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WK 8, DAY 1: MYTHS OF PERSONAL IDENTITY HUMANITIES 006: POPULAR CULTURE

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W K 8 , D A Y 1 : M Y T H S O F P E R S O N A L I D E N T I T Y

HUMANITIES 006:

POPULAR CULTURE

BONUS POINTS

Off the top of your head, list the first 5 male artifacts in pop culture (characters from film & tv, or musicians, or athletes) that pop in your head for each demographic.

First three people with a complete list receives midterm extra credit.

If nobody finishes, extra credit goes to the student with the most entries after 10 minutes.

White Black Latino Asian Gay Handicapped

MYTHS

In groups of 4 or more, combine all lists onto one page. If a male pop culture figure is mentioned more than once, write his name multiple times.

Based on your combined lists, can you see any myths that might be perpetuated by our popular culture regarding these groups?

White Black Latino Asian Gay Handicapped

MYTHS

Pop Culture List

• List 5 current television shows that you are all familiar with.

• Now list five recent (last 5 years) films that you have all seen.

“THE MYTH THAT WOULD NOT DIE”

- BERNARD BECK

Page 124:

“Success, respectability, and familiarity have not

freed them from the taint of the Mob…Through the

dissemination of American ideas in movies and

popular culture, Italians have come to stand for

organized criminality all over the world.”

“THE MYTH THAT WOULD NOT DIE”

- BERNARD BECK

Questions:

• How many of you are Italian-American?

• Can you recall how Italian-Americans have been

portrayed in films and television shows on your pop

culture list?

• How many recent films and television shows can you list

that are about Italian-Americans, or feature Italian-

Americans, that are not about organized crime?

“TRYING TO GET BEYOND THE ROLE OF THE MAID”

- MIREYA NAVORRO (2002)

25 years as an actress, Lupe Ontiveros has mostly

played maids:

• Estimates has played a maid over 150 times.

• About auditioning for roles: “When I go in there and speak

perfect English, I don’t get the part.”

“TRYING TO GET BEYOND THE ROLE OF THE MAID”

- MIREYA NAVORRO (2002)

Questions:

• How many of you are of Latin heritage?

• Have you experienced any affects of this myth or similar ones?

• Can you recall how Latinos have been portrayed in films and

television shows on your pop culture list?

• How many recent films and television shows can you list that

are about Latinos, or feature Latinos?

“TRYING TO GET BEYOND THE ROLE OF THE MAID”

- MIREYA NAVORRO (2002)

25 years as an actress, Lupe Ontiveros has mostly

played maids:

• Notes that film “A Beautiful Mind” made no mention of John

Nash’s wife’s background (El Salvador), and casted a non-

Latina in the role.

Ontiveros’ last point applies to other ethnicities as

well..

THE LAST AIRBENDER

Nickelodeon Cartoon feature Asian & Intuit Characters

PRINCE OF PERSIA

Video game

BRING DOWN THE HOUSE

• Best-selling book was about a group of mostly Asian American males from MIT.

• Film Version: 21

REPRESENTATION

IN POPULAR CULTURE

• Many groups have limited representation in popular culture artifacts:

• So far we’ve discussed the following:• Women• Italian-Americans• Latinos• Middle Easterners• Asians

• Why might this be a problem?

• How might this negatively impact both those that are members of these groups and those that are not?

“DIFFERENT STORIES”

- CHRIS TUCKER

“It’s hard for everyone but it’s harder if you’re black, ‘cause there aren’t that many good movies being offered…We need to tell the stories from back then, but don’t just tell the stories where we got lynched and we got killed.” (pg140-141)

“In the future of black America, and the future of black Hollywood, there’s gonna be bigger and better stories…We have a culture of our own here in America that’s bigger than just doin’ a cookout.” (pg 142)

What was Christ Tucker’s main point by emphasizing the need for different stories?

FILM AND TV

Let’s see how right Chris Tucker was…

• How many of the following films are centered around an African-American main character?

• How many of the following films at least features a prominent African-American character and how is this character featured?

2013

BOX OFFICE RESULTS

1. Iron Man 3

2. Despicable Me 2

3. Man of Steel

4. Monsters University

5. Fast & Furious 6

6. Oz the Great and Powerful

7. Star Trek Into Darkness

8. Gravity

9. World War Z

10. The Croods

11. The Heat

12. We’re the Millers

13. The Great Gatsby

14. The Conjuring

15. Identity Thief

16. Grown Ups 2

MYTHS

Let’s take a look at the film list again and see how each of the following groups are represented:

White

Black

Latino

Asian

Gay

Handicapped

Females

2013

BOX OFFICE RESULTS

1. Iron Man 3

2. Despicable Me 2

3. Man of Steel

4. Monsters University

5. Fast & Furious 6

6. Oz the Great and Powerful

7. Star Trek Into Darkness

8. Gravity

9. World War Z

10. The Croods

11. The Heat

12. We’re the Millers

13. The Great Gatsby

14. The Conjuring

15. Identity Theif

16. Grown Ups 2

REPRESENTATION

IN POPULAR CULTURE

Many groups have limited representation in popular culture artifacts.

• Why might this be a problem?

• How might this negatively impact both those that are members of these groups and those that are not?

REPRESENTATION

IN POPULAR CULTURE

• If myths are the stories that we live by,• And myths are often perpetuated by popular culture,• Then the less representation in popular culture• Means less myths for a person to choose from.

Under representation can unconsciously limit a person’s view of what is possible for his/her life.

This also limits what other people think is possible for members of the under represented group.

In general, under representation can negatively influence our values and beliefs because they are the result of limited

perspectives.

ANDERSON COOPER AND RACE BIAS STUDY

(KENNETH CLARK “DOLL EXPERIMENT”)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSdKy2q6pEY

W K 8 , D A Y 3 : M Y T H S A B O U T O U R R E L A T I O N S H I P S T O O T H E R S – T H E F A M I L Y

HUMANITIES 006:

POPULAR CULTURE

FAMILY STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS

What myths are being perpetuated about family structures and how family members should interact

with one another?

POP CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

Jennifer – Make Everyday Count

POP CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

Jennifer – Family Dinner

POP CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

Samantha – Family Guy

POP CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

Disney Dads http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXczlTp90Fo

FAMILY

1950S REVIEW

What myths about family were perpetuated in the 1950s?

The following is an “educational” short film made to teach families

how to interact.

Questions:What is the structure?How do they interact?

POP CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

Suman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFR5KT98dIw

POP CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

Modern Family: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_CmBsi17_0

POP CULTURE AND THE FAMILY

Teen Mom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezfAYDCIGoM

AND ALL OTHER SIMILAR SHOWS ON CABLE

FAMILIES ON TV (2012-2013)

Rank

5 ABC Modern Family 4.9 6190

12 CBS Two and a Half Men 4.1 5206

14 NBC REVOLUTION 4 5092

18 ABC Once Upon A Time 3.6 4492

19 FOX Family Guy 3.6 4559

28 CBS MIKE & Molly 3.2 4033

34 FOX Simpsons 2.9 3703

36 NBC PARENTHOOD 2.8 3506

FAMILIES ON TV

So what types of myth are being perpetuated about how family members interact with one another?

So what types of myths are being perpetuated about what a family is and how it is structured?

INFLUENCE OF POP CULTURE ON

THE MEANING OF “FAMILY”?

2010’s American Family Re-defined

FAMILY AND POP CULTURE

Results:

• More variety of family structures.

• Various ways of interacting with parents.

Is this good? Why or why not?

How is this related to our discussion about limited representation in pop culture?