Mason+Benjamin

=Our Interest in Bullshit=

My name is Mason Benjamin, and my question is "Why do people give a damn about the fake world portrayed by the media and 'reality' TV?" I've always wanted an answer to this question because I've always disagreed with the images the media portrays as sexy, questioned why I was supposed to be interested in stuff that, to me, seemed stupid that they put on TV, and wondered why so many people are absolutely fascinated by it.

Sources:

1. Berta, Joe. Personal interview. 17 Oct. 2010.
__Credibility/Relevance:__

This was a personal interview with my professor for cognitive psychology. It technically isn't scholarly because it wasn't peer reviewed, but he's a scholar and it's in a field closely related with one he teaches, so his opinion should be valuable. He's been teaching for a while, so I assume he's a pretty credible person. This article will be relevant to my paper, as I asked him if there was some specific psychological reason that all the stereotypes exist in the world today as far as beauty goes. He gave me the scientific answer on how some of it started, but didn't go very far into "why" people distorted these traits, and why they manifest themselves in an exaggerated form today.

2. Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.Dir. Byron Hurt. Prod. Byron Hurt. 2006. Media Education Foundation, 2006. DVD.
__Credibility/Relevance:__

This was a film I viewed online for my sociology course. It says at the bottom of the video during the entire stream that it is explicitly for academic purposes, and is non-profit in nature. As such, it should be credible. It was made for the purposes of education, and recommended to me by a professor, so it should have some validity. It is relevant because it's a documentary about the culture of hip hop, and it tries to understand why there exists such a culture of violence, discrimination, and hate in the hip-hop/rap lyrics and music videos, and to the attitudes surrounding them. It's not just some quick video, and I had to set aside a few hours to watch it, so there's a lot of information, and since he's asking essentially my same question from a different perspective in regard to a localized part of the media/fake world I wish to investigate, it should be very insightful and useful.

__Take Your Sources Out for Coffee:__

What you really seem to be saying here is that while the hip-hop and rap scene portrays an astronomical amount of violence, sexism, and hate, it isn't about any of those things and the various artists don't believe in the lyrics/images in the music videos. Mainly, what you are saying is that the artists produce what sells, and these messages are simply the result of what people are willing to buy, and that capitalism is what limits the genre. The artists can and would sing about things that other genres of music are about, however, "Ain't nobody gonna buy that candy-ass shit. They wanna hear 'bout you smackin' your bitch, and killin' chumps who disrespect you." While there are a few people who act or try to be "thugs," the majority are really just businessmen trying to sell a product, and to do that they need a certain image.

I really like your point about how the artists really feel towards their music, because on the surface, people would never get to see that. I agree with your point about how this is damaging to the music industry, because even though there's no real meaning in most of the lyrics, they offend people, and some people start to take on attitudes like this; which is not the goal, but an unfortunate byproduct. I don't really disagree with any of the points you make, it seems to me they're all insightful, and the in-depth research you're based on is very revealing and helpful. I don't like all of the beats however, some of them start to sound like the same generic thing, so I do think that the lyrics are important. I honestly like the cleaner songs. I agree with you about "hip-hop being a man's game," but disagree with you in that certain things are objectifying to women--I personally think a lot of it is equally objectifying to men, and that before a lot of the negative stigma is allowed free reign, people should think about it a bit more. What do you mean when you say that "you love all hip-hop?" There has to be some point where you draw the line. What in the world were you thinking with that? I mean, I love pop, and I love classic rock, and alternative rock, and hard rock, and a lot of metal, but a lot of the music in all of those genres sounds like crap to me. What I'm thinking about now, after reading you, is that the industry is really just a business. It's unfortunate that things are the way they are, because it seems like people would like and support a change if they had it available. What I want to know more about after reading you, is which artists are more popular than others and why, as a lot of the music has a tendency to repeat itself. What is the thing making certain artists filthy rich, where people playing the same sound are never going to get a break. Is it image? Or who you know, who endorses you?

