Question 11

The image on the left is one from Urban Outfitters, a popular retail store that sells "indie" and "hipster" clothing. However, this is ironic because the "hipster" and "indie" culture prides itself on being individual, while Urban Outfitters is a corporate entity commodifying the "indie" culture. UO tries to hide this fact, however, and promotes its unique products and how its consumers are cool, intellectual, and individual. For example, the ad on the left displays the copy "We Like You," as if the company understands its off-beat consumers. This is not unlike Frank's article "Why Johnny Can't Dissent" which describes how corporate America tries now to appeal to teens and rebellion. It is the corporatization of identity.

In her article "Inventing the Cosmo Girl," Ouellette explains that Cosmopolitan's goal under Helen Gurley Brown was to help their "pink-collar" readers transcend class roles and rise to the top. The emphasis was on illusion and trickery, not necessarily being the most beautiful woman in the room. This idea of thought could also relate to Urban Outfitters as it carries sophisticated and "hip" clothing for a decent price, therefore appealing to a wide range of customers. The emphasis again is on illusion because many people wear UO to look "hipster," but most customers of UO cannot call themselves a true hipster.

These articles both relate to my topic of the semester of wealth signifiers with teens, especially with my first paper which analyzed Vera Wang's Preppy Princess advertisement. Like Urban Outfitters, Vera Wang sells products that appeal to a wide range of consumers but advertise a high-class feel. It is all about illusion and pretending you are one of those Upper East Side prep school students or etc. Again it is the corporatization of identity.

Question 10

This commercial is for Fancy Feast cat food. The commercial is titled "The Engagement" and centers around a young, heterosexual couple. The woman loves her boyfriend's family's cat, so he uses the cat to propose to her. The video carries many signifiers of the upper-middle class, such as the nice suburban home, nuclear family, and classical music.

Using the Images and Representations Approach that Rakow describes in her article, "Feminist Approaches to Popular Culture," we can analyze the construction of the female in this commercial. Betty Friedan once "pointed out the disparity between the messages of popular culture and the experiences and growing despair of real women." In our postmodern culture, more women are having their own professional careers (by choice or not) and Cosmopolitan once had an article describing the modern day problem of women staying single longer and fearing they will never marry. This commercial brings us back to the idealistic vision for women of finding their "Mr. Right" and having him tend to their needs. The woman shows a caring, nurturing nature towards the cat and the other women are shown tending to the house.

We can look at this commercial from an international and child's perspective as well, through Lemish's article "The Future of Childhood..." The commercial exemplifies the American, white middle-class life. Showing this commercial abroad could influence people of other cultures that this is the life to achieve for to be truly happy, like the people are in the commercial. The commercial promotes the "late modernity" value of commercialism. As for children, the commercial has a "limited scope of culture," and inspires children to vie for this lifestyle, the "American Dream." This is especially true for girls who have more pressure to marry. For example, someone commented on this video and said, "WHY ISN'T THIS MY LIFE."

However, this commercial is nothing but a simulation, as described by Baudrillard in "The Precession of Simulacra." He claims that the world is completely re-imaged and a hyperreal with no true origin or reality. This is because we have copied and simulated images over and over that everything is based off of a simulation itself. This is also true for this commercial; it is all based on the "American Dream," but what exactly is the American Dream? Nothing objective, but something that the media has created and copied multiple times. This commercial is just a rip-off of other portrayals of the "American Dream." This realization is characteristic of postmodern thought, which also explains how we no longer sell products, but ideas. This commercial is a perfect example, because the actual product, Fancy Feast catfood, is hardly advertised, but rather the idea of having a cat to fulfill the "American Dream" is emphasized.

Question 9

Fox News- Starving Nations Reject U.S. Food Donation


Ear Of Genetically Modified Corn Begs For Death

The video above is from Onion News and shows an "old" cob of corn that wants to finally "die." It is being kept alive by genetically-enginnering. This video suggests that genetically-engineered food dangerously prolongs a food's lifetime and may be unhealthy. "Just ignore the corn," says the GM company. Fox News did a piece also on the GM food debate (shown in top link), but somewhat criticizes those that criticize GM food, like the European Union that banned all GM food from the US. The article uses such rhetoric as "forceful rejection by European countries" and says that now millions will starve that use US donated food. It claims one of the motives is to shield European farmers from competition. These two reports are obviously very different.

The Onion News article uses satire here and is an example of Warner's "détournement," or "turning around." The Onion News humorously takes the stance from an old, tired vegetable, and even though it literally is an old, tired vegetable, it metaphorically stands for the old, worn out post-ripe foods we continually use through GM. Fox News takes a conservative stance and does not really address the potential health risks associated with GM foods, otherwise known as gatekeeping. Maybe this is because GM foods prolong food-life and help save money.

Question 4

This image shows a picture of a pipe with the French phrase under it, "This is not a pipe." This is an example of interpellation, which is messing with the cultural norm. We see the image as a pipe, but the copy tells us that we are mistaken. It tells us that the image is culturally constructed; we know this image as a pipe, but others could see it as a spoon. The pipe is a myth, and shows us that nothing is concrete; it's all how we articulate that image.

Question 8

Grossberg claims that "cultural studies refuses to assume that people are cultural dupes, but sometimes they are manipulated." This statement is proven in the film Mickey Mouse Monopoly, because it shows how Disney consumes our media and enters our subconscious as children. We develop our notions of reality basically from Disney, which has themes of racism, classism, male dominance, and commercialization. If these messages are the only things we see in our media, how would we question it? Disney is an unquestioned, "wholesome family entertainment." Political economy enters because Disney promotes a corporate culture. It has a monopoly on the media industry and controls what we see.

While Mickey Mouse Monopoly focuses on the macrocosm of the Disney empire, MouseTrapped 2010 focuses on a smaller section- the workers at Disney's parks. The film stated that Disney is a local monopoly in Central Florida and the area's largest employer, but its workers usually must take a second job if they are to financially support themselves. It depicts a working-class struggle and topics such as salary, insurance, and pension.

Question 7

The video "How To Make Your Breasts Look Bigger" uses both oppositional and dominant viewpoints, which makes it rather ambiguous. The video is dominant in its subject matter- making women's breasts bigger. The video takes on the voice of a heterosexual male and is somewhat vulgar in his speech. The camera sometimes takes on the role as the male gaze and centers on the breasts. The woman in this video is trying to please him by making her breasts bigger, something that the typical "hot" woman has. In this way the video is portraying the dominant, heterosexual white male world.

However, this video is also oppositional because it is so ridiculous. So ridiculous, in fact, that it becomes sarcastic and humorous. The male in the video is very unattractive and the way it is filmed reminds one of a low-budget 70's film. The video is commenting on the pressure women face to have "perfect" breasts to attract the opposite sex. For example, it mentions the various bras a woman can buy now to emphasize them. The narrator cannot even say the word "breast" without hesitating and feeling uncomfortable.

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Question 6

In Conan O'Brien's commercial for American Express, orientalism is portrayed. Conan comes in to "invade" India, and the Indian culture is seen as exotic and the "other." This was accomplished by showing India solely in its traditional culture. The language, jobs, clothing, and music of the Indians in the commercial is all from traditional Indian culture and very unlike American culture. In this way the Indian culture is romanticized because it is so exotic and reminds one of pre-industrial times. Although, modern India has English as a national language, is becoming more industrialized, and adopting more Western-influenced ways of life, like clothing. A naive viewer would not realize this fact by simply watching this commercial, especially because Conan is admired and praised at his arrival because he is American as if it is a rare occurrence, despite the many American tourists that visit India yearly.