https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3 en-us 2022-09-09 18:43:24 UTC 2022-12-09 18:45:18 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4da.png ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2293177489 This course is named Critical Media Studies, thus one of the things I would like to learn and improve on is thinking critically and being able to analyze media from different lenses. I am looking forward to learning different ways that scholars apply critical thinking to their everyday and more. Furthermore, the interest I find in this course stems from the fact that it will challenge the way I currently think. As well as the fact that there are various topics that interest me, such as Critical Race Theory and Queer Media being a few of them. I am excited to see what this course has to offer.]]> 2022-09-12 22:12:10 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2293177489 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2304281036 Engstrom's main argument is that of how society pushes the narrative that marriage is necessary to prove one's success, femininity and happiness. While in reality, the fruition of a marriage should not rely on material aspects. As well as the fact that, marriage is not necessary to achieve joy in one's life. Society pushes the narrative that "[w]eddings, marriage, romance and heterosexuality become naturalized to the point where we consent to the belief that marriage is necessary to achieve a sense of well-being, belonging, passion, morality, and love," (Ingraham, 1999, p. 120). Political economy is an especially important approach in Engstrom's research as she uses the example of the website The Knot to analyze how media influences individuals. Thus, when viewing The Knot from a political economy lens, one is able to analyze the hegemonic ideals involved in wedding media. The Knot being a perfect media example of political economy, displays how media can influence capitalistic thinking. As "the usefulness of political economy of the media, becomes especially relevant to hegemony when one considers the intricacies between media messages and economies within capitalism," (Engstrom, 2008, p. 62) My main take-away from this article is that marriage often works against the feminist agenda of women moving away from being seen as merely objects, as a bride is subjected to being under the spotlight and thus, needing to be this perfect example of beauty. Additionally, wedding events put a woman under extreme stresses, while the groom often does not experience these same struggles. The fairy tale wedding tends to be a facade. 

The gif I added illustrates a literal "bridezilla". This term came about as brides are often stressed and may display these negative emotions outwardly. To media, these women are often categorized as dramatic, while in truth they are burdened to lots of weight on their shoulders during such a monumental event. ]]> 2022-09-20 05:33:40 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2304281036 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2326778131 The political activism of fans demonstrates the key component of identity in cultural studies. On Sept 27th, Dr. Thrift presented the point that explains that "culture informs both the production and reception of media texts". The way people identify, will impact the way one interprets media texts. For instance, political activism by fans to this scale or political activism by any kind by a group of fans, can only occur if there is a large group of fans who identify to be in similar groups/lean towards the same beliefs. From the actions of the K-pop fans referenced in the article, one can infer that many fans may be left-leaning/have already previously engaged in activism of some sort. 
An example I could think of was through Harry Style fans and the Black Lives Matter movement. Although Harry Style's fans seem to be divided on this matter; the issue still brought people together. I have linked an article, however, it essentially goes over Style's lack of support towards the Black Lives Matter movement and how the disappointment of Black fans brought about trending hashtags to try and educate him. Thus, these hashtags bring greater awareness to the movement and fans even focused on aiding protestors during the uproar in 2020. 
People oftentimes underestimate the power fans have, however these are committed individuals, who also have identities beyond their favourite artist. ]]> 2022-10-05 02:12:03 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2326778131 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2331603122 The image I chose is a vaping advertisement. The reason I chose this is because of how common it is to see the use of vapes and e-cigarettes among young people, ads like so fuel the usage of these items. The signifier in this image would be the vape itself, as well as the words written in the advertisement. More specifically the slogan, "Vape beautifully" (Canndescent, 2019) is very prominent. The font that is being used for the text can also be included within the signifier, as it emphasizes the messages that are being out out. The word "beautifully" (Canndescent, 2019) is displayed in a cursive font in order to highlight how vaping may be considered classy. The signified would be the mental concept that forms in ones find and in this case vaping could be associated with breathing, lungs, air, and flavour. Commonly these items have a taste to them, which aids to their appeal. In combination with the signifier the image that forms in ones head has less of a negative connotation, as vaping is being promoted as something that is elegant. 

