"The D and D Show" Episode 6

Enjoy!!!

Rihanna should be sending out an SOS!!!

Throughout our time in the Media course, we have been studying the power of the media. We have studied how they have the ability to create news out of nothing, how they have the ability to influence almost every aspect of our daily lives, and how they create for us an enemy and an accompanying hero. The story of a young girl from Barbados is a story that shows all three of these Media powers, and how crazy the ride can get.


Robyn Rihanna Fenty, more commonly known as Rihanna, was born in the island country of Barbados on February 20, 1988. By the age of 15, she had already created a musical group with her school classmates, thus showing early signs of a promising career. She was also a member of the Barbados army cadets where her drill sergeant was popular Carib singer/songwriter Shontelle.

In 2003, record producer Evan Rogers was in Barbados. Friends of Rihanna took the oppurtunity to introduce Rihanna's musical group to him as they believed Rihanna could have had "what it takes". Evan Rogers says of that first encounter "the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist.". Throughout the next few months, Rihanna spent most of her time traveling back and forth from Barbados to Connecticut, in order to lay out the plans for her shot at stardom. At the age of 16, Rihanna left Barbados to stay in the U.S. and it was then that she released her hit-single "Pon de Replay". She was an instant success and in the following years she has released hit songs such as "SOS.", "Please Don't Stop the Music", "Shut Up and Drive", "Hate That I Love You", and "Umbrella".


However, as of late, Rihanna has been in the spotlight for much more than her vocal and musical talents. In fact, her music has hardly been up for any discussion as most media enterprises have chosen to focus in on problems occurring in her personal life. The first altercation took place between Rihanna and her then-boyfriend Chris Brown. On February 8, 2009, it has been claimed that Rihanna was physically abused by Chris Brown in a car before the 2009 Grammy Awards. As a result, her performance that night was cancelled, and questions surfaced, demanding the truth. Indeed, Chris Brown had turned himself in promptly after his abuse allegations, however, he also plead non-guilty to charges made against him in a court of law. Rather suspicious...

From the situation, many questions have arisen. The most obvious question is what actually happened on the day of February 8, 2009? This question's answer is probably the most unclear, as many stories have been released by both parties which contain confusing, unbelievable and conflicting information. Some sources have claimed that the violence occurred because of text messages Chris Brown had been receiving. Apparently, Chris Brown had been receiving text messages from another women and Rihanna finally confronted him about it. After Rihanna ousted Brown, a verbal battle ensued which eventually turned physical as it has been claimed that Rihanna was punched, strangled and bitten by Brown. Why was Brown in contact with another women in the first place? He and Rihanna had been in what looked like a loving, happy relationship for quite a long time. Perhaps Chris Brown was not actually happy with his situation and was seeking comfort in another women. Maybe due to the longevity of the relationship, Brown had become bored of Rihanna and was in search of someone more fun. Although many would probably ask the question "who would need anything more than Rihanna", the answer is simple; perhaps Rihanna is not very exciting, maybe even boring.

A second question that came up during the fiasco was "should Rihanna stand up and become an advocator against the physical abuse of women?". Although she was given a great opportunity to become the voice of help to physically abused women everywhere, Rihanna did not seize her chance. In the United States, 25% of women have reported to have been victims of "dating violence" at some point in their lives and so, essentially, Rihanna shattered the hopes of millions of women when she made the decision not to take any action and stand up for abuse victims. In fact, she essentially rubbed salt in the wounds of the victims by becoming entangled in an "on again, off again" status with Chris Brown following the domestic violence incident. Although, it now looks as though the two have permanently parted ways, the pain Rihanna caused people by "getting back together" with Brown, is undoubtedly still there. If one does not believe that Rihanna caused any sadness by "reconciling" with Brown, look at some of the quotes left on blogs displaying headlines such as "They're Back Together", "Reconciled", and so on...

"Does she come from an abusive family? She has now fallen into the cycle of the abused girlfriend. She believes he'll change. He won't. The next time will be worse, and it will continue to get worse until she's killed or nearly so, or he's hauled off to jail." Posted by: Carol | February 27, 2009 at 08:40 PM

"How sad.

She has no self esteem and no respect for herself.

I am no longer a fan of hers as she sent the wrong message to females everywhere.

