Media #4

This image is caricature of a black person and how they were portrayed by the media back in the old days. It gives you this sense that these people do not even look human. The features are blown out of proportion and they are made as like a joke. I chose this picture because it is an example of what Ethnic Notions the movie we watched in class explained.
This picture is an example of how black people were portrayed to look like “freaks” or non human. The blacks were depicted as something different and because it was always in the media this is how a person who maybe had never seen a black person thought of them this way. The sayings that go around this picture are kind of described in a lustful way as if this is how the black person was. Their features were always over emphasized such as; the eyes were always bulging out, their lips were usually some sort of color (white) to make them look bigger, their hair always seemed to be a mess, and their skin color was usually a very dark black. This can also relate to the slavery pictures and how they were always depicted as happy and cheerful. This was the case so people didn’t object to slavery. Also this occurred mostly for children but in this picture to, they are shown to be child like and savage looking. Cartoons such as my example were a big part and probably the most influential media of that time. Yes it may have made people laugh, but once they saw that everyday especially if they have never come in contact with a person of color they would begin to believe it. Most of the time we as humans take things for face value and especially on topics that we don’t know or are uncertain of. The cartoons could play a big role because it could either get people to object to something or favor it based on the way that subject was portrayed. I believe that some of the main reasons for these caricatures of blacks was to not only show that they were different but also to get people to believe that they were born to be slaves. When the slaves were shown as happy and joyful it made others think that maybe this is not such a bad thing for them and that we are actually doing them a favor.
I guess I can’t really say weather I like this picture or dislike this picture because of the way time has changed. I mean back then the designer of this picture knew what he or she was doing and the message they were trying to send, but today it can be taken that way but it can also be taken as a joke. I might not be right about that but that is how I feel. To go along with that I mean cartoons are ok as long as you keep things in perspective, but when you as the person know the meaning that you are trying to send and you put that out there it is wrong.

Media #3

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/NEWS16/802010384

This article was about how three former employees of the mayor of Toledo’s office got fired. There was this whole process and accusing, but it came down to the mayor firing a women because she was black along with two other people who supported her (they were also black). I chose this article because it fits with Johnson’s idea of deny and minimize, blame the victim.
This article is a perfect example of how a person denies the fact that he is laying off a three people because of their color. This lady was laid off because of her color and to cover up the mayor claimed that she was fired due to her siding with a case that the mayor strongly opposed. This article shows that this racial issue occurs everywhere and it is sad that it happens in the workplace. So many times you see someone not getting because of their color, where there from, where they live, or even what sex they are. People everyday people do the, deny and minimize thing because most of us are observers and we realize that it is there but we just watch it happen. Also some people or the privileged try to define for other people what is happening for them, as if they are in there shoes. Also what usually comes out of this is the fact that the people who do the firing because of color in the workplace try to find some other way to hide it and make it look like it’s not a big deal. There have probably be countless times where a person of color is fired and the boss may point out the smallest thing they do wrong and claim that as their reason of firing them so they do not look racist. Johnson calls this blaming the victim. Another way of putting it would be how someone gets off the “hook” because he or she claims that it is entirely the persons of color fault. Just to put this in perspective to I have experienced first hand that this denying of color can also go towards the whites to. I played football and we had blacks on my team and I loved them all like brother, but for some reason it seemed that our coaches who were all white babied them. It always seemed that they were not as hard on them as they were on the rest of the kids. Now when I heard a parent confront one of my coaches about it he denied the fact that color had anything to do with it. When in reality he felt sorry for them and believed they needed special attention. I also want to add that all of the black kids came from well off families so it’s not like they came from a bad part of town.
I found this article to be very interesting and true. So many times you see this happen in the work place and it is especially eye catching when you think the leader of your city who probably preaches about equality does it him or her self. It goes to show you that anybody is capable of doing it and it can happen at any level of work.

Media #2

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/men_and_masculinity/masculinity_stereotypes.cfm

This article is about how a mans masculinity is stereotyped by the media. Some examples are the joker, the jock, the strong silent type, the big shot and action hero. I chose this article because I believe it tells the truth about how men are suppose to look, act , and feel according to the media.

