Oscars and Politics

"And the Oscar goes to......" these are words I look forward to hearing on the same night every year. The Academy Awards are a prestigious award ceremony for the top actors, actresses and directors in the world. Everyone who is anyone comes to his great event in LA, dressed to perfection, with millions of viewers watching their every step. What I always have wondered, is what makes these people so incredibly interesting, that their actions influence our culture and society? Some people may beg to differ with me, but Hollywood has one of the biggest influences on people's dress, actions, and decisions today. Magazines tell us to worship celebs, and strive to be like them, and have their bodies and their boobs and noses. But what really gets me, is what effect they have on politics. What happens if someone, lets say Johnny Depp, accepts an Oscar, and during his speech says, Vote for Obama! What will be the impact of the viewers that love him (like I do). Would It change opinions on who to vote for? Could movie stars actually have an impact on who becomes president in 2008?

Womens role in today's society

Lets face it, women are viewed very today differently than they were 30, or even 10 years ago. I think that is a wonderful thing and I am very proud of the fact that in today's society, women and men are considered equal and are given equal oppertunities in jobs, education, and rights. Yet, I still hesitate to agree that women are treated as equals today. Think about it, when was the last time a woman coached a major NFL team? Don't lie, everyone sniggers when they hear that idea. Its a mans sport, right? Or how about a coorperate CPO job? In an article I read on CNN about the top 10 highest paying jobs (which were all awarded to men) a woman commented, "Women are not only less likely to work continuously during their lives, but responsibilities at home also influence their choice of job and type of employer". What responcibilites at home? Don't men have responcibilites at home? When are we going to get away from the idea that only women should work at home, cook, and take care of the kids? And although we are told that women today are not directed to be the "femine" and "delicate" women of, lets say, 1930, I believe that society has managed to make a cookie cutter female, that makes females believe they have to follow. If you go to any magazine in a news stand, what do you see? Usually (there will always be excptions) a beautiful, long haired white girl poses in a tight, low cutting dress with captions all around saying "how to get a better figure", "Make him fall in love with", "Clothes that every girl should have in their closet". And these magazines are the bible for thousands and thousands of women in America. So whats so wrong with that?? I read those magazines all the time, I love them. Yet, it makes me wonder if there is a standard for todays women. And what happens when they don't meet the mark?

New Kind of Recruiting

Yesterday, I recieved my monthly issue of Seventeen magazine. I began flipping through the pages and I came across an add for the National Guard. I was very confused and surprised to see this in my fashion magazine. The add displays a young looking girl, obviously a teenager, smiling at the reader, and next to her, another picture is displayed of the same girl in her uniform handing bottles of water to a young boy and his family. In big letters in the middle, it says, "When disaster strikes, we're there to help." The message seems to be different than the one we saw in the commercial in class. It is much softer and "cute". The commercial we watched mostly showed young men (with the football), and the music was hard core, there was guns and shooting, and although it portrayed one woman, it seemed to be aimed at men. This add was obviously meant for women, and it has been changed to fit a woman stereotype: soft, non violent, sympathetic for young children, blah blah blah. First of all, how desperate is it to advertise the National Guard in seventeen magazine? I have never seen anything like this in a fashion magazine before. Second, I feel like this add and the one we watched in class were for two different organizations. The 3 Doors Down video showed fighting and collapsed houses and intense scenes. Yet, the magazine add shows women holding children like mothers, and being soft and loving. There is NOTHING violent or intense about the add. What is wrong with this picture? How dare the guard advertise in a popular magazine, and portray women as weak, motherly figures? You guys may think I'm over analyzing, but what the hell? If the guard is all about "Firing the shot that started a nation", then why do they feel the need to downplay that philosophy in a female aimed magazine? Two words, false advertisement.

Too much information??

The other day, I logged on to my computer and decided to check my facebook. When I got on to my home screen, something caught my attention that I had never seen before. In a large box on the screen, big bold letters wrote, "Welcome Stephanie! Would you like to show these on your profile?" Below it was a list of about ten movies that I had rented from blockbuster in the last month, including the list I had on blockbuster.com that were going to be sent to me in the upcoming weeks. I took a double take when I first saw this. It was exactly like our class discussion the other week on big brother. How could this information possibly be submitted to facebook, and why would I want this posted? I find this incredibly disturbing and invasive. What movies I rent is my personal choice, and I would rather not have it shown to anyone who can access the world wide web. Not that I have anything to hide with the movies I rent, but what satisfaction does it give anyone to know that the last three movies I rented were Harry Potter, Transformers, and The Holiday? Does that really do anything other than feed our already extremely stalker friendly Internet sites? I think it a serious invasion of privacy. If its my movies now, what else could facebook find to post? My online store purchases or what websites I visited that day? The Internet is still fairly new and will continue to grow and advance. If we don't watch or be careful of what is happening, then soon, anyone and everyone can have others personal information and then, no one will have any privacy.

Difference in American Values

What are the top ten true American values? If there really is such a thing, who chooses them for us? Today in class we discussed values of society in todays world. One point that struck me was the idea of youthfulness. When I watch TV, I can't even count the number of times I see Loreal or Maybelline face lift adds, that avertise the ability to look younger and have younger tighter skin. What is so wrong with aging? Why are the only top stories in the magazines about models and actresses going under the knife and getting plastic surgery? Even our shows like 10 Years Younger, What Not To Wear, and Dr. 90210 only show people with needs to look younger and "better". Below, I have included a few links of comercials advertising our American obsession with youthfulness.

Loreal Comercial:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qn53hR9zl7w

My Political Spectrum

Above is my official Political Spectrum. I was incredibly surprised with these results. It said I was closer to Ghandi with my views than someone like Obama. I definently agree that I am a strong Liberal, and I believe in posotive change within the government. But what I don't agree on is the result of my Libertarian views. I am a full believer in a cenral government and a strong authority leader, not a small government and someone like Ghandi in power. I wonder how acurate these tests really are.

Modern day law suspention??

In class, we are reviewing civil liberties and perilous times. I
have begun to wonder if I am the only person who believes it is not ever ok for a president or a government to suspend laws. We learned from the Civil war group that when Lincoln was president, he suspended the Habeas Corpus law, meaning that the government could basically throw anyone in jail without reasonable proof or reason, just because the people of that time were scared. I don't think that he was justified doing this and for anyone who does believe that, what does that say to our leaders of today? If Bush suddenly decided to cut Habeas Corpus, what would happen to America as we know it? Anyone for any reason could be thrown in jail. When is it ever ok for a president or official to take away our birth given constitutional rights?