Course Description

At the core of the course is the question how feminism has become a demonized and ridiculed “F-word” in an age when issues of gender and sexuality are at the center of constant, often explosive political debates. These debates often connect media representation and political representation but tend to do so in simplistic ways that bypass or distort decades of sophisticated feminist theory and practice. We will trace back such representations through the decades around case studies that encompass film, video, television and new media practices. The case studies come from the United States and beyond, taking into full account the global interconnectedness of media production and consumption as well as the transnational travel of feminist ideas. The main goal of the course is to evaluate how useful feminist thinking is to understanding the relays between media and political representation; and to develop a lasting critical apparatus to analyzing the politics of gender and sexuality in the media.


Monday, October 28, 2013

Similarities between BFGW and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

I was really shocked to see both Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Big Fat Gypsy Wedding during last class. Both shows totally threw me off and I could not make any connections between the characters in those shows and myself. While these people are real, since it is hard for most people to connect with them, I felt like the purpose of these shows were to make people feel horrified and distant from the characters even though these are reality shows.

First of all, in MFGW, I was really surprised to find out that these girls only go through elementary school (I don't recall them even graduating elementary school). And they live in England! Their mindset was so carefree and domestic-oriented that I wondered how they can be so different from most English girls when they live on the same piece of land. The things they valued, such as their desire to have the best dress ever, and the things they just accepted, such as letting the men choose women, was something that sounds so 15th century to me that it was hard to believe that such lifestyle is still ongoing.

Furthermore, it was even harder to connect with Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. I didn't really find anything that Honey Boo Boo does particularly funny or cute; I just hoped that she would grow up properly. Since it was reality tv, I had genuine concerns about her family.

Both shows made me feel uncomfortable watching it, and I was shocked (again) to read Skeggs, Wood, and Thumin's essay. It was about how women of different class react differently to reality tv. I wonder how those who are from different backgrounds would react to these shows? Would different people find these shows just amusing? Would they not be disturbed by these contents?
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