As I read the reading "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger, all I could imagine was advertising and shows on television since I barely read or look through magazines but I can still see what many Americans value as a culture. All the ads make it is easy for me to see that Americans value the ability to have choice and not only choice but the option to make it seem like we belong in a higher class by buying something that is supposed to make us feel better. Also what we value as a culture is to be RICH and have power, to have others envy us like Berger says, "This more, it proposes, will make us some way richer- even though we will be poorer by having spent our money." Which brings me to my thought that people love to see nice things on tv where celebrities have so much and as viewers we sort of fantasize to be like them and WANT what they have. This is a fantasy for many because those we see on tv that many viewers look up to are the 1% of our population. An example I can think of is "Keeping up with the Kardashians" this tv show has massed a large following and people cannot get enough of their lives. The many seasons that the show has been on air is evident that viewers love this show. They live a glamorous life and many people look up to them because of what they have and what they do. Then in turn many of the characters on that show are endorsed to do ads for different companies that offer the "high class" feeling when you want to buy those products. Again to gain that feeling of being in a higher class then you belong so others can envy you.
This brings me to another reading question which I believe coincides with the previous subject. When Kilbourne claims that pop culture idealizes dangerous, exploitative, or dysfunctional relationships between men and women, I still think of the Kardashian family. Lets back track a little and think about how this family got famous. The mother Kris Jenner was the former wife of O.J Simpsons attorney Robert Kardashian. That was their first claim to fame, and then to blow things up even more is when Kim Kardashian had a celebrity sex tape released with rapper Ray J. After that tape came out there was so much publicity involved and advertisers jumped up and endorsed Kim Kardashian to many beauty products and now many young women look up to her. To relate to the sex tape to normal culture is that pornography is being more acceptable and it causes more women to be involved and linked to taboo sex acts. Speaking from experience growing up and talking and courting women I would be involved with girls that were typically what you would call "goody two shoes" and safe women. But after getting to know them sexually the women were very turned on by the taboo sex acts of being treated like crap or what you would say not traditional sex. I would think is that after these celebrity videos get exposed many other girls get interested in those type of things.
Before this gets out of hand and I rant on further I would like to share another example of how pop culture can Idealized dangerous relationships. Very recently a man, Jeremy Meeks(pictured below) was arrested in Stockton, CA with FELONY weapons charges and when his mugshot was posted online, it went viral. And what I mean by that is women were literally flocking to him and commenting on the picture talking about how he was too sexy to go jail. And some women were even offering to pay his bail so they could get a chance with him completely disregarding that this man could be very bad because he is a felon. Since the photo got so much publicity the man even got offered a modeling contract! Also on other social media networks like twitter and instagram people created a hashtag #feloncrushfriday! This is a great example how Americans value as a culture and how popular culture idealizes dangerous, exploitative, or dysfunctional relationships between women and man.
This brings me to another reading question which I believe coincides with the previous subject. When Kilbourne claims that pop culture idealizes dangerous, exploitative, or dysfunctional relationships between men and women, I still think of the Kardashian family. Lets back track a little and think about how this family got famous. The mother Kris Jenner was the former wife of O.J Simpsons attorney Robert Kardashian. That was their first claim to fame, and then to blow things up even more is when Kim Kardashian had a celebrity sex tape released with rapper Ray J. After that tape came out there was so much publicity involved and advertisers jumped up and endorsed Kim Kardashian to many beauty products and now many young women look up to her. To relate to the sex tape to normal culture is that pornography is being more acceptable and it causes more women to be involved and linked to taboo sex acts. Speaking from experience growing up and talking and courting women I would be involved with girls that were typically what you would call "goody two shoes" and safe women. But after getting to know them sexually the women were very turned on by the taboo sex acts of being treated like crap or what you would say not traditional sex. I would think is that after these celebrity videos get exposed many other girls get interested in those type of things.
Before this gets out of hand and I rant on further I would like to share another example of how pop culture can Idealized dangerous relationships. Very recently a man, Jeremy Meeks(pictured below) was arrested in Stockton, CA with FELONY weapons charges and when his mugshot was posted online, it went viral. And what I mean by that is women were literally flocking to him and commenting on the picture talking about how he was too sexy to go jail. And some women were even offering to pay his bail so they could get a chance with him completely disregarding that this man could be very bad because he is a felon. Since the photo got so much publicity the man even got offered a modeling contract! Also on other social media networks like twitter and instagram people created a hashtag #feloncrushfriday! This is a great example how Americans value as a culture and how popular culture idealizes dangerous, exploitative, or dysfunctional relationships between women and man.