Continuing on, the sign is the entirety of the image. This would include both the signifier and the signified, so not only is it the physical images that are displayed, but the associations that they hold in a person's mind. The sign could also include the colours used in the advertisement. For instance, the use of orange, a warm colour to potentially evoke, warm, comforting emotions within a person. As a whole the sign and the advertisement is trying to sell the beauty in vaping. ]]> 2022-10-07 23:50:49 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2331603122 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410578040 This quote expresses how reality television, although incorporates forms of governmentality and panopticism, rather than pushing ideals onto the participants or the audience; it gives people the impression that they are free to make decisions that will lead to an outcome based on these choices. The interactions reality television creates pushes the narrative of freedom.
A media text from reality television that I have chosen is the show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. This series is undeniably one of the most popular shows on reality television currently. It follows a celebrity family in their daily lives. The gif above illustrates members of the family.
I find that this media example illustrates the above quote as rather than directly spreading the morals or ideologies the individuals in the show may hold, their views are spewed out in more subtle ways. For instance, their outlook on beauty is evidently displayed through each of their appearance's, and maintenance towards their appearance. Yet, no one explicitly says how much they value their beauty in the show. Nevertheless, the surveillance aspect is normalized, making it seem as if each person has complete free will, despite being put in front of camera. The audience as well is free to either criticize or mimic the behaviours displayed on the cameras, and thus lead to them governing themselves through thoughts of freedom and not control. 
Social Media is an example of governmentality as although one chooses what appears in their social media platforms, the algorithm often has secondary or ulterior motives that is being presented within it. Notions that appear on social media are only there because they have been approved by some sort of moderation, therefore, self conduct does exist in social media, however, it is within limits. This perfectly describes governmentality. ]]> 2022-12-06 12:27:50 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410578040 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410586180 The two concepts I found most important in this week's readings were tokenism and popular misogyny. Tokenism is when a singular women or otherwise, portray under-represented groups through a disproportionately small number of characters (Harvey, 2020, p.60). This often happens in video games as "female characters... appear with much less frequency than white male characters" (Harvey, 2020, p.61) and when female characters are featured they are typically sexualized. The photo depicted above is from the game Final Fantasy VII, the male is surrounded by two female characters; both of whom have been heavily sexualized by the fans. While there are two main female characters in this game, they are meant to act as trophies, as they both fawn over the male character. Displaying how stereotyping of female characters as essentially submissive towards men, remain rampant. 
Popular misogyny on the other hand is essentially the opposition to popular feminism, as it holds anti-women sentiment. "Popular misogyny... helps contribute to a misogynistic political and economic culture, where rape culture is normative..." (Banet-Weiser, 2015, p.5). This type of ideology standardizes attacks on women. Yet, it is important to understand that this type of mentality exists, as it provides an explanation to why men might turn to becoming an incel or why gender and being feminine in media is looked at negatively. Thus, gender in media is inaccurately portrayed as it falls into stereotypical representations and may be created by those who follow tokenism and or popular misogyny. ]]> 2022-12-06 12:36:17 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410586180 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410587553 Hook's main argument in this chapter consists of the efforts white folk make to separate themselves from the supposed other. However, this is not done by physical separation, but rather by highlighting and examining the differences between people of colour and white people through methods of fetishization or exploitation.
To "eat to other" is when those outside the other, (caucasian people), consume other cultures in ways that will benefit them in numerous ways. For instance, cultural appropriation would be an example of eating the other. Those involved do not stop to appreciate the origin or learn about its significance within said culture and are wearing the culture due to its pertained trendiness or exoticness. Oftentimes one can see this happen during Halloween as various cultures turn into mere costumes for people to wear. The gif above concerns this behaviour.
