The Hunger Games Movie

                                                  The Hunger Games Movie vs the Book by Feminist Frequency

The video I chose to watch had to do with the hunger games and its comparison of the movie and the book. As Hunger Games first movie was released in May 2012 which contained a fresh, dynamic, young female protagonist. The video talked about the differences in the movie from the book and how women can lead successful films, just like the lead of the Hunger Games movie. Anita Sarkeesian who is the producer of Feminist frequency and also made this video, states that there were two big concerns with the book and the movie, which was violence and sexualization, but it appears that the movie chose to limit these violations. Also, she goes further describing the protagonist of the movie and other characters as well. Anita states that Katniss is a very young protagonist female character that appears in an American movie and she states that she hasn’t been such a thing in the last years. Anita also mentions the race had played a big role on how the protagonist was chosen, she states that the protagonist was mentioned to be a straight black hair and white skin girl, and no other girls were allowed or couldn’t audition, especially women of color couldn’t even make it to the auditions. Anita closes the video expressing that the movie was showed multiple events happenings, multiple expressions, emotions feelings that you could actually understand but in the movie, there was no attempt to humanize the career tribute.

In my opinion, I would say that in the first sight the Hunger Games look like they idealize the women, and treat her as a hero, but is that really the reason? Because Katniss it is treated and shown as a her just because she refuses to follow the traditions of femininity or the roles of a women. Even though there is a fact that in this movie the female is the Hero, it looks like, though, as it is shown the femininity as weak and sometimes even dangerous. While watching the movie a while ago, it looks like Katniss acts in a manly manner doing heroic things, and the movie puts her into a feminine position but is she that chooses not to act as such. Because to be a hero you obviously need to obtain weapons, to fight and to protect, which are masculine actions.  In addition, Katniss as a female that she is needs to dress up very well to obtain sponsors and this is not something expressing or showing her own gender identity or what other choices she wants to make.

Anita also mentions how there are some scenes in the movie where it is shown a man dressing a feminine way to show that times have changed but at the same time it doesn’t look like it.

What I want to say is that the character’s sex of the protagonist is made clear in the movie, but the gender is kind of in the air. Thinking about this I could see a lot of stereotypes on how the female is supposed to wear dresses and to behave in a feminine manner and not considering their feelings or choices and just pointing fingers when it is not likable. Connecting it to the gender sex and sexuality the movie contains to some stereotypes that affect these concepts and not are really open to the public to understand, but tend to be more hidden from the audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AilblBXlWU

Is Pop Music losing its fun?

I found this article in BBC by Fraser McAlpine, discussion over the question “Has pop music lost its fun?”. The article gives some studies that show a suggestion that our parents or older people might have been having more fun or enjoying more popular music than our generation. It starts with the claim that popular music nowadays is sadder and slower, giving an example of James Arthur’s song, Naked. With this song the article expresses that popular music is losing its fun, and it is becoming even more slower. Another claim given is that the popular music nowadays is simpler and louder, comparing to earlier times. Also, popular music today is antisocial and angry is another critique given, with an example that according to researchers the top 10 most popular songs in America from 1980 to 2007 can transmit anger, or sometimes contain words that are antisocial, but yet everyone listen to it because is the trend. The last two claims given in this article about popular music are that it is not just as good as it used to be and also it is more repetitive, using the example of Big Shaq’s song, Mans not Hot.

Now my question is, who reached to this claims or conclusions? Because I think it all depends and by that, I mean not everyone could share the same opinion about the popular music nowadays, especially not everyone can participate in those conclusions. There are a lot of elements that have a totally different point of view or definition of fun, a definition of an amazing popular music, of taste, of style, and of enjoyment. Everyone has different experiences, different feelings and music is something that is related to the emotions, feelings, experiences, moods and so on. I could say that someone finds fun on a slow music because that is what they are feeling. Music is listened not because you have to, but because you need to. I am not going to deny that nowadays people tend to be on trend, tend to be out there with the new not with the old, but that is not something to be considered obligation. People find fun in different kinds of music, experiencing different situations in life. Music has meanings for each and every one out there, maybe it is related to their culture or else. What I am trying to say is that the past has a great influence on the present, and the popular music that once was could return again nowadays as a lot of examples that I have seen. Old song’s rhythms, melodies, words and more have been returning nowadays in another style but the same idea. Therefore, we can’t say that pop music it is losing its fun, on the contrary people create the fun with the popular music.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/articles/fb84bf19-29c9-4ed3-b6b6-953e8a083334

