What a Man

Tough Guise 2 demonstrates how pop culture and media have shaped how we expect people to behave. Men are expected to be tough and result to violence for protection and to show dominance.  The film shows example after example of video clips that display men in this light.

The concept of masculinity has been used since Biblical times. The man is supposed to be the provider, protecter.During Roman times, men fought to be seen as glorious and strong. Today, it is uncomfortable when men cry in public. Men have always been seen as tough and their role has always been the same. We automatically view them in the light that pop culture replicates. Pop culture did not create this image of men. It was already a thing.

Think about it. Men have always been able to vote.Men have always been served by the wife. Men have always been the main source of income for the household. Men have always been a part of saving the day. I think it is extremely difficult to view men any other way.

Displaying men in this light has been normalized. I have started to watch a lot of reality TV. Vanderpump Rules aires on Bravo every Monday. The show revolves around a group of individuals who work at a restaurant in Beverly Hills. Every episode, I see this group party, get drunk, fight, and basically anything that is typical of a reality TV show. One of the guys, Jax, is a tougher looking guy. This past season, he has dealt with a lot of anger and cheated on his girlfriend. When I watch the show, I am honestly not surprised that he results to anger and frustration, and that he was the one to cheat, not the other way around.

Ultimately, I believe it would be extremely hard to hold pop culture to a higher standard when it comes to how they display men. Man’s portrayal in movies/shows will not change unless our society’s view of men begins to change.

 

 

Hayley Thomas – Q100

Growing up attending to Dunwoody High School, home to Ryan Seacrest, Hayley Thomas was aware of what the communication industry had to offer. Today, she has worked in radio for five year and is now a producer for Cumulus Media, more specifically The Bert Show on Q100.

Hayley began her radio career when she took mass communication courses her junior and senior year of high school. The Ryan Seacrest Foundation offers internships for college students, but since Seacrest attended Dunwoody, he offers the internship to seniors at Dunwoody as well. Hayley was offered the internship at the Ryan Seacrest Foundation radio station in the children’s hospital at Egleston.

Following her internship, Hayley attended Valdosta State University. She took an unexpected route and only attended college for one year. For some people, this would sound crazy, but for Hayley, it made sense.

She was a summer production intern for Q100 following her first year at Valdosta. While interning, Hayley met Adam Bomb, who offered her an additional internship. During her time on The Bomb Squad, a board operator position became available. Slowly but surely, Hayley worked her way up to be a producer for The Bert Show on Q100.

Hayley seized every opportunity life gave her. “Everything just fell into place” Thomas expressed.

Q100, 99.7 FM, is an top-40 contemporary hit radio station in Atlanta, GA. The station is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. According to its website, “Cumulus Media combines high-quality local programming with iconic, nationally syndicated media, sports and entertainment brands to deliver premium content choices to the 245 million people reached each week.”

 

Q100’s most popular show is The Bert Show. It airs weekday mornings; hitting the prime morning drive time hours. I listened to The Bert Show every morning on my drive to school. It’s entertaining, funny, and the show plays the most relevant songs. Q100 is one of my go-to stations in the Atlanta area.

Hayley’s days start early in the morning at 5 a.m. Before the show starts at 6 a.m., Hayley prepares the audio for the day. “Radio is all about timing,” Thomas informs me. There are three commercial breaks an hour, so Hayley is in charge of the songs, commercials, and promos. Her job is to make sure they run for the exact amount of time the hosts need before they go live again.

All of the songs are chosen for Hayley at the beginning of the day. The program director choses the songs that will play, how often they are played, etc. A formula is used to decide when and what is playing. This is why you hear certain songs over and over again because it is classified as a power song, therefore it must be played a certain amount of times throughout the day. Another part of the formula considers if the singer is a male or female and the speed of the song. For example, you cannot play two fast songs in a row or play only songs sung by women.

Working in radio has its perks. There are concert tickets left over, especially if contest winners do not pick up their tickets, celebrities come in and out of the studio for interviews, you can go backstage. Hayley has met artists like Meghan Trainor, DNC, and Hailee Steinfeld when they came in during their radio tours. She is able to have real conversations with them and really get to know them on a personal level since they are not trying to talk to fans or the press.

