Gender Portrayals in the Media

Like all good spats these days, this one started on social media. Though social media has given us a great ability to communicate ideas to people we never would have encountered otherwise—ignorance and the Internet do go hand-in-hand.

The issue arose from the video below:



The video is right in that the portrayal of women in the media is not entirely positive—and marketing does have a hold on the conversation of “what is gender?”

The issue of misrepresentation of men is there as well, and that is a growing issue. It was briefly touched on in the trailer (full disclosure; I have not seen the entirety of the film. I’m currently seeking out a copy).  But to understand the issue, one does not need the video.

Movies like Magic Mike and the Twilight series (OMG Taylor Lautner/Robert Pattinson is so HOTT!) show that there is a similarity between the dichotomy of male and female audiences feel about how their genders are portrayed, whether it is TV, movies, music, books, or elsewhere.

Same-sex marriage will previal

This is a Daily Telegram response to this letter. Here is the published letter.

To the editor,

In response to Ken Nichols’ letter Mar. 24 in The Daily Telegram:

My, oh my, what bigotry do we have here? As an American Mr. Nichols can preach, pray and believe in whatever fairy tale he chooses to dictate the sick morality of his life, but to push his perceived supreme belief and lifestyle onto others in a country founded upon religious freedom simply disgusts me.

What surprises me about his argument is his assumption that being American and being Christian are synonymous — they aren’t and thinking so is just narrow minded and, in actuality, faux nationalism. “Christians” transform into “us” as his argument continues and befuddles the Christian religion like a cheap buffet, picking and choosing the delicious juicy bits — though delicious and juicy are subjective.

History advocates equality not Christianity

This is another Tecumseh Herald response to this letter. Here is the published letter.

To The Editor,

This is in response to Ronda Keck's letter, published in the November 3, 2012 issue.

It seems that we find ourselves in need of a history lesson again.

First, it is imperative to explore whom former Secretary of State and Senator Daniel Webster was. A prominent hiccup in his career occurred during the 1820 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention. At the convention he spoke in opposition of universal suffrage (for white men at the time), and believed that the right to vote be based solely on whether one owns property.

Yes, at the time, any form of universal suffrage was over a century from becoming a reality, but how can anyone praise a man who wanted to limit any American's right to vote? Granted, there are still those few today who cannot grasp the concept of equality.

Response to Christian bigotry

This was published in the Tecumseh Herald and was in response to this letter.

To the Editor,

This is in response to Ronda Keck’s letter in the Sept. 10, 2012 issue.

Who makes the rules?

In a democratic republic, we, the people, have the freedom to elect officials to represent us in local, state, and federal government. The people we elect then vote on bills that then in turn become law.

In essence, we make the laws.

Thankfully, through the foresight of our Founding Fathers, who wanted to eliminate the very single-minded orthodoxy that they fled from, we have religious freedom and freedom from religion today.

However, Christopher Hitches, British-American journalist and author, says it best, “How dismal it is to see present day Americans yearning for the very orthodoxy that their country was founded to escape.”

There is something soothing about a mid-October photo. The palate is delectable, and in Michigan, sadly, can be gone in a instant.

Using the FujiFinepix S2900 camera has displayed some gremlins. Photo quality is good, but can never be considered any sort of greatness. This, of course, can easily be attributed as user error, as I continue learn the finites of the contraption. I could not do dive deeper into the settings at this photo location, as I was blocking the entrance of a local church.

The photo's exposure is clearly too low, masking the front bumper in unattractive blackness. All in due time.

Steiner at Dreamland Theater

Konrad Steiner’s performance at the Dreamland Theater in Ypsilanti, Mich. was other-worldly, opening with an experimental film in the cramped space.  It was abstract, confusing at times, but his fusion of a creative voice over with great visuals made the experience bearable, if not enjoyable.

Next was Steiner’s presentation of Minority Report. To move from such an experimental film to a more modern and well known one was jarring, though nice, especially with the slightly edited scenes to depict a more political stance.  Steiner visited class and discussed his approach and politically charged edits.  His edits were streamless and very professional. If he wouldn’t have mentioned the edits, most would have gone unnoticed, at least to me.

Steiner’s next piece was Blade Runner, which was less political and more lyrical and covered four scenes edited together. Instead of reading alone, Carla Harryman joined him, sometimes speaking separately and at other times they overlapped one another.  Together Steiner and Harryman performed a poem, with the film in the background serving as secondary element.

Steiner’s most intriguing performance was where he dubbed over an old Nazi film.  Steiner wore a white dress and moved in front of the screen, becoming the screen himself.  The possibilities of this type of medium has the ability to take the written word and performance to a new, almost unlimited, level.

Having Steiner available for a local performance was riveting.  His deep discussion into the medium was insightful along with everything that is possible with it.  This was my most enjoyed Bathhouse reading because of his approachable art.

Diversity does not equate freedom

There is a new initiative taking hold in Michigan that is seeking to put affirmative action back in place, allowing formally disenfranchised people to gain a leg up.

But diversity does not create, or equate, freedom.  When the Fairness Doctrine was enacted, it stated to promote diversity in the media, yet, once it was repealed there was an explosion of new TV and radio stations, newspapers, and book publishers.

Those in favor of diversity, often site that there isn't enough, even on college campuses, but the free market creates diversity itself.

Some call affirmative action "reverse discrimination," and that may be true.  Treating a group a people better than another based on race is racism; apparently so long as it isn't done to specific groups.  One would think that in the 20th century that we, as a society, would beyond these petty grievances. 

Cheap digital storage could cost freedom

There have always unintended consequences with many things in life, but the falling prices of digital storage products and services seems like that would be something that could avoid the lifelong cliché.

Apparently, it cannot.

With the decreasing cost of digital data storage and the increase in digital data use, authoritarian governments could very soon be able to collect and monitor millions of pieces of data from its citizens - and do so cheaply.

Fast Company has a very compelling and very Orwellian outlook on the future of digital surveillance, check it out.