Culture Indistry: Bottled water

HISTORY: The first bottled water was sold in the US by Jackson's Spa in Boston in 1767. The water had supposed therapeutic benefits. In the 1850s bottled water was a status symbol, it was seen as clean and stylish (Elite culture). During this time it was also widely purchased due to fears of typhoid and cholera in municipal water supplies. It hit its big break into the mass culture in the1970s after the development of the PET plastic bottle. The 2000s saw a war between tap and bottled water, and more recently, environmental concerns have led to the creation of much lighter plastic bottles.

There are many aspects that invoke the idea of standardization and pseudo-individualization.  Bottled water is everywhere. You go to any event and you can't get a cup of water or find a bubbler anywhere. In most cases you can't bring your own, so you have only 1 option if you choose to drink water: buy a bottle. We also see bottled water in TV, movies, advertisements, music videos, print ads. Many restaurants now ask you if you want water from the tap or bottled.

Pseudo-individualization comes from thousands of water brands available worldwide. Check out this site that lists the world's bottled waters. I was astounded at the numbers. There are numerous types: spring, purified, artesian, well, glacial, deep sea, rain, and iceberg....BUT it's all just WATER. This artifact is a prime example of commodity fetishism. A bottle of Poland Springs costs 1/4 of Voss, and as such it's perceived as better. While there are subtle differences in mineral content and acidity, there is no reliable data proving one is necessarily better than another.

This example contributes to distracting us from authentically changing the world and reinforces our connection with popular culture by just existing. Plastic is becoming a global problem. There is far more in existence than will ever disintegrate or be recycled. Advances in public water systems and filtration systems worldwide have reduced the need for bottled water and yet as Americans, we are addicted to it. It's not much more difficult to use a reusable water bottle and fill it as you go, but we don't. Purchased water bottles carry a warning on the back to not refill them, contributing further to the problem. Much of the world is addicted to convenience and we don't make lasting, meaningful changes unless forced to do so.



Sources:
https://myownwater.com/blog/history-of-bottled-water

An assault on popular culture

Ooooooh boy, where do I start?! I was looking for a critique of mass culture theory and I came across this video. This video is blaming pop culture for the end of society as we know it. He's touting it's all trash, hyper-sexualized, vulgar, immoral, and even the reason for the rise in teen suicide. While I do agree that television shows and music have become much more sexual and violent in nature over the last 20 years, I don't agree that anything that strays from that isn't or can't be popular. Reality TV isn't all bad. I am a BIG fan of Chopped. While most of us will never have to make a dinner using Cheetos, cinnamon candy, and tuna cheeks, it showcases critical thinking and ingenuity.

He states that "postmodernists want to annihilate the distinction between high culture and popular culture. They want to turn everything on its head." The goal in this, he says is to "completely undermine the foundation of Western civilization  and leave us open for subversion and capitulation." I don't agree that the distinction should be annihilated, but nor should it be what it was. Our heritage and art should be available and accessible to anyone and not all modern art are bad.

A prime example is the Okuda installation in the Seaport district. It's an outside installation and therefore accessible to everyone. I think the pieces are cheerful and intriguing. This art is popular and encourages healthy activity, going for a walk.

He references one of my favorite movies "Ideocracy" in his rant. While I used to agree that we were heading down that road, and the current world situation seems to support it, there are rays of light everywhere. I don't agree that if we do end up there, that popular culture will be the cause of it. More information is available to anyone at any time of day than at any time in history. Of course, turning on a screen and jumping on the internet immediately immerses you in pop culture. Designs, colors, ads, and paid search results are all there to try to influence your thinking but it's not a guarantee that they will.

