Growing up with a strong mother and three strong, older sisters will certainly do one thing to you: turn you into a feminist. In the strictest sense, I mean this definition: "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men" (dictionary.com). I remember one particular fight with my sister where I had no where else to turn but this line: "you are fat!" Man, did I get it for that one. Bottom line: all human beings deserve equal respect (except Rush Limbaugh and Andy Dick . . . joking!).I can't recall the first time I heard the Leslie Gore song but I know exactly where I first saw the Fiona Apple video: my good friend Alec's basement on his jumbo TV, freshman year of high school. As I was a hormonal teen, I recall being perplexed about the video. The Zeltner article alludes to this same sort of complexity when it asks: "If Madonna is declared a positive role model for adolescent girls because of her defiant, take-charge stance in her videos, then what can be said about Apple's influence on her fans and her peers?" Surely, at the time, I was confused as to whether I should give into my natural prepubescent instinct to think that the video was "super hot" or to go deeper in my thinking and wonder why this video accompanied such a terrific song.
Flash forward to 2005 when Fiona Apple released her marvelous album Extraordinary Machine and I think Zeltner's arguments fall rather flat - especially since Apple has since utilized her musical prowess and integrity to further her artistry - rather than be the sex symbol he makes her out to be in this article.
Suffice it to say however, MTV will turn the sweetest 19 year old ingénue and make them due their evil bidding - it is - after all - all about the almight dollar.
This all ultimately leads to the Lil' Kim video (which is stuck in my head now—Thanks Thom!) . . . it is difficult to list all the reasons I hate the video:
1) It commits what is in my mind a cardinal sin - taking an innocent childhood memory and sexualizing it (Tootsie Pop Commercial)
2) Sisqo is in it! (Really? The "Thong Song" didn't eviscerate his career?)
3) Very, very poor special effects
4) Objectification of women as a means of "taking control" . . . yeesh, since when did this become the motto of the womens power moment?
If you really want a provocative read: check out this article - and then tell me that you are willing to have a daughter in this world.
It truly breaks my heart when I see one of my 9th grade girls wearing a Playboy shirt. Something that used to be blacked out behind a scummy gas station counter (when I was growing up) is now trotted around before thousands in a public school. How have we come to the point in our society where it is okay for a 14 year old girl to advertise pornography in school?
It is difficult for me to continue writing this without sounding like some radical, hypocritical, parenting, Christian, naysayer, but I truly believe in the sacredness of the human person. I think that we should all be free to be who we are as adults and to be open and accepting to all kinds of thinking and sexual freedoms. I am 100% trying to move towards a culture of tolerance. HOWEVER, I think that there is a THICK line between tolerance and the acceptance of deplorable things. I think that pornography and its mainstream-ization (you owe me one Oxford English) is deplorable.
I see a fat line between the Gore/Apple/Kim videos and I do not like the progression. One thing (man I feel like a puritan in The Crucible right now, ugly hair and all) I always like to do when I see something that shocks me - is go back in my mind and think of similar occurrences in history. That way, at least I can ignorantly think: "well, it happened before and we are all still here and hopeful!" But I hear/see things like the following:
And I cannot place a similar occurrence in history. Caligula? Las Vegas? Ancient Rome? Maybe... but the inescapable lull of the beat, the orgiastic imagery, the UGLY men . . . I mean, do women seriously writhe in ecstasy when they see the Ying Yang Twins? Doubtful.
On its own, that video and the thousands like it would never bother me. I could easily laugh about them for hours with peers and think nothing of them. But then, I look into the soulful eyes of my students and I want to irradicate all traces of such recordings because kids are impressionable! Kids do make stupid decisions (even with awesome parents)!
I think that the best thing we can do is to have these conversations with our students. We cannot stand there and play "see no evil, hear no evil" with our students or our children. It is crucial to have an open dialogue and to introduce and promote the many, many positive examples out there.
I think you bring up a great point, especially in the context of education, about wanting to be accepting of "all kinds of thinking" and yet feeling very strongly that there must be a line drawn when it comes to things that are, well, just plain inappropriate. The problem with many artists (musical or visual) these days is that the desire to "shock" one's audience seems to have replaced the desire contribute to their medium in a meaningful way. This is of course why it is so important to get kids to think critically about what they are seeing and hearing everyday.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post Joe. I am really feeling what you are saying. I remember getting in trouble in school when I had an O'l Dirty Bastard (and there was nothing on the poster but his face) and now it is okay to advertise play boy in grade school. I believe that as the world begins to become tolerant of what we do, the music will become tolerant of it which in terms will make the world more tolerant. I did find it interesting that you said "Objectification of women as a means of "taking control." I say this because most of the time when we use this phrase, we relate it to the opposite sex doing the objectification but in this case it is coming from the same sex. I would love to hear more of your thoughts on that.