Excitement ran through Hayley’s bones when she had the opportunity to attend a Beyonce concert. A contest winner never picked up their tickets, so their loss became Hayley’s gain. “How could you not come pick up Beyonce tickets?” Thomas questioned.

Her best piece of advice is to be nice, but be tough. “In radio, there are a lot of strong personalities. It’s easy to be pushed around if you let them,” Thomas advised me. “They like to hire from within, so be nice but tough enough to showcase your personality and talent.”

Hayley Thomas knew what she wanted and strived to succeed. She seized every opportunity to gain experience through internship after internship. Hayley boldly introduced herself to radio show hosts Adam Bomb and Bert Weiss who gave her the opportunity to work for them. Radio is a tough business to be in, but Hayley is thriving in the entertainment industry.

Sit Back And Enjoy The Fight

Maybe it’s okay to be violent. How else are you supposed to solve a conflict? At least this is what has become the norm for on-screen entertainment.

The level of violence in a movie can change the rating from PG to PG-13 to R. Some form of violence is seen in the majority of movies, even movies for children.

The Lion King is a Disney classic. The movie is centered around Simba’s life in the Pride Lands. The scene that has scarred me since childhood is the scene where Mufasa, Simba’s father, dies. In this scene, Scar, Mufasa’s own brother, purposefully lets Mufasa fall into a wildebeest stampede. Meanwhile, Simba basically watches his father die and takes the blame for Mufasa’s death.

Tell me that is not a lot to take in as a child.

In other movies, violence is used for the good. I talked about the Avengers in my previous blog. A team made up of super individuals work together to end crime, potential world destruction, aliens, etc. Scene after scene is filled with fighting and people getting injured/dying. But as you watch the movie, you cheer on the fights because they are defeating the “bad guys.”

As a result, kids who watch the movies are pretending to fight, punch and kick as if they were superheroes. In their mind, these movies form an idea that if what you’re fighting for is for what you believe is the good, then it is okay. (spoiler alert: not everyone has the same opinion on what is good).

In class, we watched Boondock Saints which is about two brothers who seek and kill evil mafia thugs. In a way, they are doing “good” by eliminating these terrible men. At the same time, they are creating crime scenes filled with blood and plenty of dead bodies (I was not the biggest fan of that part).

Therefore, as a society, we have accepted the idea that violence is okay if it is done for the right reason. When we watch one man kill another in a movie, we are not even fazed by the fact that someone just died (granted, they are acting). When I am watching some movies or television shows, I even hope for certain characters to get killed off, so they will stop their evil actions. Sometimes I want them gone because the character annoys me. Either way, violence has become a simple solution in movies, and that creates this idea in our minds that it is okay.

Violence sells. It’s as simple as that.

The Good, The Bad, and The Superheroes

I love superhero movies. I make an effort to see every Marvel movie that comes out. There is something about the mix of action and humor that keeps me entertained. Normally in these movies, we see the concepts of good and evil as complete opposites, but is that truly the case?

In class, we watched The Killing Joke. The movie showcases the fight between Batman and Joker. In a way, they both need each other to keep doing what they are doing. We see the origin of the Joker. He got into his craziness because he got caught up in a bad situation. You can ask the question, has the Joker always been evil?

The real question is where do we draw the line between good and evil. In Captain America: Civil War, we see the division among the Avengers begin. One of the major causes of the divide is the choice to let the government have more control over the team.  One of the reasons in doing so is because things were getting out of hand. Yes, the Avengers were fighting the enemy, but there was no thought about the damage the fight is doing to their surroundings. Buildings were destroyed, bystanders still got hurt, yet the Avengers moved on to the next fight.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the Avengers, and I fully believe they are the good guys. It is just an interesting concept to consider. Pop culture and movies, such as superhero movies, construct what we learn to be good and evil. The good guys are the ones who are stopping the bad guys from crime, destruction, and killing.

These movies cause us to question how bad it really is to kill one person if it is going to save a whole city, or if fighting is a good solution. Should we really be cheering when the bad guy dies in the end? Ultimately, that is a character dying, which is not a good thing.

Elsa can be a controversial character in Frozen. Throughout the majority of the movie, she is seen as evil. She refused to foster a relationship with her sister and her powers froze her entire kingdom. Yet, in the end, we see that Elsa was misunderstood, and Hans was the true villain.