 Paul attempts to make the case that counter culture doesn't exist anymore, that teens are depressed because they have no outlet for their angst. I don't find this to be true. In music, alternative music is huge, and one of my favorite genres. Skater culture and grunge are still very much alive. Rock and roll is still alive.

There is so much in this video, I could write for hours analyzing every minute of it. Perhaps I'll come back to it again in another post.

Three Lives by Gertrude Stein – Novel

Three Lives by Gertrude Stein – Novel

“Three lives” is a novel written by Gertrude Stein and it talks about three separate stories, which are focused on three working class women and the story takes place in the fictional city of Bridgepoint. The novel contains in three different parts, it talks about the three women lives and how are those lives are different from one another. The first part of the novel, it is about a German girl named Anna “The Good Anna”, which describes her life as working women that came to America with her mother, who eventually dies of tuberculosis. Anna’s life goal is to help other; she is a hard-working housekeeper, is a good friend and very generous. Anna worked herself out until she dies during an operation. The second part of the novel named “Melanctha”, is about the life of a young black women who was born to mixed-race parents.  Melanctha is a very beautiful girl and well-educated as well. She was raised with violence and was abused when she was a child by her own father. Melanctha fails to find the happiness she always looked for and she fails to create a life she always dreamed about, and all this was as a consequence of her mental illness – depression from the traumas she had since a child. Eventually Melanctha dies alone from depression and tuberculosis. The third part of the novel, “The Gentle Lena”, describes the life of another German girl who came as an immigrant in America with her family when she was a child. Just like Anna, Lena also worked as a housekeeper. She always dreamed of a love marriage, but instead she was forced to marry a man against her will. Lena gives birth to three children, but still she was unhappy. Unfortunately, Lena dies while giving birth to her fourth child.

As reading this novel, I could see how American dream had different point of views from the three girls. Each one of them had different aspects of the American Dream. The concept of American dream comes as a belief that anyone, despite their class, nationality can be successful in a society where everything could be possible for anyone. It is seen as something easy, but instead the American dream is reached through hard work, sacrifice, chance but sometimes it just can’t be reached at all. The three working women came to America with the idea of a better life, with the idea to reach the American dream, each one of them with different perspectives and ideas. I can see how class has a great impact on your life. The three working women has been through a lot of things, such as working hard did not get them to reach the dream. Anna was happy, was working hard to help other and to see the American ream, even thought it was really hard to do so, until she dies. Melanctha is shown in the novel with complex racial, gender, sexual constructs and leaves room for interpretation, and her condition took her to death. Lastly, Lena the immigrant German that came to America to reach the dream, she turns out to see the American Dream as a personal nightmare that leads her to her death at the end.

As a knew knowledge and from another point of view I see that being a working class and being a women is hard to reach the American Dream and all these elements from class, gender, race impact the journey to reach the American dream, which can be seen differently from anyone’s perspective and can have different consequences and outcomes. My parents and I came to America five years ago with the idea of we were going to live the American Dream, but little did we know what we were going to face. Every one of us had to work super hard for us to be able to survive and then to start and build a live. And I know it is not easy, especially from the class you come from, the nationality and what identity you have.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Lives_(book)#"The_Good_Anna" 

Rags to Riches Gump

The American dream, one of the best examples in pop culture today would have to be the movie Forrest Gump. Like most rags to Riches stories, Forrest lives in a small town in Alabama with his mother. Forrest had a disability where he was unable to walk or run like all other kids his age and had to wear braces on both of his legs, to add to this Forrest also has a mental disability and talks in very simple words and sentences. Throughout the course of the film, Forrest meets and Falls in love with Jenny, a girl from the same small town. They always seem to run into each and reconnect. Forrest gets over this leg disability and ends up going to college to play football, and after joins the U.S. Army to fight in the Vietnam war. He meets a man named Bubba and they become great friends through basic training and overseas. They come up with the goal to start a shrimpin’ business in the Gulf, unfortunately, Bubba never makes it back from the war and Forrest carries out their dream by himself. And like all classic movies like these Forrest eventually marries Jenny, but with a twist. Jenny has a terminal illness and passes away a short time later. But not all is lost Forrest finds out he had a child with Jenny that is a few years old and he sets out to meet him for the first time at his foster parent’s house. 

