Jenna's Pop Culture Blog

In the videos we watched about Justin Bieber and his reported photoshopped pictures that showed him with bigger muscles than what he actually has. When it was first reported, Justin Bieber came back denying that there was any photoshopping. I see this denial as a sense of fear of not being the non-typical ideal man image. Today there are many pressures for guys to big, in the sense of being fit, having abs, having big muscles, and looking good. This is what a lot of people in our society see as manly and in turn begin to expect this. So for Justin Bieber to say that there was photoshopping of his picture would be in a sense an admission that he isn't really this perfectly sculpted man with big muscles that society wants to see and expects. And I feel like this is especially harder for celebrities to admit and be open about than the everyday man. Due to the fact that celebrities are seen as idols that are in a way perfect. They have good looks, a good body, and good talent, and for...

In class we talked about George Gerbner's idea called Cultivation Theory. In which it tries to explain how tv affects us in the real world. And an example of this that we saw in class was John Oliver's video that talked about the actually effectiveness of torture and then the amount of Americans who liked the idea and agreed. Even though, it has been shown to not be effective. When I hear this, an example I tend to think of is, how firearms are portrayed in movies and tv shows. I have been around firearms my whole life, and I have also taken firearm safety classes as well. Because I do know so much about firearms,  it has always been a pet peeve of mine when I see actors shooting handguns one handed, then you get people who haven't ever shot a gun believing that, that is how you do it. Which in turn can also lead to accidents and maybe even fatal accidents, which also adds to a false perceptions of firearms. I do agree with cultivation theory, that the more we see such beh...

In the article "Why We Play" and in the video with Jane McGonigal, they both touched on 3 things that were both in the same of each other. First in the article, one reason being is Challenge and Mastery, which motivates us towards success which we see as also possible (maybe far fetched) but real life instances. But Jane addresses this point as just working hard and continuing to try to over come obstacles. One wants to be able to pass a level lets say in a game, so they practice this over and over until they get it. Making 'gamers' good problem solvers. Another one would be Goals, Challenges, and Rewards, in games we get positive feedback or some kind of benefiting reward by accomplishing something, which again is another motivation for us to do good in a game so we can receive this positive feedback or reward that might give a boost in the future. Jane explained this in the video by saying that with the knowledge that one is possible to achieve a such goal, it makes...

I think that the example of how when Rap music was emerging that parents were very condemning of it, due to the idea that it seemed to promote topics such as drug use, sex, and violence through explicit words. And as it is in a time where people are expected not to be racist, or judgmental, so they use the idea of calling out their taste in pop culture as almost like an indirect hit on the minority who are seen connected to this type of entertainment. It's not acceptable to call out the people who may be linked to making bad decisions cause it would be a direct attack on that minority, so this way is so much easier, and not as direct.

In the video of Digital Nation, they pointed out that there are schools that are giving laptops to students. And because of this, they have seen increasing grades, better attendance, and even less fights. Even though schools have seen results that are good, but also more students are also being distracted more and easier. Therefore, making it more work/harder for teachers to constantly have to patrol and make sure that students are staying focused and actually doing their work. I know from personal experiences in high school, when I would have teachers allow computers out and then they just lectured, I would find my self doing either other school work or other unproductive things. Looking at the pros and cons, I found the similar pro that the media has been seen to help students do better at school, that being that they are able to access information easier and quicker, a lot of schools have homework online so it's almost always available to students, so no more "I forgot my...

I think in this case of Justine Sacco the biggest thing that stuck out to me is the common idea of how celebrities are untouchable. I mean sometimes we do see in the media how it does seem that celebrities can get away with simple things such as a speeding ticket cause they are famous. But I too am can be guilty of thinking that celebrities are untouchable, mean things that people say about them won't ever be seen by them and wouldn't affect them. We seem so small compared to these huge celebrities. Yet in the case of the Justine Sacco, she wasn't famous, but she was made famous in a matter of just a couple hours, then treated like a celebrity as if she was untouchable by harsh words. I could not imagine saying something and having it misunderstood, then threatened and hated by what would seem like the whole world. I do find situations like this almost ironic though, in a place where everyone seems to be against bullying, but yet things like the Justine Sacco case is still ...