Final Blog Post

As I first approached my topic I had no idea that it would end up like this. I began in my mind that I would talk about how celebrities are above the law and pretty much worshipped by the regular population. But after we were assigned the girls next door piece, my view on my topic completely changed. I realized that some people tagged “celebrities” are not really celebrities. For instance, the girls in the show “girls next door” have done nothing with their lives but be in a relationship with playboy’s founder Hugh Hefner, and now when they are seen in public they are considered “celebrities”. Why is that? What have they done? What have they accomplished in life that allows them to be tagged a “celebrity”?

In my life I was always taught that if you work hard and you accomplish great things, you would be praised by your peers and considered special. My problem with these people is not that I dislike them but that I am in a disagreement of their title and how they received it. Paris Hilton is daughter of a multi million dollar family. Do you think if she was not a part of that family and was the same person that she would even be watched? Her social status helped her be watched by the public and now she has developed into a phenomenon among the media and the rest of the population. But what has she done to be considered so special and be tagged a “celebrity”? She made an album that did pretty bad with sales, she was in a movie that did pretty bad with sales, and she was on a television show that did pretty good with ratings but was overall pointless watching. All this together has created this super Hilton person that everyone wants to see and everyone loves, but why?

In a world that has so many fake people and false information one must always ask why. There is a saying that if you ask why 3 times in any situation that you will end up at the source of the problem. That is why I try and ask why to everything in my life and everything that I analyze. Why I thought about this topic I knew that this would fit in perfectly. I did a blog post earlier in the semester about wrestlers and how they are considered in many people’s views as “celebrities”. Now I would have agreed with that when I was like 9 years old. I use to watch my favorite wrestlers fight in the ring and cheer them on and I always thought to myself that one day I could be the person and I could do those things and everyone would love me. But now every asking why to everything and looking at wrestling closer than I did when I was 9 I figured that these men are not “celebrities”. All they are doing is promoting violence amongst children which then develops and carries with them when their older. Wrestling has always carried this stereotype that men have to look a certain why and have to act a certain way and have to be this alpha-male to be respected and feared. The wrestlers even in some cases slam women through tables and hit them with their fist or slam them on the ground. I understand that it is a show, but what is it showing? That it is ok to be violent against women, that is alright to abuse women and show them that men are stronger than women. And after all this the media and the majority of the adult population consider these people as “celebrities”.

It is hard for me to figure out why this is occurring. I understand that my definition of a celebrity is different than the norm. But the norm is not always correct. My definition of a celebrity is a person who has worked hard to become rich and famous in with becomes popular helping others and the society around them to make it better for everyone else. A person fortunate to have a lot of money for the skills they possess but yet still humble and not flashy, helpful and not arrogant is what a celebrity should be. And this is the kind of person that should be idealized by the rest of the population. In reality we get people admiring Kevin Federline, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Ashley Stewart, and John Cena.

This leads to my last blog post about motherhood and Angelina Jolie. I had gotten different response from my friends about this post, some in agreement and others against it. I consider Angelina Jolie to be a good celebrity. She used her fame and fortune to help three children from different parts of the world and give them a shot at a good life. You see my mother died at a very early age in my life and I was always told that I would probably never have a shot at a good life because of that. I admire Angeline for giving these children a shot at a great life and saving them from what could have been death. Now no one knows for sure whether she is adopting these children because she genuinely cares (lets hope) or she is just doing this to get attention from others and wanting people to consider her as a great humanitarian.

The perception I had when I started this blog and now is the same. I still believe that many people in Hollywood, because of their status and because of their looks get tagged as a “celebrity” for really not accomplishing anything worth receiving that title. I still believe that there are people have received this tagged because of who they are and what they look like, I still believe that for every Robert DeNiro there are a handful of Brandon Davis’s in the world. Social status is everything in world. It has come to the point that you have to look a certain way and be worth a certain amount of money to even be considered special. And if you have no talent than its ok because that alone can buy you fame and then you can be considered a “celebrity”.