Now you may be saying how on earth is this a rag to riches story? It’s filled with everyone close to Forrest eventually dying at one time or another. Well, this is where I’d personally say it is a rags to riches story but it’s not so much about the “riches” at the end. Its a story about the journey, Forrest goes through so much in his life, some positive and some negative. But if you look at him at the end of the movie he’s the world’s happiest man. He’s not rolling around in crazy piles of money and blowing it all on expensive things. He richer in his personal life and happiness, without a care about material things. I feel that most movies today that follow this sort of storyline always focus on the things you can buy in the end, the huge multi-million dollar house with the expensive sports car sitting in the garage. Now I guess this may make sense for a movie but in real life, it has been proven over and over again that money does not buy happiness. 

For more information about the movie here a convenient link to the trailer: 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLvqoHBptjg       

Modern day cowboys

Today many of the movies, TV shows, video games, and books have had an underlying influence from the traditional western and cowboy style films. I Immediately thought of the film the Book of Eli which gives a modern spin on the classic western. It takes place in a post apocalyptic world where a war has left the world in ruins with very few lives remaining. Eli must take matters into his own hands and save humanity by traveling only with a machete, pistol, and the last bible on earth. He has been walking for 30 years trying to find a safe place where its message can be shared. This is to give people something to believe in because life isn't really great in the post apocalyptic world.  He finds a town which seems to be well established and decides to stay there before he continues his journey but is faced with a power hungry dictator who has declared himself as the mayor of the town. The mayor is searching for the bible and figures out Eli has it but the mayor wants it for himself. I do not want to spoil the movie but things get complicated for Eli and who knows if he will ever make it to his destination. 

The main character Eli shows very familiar aspects to a cowboy-esque type of character. In the beginning scenes he is shown as this lone warrior machete wielding badass who will let nothing stop him from reaching his goal. It just reminds me of a cowboy riding through towns on his horse weilding a pistol and a whip defeating all the bad guys. The protagonist in this movie being the mayor shows comparison to a classic western leader such as mayor or sheriff. He shows disregard for the people and will do things that only help himself. Throughout this Eli and the mayor deal with a power struggle as the townspeople start to realize how corrupt the mayor is and that Eli is just trying to help them. 

The video has been deleted so I am unable to watch it to pull out specific points. The overall character attributes show an influence of the western genre as well as the physical setting. The setting takes place in a world that has been left in ruins but is slowly rebuilding itself, there is nothing but dried out land for miles with the exception of these ramshackle settlements. These settlements are deteriorating not from the war but from the corrupt leaders of the town. This is very similar to what you would see in a traditional western with very few towns with corrupt leaders and nothing but dried out land. Eli is similar to a cowboy in the sense that he is this self-sufficient badass who just wants to bring order to the community. 

Who is the most popular consumer in fashion?

Baker, Renee, et al. "Identifying tween fashion consumers' profile concerning fashion innovativeness, opinion leadership, internet use for apparel shopping, interest in online co-design involvement, and brand commitment." Fashion and Textiles, vol. 6, no. 1, 2019. Gale Academic Onefile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A583933163/AONE?u=mlin_n_danvers&sid=AONE&xid=be7a64fe. Accessed 16 Jan. 2020.

I am familiar with the search process of using the schools database so for me it wasn't too complex of finding an article to my liking. I choose this article in particular because I am very interested in fashion and what makes certain clothes and brands more popular than others. I ended up choosing Gale academic Onefile as my database choice and I have found over the years using the other databases and not just the library's database is more helpful because it provides more sources than what you would find on the library's database. It is also much easier if you do an advanced search because it allows you to use multiple keywords to narrow down the options. 

