"Mickey Mouse Monopoly"

     This week, we watched Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood, and Corporate Power.  It made some very interesting points.  I grew up watching Disney movies, and as I got older, I noticed certain stereotypes, sexism, and racism in the films.  This is especially true for the older films, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dumbo, and Peter Pan.  In the Snow White movie, she is portrayed as a delicate female who enjoys cooking and cleaning for men.  There are definitely racist undertones in Dumbo, with the voices of the crows speaking Ebonics.  I have always had a problem with how Native Americans were portrayed in Peter Pan.  From the way they are drawn, to the color of their skin, and even the way they talk and dance.  It is extremely stereotypical and offensive. However, I did not agree with some of the "problems" the film pointed out about some of the Disney movies.  One example was when they talked about The Little Mermaid being sexist because Prince Eric saves Ariel in the end.  I think that they forgot that at the beginning of the movie, Ariel saves Prince Eric from drowning.  I do not think that it is a bad thing for men to save women, especially in this case because they also showed a woman saving a man.  The film did point out some things that I had never really thought about before, such has the elimination of Africans from the Tarzan story.  They also pointed out the offensive and controversial lyrics from the beginning of the Aladdin film, which went right over my head as a child.  This film gave me a lot to think about even though I still enjoy Disney movies.

Analysis: Jason Derulo "Swalla"

     After watching the music videos for this week, I chose to analyze the Jason Derulo "Swalla" video.  There is a lot to say about this video, so to make it easier to understand, I decided to address each question separately.  Here we go....

What roles do the men in the music video play?  What roles do the women play? 

     In the video, the men are at the center of attention, usually with a women draped on their lap or over their shoulder.  Jason Derulo has female dancers surrounding him throughout the video.  The women seem to solely be there to dance and look hot.  They are in  revealing clothing and are showing off their breasts and butts. Usually, men in music videos stand there while women dance around or on them.  Derulo is more active in this video however; he dances with his female counterparts.  Niki Minaj appears in the video, and I thought that she would try to distinguish herself from the other women in the video by dressing or acting differently.  But, she is dressed the same as the other dancers; she has a crop top on that shows off her cleavage, and tiny shorts to show off her shape.  She even lies on the ground during her rap while touching herself.  It seems that she cannot really get away from the sexual roles that most music videos have women in. As in the films we watched, Dreamworlds and Hip-hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, the women in this video are sexually open and submissive to men's sexual desires.    

Does the music video--as Sut Jhally insists all music videos do--tell a story about male and female sexuality?  If so, what story about sexuality does it tell?

     It seemed to say that women are happy to have men look at them sexually, and invite this attention with revealing clothes.  In the video, the men are more than willing to "enjoy the show".  The sexuality of the men in this video is represented by them being passive viewers who "let the women" interact with them sexually.  Only when the woman invites or instigates the sexual encounter do the men "give in" and reciprocate.  I think the most blatant representation of this idea is when the video shows a woman sitting in a chair posing seductively, nude, and covered in bright paint for the men to view. Derulo then pours paint over her, and begins to run his fingers down her chest.  The lyrics of the song invite "all the girls in here" to drink, presumably so that they will be more willing to let loose and be more sexually free.  Once this occurs, the men can more freely interact with the women.

What story (besides sexuality) does the visual music video tell?  If you had to watch the music video without sound, what story are you told and/or what message does the music video offer?

   
     The video has a simple message: Let's party!  Without the lyrics you can tell that the video is telling the viewer to go out to a club or party, get drunk, and have a crazy night. It mainly centers around alcohol being the key to having fun.  The video shows many images of the women holding bottles of alcohol juxtaposed with images of the women dancing. 

Does the music video reinforce harmful stereotypes or does it challenge them?  Provide examples from the video.