Perhaps, deciding what is good vs. what is evil lies in the intention of the character. The Avengers’ sole intention is to save the world from an even greater disaster. Elsa’s fear and lack of ability to gain control of her powers caused the frozen curse. Hans had hidden intentions that were solely for his glory, not anyone else’s. In the end, we need to examine the superhero’s intentions to determine how good or evil they truly are.

 

 

My Life Soundtrack

Everyone has a song that brings the back to a specific moment. As I get older, there are a plethora of songs that bring me back to multiple moments in my life. Below, I have created the soundtrack of my life. Each song reminds me of a specific time, place, and people.

Hakuna Matata

I spent my childhood going to DisneyWorld. When you are born in Orlando, you have a season pass. I have probably been over 1000 times. I have so many memories in those parks. Many of those memories have Disney music in the background. The best song to sum up this part of my life is Hakuna Matata from The Lion King. This part of my life is similar to Simba’s. I was young, playful, and dreaming of what’s to come when I get older. At that time, I was able to live a life of no worries like Timon and Pumba sang about. I would go back any time to relive my childhood.

Our Song

Going back to my fourth and fifth grade years, I finally began listening to music that was not for children. This is probably why I do not know all of the older songs we talk about in class. Our Song is the song that got me into country music and Taylor Swift. Every time I hear this song, I think back to when I was a girl scout with my troop. We would dance and sing to this song all of the time. I remember I was very shy at the time, so I would not scream it like everyone else, but it would make me smile. To this day, I still love this song, and I have been a fan of Taylor ever since.

We’re All In This Together

Everyone else is lying if they did not put this song on their life soundtrack. High School Musical was HUGE for our generation. It was on TV every week, some were sing-alongs and others would be dance-alongs. When it was not on TV, I would pretend to be the characters of High School Musical with my siblings. We would act out the whole movie in our basement. I know the whole dance to We’re All In This Together, so when I say we pretended, I mean we performed. I like to think that I am part wildcat, because “once a wildcat, always a wildcat.”

Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me

Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me always brings me back to summer nights at the Stone Mountain Laser Show. Stone Mountain is located thirty minutes outside of Atlanta. Meanwhile, it is ten minutes from my house. In the summer, the park plays a laser show for free every night. Some songs differ from one year to the next, but this song has been there for as long as I can remember. Every time I hear it, I think back to warm summer nights surrounded by my friends. Frisbees are thrown, kids are blowing bubble machines, and I’m eating Dip n’ Dots. While sitting on a blanket in the grass, I smile at the characters and lights that bring the song to life. These are the things I think about when Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me comes on.

19 You & Me

19 You & Me brings me back to spring break my junior year of high school. A group of friends and I went to Seaside, Florida. It was one of the best spring breaks I have ever had. It was full of good food, many laughs, and the prettiest beach. This song reminds me of the soft sand between my toes and the ocean breeze in my hair. The weird part about this song is that it reminds me of one of the friends in our group that I am no longer friends with. He introduced us to the song and was a big part of that trip. Once he went to college the following August, he left all of his friends back home behind. 19 You & Me is about a good summer in the past, and that is exactly how my spring break was. It is a relaxing song that brings me back to everyone in that friend group at the beach.

Let It Go

This song is the start of my obsession with Frozen. I did not want to see the movie when it first cam out. It was not until someone five years older than me told me how much she liked it. Once I saw the movie, I became obsessed. I can quote the whole movie. I know every little fact (Elsa has 420,000 strands of hair which is more than Rapunzel). I would cry every time Let It Go played at the laser show or during Disney’s end of the night firework show. The majority of my friends from home associate this song with me. Beneath my obsession, I relate to this song. I’m not the type of person to share my feelings. I conceal my emotions, so no one knows when I am upset. Let It Go reminds me to literally let go of every emotion I have held to myself.

The Heart

I talked about NEEDTOBREATHE in my previous blog. I’ve become a huge fan of theirs lately. Their songs have a Christian underlining. The Heart reminds me of Phi Mu, oddly enough. This song was in Phi Mu’s recruitment video when I was going through rush. It was the first time I heard the song. The Heart simply makes my heart happy. It puts me in a good mood and lifts me up. The Heart is a perfect song for my college years.