In this article it discusses the influencers of fashion particularly focusing on the U.S. childrenswear market, fashion adoption theory, and whether or not consumers can be segmented into different groups. This childrenswear market or “tweens” are children ranging from the ages of 7-14, they are responsible for the $43 billion in spending power and apparel represents the primary purchase category. Fashion adoption theory is an individual's decision making process to adopt any given style. Tweens have dominated the consumer market because of their ability to adopt new styles. These consumers can be broken down into different groups fashion innovators, fashion opinion leaders, innovative communicators and fashion followers. These groups are all responsible for the advancement of new trends and styles.

I thought this article was pretty interesting for me personally because it gave me information that I was not familiar with and I actually learned from it. I didn't know that the consumer group was mainly focused around kids ranging from 7-14. I was confused mainly for the reason that probably all of these kids don't make their own money and have to rely on parents to make purchases. So why is it that the people who dont make money are responsible for what is popular in fashion. That just confused me because when I was that age it didn't really peak my interest to wear these “cool” brands and now they are the biggest consumer group.  

POSTMODERNISM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjcrdBvGNqw&index=4&t=0s&list=PL8YtsooGljrlPkr7Ija54C6TtpCElse9j

I chose to use the video “Postmodernism in Advertising Explained” to write my post about. This video goes in depth about how postmodernism is shown in modern day advertisements, with two prime examples. The video refers to two advertisements, one for mend cologne, and another for clothing. In both, the symbol being portrayed is unclear to the viewer if they are unaware of what the advertisement is for. In other words, the cologne advertisement could be a reference to many different things, as it features tan well toned men covered in oil feeding grapes to each other. Is this a grape ad? Is this a gym ad? Upon first glance it is very unclear as to how the advertisement is trying to capture the viewer’s attention. An example I found in a similar situation is an advertisement I found for Levis jeans. Although there are jeans in the photo, it is very confusing as the person holding the jeans is a mermaid. In other words, someone who does not necessarily wear jeans (the mermaid) is promoting a pair of pants. In my opinion, this is to attract viewers in an effort that is different than other jean companies. People who appeal to the idea of mermaids may buy the jeans as they correlate the jeans and the mermaid in their mind. Although this attracts the viewers as it is different than “normal”, it’s still a weird approach when there are so many different advertisements constantly appearing in places we look on a day to day basis such as social media, the news, search engines, emails, promotional mail and so on.

Gun Control - Hegemony

Although Im not quite sure the debate over gun control and gun laws can be defined as popular culture, in the past years it has clearly made it's way in to the spotlight and most recently after the school shooting in Florida it has become a huge topic of debate. Now it's difficult for me to distinguish dominant and subculture with this one. To me the dominant culture is people who are against gun control laws (although the media will never make it seem that way). The recent March for Our Lives movement comes very much in conflict with basic American ideas and even the ideas set forth in the constitution allowing Americans to own guns. The NRA has become a focal point of the pro gun movement and everyone is quick to place blame on them for mass shootings claiming that they are responsible. However in my opinion it is difficult to place this blame on a single group or organization that doesn't even sell firearms. This current March for our Lives movement has come in to severe conflict with people who support the second amendment, the NRA, and people who advocate gun rights in general. However although they are getting their voice heard, I do not believe they will be able to make the significant change they hope for. Calling for gun control in American where part of our culture is having the rights to own weapons is a very difficult hill to climb. The are essential calling for our rights a citizens to have guns to be taken away due to these school shootings. While I think something needs to be done in regards to the mass shootings and killings that are taking place I do not believe this is the correct way to do it. Creating significant change and more gun control is effectively taking away some of our rights as Americans which is why i believe this significant change they are pushing for will not occur.

Module 5: Eminem

        Eminem is an individual who has been breaking racial stereotypes his entire career. For almost two decades now, he has created such a difference in rap culture. Rap culture being predominantly black, it was unheard of to have such a successful white rapper in the rap game. At the start of his career, Eminem was an underground rapper who was ridiculed by black people and called "rabbit". Black people called him "rabbit" because he was white and all primary public bunny figures were white rabbits such as the Easter Bunny and Peter Cotton Tail. Another stereotype this comment "rabbit" contributes to is that Eminem could be considered a white feminine man because it is a stereotype that white men in the rap game are more feminine.

