Ott and Mack 71-149

First of all, I really like how Ott and Mack set up each chapter by offering the perspectives of different theorists to form a foundation for the concepts discussed in that chapter. As someone who relies more on the application and putting into practice of a theory to more fully understand it, it helped to see how, for example, the philosophy of pragmatism has developed as a result of continuous discussion, reexamination, and reapplication put forth by William James, John Dewey, and Richard Rorty. That said, I think these chapters will be particularly helpful in writing my critical analysis paper.

One thing I have a hard time wrapping my head around when it comes to media regulation is the subjectivity of what is deemed acceptable for public viewing and what is not--particularly when it comes to the issues of sex and violence. I've always had a problem with the fact that we have become so desensitized to violence in our society that we don't bat an eye at blood and guts, but it's a bit of a shock to (gasp) see a woman's naked breasts on television. It really makes you wonder what the media's motive is when violence is okay, but a human being in his or her natural state is considered filthy and unfit for the public eye. This article from feministing.com sums up my thoughts pretty well:
http://feministing.com/2011/06/30/sex-is-inappropriate-for-minors-but-violence-is-a-ok/

"Culturally, if you look at movies or video games, violent content is always considered more age appropriate then sexual content. MPAA ratings tend to allow violent content in PG-13, but absolutely no nudity. And many of these video games have violent sexual imagery, or highly sexualized imagery. Do they in and of themselves cause young men who are playing these games to act out violently towards women? Probably not (maybe sometimes), but either way the references in these games reflect and reinforce a culture that relies on violence and the objectification of women.

Allowing images of violence while disallowing images of consensual sex (which to be clear, don’t generally represent realistic representations of sex in popular culture) adds to the mystique of sex as something that men must fight women to have possession of. It normalizes violence while making sex something that is impure, illicit and difficult to obtain."

I know that the documentary Miss Representation (which we should really watch in this class, Dr. P!) discusses this issue to some degree but from more of a feminist standpoint, and I look forward to Ott and Mack's chapter on feminist analysis to further discuss the ways in which women are objectified in the media and why it has become so normalized in our society.