“Bare As You Dare:" Using Nudity to Sell

By Michaela Penn

Objectified females have always been the subject of company’s ad campaigns; no matter the product advertisers still find a way to insert barely dressed females to make merchandise more appeasing. Jean Kilbourne, author of Can’t Buy My Love and the film Killing Us Softly, explains in her lectures how ads sell a great deal more than just products. “They sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be. Sometimes they sell addictions (Kilbourne, 1).” In this blog analysis I will examine recent advertisements from Urban Outfitters and American Apparel. I will also specifically consider the difference between males and females in American Apparel catalogue ads, and how females are much more exposed and objectified than males. I choose both Urban Outfitters and American Apparel because of their young aged target market and their recent ad campaigns. Both companies have featured exposed (i.e. breast, buttock) models in various magazines, catalogues, and websites. According to website Quantcast, Urban Outfitters has a 71% consumer demographic of 13-34 year old males and females (QuantCast, 1). Likewise, American Apparel has a consumer demographic of 64% to 13- 34 year old males and females (QuantCast, 2). Though both of these brands have a stronger over 18 audiences, they still have a huge teenage following. Both American Apparel and Urban Outfitters market to young teens because their profits and consumer loyalty are what keeps these businesses running strong.

What Are You Selling Again?
With clothing becoming more risqué’ so is the advertising promoting these clothes. The latest of the nude advertising spree comes from American Apparel (see photo above). This model showing off the brand’s …errr…boy shorts, is positioned to seem as if she is performing oral sex on her male counterpart who is not seen. The correlation between boy shorts and oral sex should perplex every viewer, however American Apparel clearly understands the term “sex sells.” In another recent ad displaying American Apparel new zipper bodysuit, the model’s top half is bare. It’s hard to determine whether this is an actual advertisement or porn. Though this ad was ran in sex-related blog the Debauchette, its controversial actions and model (Porn star Sasha Grey) has made it a hot commodity all over the web and easy access for a young American Apparel shopper.

Objectified females have always been the subject of company’s ad campaigns; no matter the product advertisers still find a way to insert barely dressed females to make merchandise more appeasing. Jean Kilbourne, author of Can’t Buy My Love and the film Killing Us Softly, explains in her lectures how ads sell a great deal more than just products. “They sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be. Sometimes they sell addictions (Kilbourne, 1).” In this blog analysis I will examine recent advertisements from Urban Outfitters and American Apparel. I will also specifically consider the difference between males and females in American Apparel catalogue ads, and how females are much more exposed and objectified than males. I choose both Urban Outfitters and American Apparel because of their young aged target market and their recent ad campaigns. Both companies have featured exposed (i.e. breast, buttock) models in various magazines, catalogues, and websites. According to website Quantcast, Urban Outfitters has a 71% consumer demographic of 13-34 year old males and females (QuantCast, 1). Likewise, American Apparel has a consumer demographic of 64% to 13- 34 year old males and females (QuantCast, 2). Though both of these brands have a stronger over 18 audiences, they still have a huge teenage following. Both American Apparel and Urban Outfitters market to young teens because their profits and consumer loyalty are what keeps these businesses running strong.

Men Vs Women
The difference between how men and women are framed in advertising is becoming much more prevalent with advertisement like the ones featured above. American Apparel especially, exposes females much more than males in their advertising. To prove this idea I reviewed the cover pictures from the company’s catalogue in 2004, 2005, and 2006. The distinctions are striking. In 2004 the catalogue featured only one male shirtless cover, while offering five females either with just a bra (and pants) or in just bra and panties.

Likewise in 2005 the catalogue shows one male models who is wearing a hooded jacket and briefs. 8 of the 10 females to make cover are exposed (i.e. exposed=cannot wear in public). Three of the models are wearing just panties, one panties/bra, one is wearing a form fitting/back & butt out bodysuit, one is wearing just socks, and the last has her breast exposed in her socks and button up blouse.

This trend with American Apparel continues in 2006. Only one male featured in both shorts and a tee-shirt.8 of the 11 females are in either their panties, bikinis, or one piece suits that expose their legs and buttocks. One female in particular has her bare legs wide opens with the magazine covering saying “wide open,” while another model has on shorts and an open hooded jacket with exposed breast.

It’s Deeper Than You Think
“Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel” (Kilborne, 2).These advertisements cause young viewers to grow up having bad taste in men, clothes, etc and poor judgment concerning self-respect. These advertisements portray females (and males occasionally) as nothing more than a mask, that is good for nothing besides advertising. Kilbourne states that in these ads our body is seen as a "thing," "and turning a human being into a thing is often the first step toward justifying violence. (Kilboune, 3)" On the most obvious level young viewers looking at these ads learn the stereotypes of how a man and woman should be. Advertising creates a mythical, mostly white world in which people are rarely ugly, overweight, poor, struggling or disabled, either physically or mentally (Kilboune, 4). Since women are active consumers, the site of women’s empowerment is through the commercial sphere, by making decisions about what and how to consume to defining themselves. However the target market of both American Apparel and Urban Outfitters starts at 13 which is young, by already subjected these over sexualized images in ads the message is clear to these teens. Teenagers are easily influenced by what they see and they often get dress/style ideas from magazines or websites. Both of these brands may have tried to take precautions by advertising in over 18 magazines, but lets be realistic …are all those readers really over 18?

Below is a message from American Apparel concerning their raunchy advertisements.

“American Apparel's ads have always been easily identifiable, standing out amongst our peers and luxury brands alike, and have been instrumental in our success worldwide. Familiar images of employees and friends from around the world—not models—allow us to express the diversity American Apparel is built on and an aspect of authenticity that is often lost in traditional advertising. Our provocative, real, unpretentious aesthetic has struck a chord with today's young trendsetters, and has drawn us an intensely loyal following, similar to that of Levi's in the 60's and 70's when they were breaking similar ground with an underserved generation.”- AA

Work Cited

Stacer, Laura Portwood. “Me, Only Better!”: Reality Makeover Television and Post-Feminist Gender Ideology

Make over shows and the ‘modern woman’

By: Georgina Failey

“Our popular culture is rife with stories of personal transformation, where individuals who make positive changes in themselves are rewarded with god fortune and the admiration of their peers” (Portwood-Stacer, 2004,2010)

It is well documented that in western culture, there is the pressure to have an attractive, charismatic and presentable appearance. Media images are a huge influence on our outlook and it can change our cultural and social idea as to how we should present ourselves. “We eventually come to see ourselves partly in terms of ‘how we think’ other people see us, a concept known as ‘self conception through other’.” (Michelle A Wolf, 2004,2010) This means that there is a higher concern within ourselves as to how others see us, not as to who we really are. Are we the person that we like to think that we are? Or are we the person that others perceive us to be?