   

      He has mentioned numerous times in his songs the struggle of being or becoming a rapper as a white man in the industry. For example, in his song "Without Me" he states, 

Though I'm not the first king of controversy

I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley

To do black music so selfishly

And use it to get myself wealthy

Hey, there's a concept that works

Twenty million other white rappers emerge

But no matter how many fish in the sea

It will be so empty without me

These lyrics show how others used to or might still see him as using black music to make money. Similarly, as referenced in the lyrics, Elvis Presley's hit song "Hound Dog" was originally sung by a black woman. Both Elvis and Eminem used black music to further their career. Eminem despite the criticism he received, continued to write and perform music, and above all break the stereotype that only black people are able to be successful rap performers. No matter the criticism he received/receives, he's always been very favorable in his craft and is a bestselling artist. 

Baseball bats

          In this post I will be discussing baseball bats. I played baseball almost my whole life, and one thing that immediately stood out to me in this section was how it almost perfectly applies to the production and use of baseball bats.  Over the years undoubtedly production methods have made baseball bats better. They’re more comfortable, have larger “sweet spots," and higher exit velocities than previous generations. However year to year all companies continually produce newer versions of the same bat from the previous year with little to no difference among performance. They may have different color schemes, different names, possibly even a different weight distribution throughout the bat but otherwise they are all relatively the same thing. To me this is especially true since baseball leagues now have to stick to a BBCOR standard for all bats. This is meant to level the playing field between hitters and pitchers and make metal or composite bats more comparable to wooden ones. This also had an effect on decreasing exit velocity as well as making sure if bats did break they would not splinter and hurt any players. However although these bats are fairly similar hitters always have a certain type of bat they feel more comfortable with or “hit better” with. If a hitter uses an Easton Stealth bat for a year and has the best year of his career hitting, then he will undoubtedly keep using that bat, regardless of whether the bat made any difference or not. Eventually however baseball bats do wear out, and after they do you can be sure there will be a newer model of the same bat that somehow improved upon the last one in some way that companies are able to market it as better. We can spend all the time we want looking through bats, other peoples opinions on them, whether to use a two piece or one piece bat. In the end however the amount of work put in by the player will have a much greater effect on his performance than the bat ever will.

Module 6 - Hunger Games

This video comes out approaching the way women's sexuality is displayed in the film, The Hunger Games. Contrary to other female lead movies, this film approaches women and the way their sexuality is displayed extremely well. She also points out that Katniss is not symbolized as a female sex symbol, but rather, a leader. Like mentioned in this video, the female lead is actually displayed very respectfully, not extremely sexually like other female lead movies. While sexuality seems to be the main focus of this video, I did notice that she talked a lot about the limitations of race, ethnicity, and skin tone for the female lead role, which also ties to this weeks learning. the role calls for a woman with dark hair and olive skin, but the casting call strictly asked for Caucasian females. In comparison to the book, the film does a great job of showing compassion with the lead role, as it comes off much stronger in the movie than it does in the book.

Module 6 - Resident Evil

This post is going to discuss a popular movie series as well as video game, and comic series.For this post I'll be talking primarily about the movies as the story lines for each do differ somewhat. The main character Alice plays a different role than typically seen from women in modern day movies. The movie series centers around a deadly virus sweeping across the globe turning people in to the "undead" or zombies who quickly bite or eat people, either turning them in to more zombies or killing them. Alice is humanities last hope, she was created by the Umbrella Corporation, the same corporation responsible for the deadly virus that was killing people. However when exposed to the virus she did not turn but instead it changed her it to a lethal killer. We see her take on the protective role for the people she is with and she is the one tasked with saving humanity from the virus as well as the plans of the evil corporation. This portrayal of a woman being humanities last hope and savior while also being the protector is something that is not seen as often. Typically movies such as superhero movies or movies such as Taken or 007 feature men who's job is being the hero. However in this movie we see Alice being the only one who is able to take on the threat facing humanity and save the human race from the virus killing everyone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfby7XwoBl0

Module 5 - Olivia Pope

When presented with the challenge to think of a character who breaks racial stereotypes, the choice was fairly simple for me. I instantly thought of Olivia Pope from the TV show Scandal. Olivia is the epitome of a character who breaks down these stereotypical walls, in my opinion. Pope runs her own crisis-management firm in Washington D.C. She works with fixing political scandals, hence the name of the program. 

