Week 2 - YouTube, I Tube, We All Tube

Psy - Gangnam Style
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0

Katy Perry - Roar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CevxZvSJLk8

Psy's "Gangnam Style," in the first half at least, shows the traditional gender roles in which the man, Park Jae-sang, is in control the woman (or women in this case). The women are portrayed as objects to desire and are essentially only present to be attractive. The women in the video are all thin with flawless skin, and are generally wearing provocative clothing. It is also worth noting that they are often wearing white clothes, which creates the sense of purity commonly seen with the classic female gender role. There are scenes where Park is dancing with all the women behind in, indicating a sense of leadership or control over the situation. Interestingly, just about all the characters in the music video appear to be rich due to their fancy, expensive attire. Nonetheless, the women are certainly depicted as less important than Park. Over time, though, the video seems to move away from the classic gender roles seen in the beginning and embrace a more equal stance between men and women. I think this video was originally intended to be a critique on various aspects of South Korean society meant to be viewed by teenagers and young adults in South Korea, but it has grown far past that audience at this point. As the most viewed YouTube video to date, it has certainly reached South Korean, as well as most of the world.

Katy Perry's "Roar" is a very empowering video for women that, for the most part, disregards past gender roles. The first forty seconds of the video has the only man in the video dying to a tiger, while Katy Perry herself survives and makes her own place in a jungle, completely through her own power. This music video essentially says that a woman does not need a man to be successful in the world and to make an impact. Katy Perry repeated likens herself to a tiger, one of the strongest creatures, and one that certainly has dominion over it's habitat. In doing so, she implies that she, and all women, should also be able to take control and even dominant. Yet, towards the end of the video, she seems to want to retain her femininity, and is seen putting on lipstick and painting the toenails of an elephant. Her clothing also becomes rather provocative, but I feel that she is trying to say that she should be allowed to wear what she wants without being criticized. "Roar" was likely targeting an audience of teenage girls and young women with the intention of giving them the motivation to take charge and live independently. Considering the popularity of the YouTube video, I imagine that it has successfully reached a large portion of the American population at least. Additionally, as the song is played frequently on the radio and the song's lyrics send a similar message, I think it is safe to say that this song has made a significant impact on the country, if not the world.

Week 2 - "Women Reading the Romance" Summary

In the suburb city of Smithton lives Dot Evans, a woman who picks out romance novels that the town's resident women are most likely to enjoy. In fact, she has become so good at choosing the most successful novels, that the bookstores regularly ask for her advice as to which books they should carry. Dot's customers tend to be middle-class mothers between the ages of 25 and 44. These women primarily read romance novels, they say, as a means of escape from the real world and relaxation. They feel that the level of pressure placed on women to always be nurturing and motherly is overwhelming, and thus use these novels to take a break from everyday life. It seems that most of the women try to identify with the heroine, so that they can vicariously live out a relationship with a hero who is commonly very masculine and yet surprisingly sweet and nurturing.

The article also describes a highly specific formula for a romance novel that the women of Smithton will enjoy. According to Dot's assessments, the novel should illuminate the relationship between one man and one women as they meet and work through their personal problems together. At the end of the novel, the two should fall completely in love with each other and essentially live happily ever after. The women in the story should be determined and independent, while the man is handsome and masculine, yet tender underneath. Much deviation from these standards seems to decrease the popularity of a novel. In particular, novels that entail the man chasing after multiple women are less favorable, even if the hero falls in love with the heroine at the end. The Smithton women also find novels that include rape or cruelty toward the heroine very discomforting. Stories that involve these two areas are strongly disliked, at least within this town.

Despite the unrealistic nature of these books, the women, for the most part, understand that the characters are fictional, and that the events described in the stories are unlikely in real life. Nonetheless, these ideal stories inherently make the women feel disappointed in their current marriages or relationships. The women sometimes feel neglected or put down by their significant others. A man may accuse a woman of not accomplishing meaningful work during the day when the woman spent all her time cleaning the house, managing children, and running necessary errands. The woman's work here is most certainly significant, but the man may not see it as such, unfortunately.

The article concludes with saying that these romance novels help show what women desire (and often fail to get) in a relationship. The author seems to suggest that we use this information to help progress society toward one that helps women feel more satisfied with their relationships. Whether or not that can become reality is something that has yet to be determined.