Media & Money: Crash Course Media Literacy #5
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Date: 2022-04-04
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Comments and reviews: 10
The
I really appreciate this episode, in particular that the depiction of gays in the media is addressed specifically. As a gay male who was a teen when Will & Grace was at its height, I was really put off by the show because I couldn't identify with the characters, and it's not the only example, just the most vivid one. While I enjoy watching a play or musical from time to time, I've never been one for showtunes; I like rock, jazz, classical, and even a little bit of heavy metal. I may have a good eye for color and be able to help friends pick out clothes, but I don't dress like it--I'm more interested comfort and budget. I'm not skinny, I don't have short carefully trimmed hair, and at the time I wasn't clean-shaven. (I've also never liked light beer, but we'll skip over the underage drinking part) I've heard people praise the show, but it left me with more feelings of alienation: in the early 2000s there were still plenty of negative things going around about gay people, but I didn't see any gay people like me in the media, even the supposedly -positive- examples, who were often reduced to punchlines anyway.
Even a couple of years later in college near Philadelphia, I found it hard to fit in with the actual gay community, and I can't help thinking that popular media portrayals of gay stereotypes, no matter how -positive- were reinforced so much that they were internalized by the gay community, whether as ways of identifying each other or as ways of being a -good gay. - There were no examples of an overweight, long-haired rock & roll type of gay guy in the media, and nobody knew what to do with me. (At least it's a bit better now)
Things like this have given me more appreciation for characters who are well-rounded, where such a piece of identity is a trait rather than the defining feature of the character. It's also opened me up to looking more critically at how other groups are portrayed in the media, especially in comedy: is someone's identity part of their character, or is it just a punchline?
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I really appreciate this episode, in particular that the depiction of gays in the media is addressed specifically. As a gay male who was a teen when Will & Grace was at its height, I was really put off by the show because I couldn't identify with the characters, and it's not the only example, just the most vivid one. While I enjoy watching a play or musical from time to time, I've never been one for showtunes; I like rock, jazz, classical, and even a little bit of heavy metal. I may have a good eye for color and be able to help friends pick out clothes, but I don't dress like it--I'm more interested comfort and budget. I'm not skinny, I don't have short carefully trimmed hair, and at the time I wasn't clean-shaven. (I've also never liked light beer, but we'll skip over the underage drinking part) I've heard people praise the show, but it left me with more feelings of alienation: in the early 2000s there were still plenty of negative things going around about gay people, but I didn't see any gay people like me in the media, even the supposedly -positive- examples, who were often reduced to punchlines anyway.
Even a couple of years later in college near Philadelphia, I found it hard to fit in with the actual gay community, and I can't help thinking that popular media portrayals of gay stereotypes, no matter how -positive- were reinforced so much that they were internalized by the gay community, whether as ways of identifying each other or as ways of being a -good gay. - There were no examples of an overweight, long-haired rock & roll type of gay guy in the media, and nobody knew what to do with me. (At least it's a bit better now)
Things like this have given me more appreciation for characters who are well-rounded, where such a piece of identity is a trait rather than the defining feature of the character. It's also opened me up to looking more critically at how other groups are portrayed in the media, especially in comedy: is someone's identity part of their character, or is it just a punchline?
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carlo
the info here is almost obsolete particularly regarding the dominance of certain cultures and stereotypes. most new movies released now have have left leaning agenda whether it's appropriate, blended well with story, or was jarringly shoehorned just because. absolutely annoying and it's now unquitous in almost every medium including videogames. tv networks like CW only create tv series radically saturated with pop liberalism, netflix originals as well- dedicated episodes to racism and gun control; and the 50 percent of the characters are gay: there would always be a gay or trans reveal coming out of the closet. the dialogue are manufactured in a way like a third wave feminist protest (blatant in your face example of this is episode 4 of - the witcher-)
that said, i'm still learning how to curate the shows i'll attempt to watch. as of now, at the top of my list to avoid are netflix originals and CW.
note: i am not against pop liberal agenda like feminism or LGBTQ+ representation in shows but when it's forced and it is so obvious its purpose is to promote am agenda, it breaka from the immersion. and it's so goddamn preachy.
feminist shows i like that are well made are frozen, star wars, moana,
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the info here is almost obsolete particularly regarding the dominance of certain cultures and stereotypes. most new movies released now have have left leaning agenda whether it's appropriate, blended well with story, or was jarringly shoehorned just because. absolutely annoying and it's now unquitous in almost every medium including videogames. tv networks like CW only create tv series radically saturated with pop liberalism, netflix originals as well- dedicated episodes to racism and gun control; and the 50 percent of the characters are gay: there would always be a gay or trans reveal coming out of the closet. the dialogue are manufactured in a way like a third wave feminist protest (blatant in your face example of this is episode 4 of - the witcher-)
that said, i'm still learning how to curate the shows i'll attempt to watch. as of now, at the top of my list to avoid are netflix originals and CW.
note: i am not against pop liberal agenda like feminism or LGBTQ+ representation in shows but when it's forced and it is so obvious its purpose is to promote am agenda, it breaka from the immersion. and it's so goddamn preachy.
feminist shows i like that are well made are frozen, star wars, moana,
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Fear
A good reminder of why people lean on using stereotypes, and to always critique the creator. We all have agendas, if you go in with eyes open, you can choose what you want to take or leave from each piece of media. Where/who the money comes from can tell a lot about the agenda. Good to teach our kids how to critically evaluate media too! Doesn-t mean not curiously exploring other viewpoints, but to be aware of how certain messages trigger us, your mind on media, and to be aware of them so not sleepwalking through experience.