What makes Olivia Pope so special is that she is a black woman in power. She runs her own company and is in charge of fixing the problems of mainly white male politicians. This clip from Season 4 shows complete power to me. As a black woman, she is a minority, but in this clip she is telling off a white male who also happens to be the vice president. 

Pope is such a significant character, especially for black women. In the media, black women are portrayed as unintelligent, uncivilized, and angry. Pope is viewed as strong, smart, and intelligent. I think it is especially important for young girls to see how powerful they can be and that there is no superior color or gender.

Video Source:

“Scandal - Season 4 Episode 9.” ABC.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jq4xU90Q8w)

Module 5 Race and Ethnicity - The Matrix

To me one movie that came to mind was The Matrix (1999). In this movie we see Morpheus who is played by Lawrence Fishburn portrayed as the one who is enlightened and hold the keys to the truth about the Matrix. Although it is Neo who is "The One" Morpheus is instrumental in making Neo realize his capabilities and what he means for the future of humanity. Morpheus teaches Neo how to use and control his powers to use them to help defeat the machines and free humanity from the false reality they are living in. To me this is different that a stereotypical portrayal of an African American character because Morpheus is the one who has to teach Neo everything, he is the one who knows the truth behind the matrix and is seen as a wise person who others look to for support and guidance. He is also the captain of their ship the Nebuchadnezzar which takes them to and from the last human city of Zion. In this way Morpheus is different because he is the one teaching people the truths about the life they are living in, and he is the one who people trust to lead them in their ongoing war against the machines.

The Cowboy & The Western

In The Titanic, Jack Dawson could be considered somewhat of a cowboy figure. He is a poor artist who travels the world and avoids order. He wins tickets onto the ship where he meets his love interest, Rose. The Titanic hits an iceberg and begins to sink. Dawson takes action and tries to save Rose and himself.

Jack Dawson is the first person that came to my mind when thinking about non-traditional cowboys not based in the wild west. He is a character who is handsome, strong, and who leads his group. He is masculine, self-sufficient, and, as most cowboys are, he's a white male. Dawson fits both types of cowboys described in the video. He is an explorer, exploring as many parts of the world as possible. He is also a wanderer for similar reasons. He was an orphan and he continues to travel, not having much of a home.

The type of Western described in The Titanic would be that it has an internal threat. The internal threat is unconventional because it is not a person. The internal threat is the iceberg that causes the ship to start sinking. What makes Jack a cowboy here is when the iceberg hits, he takes action. He does everything to save Rose until his dying breath.

Vigilante Cowboy

Going off the fact that cowboys do not need to come from the past, or from the west, I decided to go with Arrow. Oliver Queen, also know as Arrow, is the vigilante alter ego of the Green Arrow. In this series, Oliver Queen must use his special set of skills to protect the city he lives in, Starling City, from different enemies, and villains that attack his city. During the night, Queen works as a vigilante to correct societal wrongs throughout his city. I agree that the comparison of a vigilante and a cowboy seem very different, but the vigilante could also be known as the modern day cowboy. I look at Starling City as the western aspect of the cowboy. Oliver Queen plays the role of the cowboy, or someone who rights the wrongs that may be considered crossing the line, or doing things that would be considered unjust. Queen certainly fills the description of a white, masculine male, very clearly portrayed throughout the series. Although cowboys generally seem to work on their own, Queen works with a few allies that help him get past his setbacks, and ultimately do what it takes to ensure the safety of Starling City, even if it means crossing lines he shouldn’t. 

