Sum Blog 9 Media Influence

For this week’s sum blog I would like to talk more about the Media discussion we had in class.  Media is under constant judgment because of the role it plays in our everyday lives and the fact that we are simply surrounded by it.  Media of course is the delivering of impersonal communications to a vast audience.  The media often portrays an ideology of wherever it is being broadcasted by defining and explaining the world and that makes valued judgments about that location.  The media also demonstrates a sort of Hegemony.  This refers to the assumptions we make about our social life and on the terrain of things that we accept as natural or the way things are.  This can be seen in an academic setting with professors and students and also in masculinity.  The two examples we focused on in class were obesity and rape culture.

Influence from media cannot be ignored and if very evident in the obesity example.  As we watched the video clip, I do believe that the “Headless Fatty” was a fitting yet interesting title.  It does however describe this nations view on obesity and supports the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.  The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis states that people perceive the world through the cultural lens of language and this is shown in the obesity video because of the almost shame of being overweight brings to a person simply by the title of the video.  For the Rape culture example we watched and listened to a song called “Blurred Lines” and like many other popular songs of this time was a great example.  I found the study that compared the lyrics to actual phrases said by sexual offenders to be interesting and eye opening because I have heard that song before and never thought of it in that context.  Both of these examples have shown the influence that media has on the general public and I am excited to explore through many more examples.

Below I have attached a link to a video with a little different perspective on media influence than the mainstream and found it very interesting and I hope you do as well.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=media+influence+on+society

 

Sumblog 8 Immigration

For this week Sum blog I would like to discuss the issue of immigration.  Even though I could write for days on policy in the United States, I am going to discuss immigration in Switzerland and let you be the judge.  Switzerland faces similar and different issues than the United States, but is it really doing any better?

First of all, Switzerland has about 80,000 new immigrants each year.  These immigrants come to Switzerland for its continued economic growth and high standard of living.  Switzerland has only a 3.1% unemployment rate, unlike the rest of Europe which hovers around a 11% unemployment rate.  However, recently the Federal Council decided to set a quota on long term resident permits.  One of the possible reasons for this is that nearly a quarter of Switzerland’s population is accounted for by documented immigrants.  There could be many impacts on their welfare system, housing, and general infrastructure.  This put a lot of pressure on politicians to take action.

The government acted and allowed Switzerland to set their quotas.  There has been mixed reactions in Switzerland.  As we discussed in class, there are several push and pull factors at play in this situation for the immigrants.  They are pulled toward Switzerland’s economic stability and opportunity.  As we also discussed, Switzerland as an institution has a purpose of national identity, distribution of people, and implementation of policy.  In this recent article they have demonstrated all three of these.  Some other things to think about in this situation is that immigration is not a new or only an American problem, there are countries all over the world dealing with the same issues.  Overall I think that the immigration issue in Switzerland is far from over but definitely a step in the right direction.  I have also attached a video that provides more information and brings up even more questions below…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yejcEP2nZAs

Sumblog 5

For this week’s sumblog I will continue to discuss the issues discussed in class on Wednesday. Stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination and micro aggressions are sadly still very evident in society today.  I believe that none of these are justified and struggle to find reason behind these actions.  I recently watched a movie called “I hope they serve beer in hell,” and in this movie one of the main characters is at a bar with some female friends.  He continually makes misogynistic remarks and sexist phrases.  Finally his friends end up leaving the bar because he says, women may be able to vote but they will never be equal.  Its small micro aggressions that really don’t have a place in our society.

Another concept we dove pretty deep into was double consciousness or “two-ness.”  First described by W.E.B. Du Bois, it is the idea of not feeling accepted into either group, the majority or the minority.  This is a very interesting topic in that even the President of the United States cannot escape it.  The controversy about the presidents original birth certificate is still a debated topic in our nation today.  There is still a doubt among a small proportion of people that he was actually born in the United States, however that number is dwindling. 

Finally, another idea I would like to focus on would be the idea of “passing” or ability to be perceived as a member of a social group, not their own.  I  believe that we are taught this from a very young age and it is an essential part of our society if you would like to be perceived as “normal.”  Over and over we strive to be accepted by social groups that are widely accepted or popular in our society and this may result in losing touch with your own ideals.  Below I have posted a link on the example I used for double consciousness:

http://www.storyleak.com/obama-birth-certificate-confirmed-forgery-according-top-experts/

Sumblog 4: Personal Narrative.

As white, male, middle class American attending a University I am almost a template of a privileged person in the United States.  We demonstrated this in our discussion in class last week as we outlined what would be the criteria of a privileged American.  As I have experienced privilege I have also had my fair share of experiences of oppression.  Both situations have contributed to who I am today and wouldn’t change a thing. 

The experience I am writing about today involves both privilege and oppression.  When I was in high school my family went on a vacation down to Florida which is the example of how I have been privileged.  When we were down there we sat on the beach, went swimming in the ocean, and enjoyed fishing off the dock.  I will never forget this experience and is an example of how I am privileged in my life today. 

However while we were on this vacation, my brother and I walked down a boardwalk and made it to a much more diverse part of town.  On this one particular block I remember looking around and realizing that we were one of the few people that were not Hispanic American.  When we walked into a relatively crowded “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant we were immediately stared at.  When we finally made it to the counter we were unable to order because we couldn’t communicate with the owner because everything was in a slang dialect of Spanish.  Because of this we were unable to order food and it gave me a completely different perspective walking back to the hotel.

This experience in my life demonstrated the privileges and oppressions I have experienced based solely on a change in geography.  When I look back I feel blessed because it opens my eyes to oppressions that other races go through when they visit a town such as Stevens Point and I hope through this narrative that I am able to open others eyes to the oppressions of others and appreciate their privileges.

Blog 3 Westboro Baptist Church

Before this last week, I knew relatively little about the Westboro Baptist Church.  I was familiar with that they possessed radical views and the fact that they would picket rather unusual events.  The video we watched in class was definitely an eye opener in that it demonstrated their core beliefs and the strength of unity in the church.  The video humanized the group and showed that they were ordinary people with rather unusual religious views.  I by no means agree with their beliefs or methods of sharing them, however this is a perfect scenario of how skewed our perception is and how unwilling people are to accept others point of views.  I applaud the journalist for taking on the role of really getting to know these people and getting answers to questions that I am sure many people wonder. 

Seeing as that this is a social inequalities course it would be impossible not to talk about the core beliefs of this church.  The merciless damning of anyone who does not accept the Westboro Baptist Church is based solely on inequalities.  Sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and guilt by association are some of the major groups of social inequality demonstrated by this church.  At the end of the day I do believe that Westboro Baptist Church earns its reputation because of its beliefs on homosexuality and people in the armed forces.  I believe this was similar to many other popular religions, not based on the same inequalities but there are definitely key aspects of all religions that damn you if you do not agree.  When social scientists study the Westboro Baptist Church, I believe some of the main topics that will be studied will not only be on how they interact with the outside world but also how their church has created a social bond between the members of the church  that is stronger than many other religions.

If you want more information about Westboro Baptist Church, here is a link that takes you to their website that has videos, blogs, articles, and overall what it stands for: http://www.godhatesfags.com/