The End

This course has really helped me to improve on my skills as a writer. I have progressed with the help of Megan and my peers but also with the help of myself. English is definitely not my topic and I usually have a hard time writing, but I find it somewhat easier with the conclusion of this class. Hopefully, this will be true when it comes to my research paper. Before this class, I didn't really pay attention to the way that sex, love, and romance were presented in the media. I also didn't realize how it affects most of society in today's world. However, after this class I am able to notice the myths that are presented in the show and I am also able to understand how/why this affects society. Blogging has definitely been a different experience for me. I have never really blogged before so it was new to me. I'm unsure of how I feel about blogging and whether or not it helps. I know that some people blog because writing out what he/she are thinking can help to reduce stress. However, I am not sure about that because the thought of typing my thoughts out just stresses me out. Maybe if I didn't have to blog for class, my feelings would be different. All in all, I enjoyed this class, I've enjoyed my peers, and I've enjoyed the topic.

Week 9!

I believe that the films overall message is to show young girls that it’s okay to be different. That it’s not necessary for girls to be the typical beauty pageant contestant and that it is okay to be tough. Also, that in order to be happy with yourself and your life, you need to pursue the things that you love but also keep in mind your family and loved ones.


The countering of myth 3 “Your true “soul mate” should KNOW what you’re thinking or feeling (without your having to tell). “is presented in the film. The main character loses her virginity to someone who she believes could be the “one”. However, he leaves to go touring and she’s left behind to pick up the pieces. When he returns from touring, he tries to make excuses as to why he couldn’t call her but she tells him off. If myth 3 was forwarded in this film, he would have known how she was feeling or what she was thinking and would have made sure to keep in contact while on tour. Winn states, “Because the media are so pervasive, the ways in which they represent dating relationships may have considerable importance for how we see ourselves as daters and what we perceive as ‘normal’ and ‘desirable’ for men and women.” (247). Although this quote applies to most movies, it does not to this movie. Also, the main character is different because she did not go running back to him when he apologized and gave her excuses as to why he didn’t call. She held her ground and gave him the boot.


Myth 4, “If your partner is truly “meant for you,” sex is easy and wonderful. “is seen as being forwarded throughout this movie. When she loses her virginity for the first time, it is shown as easy and “wonderful” to the audience. However, this is not always true and couples usually have to work on it together. Myth 7 which states, “The love of a good and faithful true woman can change a man from a ‘beast’ to a ‘prince’” is seen as being countered in this movie. The reason for this being is that she was not able to change him from being a jerk after they had sex for the first time. This is seen when he leaves for tour and doesn’t bother to get a hold of her, especially after she left him a voicemail crying because she was upset. Winn states, “…suggests that if only one could find the ‘right’ thing to say or do, a formerly dysfunctional relationship could become functional.” However, this is not true because after he tries to say the right things to say to fix things between them, she shuts him done and rejects him.


Questions:
1. How do you feel about the lack of male dominant roles in the movie?
2. What do you think of Ruthless’s relationship with that boy?
3. How did you feel when Ruthless mother showed up at her last competition?


Winn, Laura. Critical Thinking About Sex, Love, and Romance in the Mass Media. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2007. Print.

Free Blog

As I sit here trying to do my homework with my music on, it hits me that most of the songs on my play list have some sort of negative view towards women. Whether it is the way that we should look or just towards us in general, the image that is being set by these artists are horrible. This is something else that strikes me as odd. If I feel as strongly as I do about the misrepresentation of women, why do I continue to listen to these songs? Is it because of the catchy beats or the fact that it is constantly played over and over through main stream music? The song that bothers me the most is the song called “Baby Got Back” which is a whole song that has a derogatory image towards women. How can we stop these types of actions from being produced? I truly believe that this would be a step in the right direction when it comes to trying to change these actions. Another song that pops into my mind with some sort of negative image towards women is “99 Problems”. Part of the song goes “99 problems but the bitch aint one, If you're havin' girl problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one.” This song is a prime example of how the younger generation views women, as a “bitch”. I think that our music industry needs to clean up their lyrics and it would be a step in the right direction.

