Music to TV and Back Again

Valerie Wee discusses how media reshaped television of teens in the 90's, using Britney Spear's appearance on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" to illustrate her point. Britney's appearance and singing was nicely arranged to advertise her newly relished CD. Targeting the young female audience who watched the, at that point in time, popular TV show; and prompting them to run out and purchase Britney's new album.It seems to be a common practice for stars from one genera to, such as those in the music industry, to use another genera, such as TV, to promote their work. And it’s not just musicians using TV to sell their albums. Actor will often use the music industry to further or expand their own careers.

Cool and Uncool

"Merchants of Cool" gave voice to what everyone secretly thinks but never really says or even really realizes that they think it. Nobody ever seemed to realize it but the marketers have always been selling what’s ‘cool’. Nobody ever seemed to ask way what they were selling us was cool; we just accepted it as being cool. After seeing the video and thinking back you realize that what they were selling you was cool because you’re the ones who told them it was cool in the first place. But of course they harp on it and then it becomes uncool. So the whole thing starts allover again. And the sad thing is that even if you still like the item that is no longer cool you have to give it up because it’s now uncool. I don’t now what’s sadder. The fact that we need big companies to tell us what we already know is cool is actually cool. Or that we will willingly give up something that we enjoy just to stay cool.

Who's on TV

"Women and Television" states that there are more men on TV than women. Over the last 30 or so years the number of women in the TV industries, not just actresses mind you but actual corporately inclined individuals, has in fact gone up. However the number of woman in the field is still not equal to the number of men in the field. Now at first glance you do see what looks like an equal mix of men and women who broadcast the news each and every day. But if you really look there are definitely more men on the local news at night than women. Now I think men and women can do the same jobs regardless. Unfortunately some people still seem to be stuck in the past. Women have to work twice as had as men to get the same chance a good deal of the time and it’s not fair. Now I will admit that the whole deal with men and women in the workforce have gotten better. Really it has, but its still there. And as far as I can tell it’s not coming to an end anytime soon.

Who's to say what's cool and why

As far as Yousman is concerned, ok I’ll admit that some people do have this whole 'Black is cool and White teens listening to rap and hip-hip in order to be cool' mentality. But to some people it’s just music. I like Celtic Folk music, and the fact that River Dance was some big hit has nothing to do with that. Not that I didn’t like River Dance; great music and loved the dancing. Now Lord of the Dance did leave something to be desired however. But the majority of the time people don’t act against their own will or desire so there not going to go along with something just because (Yes I know that is a very idealistic view and has almost no basics in fact). Basically people listen to what they want to and tend to ignore what they dislike.

On and off camera

Hall states that stereotyping reduces, essentializes, naturalizes, and fixes differences. It’s kinda hard not to disagree with that. That’s all a stereotype is designed to do. It cuts you down to the most basic of degrading ideas/views and doesn’t allow you to escape from those views/ideas. I don’t see how there can be such a thing as a good stereotype. I mead anything that has to cut you down to some base level to describe you isn’t capable of being a good thing. And even though we seem to find then funny and laugh our heads off when we see them on TV in reality we find them to be hurtful and degrading to ourselves and those around us. I mean if we hear or saw a stereotype on the street we’d be offended by it, but if we saw it on TV we’d fid it funny, laugh at it and almost seem to thinks it ok. Kinda of like saying it’s not real just because it’s on TV when if fact it is very real and the fact that we ignore it on TV is very disconcerting. That kind of behavior only allows stereotypes to prosiest in the world today.