Joekalinoski's Blog

FInal Reflection

joekalinoski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:47:11 +0000

Before this quarter I had never done any kind of blogging before. To tell the truth I wasn’t 100% sure what blogging was though I had a pretty good idea.
I will now definitely consider pursuing blogging more in the future.
Doing this blogging I learned that Pop culture is truly ubiquitous. Everywhere we go and everywhere we look there is popular culture looking us in the face. Until I really looked for it by doing this blogs, I never even realized it.
My favorite blog was the one about hegemonic masculinity in music and rock stars. I still wonder about whether these kinds of celebrities are under a different set of rules or if maybe they actually do fit in and I don’t realize it. This is mostly why it is my favorite because I am still curious and wonder about it.
My weakest work was probably Masculinity in golf. It is probably pretty obvious that no one has brought golf as far as Tiger Woods has. He also fits the hegemonic masculinity description better than anyone who has ever played the game. This is why I feel it is my weakest work because I don’t completely agree with it.
If I could do the project differently I would probably spend more time looking for more specific videos rather then just pictures and ideas that I had.
This project was defenitly a unique and enjoyable one and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to learn something that is as socially connective as blogging.

Re: “That Squirrel can Water Ski

joekalinoski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:36:17 +0000

I completely agree that no other media is as repeated and re-used as movie quotes. It doesn’t matter what the situation or time, if the time is right and the movie is famous enough that everyone knows, a good movie quote never fails to get a few laughs. As a person who doesn’t really care for movies, I sometimes struggle with this because movie quotes are thrown around so often and in so many different situations. If I hear a quote enough I will sometimes have to watch the movie just so I can be somewhat socially relevant.
As movies become bigger and bigger, movie quotes are becoming more and more used for all kinds of situations. Even TV commercials will steal part of line from a popular enough movie from time to time.

Re: Racism in Disney

joekalinoski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:28:19 +0000

I personally feel that looking for racism in Disney is not quite so obvious. I’m not one to say immediately there isn’t any, but I don’t think Disney is an outwardly racist company. I think that they just put out what will sell. There are certainly shows which feature other cultures, maybe just not as many.
If Disney were intending to be racist I strongly believe that they would have been caught by now. Unfortunately, I had to grow up with these movies because I have two sisters. I also feel that Disney will continue to get less one sided on their choice of race in their movies.

Republicans Hate the Internet? Thats not good

joekalinoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:01:56 +0000

It probably wouldn’t surprise anyone to hear that the GOP is not the most internet savvy group of people in the world. Or at least it didn’t surprise me. What is surprising is that the Republican party wouldn’t find it necessary to take drastic measures to change this. I feel that it is completely obvious that the future of campaigning is in modern technology..i.e. the internet. I am a firm believer that in order for this country to be run properly there needs to be a fair balance of both parties working in office. If the republican party continues to neglect it’s valuable resources and modern technologies, it is possible that they could be wiped out of office all together.
As I see it, the GOP failing to capitalize on it’s internet resources is equivalent to a party neglecting to utilize tv, or radio when they came out. It is obvious that the internet is the future of campaigning and if the GOP wants to be a part of the future they need to get on the train.

Re: Dangerous Fanatics

joekalinoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:11:51 +0000

I completely agree with Nathan’s blog. It seems today that people spend so much time combating other peoples hobbies, interests, even lifestyles. Who gives anyone the right to say who is a nerd and who isn’t. What if instead of 90 percent of the population not liking Star Trek or Star Wars, 90 percent did like these shows and were “fanatics”. Would this make the small 10 percent who like sports or music nerds?
In regards to the young man who killed the two people I am surprised that people are not attacking the vampire group he was a part of as being dangerous or bad for society. It seems like whenever there is one bad egg in a group or organization, the entire thing has to come down. In the past, whenever a kid brought a gun to school or committed some kind of violence, people would blame Grand Theft Auto. Are they going to attack vampires now as spreading violence to our young people? Who knows.. They just might.