Essay 3 Proposal

The media that I have chose to write about is the popular show Sex and the City. The reason I want to research this show is for the reason that it contains so many of Galician's myths about sex, love, and romance. I am most curious about how this show affects society and the way that people in society act. The reason for this is because I believe that these myths in the episodes will have a negative affect on people in society. The audience for my research would be the females that are in society. I think that females will be most interested in my research and the information that I will collect. I think that they will be most interested because of the fact that so many women strive to live their lives by these myths and often times it affects their lives. If they see the information and see that it also affects other females, it might help them. I want a positive and proactive response to my research. I need to find strong evidence and proof that it does affect society. The sources that I will need to find will be surveys and articles. If women see how the results of the surveys from other women, the results will be a bigger impact.

Timeline:
5/20: Research at the Library in class
5/20-5/22:Read comments on my blog and add it to my proposal
5/23-5/24: Turn in annotated bibliography; work on rough draft
5/25: Rough Draft due
5/26-6/1: Work on final Copy
6/1 or 6/3: Workshops in class or individually
6/3-6/10: Finish paper and turn in

Questions: Is this a good topic to write about? The only problems I might encounter is that of finding sources for my research.

Goals: I hope to find research that shows the affects of the myths in this show.

A Walk to Remember

After considering many different options and different medias, I came to the conclusion to write my second essay about the movie, A Walk to Remember. I wanted to choose a media that is somewhat older and would not be chosen by one of my classmates. Actually, my friend Jessa helped me pick this media while studying at the library. A Walk to Remember is a movie that was popular at the time of it’s release and contains many of the myths that are presented by Galician. The myths that I see present in this movie is myth 7 which states, “The love of a good and faithful true woman can change a man from a ‘beast’ to a ‘prince.’”; myth 9 “All you really need is love, so it doesn’t matter if you and your lover have very different values.”; and myth 10 “The right mate ‘completes you’ – filling your needs and making your dreams come true.” Although these myths were forwarded in the movie, there were also myths that were countered. Myth 1: “Your perfect partner is cosmically pre-destined, so nothing/nobody can ultimately separate you.”; Myth 2: “There’s such a thing as ‘love at first sight.’”; and Myth 3 “Your true ‘soul mate’ should KNOW what you’re thinking or feeling (without your having to tell).” Myth 7 is shown through the main character Landon changing from a “bad boy” to a “good boy” after falling in love with the other main character Jaime, who is the preacher’s daughter. Also, myth 9 is forwarded in this movie because both characters have completely different morals and values but yet love seems to be enough for them. Myth 10 is forwarded because Jaime inspires the “bad boy” who was not doing very well in school to get into medical school and to become a doctor. She essentially helps make his dreams come true. Myth 1 is countered because at the end of the movie, they are separated from each other despite being the perfect mate for each other. Also, myth 2 is countered because Landon and Jaime do not fall in love at first sight. In fact, they don’t like each other very much. Myth 3 is countered as well through Landon not realizing that Jaime was upset because she was terminally ill. I want to show to my audience that while a lot of movies portray the Galician’s myths as real, they will also counter other Galician myths. My position presents the positive way that myths are forwarded, the negative way myths are forwarded, and vice versa for the myths that are countered. It will explore the issues of false hope, unreal reality, etc.

Sex: Okay or Not Okay?

I feel like most movies that I have gone to seen lately or have rented involved some sort of sex scene. I am not entirely sure how I feel about this. Well, it is obvious that sex does sell but why is it necessary to put in every movie? The first movie that popped into my head when thinking about sex being in movies is that of Pearl Harbor. Although Pearl Harbor is an older movie, one would think that the movie would have to do with the actual event and the people involved. Granted the movie did include lots of information, but of course, there was a love story that involved sex scenes that were associated with the movie. Are we as a society only concerned about sex and what is involved with it? Why is it not possible to watch a movie that does not involve sex? Another historical movie that pops into my mind that involves a love scene and sex scenes is Titanic. I guess sex is such a common thing in movies that I have never really thought about how much it is in movies until this class. In my own opinion, I think this is a great way for the mass media to stop partaking in stereotypes that our society strives to live by. The biggest stereotype that I believe it will help reduce is that of women feeling the need to look like a centerfold. Most of the actresses that have been used in these movies that have sex scenes look unrealistic and unattainable. However, many women across the country will push themselves to look this way even though it is not possible. I think this change is needed and will be ultimately beneficial. What do you guys think?