There are currently make over shows on television which promote the importance of getting and having external beauty. In fact, becoming attractive is portrayed as an accomplishment, and as means to fulfilment and contentment. Within this blog I am going to look at make-over and transformation television programmes such as ‘The Swan’ (2004), ‘Trinny and Susannah: Undress’ (2006) and the make-under show ‘Snog, Marry Avoid?’(2008).

The makeover show ‘The Swan’ (2004) was a reality TV programme, which includes female contestants who aren’t happy with their appearance and feel that changing externally will make them feel better internally. It gives the ideology that if you are beautiful on the outside, then you can be beautiful and happy on the inside.

The programme aims to create a sense of ‘personal improvement’ among the women as they compete to be the ‘most beautiful’ throughout the competition, and then at the end of the competition one of them who has made the most progress is chosen as ‘The Swan’. Even though throughout the programme the counsellors explain to the contestants that they are trying to make them beautiful and individual, they all have a vastly similar appearance such as: big hair (usually blonde or highlighted), breast implants, plump lips and brow lifts. Therefore, instead of promoting individual beauty, they are creating a specific look to represent to the audience as to what ‘beauty’ is, influencing the audience as to how they feel that they should look.

Make over shows can have an effect on audience members leaving them feel inadequate about certain features that they have as “body evaluation is also influenced by the attention we pay to distinctive attributes of mediated images. A psychological concept known as the distinctiveness postulate is useful for explaining the power of media to shape our self conceptions” (Michelle A Wolf, 2004,2010) Women who have particular concerns about a certain body part will attend more to that issue when they see it in the media, and their view of it being an imperfection will increase.

The television programme ‘Trinny and Susannah: Undress’ involves a contestant, who is either from the general public or a celebrity, standing in a small mirrored room, explaining what they don’t like about themselves such as: body, fashion or self esteem issues and throughout the show the hosts take them shopping, get them a beauty make over which includes getting their hair done, or seeing a makeup artist to give them basic tips on how to keep up their appearance.




The changes in this programme format are more subtle in comparison to ‘The Swan’ as they it doesn’t involve surgery. It seems more empowering as it shows women that one can be “naturally” beautiful.

Among this pressure to conform to society’s image of beauty, there are ‘make under’ television programmes that take women for who they are, and find ways to promote their natural beauty. These programmes have the ideology to ‘use what you have’, that beauty isn’t just on the outside and that you don’t have to look like a model in order to be considered attractive.

The make under television programme ‘Snog Marry Avoid?’ involves participants, either male or female and from the general public as well as celebrities, who have gone too far with what they perceive as attractive and appealing such as: too much fake tan, hair extensions, over the top and excessive makeup.

The format involves ‘POD ’ a computer system that puts them up to a public analysis, were members of the public are asked whether they would ‘snog, marry or avoid’ the participant, along with other questions that will criticise or compliment them. The participant is then faced with a ‘deep cleanse’, which strips them of their makeup and they then have to choose from a range of hair colours and a fashion style. They are then ‘transformed’ accordingly and then again put to the public’s analysis (which always has a more positive result).



Again, this is another programme which isn’t as invasive as ‘The Swan’ or other television programmes that involve plastic surgery, promoting natural beauty and how to achieve it effortlessly. The programme involves audience participation, similar to shows like ‘America’s Got Talent’ were participants are put up to judges and the public’s vote and scrutiny. The preferred reading of this programme is to amuse and entertain the audience because of the physical extremities that the participants have done to themselves, but at the same time it uses that comedy to put across a message to the audience that you don’t need to rely on too much make up, or hair extensions in order to emphasise your look.

This change in format of makeover shows could be due to the latest economic crisis, the emphasis on extreme measures that are expensive has declined. It appears that being excessive is harsh on those who are jobless, with the unemployment rate at a high. ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid?’ is a more ‘toned down’ version of ‘The Swan’ as it is about reducing excess and the extreme. Although, the focus on ‘the external’ shows what matters, and that our bodies and our appearance is still overly scrutinized by others.

Works Cited

Kilbourne, J. (2004,2010). The More You Subtract, The More You Add: Cutting Girls Down To Size In Advertising. In R. A. Lind, Race, Gender, Media: Considering Diversity across Audiences, Content and Producers. Boston,MA: Allyn and Bacon: Pearson Publishers.

Lind, R. A. (2004, 2010). Women in British Broadcasting: An Examination of Percieved Opportunities and Constraints. In R. A. Lind, Race, Gender, Media: Considering Diversity across Audiences, Content and Producers. Boston MA: Allyn and Bacon: Pearson Publishers.

Michelle A Wolf, S. N. (2004,2010). Body Image, Mass Media, Self Concept. In R. A. Lind, Race, Gender, Media: Considering Diversity across Audiences, Content and Producers. Boston,MA: Allyn and Bacon: Pearson Publishers.

Papper, R. A. (2004,2010). Women In TV and Radio News. In R. A. Lind, Race, Gender, Media: Considering Diversity across Audiences, Content and Producers. Boston MA: Allyn and Bacon : Pearson Publishers.

Portwood-Stacer, L. (2004,2010). Me, Only Better: Reality Make over Television and Post Feminist Gender Ideology. In R. A. Lind, Race, Gender, Media: Considering Diversity across Audiences, Content and Producers. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon: Pearson Publishers.

An Analysis of Women as Portrayed in “Pulp Fiction”

By: Amanda Shalkhauser


The media has long been shaping the image of women through television, advertisements, and video games. Television reality shows emphasize weight loss, beauty, and plastic surgery as ways to achieve happiness, and advertisements create an “ideal woman” image to sell clothing, cosmetics, sex, and materialism (Portwood-Stacer 196). Video games also create their own image of women. Women in these games are either “damsels in distress” or over-sexualized heroines with impossible clothing and body shapes (Portwood-Stacer 253). Movies are able to do the same thing; they expand upon widely accepted stereotypes of women such as, subservience to men, overemotional tendency, seductiveness, helplessness, and the idea that power comes from beauty. The movie “Pulp Fiction” uses stereotypical traits of the female gender to place women in the film in two categories: emotional, scared, and helpless, or controlled, powerful, and seductive.




“Pulp Fiction” is an American crime file produced by Quentin Tarantino in 1994. It was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, and incorporated many star actors, such as John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, and Uma Thurman (Wikipedia). The movie focuses on a mob boss, his wife, his hitmen, a boxer and a few petty criminals whose lives are all eventually woven together in a string of seemingly unrelated (and not chronological) events.


