Popular Music and Politics: An Ode to Tipper Gore

The American music scene underwent many changes during the 1990s including the introduction of grunge music and a rebirth of swing.  However, the 1990s also became the decade when the infamous parental advisory label, as shown above, started appearing on cassette tapes and compact discs of popular music artists.  The reason for the new label was to identify music that did not meet the "moral" American standards of music the Parents Music Resource Center set forth.  This blog will identify music that was impacted by this label and how politics plays a role in censoring the music Americans listen to.   

In the book Entertaining the Citizen: When politics and popular culture converge, Liesbet Van Zoonen said the PMRC was formed in 1985 as a way to "inform and educate, and provide parents with resources to know what their children are listening to" (p. 41).  As the founding member of the PMRC, Tipper Gore, wife of former Vice President Al Gore, ultimately became the person responsible for the implementation of the warning labels.  Many hard rock and rap groups in the early 1990s, such as Guns N Roses and 2 Live Crew, were targeted for their explicit lyrics.  As part of a political statement against the PMRC and Tipper Gore, Warrant added a song to the end of their Cherry Pie album appropriately titled Ode to Tipper Gore.

Although this song is a bit over the top and has no musical value whatsoever, the parental advisory was a big deal to many bands in the early 1990s and a political statement like this seemed very appropriate for the circumstances.

Another music artist who has been targeted for his explicit lyrics and given the parental advisory sticker of disapproval is Eminem.  Despite the fact nearly every other word in his lyrics contains some type of profanity, Eminem relates with a younger generation of white males, which, in his words, makes him more of a threat to corrupt the teens of America than the black rappers of this country.  Below is a song from The Eminem Show album where Eminem explains his position as a rapper, but also does his own tribute to Tipper Gore at the end of the song.  

Because of his questionable lyrics and often hatred filled comments, some of which could be heard in the above clip, Eminem's music has come under fire by several activist groups.  Due to the first amendment, though, not much can be done to silence musicians like Eminem aside from slapping a parental advisory sticker on the album and playing a "clean" version of the songs on the radio airwaves.
 

According to Van Zoonen, the PMRC never intended to infringe upon the first amendment rights of musicians by implementing the parental advisory sticker.  Their goal was based more on limiting the kinds of music children should listen to.  "The PMRC typified children as having 'virgin minds' that need protection against the sleazy world of adult music" (Van Zoonen, p. 43).   Although I'm sure the PMRC had good intentions with those thoughts, the teenagers in the below clips from a late 1980s episode of 20/20 feel much differently about the music they listen to. (This video is in 2 parts and is a little longer, but is worth watching to get the whole story.)  

Although this episode seems to have been aired prior to the implementation of the parental advisory sticker, the influences of Tipper Gore wanting to censor the heavy metal bands of the 1980s was already evident.  Parents and activists were also shown in the clips blaming musicians for making kids commit suicide because the lyrics of a song told them to do so.  All the while the teens were saying they just like the music and don't really even pay that much attention to the lyrics.  In my experience, kids and teens will listen to music they like and if an adult tells them not to listen to it, they will still find a way to get the music and listen to it regardless.  It makes you wonder why the PMRC pushed so hard to get the parental advisory stickers in the first place.   

I think the political agenda of trying to censor music with the parental advisory sticker is wrong and violates the musicians first amendment rights of free speech.  Even though the stickers still exist, there doesn't seem to be as much attention paid to them and I'm sure one day they will simply go away.  In the meantime, the freedom of speech still exists and until that is taken away, questionable lyrics will continue to be written.     

Gone With the Wind--Race and gender issues identified

One of my favorite movies of all time is Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind.  It is a timeless classic of what life was like in the south during the American Civil War.  For someone who was born more than 100 years after the end of the Civil War, this film provided me some insight to slavery as well as women and men's gender roles during the 1860s.  However, after reading Harry Benshoff and Sean Griffin's book, America on Film: Representing race, class, gender and sexuality at the movies, I realized my once firm views of a historical time in our nation's history may have been more of a manipulation of the Hollywood film industry.  This blog will tackle some of the issues I discovered in my readings.