   
     I think that this video unfortunately reinforces harmful stereotypes.  It seems to suggest that all women are seeking excuses to be sexually promiscuous, and in this case they are told to drink alcohol so that they can party.  There is nothing wrong with women expressing their sexuality, but this video, like many others, suggests that all women want and need is sex, and that they need men to fulfill this desire.  Clips from this video could have been shown in the films Dreamworlds and Hip-hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes as examples of these stereotypes.  I almost laughed when I saw the opening scene of the music video, which featured a woman draped across Derulo's lap, because Dreamworlds discussed how common this image is.  In Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Byron Hurt discusses how the men in music videos are often shown admiring women's bodies, especially their butts.  This was seen in Derulo's video as well, with a woman standing beside the rapper Ty Dolla Sign in short shorts showing her backside to the camera.  The men in this video are more than willing to watch the women dance seductively.  The men only interact when the women throw themselves at the men.  In one scene some of the women are using the men almost like a strip pole, and of course the men hold them up and enjoy the "performance". This is reinforcing the idea that men are there to watch and women are there to perform for them.  After watching the countless examples of music videos shown in the films, I can see that this music video has many repetitive themes and is stereotypical.  

Given that music videos' target audience is adolescents (13-18 years old), what do you think adolescents learn about men, women, and relationships from this music video?

      
     It looks like the video will teach girls to drink when they party so that they can be sexually open and promiscuous for men.  Viewers might think that women must always be showing off for men to get any kind of attention from them.  Men are shown as viewers, and women are shown as the ones who must perform. The lesson for men here is to meet women at clubs or parties, because the women there will be more likely to fulfill men's fantasies in these settings.  

Link to Jason Derulo "Swalla" music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGLxoKOvzu4&index=7&list=PLhS3DcL9XnJiyhbMAUPOK9d0qazofnb7O

Toys in Target

     This week, I went to Target and looked at their toy aisles for children.  Ever since I was little, Target has kept their boys and girls toys separate and the aisles look vastly different.  Usually the most defining characteristic between toys in various stores is the colors used; pink equals girls and blue, green, and earth tones equal boys.  As I walked into the "girls' aisle", I automatically saw that pink dominated the color scheme of the toy packaging, although it was not as blinding as I have seen in the past.  There were Disney princess dresses, Disney princess dolls, and many other dolls and small accessories.  

     Of course, the aisle also had Barbies and the accessories that go with them like the Barbie cars.  All of the toys in this aisle are traditionally feminine; dolls, dresses, etc. 

     I thought it was funny that there were Goldfish with pink and bright blue packaging at the end of the aisle.  (Because we all know girls need their food to be wrapped in pink.) 

     I then moved on to the "boys' aisle", where I saw many different types of toy cars with different brands.  Some were connected to the "Fast and Furious" movie franchise, some were Hot Wheels, and many others were from less well-known brands (to me at least).  The color scheme of this aisle seemed to have more soft blues and greens, orange, and earth tone colors, rather than the bright pinks and blues from the girls' aisle. 

     Many of the toys in this aisle were connected to the Marvel Superheroes.  There were action figures, play weapons, and masks.  These toys are all considered traditionally masculine. 

     I understand why stores choose to divide their toys by gender.  It seems that they do it because they believe that most parents and other shoppers think it is easier to find what they are looking for if the toys are organized this way.  This is because many consumers rely on the gender norms to guide them to a "girl" section for princess things and a "boy" section for toy cars.  The only way I could see it being negative is if a child wanted a toy that did not conform with these norms, they may be discouraged from getting it because it is not considered the right gender section for them.  For example, what if a girl wanted to get a toy car or a super hero action figure?  She may notice that the sections are separate or be told that "those are boys' toys", and that she needs a Barbie instead.  It would be frustrating to get a toy that you did not want just so that you would look "normal".  I remember that I loved to play with my dolls and I was attracted to traditionally feminine toys, but I also played with hot wheels cars and I was not very interested in Barbies.  I think many kids play with toys that do not necessarily fit into gender norms, but it does not seem that stores like Target have caught on yet.