As it is postmodern film about crime, “Pulp Fiction’s” characters are mostly male. The desire to be tough and to fight tends to be an overwhelmingly male trait, and thus males dominate the scene when it comes to crime and fighting. Due to its large male population, “Pulp Fiction” is a good film to study in order to see the stereotypes of women in the films’ time period, and a representation of women in or associated with crimes and criminals.


The women in “Pulp Fiction” are immersed in an American crime film in which they are either portrayed as helpless women attached to a stronger male figure, or powerful and individualistic. The movie is more focused on the male characters as they commit various crimes, but there are a few relatively prominent female characters as well. The most notable of these women is Mia Wallace. Played by Uma Thruman, Mia Wallace is the wife of prominent gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) (Wikipedia). She is the dominant female character in the movie, and is portrayed as the “femme fatale;” a beautiful, powerful, intelligent, and seductive woman. The poster for the movie supports this; Mia Wallace’s character is posed on a bed, while wearing a seductive look and stiletto heels. She is smoking a cigarette and a gun is lying in front of her, both of which are societal power symbols. The cover for the widescreen edition of the movie also includes a quote next to Mia, reading “Girls like me don’t make invitations like this to just anyone.” Obviously, Mia is a character with a good deal of power in the storyline of “Pulp Fiction.”


Throughout the movie, Mia’s authority is expanded upon. Vincent Vega (John Travolta), a hit man working for Marsellus Wallace, is asked by Mia’s husband to escort his wife while he is away. When coming to pick Mia up for a night out, Vincent in obviously nervous. While this may be due in part of Mia’s high status as wife of Vince’s boss, Mia plays her own part in Vince’s state. She toys with him when he enters her home, both intelligently and seductively. During dinner, Mia has control over the scene; she is the more important figure and Vincent is subservient to her, doing whatever she requests. Mia is the lone powerful and influential female character in “Pulp Fiction” because she is portrayed as beautiful, influential, intelligent, clever sand seductive. Ironically, later in the movie she mistakes heroin for cocaine and overdoses, becoming the helpless woman figure that Vincent has to rescue from death.

In comparison to Mia Wallace, the other two prominent women in “Pulp Fiction” are fragile and weak. Yolanda (Amanda Plummer), also known as “Honey Bunny,” is part of a scene in which she and her husband, Ringo (Tim Roth), try to rob a restaurant and its patrons. Unlike her husband, Yolanda cannot keep control of herself during the robbery. She is loud and frantic, obviously scared but still trying to keep control of the room. Instead of an adult, she sounds like a child a points, saying “I gotta’ go pee” and “I wanna go home” in a frightened, high pitched voice. Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Jules Winnfield, treats her as if she is a child. He talks down to her, telling her to calm down that he is “proud of her” and that her husband is also proud of her for not shooting anyone. Yolanda’s actions are sharply contrasted to Mia’s, as well as to the actions of Jules and Ringo. Yolanda is small, childlike, frantic and frightened, not calm like the men in the scene (even Ringo remains calm though Jules has a gun pointed at his face). She is portrayed as weak and out of control, not strong and controlling like Mia. Even her nickname, “Honey Bunny,” de-maturates her.



Along with Yolanda, Fabienne (Maria de Medeiros) is also portrayed as a weak, childlike feminine figure. Fabienne is the girlfriend of Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), a boxer running from hit men (Wikipedia). While he is masculine and strong, Fabiene is small, slim, and childlike. Butch speaks to her softly and simply, reassuring her when she is worried. Typical societal male dominance is also shown in a scene in which Butch becomes angry and beings throwing objects around a room. Fabienne cowers in the corner of the room, completely powerless and at the mercy of Butch’s anger.




Both Yolanda and Fabienne, the weak female characters, differ from Mia in their appearance as well as their actions. Mia seems darker in a sense, with black hair, darker skin, red lipstick and typically dark clothing. Yoland and Fabienne appear weaker, wearing neutral colors such as tan or white, no makeup, and have softer features. Mia is also the most attractive, adding to her authority because society tends to equate beauty and power.
Yolanda, Fabienne, and Mia fall into two categories of women represented in the movie “Pulp Fiction.” Mia is characterized as the seductive, powerful, beautiful, independent and possibly dangerous woman, while Yolanda and Fabienne are helpless, male-dependent characters. Their physical features, clothing, make-up, actions, the scenes they are placed in and the characters that surround them all contribute greatly to the way these women are categorized. The two types of women seen in this film and the actions they perform are stereotypical societal ideas of women; a woman is either a powerful seductress or helpless, innocent child – there is no in-between. Because of this, “Pulp Fiction” is not only entertaining viewers with acts of crime and redemption, but it is also making viewable the ways in which society categorizes women.


Works Cited
Portwood-Stacer, Laura. Race/Gender/Media; Considering Diversity across Audiences, Content, and Producers. 2nded. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2010. 92-93. Print.

"Pulp Fiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 28 Oct 2010. Web. 3 Nov 2010. .

"Glee" and Diversity

By: Sarah Felty

This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it is nothing but wires and lights in a box.
— Edward R. Murrow

99% percent of U.S. households have at least one television set while 50% of American adults cannot read above an eighth grade level.

By age 65, the average U.S. citizen will have spent nearly 9, nonstop, 24 hour-a-day years watching television.

Each year Americans watch around 250 billion hours of television.

It’s not breaking news to Americans that we watch a lot of television. Since the creation of television people have been fascinated by it and its array of endless possibilities. However, it is no longer used as just a “form of entertainment.” It has evolved into a tool for learning and a source of communication between people all over the world.

Though television is a way to broadcast information and entertain us, it also has the ability to influence us in ways no other medium can. This gives television a power and an impact that is very hard to ignore. It also allows us to experience the world around us while introducing us to knowledge or opinions we might otherwise never have encountered.

“Glee”

This brings me to the TV show Glee and the influence it is having on an ever-growing audience. As I have pointed out, one would be hard-pressed to ignore the influence television has on Americans. And now, one would also be hard-pressed to ignore the influence Glee is having on the young adults who worship it. (“Gleeks,” as they call themselves.) The story focuses on a group of excessively different students who are brought together, against their will, to sing in that historically nerdy “ High School Glee Club.” However, those differences end up bringing the students together to form the “Glee family.” And it’s a diverse family at that. But Glee is not about the triumph or recognition of the “high school loser” as one would think. They have instead made it the appreciation of the high school individual. I say "individual"

very specifically because Glee has been so fantastically un-specific in its array of featured char

acters. For example, Glee currently includes the only wheelchair bound character on primetime television. The main cast also includes teen moms, Asian, Latino, gay and African American characters, alcoholics, a young girl with Down syndrome, and a Jewish girl with two gay dads. However, Glee has managed to turn these traits into attributes for its characters.

