Overall, I expected this to be a way to share my thoughts online with my fellow students. I kind of thought of it as busy work. As I really got into the swing of things, I totally changed my mind. Being able to voice my own thoughts and opinions about subjects discussed in class is not a privilege that a student always gets. Being able to see what other people were thinking in their blogs helped too. I think the blogs helped me bring everything together. I was able to take a reading, or class discussion and relate it to something that I found interesting or relevant. Seeing other student’s worked helped clarify some of the topics I was a little unclear about. It also made me think about things in a different way. Reading another blog helped me look at something we talked about it a different way, and evoked some thought from me. I found myself really getting into some of the blogs I posted. I feel like my expectations of the assignment were proved wrong at the end. I think I learned about the concepts a lot from reading other people’s blogs rather than making my own. Two specific things we discussed that I learned the most about were the concepts of Hegemonic Masculinity and the Concepts of the celebrity. I think the abundance of information on these subjects in the blogs made it easy to learn about it and blog about. I found myself trying to incorporate these concepts into my blogs and other blogs every opportunity that I had.

I think my best work was the post I presented in class, which was the post about Kanye at the VMA’s. I enjoyed that post so much because I was able to go back to it throughout different points in the quarter. I was able to talk about several different aspects of pop culture with that post. Technology, the celebrity, and the media are just a few issues I touched on. I also thought it was fitting to make a blog about it because it was one of the biggest events in Pop Culture that happened during the quarter. I think my weakest work is the response I did to the blog about the Beastie Boys. I did the blog because it was an easy topic for me to discuss. It focuses a genre of music I am very interested and knowledgeable about. Having said that, I think I used too many opinions for my arguments. I also don’t think I related the blog to class content. It probably wasn’t the best decision for a blog because it was personal to me. I could have used concepts of the celebrity, masscult to beef up my arguments.

If I had to do a similar project again, I would honestly try to keep up with it a little better. I did a fairly decent job at it by my standards. To be more convincing and knowledgeable of the subject I could ahve posted the blogs while the material was fresh in my mind. If I would have posted after every class period, I think my blogs would have been more insightful. I also could have kept up with current pop culture events to make comparisons with class concepts. I would still classify my blogging as a success. I can always do things differently, but I still think I did a decent job with my blogs. I think it is evident that I didn’t blog just to get it over with. I tried to provide serious thought and give helpful resources to provide an example of something was saying, or to support my claims. It was fun blogging about pop culture because it is a fun topic. there are so many possibilities. The challenging part was finding some way to relate what we were talking about in class with elements of pop culture.

Her success can be related to the Masscult. If something is commercially viable and succesfull, then it is cashed in over and over with similar products. If you can appeal to the masses, then your chances of being what is considered “popular” and “cool” are very good. Tila was a great choice for this show because she had such a huge following on Myspace. MTV knew they could cash in with her popularity and her established fan base. There were other elements that helped her success. Ever since “The Flavor of Love,” there has been a huge demand for dating shows. “A Shot at Love” was capitalizing on the dating show frenzy by making their own. This was the recipe for a hit show. What was the result of season one? Of course, a second season of “A shot at love.” This goes back to the Lowry article. Lowry, on realty show contestants, states: “Only now, because of the unquenchable demand for programming and recognizable “talent,” they aren’t being disposed of. Instead, they’re recycled.” This is true of almost all reality television contestants. Every hit reality show has a second season, or a contestant from the show gets his/her own show. This was the case with Tequila’s show as well. A male contestant from her show got his own dating show on MTV after Tequila’s show ended. His was not so successful, thank God. This further perpetuates the star system that reality television creates. I must say I am not happy about it, but I can’t argue its entertainment value.
Tila’s Myspace

A Shot at Love

When these people sign on to be a part of a reality show, they are basically signing their lives away. They are able to be edited in a way that portrays them however the studio wants them to be. The editers can gather all of the footage they can in an attempt to portray a character a specific way. In all “reality” this is very possibly not an accurate representation of this character at all. When the reality craze was still young, there was a genius reality show called “The Joe Schmo Show.” There was one “real” person on the show and the rest were actors. The victim thought he was on a show called “Lap of Luxury” competing for $500,000. All of the cast were actors following a predetermined story line. They basically mess with this poor guy for the whole season and reveal at the end what had happened to him. This is taking the scripted reality shows we see now to another level. Maybe this show made other want to follow their lead and start to control the events and create exciting television. I think the irony of this show is amazing. I personally loved the show but it is sad that all reality television is doing this now even if they are not advertising it.