She just made what this loser did, ok."Posted by: Jenna | February 27, 2009 at 09:04 PM

(for more comments, visit the link http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/02/rihanna-and-chr.html)

Putting the domestic abuse case aside, Rihanna has been making even more headlines with her newly found nude pictures. In May 2009, photos of a nude, for lack of a more politically correct word, black woman were released onto the internet. Although in the completely nude shots, one does not actually see the person's face, photos simultaneously released with them feature Rihanna's face. This fact led many people to the conclusion that the photos are indeed of Rihanna. From this incident, we also find questions arising.


A very early question is, are these photos actually of Rihanna? We might never know with the technology that exists today. Perhaps the photos were hacked off Rihanna's (or even Chris Browns) cell phones or computers. Maybe, the photos were accidently sent to the wrong person, and they took it upon themselves to spread the pictures to the world. Furthermore, maybe the pictures are not of Rihanna at all. In a world where photo manipulation is so easy and accessible, a skilled photoshop artist could have easily created the illusion that the person in the pictures is Rihanna. With today's complex technology, this question could possibly be the hardest one to answer.

A second question relating to the photographs is, who was responsible? As aforementioned, the photographs could have possibly been hacked by a person with no life. Honestly, don't people have other things to do than to disrupt people's lives by breaking into their personal life? Anyways, in response to his bad wrap due to the Rihanna violence controversy, perhaps Brown released these photos to get revenge on the Barbadian Princess! During the violence controversy, Chris Brown had been painted as America's bad guy, and as a result he lost sponsors and had his record sales drop tremendously. He may have wanted to get some revenge on Rihanna for her part in his demise. The preceeding theory is very plausible, as photos containing Chris Brown were simultaneously released with the Rihanna photos. Interestingly, the tables could just as easily be turned. Rihanna herself could have been seeking revenge on Brown and thus took it upon herself to release the photos. She maybe wanted to make Chris Brown jealous by reminding him that she is no longer his. By releasing "what was once his" to the world, he would not feel as special as he had once felt, as now everyone can "see" Rihanna.


As one can easily see, through the exposure of the Media, many wild and confusing incidents can arise. If we did not have entertainment mediums such as television, the internet, radio, etc., it is undoubtable that Rihanna would not have received as much exposure as she did. For most celebrities, it is safe to say that they are not satisfied with the Hollywood spotlight, and thus their personal lives must attract the spotlight as well. Personally, I do not believe that people should mix the world of reality with the world of entertainment. In my opinion, celebrities should just be for singing, acting, dancing etc., rather than for creating controversies and influencing the personal lives of people. However, since the Media has so much power, it is inevitable that these two worlds are going to constantly be overlapping, and so an intelligent person should have the knowledge to understand what is right and what is wrong, what is real and what is "make-believe".

"The D and D Show" Episode 5 (FOX/DIXIE CHICKS/JESSICA LYNCH)

Enjoy!!!

Works Cited:

"Jessica Lynch" 28 April 2004. Online Image. Wikipedia.com. 4 June 2009.
"Fox News" No Date. Online Image. Wikipedia.com. 4 June 2009.
"Rupert Murdoch" 2007. Online Image. Wikipedia.com. 4 June 2009.
"Dixie Chicks" 25 November 2009. Online Image. Images.Google.ca. 4 June 2009.
"Silly Tractor" No Date. Online Image. Spendability.com. 4 June 2009.
"Fox News" FoxNews.com. 4 June 2009.
"The Dixie Chicks"DixieChicks.com. 4 June 2009.
"Jessica Lynch"Wikipedia.com. 4 June 2009. 29 May 2009

"The D and D Show" Episode 4 Part 2

"The D and D Show" Episode 4 Part 1

"The D and D Show" Episode 3

Enjoy!!!

References:
"2009 swine flu outbreak" Wikipedia.com. 02 May 2009. 02 May 2009
"H1N1 Flu"Cdc.gov/H1N1flu/. 02 May 2009. 02 May 2009
"What is swine flu?"Telegraph.co.uk. 02 May 2009. 02 May 2009
Mulholland, Angela. "Should we be worried about 'swine flu'?"CTV.ca. 02 May 2009. 28 April 2009
"Pig Farmer" 12 June 2007. Online Image. Beeractivist.wordpress.com. 02 May 2009.
"Polar Bear" No Date. Online Image. MP3.com. 02 May 2009.
"Scary Pig" No Date. Online Image. aFunVampire.com. 02 May 2009.

