a weapon intent on shaming individuals” (2011).  In this case that is absolutely true.  The spoof is funny because the actors say what most of us are thinking. “Herman Cain, You are a hypocrite!”  His behavior contradicts so many of the strong conservative opinions that he has peddled during his campaign.   In my opinion, this video is screaming at Herman Cain to stop all the nonsense, own up to what you did, and stop treating the American public like we are blind FOOLS!   

Enjoy the video!

SNL -HERMAN CAIN SPOOF

References

HermanCain.com. (2011) Cain 2012. Retrieved on line from: http://www.hermancain.com/meet_herman

NBC.com. (2011) Saturday Night Live, Weekend Update. Retrieved on line from:  http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-herman-cain/1371746

Wikipedia. (2011).  Satire. Retrieved on line from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire

WHAT CAME FIRST, THE FANTASY OR THE REALITY?

Our blog assignment this week was to interview someone who plays the violent, war based video games.  I talked to a friend who has a 60” screen in his ‘man cave’ where he plays video games.  He doesn’t want his name on my blog, so I will refer to him as ‘D’ moving forward. 

Just to give you a little background on ‘D’ – He is married, 42 years old and the father of 3, with 1 grandson.  He is a professional who has worked at his job for a little over 8 years.  He owns his home and is very comfortable in his life. 

The game that ‘D’ plays most often is called “Battlefield 3” aka BF3 ¹.  I asked what the game involved and he described it as a warfare game in which you feel like you are a part of the action.  He said that the graphics were outstanding. You also get to play with other people rather than against the computer.  I got a chance to see the game for myself when I went on line.  The graphics are very realistic.   See for yourself…

                                                            “Battlefield 3”

I had a few questions for ‘D’…

Kim -- “Why do you play this game? What do you like about it?

‘D’ -- “I can’t give you a reason.  I just know that I like it.”

Kim – “Do you think that the game is violent?”

‘D’ – “Yes, I actually had a conversation with a coworker about the game a few days ago.  I reminded her that we are not the first generation of people who have played war games.  When my dad was a kid he played with toy soldiers.  He had toy guns and tanks.  Kids used to play ‘cowboys and Indian’s -- that was a war game.  They pretended to kill each other.  I have video games.  The only difference between us and them is that they had to use their imagination to pretend to be in battle.   I get to pretend using a 60 inch screen!” 

Kim -- “Do you think that “BF3” simulates real battle situations?”

‘D’ – “I have never been a soldier, but I guess that the game simulates real battles.  I have seen some documentaries about Vietnam, the Iraq War, Afghanistan – the game seems pretty realistic.  I used to watch “M.A.S.H” on TV all the time.  This game seems much more realistic than that.

Kim –“Do you think that the violent video games encourage violence in kids?”

‘D’ – “Think about it, my pops and his friends played with guns and toy soldiers.  They didn’t have video games.  They learned from what they heard their fathers and grandfathers saying.  No, I don’t think that the games make people violent, I think that people make the games violent.”

In my opinion, I don’t think that violent images cause us to react in violent way. However I do think that they desensitize us to an extent.  I believe that the mass media, specifically the local and national new and newspapers do more harm when it comes to desensitization than the video games. 
I think that this video of our soldiers fighting in Iraq has more impact and should cause violence and outrage moreso than a video game.

 ‘D’ made a good point. Our parents, grandparents etc., played war games long before any of us were born.  It is kinda like the chicken or the egg question.  So, what came first the real violence or the fantasy violence?

  References:

¹ Battlefield 3. Developed by EA Digital Illusions CE & Published by Electronic Arts

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxqG-Km1p98

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGlRr3MGafU

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfrrAp1blaM

YouTube.com. (2011).  Retrieved on line from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2xeZdIxdHE

¹ Battlefield 3. Developed by EA Digital Illusions CE & Published by Electronic Arts.

!!!CONTROL!!!