Joe Schmo

I agree with the fact that the viewers can vote, and basically choose the outcome of the show makes it more interesting. I still would argue it is the viewing of the contestants and judges in a celebrity status that makes it intriguing to watch. Brian Lowry’s article is a good basis for this argument. His piece demonstrates how reality shows can breed a new star system. People who shouldn’t be famous, can become famous through reality television. The show creates contestants, or “celebrities” that we can root for over the course of the show. These contestants gather huge fan bases over the course of the show just to be forgotten once they get voted off. There can also be celebrities that do not even make the show. Lets not forget William Hung singing “She Bangs!” William Hung actually came out with an album because of one audition on American Idol. He didn’t make it past the first round, but he was more successful than the majority of the finalists that made it deep into the competition. America loves reality television, and they love celebrity figures. Two elements that make American Idol so popular.

One article I came across addressed some of these issues. The article focused on the perspective of a woman named Torrie Dorrell. Dorrell works in the gaming industry and had an interesting quote in this article. “Women are out there in significant numbers playing MMOs, action games, first-person shooters,” Dorrell explains. “What is lacking in the equation are women behind these games.” The article went on to point out that studies and sales data have shown that women are more likely to play hand-held casual games, such as the Nintendo DS, along with social oriented games such as “The Sims,” where women make up more than 55 percent of players. Perhaps the fact that women tend to prefer a different style of game leads to the masculine aspects shining through in the video game world. Dorrell admitted she wants to see more women making games with women in mind. Basically, she wants to see women making games that women want to play. I do not know if this is highly opinionated or more factual, but it is an interesting way to look at it. Maybe it is just that society has conditioned us to only view men as powerful, dangerous figures capable of being the main stars of video games. We do see many video games where women take on the roles typically associated with masculinity. these games are successful and they are played by men. Maybe Dorrell is right in her belief that there are not enough women in the gaming industry. If the industry is male dominated, then perhaps that could be the reason that these traits of hegemonic masculinity or so prominent in video games.
Wooing women gamers — and game creators

Because this woman has a following on a hit television show, and has some talented producers, she is able to generate the mass appeal that is the masscult. Another example we see see in the music business is the production of the “Now Thats What I Call Music!” series. All it consists of are the most popular singles through a given amount of time placed on one CD. The CD is always at the top of the sales chart and it is probably the only complete album that sells consistently. >http://www.nowmusic.com/ One genre of music has really shifted into this trend of the masscult. In its glory days, Hip Hop used to be meaningful, relevant, and ground breaking. Tupac and B.I.G. are probably rolling in their graves a result of the stuff being peddled as Hip Hop. This genre has seen a rise in what is called “Ring Tone Rap.” Every artist wants one hit single that sells big numbers on iTunes and sells lots of ringtones for cell phones. Rap artists used to make complete albums that were quality from start to finish. The singles released were not always radio friendly like we hear now.

I think this concept of the masscult lowering the standards of artistic work can be applied to the film industry just as easily as the music industry. How many Saw movies have come out so far? It is literally the same movie over and over and over and they always sell tickets. The directors are different, the writers are different, and there is no emphasis on the quality of the films. I would venture to say that there are five more Saw movies lined up. I think a more recent example is Transformers 2. I am not saying it was a bad movie, but its success was based on its predecessor. I must say I do not think all movies/music that appeal to the masscult result in poorer quality. I think recent albums such as Jay-Z’s “Blue Print 3″ is a great example of a quality album that has mass appeal. Also, I must point out “The Dark Knight.” The movie was one of the all time best sellers and won and was nominated for many awards. Even though it was a sequel it was still a quality movie. “>

In the episode of “Fantasy Factory,” Rob Dyrdek’s mom is unhappy with Mayer and Rob for their actions. It turns out that it was a big joke done by the two. Rob wanted to cause a big scene and create a big story by pretending to be drunk. He knew all of the photographers were there, and he knew it would create a big story. I don’t know if he thought it would be as big as it was. I really think he doesn’t view himself as a huge celebrity, but the fact that he was with John Mayer may have contributed to the hype. What Rob thought was just a funny prank to play turned out to be a big story on TMZ, and made people believe what they saw was real. Rob and Mayer spent the episode trying to apologize to Rob’s mother for putting her through that. This incident relates to the Gamson article. The article makes note that in its earlier stages, journalism and reporting was commonly filled with publicity stunts to create stories for the consumers. When people started caring about celebrities, and when it became possible through technology to give that information to people, they wanted as much of it as they could get. This is directly what the article refers to. Rob Dyrdek took advantage of the position he was in to pull a stunt within the media. Judging by his reaction in his television show, I don’t think he realized that it would have been that big of a deal.