3. Lickteig, Shane. Telephone interview. 16 Oct. 2010.
__Credibility/Relevance:__

This was a personal interview conducted over the phone with my first cousin, Shane Lickteig. He was on reality TV a few Summers ago on a Bachelor-type knockoff show. As such, he was able to provide the behind-the-scenes look I wanted into this fake world. It's not scholarly, but his inside experience will provide a new angle and prove very relevant to what I want to study. There's a multitude of information on the effects of this world, and documentation of how it works, but the making there-of is more limited. This gives me the ability to directly study the source of this "fakeness" by which America is spellbound. It's basically his account or word of what happened, and potential for bias lies in how truthful or accurate his recollection of the event was, but I see no apparent reason for him to lie about the event, and it was something fairly unique and major in his life, so I assume he recalls it pretty well. It's not cross-examined for truth, but it's not trying to sell anything or capture an audience.

__Taking Your Sources Out for Coffee:__

What you really seem to be saying here is that most of reality TV, in your experience, was scripted and fake. They changed a lot of the facts to better portray a certain type of story that they thought would sell better. They were just trying to generate a high number of viewers and make some more money, even though a lot of it was totally fabricated. It's interesting that you say it isn't necessarily scripted down to the dialogue because they don't hire people to really be actors, but they want them to play a certain role, for instance "act like a bitch, and just do the most aggravating things you could think of. Try to annoy people."

I really like how you show that even the people in the show are okay with it being scripted or at least mostly fake. They aren't trying to live up to the ideals, they're just there to make some money, and since this "fame" fascination is so prevalent in our culture, they're also there to have their fifteen minutes of fame and enjoy themselves. Even if they do have to sell out a little bit. What do you mean though when you say that it's fun. I suppose what you're getting at is that it's like Halloween or anything else that allows a person to be a completely different person for a little while. It's fun to pretend, even if you're fully aware that it's all fake. Like going to the movies, it's all about the entertainment value.

4. Steele, Tracey. "'Doing It': The Social Construction of S-E-X." __Sociological Footprints__ 24 Oct. 2010: 56.
__Credibility/Relevance:__

This was an article from my sociology textbook, __Sociological Footprints__. We had to read it in one of our units studying gender differences and different ways gender is constructed in society, and I thought it happened to apply to my topic. Our fake world is largely a result of stereotypes and gender inequality, and this article discussed how these two things are formed, and the differences between the effects of our society's current state on both genders. It shows the repercussions of our "fake world" and how it affects us as children and as adults, and alters who we are and what we are "allowed" to become based on our biological sex. I found it interesting and relevant, and as it's in a college text, it's scholarly and valid.

__Taking Your Sources Out for Coffee:__

What you really seem to be saying here is that while people think that gender is something inborn, it's really learned. You are saying that various socializing agents such as one's family, friends, peers, school, society, and culture overall have a set of views and beliefs about gender that we adopt. This construction is what you talk about--that is how this construction exists. You also seem to be saying that there is a large amount of gender inequality as a result of this construction of gender being quite unfair.

You claim that while people think there are only two genders, masculine and feminine, for those who are biologically male or female, that this isn't the case. There are a much larger number of genders than the stereotypes that exist. I like your point on this, because it stops unhealthy things like labeling people who don't fit a stereotype as having something wrong with them. That will take away a lot of psychological problems. Additionally, I agree when you say that these genders really are entirely socially constructed and that while they may at one point have been biologically or scientifically based, at this point they're perverted permutations of what once existed and that today's world continues to warp them into something that's overwhelmingly fake. I also like how you point out the large amount of gender inequality in the world, and also how you show some of the problems presented by this inequality. One such instance would be the glass ceiling on women's advancement in the work force or the astronomical amount of problems such as eating disorders brought up by the socially constructed schema of beauty.

5. Wadsworth, Tim. "Sexuality and Gender." Chem 140, Boulder. 14 Oct. 2010. Lecture.
__Credibility/Relevance:__

This was one of my lecture sessions in my Introduction to Sociology class. The focus was on sexuality and gender, and various social norms. He talked about what is/isn't acceptable to say, do, or think from a societal standpoint in regards to sex. He talked about different gender roles taught by the media, and had several slides relating to changing ideals on body image across the last 100 years with a lot of relevant examples. It's an interesting look at different social norms that we don't really think about, that still exist in the world today. A large portion in about gender inequality and the way in which women haven't quite attained the status of men today. I find it relevant, and as Professor Wadsworth is a professor talking about a subject he teaches, it aught to be pretty credible.