The Wonderful World of Ethnic Diversity

Over the last unit in Media Studies, we studied the topic of "Ethnic Diversity". Ethnicity is defined as "Identity with or membership in a particular racial, national, or cultural group and observance of that group's customs, beliefs, and language.", and Diversity is defined as "a point of difference". In a nutshell, Ethnic Diversity basically means the customs, qualities and history that make racial groups unique from one another. Ethnic diversity is very important because it makes the world a more interesting and exciting place. To think of a world where everyone is a carbon copy of each other and all did the same things would be quite boring. It is thanks to Ethnic diversity that variety occurs in the world and humans are able to experience many great things and not lead a one-dimensional life. One that can appreciate and understand many cultures and Ethnic traditions will enjoy life more.

However, as much as Ethnic Diversity can be a good thing, it also can create a lot of problems. Since Ethnic diversity creates so much "culture" and differences, it is impossible to understand and know something about each culture. It is then when people start relying on a tool known as "Stereotyping" to make judgements and limit the personal investigation one has to do on particular Ethnic groups and their culture. Stereotyping is defined as "a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group". By stereotyping, one is assuming that all people of a particular Ethnic group are the same and there are no differences between individuals in the group. A perfect example in the real world is the stereotype that all Native Americans wear headdresses. In the "American" world, when Native images are created or displayed, the person depicted is often shown to be sporting some sort of headdress. Historically, headdresses were generally used for ceremonial purposes or by the dominant members of ancient tribes and thus very few people wore the headdresses regularly. Although the true information is very easy to find out, human beings tend to be lazy and do not actually go and do their own research of the subject themselves. Therefore, they take the easy route out and acquire their knowledge from the Native American stereotype that "Indians wear Headdresses". Stereotyping can then create a lot of inaccuracies which can lead an individual away from knowing the truth.

Many minority groups feel that they are often being misrepresented and misunderstood by majority groups. In the world of Entertainment for example, it is much easier to show a stereotyped image of a particular group rather than giving the audience an accurate portrayal. Since many individuals rely on stereotypes, it would confuse the majority of an audience to display a group of individuals accurately. A perfect example of a group of people misunderstood because of the Media are Arabs and Muslims. An Arab person is essentially anyone who comes from the Middle East and since the Islam religion is in a high concentration in that area, the words Muslim and Arab have now become somewhat interchangeable for many people. In Hollywood and the real world, Arabs are often portrayed as being terrorists and villains. Because of major media events such as "9/11", an entire race/ethnic group of people have all been stereotyped to be cold-blooded, heartless killers. Western Media is constantly creating an "Us VS Them" mentality, attempting to turn the Western citizens against the Arabs and create them into the "Enemy". The Media hopes to turn them into the Western Enemy so that the Western world blames the Arabic people for problems, rather than blaming other Western people. It is entirely unfair to demoralize an entire group of people because of what a very small number of people from that group did. For people with any common sense, will not fall into believing the stereotypes and blame an entire group of people for the problems.

Also in our Ethnic Diversity unit we focused on the topic of Racial Representation in Media products, specifically Television. In one of our assignments, we were assigned a genre of television programming and we were to watch 10 hours worth of television total (as a group). While watching the programming, we were to record the ethnicity of any person we saw on the program and record what profession they were portrayed to have had. Our group was assigned the genre of "Situational Comedy" and one can best describe a "Sitcom" by saying that they are a comedic dramatization of people in their day-to-day lives. Our group viewed shows such as Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and the King of Queens, and it was interesting to see how the Racial Representations on these shows compared to the Population Percentages in the real world.

The 2003 US Demographics showed the population of the United States as being:

66.2% White
12.9% Black
15.2% Latino/Hispanic
4.7% Asian/ Pacific Islander
1.0% American Indian/ Alaska Native

While the 2006 Canadian Demographics showed the population of Canada as being:

79.8% White
2.23% Black
0.97% Latin/Hispanic
5.62% Asian
3.67% Aboriginal
1.35% Arab
6.39% Other

Our studies found the Racial Representation on Live-Action Sitcoms to be:

81.55% White
11.6% Black
2.28% Latino/Hispanic
2.81% Asian/Pacific Islander
0.70% Aboriginal
0.53% Arab/Middle Eastern
0.53% Pakistani/Indian

While the a study by an organization known as Children Now found the Racial Representation on television to be:

73% White
16% Black
6.5% Latino/Hispanic
3% Asian/ Pacific Islander

0.5% Arab/Middle Eastern
0.4% Pakistani/Indian
0.7% Other

As one can see, for the most part television has a predominantly "White" look to it. The majority of characters are "white" just as the majority of people are "white". However, we can see that in Sitcoms, white characters are being over represented in those series. Perhaps one might take it as if someone is trying to say that "white" people are funnier. However, a logical person hopefully can understand that this is indeed not the case.