In our class we discussed Manufacturing Consent – 20% of the population makes all of the decisions; 80% of us do as we are told.  When I first heard of the concept in class, I didn’t believe it or I should say, that I didn’t want to believe it.  However, I realized that I am told what style of clothing and shoes to wear, what hairstyles look best by ads and style trends set by the 20%.  I am told which stores to shop in, what food to cook, which automobile to purchase based on the small percentage of people who own the franchises and determine what to put on sale this week. I am even told which major to take in college based on media projections of which jobs will be most successful in the next 5 years. 

After reflecting on it for a while I found a simple but accurate analogy to the idea of Manufacturing Consent.   When we are first born, we are fed mother’s milk or formula.  We are given this form of sustenance because that is all our immature bodies are able to handle.  Our parents determine when we can digest more. As we grow and mature our parents determine which foods can be added to our diet to ensure that we are given only the foods that we can safely digest.  We dont have control of our own destiny.  We often talk about having choices, but we only only have the choices that the 20% allows us to have. 

The demonstrators at the Occupy Oakland protests are members of the population who were attempting to make their voices heard. Unfortunately the attempt went of control when the peaceful solidarity demonstration became violent.    

Scott Olson a Veteran of the Iraq war was hit by a tear gas canister during the protest.

The following is a photograph taken on the night of 10/25/11 in Oakland CA.  There is no caption but there is an accompanying short article on a page from Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (2011). The article indicated that the protest was peaceful until the Mayor (Quan) allowed a raid of the camps.  If I was supporting the protestors I would be appalled at their treatment.  In reading the article, it would seem that the protestors were simply having a quiet, peaceful protest, invoking their “freedom of speech and right to assemble” (Ella Baker Center, 2011) when they were attacked in their sleep in the middle of the night.  Looking at the photograph, I would assume that an innocent man was attacked by the establishment for simply invoking his rights. 

                                                      Iraq Vet shot by police during peaceful protest in Oakland CA.

If I was not a supporter of the cause I might have a different view of the incident. Since the article was written by a biased source, I would assume that the opinion was one sided.  Looking at the photo I might see some trouble makers attempting to get away from a crime that they committed carrying an unfortunate friend who was hurt during the commission of a crime. 

                        Masked Protesters escape capture from police during protest in Oakland CA.

Now the question is which caption is true?

We were not there, so we don’t know the whole truth! 

Our discussion this week centered on how we are impacted by photographic media.  We discussed the concept of reality.  How much can we believe it if we didn't see it happen?  We see world news everyday on TV.  Do the tragedies we see a world away mean less than the tragedies that we see in our neighborhoods? firsthand? I fed you two photographs.  A very small amount of editing and a different caption changed the context of the photos.  If I was for the protestors you would have one view of the events of the night; If i was against the protestors, you would have an opposing view of the events of the night.  I could feed you as much or as little as I wanted about this event.   

Manufacturing Consent in essence keeps many of us in the infant stage unless we choose to take control of our own destiny. We cannot blame the 20% for our lack of control; the choice is ours.  

References:

EllaBakerCenter.com. (2011). "Stand Up For Occupy Oakland" Retrieved on line from: https://secure3.convio.net/ebc/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=219

YouTube.com (2011). "VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN SHOT IN THE HEAD BY POLICE AT OCCUPY OAKLAND (Full Video)". Retrieved on line from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ublU-VXsxRI&feature=related

FRACK YOU!!!

When the subject of Fracking was discussed in class, I immediately recalled that it had something to do with some type of drilling.  But I have to admit that is all I could remember about the subject.  Prior to returning to college, I was much more informed about the events of the day.  Since I don’t have free time, there is not much TV watching and paper reading.  I spend my time with family and friends when I get a break. 

After reading about Fracking, I realized that it should be the subject of conversations that I have with my family and friends.  I didn’t know that the issue was hitting so close to home.  The impurities from the process could be affecting us all as we speak.  The map below where the drilling is in Western PA. 

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/27/us/natural-gas-map.html?ref=us

Fracking has been linked to “…bromide in water and brominated compounds are potentially highly toxic” (Rogers, 2011)

The concern is not a new one.  “Will there be radioactivity or arsenic released into groundwater? Will the emissions of thousands of natural gas sources cause us to exceed the Environmental Protection Agency's ozone standard, thereby requiring pollution controls that limit industrial development” (Rogers, 2011)

A study is being conducted but the Fracking process is preceding the results of the study.  Is there a reason that the process can’t wait until we get results?