Called Me Higher

My faith is a foundational part of my life. The last song that would be in my life soundtrack is Called Me Higher. This song is a daily reminder that the Lord has called me to greater things. When I get anxious about what is filling up my schedule, I am reminded that God has called me to live a life not consumed by these temporary burdens. I have the option of sitting, lost in different paths that I can take, but God will guide me in the best path. My favorite verse is Isaiah 55:8-9.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

– Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

God has a much greater plan for my life, so I choose to follow him wherever that may be. As I continue through my life and get ready to graduate college, Called Me Higher reminds me to not stress about the future and let God lead me.

“You have called me higher
You have called me deeper
And I’ll go where You lead me Lord”

Could a success story like Oasis ever happen in 2018?

To have a success story like Oasis would be extremely hard. Could it happen in today’s generation? Maybe.

Oasis succeeded early on in the 90’s. Their rapid success is hard to come by. In three years, the band went from signing to a label to headlining Knebworth in 1996 in front of 250,000 fans. Oasis’s music defined the era in which they were performing. Looking back, we associate the style of music that was popular at that time, Oasis created that sound.

Today in 2018, we have a wide variety of musical styles. From Taylor Swift to Migos, it is hard to define our generation in one particular music style. Each month, someone new is dominating the top charts.

Although we do not have one particular artist to define our generation, that does not mean a success story cannot happen. It is extremely possible for a new artist to come in tomorrow and take the music industry by storm.

I think the closest success story we have (do not hate me for this) is Justin Bieber. The moment he was discovered, his popularity skyrocketed, and he is still popular today. He keeps his music in correlation to the current sound, but transforms it enough to be unique.

The only problem with succeeding in 2018 like Oasis did is the fact that our generation’s sound is always changing. There is no particular song or sound that defines an era as well as Oasis in the 90’s. Oasis gave a generation a way to understand the changes happening around them through music. The style that Oasis created will always have an impact on the nostalgia of the 90’s.

 

I have a NeedtoBreathe

Scenes in movies would not have as much emotion without background music. The soundtrack adds vibrance to the story. If my life had a soundtrack, I would choose NEEDTOBREATHE to sing it.

NEEDTOBREATHE is a Christian rock band from South Carolina. Their music isn’t categorized as worship music, but more of relational, uplifting pop-rock soundtrack. They are listened to by Christian and nonreligious audiences. In fact, they actually do not like being called a Christian band in fear of them losing a wider audience.

I chose NEEDTOBREATHE because their sound is a perfect blend of everyday life with a faith-based foundation. My faith is really important to me, so I do my best every day to live a life that glorifies Christ. Songs like Difference Maker, Multiplied, The Heart and Happiness are a few of my favorites because of the deeper meaning behind it.

In addition to the faith-based foundation, NEEDTOBREATHE’s music is perfect to listen to for all occasions. I have played their songs when I’m doing homework, having a picnic, hosting a dance party, and when I need a song to wake me up in the morning. Because of this, my choice is validated in NEEDTOBREATHE singing the soundtrack of my life. They can perfectly sculpt every small or large moment in my life.

I first heard NEEDTOBREATHE on 104.7 The Fish when I was in middle school. As I have grown older, they have become more popular. This is a neat concept to think about as well because they have grown as a band while I have grown in my life. Their music has been present in my highs and lows.

Ultimately, the band that people choose to be the soundtrack to their life has had some sort of impact on them as a person. It is amazing to see how people can capture the emotion written in a song. On the contrary, I am constantly impressed by a musician’s ability to captivate their audience to form life long relationships. NEEDTOBREATHE has definitely become a band that has walked with me through life. Therefore, they deserve to play the soundtrack of my life.

Glamorized Memories

With any memory we have, we black out the parts of the story that aren’t as glamorous. Think about Christopher Columbus. We think great things of him, have a holiday for him, but fail to remember the fact that he killed tons of Native Americans in the process of founding the Americas.

We do the same thing with sports. We idolize these cherished moments and athletes. This past week, Shaun White ran a killer gold-winning half-pipe in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. It was a monumental moment for the country and for White, but negative news broke out when the American flag White was holding dragged on the ground. We then have to collectively decide what about that moment we want to remember.