While reviewing the representation of other groups, one can see that many of them are under represented. Latino people, for example, are extremely underrepresented on television. While the US population is about 15% Latino, on television, Latino characters are only found 6.5% (less than half of their racial representation in the US). By reviewing this comparison, one might conclude that the Media is trying to tell us that Latinos are less important. By representing these people less than they actually can be seen in the real world, television producers are creating a world that does not accurately represent the real world. Television networks should remember that in order to create a great show, they must be able to gain a large audience. By misrepresenting and under-representing people, those individuals might not want to watch the show, and in turn will make the shows less successful than it could have been. In order to create successful entertainment, more emphasis should be put on accurately portraying the real world. Stations such as FOX that are proactively trying to create a more accurate television world should be saluted as they are raising the bar in order to create justice and equality for everyone.

As one can see, our unit in Ethnic Diversity was a mind opening experience. One could see how misrepresented and underrepresented some groups of people are that we might not have noticed before. In order to create a peaceful world, without problems, we should try to accurately portray and represent all people. Everyone was created as equals and to treat people as lessers is wrong. Perhaps if more people open their eyes and understand just how inaccurate the world can be, we can work towards solving and fixing our problems.

References:
"diversity." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 03 May. 2009. .
"ethnicity." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 03 May 2009.
Children Now"Fall Colors" Publications.ChildrenNow.org. 1 May 2009. 2004
"Doug" No Date. Online Image. Zerflin.com. 02 May 2009.

Another Disney Princess Heading Away from "Happy Ever After"

When one thinks of a "Disney Princess", one's mind is immediately flooded with images of childhood characters such as Cinderella, Snow White and Belle. These individuals were young ladies who were presented and sold to the audience as "Positive Rolemodels for the younger generation" and managed to capture the attention and awe of many younger viewers. These characters had the complete backing of the Disney franchise and managed to bring in a lot of money for Disney.


In a lot of ways young stars such as Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan could also be thought of as Disney Princesses when they were younger. In their prime, these two individuals were on top of the world. With Britney Spears a member of the "Mickey Mouse Club" and Lindsay Lohan gaining fame through the remake, hit movie "The Parent Trap", these "Disney Princesses" were destined to fulfill all their hopes and dreams. They were generating large profits for Disney and were looked upon with adoring eyes by adults and young audiences alike. However, for the real life "Disney Princesses", their stories did not end "happily ever after". For Britney Spears, "crotch shots", marriage and head-shavings put her out of the character "Positive role model" and into a character that many people found to be controversial. A similar situation also occurred for Lindsay Lohan that also put her out of the "Rolemodel" position. Bouts with rehab, hanging out with the wrong crowd and carwrecks quickly lost the respect of adults and prevented young audiences from being allowed to watch and follow her career. Although the role of "Disney Princess" may seem glamorous and majestic at first, one has to be cautious so that they do not fall into the trap!

One young teen sensation that could be argued to have "fallen into the trap" is Miley Cyrus, formerly known as Destiny Hope Cyrus and known to most of the world as "Hannah Montana". Being the daughter of One-Hit Wonder Billy Cyrus (from the Achey Breaky Heart Fame), Miley was destined to have some superstar blood flowing through her veins. At the tender age of 12, Disney picked her up, put her in her own show and she has been on top of the world ever since. From photoshoots, to movies, to successful concert tours, Miley has done a lot of things in the past 5 years of her life of which most people could never have dreamed.

Playing the part of "Disney Princess", Miley has been surrounded by much controversy. One of the lesser known controversial rumours surrounding her was that she was pregnant. In September of 2007, an internet image of Miley was circulating, stating that she was having a "Meltdown" and that she had confirmed being pregnant. The image originally was found in a J-14 Magazine article that talked about Miley's eating habits. However, controversy arised when an outside party edited the image and fabricated a story to go along with it. Although the truth about the image has now been unveiled, it was the first sign that Miley's future might not be so "Smiley".

