Sunday, February 3, 2008

Michelle Peterson

On Trivialization__________________
I really enjoyed reading McKee’s chapter on the history of “trivialization” and the history of MS Magazine. I really like how McKee used many instances in women’s lives that were once considered trivial, but that today, would be considered crucial in the public sphere. Our public sphere has changed so must just in the past thirty years! Being a woman, I definitely take my freedom for granted; I cannot imagine living during a time when I would be getting regular beatings from my husband! Wow! I think our public sphere is improving in promoting equality, freedom, and justice; just take a look at our presidential races. I disagree with Habermas in that our public sphere has not gone down hill, and is definitely better than it was during the eighteenth century. That said, Habermas does have some good ideas when he talks about people developing their own thoughts, “unspoiled by already knowing what other people think” (54). The media influences people so much that often times people will take the media’s ideas rather than forming their own.

McKee says, “The public sphere can offer not only rational information that changes our view on public issues; but also it can change our private lives, our sense of who we are” (58). Therefore, the public is personal and visa versa. Laws, amendments, everything that we vote for, has the ability to greatly impact our personal lives. The public and private spheres are connected, and our society cannot escape this. McKee brings up the issue of trust and how our society judges people based on what they do in their personal lives (60). This is especially true for people in political office. I do believe the media has too much control over what we hear. For example, it really bothers me that the war in Iraq gets 3 minutes of coverage, while Britney Spears gets countless minutes. I know that people want to be entertained and not have to think about the war, but the reality is that the war is not just going to go away on its own.

On “Some Like It Hot”___________
In the movie Some Like It Hot Joe and Jerry are forced to dress up as female musicians and go to Florida in order to escape from mobsters. While in Florida, Joe and Jerry run into all kinds of obstacles, including Joe’s falling in love with Sugar Cane, one of the other female band members, and Jerry’s engagement to Oscar, a rich older gentleman. At the end of the movie, the two take off their female garb and Sugar forgives Joe for having being deceived, and Oscar isn’t the least bit mad that Jerry is a man replying, “Well, nobody’s perfect!”

Some Like It Hot is a comedy that makes light of the gendered differences between women and men. Joe and Jerry define women as being “A whole different sex!” The two are called “real ladies” after pretending to be stereotypical females. For instance, they cross their legs when they sit, are very polite, and don’t curse. They even go so far as to go on diets. After Jerry and Joe get sexually harassed more than once, they come to understand what women have to deal with on a regular basis stating, “Men only want one thing from girls.” By making fun of the gendered difference between the sexes, the movie points out why it’s wrong to have so many stereotypes about a gender, and the theme of the movie is that women don’t enjoy being mistreated and how demeaning it is for a man to constantly hound a woman for sex.

On SK&P_______________________
I really liked the “Text Analogy” and how each new reading of a text is a new interpretation of the text. Many of us can relate to this when we take literature classes. Sometimes we have ideas about texts that scholars haven’t even considered before. Also, this method says we cannot have a direct knowledge of the world. This is easy to relate to because often times, people need to make their own decisions and own mistakes in order to find their knowledge of the world, and everyone has different knowledge concerning the world and life in general. Only through individual experiences can we grow and become more knowledgeable individuals.

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