Celebrities..... why are they so damn special!?: Blog buddy work with Katelyn R author of Female "Stardom" Presented by the Media

http://femalestardom.blogspot.com

Blog buddy work with Katelyn R author of Female "Stardom" Presented by the Media

1. Where has your Blog buddy shown strong analytical work (be specific—is it a particular post, a type of analysis, a site for analysis that seemed to click more so than others, etc)?

Katelyn’s s strongest analytical work in my opinion came in the form of a blog post. The post about prostitution in movies, not only was it written well but she had information to back up what she was saying and it made her blog topic even more concrete.

2. How could your Blog buddy use this strength for the final Blog post and presentation?

I think if Katelyn brings out another point as strong as the prostitution in movies that her final blog post should be a very easy one to write. She seemed to do her research very well and should have no problem writing the final blog post and giving a great presentation if equipped with all the right facts.

3. Think about the following statements in relation to your Blog buddy’s Blog and then provide feedback on each area (constructive praise/criticism):

The Blog is on a topic that has been clearly evident in the Blog posts throughout the semester… I believe that Katelyn’s topic is a very good one and has been obvious in all of her blog post from the first post till present.

The Blog is on a topic that seems to interest my Blog buddy… I think that Katelyn is very interested in her topic, she seems to have a strong feeling toward this topic and would like to see a change in the way women get treated in many movies.

My Blog buddy’s topic is one that has produced a good set of posts that were analytical used gender as a primary category of analysis… Yes Katelyn has done a great job with her posts… I feel that all of them are analytical and done well… some have a better topic and therefore standout more but all of them are done with careful analysis and gender is the primary category of analysis throughout her blog.

The posts make analytical arguments. The posts are understandable and each post logically outlines and supports the argument presented. The posts were clear, provided insight, evidence, and analysis to connect the topic with the assignment for each of the posts… In my opinion, I am no professor but I understood each post, I believe that all of the arguments were all analytical, she did sometimes have an obvious opinion towards one side… but I think we all do. Each post was understandable and followed a outline which was very easy to read. Katleyn made her post clear and full with evidence to back up her claims. All her post were cited and connected with her blog topic perfectly.

The sources cited in each post are relevant to the topic and help to aid the understanding of the argument and/or assisted in proving the argument… As I said before, I guess I jumped the gun. All her cited sources seemed to flow with her work very well. She did her research very well and it paid off for her when she wrote her blog posts.

The quotes used illustrate a broad range of course readings throughout the semester… I believe that quotes she used were very good and meshed very well with her blog post. I don’t know if that means she read the whole book or if she understood each reading but it did help her post look and sound so much more analytical and better overall.

The quotes were clear and succinct; additionally, the material was presented so that I could differentiate the Blog buddy’s ideas from that of the author cited… The quotes were clear and succinct and was presented as being a quote that was not hers. The quote that stands out the most for me is the Jean Kilbourne one from the “The More You Subtract, The More You Add” writing. It read, “the glossy images of flawlessly beautiful and extremely thin women that surround us would not have the impact they do if we did not live in a culture that encourages us to believe we can and should remake our bodies into perfect commodities”. It was in reference to the “Girls Next Door” blog post and I thought it made that post so much better.

4. Finally, complete the following:

I thought it was great when you...wrote about prostitution in movies. I felt that this post was your strongest all around. It helped solidify your blog topic. It was well written and came with good back up evidence.

I found it confusing when you…I guess when you switched up her style and went from movies to more of main line media with the Ana Nicole piece. It did not confuse me but it just took a different path I guess. None of your post were very confusing I felt that they all were easy to read, but If I had to chose one I would chose the Ana Nicole piece. And not because of the way it was written just the path you took.

You’re really great at… providing unique evidence to back up her claims and using good quotes to help your argument.