Re: Jesus Hates Pop Culture

joekalinoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:59:18 +0000

It is indeed quite astounding that students would try to single handily bring down popular culture. Although, even though I am not a very religious person by any stretch of the imagination, I do feel that JC would not be too pleased with popular culture today. That’s neither here nor there. What I want to know is what are these protesters suggesting be done? What do these students want to see happen? Do they just want all the TV’s in the world thrown away because their contents don’t believe in Jesus?
As cable television continues to grow I believe that one day, people that feel everything popular is evil will have the option to not watch channels that subject them to “evil”. Not that this will stop them from protesting but it should at least allow them to control what is in their own homes.

Photoshop for Democracy

joekalinoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:45:22 +0000

After reading the Henry Jenkins article “Photoshop for democracy” it reminded me of a video I saw before the last election. The Jenkins article talks about how politicians are using new methods and modern technology to reach potential voters. This Jack Nicholson video is a collection of clips from his movies that make it seem as if he is supporting Hilary Clinton.
I personally had never seen this done before and I though it was quite interesting. It made me wonder where Presidential campaigns are going in the future. What will politicians think of next to try to sway voters opinions. After seeing this video, I believe that there is no way of knowing what they will think of next.

South Park and Jon Stewart

joekalinoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:30:02 +0000

This week we talked about Jon Stewart and whether he is good or bad for American democracy. Personally I feel that no one person, no matter how famous they are, can really hurt democracy. If anything what Jon Stewart does only strengthens democracy as he is practicing his right of free speech/free press.
As we were talking about Jon Stewart and how he makes fun of pretty much everything, I got to thinking about another show that makes fun of everyone, not just politicians. The show South Park is famous for taking any new fad, tv show, or celebrity and running it into the ground. It seems like South Park is a show that will be able to go on forever because of how it utilizes popular culture and modern events in each episode. For obvious reasons, people don’t really go around saying South Park is bad for democracy. If they did they would likely end up on next weeks episode. One thing South Park does do which has become ubiquitous in our society is make fun of the absurdities of pop-culture. Whether it’s Guitar Hero, The Jonas Brothers, Professional Wrestling, or any over the top celebrity, South Park will likely make fun of it. South Park is famous for being fair in who the make fun of, absolutely everyone. I personally feel this is how they get away with so much because they never leave anyone out of a good ridiculing. So maybe humorous cynicism is just a way for American’s to deal with ridiculous things that are going on in popular media and Jon Stewart, South Park, Lewis Black aid in that humor

Family Guy and God

joekalinoski — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:15:12 +0000

The Family Guy and God article was one of the more helpful readings for me thus far. For years I would watch Family Guy and wonder why the religious attacks never really bother me that much. Was it because I am just not very religious? Do I not value religious symbols enough? Then I read the section on why Family Guy does not really bother the author. Because when a religious figure is seen in the show, they are usually so rediculous and far fetched that it’s hard to even say that that is the figure someone prays too/idolizes.
So I have to thank Raymond Vanarragon for helping me figure out why Family Guy just isn’t offensive to me. Will Family Guy always be able to get away with this is the real questions I have. I understand that what is on there is not what I or anyone else prays too, but does everyone?

Branding in Golf

joekalinoski — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:54:22 +0000

The reading on branding talks about the importance of having name brand clothing as a young person. The article specifically refers to younger girls but the importance of name brands extends way beyond genders or age group. I remember throughout my middle and high school years playing golf brands were just as important as they are with clothes. If you had an off brand of clubs you were definitely subject to some ridicule. Everything from golf balls to clubs, if it wasn’t a name brand it was assumed that it didn’t work as well. Golf might even be subject to more intense branding because it is so important for your equipment to perform at the highest level.
I didn’t really play too many other sports but I can definitely see branding in things like basketball shoes and baseball gloves or bats. Though branding in sports might have a slightly different context because performance is so important. Maybe it’s not so much about just having the name brand but having the brand that is going to perform the best, thats why they are so popular