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A good reminder of why people lean on using stereotypes, and to always critique the creator. We all have agendas, if you go in with eyes open, you can choose what you want to take or leave from each piece of media. Where/who the money comes from can tell a lot about the agenda. Good to teach our kids how to critically evaluate media too! Doesn-t mean not curiously exploring other viewpoints, but to be aware of how certain messages trigger us, your mind on media, and to be aware of them so not sleepwalking through experience.
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SadFace
Imho, while it's the responsibility of the consumers to analyze their media properly, I firmly believe it's also the job of content creators to be responsible for the media they create. Stereotypes will always exist regardless of your political leanings or values, but I think it'd be more helpful for the industry's creativity if such ideas were not constantly recycled or other ideas were explored. Ideally, content creators should be more worried about the message of their products rather than making money.
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Imho, while it's the responsibility of the consumers to analyze their media properly, I firmly believe it's also the job of content creators to be responsible for the media they create. Stereotypes will always exist regardless of your political leanings or values, but I think it'd be more helpful for the industry's creativity if such ideas were not constantly recycled or other ideas were explored. Ideally, content creators should be more worried about the message of their products rather than making money.
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Paul
Representation. So all straight white men have the same perspective and tell the same story; Hitler, Schindler, Bono, the uni-bomber. all the same. Same goes with all black women. all gay X. It's almost as if -representation- puts people into stereotypical identity groups and assumes that they can be collectively -represented- because they are, of course, all the same. based on arbitrary cataloging performed by. who? And here I thought every human being had a unique voice, silly me.
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Representation. So all straight white men have the same perspective and tell the same story; Hitler, Schindler, Bono, the uni-bomber. all the same. Same goes with all black women. all gay X. It's almost as if -representation- puts people into stereotypical identity groups and assumes that they can be collectively -represented- because they are, of course, all the same. based on arbitrary cataloging performed by. who? And here I thought every human being had a unique voice, silly me.
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Orphansmith
On the one hand, I'm very happy that a CC video that mentions race is a thing that affects society isn't vote-bombed like CC Sociology.
On the other hand, the comments are still full of angry people, and the fact that this show is hosted by a guy instead of a woman might have something to do with the numbers.
Cue angry people responding to this post that points them out, invariably proving the argument I'm making with knee-jerk defensive responses.
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On the one hand, I'm very happy that a CC video that mentions race is a thing that affects society isn't vote-bombed like CC Sociology.
On the other hand, the comments are still full of angry people, and the fact that this show is hosted by a guy instead of a woman might have something to do with the numbers.
Cue angry people responding to this post that points them out, invariably proving the argument I'm making with knee-jerk defensive responses.
reply
BearOwl
I think another factor behind representation is the experience of writers in their chosen medium. For instance, if someone is a playwright and they want to write a gay character, chances are the people they-ve surrounded themselves with are also into theatre and some may be gay. Because of this, even gay characters based on real people can fulfill stereotypes (such as the gay theatre buff) because of the writer-s limited worldview.
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I think another factor behind representation is the experience of writers in their chosen medium. For instance, if someone is a playwright and they want to write a gay character, chances are the people they-ve surrounded themselves with are also into theatre and some may be gay. Because of this, even gay characters based on real people can fulfill stereotypes (such as the gay theatre buff) because of the writer-s limited worldview.
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woodchuck
When this video says -the media is owned by white, straight, men, - it seems to be quilty of creating the same problems this seris was originally created to help prevent. Also is this video implying that a group of black men could somehow better identify with gay men? This video is the worst in the series, it is filled with biggoted opinions, but the produces are to blinded by their ideology to see this.
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When this video says -the media is owned by white, straight, men, - it seems to be quilty of creating the same problems this seris was originally created to help prevent. Also is this video implying that a group of black men could somehow better identify with gay men? This video is the worst in the series, it is filled with biggoted opinions, but the produces are to blinded by their ideology to see this.
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Mariusz
The core motivation is making money - obviously. If a company putting hundreds of millions of dollars into a production is expected to inject nuance in representation of peoples it causes risks of negative reception. That's why you have stereotypical short-hands that go the least controversial route. It's an issue by design that's what we get.
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The core motivation is making money - obviously. If a company putting hundreds of millions of dollars into a production is expected to inject nuance in representation of peoples it causes risks of negative reception. That's why you have stereotypical short-hands that go the least controversial route. It's an issue by design that's what we get.
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ChillsAhoy
It's incredible how many times I've had to explain myself. -Yes, I'm gay but no, I don't care all that much about fashion or musical theatre and no, I don't wave my hands all over the room. Those are stereotypes, that is one of many ways to be gay. There is no single way to be an engineer, there is also no single way to be gay. -
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It's incredible how many times I've had to explain myself. -Yes, I'm gay but no, I don't care all that much about fashion or musical theatre and no, I don't wave my hands all over the room. Those are stereotypes, that is one of many ways to be gay. There is no single way to be an engineer, there is also no single way to be gay. -
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