Arranged Delirium

The impact that the media plays in our lives is so profound that it literally has shaped how we act, our emotions, and how we present ourselves. I was thinking about the comment Gina said in class about how men weren’t targeted in this clip. I don’t feel that men are targeted as much as women because men don’t feel the need to use their sexual appeal to gain attention. Since men have been seen as the “dominant” sex there’s not much need to do that. Since the media is a business and obviously targeting women’s bodies makes money nothing will change. Even though women want to start gaining more respect for their bodies/brains, the fact that this approach makes money will not change this representation.

I had always realized how women were portrayed/represented in the media.  However, after watching the trailer, it made me really think about how the media wants us to view women.  One thing in specific (about the trailer) really caught my attention though.  At one point, a news reporter is shown asking Sarah Palin whether her breasts are real.  I followed the 2008 election somewhat closely, and never once did I hear a news reporter ask any of the male presidential candidates (and vice presidential candidates) any comments that would even be in a comparable nature. It really makes me wonder if a woman were to actually become a significant public figure in the White House.  Would America’s main concern be?  Her thoughts on foreign policy or whether or not she had plastic surgery?  It’s troubling to think, as a woman, that my thoughts on relevant things would be inferior to questions about my looks.

After viewing this trailer I think too much attention is paid to the female sex. There cannot be an assertion that an overarching amount of attention is paid to one sex but not another. In fact I think we can make an argument that this is a fairly recent phenomenon for women but one that dates many years to men. Take for example the “gaze” video we watched about Coca-Cola. The women were dressed extremely professional while the lone man was standing there in a fashion I would think not many in the construction industry attire themselves.

I think after viewing this, what is important to note is that this trailer is made clearly from the perspective of a woman who for one reason or another has a vendetta against men. Look at it from this perspective; how many men each year are raped by women, or beaten by women only to be laughed at or not report it for fear of persecution or backlash. It has become socially unacceptable for men to cry afoul in a way in which we encourage our female counterparts. Rape is Rape, lewd and ostentatious behavior is lewd and ostentatious regardless of the sex associated with it. While I agree women are frequently portrayed in a negative light because of this belief that women should be “sexy” I think we are forgetting the media attention paid to men in this negative connotation as well.

I know this is long winded but one last example and then I swear I am done.

Take for example sexual accusations. Men in this realm are given virtually no latitude. If a woman makes the accusation it sticks with that man forever. Clarence Thomas while being confirmed to his seat on our nation’s highest court was dragged through the mud. Anita Hill waited 10 years to make this claim and had little to no facts to support it other than her word against his, and the majority of the American public as well as 48 senators took her side because, well why would she lie? Another example is the recent findings that Herman Cain sexually harassed two women. Whether or not it is true remains to be seen but what is vile is the fact that prior to finding out the validity of these assertions, the news media runs wild with them not only accusing Cain of this but making it seem as if it was documented truth rather than conjecture.

Basically, neither sex is treated fairly in the eye of the media. Is that appropriate? Of course not but I think assertions claiming one sex is treated poorer than the other are not only laughable but factually incorrect.

I don’t think the quote at the beginning of the trailer could be more true. Many people who are perceived to be powerless, including women, do not possess or seek power for this exact reason. Instead, women are perceived to be valued only by their looks, a message influencing both men and women equally.
    The perfect example this trailer uses is Oprah. Despite all her achievements and astronomical success, she is still attacked by the media every time her weight fluctuates. Instead of worrying about the success of her career or television show, the media focuses solely on the successes and failures of her struggle with weight loss. Readers and viewers begin to see that if it is not acceptable for Oprah to be overweight, it is most definitely unacceptable for them, also. When the media does not take powerful people seriously because of their personal issues, how can everyday women be taken seriously without good looks?
    With media being mostly dominated by men, those men are the ones who determine what the media sees and perceives. Therefore, young men are being raised to admire power and control and, according to media, the attention from women these things create. Many people probably feel that women are the only ones being slighted by today’s media, but in fact, men’s views are also being unconsciously changed. Media raises young men to only value women for their looks and not for positions of intellect and power that they have an equal right and skill to hold. This severely affects the equality of women and the positive changes they could bring to our country.

Women are portrayed in what I find do be a ridiculous way. I dont see the obsession and addiction people form for body image. When watching tv and movies I don’t generally pay attention to how the characters are portrayed as much as the plot but after watching the trailer I realized that a lot of the shows I watched had these portrayals that I commonly overlooked. I feel like the flaws that men have are accepted by the media and public, for example a man with a gut or beer belly, whereas a woman with a less than modelesk body wouldn’t be consider for a magazine cover or movie unless it was a tabloid.

In my opinion, many of these statistics shown in the film are now changing. Women are becoming an integral part of the work force and continuing to receive positions with higher clout. As this issue lessens, I wonder if in the future, the situation will over-adjust and leave men with the same hurdles.

As media does focus on women’s bodies, the video neglected to mention the logical reasons why. Sex is eye catching and racy. An ad only has a few seconds to catch one’s attention or else it is lost in the clutter of other ads. Media including women’s body attracts attention. Further discussion on this issue only justifies the effectiveness in this type of marketing. Whether this type of media is effective in selling the product is another topic of discussion.