Intro

It is no surprise that both Pepsi and Kendall Jenner received a lot of lash back due to the release of this Pepsi ad. The ad, depicts Kendall Jenner exiting a photoshoot to join the march for #blacklivesmatter, where she hands a police officer a cold, fresh Pepsi to "resemble" peace. This was a whole new level of cultural appropriation, because not only does the ad exploit the movement, it is also centered around whiteness. This disregards the discrimination towards black and muslim people in the U. S. during the time, and highlighted Kendall Jenner as the "white savior trope." As opposed to having someone who can actually represent the black or muslim community, this acts as exclusion towards these cultural groups eradicating their issues such as police brutality, as well as reinforcing the over-represented dominant white group. In other words, how can someone who comes from a white-privileged background be able to represent marginalized people of color? *cough ...

Today were talking all about tropes! I decided to analyze characters from the hit series, Game of Thrones. Daenerys Targaryen exemplifies the underdog character trope. At the beginning of the series we shown a quiet and timid maiden being sold to marriage by a savage group who are the Dothraki. However, things take a turn when she finds out she is the mother of dragons!! She takes it to another level throughout the seasons we see her transgress into a strong and independent conquerer. She also embodies the messianic archetype, evoking christ parallels when she is claimed to give birth to one of the Dothraki's prophecies. She also frees an entire army from slavery as well as liberating slaves from Astapor and Yunkai.  She faces many stereotypes throughput the season. When she was younger many people doubted her retribution, because of how young she was, end especially because she is a woman.  [ Arya Stark has had her fair share of moments where she is looked down upon ...

Vogue's cover of LeBron James and model Gisele Bundchen compared to the Army flyer is very questionable. To start off, I do not understand why the cover depicts either of them in these exact poses. Yes, Gisele looks absolutely stunning in her shot, however LeBron could have had a different picture on the cover. Especially since Vogue is after all a fashion magazine, they could have definitely made the effort to capture him in a more model like style. It would have been more refreshing to see him model for the magazine instead of this specific picture. When comparing both covers, we can see a stereotype of how African American men are portrayed as violent and aggressive beings. What is very interesting is that the ape on the left is carrying what looks like a (bat?), with the word "culture" written on it. The way LeBron is aggressive showing this "ape" like manner is also a form of exoticism. The Army cover assimilates our society to believe that A...

That 70's show is a hit sitcom that is based around teenagers on the verge of adulthood. Throughout the series we see them grow and try to find their independence. Even though the show is based in an era where there was social movements and equal rights, I find that there are some flaws within the show that are examples of tokenism. Fez plays a foreign exchange student who is a "suave macho" character, who makes most situations into sexual situations. I find this to be an example of both tokenism as well as a stereotype. Fez playing the "Foreign token" character perpetuates many stereotypes about Latinos including being a romantic character. The romanticization of Latinos is not a new concept, in fact that's how most Latino's became casted in many American Hollywood movies, back in the early 1920's.  Fez is always trying to lose his virginity and many make jokes about him not being able to sleep with girls because he's "foreign." ...

The Simpson's episode, Last Exit to Springfield perpetuates the many prevailing capitalistic ideology. we can see clearly from the beginning of the episode on who own/ runs what. In order for them to be successful they take advantage of those who are more susceptible to fear as a tactic to manipulate them. In this particular episode we see this point of view through Mr. Burns who owns most of everything in Springfield, and even the dentist who tries to sell the fancy Calvin Klein perfumed braces to shift away from the less appealing braces that are more affordable. This reaffirms the idea of capitalism that people pay more money for better, shiny objects. However we can see some challenges against the ideology of capitalism. In the end the workers gain their dental plan back, showing how their voice and opinions can make an effect. When Mr Burns decided to turn the power off, the community comes together and are not as affected as Burns wanted. This shows how their is pow...

In this weeks blog we talk about how satire plays a major role in the new hit series Rick and Morty. There is incongruity between American rhetoric and practices, for example the theory of equality, but the reality and fact of social and economic inequality in today's society. Or how one should be compared to how they really are in a capitalistic society. Satire helps reveal these incongruities by exposing the hypocrisy of our institutions, and by bringing up contemporary political issues. These vices are all criticized through satirical humor and are typically exaggerated to get comical relief. Rick and Morty has a deeper meaning and has more to do than just cosmic space adventures between a grandfather and his grandson. For example, in the episode "Raising Gazorpazorp" we are challenged with the satire played on gender politics, and parenting. Morty, who accidentally becomes a parent of a half human/half robot does not follow the typical gender norms that a parent usu...