Better with the Lights Off, Final

There are certain things that boys can say to win a girl’s heart. When he looks into their eyes and says “I love you” or “you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen” we can almost guarantee our hearts will melt. But, the musical group, New Boyz and Chris Brown think otherwise. They demonstrate that when a handsome boy walks up to a girl, looks her deep in the eyes, and passionately says “Girl, you look better with the lights off” then a girl will absolutely go nuts for him. Right, girls? Am I right? No, of course not! But, then why is this anti feminist song making so much money while having girls degrade themselves by singing along?

There’s no doubt about it, media has a huge influence on people in today’s society. No matter how much people deny it, they are highly affected by the media and end up learning from and reenacting what they see and hear. When looking at feminism in media, the effect media has on society can become a bad thing. Often times, women are portrayed as sexual objects or not as intelligent as men. Women should not succumb to these standards simply because they are portrayed this way be media.

In the song “Better With the Lights Off” by New Boyz (shown below), women are completely objectified. This song is about how even if a woman is pretty, when a man turns off the lights to have sex with her, then she becomes much prettier. Despite the rude lyrics, many girls love this song. They all hang out together and sing it, ignoring the implications of it. Women should not be doing this. By women singing along to this song and dancing to it, all with a smile on their face, they are showing men that it is ok to sing the song, and in turn really think that women look better with the lights off.

Supposedly, and according to women, this song can be taken lightly however. Chris Brown does sing, “I'm so happy you're mine (so beautiful), Top of the line (so unusual)” He obviously does like the girl he is singing about, despite his thoughts that she is prettier when he cannot see her. Perhaps, due to these lines in the song, women think that it is ok to sing them and be happy with it. But wait, isn’t Chris Brown the man who hits women? Yes, Chris Brown did beat his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna. So, now the song has an even deeper meaning that a man who would do such a thing is singing that this girl may be beautiful, but even prettier when he turns off the lights. I’m sure she did look prettier when he turned the lights off because he wouldn’t be able to see the bruises he gave her. It’s songs like these, that lead men to thinking it’s ok to hit women. When they get the idea that singing crude lyrics like these are ok, then the list is limitless as to what other things they can think are fine.

Another very rude part of the song is when Legacy raps, “Every guy wants to know how it is/ To clap off the lights and turn Khloé to Kim." Khloe Kardashian and Kim Kardashian, shown in the picture below are both very pretty women. So when Legacy states this line in the song he is not only degrading Khloe, but he is implying that every man wants to have sex with a woman and imagine her as a hotter version. In an interview, Legacy tries to defend himself by explaining, “All I'm saying is, with that line, was you can get any type of girl, and when you clap off the lights, let your imagination run free and you can turn her into anybody you want." This explanation makes Legacy’s statement even worse. He’s telling men that they can have sex with any women but just imagine her as a sexy lady.

This song also implies the stereotypical difference in what sex means to men and women. For men, it doesn’t matter who sex is with or what it means to their partner. Men just want to have it all the time, and they can imagine any women. For girls, sex is usually meaningful and with someone they love. It’s important and shouldn’t just be with any random person. The song states, “I mean you already fine though, I just wanna see you with the lights off” This line states that a girl might be pretty, but even prettier when she is having sex with a guy and he can no longer see her.

Works cited:

"Better With The Lights Off by New Boyz Songfacts." Song Meanings at Songfacts. 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. .

"Khloe’s Breakup." Kim Kardashian Videos, Photos and Blog: Official Website. Buzzmedia. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. .

"New Boyz - Better With The Lights Off Ft. Chris Brown (Official Video) - YouTube."YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. NewBoyzTV, 25 June 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. v=blVzLM3qGqY>.

Doctor pepper Ten - Final

Doctor Pepper has recently put out a new version of their drink called “Doctor Pepper Ten”. It only has “ten calories but all the same great flavor”. What is very interesting about this new line of product is the company’s marketing slogan, “It’s not for women”. That simple. Doctor Pepper Ten’s advertisement is completely demeaning and disrespectful to women, and should not be using the slogan it is using.

This commercial, which is shown above, is so straightforward and surprising. Right at the beginning of the ad, the actor who appears to be playing a role in an action movie says, “Hey ladies, enjoying the film? Of course not! Because this is our movie!” How ridiculous is that? Right off the bat, their commercial is inserted with the stereotype that action movies are for men and that women, being the proper, romantic females that they are, couldn’t possibly be enjoying an action filled film. Also, little later in the commercial, the guy says, “…you can keep your romantic comedies and lady drinks, we’re good.” What makes action movies only appealing to men? There are plenty of girls that find action movies very interesting. If you are a girl, by the way, it is very important not to succumb to this ridiculous idea. Don’t be discouraged or scared away fr

om a good movie just because it’s “for guys”. It goes the same for men, as well. Guys tend to get a lot of crap if they go see (or express interest in) a “chick-flick”. That is absurd, as well. Watch whatever movie you want! There are great movies in all genres that should be watched by everyone!

