Women in Sports Media: The Fight to Make it in a Man's World

Here is a direct look into women in the sports media. It has a been a struggle for women to gain acceptance in the sports broadcasting world. In a male dominant world, I discuss the past, the present and the future out look for women in sports broadcasting.





http://www.scribd.com/doc/45605730/Bobby-White-Shoes-Kiernan-Final-Dec


http://forum.sbrforum.com/players-talk/92226-best-looking-espn-female-reporter.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ESPN_personalities

http://www.danno.net/My_Pool_Tidbits_Top_10_Women.htm

Catfight: Competition Among Women

Competition among women is a pervasive and relentless reality. Women compete with each other for men, looks, jobs, attention. In asking both women and men about this issue, most admitted there was a problem, but no one could really pinpoint why. Is it the pressure we feel to be perfect, because that's what's expected? Is it in our nature? Is it because we live in a patriarchal society and men have set up this dynamic because they enjoy feeling that women are fighting for something they (men) possess?

Media has undoubtedly played on this idea of the catfight or the bitch-slap. They're have been countless headlines about celebrity battles between women.

My project brings this issue to light and gives examples of how media makers are profiting on the cliche of the Catfight and portraying women as petty, catty, hateful beings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdggm9jPacw

The Seeing

My Final Project; The Seeing, consists of elements such as illustrations, animation, web design, statistics and infographics. My main goal was to give the visitors of the website an awareness on the issue of how certain women see their bodies. Throughout the semester we've seen videos on how women see their bodies and how some would like to have the "ideal" female body through cruel practices and surgeries. By making this website, I wanted to raise some questions why women should be content by the way they look, and how there is no such thing as "ideal" female body. I have also given examples how this issue affects young teenage girls and what are some of the dangers.

http://www.tiredandangry.com/theseeing/

Lauryn Hill's Music and Its Message

As we learned this semester, media is a powerful force that influences society and, in turn, humanity as a whole. Throughout its evolution, media has taken on various forms. One type, which I concentrate on for my final project, is the recorded music of an artist. My essay analyzes Lauryn Hill's career as a recording artist and explores the meanings behind the lyrics in her songs. From her debut as a solo artist, 1998's "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" to 2002's live recording, "MTV Unplugged No. 2," Hill uses her music as a platform to spread her messages. With the fundamental message reminding us that we are who we are and that we should not conform to any socially constructed "standards."

Lauryn Hill's Music and Its Message

ART WILL ALWAYS CHANGE. PEOPLE WILL NOT.

The Final Project is video about women's portrayal in Western culture and Media and the audience's motivation towards changing the cultural trends. The whole idea of the film is to distinguish the categories of people. First, there are those who are drawn and enjoy the media blindly. The second category of people, are those who study and want to make drastic changes. The third group, which is my conclusion are the majority, they are the ones who aren't blind, they are media literate but ultimately do not care to make any changes. Like the contradictory nature of the title, the video’s ultimate goal is to show the contradictory nature of the characters, who are the representation of the masses.

The Link to the Final Project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD0DnuqR14U

The following are the links to the outside sources used for this project:

Bullen, Rebecca Richards. “The Power and Impact of Gender-Specific Media Literacy.” Youth Media Reporter. (2009). November 12 2010. http://www.youthmediareporter.org/2009/08/the_power_and_impact_of_gender.html

Didion, Joan. Slouching Towards Bethlehem. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1968.

The Color of Pomegranates. Parajanov, Sergei. Armenfilm 1968.

Dj LCM (e-cletus). Conta De Burgues.

Link to the soundtrack < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBl2T3b6-hc&feature=related>

Interview with an Educator

Growing Up Addicted to 60 minutes, I decided that I would try to emulate that style for my own interview this semester. Originally I was unsure what type of medium my project would be, but I felt emotions tell stories. As we blog, and tweet and post things, I felt that society is moving from textual to more visual.

I chose to interview the head principal of Lyons Community School (where I work) Taeko Onishi, not only to show some of the great things we do, but because I truly believe the community aspect of education has a huge role in media and gender studies. I also couldn't help but think of my first time meeting her at my job interview and not shaking her hand first because I didn't think she was the principal. I remember thinking to myself "what a stupid move" whether it was the fact that she was a woman, or the fact that she dressed like a hippie, I, like most people grew up with preconceived notions on how I expect a principal to look and act.

In this interview Taeko touches on Education as Medium, Being a Woman, and How it shapes her ideals.

Trailer

Preview:Interview with an Educator from wuta o on Vimeo.

Full Video

Interview with an Educator from wuta o on Vimeo.

The Princess Effect

Image Source - http://boingboing.net/2010/05/24/what-disney-princess.html

In today's society so many of our kids are raised by Disney Films. Of course there are several ways to interpret these films, especially the fairy tales, but my project focuses on the issue of self image. It's only natural for little girls watching these films to identify and idolize with the "Disney Princess". Unfortunately, the beauty possessed by Belle, Ariel, Cinderella and Snow White is the focal point of their respective films. Leading these girls believe that their self worth is solely based on what is on the outside. At some point they realize that they look nothing like the Disney Heroines. So, the process begins to take all measures to look like a princess and end up "Happily Ever After". Since, Disney is clearly not going anywhere, if we want to see a change we must support alternative forms of media and try to give girls a different and more positive message.