I wish you could focus (more) on/alter/edit/explain/expand on/etc these three things… On the different types of discrimination and treatment that women receive in different movies. I wish you could of expanded more on your blog topic or made it obvious that you were talking about women in movies or women in the media. Even though movies are a part of the media the media has more outlets then just movies. Other than that I enjoyed reading all your blog post and I genuinely enjoy your blog topic and cant wait to see what you write about in your final blog post. If you construct the final blog post just like you have done with your previous post, the prostitution in specific you should have no problem.

Angelina Jolie: A great celebrity … but an even better mother.

Caring, nurturing, and protecting are adjectives that are used to describe a mother. Motherhood has been stereotyped by people to be a natural characteristic found in women, a characteristic that develops over time. When looking at motherhood in the media present-day, this concept of motherhood has become somewhat of a fad. “Celebrities” are beginning to start their families and carrying their babies as if they were accessories. Whether one is talking about Brittney Spears, Gwyneth Paltrow, or Katie Holmes, this concept may be exemplified in these cases. When looking at Angelina Jolie, however, she has taken this concept and done well for humanity.

I know that up to this point, I have only been talking about the negatives of the infamous “celebrity” tag and all the people who get called a celebrity without really even doing anything to deserve it. Finally someone I can comfortably call a true celebrity has appeared. Angelina Jolie is not only a very talented actor, a great human being, and a true celebrity, but she is a loving and caring mother as well. She is a mother of four, three of which she did not personally give birth to.

Taking the role of mother and aiding children in poverished unfortunate conditions, she has begun to adopt many children from various countries in hopes of giving them a better life. Her son, Maddox, for example, was adopted from Cambodia, her daughter, Zahara was adopted from Ethiopia, and their latest addition, Pax was adopted from Vietnam. According to ABC News, if it were not for Jolie’s intervention in Zahara’s life, six months down the line, she would have risked very serious medical issues and even death (Angeline Jolie Inspires.., 1). The media has done an exceptional job at capturing this new nurturing side of Jolie and obtaining many moments with her and her children. These pictures capture Jolie’s nurturing side and feed into the concept of motherhood that is common in the media today. She may be considered a true humanitarian for her actions and for the dramatic transformations that she has made happen in her children’s lives.

Similarly, because Jolie has been highly publicized about her adoptions, the public has gone out and begun to adopt children as well. Jolie has acted as a positive role model and has not only saved the children that she has adopted, but saved the children whose adopted parents were influenced to do so because of her actions. According to ABC News, international adoption agencies in the United States have stated that adoption of Ethiopian babies have doubled since Jolie’s adoption of Zahara (Angelina Jolie Inspires.., 2). This statistic alone is remarkable.

On the flip side of this situation, one does not truly know Jolie’s true motives for her actions. Is she truly doing this because it is her passion- saving children from desperate situations? Or is it perhaps that she is enveloped in the media’s obsession with motherhood and the attention that is attached with it. Although one may never know the truth to these questions, one can definitely say that despite the possibility of selfishness behind her deeds, she is most definitely impacting these children’s lives tremendously and offering them opportunities that they would never have imaged possible in their previous homes- making Angelina Jolie a true celebrity.

ABC News Article: Angelina Jolie Inspires International Adoptions.

Jolie Has Son from Cambodia and Daughter from Ethiopia

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1175428&page=1

People Magazine Article: It's Official: Angelina Jolie Adopts New Son http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20014961,00.html

Toyz

This collage represent the topic of my blog through toys that are being sold to children today. Obviously my topic is based on celebrities and the lack of true celebrities we have today. As i looked around i saw WWE action figures, Bratz video games, Paris Hiltion dolls, Lindsay Lohan dolls, Rock N Roll Barbie, and television icon dolls such as the I Love Lucy doll i found. All of these toys show how important popular culture is to the main stream society that everyone lives in. Paris Hilton being the one that stands out the most to me. Here is a woman that really has not done much to be considered a "celebrity" but here she has a doll that many girls like and buy because they here so much about Paris and they want to be just like her. Same thing goes with the WWE action figures. Many young boys watch wrestling, they want to be just like the guys they see on television, so they buy the toys act out there dreams through the toys. Same thing goes for probably every single toy i have in this collage. They all have to do with popular culture and tie in with gender the same way. Girls wanting to be made up and looking nice, with inspirations of being a single (Rock N Roll Barbie), or a movie star (Lindsay Lohan doll), to boys wanting to be rough and tough and violent. (WWE Action figures/Army Figure)

"Celebrities" ?!!?? WHAT???