I think Dyredek was still more concerned with how his mother felt about the publicity stunt. He took further advantage of his position by using the content for his television show. The fact that he had a big celebrity accomplice in the whole situation made it bigger news. In the television show, Rob and John Mayer decided to make a song apologizing for the whole situation. They both viewed this as an opportunity to create more quality footage for the show. By making a parody song that is meant to be funny, they also presented the opportunity for a meme to spread. I don’t think it really has swept the internet like other popular memes, but it is the thought and meaning behind it that counts. In the end, what may seem like damaging video of an intoxicated Dyrdek coming out of a club turned into great exposure for him. A planned publicity stunt gave him opportunities to create more of a buzz for his show and within the media. Even if it did cause his mother a sleepless night or two, he tried to make it up to her with a wonderful song. (Here is the complete song)
And here is a short segment from “Fantasy Factory” when Rob and Mayer are playing the song for Rob’s mother in an attempt to make up for their prank……

I can remember wrestling as a kid. I was a big fan and followed the sport based on the heros and villains that generated the story lines I was amused by. The Rock is a wrestler who started as a villain. The things he did and the image he portrayed was that of the bad guy. He was constantly booed, but he was one of the bigger stars in wresting. As time went on, he became the hero. The fan base and buzz he built playing up this persona put him in a position where it was beneficial for him to switch his act up. The video below is from a time when The Rock is a good guy amongst the fans and is taking on the Villains of NWO. We are easily persuaded as fans and consumers. We don’t necessarily care who it is, but we need the good guy to root for and the bad guy to hate. Now, The Rock is capitalizing on his image by making Hollywood movies. We are drawn to the competition between good and evil. We want to see the good guy win, but if he doesn’t, it is still entertaining. It also gives us a reason to keep tuning in becuse we want to be watching when the villain gets what is coming to him.

The piece talks about the negative aspects associated with being a fan. It shows the fan as being a deviant and a potential fanatic. It basically argues that there is nothing positive associated with fans. This media example would represent Robert De Niro as the obsessed individual. The article later comments on fans being obsessed assassins. This is 100% accurate in the movie “The Fan.” Jenson’s article goes on to classify the obsessed assassin as a loner. Also, someone who is not accepted and probably not successful. They express their obsession in an attempt to fulfill their lack of identity, power, and fulfillment in life. In this movie, De Niro was a baseball player as a child who never was that great. He wants his son to be a baseball player too. He wants to try to relive his playing days through him and this is probably why he associates with Snipes, who plays a star baseball player for the Giants. He is trying to live his life through Snipes. The article talks about three concepts, the fan, fanatic, and the deviant. All of these roles are the effect of inadequacy and attempted compensation. De Niro goes through all of these steps in the movie. He starts out as just a fan of his favorite player. He watches the games and calls local sports radio shows with his approval for his favorite player. Then, he starts to become a fanatic. He starts letting this player’s life affect his. It starts to affect they way he behaves and treats other people. Finally, he reaches deviant behavior. He actually kills someone and also attempts to kill Wesley Snipes. I think that this movie is a great example of Jenson’s concepts.

The show “I’m a Celebrity Get me out of Here!” is a great example of trying to take “celebrities” and putting them together in a show. Hiedi and Spencer claimed to be too famous for everyone else there. Sadly, I kind of agree with them. The fact is that even a show with a bunch of no names can be turned into a show about celebrities. granted, some people on the show actually are famous for other reasons than being idiots on a reality television show, but unfortunately, Heidi and her Douche bag boyfriend still steal the show. They openly take on this role as the villain because they know that will keep people watching them and caring about them. It is a big game that they play and the consumers are buying into it. This supports Havrilesky’s arguments about the creation of the celebrity. Once we stop caring, it doesn’t matter who you are. Even Brad Pitt could fall victim to this. Once someone stops giving reasons to be talked about, photographed, and filmed, they lose all of their exposure. People like Heidi and Spencer know that their success depends on how long they can keep acting like idiots and keep people interested.