In Field of Dreams the main character associates his passed father with Shoeless Joe, who ended his career with a negative reputation. While the rest of the world thought negatively about Shoeless Joe, the main character adored him.

It’s amazing that we can have different memories (who we are with, our emotional impact, where we were) of one shared moment. Even if we create a fantasy out of that moment, it’s still a story worth sharing.

It’s Just for the Game

I don’t come across as someone who can get competitive, but trust me when I say I do. I fully believe that my worst self comes out when I’m in a competitive situation. I say things I shouldn’t say because I’m upset or to simply trash talk. I might get more aggressive than necessary. There are times that I have even gone days without talking to a friend who beat me. Personally, this comes from my self motivation to be the best at everything I do, but this behavior like mine (or even worse) is often accepted in society.

Growing up playing sports, I was required to line up and tell everyone on the other team “good game.” Did I actually believe it when I said it? Absolutely not. When I lost, my insides would be full of envy and bitterness. When I won, I wanted to boast and be cocky. These feelings are somewhat understandable for athletes, but if I behaved that way in my day-to-day life, then I would be in extreme amounts of trouble.

When I ran track in high school, it was completely normal for girls and guys to wear short spandex or shorts. The guys would have longer spandex than the girls. It took me a while to be comfortable in that uniform, but I was required to wear it because I was my only option.

If you look at what cheerleaders, volleyball, and tennis players wear compared to their male counterparts, it’s stereotypical. Even in sports, women have to follow a stigma of wearing “sexier or girly” clothes.

In sports, we let a lot of concepts slide. We allow more aggression, trash talk, anger, and sexism. Too often I have let my competitive side tarnish the well-behaved reputation I have built for myself. I dress conservatively, speak kindly, and if you know me, you know I am not aggressive. Yet when I play sports, I would wear skintight clothing, say/think rude words, and have an urge to punch someone on the other team (I didn’t, but really wanted to).

We just let these things slide. Why? Well, because it’s a sport. It’s entertainment. It’s a way for us to let out any bottled up energy. We will do whatever is necessary to be a part of this athletic culture. Even if that means loosening our grip on our values.

Be Pop Cultured

Pop culture is culture that is widely liked by a community. It varies from region to country to demographic, but pop culture is ultimately something that generates a large interest or fascination.

Pop culture is heavily impacted by media such as:

• Television
• Social media
• Magazines
• Radio
• Websites, etc.

With each generation, comes a new pop culture. It’s kind of like random spikes of things people become obsessed with. Today’s pop culture includes the following:

Movies

Movies play a huge role in generating pop culture. Just look at the world’s obsession with “Harry Potter,” “The Hunger Games,” or “Twilight”. A subculture even forms from these sagas.

Television

Television pop culture can be short-term or long-term. “Grey’s Anatomy” has been on for years, yet it is still a hit. Meanwhile, “Stranger Things” and “Game of Thrones” are new, but have generated a huge fan base. Television is also the source of quick pop culture news on shows like “Entertainment Tonight” or “E! News.”

Music

From what’s playing at the top of the charts to who’s performing at Coachella, pop culture flows through music. Songs can remind us of certain times in our life. For example, the “Cupid Shuffle” takes me back to middle school. If you turn on the radio, you can even notice a trend in the way songs sound. That is because listeners like certain sounds at certain times. In order to keep up with the latest sound, artists will produce something similar yet new.

Celebrities

You love them. You hate them. Sometimes you question why they are famous. Either way, we have formed a fascination in everything celebrity related. We love seeing their personality on talk shows and we are eager to watch them win awards. Truly, celebrities could be one of the biggest driving factors in setting pop culture trends.

Clothing

In order to feel pop cultured, you dress like you’re pop cultured. Styles of clothing come and go. Each person may dress differently, but you can still fit them into a category: hipster, free spirit, preppy, edgy, etc. Remember when Crocs were actually cool?

Health Fads

Diets, exercise, and food all have their own form of pop culture. Eating gluten-free is huge right now, but if you’re like me, then you are more interested in the rainbow food.

 

 

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Behind all of these forms of pop culture is a shared interest that binds everyone together. It gives everyone something to talk about, something new to try. Perhaps, pop culture is simply a way for everyone to come together and share an interest.