Cheesy Love Movies

How many times have we gone and seen one of those cheesy love movies where everything works out perfectly? I’m the first one to raise my hand and say that I’m guilty of seeing those cheesy love movies. Some of these movies even blend together for me that I’m not sure what part goes with what movie. My main concentration for this blog is the movie “He’s Just Not That into You”. Before I started this class, I had seen that movie a few times and thought it was really cute. I liked the way that (most) of the characters ended up happy in the end whether it’d be with someone else or alone. However, most of the characters ended up with someone else by the end of the movie. Why does most every “chick flick” movie have to be created so that love is the main theme and everyone lives happily ever after? I know, I know, most people only want to see movies where it’s a happy ending. But why? Maybe it’s because we as the general public have not seen many other movies where the characters in the movie don’t live happily ever after. Also, these movies enforce the myths that many Americans tend to live their life by. In this particular movie, there is cheating and heartbreak that is laced with it. But, the main character ends up changing his way of being a player in order to win the girl. How is this possible when this rarely happens? The media is giving the public false hopes about how things really work in the universe. I’m not sure how this can be changed because like many other people, I am guilty of wanting the characters to end up happily and in love. I find that I contradict my thoughts in that even though I want the characters to end up happy and in love, I also know that this is not always reality and most of the movie is made up of myths. Maybe I do this because I know how life really is and how things work in the real world. I know that people don’t change and I have seen it happen first hand. However, this does not apply to the general public and the media who knowingly what sells and what doesn’t, even if what they are talking about are myths. In order to stop this vicious cycle where people live their lives on what ifs or myths, the media needs to stop producing movies, magazines, books, etc. that includes said myths. Even though this is what needs to happen, it won’t. Love and myths are what sell in our society. It is frustrating that this cycle won’t stop even though lots of people can clearly see what the media is doing but there is not a whole lot we can do to fix it. Maybe the best way is to make sure that everyone is educated about these myths and understands how things work in the real world.

About Me

My name is Lauren Burr. I am a junior and I am a Middle Childhood Education Major with concentrations in math and social studies. I am 21 years old and I am from Perry, OH which is east of Cleveland. I love the Browns and the Cavs. I have three older siblings who are all married/getting married. I am extremely close with my family and I love being around them. It makes it hard to be so far away sometimes but I could never leave OU. I am in Delta Zeta and love being a part of Greek Life. Right now I am currently on the 5Cacia- a 5K for Pancreatic Cancer planning committee and I was also a part of the planning committee last year. I really want to teach 4th grade math but I will probably take whatever job is offered to me. I want to move down south, preferably to either North Carolina where my brother and his fiancee live or to South Carolina. I plan on making my way back to Ohio at sometime in my life but I want to live somewhere different to have the experience. When I graduate, I really would love to backpack around Europe. I am desperate to go there and plan on going sometime in my life. I would love to travel to everywhere and maybe someday that will happen.

To me, being a teacher is something that will give me a sense of accomplishment and pride. This is because I know that the end of the day, I will have an impact on at least one of my students which is vital. Throughout my career I have had my fair experiences with teachers. I have had teachers who were amazing and made me want to teach that much more. But I also have had teachers that were not very good but this did not deter me from teaching. It made me want to teach that much more because I wanted to excel as an educator and not be that "bad" teacher that the students did not like. The one teacher that really helped with my decision to become a teacher would be my high school social studies teacher. Not only was he an amazing teacher, he was also personable and I was close with him and his family. My senior year of high school I was stuck between becoming a nurse or becoming a teacher, but he helped me inadeverntly make the decision to become a teacher. I will be forever grateful to him.