At the conclusion of the commercial, the official slogan comes out, “Doctor Pepper Ten, It’s Not For Women!” This is probably one of the most blunt phrases (if not the most blunt phrase) that has been used to expose gender roles. The phrase, and the commercial as a whole, put out a completely wrong idea. First off, all of those guys out there who are all caught up in their “manliness” will see this commercial and receive false empowerment. It is awful to think about it, but some guys will watch this commercial and seriously take something from it. Those are the guys, though, that need to rethink some of their morals and ideas. It is important for guys out there to remember this commercial is the exact opposite of how you need to think of/treat women (at least if you ever plan of befriending any). If you ever start to get the idea that you as, as a man, are better than a girl because she is a girl, then you have made a mistake somewhere. To be honest, that would be a total jerk move by a guy to be drinking a soda and say something like, “Yeah, this is a man’s soda. Back off ladies.” But the idea goes past the soda; it needs to be applied to all aspects of how you treat women. They are equal to you, and deserve just as much respect as anyone else you respect.

For the women out there, it is important not to be discouraged by this advertisement. Most women who see this commercial are probably somewhat angry or disappointed. Do not forget that this is only the mindset of one team of advertisers. Most men do not have this forward of an attitude toward male superiority. This commercial does exploit how some men think, but, once again, this commercial is ridiculous. It is important, though to stay confident in all you do. There will constantly be things that will try to tell you things that simply aren’t true, and this is one of them. Just because you are a girl does not mean you can’t go and watch action movies or can’t drink a certain kind of soda. In fact, this ad should be an inspiration to prove something. Liz Nelson wrote an article called “Dr. Pepper Ten doesn't want girlie consumers; the feeling is mostly mutual” and it can be found here:

http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2011/10/dr-pepper-doesnt-want-girlie-consumers-the-feeling-is-mostly-mutual.html

Nelson describes the controversy this ad campaign has brought about, such as the heated Facebook debate that is apparently taking place. This is a good example of a woman who has stepped up to voice her opinion. If you have a problem with something, do not be afraid to step up. In terms of this commercial, it might almost be better to disregard it because most reasonable men will probably already see how abnormal this advertisement is.

As anyone can see, this commercial does no justice to women. It tries to put them on a different level than men, and it does a pretty poor job. Women and men should be able to have similar interests, and don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you different.

What's behind the equality in the virtual world

People say the world is changing and I agree that the world is changing for good. When the United States first started off as a nation of freedom, minority people and women were subjected to remain inferior; as well as youngsters and poor people who couldn’t pay tax. However as the phase of world developed, the United States started to aim for equality. The Brown vs. Board of Education has ended segregation of colored people and white people. The twenty-sixth amendment has provided voting rights to people above age of 18. The nineteenth amendment has granted women the right to vote, providing them with equal political power as men. All these cases and laws show us that the world is changing towards the equal representation of people. Yet, even under these changes, some part of the world remains misrepresented such as women in pop culture. In the newly developing virtual world of gaming, even though every player is placed on the same circumstances, the fixed look of characters definitely misrepresents the true aspects of women.

One undeniable positive of game is ‘equality’ it provides to players in the virtual world. To start off, let’s divide the game into two types; first person shooter and role-playing games. First person shooter games mostly put every player into same conditions; character look, the motion, general statistics of character. In popular video games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Medal of Honor, all players play as male characters in a same suit, same height and same motion. Why did the game creators place players in same conditions? It is very obvious that by putting each player in same condition, the only factor that affects how well players do in game is their skill. If one player’s character was taller, he has higher chance of getting killed because there is higher chance of getting hit by a bullet. Thus, just because a player is a woman in real life does not mean she gets disadvantaged in the game; all players are equal in the game. In role-playing games, players are put into similar conditions just like they are in first person shooter games. Regardless of gender, every player can do same quest, hunting, and can even choose to do same in-game-jobs such as warrior, archer, and magician. In the virtual world, every player is given same chance and opportunity to play his/her way out of the game.

Picture of a woman character in RPG game.

Whereas this equality the game provides to women can be seen as positive. The game also makes us to question how the gaming sets up bias against women in real life. In role-playing games, players can choose their own look; every player gets to choose how they want to be seen by the other players. Not only the game only provides fixed looks of female characters as shown above, usually slim and skimpy looking, but also women players, themselves, want to look the best as possible. Thus almost every woman character in game looks slim and skimpy. It’s questionable to say that what people see in game will affect what they expect to see in real life. However, it’s no doubt that this trend sets up a prejudice that every woman must look slim, and sexy. This problem exists in some first person shooter games as well where players can choose to play as a female character. Just like they look in role-playing games, first person shooter female characters look just as slim and skimpy.

Picture of a woman character in one FPS game.