Artie Abrams, is looked up to for his struggles and intense determination on Glee but is still treated like every other kid on the show. In the episode titled “Wheels,” of the first season, the students even decide to spend a week in a wheelchair to understand Artie’s day-to-day life better. They wrap up the episode by performing a musical number in their wheel chairs to honor their friend. Artie has even had a few love interests with various characters on the show and in the current season actually joined the football team!

Becky Jackson and Jean Sylvester, played by actresses Lauren Potter and Robin Trocki, portray significant roles as characters with Down syndrome. Becky is mean cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester’s favorite cheerleader while Jean is the all-knowing sister she goes to when she is at her worst and needs advice. They show the positive side of Sue’s character, as she isn’t very positive and help the rest of the characters to understand the heavier things in life.

Kurt Hummel, (played by actor Chris Colfer) is the fashionable, misunderstood guy who is struggling with the need to come out to his father and be accepted by his friends for who he is. Which of course they do without a second thought, but Kurts emotional confrontation with his father was quite the tear jerker, for anyone that has felt misunderstood or like they are living a lie. Though Kurt’s character is an openly gay young man who is unafraid to show his true self, he has definitely had moments of self-doubt. This led to a few episodes on the football team and even some on the cheerleading squad. In the end though, Kurt learned to stay true to himself and that is what made him happiest.

Impact

There is no doubt that Glee has made strides to include a diverse cast, but the show (now in its second season) has continued to include a more diverse mix of topics as well. Last season the show dealt with teen pregnancy, alcoholism, kids coming out to apprehensive parents, cheating spouses and sex. This season the kids have already dealt with religion, a little more sex, some LGBT issues and of course, jealousy. It’s looking good for season 2 of Glee especially with that coveted timeslot of primetime Wednesday nights (7.5 million people tuned in for season 1 and with two episodes down in season 2 there have already been 12.3 million viewers) it looks like even more people might benefit from its diverse flavor. Especially, the younger viewers for which there are not numbers out yet, but have made themselves known at concerts, events and filmings of the show that they love. Glee recently won The Hollywood Diversity Award, as well as another award from The Multicultural Motion Picture Association, here’s to earning a few more!

Watch cast of Glee perform “Imagine”

Midnight Express : An Example of Meaningful Adaptation of Diversity

By: Louis-Auxile Maillard





The original Midnight Express (1)is a true story : an American guy, Billy Haye, is put in Turkish jail because of drug trafficking. He was sentenced to spend thirty years in jail, escaped a few years later (2) , and wrote his story. The movie Midnight Express (3) is the film adaptation.


However, according to the original author's testimony (4) , the movie changed several points. For example, the Turkish cruelty is increased in the movie, his evasion is improved to make him look like a hero, and the homosexual relations he had during the time he was in jail are denied in the movie.


The point here is not to focus on quantitative differences like omissions, due to the fact it is impossible to tell as many facts in a movie than in a book. The point here is to focus on transformations comitted by the movie. These qualitative differences between the movie and the original story underscore a specific vision of diversity that has to be shown in a popular movie.


It's instructive to notice that the transformations in the movie have been publicly admitted by the director, who apologized for them (5). Billy Haye himself apologized for the consequences of the movie on the Turkish stereotype in America (6) . It is another evidence of the movie's willingness to influence.

Table 1 shows the four main qualitative differences between the original book and the movie:

Table 1 : Facts in the book and in the movie

Fact	Original story	Movie	Comparison
Hero's citizenship	American	American	=
Place of Action	Turkey	Turkey	=
Hero's MaritalStatus	Single	Has Girlfriend	Hero should havegirlfriend
Hero's Sexual Orientation	Has homosexualrelations in Turkish jail.	Only heterosexual	Hero should be onlyheterosexual
Violences comitted against the hero	Nothing more than expected violence in a jail.	Rape committed by other prisoners and guardians. All the atmosphere is more violent than in the originalstory.	The more violent the Turkish, the better it is.
The evasion	Escapes without violence	Kills the guardians boss	The hero has to kill his enemy's boss.

Table 1 shows the four main qualitative differences between the original book and the movie.

In the original story, Billy Haye is single. In the movie, he has a girlfriend, who attends to his arrestation and tries to help him all along the film. She represents the link between Billy Haye's former life and his life in prison. She also corresponds to the typical sterotype of the faithful lady waiting for her lover, despite he is sentenced to spend a very long time in a foreign jail. Her presence show that an American guy, even if he is trafficking drugs, is human and can have a romantic life, which is not the case of Turkish people in the movie.

Billy Haye told that he had homosexual relations in jail with other prisoners. In the movie, he is tempted to do so, but finally refuses it. Despite the movie does not present homosexuality as a bad thing, the construction of an American hero seems to have to avoid homosexuality. Notice that the movie could avoid this topic to express that it does not mind. Nevertheless, it is not the case. Furthermore, Turkish people are sometimes homosexual, as if this simple fact could create a huge difference between American and Turkish.

According to Billy Haye's interview, Turkish people are more violent in the movie than in the original story. It allows the movie to be more punchy, but it also dramatizes the action. It maintains an orientalist stereotype, according to which Turkish are violent and immoral. This is not a question of politics, because Turkey and United States of America had a very good relationship when the movie was produced. It perpetuates a racist view of Turkish people seen as barbarious.

In the original story, Billy Haye escapes from an island without any violence. But in the movie, he kills the guardian's chief who was attempting to rape him, and this death allows him to escape. At first, it means that an American hero only uses force when it is necessary, because the character is very wise and delicate all along the movie. It also means that ruse is not enough for an American hero to escape : he has to use force and to take revenge against his enemy. This final scene represents the victory of strength and wisdom against violence, and the victory of America against Orient.

These comparisons underscores that the movie wants us to believe some precise information about Turkish people and what an Amercian hero has to be, shaping the spectator's view of sexuality, country of citizenship and some other issues about diversity.

Such comparisons can only be done when a movie is supposed to follow an original story. In Table 1, the column "Comparison", which gathers all the interesting information, could not exist if the column "Original story" didn't exist. In other terms, the original story is a necessary reference to understand the movie's meaning better.

The theorical idea here is that it is possible to emphasize all the politicaly oriented issues in a movie by juxtaposing it with the original novel or true story which inspired it. A lot of examples can be found and studied in this way : Catch Me If You Can, Ian Fleming's James Bond... It concerns particularly commercial and well-known movies, where the author accords a great importance to what the spectators think.

This method could also be applied to theater plays, like Romeo+Juliette, which is a modern interpretation of the famous Shakespeare's play. Current critics about theatrical production of older plays also use the same method.