The first issue I would like to address is the role males played in 1930s movies.  Because of the Great Depression, Benshoff and Griffin state that men were becoming emasculated due to the inability to provide for their families as they wanted.  For this reason men were generally portrayed as more violent and abusive toward women.  This was a very evident component in Gone with the Wind.  As you can see from the clip below, Rhett Butler, played by Clark Gable, not only threatens violence on Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh, but also whisks her away to the bedroom to have his way with her.

Although Scarlett does fight back a bit in this segment, ultimately Rhett wins out, taking her against her will.  What I find the most disturbing, though, is that toward the end of the clip you can see Scarlett the next morning with a smile on her face thinking back on how she actually enjoyed the experience.  To me, this tells the audience it is alright to treat a women this way because she secretly wants it.  Meanwhile Rhett comes to apologize to Scarlett for his behavior, like somehow that will make it all okay.  Benshoff and Griffin write, "Male filmgoers looked to these male stars to learn how to talk, to walk, to handle women, to handle other men -- in other words to learn how to perform masculinity successfully in their own daily lives" (p. 264).  I shutter to think violence against women may have increased because of this film and the Hollywood film industry.

The second issue I would like to discuss with Gone with the Wind is the way women were also portrayed in this movie.  Since this movie was filmed and released in the late 1930s, influences of the Production Code were still very evident.  According to Benshofff and Griffin, "Most Hollywood genre films of the 1930s, both pre- and post-Code, were still centered on men and tended to simplify female characters into basic types drawn from the virgin-whore dichotomy" (p. 228).  Notice in the clip below there are four different female characters who fall into different places in the virgin-whore dichotomy spectrum. 

The first two female characters shown are Belle Watling and Prissy.  Belle, as you may be able to tell, is an uneducated prostitute and Prissy is a slave child.  Even though this image of a slave child may not seem very virginal, she still knows better than to associate herself with the whore figure in this movie.  Although bad things never happen to Belle, she is always looked at by Scarlett and many of the other female figures as a bad person.  Also I would like to point out the differences between Scarlett and Melanie Wilkes, the very weak woman seen at the end of the clip.  Although Scarlett is portrayed much more virginal than Belle, she is still considered quite whorish compared to Melanie.  In fact, throughout the whole movie Scarlett is consistently trying to gain the love and affection of Melanie's husband, Ashley.  Her efforts are fruitless, though, as Ashley would rather be with his more frail, virginal wife than with a strong willed, flirtatious woman like Scarlett.  Although these differences would not necessarily be noticed by the casual viewer, they become quite evident when you know about the Production Code's influence on movies in the 1930s.  

The last subject I would like to talk about with the movie Gone with the Wind is the way the African-American characters were portrayed in this film.  Since this is a movie about the south around the time of the civil war, it seems appropriate to include slaves as part of the story line.  However, nearly all of the black characters seem to fit into one of the stereotypical Hollywood roles, as outline in America on Film.  The clip below shows Mammy, who in fact fits the Mammy stereotype to a tee.      

Benshoff and Griffin describe the Mammy character as "an overweight black woman who took care of the white master's children without concern for her own" (p. 79).  As seen in the clip above, Mammy not only helped to deliver Scarlett's daughter, but also Scarlett and Scarlett's mother.  However, you don't hear much about Mammy's children if there are any.  It seems that Prissy may be her child, but I don't believe it is ever really stated that she is.  In other parts of the film you will also see Uncle Tom characters as house servants, and a Black Buck character who works in the field and saves Scarlett when she is living in Atlanta.  

Even though there are many stereotypical Hollywood influences at work in this film, Gone with the Wind will continue to be a timeless classic and one of my favorite films to enjoy on a Sunday afternoon.

How White is White Christmas?