The topic for my blog is a fairly understandable one. It basically asks the question, why celebrities are held on a higher pedestal than the rest of the human population? It interlocks with gender and pop culture because, celebrities are the people the media look at to make their judgment on how people should look and act. Young teenaged girls look at “celebrities” such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and see them and believe that this is the way they should look and act and overall become like them to be a acceptable woman. That is not the case. High school men believe that have to look like Brad Pitt to be liked by girls. Not the case. Normal average human beings are always trying to look, act, and be like a certain celebrities. This is why we should try to eliminate the word “celebrity”, just because you have a certain job does not make you better than any other person. The general population should be act fault as well, for tying to mold their lives like the fake lives celebrities have. The majority of things on television are staged and fake, that’s the life celebrities live. Fame and fortune is one thing, the persona the individual carries with them is another. People should aspire to become rich and famous not another half ass “celebrity” whose done nothing to earn the infamous “celebrity” tag which has been used very loosely over the years.

One example of how my topic is involved in popular culture’s dissemination of social understandings of gender would be in an episode of, “The Girls Next Door”, when one of Hugh Hefners girlfriends, Bridgette, is eating dinner with her parents and while they are eating an wholesome dinner, and she is eating nothing but a carrot. Bridgette, who is now considered as some what of a “celebrity” because she is on television, she is showing younger girls that watch the show that in order to become skinner and better looking, you have to eat close to nothing. She is trying to show that she is healthy because she is eating healthy, but in fact that is not healthy. This ties in to gender because it influences women to act like this, because they believe that Bridgette is a “celebrity” and what she does is the right thing, and they aspire to be just like her.

Another example is the wrestlers of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Now I usually would not have a problem with wrestlers, but in the last couple of years the WWE wrestlers have went from people who carry a particular television persona, to “celebrity”. They have been in movies, television (other than their own), music videos, and awards shows among other events. The same people that bash each other in the head with chairs and throw each other off of 25 feet foot structures on to concrete floors are being tag a “celebrity”. A “celebrity”, so that young men could see what “real men” do. So that young boys could see that it is perfectly normal to power bomb, body slam, and DDT women. Making it seem that if you bleed more then the other man your more of a “man”. The fact that these same men are “celebrities” is mind boggling. The definition of the meaning of what is now called “celebrity” is a person who is fortunate to be famous and have people know him but uses it in a way that is not educational or beneficial to anyone. People being labeled a “celebrity” doing nothing at all to deserve it is a major problem that is occurring, just because your rich and maybe look good doesn’t not make you atomically a “celebrity”. The majority of these WWE superstars look a certain way with the aides of steroids and other physical enhancement pills. They are letting the young men who watch this assume that if you want to look like that you have to take steroids and work out everyday.

As I said before, the whole meaning of “celebrity” has been used to loosely and changed so drastically over the past decade, it has become nothing. Any Joe Schmo can be a “celebrity” now. In fact the star of the Joe Schmo Show is now considered a “celebrity”, due solely to the fact that he was on television. Meaning being on television gives you an automatic ticket to the “celebrity” tag. This affects all parts of popular culture, from movies, to television, and on to music. A celebrity as I stated earlier should be considered a person who is fortune to be recognized and admired by many people and uses that power they posses for the betterment of society. Instead what we have are these young kids who got their money from their rich parents and are automatically labeled “celebrities” when in fact all they do is go out to clubs every night, get drunk, and allow themselves to be filmed by TMZ every night acting stupid. Great role models our generation has, I wonder how the next generation of children will turn out to be?