Comparing movies and their source of inspiration can provide great clues about what the media wants us to think, especially about society and diversity issues. Midnight Express is one of the best examples: when you see the movie, you don't feel how it tries to influence you. But if you read the book, then the movie's own opinion about diversity becomes obvious.



____________________________

[1] Billy Hayes, Midnight Express. Dutton, 1977. ISBN 0-525-15605-4 (First edition)
[2] The real story of his evasion. National Geographic website.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/locked-up-abroad/4735/Overview
[3] Alan Parker, Midnight Express, 1978.
[4] Interview of Billy Hayes part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMsNPCVbNhw 1999
Interview of Billy Hayes part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JTRs8e-FRk 1999
[5] Smith, Helena. Stone sorry for Midnight Express. Guardian. December 16, 2004.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/dec/16/turkey.film
[6] Real-life 'Midnight Express' character visits Turkey to 'make amends' :
http://www.pr-inside.com/real-life-midnight-express-character-visits-r154835.htm

"The Perfect World": American Television’s Virtual Diversity

By: By: Michaela Penn

Television has, without a doubt, become a central learning instructor for people across the world. From syndicated programming, talk shows, and advertisements; television influences us individually, and culturally. Aside from television, advertisements are the backbone of television programming as these are the economic base of broadcast TV. To appeal products to a broader audience, advertisements began to become more diverse showing a variety of ages, body types, and ethnicities. However this new approach to marketing has some questioning its realistic authenticity as compared to how the world really is. In this blog analysis I will take an in-depth look at two up-to-date advertisements by major corporations and how their characters are framed to show America as a cultural mesh.

“Virtual Diversity” is defined in the article Race Becomes More Central to TV Advertising as commercials that enable advertisers to connect with wider audiences while conveying a message that corporate America is not just "in touch," racially speaking, but inclusive (AssociatedPress, 2010). While these “virtual diverse” commercials show variety of races, companies intentions are examined for whether they truly interrogate stereotypes or just reiterate them in a different manner in these ads. Bradley Gorham explains in Considerations of Media Effects, Psychologists Hamilton and Trolier (1986) definition of stereotypes as “cognitive structures that contains the perceiver’s knowledge, beliefs, and expectancies about some human group.(Gorham,p17)” Stereotypes function in the same way as schemas. Bradley Gorham writes that “schemas help us categorize the world by telling us the basic characteristics of the things we encounter…a stereotype then is a schema for people we perceive as belonging to a social group. (p17)” Considering common stereotypes, schemas of a certain race, race relations, and ethnicity integration in ads, it is easy to justify people thought of these “virtual diverse” ads as inaccurate.

With evidence of gains in profits, businesses; etc by African-Americans, Asians and Native Americans the article suggests “nonwhites will be in the majority in America by 2042 (AssociatedPress, 2010).” Some say with these improvements and new lights of multiculturalism in commercials, America is changing and is moving towards racial progress. Contrary to this, an article by the Advertising Educational Foundation disagrees by saying these ads “gloss over persistent and complicated racial realities” and that “most Americans live and mingle with people from their own racial background” (AEF, 2010). I choose to analyze two particular commercials because: one they are by major corporations who have existed for quite a while and have huge marketing campaigns in America, and two because both advertisements show a mesh of cultures bonding in the same environment and enjoying the same luxuries.

A recent 2009 commercial by Coca-Cola shows teenagers enjoying a beautiful summer day by swimming and being airlifted in a huge Coca- Cola bottle. Besides the unbelievable bottle, many other things were out of the ordinary in the commercial. All of the characters are strikingly beautiful and have exotic or white features. None are overweight; the females easily fit into a two-piece bikini, and the male’s toned bodies compliment the scene. Various races are present in this commercial; however they are all constructed as White. In true American, African-Americans, Caucasians, Asians and Native Americans have different features that make them distinctive. However, all of these characters have long hair, fair skin, and thin body types. If it weren’t for a somewhat darker complexion on some of the characters they could all be assumed as White. Is it a coincidence that out of every different look each of these races has (i.e. overweight, short hair, handicap), the characters selected have much more in common than in difference. The race relations between the groups presented are incorrect. Likewise, ones schemas of African-Americans being hostile, uneducated, and rhythmic are dismissed as you see them in a more subtle playful light. After watching this, viewers would assume America is a perfect land, with diverse groups who all look and act alike.


While the Coca- Cola commercial focuses on diverse young friendships, a recent 2009 commercial by Hillshire Farm shows older adults enjoying a barbeque. In these commercial five friends, including two couples sing a song advertising the Hillshire Brat. Not only does this commercial not dismiss stereotypes, they prove them to be true. If someone has a pervious schema of African- Americans as good cooks, rhythmic, and outspoken and of Caucasians as nerdy and educated this commercial confirms them. The African- American couple is more soulful (watch the husband dancing), while the Caucasian family seems to be more preppy. The friend in the background seems to be multi-racial, but in all they seem like happy neighbors who get along well. Contrary to the Coca-Cola commercial the couples have features of their race, but this advertisement does not accurately portray racial relations. The more comedic approach by the makers of the commercial is understandable, but do five diverse neighbors really sing and dance while cooking brats? This commercial by Hillshire not only tells a consumer to buy the brat, but it also suggests that Americans of different ethnicities live in the same neighborhood and eat the same food.




Some accuse businesses of falsely advertising race relations, while others like Denise Meridith of the Phoenix Business Journal argue that it “fights prejudice while attracting buyers.” She adds that “whether one likes the quality of the ads, the quantity (of minorities in ads) has improved.” While portraying more diverse images or “color” (hence, other ethnicities) in numerous advertisements is certainly encouraging, these images makes some wonder whether minorities are in commercials as the token figures. These token characters in racial integrated commercials could merely be a company’s effort to deflect criticism or to obey with affirmative action, instead of genuinely accepting diversity. Likewise, African- Americans and other ethnicities are in advertisements with a majority Caucasians. Their white features, accents, etc. are still situated to show Whiteness as the only norm. If companies really embrace diversity, they should show a range of individuals who all look different in terms of weight, height, complexion, hair, and camera personality.

Aside from the constant construction of everything as white in American TV commercials, race relations in the above ads (as with many more) are also inaccurate. The Hillshire commercial also proves that the new “virtual diversity” advertisement trend reiterates stereotypes, by still showing races doing things they are said to do. With commercials repeating racial stereotypes commonly seen, it does nothing but confirm schemas already existing in one’s mind, this is unfortunate seeing that every Black person doesn’t dance 24-7, every White is not Preppy; etc. Diversity is beautiful, but acknowledging the truth is even better. And the truth is that race does matter in today’s society and commercials by Coca-Cola or Hillshire; etc do not accurately depict racial relations; whether it is between teens or adults. The “virtual diversity” era may foreshadow real life changes in the future, but for now these American ads are more diverse than America itself.