As I sit gazing out the window at the blizzard currently ravaging North Dakota, I am reminded of my favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas.  I was also reminded of this movie a few days ago when reading Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin's book, America on Film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies.  More specifically, though, the information about jewish actors and the blackface minstrel shows really seemed to resonate as I read the text.  A short time later as I pondered these two concepts, I realized that White Christmas also seemed very white.  

 
The first concept I would like to touch on is the idea of the minstrel show.  According to Benshoff and Griffin in America on Film a minstrel show is "a type of musical comedy variety show that featured white actors impersonating blacks" (p. 79).  This was a term I had heard of in the past, as part of a musical number in White Christmas, but never knew what it was or the significance behind it until after I read it the other day.  The following clip is the minstrel show number from White Christmas.   

This clip is very interesting as it seeks to impersonate the minstrel show in which characters would dress up in blackface and tell jokes.  However, if you watched the clip, you would notice none of the actors or actresses did that.  I think this has something to do with the post World War II ideologies about race that were starting to show up in film around the time White Christmas was made.  There are a few things I did notice, though, that seemed to tell the story of the minstrel show.  For instance the lead characters of the number were wearing black clothes.  I'm thinking maybe the justification for this was to show the premise behind the minstrel show without having to outright offend any racial groups.  Also Mr. Bones was mentioned in the song they were singing in the clip.  It seemed significant so I did a Google search and found several sites that talked about a tambourine man and a bone man that were generally included in minstrel shows.  If you watched the clip, you would also have noticed the tambourines too.  Toward the end of the clip you can get a good look at them and they are red with faces on them.  Again, it seems they are trying to capture the premise behind the minstrel show while still being politically correct.

The next topic I would like to touch on is that of Jewish actors in Hollywood.  Since I am talking about the movie White Christmas, it seems odd that I would be thinking Jewish actors who do not celebrate Christmas.  However, according to Benshoff and Griffin, "Jewish actors were encouraged to change their names to 'whiter-sounding' ones" (p. 67).  One of the actors Benshoff and Griffin mention is David Kaminsky, better known as Danny Kaye, who was one of the nice young fellows dressed up as Santa Claus in the clip below.             

Now I understand that in Hollywood actors and actresses often need to "act" the part of someone else, but to me this seems like a major breech of character.  Not only did Kaminsky give up his name to better fit the Hollywood model, but apparently he had to give up his religion too.  I guess in those days if you wanted to make it, you needed to make sacrifices, including dressing up as Santa Claus in a movie called White Christmas.

The last issue I would like to talk about is the "whiteness" of White Christmas.  Benshoff and Griffin talk about the "whiteness" of Hollywood in which films are often shown from the white patriarchal standpoint.  White Christmas is no exception.  In fact, it is such a white film, there is only one visible character of any race besides white.  Below is a clip from White Christmas where the one token black character is seen as a server on a train.       

I sat down and re-watched this movie just to prove the whiteness of it when I stumbled along this one nonwhite character.  I probably would never have even noticed him in this scene had I not been looking specifically for him, but now that I did see him I realized he was put there for a reason.  There were hundreds of extras in this movie in restaurant scenes and dancers, yet this was the only person who resembled anything close to a nonwhite actor or actress.  That lead me to believe they put him there to prove a point: they were including nonwhite actors into their film.  Had they just stuck him in the background of a restaurant he would never have been noticed.  But since he was a very visible, although nonspeaking, character, if only for a few seconds, they could make that claim.

It seems every good movie has a few flaws, especially some of the classics of yesterday.  That won't keep me from watching them and enjoying them for their entertainment value.  However, I do find myself watching these movies with a more critical eye these days to find the true meaning of what the film is trying to say.  

Gender Identity and Body Image in Prime-time Television

I have been an avid fan of the show "nip/tuck" since its inception in 2003, mainly because of the twisted story lines and the bizarre plastic surgeries the main characters perform.  In the past few weeks, however, I have begun to analyze some of the issues the show addresses due to the reading of David Gauntlett's "Media, Gender and Identity: An introduction."  There are many issues that could be raised with regards to "nip/tuck," but I would like to focus mainly on lifestyles and identity, and the ideal woman.  In this post, I would also like to focus on the sound design used in the introduction for "nip/tuck" and why it successfully lures in viewers.