Marcellus Shale is an,”…immense stretch of rock that runs deep underground through parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. This rock is rich in natural gas” (MyRangeResources.com, 2011).  It is described by MyRangeResources as, “…the power we need to help transform Pennsylvania's economy.”  Considering what I have read about the effects that might happen as a result of the drilling, it seems like we will be trading our health for a source of natural gas.  Since the cost of health care continues to rise and the number of citizens without health care continues to rise, it seems like a pretty poor trade off.  The oil companies and the state will profit and the residents will suffer.  But if you listen to this ad, you would think that this is the safest best thing that could happen to us as a community.  Each video gives you the warm and fuzzies but does not address the real issues. 

http://myrangeresources.com/Natural-Gas/natural.aspx?gclid=CML3sMWchKwCFYSK4AodPk9FJw#?id=0

I know that I have been out of the loop of current events for a while, but I don’t recall being asked if I wanted this type of drilling to occur in my back yard.  I now realize what Noam Chomsky meant by the “Manufacturing of Consent.”  Those of us who have to live with the fallout of the drilling consulted or informed about the process.  Those who will profit the most - big business, the state and federal government - are all well informed and have a hand in the process. Do you think that we as the residents of the state should have a hand in at least slowing the Fracking process? 

FrackTracker.org. (nd)  Retrieved on line from:  http://fractracker.org/

MyRangeResources.com. (2011) “The Rock the Powers Pennsylvania’s Economy”  Retrieved on line from:  http://myrangeresources.com/Natural-Gas/natural.aspx?gclid=CML3sMWchKwCFYSK4AodPk9FJw#?id=0

Rogers, R.  PittsburghPostGazette.com.(2011) “So What's the Rush to Drill for Gas?”   Retrieved on line from: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11229/1167715-109-0.stm?cmpid=newspanel5#ixzz1Y25vYUIl

White, J.  NY Times. (Feb. 2011).  Toxic Contamination From Natural Gas Wells. Retrieved on line from: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/27/us/natural-gas-map.html?ref=us

BREAKING NEWS!

CHANNEL 11 NEWS WPXI October 13, 2011 @6:30AM    

On October 13, I recorded the local news on channel 11.  The call letters of the station is WPXI and they are an affiliate of NBC which is national. 

What you are reading is actually the second blog that I created for this assignment.  When I wrote the first, I pretty much did a minute by minute accounting of what I saw and gave my opinions of such.  I paused the recording to log my observations.  In all it took me well over an hour to document information about a 30 minute broadcast.   The blog was thorough and included info on commercials, who killed whom, what roads not to use and that the weather is fall –like, (imagine that, fall-like weather in October).  You get the gist of it. After reading it I realized how UTTERLY BORING IT WAS.  So I scrapped it.

I then restarted the recording and watched it real time.  I didn’t do what I usually do which is to channel surf during the commercials.  I actually - probably the first time in my life - sat down and watched the newscast in its entirety. 

In that whole thirty minute broadcast, a little over 16 minutes was dedicated to the actual news broadcast.  The remainder of the time was commercials.  I understand that they have bills to pay, but come on! 

Of the 16 minutes about 6 minutes was dedicated to the weather and the traffic.  The remainder of the broadcast included acts of violence and lechery that occurred in the city overnight.  There were 4 or 5 events.  The coverage of all but 1 of the events lasted for about 2 minutes, total.  The other 8 minutes was spent covering the fatal shooting of a police officer in Greensburg.  This was indeed an important story to cover.  This family man with a wife and 2 young sons lost his life trying to keep his community safe.  However, the way in which WPXI sensationalized this horrible event was disgusting. 