Want to check out more “virtual diverse” commercials? Here are a few extras I found but decided against analyzing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjbII5xqG8s

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

References

Associated Press (2009, March 1). Race becomes more central to TV advertising. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29453960/

Associated Press (2005, February 22). Diversity in ads not reflected in real life. http://www.aef.com/industry/news/data/2005/3085

Gorham, Bradley W. “The Social Psychology of Stereotypes: Implications for Media
Audiences.” Race/Gender/Media: Considering Diversity Across Audiences, Content, and Producers. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2010. 16-23. Print.

Meredith, Denise (2003, March 7). Phoenix Business Journal. Diversity in advertising fights prejudice, attracts buyers. http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2003/03/10/editorial3.html

Being Black in the New Age of Rap

By: Lazarus McRae



Wiz Khalifa, a 23-year-old Pittsburgh native, was born September 8, 1987. He started his career off in 2006, with the release of his first album, “Show and Prove.” The following year Wiz got signed to Warner Bros. Records, where he released his second single, “Say Yeah," sampled from a very popular techno song by Alice Deejay called “Better off Alone.” “Say Yeah,” not only received radio play, but it also made the Rhythmic Top 40. What people don’t know is Wiz is more than just a successful rapper; He is avid communicator with fans, staying in touch through blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and other third party music networking sites. Then suddenly after his Two years of success Wiz’s relationship with Warner Bros. Records suddenly ended. Upon his departure, Wiz released his second album, “Deal or No Deal,” and then followed up with released the mixtape “Kush and Orange Juice.” Instantly Wiz became the top trending topic on Twitter and Google and was offered a record deal from Atlantic Records. Clearly, Wiz is a popular hip-hop artist. While, in the past, artists have promoted violence and drug use, Wiz is much more overt, signifying a change in the music culture. In this paper I will discuss Wiz Khalifa, paying particular attention his use of marijuana, and how he represents a particular construction of black masculinity.



Marijuana

Throughout the video, Wiz and his possy smoke marijuana heavily, as if their status allows them to disobey the laws on illicit drugs. Their attitude toward smoking shows an independence from social norms and mainstream society. In fact, in the first frame of the video Wiz is holding a joint. Later there's a scene where Wiz’s friends are on a couch laughing as if it’s the marijuana in their system that makes everything better. The significance of drug use in hip-hop artists today creates an inattention to authority and brings males from different socioeconomic statuses together, where once this would never be accepted. However marijuana illegal, still appears in all the music videos. Constructing drug use as the norm for the subculture that he represents. Years ago this would never happen; the closest thing to a drug would be tobacco. For example, in the 90’s, a west coast rap group known as N.W.A. became popular for their explicit lyrics about drugs and violence. However, not once did drugs appear in their music videos. The progression in music videos goes to show how fast America has grown as a culture. Now what were once explicit lyrics is now the realism of seeing actual drugs and violence in the video.

Black Masculinity

Drugs, tattoos, jewelry, designer clothes, and swagger are some characteristics that emit from being black in this new age of hip-hop. Males specifically have trouble relating with one another. This video is a perfect example of males bonding negatively. No longer do we see men watching football games together, or consuming drinks at the bar, we see males hanging out at the local park smoking pot out the back of a truck or a bunch of boys hanging out at home taking bong rips. This infatuation with material goods is consistent with every artist in this new age of hip-hop too. No longer are women just the objects of attention; we are exposed to million dollar homes, exotic cars, and private places. He gives mention to his sexual preference in women too. Then overly boasts in the confidence his jewelry gives him, and laughs at his intentional recommendations for marijuana. Though he gives mention to woman, rarely do you see one in a video, but if a female is visible then she is more so a prop to balance out the mixture of people, not a item to worship because of her stunning appearance. The males however, are constructed as…. According to the Kirkland, such actions taken by artists like Wiz Khalifa appear to be somewhat of an in-your-face boast. Otherwise, glorifying guns and street hustling (Kirkland).

The portrayal of drug use shows an independence from social norms and mainstream (white) society – where someone who looks like this would never be accepted anyway.


After reading the lyrics and a short recall of Wiz’s stomping grounds, Listeners are forced to assume that Wiz is giving reference to his home team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is song can be considered as a shout out to his homeland, but as you read the lyrics the song becomes more stereotypical and commercial. The first verse begins with Wiz talking about the paint job of his car, and then progresses with this arrogant remark. “The niggaz scared out of it, but them hoes aint,” (Wiz). And throughout the song his lyrics continue with the making of arrogant statements. On the other hand, one must notice these things, more specifically, acknowledge the stereotypical references of the black community and blacks in this new age of hip-hop that are embedded in his lyrics.

Conclusion
Throughout the video, males are seen smoking out of bongs, exchanging blunts with Wiz, and overall just enjoying the presence of one another in the midst of marijuana. However, these concerns do not reflect the reality that most African American’s live, where more than 15 percent are unemployed (as opposed to 8.8 percent of Whites). Without the existence of illicit drugs like marijuana, young males might find a reason to

Christian Myths as Portrayed In "The Lion King"

By: Tamara French

Disney has been cited as one of the world’s greatest entertainment companies in America (Fortune 500 2009: Top 1000 American Companies. 4 May, 2009). With their ever flowing variety of movies, films, merchandise, television, and music, Disney has been on the forefront of American entertainment. Because Disney is so universal, there have been many debates on their racial, gender portrayals and diversity within the children’s movies that they have released. Less thought, however, has gone into the religious messages some of the films portray. In this analysis, then, I will considerer how Christian myths are portrayed in The Lion King.

The Lion King (The Lion King (1994)-IMDb), with a domestic total gross of $312,855,561(The Lion King (1994)-Box Office Mojo. 12 Dec. 2010), is one of Disney’s top selling children’s movies. The Lion King is about a young cub, Simba, who sees his father, Mufasa, dying. He runs away because he believes that it is his fault that his father is no longer living, and grows into a full lion with two friends, Timon and Pumbaa, that found him in the desert and took him in. Nala, his childhood friend, finds him and tells him all about how their lands are wasteful now and that he needs to return as the rightful king. He does return, only to come back and find out that his uncle, Scar, has been ravaging the lands and that he also was the one guilty of the murder of his father.

