How Hollywood White Washed Society.

I recently saw a trailer for the movie Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which is loosely based on the video game series Prince of Persia. The video game follows the adventures of a Persian prince and the powers he has. The main character, the prince, is of middle eastern decent, but in the movie he is played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Now Gyllenhaal is a white actor portraying a middle eastern man. This is a continuous trend throughout the history of Hollywood. In 2008, the movie 21 which follows MIT scholars who begin counting cards also follows this trend. The movie is based off of a book which features primarily Asian main characters, but the movie portrays the main characters as white. Now the makers of this movie did put several Asian characters on the team but they were reduced to what Nick Rogers of The Enterprise calls, "a kleptomaniac and a slot playing loser." This is completely different from the book. The teams Asian characters had a much huger role in real life. Two other movies that come to mind in this scenario are based off of two animes. The movie versions of the Dragonball and Avatar the Last Airbender are greatly white washed. Both animes contain characters that are portrayed as Asian or of Asian background, but the movies are the complete opposites. One website says, “[Avatar is] wholly and inarguably built around Asian (and Inuit) culture. Everything from to the costume designs, to the written language, to the landscapes, to martial arts, to philosophy, to spirituality, to eating utensils!—it’s all an evocative, but thinly veiled, re-imagining of ancient Asia. (In one episode, a region is shown where everyone is garbed in Korean hanboks—traditional Korean clothing—the design of which wasn’t even altered at all.) It would take a willful disregard of the show’s intentions and origins to think this wouldn’t extend to the race of the characters as well. You certainly don’t see any blonde people running around in Avatar. (I’m not saying that would have necessarily been a bad thing, I’m just stating the facts of the show and the world in which it is set.)” Another spot in the article has a direct quote from the main character of Avater where the actor said he needed to get "a tan" to play the character.
So this begs the question why does Hollywood feel the need to whitewash its characters? What do you think?

Another movie thats all about race

Iron Man 2 will be released soon and I have noticed that it falls into the Die Hard, Rambo, and every other action movie ever made category. For those that don't know Iron Man is the story of billionaire Tony Stark (in this case actor Robert Downey Jr) who is forced to build a futuristic suit of armor for terrorists. After escaping the terrorists, Stark then decides to use the suit to protect the world from different evils. Iron Man 2 picks up where the first movie left off. The world knows Tony Stark is Iron Man and he must now deal with the trials and tribulations of being a superhero. Not that you know what's different about the story let me tell you what hasn't changed. Iron Man 2, like every other action movie, is all about race. The movie perpetuates many different racial stereotypes that other movies do. The first stereotype involves the hero. Tony Stark, like most action stars, is a white male with the privileges of looks, money, intelligence, strength, or whatever else makes up a hero. This idea of the true hero needing to be a white male is nothing new in the history of action movies. This stereotype portrays the white male as the one with true dominant masculinity. The next stereotype revolves around the use of Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes who is played by Don Cheadle. This stereotype is that the African American heroes could only have gotten where they are with help from the white characters. This movie continues that stereotype through Rhodey. Rhodey dawns another suit built by Stark and becomes his sidekick War Machine. This continues to perpetuate that belief that minority action heroes could not get where they are without the white characters. The last stereotype is the foreigner as villain one. The character of Ivan Vanko played by Mickey Rourke fills this void. Vanko is the son of a soviet physicist who builds futuristic laser whips to attack Stark with. This character has a Russian accent and is portrayed as barbaric (spends most of the fight scenes without a shirt on) and evil because he is attacking the true patriot Stark. This continues to give others the image that foreigners are evil. So as you can see the media has produced another action movie filled with stereotypes from everyday America. Does this produce a winning formula for a movie? Would changing this formula hurt the movie industry? Is this what we as Americans wanna see or are we forced to watch this because there is nothing else? Watch the trailer and tell me what you think.

Who needs to see a Real Women.

Well the big news of the week was the canceling of the now infamous Lane Bryant Ad. For those that hadn't heard, an ad for Lane Bryant's new Lingerie was scheduled to air during ABC's Dancing With The Stars when it was pulled due to racy material and the showing of "too much skin." This has sparked a bit of a controversy due to the fact that ABC has aired several very similar ad's for Victoria Secret that show just as much and sometimes more skin. This has forced the great question to be asked. Did ABC reject the ad because of certain parameters it has for every commercial or did it reject the ad due to it being one with a plus size model? I can only speak from my perspective, but i don't see any amazing difference between this ad and a Victoria secret ad. As a response to the claims that ABC did not want a plus size model on the airs ABC said, "Their statements are not true. The ad was accepted. Lane Bryant was treated absolutely no differently than any advertiser for the same product. We were willing to accommodate them, but they chose to seek publicity instead." I have found the the ad in question and a Victoria secret ad from 2003. You can watch these videos and let your opinions be heard.