The first mention of the shooting came one minute into the broadcast.  There was a mobile reporter at the scene of the shooting and another at the police precinct.  Both reporting conversation with witnesses and grieving friends and family of the officer.  This went on at approximately 8 minute intervals during the broadcast; usually right after the weather and traffic.  I think that this time was chosen because news and weather are, in my opinion, the main reason why people watch the news at such an early hour.   We sure don’t watch for entertainment. This was the most noteworthy event of the morning.  Each time I watched the coverage of the shooting, I was careful to see if they were reporting something that they had not the time before.  Nothing had changed.  The reporters were standing in the same spot, saying the same things.  They showed the same video of the fallen officer and his dog.  They made the same mention of the family man and the sad fact that this man’s children are now fatherless.  And if the repetition on the screen was not enough, the anchor man advised 4 different times that we could also go to WPXI.com to get more information on the shooting.  Through this entire reporting, nothing changed from the first reporting of the incident at 6:31 until the last reporting of the incident at 6:59.  All while the ticker at the bottom of the screen showed ads for Get Go products and services.  

WPXI.COM

Some of the questions we were asked to ponder were:

What does the news do for me? Nothing good.   It makes me afraid to walk out of my front door.  If a police officer can be shot down at a local shop, what hope is there for me?  The weathercast does not prepare me for the day.  Looking out of the window does. 

Is there something that you learned from the progression of the show?  Yes, there is no progression.  We could record the first 6 minutes of the show and then rerun it 5 times. Game over.

Consider the commercials.  Why would they advertise during the local news?  Most of the ads that I saw were from local car dealerships and local businesses advertising services.  It makes a lot of sense for the local business to advertise locally rather than to a national audience.

This was a good experiment to complete.  One very good thing came out of it.  I now know that I should be watching the commercials and fast forwarding through the newscast.

Oh yeah one more thing... WPXI must have a reporter on every corner of every street in the tri state area. During this newscast, they said 9 times that they were the first to report one thing or another.  Their entire newscast was an advertisement for their newscast! 

OPEN LETTER TO MR. WALT DISNEY REGARDING THE EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE OF BELLE THE PRINCESS.

Dear Mr. Disney,

I have noticed that one of the characters in your Disney movies may be in distress.  She is showing signs of mental and physical abuse at the hands of her partner. 

I would first like to bring to your attention the signs of physical and mental abuse as they are described by HelpGuide.Org  (2011).  Please read below:

SIGNS THAT YOU’RE IN AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP 

Do you:

1.        Feel afraid of your partner much of the time?

2.        Avoid certain topics out of fear of angering your partner?

3.        Feel that you can’t do anything right for your partner?

4.        Believe that you deserve to be hurt or mistreated?

5.        Wonder if you’re the one who is crazy?

6.        Feel emotionally numb or helpless? 

 Does your partner:

7.        Humiliate or yell at you?

8.        Criticize you and put you down?

9.        Treat you so badly that you’re embarrassed for your friends or family to see?

10.    Ignore or put down your opinions or accomplishments?

11.    Blame you for their own abusive behavior?

12.    See you as property or a sex object, rather than as a person?

(2011).

The character in question is Belle from Beauty and the Beast.  The alleged partner in question is of course her beast of a mate.  I would first like to discuss the signs that Belle is being abused:

Item 1 - It is obvious during the movie that Belle is afraid of “the Beast”.  She cowers when he enters a room.  She fears him.  When she gets the courage to rebel and yell back at him, she immediately retreats likely in fear of being struck. 

Item 2 – when Belle decided that she was going to ‘fix’ the Beast and wanted to find his kind side, she made sure to choose her words and actions carefully in order to avoid a possible violent confrontation. 

Item 4 and 5 – Belle expressed that maybe the Beast was treating her in this hurtful and rude manner because he was just a hurt soul himself.  She begins to believe that it may not be his fault that he is acting this way.  Belle begins to empathize with his behavior and decided that maybe her actions are causing the bad behavior.  She feels she needs to change her ways in order to change him.  Now she is thinking, is this abuse that I am receiving all my fault?

Item 6 – Feeling helpless? Being locked in a cellar seems pretty helpless to me.

Item 7 – I cannot count how many times that the Beast yelled, growled, towered over, raised his arms above, and generally intimidated Belle by his sheer size and monster like demeanor.  He made it quite obvious that he was bigger and stronger and could hurt her if he so chose.

Item 11 - Beast didn’t have to blame Belle for his behavior.  She took upon herself to do so.