Following the pregnancy rumours came a long line of controversies associated with pictures being taken of Miley Cyrus. In April 2008, Miley took part in a photoshoot led by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz. In the photos, Miley appeared to have been nude, covered only by a white sheet. These photos received quite the reaction from many individuals as they thought Miley was too young to be displaying herself in such a way. Many fingers were pointed at who was to blame and the most common culprits were Disney, Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus herself. Since the controversy, Miley has apologized stating that "(She) never intended for any of this to happen and (she) apologizse to (her) fans who (she) care(s) so deeply about." She apologized... let's move on.

Many personal and "self-taken"photographs of Miley have been circulating and occurring throughout the Media for the past number of years. Most of these pictures are considered to be controversial as most of them tend to be self-taken and show Miley in Bikini's, wet t-shirts and undergarments or performing questionable actions. Although the pictures of Miley in sexual attire are far more common, one photo not showing Miley in this manner has gained far more attention than the rest.

In February 2009, a picture began circulating of Miley Cyrus with her making "asian eyes". Although she claims that she was "simply making a goofy face", many people, such as The OCA (a group that helps with the advancement of social, political and economic aspects of Asian Pacific American), took great offense to the gesture.

In my opinion, I feel that many people have too much free time on their hands. In regards to the Vanity Fair Photoshoot pictures, I find many of the "anti-photo" individuals very contradictory. Many of them claim that the photos shouldn't be shown to the general public, as they are bad for the younger generation to see. Why then, do they publish the picture everywhere anyone could ever see it? Yes, they want to raise awareness about the picture, but by displaying it everywhere, the individuals are basically saying that it is "alright" to show the picture. If they never want anyone to see the photos, they should not publish the photo themselves, as by doing so they become hypocritical. In that they perpetuate the very image that they find so offensive.


In regards to the "asian eyes" photo, I believe that it has been blown out of proportion. Yes, Miley was making a suggestive facial expression, but to automatically assume that she was making an asian face is rather unintelligent. Sure, the asian person in the photo was the only one not participating in the gesture and yes, one member was displaying an even more stereotypically asian expression (Squinty eyes, along with a covered mouth and peace sign), but it is not a good decision to automatically start bashing Miley. The individuals upset with Miley were not present at the time the photograph was taken and so they are in no position to go hounding Miley for what she "has done". People need to hear the full story before they start judging others, because when people jump to conclusions too quickly, controversies occur, often creating problems that aren't necessary.

One thing that I want people like the OCA to realize is that they are trying to accomplish some good. They shouldn't abandon that goal just because some teenagers took one controversial picture. There are 7 people in that photograph and an entire race of human-beings is not going to become corrupt because of it. They should stay focused on the big picture, rather than trying to zoom in on a minute situation. Racial equality and diversity is important and if organizations such as the OCA want to change the world, they should stop "nit-picking" at small things such as the Miley photo and look at what is happening in the real world, not the world of Hollywood.

Is Miley, the 21st century "Disney Princess" headed towards the same untimely fate as those who have come before her? Perhaps when more fabricated controversies arise, society will see how Miley handles herself and the criticism and backlash associated with controversial media topics. Let us hope that as Miley matures her decisions and choices also become more mature so that she does not become another Britney or Lindsay. It will only be a matter of time before we can see if Miley will follow in the foot steps of those who came before her, or if she will live "happily ever after".


References:

"Lindsay Lohan"Wikipedia.com. 29 April 2009. 28 April 2009
"Britney Spears"Wikipedia.com. 29 April 2009. 28 April 2009 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britney_spears>
"Disney Princess"Wikipedia.com 29 April 2009. 29 April 2009
"Billy Ray Cyrus"Wikipedia.com. 29 April 2009. 26 April 2009
"Cyrus Defends Herself in 'Racist' Photo Fracas"ABCNews.go.com. 30 April 2009. 5 February 2009
"Asian Eyes Miley" 6 February 2009. Online Image. TheWB.com. 29 April 2009.
"Disney Princesses" No Date. Online Image. Sandersartstudio.com. 29 April 2009.
"Lindsay Lohan" 25 March 2009. Online Image. celeb9.com. 29 April 2009.
"Underwear Miley" 30 November 2009. Online Image. athensboy.com 29 April 2009.