The crime that is committed in this movie, the murder of Mufasa, is remindful of the biblical story of Cain and Abel. In the Bible Cain and Abel were brothers, much like Scar and Mufasa. And just as Scar kills Mufasa, Cain does so to Abel, “8Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.” (The New International Version, Genesis 4:8) Cain was jealous of the favor that Abel had received. Scar is jealous in this way of Mufasa and even of young Simba because he feels that he should be king and should be next in line to the throne, as he was before Simba was born. There is no way he will ever get to be king unless he does something drastic and that is when the murder takes place. Scar wants power like that which Mufasa has and wants the respect and glory of everyone around him. Cain wanted similar things, he wanted the approval of God and to be shown favor and to be first to gain approval, but when he did not get that approval and instead his brother, Abel, gained the approval the envy and jealousy that ravaged him was uncontrollable.



The clip above demonstrates how Mufasa is willing to do anything for his son. When Mufasa learns that Simba is in danger he immediately runs to the rescue. He sees the danger and even though he knows that his return may not happen he still dives into the herd to save the son. Mufasa could have left his son to figure this all out by himself, but he loved Simba so much that he did not; he instead decided to step in and save a life, his life. This is what Jesus Christ did for mankind, 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.”(New International Version, John 3:16). Mufasa loved his child so much that he was willing to risk everything for him, and Jesus Christ, the man form of God, loved mankind so much that he gave his life up to save humanity. So Mufasa represents that God-like image and Simba represents mankind and sin in this scene and in this sense.



Mufasa is an allegory of God; he is, a God-like figure represented throughout the movie. Mufasa is always present in Simba’s life even though Simba has drifted like a lost sheep, and ‘forgotten’ who he is. Before Simba can go back to Pride Rock, which is similar to the Promise Land, he needs to remember who he is and who he was born to be, but he also needs to ask for redemption and forgive himself. In a Christian life this would be a turning point from a life filled with sin to a life lived out for the Lord. Not only is it very clear that there are many religious aspects in this movie, but it sends a powerful message about the love of God.

Disney’s reputation precedes it throughout American culture. The messages in the children’s movies may not have been put there on purpose, but are still topics that people seem to want to understand and know. From the gender stereotypes to the religious ambiguities in their films, there are many topics that can be discussed from watching a Disney movie. The movie certainly only takes some aspects of Christianity throughout, but the Christian myths portrayed in The Lion King are very prominent when analyzing.

Works Cited

Flesher, Paul V.M. “Religion Today.” Disney’s Depictions of Religion. University of Wyoming. 18 July 2004. Web. 5 Oct. 2010

Hengeveld, Nick. Bible Gateway. The Zondervan Corporation L.L.C. 1993. Web. 5 Oct 2010
“Fortune 500: Disney.” Fortune 500 2009: Top 1000 American Companies.

The Lion King. Dir. Rob Minkoff, Buena Vista, 1994. DVD

The Lion King (1994). Box Office Mojo. 2010. Web. 10 October 2010

The Lion King (1994). IMDb. 10 October 2010 <>

Lesbianism: Exploited in the Media for the Wrong Reasons

By: Lisa Morris

Before the 21st century, homosexuality was a topic that media tried to avoid as much as possible. In the 1960’s, homosexuality was seen as a psychological disorder due to many gay activists trying to make a change (Cecco, 1984). It was as if the gay community was neither seen nor heard. With this unjust treatment, it’s no wonder why there were many gay activists who fought for the right to have their voices heard. While homosexuality is very much in the media today, the depictions fall flat of a proper representation. First, gay representation in the media was minimal, now it’s highly exploited, but in the wrong way. Today, homosexuals are now just being seen (under media’s warped idea of them), and still not heard (at least not in the way they want to be). There are many false portrayals of gays in the media; overly feminine men, masculine woman or even acts of lesbianism for male satisfaction, just to name a few. For example, mockery towards a gay man would consist of a limp wrist and an exaggerated feminine accent (Holtzman, 2000). There have even been sexologists in Germany and England that started calling gays and lesbians inverts, which is based off a belief that men who are inverts have feminine traits, while women who are inverts tend to take on more masculine characteristics (Holtzman, 2000). Lastly, and the main topic of discussion, falls into the category of lesbians and the misinterpretation of sex that goes along with it. “Lesbian describes a relationship in which two women’s strongest emotions and affections are directed toward each other. Sexual contact may be a part of the relationship to a greater or lesser degree, or it may be entirely absent…But women who identify themselves as lesbian generally do not view lesbianism as a sexual phenomenon first and foremost” (Atkins, 1999). In this paper I will consider the construction of the lesbian as overly sexualized, presented for male viewing pleasure.

To discuss the latter more in depth, it is clear that, in today’s media, a woman seen kissing another woman is considered sexy. That is the whole idea; media wants to sell sex, and that is their interpretation of sexy. If it sells, the media is surely going to milk it for all it’s worth. But wait a minute; doesn’t the gay community have any say in this? They are the ones being portrayed in front of the world as objects of sex. There are pictures and films that contain woman making out with the intention of pleasing the male demographic. One shocking video from the television show, "The Man Show", consisted of Jimmy Kimmel going around the streets, offering woman money to see them kiss.

Real Women French Kiss - Watch a funny movie here

He even says at one point “We’re not asking you to exploit yourselves, we’re asking you to French kiss each other on television for guys to masturbate by”. Clearly the first portion of that sentence was a joke, because how is kissing another woman on television, for money, not exploitation? Jimmy Kimmel sees all this as humor and doesn’t care (and clearly neither do these women) about how this footage could affect their lives. His main goal was to reach the needs of his male viewers and sell his distorted version of what is sexy.

Sadly, this type of representation occurs all the time within media texts. Another example of how lesbianism is “sexed up” for the male demographic would be a scene out of every teenager’s favorite movie, "American Pie 2".



Three male high school friends mistake two girl roommates as a lesbian couple. After being caught pillaging through the ladies things, the three boys confess that they just wanted to find any evidence of the two woman being a couple. The girls sympathize and show the three what they want to see; which is a kiss. The boys request more, however the two ladies want to even the playing field, so to speak. The boys could only see more if they mirrored exactly what they wanted the girls to do. Once these terms were understood, the boys go as far as grabbing each other’s butts, but they stop when things get too sexual. It’s shocking, in this case, how far the three boys are willing to go just to see two woman showing sexual affections towards one another. They are so in lust for the image and the act; however, when asked to perform the same acts, they become disgusted and ultimately turned off. This brings the age old question, “why is ok when girls do it, but not for guys?” It is widely seen that girls kissing is associated with sexuality and nothing else. That scene can evoke many moods from the male. On the contrary, when the males kiss, displeasure is seen on their faces and pure disgust is portrayed. This sends the message that this type of interaction between two males is unacceptable and downright scornful. This greatly affects gay males and their standing in society. It’s unclear who to accept at this point because one portion of the gay community is seen as sexy while the other portion is seen as a mockery. If both portions can’t simultaneously be accepted and seen as one, our image of them will forever be distorted. Viewers will consequently associate gays and lesbians with the examples they are given through media.