Item 12 – Locking Belle in the cellar in order to get her to bend to his will is a sure sign of Beast treating Belle as a piece of property.  He even denied her food unless she did as he demanded. 

Mr. Disney, taking these serious issues into consideration, I strongly suggest that you look into the abusive relationship between these two characters. 

While we all know that the happy ending of the movie indicated that the couple had resolved their issues we have not seen a follow-up.  Was the happy couple behavior just a façade to make the public believe that the abuse had ended? We have not heard from Belle since the movie ended.  Did the couple seek counseling?  Has the beast reverted to his old ways?  Has Belle’s stronger demeanor been a catalyst for further or worsening abuse?  It is imperative that you look in these issues. 

The characters in question are role models in the community and having young children view this behavior could be detrimental to an entire society.  We are teaching our little boys that it is ok to intimidate the ones we love simply because they are bigger and stronger.  They are being taught that they can push someone else around because they were pushed around by someone else.  They are being taught that if we want someone to do something for us and they don’t want to we can lock them in basement until they are submissive.

Our little girls are being taught that they are the reason that their mate is so angry.  They are being taught that they should change their ways to appease their mate.  They are being taught that it is normal for a bigger stronger person to take advantage of our smaller size. 

Mr. Disney, I have taken the responsibility to speak up since I have seen these signs of domestic abuse.  It is now your turn to take some action.  Please check this website to get guidelines on the necessary steps you should take to assist Belle and Beast in continuing a safe, happy and loving relationship, if this is in fact what Belle wants. 

 You should read the entire website and any related websites. However a good place to start would be under the article, “Speak up if you suspect domestic violence or abuse.”

http://helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_types_signs_causes_effects.htm

Thank you for your time and consideration in this serious matter. 

Mrs. Kimberly Owens

References:

HelpGuide.Org  (2011).  Signs That You Are in an Abusive Relationship.  Retrieved online from: http://helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_types_signs_causes_effects.htm

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL!

After viewing Jean Kilbourne’s video, Killing Us Softly, we discussed how women were not viewed as human beings but rather as objects. One recurrent thought throughout the video was that ‘sex sells’.  This made me begin to think a little deeper about it. 

I think I am going to take the “WHATS THE BIG DEAL?” point of view. 

So what is the big deal? The women who participate in these ads are doing so willingly.  No one is forcing them and they are likely being paid appropriately. No one is forcing you to buy the product and you can always change the channel or look away.  Who is manipulating who?

The ads are created this way because the advertising companies know that they work.

Young children are attracted to bright colors and fast moving objects.  Their ads reflect what they like to see. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yqHrJu1rzo

Women have expressed the desire to see ‘real women’ on TV.  The advertisers are giving that to them. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Lm44y81zg

Men want to see sexy women in bikini’s; that is what they get.  So what is the big deal!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFI5K0l8Nn4

Think about it.  When we see an ad with a woman in a bikini holding a beer in her hand, we know that the commercial is not about the bikini.  We are not going to go out and buy a bikini.  But the man who is watching, may very well decide to pick up that brand of beer when he goes to the distributor to get his case for the game.  Not because it tastes any different than the dozen other beers of the same quality, but because the subliminal image of the girl in the bikini in his head.  It should not be a surprise to us that these ads run around the times of sporting events and on the sports channels.

The little kid who saw the brightly colored toy begs for that toy when he sees it in the store.  These ads are run before after school and on the channels dedicated to children’s programming.

The woman buys this brand of underwear because she BELIEVES that it fits the ‘real woman’.  Again, these ads are run when the ‘real woman’ is watching and on the channels that women watch most often.

So…  I will ask the question again.  Are the women in the ads being manipulated or is the target group to which the ads relate being manipulated?  

References

Youtube.com (nd). Fisher Price The Backyardigans Sing-Along Music Maker Commercial .Retrieved online from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yqHrJu1rzo

Youtube.com (nd). Fruit of the Loom ‘Flawless’ Commercial.  Retrieved online from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Lm44y81zg

Youtube.com (nd). Corona Beer Commercial with White Bikini Girl - Best Commercial Ever. Retrieved online from:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFI5K0l8Nn4