Kevin Federline Has "Fans"????

http://perezhilton.com/index.php?page=4

K-Fed one heck of a Celebrity...

You wanna party with Kevin Federline, don't ya???

If that's you're life-long dream, then you're in luck.

KFed wants his "fans" to come celebrate with him at his birthday parties!

Party Like a Celebrity at Kevin Federline's Private Birthday Bashes in Los Angeles & Vegas!

You search the web every day, now you can win ultra VIP party invites doing it. Kevin Federline is offering fans who search the web at www.searchwithkevin.com an exclusive chance to win tickets to his private birthday bashes in Los Angeles (March 21) and Las Vegas (March 24).

Each day a handful of winning times are chosen at random. If you do the first search after this selected time, you win a prize or sweepstakes entry - instantly. The more sweepstakes entries you earn, the better chance you have of winning the grand prize party tickets. www.searchwithkevin.com requires no registration. Simply use www.searchwithkevin.com every day just like you would use any search engine. Sweepstakes and instant prize winners are selected every few hours. The 10 grand prize winners (+ guests) will be announced on March 19th. 25 runner-up winners will also receive autograph photos, while T-shirts will be awarded as 'instant-win' prizes. Contest winners need to provide their own travel and accommodations. See www.searchwithkevin.com for rules and regulations.

How much was he paid for this?

Who would actually show up to FedEx's party and not wanna throw drinks on him???

Partying with Kevin Federline is even lamer than partying with THIS LOSER!

P.S. How much would his autographed photo sell for on eBay? $1.99???

Posted by on March 6, 2007 1:59 PM |

My Comment.

My life long dream has finally become true, a chance to party with Keven Federline, superstar to the stars. No, really what would be better than having a couple of drinks with the man that drove Britney Spears straight into rehab, bald? With all honesty, why would anyone want to waste their hard earned time going to this "celebrity's" birthday party. This man is a never has been whose still living off is ex-wife's money and his only claim to fame is he's Britney Spear's ex-trailor park trash husband. Which by the way, if you have not been on earth this past month or so you would know is not doing so good herself. "K-Fed"is a joke and quite frankly i am tired of having to hear about anything this man does. He is a big reason why i hate the word "CELEBRITY" so damn much. ANY Joe Schmo out there can screw someone who has a name for themselves, feed off their money supply, make a horrible album, go out and party, get their pictures taken by stupid papo's and KAZAM they have been reintroduced as a "CELEBRITY". Look out Christina Tony Mojo's coming to a town near you. Soon everyone will know my name

A Deeper Look At "The Girls Next Door" Part 2

However, this show is not entirely about the women in the house and how the TV show portrays femininity. One of the most masculine person in the world lives in this house, the man of the house, Hugh Hefner. Hefner possesses many masculine traits, such as, being independent, being objective, being dominant, being skilled in business, knowing the ways of the world, being ambitious, being self-confident, being blunt and being non emotional. If you think of all these traits and look at a man like Hugh Hefner, they all represent that person. Hefner is a dominate male figure in the reality show “The Girls Next Door”. Not only does he have a girlfriend, he has three girlfriends, which seen through the eyes of any man that is pretty powerful. Men all over the world want to be Hugh Hefner, but why? Is it because he is rich, maybe? Is it because he has three girlfriends, maybe? Or is it because he is plus 80 years old? Many men want to be like Hugh Hefner because he himself embodies what a “man” should be. He is a RICH, WHITE, POWERFUL, SUCCESSFUL, MAN. Who happens to have women throwing themselves at him at all times. He runs a very successful pornographic magazine named playboy, which feature some of the most beautiful women on earth naked each month. Hugh Hefner he persona is what every man wants to be. He is man.