This is problematic in various forms, since it dismisses the struggle people of colour go through when trying to express their culture and cultural differences. Culture is broken down to just be a commodity of sorts.
"To these young males and their buddies, fucking was a way to confront the Other, as well as a way to make themselves over, to leave behind white “innocence” and enter the world of “experience.”" (Hooks, 2014, p. 3) This quote stood out to me as it provided an explanation towards why certain white males seek out sexual relationships with people of colour. It is not due to romantic interest, but rather that non-white people are so different from them, that engaging in sexual actions will provide some kind of experience afterwards. To these specific white males, people of colour are simple trophies to collect and exhibit.]]> 2022-12-06 12:37:38 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410587553 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410587854 Queer reading is a method of analysis that views a text or various piece of media from a queer lens, examining it based on queerness. As "these readings seem to be expressions of of queer perspectives on mass culture..." (Doty, 1993, p. 3). This concept may be useful for thinking about popular media cultures as oftentimes things are not as clear and black and white. Queerness in media can be implied, as many characters can be coded to be queer, yet never outwardly state how they are. Adding that queer lens by using queer reading, can identify situations like so.
A contemporary media example is in The Batman film, released early 2022, Catwoman is speculated to be bisexual. Although in the film she never announces that she is, her demeanour with another female character, and later on her interest in Batman, resonated with a lot of bisexual audiences. By using queer reading when viewing this film, it becomes unchallenging to identify these relationships and interactions. 
The article linked above speaks about Catwoman and the actress's stance towards the speculations. The actress herself goes to state that she viewed her character in the same light and there are many articles on the matter, showing how queer reading is not an obscure or rare way of analyzing. ]]> 2022-12-06 12:37:58 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410587854 ayrabukhari https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410588296 The units I enjoyed the most and the most compelling thing I learned was during Week 2 Marx and Media Studies, as well as Week 8 which was Feminist Media Studies. Week 2 interested me heavily as I had no idea that the wedding industry was that complex and persuasive. Despite having gone to weddings and knowing that they are expensive, the extensive industry that has been created from weddings alone is insane to me. As for feminist media studies, I was very interested, as someone who is a woman, it is interesting to see how these concepts are displayed in my daily life and impact me everyday. For instance, it is obvious that many pieces of media currently hold misogynistic values, but to see pieces of media created off of popular misogyny was baffling and upsetting.
Initially, comprehending Week 5 content about semiotics was difficult. As identifying different parts of a sign did not come easily to me. Nevertheless, it was interesting to recognize all the connotations society has created towards different notions, and how ingrained the sign system is within language.
The most important reading of the course in my eyes was the reading by Bell Hooks labeled Eating the Other. Although, as a person of colour myself, concepts spoken about in this reading were already known to me, nonetheless, it is so important to acknowledge the struggles people of colour go through, as frequently the media enables behaviour that is actually harmful to many minority communities. White folks themselves or those who grew up in environments without being surrounded by other cultures, may not realize the detrimental impacts of concepts like eating the other, which is why it is so vital to have these notions studied and acknowledged.
In my personal life especially, when consuming media I will be viewing and approaching it differently by using what I learned in feminist media studies. Sometimes recognizing harmful tropes is difficult when it comes to media one enjoys, nevertheless it still important to view everything from a critical lens and through the knowledge I have gained from this course I will be doing so. Misogyny in media is quite widespread, yet it can be hidden. Going forward when playing video games or watching television series, I am going to analyze whether there is a presence of misogynistic stereotypes. Particularly, in the gaming hemisphere there is still a stigma of women participating in playing and as female characters progress, there is still a presence of popular misogyny. Moving forward this course will help me identify those negative stereotypes in video games such as Genshin Impact, Valorant and more. 
To conclude, I thoroughly appreciated the teachings in this course and I do feel that my critical thinking skills have increased due to attending. Thank you.  ]]> 2022-12-06 12:38:28 UTC https://padlet.com/ayrabukhari/8cyog8f9oy03qlr3/wish/2410588296