Prince Charming's Mold.

On a new issue of Hello! magazine, the british Prince William is seen with a darker fuller head of hair. Likely adjusted by the use of Photoshop programming, it is ironic that his picture is accompanied by the healine "The Real William". Clearly, royalty comes with a cookie-cutter mold that is upheld by any means. Even men are objectified sexually and obtain certain standards of beauty when they are of a higher social class. Do you think Prince William's thinning hair is something that really needed Photoshop? Or should they have just left his image alone? And if you do think his hair was appropriately enhanced, why do you think we buy into these ideas? The focus on his hair is excessive and unneccessary, don't you think?

Macho for Nachos.

During the Superbowl, there is always a big hype about the commercials that are aired. This year, the commercials mimicked many of the previous years with ads with images of alcohol, fast cars, and sex appeal. One commercial in particular caught my eye; the Doritos commercial. In the clip you see a single mother welcoming a date into her house while her son takes it upon himself to set "house rules" for his mother's date. The media plays up the comic factor on the commercial hoping to generate laughs from the audience. After a closer look you see that they are setting expectations of masculinity for young boys and even encouraging using violence to get your point across. It is following classic gender roles by having a little boy using violence instead of a little girl. It is also a racial role, portraying all African American characters instead of Caucasians resorting to violence. These ideas are crucial to examine because they display images and convey messages that show young boys what is expected and acceptable of them. After viewing the clip, what are you're thoughts? Do you think this commercial is potentially damaging for kids to see? Or is it all just in fun and games?

The Problems of Storytelling.

After viewing George Gerbner's The Electronic Storyteller in class, the consequences of our societies new method of storytelling have been weighed. Gerbner makes valid points in this film about the electronic revolution we've undergone and how it is problematic. Paying special attention to his argument on the images and ideas that our created about certain groups of people being misrepresented, I found an article on MTV's Jersey Shore, a new hit reality show, to prove Gerbner's argument true. After reading the article, Italian Americans and the 'G' word: Embrace or Reject? , what is your reaction? Do you think MTV is doing anything wrong or are people just being overly-sensitive?