Since the introduction is at the beginning of the show, I'll start with that part of the analysis first.  According to Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin in their text "America on Film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies," sound design is one of the axis of cinema that helps the viewer determine what is happening or will happen based on the music and sound effects that are playing.  Although "nip/tuck" does a good job incorporating clever sound design tactics into their episodes, I have always found the introduction, as shown in the clip below, to be quite haunting based on its music score and lyrics.     

As you can see from the above introduction, the music appears to be quite ominous while at the same time almost hypnotic.  It draws you into the show because it seems so mysterious.  The lyrics, which are more part of the literary design of the show, also add to the mystery because they mention how to become this perfect beautiful person, inside and out.   The music and the lyrics together almost make one believe they can become that perfect, beautiful person simply by watching the show.  Although the introduction is only a small part of the series, it is shown at the beginning of every episode drawing the viewer in for five long seasons.  

The next issue I would like to talk about with "nip/tuck" is the issue of lifestyle and identity in the media.  In "Media, Gender and Identity," Gauntlett talks about Michel Foucault's viewpoint on sex and identity saying that sex was the inner truth to the self.  While doing so, Gauntlett claims the media makes these requirements to be fulfilled and happy:

• to understand your own sexuality
• to have sex often
• to seek help for sexual problems
• to have a satisfactory sexual partner - or to get a new one. 

The following clip from last week's episode of "nip/tuck" does and interesting job of proving this theory correct. 

For those of you not familiar with Liz's character, she is an openly gay woman and has been since the show started.  However, this season the producers of the show have decided that Christian Troy, one of the main male characters on the show, should not only have sex with Liz, but also convince her to marry him.  They have taken a character that was quite comfortable with her identity and sexuality and completely turned her into someone else.  This media model apparently works to get ratings and loyal viewers, but it seems to be telling the viewers that it is acceptable to question your identity and lifestyle.  Instead of encouraging gay viewers by telling them their lifestyle is acceptable, the show is basically saying even though you think you are gay, you really secretly attracted to the opposite sex and want the "happy" heterosexual lifestyle everyone else has.  This show has had some crazy plots in the past, but this one is really a stretch.        

The last issue with "nip/tuck" I would like to discuss is the female body image.  Since this is a show about plastic surgery and the crazy world that revolves around it, there will obviously be issues of body image addressed.  In the clip below, Christian Troy explains to his new object of lust, Kimber Henry, how she can become a perfect 10.  

Gauntlett, in "Media, Gender and Identity," said "The empowering notion that individuals can change themselves...can lead a person to feel a sense of failure if they cannot achieve the body of their dreams," (p. 202).  In the above clip, Kimber talks about being a perfect 10, but that she hasn't has many modeling offers lately.  Christian brings her back to reality by pointing out all of her minuscule flaws, making her believe that she won't be successful unless she gets them all fixed.  From the video you can see she if obviously a very attractive woman who shouldn't have any problems finding work as a model.  However, because someone who is obsessed with the perfection of appearance has now presented all of these faults to her, she will always find fault with the way she looks until she fixes the imperfections and will likely continue to not find work for the same reason.  Although this clip is a bit of an over-exaggeration of what the media expects from its models, it does an interesting job of pointing out that body image is a real problem in the media and that the perfect models shown in the magazines weren't necessarily born that way.      

Although "nip/tuck" does not always portray people, especially women, in a positive light, I will continue to watch the show loyally.  However, now that I am more aware of some of the media issues surrounding the show, I will start watching it with more of a critical eye.  