The show made me think about the Kate Bornstein quiz which was taken in class. It really helped me realize that there are many more categories of discrimination and separation than I originally thought. The fact that one’s interactions with other people around them have a direct result on the type of character they are. For example, the majority of the women’s friends are playboy playmates. They all have something in common. They all posed naked in playboy and all have the same kind of personality. Therefore, you could figure out why it is seen normal to parade around the mansion naked or wearing next to nothing. Everyone is comfortable with the situation because everyone is in the same boat. You could see that membership in any type of group whether formal or informal affect a person’s way of living. Now if you brought someone that was not accustomed to that situation or are not a member of the group, that person would feel very uncomfortable.

The show, “The Girls Next Door”, is one of many Television shows on the air today have these obvious depiction of masculinity and femininity inside of them. For the person who analyses them and not just watch them, you can see how they are played out. Race, class, gender, femininity, masculinity, etc. are involved with every TV show. It is the way you perceive it that makes it matter. The more people watch TV and analysis it for what it is and not just look at it, because hot girls or guys are on TV half naked, the more they will realize the bullshit that the media giants are feeding us.

A Deeper Look At "The Girls Next Door" Part 1

The reality show, “The Girls Next Door”, focuses on the lives of Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends who live with him at the Playboy Mansion: Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt, and Kendra Wilkinson. While Hef is seen in every episode, the main attention is on his three girlfriends. It is a pretty successful television show, but many question the reasoning for it. It is nothing more than three attractive women parading around the Playboy Mansion naked or with the least amount of clothing on each day. The question might have just been answered with what was just said. This show appeals to men who enjoy looking at these girls- it satisfies the male gaze that our society lives through. Despite the fact that the show is demoralizing for women and a horrible representative of entertainment television, it attracts a certain population that keeps it alive.

Femininity refers to the physical, social, and mental characteristics that are associated with the female sex and is both culturally and socially determined. Such feminine traits consist of being emotional, submissive, passive, and sneaky. A true “feminine” woman has difficulty making decisions and being independent, yet has no problem being talkative and nurturing. Many of these traits can be and are directly correlated to Holly, Bridget, and Kendra, Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends. In just about every episode you will see one of the three girls, or most likely all three girls acting on one or many of these traits. Is this a “show” or are these women really acting out their real lives and if so, how could they represent women like that with their actions.

The girls perform this typical feminine role in an episode of “The Girls Next Door” titled, “Happy Birthday Hef!” Bridget’s mother and stepfather visit the house and while having a meal together, Bridget decides to just eat a carrot. They show her stepfather, on the other hand, eating everything he can. The show reflects on the fact that neither one of her parents seem to see nothing wrong with her decision on just eating a carrot, as if it was a healthy way to diet. This scene is very representative of the way our culture views femininity. Women are supposed to be very lean and have the perfect body, and in order to do so, many woman give up eating to attain that perfect look.

In the mean time, the producers show clips of Kendra in her room wearing nothing but a thong, as if every woman parades around her room naked wearing only a thong. All the women in the house wear scantily clad outfits on a normal basis. Once again, these images of these girls play into the image of women with perfect bodies. All the women on the show are thin and are used as models for other women to follow. Since these women wear thongs around the house, other women should also. Even for Hef’s birthday party, the three wore lingerie out to the party!

In another scene of the episode, Bridget shows her mother and stepfather the striptease that she will perform for Hef at his birthday party. She strips in front of her stepfather who obviously seems to be uncomfortable with the whole situation, especially at the finale where she takes off her bra and has nothing on but a pair of pasties covering her nipples. Throughout the episode, all three girls have a hard time figuring out what to get Hef for his birthday. Is this because Hef is a man who has everything or can get anything or is this just representing how women cannot make easy decisions? You see throughout the episode random events are happening each very meaning and each bring women down.

Another thing I noticed while watching this episode, however it is just not in this episode, but in most of the episodes. Each time the women are around Hef, they seem to put on another face, so to speak. The girls are different when they are not around Hef than when they are. For example, when he is around, they seem to act more like little girls-as if Hef was there father. They talk with a high pitched voices and always full of energy. Why is this? Is it because that’s the way Hef likes to be addressed or are they just afraid to talk to Hef with an assertive and respectable tone, as if they were demanding for his attention?