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more: "...kids are impressionable! Kids do make stupid decisions (even with awesome parents)!" As active people in youth's lives (whether a parent, sibling, mentor, teacher, etc.) we need to make sure there is open conversations. You are absolutely right playing "see no evil, hear no evil" does an injustice to our youth. Whether we like it or not (chosen or not) they are exposed to such media as Lil' Kim's How Many Licks video. It is our jobs to keep the lines of communication open, answer the hard questions and guide them during the impressionable years.
Joe, I think that being raised in a family full of estrogen had a good effect on you! I can say the same thing for my dad; he had three daughters poor dude...at least you and your father had each other). Needless to say, having three women definitely made my dad have a strong opinion about his daughters in regards to their (our) clothing, word choices, activities, and so on. I was kind of the wild child out of us three girls, and man did I push all the wrong buttons on my dad. At the time, I didn't see what the big deal was if I wore a mini-skirt to the fair when I was 14. I mean, come on! NOW, I think, WTF was I thinking? My dad had every right to scold/ridicule me. This is why it is so crucial that children and adolescents be educated about pop culture, sexuality, and images, and the meanings they convey. However, I DO believe that I was slightly educated about it growing up, but I didn't give a rip about what adults thought or what message I was sending. If I was breaking rules, I was satisfied. My question is, how can we go about educating students about this kind of stuff and have it actually affect them? How can we seep it through their (I hope) rapidly growing brains that wearing this provocative clothing and degrading yourself to this level is NOT something you want to strive for?
ReplyDeleteAfter exploring my thoughts on this comment, I'm realizing I give props to those females out their who do break down barriers. However, I, myself, could never go to the extremes that they achieve, nor would I ever surround myself with individuals like them. What does this say? I guess I'll have to sit on that question for awhile.
Joseph,
ReplyDeleteYou are a blogging genius (like I need to tell you this). Anyway, I'm glad you put "Extraordinary Machine" on there, I love that song, and it kind of serves to answer Zeltner's question about how Apple career would progress after "Criminal" (a song which I believe he called "forgettable." What?!) I think that she was not simply selling herself as a sexual being in that video, she was making a statement that was more complex than (especially when one considers her personal backstory).
As far as Lil' Kim...yeah, uh, gross. I don't mean to sound like an old man here, but I did not like the video for many of the reasons you mentioned, including Sisqo, but also because it seems to say that a woman's power is in her sexuality. It's as though she's saying, "If you want to have control over men, over your life, over your money, then the best way to do that is by using your body." Huh? Really? Well, my bet is that Lil' Kim was thinking less about impressionable young boys and girls, and more about how she could make as much money as possible.
Hey Joe,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to commend your Blogging skills, your posts always have links to other articles and media embedded. Well Done! I wish I had the time, energy and/or know-how to make my blog look like yours!
I feel you with the Playboy t-shirt aversion. Never have I felt older as when I was student teaching this past March and I had to tell a high school girl to put on 1. pants (she was wearing a Playboy t-shirt that she had MacGyver-ed into a dress) and 2. a sweatshirt (it was March in Minneapolis for crying out loud!). She looked at me scathingly and said, and I quote: “wow, you sure don’t look like a 64 year old republic church lady.” I can assure you that I had to bite my tongue, but I’m wondering when it became ok to not wear enough clothes to school and to take it even a step farther by wearing a Playboy bunny, a symbol of female objectification if there ever was one, to school?
I can’t solely blame Lil’ Kim or even the Ying Yang Twins (I admit, I do like to dance to their music, but I am of age to do so without being subliminally brain-washed into wearing Playboy bunnies on any part of my body), but I know they are part of a bigger culture that is part of the problem. Women as sex-symbols, either using sex as their only claim for power or playing a ‘male part’ to be thought of as in control, is not an environment that I want surrounding my future offspring as they grow and develop. I think it is more important than ever, as you said, to talk to our kids/students and to bring these things up so that they themselves can analyze what is being catapulted at them in surprising quantities every day. Pop culture needs to play a role in the classroom, a significant role, if our goal is to truly prepare our students for life after (and DURING) academia!
The student who was wearing the Playboy t-shirt turned in the most heartfelt and damning song about her father and his abusive presence in her life. I do not wish to play pop-psychologist on this one: but there has to be a connection, there just has to.
ReplyDelete- Joe