Portrayal of Gender in Daytime Television

For the past several months, I have become very intrigued by a new show to our area called "The Doctors".  It airs at 11:00 a.m. on ABC in Fargo and covers a wide range of medical questions and topics, which plague Americans today.  The show I would like to talk about in this blog post aired in some areas of the country on Monday and was all about the Vagina.  The lone woman panelist kicked the male doctors, who usually grace the panel daily, off the stage and invited in other "highly qualified" females to help talk about the subject to the all female audience.  After watching the show on Monday, I decided it was a worthwhile text to talk about as it presented several issues we have discussed thus far in our analysis of David Gauntlett's text "Media, Gender and Identity: An introduction."  Some of those issues include the ideas of masculinity in crisis, women on television today compared to women on television in the past, and institutional reflexivity regarding sex.      

Before I get to the heart of the discussion, I would like to introduce you to the a brief overview of what was discussed on what is now being dubbed the "vagina show."  The clip below does a great job with that.

As you can see from the above clip, this appears to be a pretty racy episode. In fact a blog was posted on "The Doctors" website explaining the episode would not be aired nor posted on the internet (I guess Fargo didn't get the memo).  This blog post will include less about the content of the show and more about the overall meaning the episode and what it says about our culture today.  

 

Masculinity in crisis is the first concept I would like to address.  Gauntlett says that the male identity is changing based on media portrayals of men.  Men once were shown by the media to be dominant figures and the heads of households.  However, male media roles have been considerably different in the past decade or so, leaving men in limbo as to their role in society today.    

I think the "vagina show" episode of the "The Doctors" demonstrated this concept very well.  Not only did the male co-hosts of the show get excluded from the discussion, much of the content revolved around the idea that women no longer needed men to have a functioning society.  The clip below is an example of this. 

I felt this was very much a "girl power" clip emphasizing the role femininity plays in our culture today.  Since this episode targeted females, I think it needed to show and ultra feminist point of view as to empower their viewers to take the subject seriously.  Anytime human sexuality is talked about on television, there is always a taboo associated with it and the issues are often handled delicately.  Since this was an entire show devoted to the vagina, it becomes even more controversial.  That, I'm guessing, is also the reason this episode was pulled from many markets and is not being shown online.  

Although the topic of the "vagina show" may still not be completely socially acceptable, this episode has shown that we have come a long way in the past 20 or 30 years with recognizing women and their issues.  I can't even imagine a show like this airing in the 1970s or even the 1980s.  In fact Gauntlett found women on television during those decades to be "weak, ineffectual, victimized, supportive, laughable or merely 'token females'" (p. 47).  Although the feminist movement had already taken place, women were still not treated equally in the home, at work or in the media.  The media, especially television, was also very conservative in those days.  Even talking about a woman's sexual body parts on a limited basis warranted the use of media censorship.  The system may still not be perfect, but with shows like "The Doctors" pushing the limits, it is definitely getting better.  

The final issue I would like to address about the "vagina show" is how this episode helped to emphasize how Americans have adopted an institutional reflexivity regarding sex.  According to Gauntlett, sexual institutional reflexivity is "society talking to itself about sexuality" (p. 116).  Gauntlett feels the media has started to focus more on the sexual aspects of a relationship then they did in the past.  As I mentioned above, this episode of "The Doctors" would not have been received well in the past because of its taboo nature.  However, because our society has become more open to sexual expressiveness, this episode was filmed and did air (in some places) whereas it may not have even been considered in the past.  Although this episode focused mainly on women's health and issues dealing with the vagina, there was some talk about sex and pleasing men as seen in the clip below.  

One thing I want to point out from the above clip is how Margaret Cho suggested women try a certain procedure to get her man to propose to her.  It reminded me of some of the headlines seen on a "Cosmopolitan" magazine that make a women think she needs a man to be happy.  In so many ways the "vagina show" helped women realized they can be strong and empowered.  But at the same time, it is still the same old song and dance about getting your man and keeping him happy.  Only when women can overcome the idea that they need a man can they truly become equals in society and in the media.

On a side note, I tried to upload the entire episode of the "vagina show" to YouTube for those of you who wanted to watch it.  However, it was too long and YouTube rejected it.  I do still have it in digital form on my computer so if anyone wants to watch, it I could burn a DVD for you or upload it to your iPod.  Just leave me a comment or talk to me before class.