The readings for this week are closely related to the types of pedagogy several of us have been studying in our composition pedagogy course and the book from last semester's course on research methods, so I am beginning to feel knowledgeable on the topic.
Psychoanalytic analysis, with its emphasis on human desire and our overwhelming need to fulfill those desires, seems particularly controversial not because it is incorrect but because I don't think that most people want to admit that they have underlying desires that might appear abnormal at best (or downright deviant, especially when discussing a psychological sexual attraction to one's own parents). The discussion of voyeurism in this chapter explains much of the popularity of reality television shows in contemporary America. I will admit I have enjoyed countless hours watching the supposedly unscripted lives of the possibly rich and partially famous unfold on the television screen, but until I read this chapter I wasn't sure why, a reasonably intelligent person with more important things to do, would waste so much time watching the "real" housewives of various cities go about their lives. Now I know that I was just scratching a psychological itch. The discussion of the "male gaze" that is used to capture media was particularly interesting to me because I had never considered the different ways that male sex objects versus female sex objects are presented through the use of angles, body positioning, etc. I do wonder why they pick on Candies so much though, since they are not the only brand that shoots such provocative ads.
Many of the concepts of feminist analysis in this book were for me reiterations of much of what I presented on in composition pedagogy earlier this week. But one big difference for me between the way Ott and Mack dealt with the topic and the composition pedagogy book did not was that the former discussed in detail the ways that gender representations in the media negatively effect men as well as women. I think that men should be upset with the way they are portrayed as big, dumb morons who depend on their wives to take care of them, or thoughtless, uncaring, unfeeling assholes. I really like their definition of feminism and the way that it encompasses both genders: "a political project that explores the diverse ways men and women are socially empowered or disempowered" (178).
The chapter on queer analysis was eye opening for me, not because I didn't realize that homosexuals and bisexuals are often portrayed negatively in the media if at all (of course I knew that) but because so many shows that I thought were doing their part to end the perpetuation of negative stereotypes about homosexuals were really just reinforcing them and I never noticed! (Did you?) Wow, not even Will and Grace or Ellen or The L-Word or Roseanne? Just, wow. My favorite part of this chapter was when Ott and Mack proclaim that there is no such thing as heterosexuality or homosexuality, it's all just sexuality. I can't wait to unleash this concept on all the homophobes in my life.
Ott and Mack discuss gender performativity, a concept originated by Judith Butler, in more detail than I have previously been exposed to, and know I will constantly be analyzing myself and those around me to see in what ways they are "performing gender" as society expects them to. Also, I think I might intentionally act in ways that are outside of what is expected for my gender, even more so than I do already, just to enjoy people's reactions to the unexpected.
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