Most people in the Western world most likely know the popular 90s sitcom Friends, and know immediately that this image is associated with the show. An image of all the actors, possibly at Chandler and Monica’s wedding, because they’re in the middle and Monica is dressed in a different color. This image creates the feeling of happiness and friendship and positivity, maybe even humor because most know that the sitcom is a humorous one. Connotation may be that if you have friends and money, you will be as happy as these six characters are.

Myth: maintaining status quo of white people being high class and happy and beautiful. Making it seem like if you’re not from this type of social group (the white and rich) then you wouldn’t be as happy as the friends characters. Promoting Hollywood in a promotional image that make all actors look good and like they’re always having this much fun and wearing nice clothes. Poor people or POC will not be this happy or have fun times like this, so everyone should try to live up to the white social class. 

Their fandom can be used for good, rather than being seen as the cultural dupes that many older generations view them as. The K-Pop fans of the Kelly article clearly demonstrate the fact that teen girls, whether they’re black, white, Korean, American, or any other race, can be more than just what they listen to in their bedrooms after school. There is a power of communication amongst the marginalized groups (in this case, young girls).They have the capability to interpret their own meanings from songs, or from things they learn in everyday life, and because of what they interpret have a great impact on the world and future. So although many people still view the fandom culture as dupes that have no broad horizons, the real people apart of that culture are active in politics, society, culture, and anything else they wish to be involved in because they are active listeners that have the ability to make their own meanings from text.

Comedians, news reporters, memes on the internet all contributed to the mass production that the Frankfurt School predicted. Rather than being authentic and caring about what is really important and “deep”, most people thrived for the excitement that was bound to come, should Trump become the next President. And they were right. The four year term Trump served was filled with daily news – not only in the US but globally – of Trump and his radical speeches, news reporters and professional analysts interpreting the meaning of those speeches and actions, and mockery made in Trump’s name. Something we did not receive with Obama, and were surely not to be received with Clinton. Trump getting elected meant that people wanted more and more mindless entertainment, the very aspect of the audience that cultural theorists were looking for. What audiences want to watch, what they're interested in, and what will keep them entertained.

People are encouraged to adopt to the beauty standards that the public has set through the help of the reality tv famous kardashian family, such as working out several times a week, keeping up to date with the latest fashion trends as the kardashians do, talking with vocal fry, and wearing flawless makeup. If you participate in buying Kardashian skincare/ makeup, workout like them and try your best to achieve the Kardashian look, you will fit in with society and be happy. They are pushing the ideology that being like them is what’s best for you and you will be happier if you enact on their wishes.

Social media is a form of governmentality in the way that social media platforms are open for anyone, and a place where anyone from almost anywhere in the world to post and express themselves or their thoughts. Although platforms encourage set-regulation as to not break policies, users are able to guide their own conduct, whether for personal self expression or for business use that have specific aims.

The most compelling and saddening thing I learnt from Disclosure was the fact that trans men and women get physically harassed and attacked and feel unsafe just to be in public because of what the media has portrayed them to be. As mentally ill, or monsters, or something that should be seen with disgust. It was also compelling to see the transgender side of the story with scenes from famous films about how they were objectified and shown to be.

I believe to “eat the other” is cultural appropriation, mental and sexual desires of other races/ ethnicities and exploiting but also fantasizing about cultures other than whiteness. Whether black culture, Arab culture, or Asian culture, many white people try to appropriate certain parts of the Other for their own benefit. Even when not trying to be appropriative or racist, it becomes problematic. “Desiring” the Other – even with the intention of liking the culture they’re desiring – makes the Other stand out as different, when in reality everyone should be treated equally. 

Quote from text: “It is precisely that longing for the pleasure that has led the white west to sustain a romantic fantasy of the “primitive” and the concrete search for a real primitive paradise, whether that location be a country or a body, a dark continent or dark flesh, perceived as the perfect embodiment of that possibility.” This quote stood out to me because it explains the desire that many white people have of other races, because they simply can’t have it themselves. Even if a white person embodies black culture and takes or appropriates elements of that culture, they themselves will never be black. White people can desire all they want, but they can’t truly have, which is what makes the Other even more desirable. Because people often want what they cannot have.

Before, I would just watch movies or TV shows and formulate my own opinions on what I would see. Audiences are not assembled to think through the eyes of the marginalized, they are made to be fragmented, polymorphous and nomadic. [Doty, A. (1993). Chapter One -There's Something Queer Here/ in Perfectly Queer.] It's hard to break from this without being taught the true side of media. After learning about the course concepts taught, I can view media from the eyes of other people and how other groups may feel about what’s on screen. I have far more insight into how different types of readers may interpret text. I have also started to pay attention to who the media producers are in a certain TV show or movie I may watch. It was particularly life changing to learn about the male gaze, and how women are portrayed in media, many times solely for their body parts, or just as characters to support the male lead character. What I learned in this course will help me in my studies for not only communication courses, but every critical thinking course that I will take. It will also help me in my personal life, watching media content.

After taking this course, when I consume, media on my free time (usually on social media or watching shows/ movies) I am going to pay attention to what the underlying messages are. I will ask myself questions like how is this character being portrayed? Will this hurt a specific group by feeding the audience certain ways of thinking? Such as how transgender people are portrayed as dirty and something men throw up too, or how women are seen as objects, etc. I will take on a more intersectional approach by paying attention to how race, class, sexuality, etc. maintain the status quo of privilege and power.