Something that really caught my attention in class the other day was when I heard the possibility that with science, one day there would be no need for men on this planet because women could reproduce for themselves. That was a scary thought.
Watching a basketball game on television last night, I decided to pay closer attention to the commercials than I normally do. Products that were advertised were pickup trucks, fast food, credit cards and beer. Obviously, the media knows that on a sports channel, the majority of the audience is male and they design their ads sell to them. In the commercials, men were usually portrayed in ways that showed as if they were in control of a situation.
Next I looked through the ads in a Sports Illustrated magazine. I found those to sell HD TVs, iPods, tool sets, watches, SUVs and cologne. The same principles from tv ads applied to the magazine ads. These usually pictured a well-known athlete with the product, also looking as if he were powerful, rugged and in control. Or, for example, in the cologne ad the athlete was made to look sexy lying in the woods with his shirt unbuttoned and a woman leaning on him. I don't know about other men, but when I occasionally put on cologne I don't end up like this.
So adding a male athlete to endorse a product certainly sells to other men reading the magazine. How about the ad at the very end of the magazine that showed racecar driver Danica Patrick, who is a woman, looking tough to sell an antifreeze product? This one is interesting to me because, although I don't follow racing, I know that most men either love her or hate her for succeeding as a woman in a male sport. So I'm not sure if most men see this ad and want to go buy the product or refuse to buy anything from this company now because Patrick is a sponsor.
Paying attention to commericals and ads can give you some good sources of masculinity. If you look beyond what is on the surface and break it down, you can always find a subtle clue. Advertisers spend a lot of time on their ads and everything the choose to put in it has been carefully thought out. So look a little closer next time you are watching tv or reading a magazine.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Jay-Z's new album fits structural patterns
Jay-Z, president of Def Jam Recordings, announced his retirement from rapping four years ago. However, he ended it last winter when he came out with his Kingdom Come cd. He has just ended his retirement a second time.
Jay-Z was inspired by the new movie American Gangster, out in theatres now, which he saw in an early screening over the summer. The movie stars Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe in 1970's Harlem in the midst of a heroin investigation. This caught the attention of Jay-Z, who grew up in Brooklyn, and reminded him of his young adult life on the streets. So Jay-Z went to work creating his cd also titlted American Gangster. It was released Tuesday after the movie's first weekend in theatres.
What intrigued me the most about Jay-Z's new record though, was something that he did differently than his past albums. He put together the 13-song album as a story arc of what his life might have been like if he had not taken the path as rapper. In a USA Today article, he stated that American Gangster is meant to be listened to as a single work.
"It's a concept album, not a collection of singles, and I want it heard in the way I intended it. A painter doesn't sell a section of a painting. He sells a whole body of work."
Jay-Z's past albums have been collections of hit singles, for the most part. American Gangster is different. The account follows structural patterns that we have studied in class the past week. It has a beginning, where Jay-Z's character is in a stable situation, but then comes a disruption where he makes some bad decisions involving illegal acts. He goes through a series of events in which he learns from, and there is a definite resolution, which is up for interpretation on whether the character grows from his mistakes or falls back into the trap where he started.
So the record fits character patterns as well as narrative structures. It has a clear beginning, middle and end. Jay-Z has taken some steps to prevent fans from listening to the album out of order. He chose not to release the cd to sites that let users to download and purchase songs one by one. There are two bonus songs that have been released but are not part of the story arc.
I think it is a very cool idea that Jay-Z decided to design his cd as a narrative. It is something new and fresh and just another example of how narrative structures are used in society, especially in the entertainment business. I was also interested in what Andrew Keen had to say Thursday night about the music industry and how the internet has affected it and will continue to shape it. I have not yet heard American Gangster but am extremely excited and looking forward to doing so very soon.
Jay-Z was inspired by the new movie American Gangster, out in theatres now, which he saw in an early screening over the summer. The movie stars Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe in 1970's Harlem in the midst of a heroin investigation. This caught the attention of Jay-Z, who grew up in Brooklyn, and reminded him of his young adult life on the streets. So Jay-Z went to work creating his cd also titlted American Gangster. It was released Tuesday after the movie's first weekend in theatres.
What intrigued me the most about Jay-Z's new record though, was something that he did differently than his past albums. He put together the 13-song album as a story arc of what his life might have been like if he had not taken the path as rapper. In a USA Today article, he stated that American Gangster is meant to be listened to as a single work.
"It's a concept album, not a collection of singles, and I want it heard in the way I intended it. A painter doesn't sell a section of a painting. He sells a whole body of work."
Jay-Z's past albums have been collections of hit singles, for the most part. American Gangster is different. The account follows structural patterns that we have studied in class the past week. It has a beginning, where Jay-Z's character is in a stable situation, but then comes a disruption where he makes some bad decisions involving illegal acts. He goes through a series of events in which he learns from, and there is a definite resolution, which is up for interpretation on whether the character grows from his mistakes or falls back into the trap where he started.
So the record fits character patterns as well as narrative structures. It has a clear beginning, middle and end. Jay-Z has taken some steps to prevent fans from listening to the album out of order. He chose not to release the cd to sites that let users to download and purchase songs one by one. There are two bonus songs that have been released but are not part of the story arc.
I think it is a very cool idea that Jay-Z decided to design his cd as a narrative. It is something new and fresh and just another example of how narrative structures are used in society, especially in the entertainment business. I was also interested in what Andrew Keen had to say Thursday night about the music industry and how the internet has affected it and will continue to shape it. I have not yet heard American Gangster but am extremely excited and looking forward to doing so very soon.
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