Stereotypical

Evelyn's essay examins and shows the huge impact of hip hop in today's culture. She did a great job by providing examples from the media. Jason Hinmon experienced what most people do; stereotypes based on physical appearances. Based on the fact that Jason dresses a certain way, and has his hair a certain way makes people look at him differently. Dressing the way he likes expresses his individually. This should not affect the way people look at him, or treat him. As the saying goes, “Never judge a book by its cover.” Midgette somewhat has a point about students with a higher education dressing a certain way. Of course, as I previously stated, no one should be judged by the way he/she dressed. On the other hand, dressing a certain way should come with a sense of maturity. For example, if you seen a professor dress the way Jason did, you would probably not take him seriously. Although these accusations are not fair, that is the way society is.

Evelyn, J. (2008). “The Miseducation of Hip-Hop Discrimination in Education.” Pop Perspectives Readings to Critique Contemporary Culture. (115-119). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

“The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures”

Neil Postman and Steve Powers wrote a short essay called “The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures.” This essay has tons of great detailed description of the structure of a newscast. Postman and Powers claim the differences between stationary pictures, moving pictures and language is all how the media and their viewers look at it, which is quite simple. This is important to a larger point in an essay because Postman and Powers are providing evidence describing the difference between stationary pictures, moving pictures and languages by speaking about the newspaper and television shows. For instance, a television show contains series of events that occurs in a sequence, and the sequence is the same for all viewers (Postman and Powers, 1992, p. 488). When a newspaper page displays many items, allowing readers to choose the order they would like to read it in. Or just read a brief summary and make a decision if they want to continue reading the same topic or to change it. Postman and Powers main claim about today’s newscast is that viewers must come with a prepared mind, with information, opinions, a sense of proportion, an articulate value system (Postman and Powers, 1992, p.488). This is because viewers are lacking such mental equipment and the huge difference of newspaper articles and a television show. I definitely agree with Postman and Powers because sometimes I do not view a magazine with a “prepared mind.” While waiting in the line at the grocery store I would grab a magazine and read the interesting topics about celebrities and I usually leave the grocery story shocked about what I read. This is because I did not have all of the information about this celebrity and I believed what the media says. Overall, Postman and Powers did an excellent job describing the difference between stationary pictures, moving pictures and languages.

Postman, N & Powers, S. (1992). The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures (pp. 481-489). In L. Gray-Rosendale (Ed.) Pop Perspective: readings to critique contemporary culture. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

The Force: Volkswagen Commercial

The Force Volkswagen commecial definitely engaged it's viewers to continue watching instead of flipping the channels! This commercial consists of both male and female genders. It's quite obvious that the mother is home making her child a sandwich. The father pulls up in his Volkswagen Passat and comes out of the car wearing a suit and he is holding a briefcase or a laptop case. In the 21st century, there are not many stay at home mothers. Both mother and father work to pay bills and provide for their children. You are actually considered lucky to be a stay at home mom in the 21st century. The way the economy is today, we can't afford to stay home with our children as much as we would like. However, it is traditional for the mother to stay home to cook and take care of her children while the father works. If the father is holding a laptop case then this definitely represents the 21st century because technology today is huge. Everyone has a laptop, I-pad, etc.


The child is dressed up as the character Darth Vader from Star Wars. He tried to work his magic on the tread mill, the dog, the washing machine, the doll, his sandwich and finally his father's VW Passat. When his father comes inside and locks the car with the remote, he believes his magic was at its full force and it worked! Star Wars is a very big hit; it's been around for over 30 years. The media and pop culture kept Star Wars entertainment going by releasing new videos, comic books and toys for its fans. Star Wars remains a big hit today and this commercial did an excellent job advertising the new Volkswagen!

Justin Bieber's Baby Video

The video “Baby” by Justin Beiber is a hit! It has 561,690,972 views and counting. The gender representation in this video is mixed with both male and female teenagers. This video takes place in a bowling alley where teenagers are hanging out and enjoying eachother's company. In the 21st century parents seem to be a lot more lenient then they were back in the days. Parents usually do not let their childrean leave home or hang out with friends in a place such as a bowling alley. They believed this purpose was for protection and moral reasons. In the new years the bowling alley is known as a common "hang out spot" for teenagers. They meet up with their friends, girlfriends and/or boyfriends out of school. This video shows indication that teenagers has more freedom then they use to. In this video, Justin Beiber seems to be trying to get the attention of a young teenage girl. The young teenage girl brushes him off and they seem to have a little competition as their interaction. The teenage genders interact in the beginning by playing a game of bowling while the other teenagers sit around, chat and watch. Later in the video a dance-off takes place. It seems to be female vs. male in the dance-off. Each gender seems to behaving a fun time, by laughing, dancing and all the rest of their expressions and movements. Traditionally, the male teenager would ask the females parents permission to take her out. He usually takes her out to dinner and if they go dancing it's usually to a school dance. This is not a huge change from previous conceptions about teenagers and their habits because teenagers still find a way to go out and have a good time together. As the new years past, changes are made slowly but surely. The 21st century has a positive outlook today and this video indicates it. It shows that we are more opened about teenage relationships and teenage freedom. Also, the merge with pop and rap does not show a huge indication in the music industry. Rap is usually known to be disrespectful and inappropiate. This video proves most people wrong because Ludacris kept his lyrics clean and PG-13. The world today accepts changes and Justin Beiber's video is an example of that.


http://www.vevo.com/watch/justin-bieber/baby/USUV71000127