This article can relate to the movie Ethnic Notions that we watched in class not for the race issue but how certain people/sex is portrayed in the media. According to the media a man should be strong both mentally and physically. He should not have to rely on anybody else to solve his problems. This is a perfect example of how media can affect the way we are suppose to act and look. It is pounded into peoples a mans brain that if you do not live up to this certain criteria than you are not a “man.” You always see in commercials well fit men that are happy and they have a great life. The lives of men are almost placed in order for you as you grow up. Basically you should be a healthy man who makes a good living to support a family, someone who doesn’t show a lot of emotion, and the one who can save the day. Commercials make it look so easy but they forget the very important thing that alters our course daily and that is life. Life throws us a lot of curveballs and if we can not solve you can not solve them by yourself then you are looked upon as weak or not masculine. If a person is depicted as something and it is out in the media long enough, then people will start to believe it even though that might not be the case for everyone. I guess probably the most important thing that can change the way people look at you or to achieve masculinity is by being successful. We have to accept the fact that this country is based on how successful you are. If you have success or money than you can change the way your personal image is viewed. For example if you are someone in a wheelchair and live a normal or poor life than you are viewed as someone who can’t take care of themselves. But on the other hand if you achieve success than the disability factor is kind of pushed under the rug and you are viewed as a strong person because you overcame the odds instead of just feeling sorry for yourself. This view of masculinity can be very overwhelming and the bar is set so high that a majority of us fail. I believe that we should not be looked down upon if we lack a few of the characteristics because we are not the same; we are individuals who have different goals. I found this article to very interesting and true. There is such a high standard for men to succeed and you feel the effects of that on a daily basis. Men are not suppose to be emotional and if you do lack a certain quality society sees you as a weak person. I guess one of the biggest obstacles would be body image. A man should be a well fit and healthy man and society will let you know if you do not fit into that category and it hurts sometimes. This kind of pressure can lead people down a path of violence or cheating in order to achieve the goal.

Media #1

Abstract (Summary)
http://0-proquest.umi.com.maurice.bgsu.edu/pqdweb?index=0&did=348264411&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1203002367&clientId=3340

The article is about how blacks are portrayed in the media. The article states that blacks are shown as both people who have achieved success and those of deviance. And it attempts to show how we should use more effective ways to address the racial issues. I chose this article because it relates to the movie that we watched in class The Power of Illusion and the Rosenblum and Travis article. The power of illusion in its self creates an image to those who may not know the subject matter or because that certain material is in the media, people begin to believe it.

You can make many connections between this article and that of the movie The Power of Illusion because they both in their own way talk about how media affects the way people are perceived. Also it addresses the idea that race is an illusion because we think that people are different just because of what is on the outside. The movie states that there has to be some biological evidence that distinguishes between the races. Race is external not internal. Its perception is created by us and how we use it to separate certain types of people. In fact in the movie that we watched a teacher did this experiment with his class that would show that a DNA make up may not differ that much from one race to another. For example one of the white kids thought that he would be in most relation to another white person in his group when actually his DNA matched up closer with that of some other race. This is not to say that this is the case in everybody, but it puts it into perspective that there is no biological answer to this idea of race. This article can also relate to the Rosenblum and Travis article because in their article it talks about how a census is used to distinguish between races or stereotypes. For an example the census might say black, white, Latino, and Asian which in fact you might be more than one but what ever your outward appearance is, that is how you are seen by others. It also classifies people into large groups such as all of the people that live or were born in Asia are Asian, when in fact there are many different types of races over there that we have decided to clump together to form one giant race. And it does not just stop with that plenty of others are involved. Again it just shows that any type of media can influence people’s perception.

I found this article to be interesting and thought provoking. It makes you realize how much media can affect the way we see things. Especially as a young person when you take a lot of things for face value. It is embedded into your thought process that this is how things are and depending on your race these are your “privileges” or the behavior that you should have.