This representation of women as described above conflicts with true representation of women in pop culture. Yes, women can do things men can do. However, not all women look skimpy and slim; that’s what most men expect or want women to be. The game creators focused on commodifying women to attract more people to the game. Their focus is on making a lot of money not on correctly representing the real aspects of women. By using the fact that in the virtual world of gaming, people can be who they want and look how they want to be look, the game creators have turned aspects of women into a market item.

Gaming is largely developing industry. It has been reported that the gaming industry has been increasing 10.3 percent annually and the business is expected to be 68 billion dollars in 2012 (Caron). It’s clear that the gaming field will soon develop as massive as other pop culture items such as TV shows, internet, and movies. Yet the fact that the game creators are focusing on commodifying women to prosper their industry remains as a huge challenge for feminists. To better represent women in pop culture, feminists need to work not only on equality of each player in gaming but also the correct representation of individuals. However, the game creators will keep on commodifying women characters to attract more players into their dream world and the issue won’t be an easy problem to solve.

Citations:

Caron, Frank. "Gaming Expected to Be a $68 Billion Business by 2012." Technica. ARS, 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. .

"Sudden Attack Released Christmas Themed Female Ch--Foreign MMORPGs--GMbase.com Forum." GMbase.com Forum--Index. 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. .

"Character Simulation." Nexon Forums. Nexon, 6 Dec. 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. .

Fallout 3, Final

Media and pop culture are massive factors that constantly affect how we live our day-to-day lives.  Whether or not we realize it or not, pop culture is constantly affecting our mindsets and opinions by having us bombarded with celebrities, games, films, and television. While watching just an hour of television one would be exposed to hundreds of different ads, celebrities and other pop culture phenomenons.  In modern times, one of the biggest pop culture items that people of all ages are being exposed to are video games.  One game in specific, Fallout 3, is immensely popular among teens and adults for action and adventure, but what many do not realize is that women are portrayed in the game as equals to men, unlike most other games and most other mediums of media and pop culture.

Fallout 3 is one of the most popular games to have been released in the past 10 years.  Globally it has sold several million copies and it has one won countless awards for the outstanding game play, soundtracks, script, and even its graphics.  The game is about a wanderer who escapes his safe haven after nuclear bombs have been dropped around the entire country.  There is no stable government and people just look out for themselves.  In the game, you wander throughout the massive world meeting people doing jobs, killing other people and mutated creatures, and there is always something to be found.  One of the biggest points of this game, though, is that you are able to make your character a women, not just a man.

The female character within the game plays very differently from the male.  The female character is able to do things the male cannot such as coerce other male people met on her journey to telling her secrets using her feminine charm, while also still having the power of a strong male character.  The women character is also never objectifies by random men and is never seen as weak or intolerable just because she is a female.  This is very different than most other females with other video games such as the Tomb Raider series or the Dead or Alive series.

This is a small example of that "feminine charm" mentioned earlier.  This is more of a joke in the game than anything else, the 'threesome' mentioned doesn't actually occur.  This is just one of the many times a player can use the 'Black Widow' perk as a woman to influence men.  Here the player uses her feminine charm to influence a man to go find the character an item that is almost impossible to find.

In the Tomb Raider series Lara Croft, the main character, is a very powerful woman, but is constantly objectified and is constant subject to "male gaze."  Croft hardly wears any clothing on her adventures except for a very short tank top and a pear of abnormally short shorts for someone who is planning on adventuring, climbing and fighting.  She is seen as no more than a toy to men meant to be stared at and have her body be more important than the game itself thus subjecting Croft to male gaze.  Male gaze is the main reason the game was such a huge success  because men are supposed to like killing and boobs, and all of that was encompassed in the Tomb Raider series.  Also, the Dead or Alive series is very similar to aspects in Tomb Raider.  This series is based on half naked, big breasted women fighting each other all while their bodies bounce and jiggle.  It is quite demeaning towards women as the characters is the name are no more than punching pairs of breasts trying to take each others heads off.  This game has only lasted several years and with few iterations because of male gaze upon the women fighters and the many men who just buy the game in order to see some fake, animated bodies.  The main reason Fallout 3 is very different and on a whole other level than these titles is that Fallout 3 manages to have female main characters without having them objectified or subject to male gaze.  You main character is never harassed or told she is not worth as much as a man.  The female character may use some of her feminine tactics to get ahead, but she never walks around the wasteland with nothing but a bikini and she does not dance and giggle to amuse the male player holding onto the controller.

                                             Noticeable difference?

    vs 
     Dead or Alive fighters                        Your character in Fallout 3

Fallout 3 allows any player, man, woman,or other, to experience a game as a man or woman without having to stare at women half naked and deal with women being portrayed as objects or tools. For these reasons, Fallout 3 shows that women are powerful and equals to men and just because there are many games that blatantly objectify women, there are still some that respect women and do not demean them either.