Portrayals of Cowboys in Western Films

In this post I'm going to compare two western films - Tombstone(1993) and Jeremiah Johnson(1972) to see the different portrayals of cowboys depending on the source. In Tombstone we see Wyatt Earp joined by Doc Holliday and his brothers Virgil and Morgan become the marshals of Tombstone, Arizona a booming mining town. They were unable to tolerate the lawlessness of the town that was brought on by the Cochise County Cowboys. In this movie the cowboys are portrayed as tough, ruthless white males which is typical of cowboys but we usually see cowboys as the ones bringing order to frontier settlements however in this movie that is not the case. Their acts of violence were what was causing the disorder in tombstone. They are portrayed as purely evil while the marshals are the ones trying to bring peace and order to the mining town. However it does follow the typical western narrative that features a town on the frontier with some sort of thereat and a hostile surrounding feating a conflict between cowboys and policemen. Overall I would say the style of the movie fits the typical western movie, a lawless town on the frontier with a conflict over someone trying to bring order to it. However the portrayal of cowboys as purely evil, committing random acts of violence and causing the disorder seems a little uncharacteristic. Jeremiah Johnson's portrayal of the cowboy was a bit different from the cowboys we see in Tombstone. He is a white man man moving through the frontier by himself, attempting to be self sufficient and make it on his own and stake a new territory which is a pretty typical portrayal of the cowboy in western films. For the first part of he movie we see him struggling to make it then meting a fellow trapper and hunter who shows him the ways of living in the wilderness. Then on the way back from a hunt he meets Blackfoot  Indians who are threatening towards him, until he offers them the Elk he killed earring him their respect. He lived off the land until he found a fellow trapper buried up to his head by the Blackfoot Indians. The trappers asks him to help get his horse and supplies back from the savage Indians. Jeremiah did not want to fight them and wanted to wait until the Indians were asleep to steal their supplies back, so they did. However one of the Indians awoke and the trapper ended up killing the Indians. Jeremiah is then welcomed by another Indian tribe he offers the chief horses and the scalps of the Blackfeet in return the chief gives Jeremiah his daughter. He marries the girl and after this we see him living peacefully in a cabin in the woods with her and her son. This is different from what the typical portrayal of a cowboy is, to me cowboys usually ride alone or in a group but rarely do you see cowboys who are married going about their business not causing trouble. Soon the Blackfeet find his cabin and kill his wife and child as revenge. After this Jeremiah wanted about the woods for years killing any Blackfeet he saw. In this way we see him portrayed very differently throughout the movie. He does not want conflict with the Indians to start and even though he did not originally kill the Blackfeet they think it was him and get their revenge. This turns the peaceful self sufficient cowboy in to a different type of cowboy, a ruthless killer who wanted nothing but revenge on the Indians who killed his wife and son. To me there is some similarities in the way cowboys were portrayed in there movies but overall I think there was more differences. Obviously this is only two of the many western movies that were made but I found it interesting how they can portrayed differently throughout different movies.

Food

Food is something that literally everyone knows about, pays attention to, and eats! Food has always been a very large part of life, as we need food to live. over the past few years, food has gotten more and more attention in society, a real main focus in pop culture as it seems people are basically competing as to who has the better tasting food, the better looking food, the more expensive food and so on. Especially lately, food has become a main focus on blogs, social media, and in life. People are obsessing over food. It went from being a necessity of life, to the new fad on who can get more likes on their Instagram post of their cheeseburger. With that being said, it’s very interesting to me, as I love food. But who doesn’t? Food is so easily accessible, and like I said before it is a necessity to life, therefore people rationalize spending money on it as it is something their body needs, and craves. 

People make social connections through food, such as people eating and practicing vegetarian and vegan diets. As well as paleo, gluten free, and so many other types of diet. Food is something that gets people paid; it provides jobs, not only for people cooking food, but for people developing new recipes, people involved in eating contests, and so many other ways. Competitions like bake-offs, grille-offs, to see who can make the best rack of ribs, who can bake the perfect cake, visually as well as taste. There are so many different factors as to why food plays a huge role in pop culture, and in my opinion, one of my favorites. You can make pizza a million different ways!