Portrayals of lesbian acts are defined exactly the way media intended for us to interpret. As Jimmy Kimmel put it, the image is something guys can get sexually stimulated by. It is seen as entertainment to post pictures of woman kissing and it forces women into a one dimensional category which is, sad to say, sex. Lesbians then are standardized only based on sex as well, avoiding deeper issues like gay rights.

Posters such as The Kiss are sold widely in poster stores and seen quite often on the bedroom walls of males. This poster reeks of ignorance with its cheesy angelic white colors, and half naked woman on display while big corporate industries rake in the benefits (aka...cash). It’s as if media is unconcerned about throwing a pigeonholed view of a certain group out for the world to consume and believe.

With ignorant portrayals of lesbians, such as the ones provided, it’s safe to say that the wrong image is being presented. Allowing such a distorted view of woman and their sexuality evokes naive responses from its viewers. This is how media has everything to do with the way we think, act and feel. Unless personal morals and ethics come into play here, the viewer’s fate towards their way of thinking is already decided under the power of media. So far, the image of homosexuality is uncertain at this time, because people are torn between accepting it and denying it.

Works Cited
Atkins, D. (1999). Lesbian sex scandals: sexual practices, identities, and politics . Binghamton: The Haworth Press.

Cecco, J. P. (1984). Homophobia: An Overview (Vol. 10). New York: The Haworth Press.

Holtzman, L. (2000). Media Messages: What Film, Television, and Popular Music Teach Us About Race, Class, Gender, and Sexual Orientation. Armonk: M.E.Sharp Inc.

SCWAMP analysis for Keeping up with the Kardashians

By: Leslie Purnell

Keeping up with the Kardashians is running on its 6th season broadcasted on E TV. The family is composed of the mother, Kris, father, Bruce, daughters, Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Kendall, and Kylie, and son, Rob. Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Rob are Kris’s children from a previous marriage. Kendall and Kylie are the offspring of Kris and Bruce. Bruce also has children from a previous marriage, but they are not on the show. Keeping up with the Kardashians follows the family around to various events, and shows what a day in the life of the family would be like. I chose to use the SCWAMP analysis to show that the Kardashians are far from the sitcom ideal family. The SCWAMP analysis stands for Straight, Christian, White, Able-bodied, Male, and Property holding. Those categories are what are prominent in the media today. A SCWAMP analysis looks at how the media has a direct influence on society, and points out what contrasts with the norm. The analysis allowed me to examine Keeping up with the Kardashians through those six categories. When watching Keeping up with the Kardashians, the viewers can pick up on how close the family truly is. I wanted to use the SCWAMP analysis to find out why the Kardashians are so appealing to millions of viewers around the world. After comparing the Kardashians through the SCWAMP, it was easy to see that they live the idealistic world to many people who value expensive possessions.

Straight: The Kardashians focus a lot on the three oldest sisters’ romantic relationships. All of their intimate relationships have been heterosexual. Khloe is married to Lamar Odom. Kourtney has a child, Mason, with her boyfriend Scott Disick, and Kim has recently split with Reggie Bush. The family is always super involved in each other’s relationships. Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe can often be quoted saying, “When you date one of us, you date all of us.” Rob has dated girls on the show, and the family is often informed on the status of his relationships.

Christian: Khloe and Lamar recently exchanged vows at an outside venue, and not in a church. Typically Christians get married in a church. The officiate of the wedding was also not dressed in reverend or priest attire. On the show, viewers never see the Kardashians going to church any day of the week, or to any religious venue. Sometime in the show you can see Rob or Lamar wear replicas of cross chains which represents a form of Christianity, but that is the only sign of Christianity seen.

White: The Kardashians are Armenian and Bruce the step father is of white decent. Kendall and Kylie are a mix of Armenian and white, but the show is centered around their Armenian roots. Sometimes Kris will make Armenian cookies or other dishes that pertain to their culture. The four oldest children always have bronzed skin, and Bruce, Kylie and Kendall are the family members that stick out because of their skin color. Khloe, Kim, Kourtney, and Rob’s biological father was Armenian, and died of cancer when Khloe was just nineteen years old.

Able bodied: Fit and curvy are two words that are commonly used to describe Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney’s appearance. Khloe has often expressed how she has struggled with her physical appearance being that she is taller and thicker than her older sisters. Kim often stresses working out and has her own workout tapes. The Kardashians also advertise the weight supplement Quick Trim. Having a flawless outward appearance is very important in this family which partly stems from the pressure of the media. “We begin the process of perceiving ourselves from the perspective of another person, a viewpoint that gradually becomes disassociated from any specific person and becomes that of society at large.” (Brim, 1968, p.46).Kim and Kylie are both models. Some of the sisters even undergo treatments to help them remain looking and feeling young.



Male: Women dominate the Kardashian household. The show often shows how Bruce is out of the loop on decision making. Rob is the only brother the girls have, and the sisters are very protective of their brother. Male dominance is not an issue in the show. The main purpose for men on the show is for companionship. Even though men might not have a direct dominance on the women in the show, they still have an influence on how the women present themselves. It is because of the men that the women wear designer clothes, work out daily, and wear make-up. The ultimate goal for Kim is to find a man. Pleasing the men in their lives and other potential men in the future provides an example of how men have some dominance in the Kardashian women’s lives.




Property Holding: Property holding is a big factor in how the Kardashians measure success. Khloe and Kourtney own a store called Dash while Kris and Kim own a store called Smooch. The parents have recently upgraded their home to a ranch style to a mansion style home. Khloe and Lamar purchased a three million dollar home, and Rob lives with them. Kim just purchased a new house, and Kourtney and Mason live with her. By just looking at the pictures a person can tell that having a luxurious home is important to the Kardashians. Kim does not need a huge mansion for two people and a baby, and the same goes for Khloe and Lamar. Having a mansion is a way for the Kardashians to show that they have money, and make that statement to the world.
After looking at the SCWAMP analysis of Keeping up with the Kardashians, it is easy to understand why the Kardashian family is so appealing to the media. Everyone in the family is straight, able-bodied, and property holding. They are not the average everyday family, and some viewers like to see how the wealthy live. The SCWAMP analysis provides a great example of how something different from the middle to lower class everyday lifestyle is attractive.

Work cited

“Kim Kardashian big booty workout again.” Youtube-Broadcast Yourself. EEntertainment, 17
April 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.

“Kris’s Territory.” Youtube-Broadcast Yourself. EEntertainment, 04 Sept. 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.

Lind, Rebecca Ann. Race, Gender, Media: considering Diversity across Audiences, Content, and Producers. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2004. Print.

Pictures from Google.com