You Watch What...Give Me Your Man Card

On Tuesday the smash hit, and one of my favorite shows, Glee returned to television for the second half of its first season. Glee has become an amazing success with its appeal for all ages. Ken Tucker from EW.com says, "Has there ever been a TV show more aptly named than Glee? It both embodies and inspires exactly that quality. Yet if I tell you the show is about a high school glee club and features bursting-into-song musical numbers, you might react as I did initially: I wanted no part of that. I'm not a musicals kinda guy." But this comedy from creator Ryan Murphy (Nip/Tuck) is so good — so funny, so bulging with vibrant characters — that it blasts past any defenses you might put up against it. Glee will not stop until it wins you over utterly.With its high school setting, various musical numbers, and over-the-top comedy. Glee has also prided itself on using a variety of hit songs from pop, oldies, opera, rock, and even an episode dedicated to Madonna in the near future. Glee has been a pleasant surprise for FOX, but I recently had an interesting conversation that made me think about a few of my favorite shows. While talking to a friend and expressing interest in the show, he looked at me with a perplexed look and said, "I'm gonna need your man card." This made me think about the differences in perception on what men and women watch. Why is it that I was ridiculed by another guy just because I like a show thats out of the social norm for what I am supposed to watch. I mean if a girl sits down and watches sports or an action movie then she is seen as awesome and amazing. Glee is not the only time I have faced ridicule for. There are several other shows and movies.



A show that my girlfriend got me watching was the show Greek. Greek follows various college students at a fictional university as they deal with fraternities, sorority's, facing there futures, and dealing with everyday college life. Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says, "Writer/creator Patrick Sean Smith gives Greek a greater sense of light-hearted fun that seems more authentic to the real-world experience of college as "the best years."" In fact the main character of Rusty Cartwright, the stereotypical college nerd who joins a frat house, was one of the few characters that I can say I related with. This show is the same as Glee, critically acclaimed and awesome in my opinion, but not what I am supposed to be watching. So what is your opinion on this matter. Do you agree with me that it is a ridiculous double standard or is there a side to the argument that I am not representing?

A Reality Show That Actually Strives To Help People...What?

I recently sat down and watched TV. In the midst of the usual reality garbage there was a very interesting show. This show was Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. For those of us that didn't know, Jamie Oliver is an English chef who campaigned to ban unhealthy foods from British schools. Oliver's new show places Oliver in Huntington, West Virgina, one of the unhealthiest cities in the United States, where he is using the same grassroots campaign to clean up what kids eat in school. In one episode, Oliver challenges 1st graders to identify fruits and vegetables and they are unable too. Oliver stated that not only would he like to change the eating habits of children, who are the 1st generation of kids expected to live shorter then their parents, but also improve the eating habits of all of the country. If more people like Oliver are out there then there may be hope for the future.

Have We Created Monsters or Are We The Monsters Ourselves.

In the recent weeks I have recent outpouring of scandals and reports based on celebrities and athletes being put in the bad light. I don't know if things have always been like this and I just haven't paid enough attention, but in seems in the wake of Tiger Woods has come a mass of scandals. In the past few weeks we have seen Actor Jesse James accused of cheating on Sandra Bullock, Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Rothlisberger get accused of sexual assault for the second time, Arizona Cardinals Linebacker Joey Porter get accused of assault on a police officer, Cleveland Browns Defensive End Shaun Rogers arrested for trying to bored a plane with a loaded gun, and Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver Santonio Holmes accused of assaulting a women. With all of these accusations out there it makes me wonder what have we as people created. Do these people believe that they are gods who are above the law and can have no morals. As with some of these accusations, some turn out to be false. This breeds another question. Do we have an obsession with these people that stems us to create false accusations or Have we built these people up so much that they cant help but think this? What do you think?

Apparently Girls Can Kick Ass Too

One thing that this class has done is opened my eyes. It has made me look at things in a different light and pay more attention to things. One thing that I have noticed is that there are a good number of female lead characters in video games. Yes, when you calculate the ratio compared to the number of male lead video games, they are a minority, but there are still a good number of games with women kicking as much tail as the guys do. I first thought about this when i saw an ad for the game Bayonetta. This game follows a witch who is on a quest to uncover her past. Another game serious that has represent women is the Final Fantasy Series, which has always featured a lead cast of both men and women. Both of these are apart of a list of games that include a female lead in a primarily action oriented game, a terrain that was supposedly just for the guys. Each game shows the women as powerful and strong, not the damsel in distress that women were formally represented as. This is not a new trend though, there are two major female leads in two of the most popular video game series' ever. Those two women are Lara Croft from Tomb Raider and Samus Aran of the Metroid video game series. Lara has been a dominant female lead for over ten years. Each game involves her stopping the bad guys by using her strength and dominance. The character of Samus has been "a female in a male-dominated role, Samus has been considered both a breakthrough for female characters in video games" says Nadia Oxford of 1up.com. Samus has been a regular character in the video game world for over 20 years and was the first female to become an a true action hero in the video game industry. Now with this discussion of some much good there is some bad in all of this. The biggest issue facing the female leads is the way they look. Most of these female leads are dressed ridiculously showing more then needed and these women are primarily seen as sex objects. Lara croft is notorious for showing to much with her regular attire being a low cut top and very short shorts, so this common trend is something that should be changed if there is to be a greater emergency of serious dominant female characters. While there dress code is a growing issue, at least women are representing a growing trend of lead characters in video games. At least it's a step in the right direction.