I've chosen to start with a clip that's been in the news lately. This is a clip from a McCain rally that took place in Lakeville, MN during the last couple of weeks. In it, a woman says she is afraid of an Obama presidency because "He's an Arab." My reaction, and most likely the reaction of many around the country, is "Where did this woman crawl out of? The land where all forwarded e-mail goes to die?" This is the brief picture the country got of a Minnesota resident, and I'd like to explore these questions: Are we, as Minnesotans, surprised to see this woman as our representative? Or do we know deep down that this is a typical Minnesotan? For viewers outside of the state, does this picture align with their idea of what Minnesotans are like?
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Week Seven: Minnesota on YouTube
Week Seven: Minnesota on YouTube
Other than its entertainment value, I think this video highlights an important point about both Sarah Palin's campaign and media representations of Minnesota. This video highlights a connection between Margie from "Fargo" and Sarah Palin: their accent or way of speaking. The creator of the video hear the connection in their voices, as do the viewers and that is what makes this video funny. But the connection in the video reveals two things. First, an association is being made all over the country between Minnesota and Sarah Palin, even though none necessarily exists. Second, because many Minnesotans might hear Sarah Palin's speech patterns as familiar and comforting, it might be easier to feel an affinity with her and, therefore, cast their votes for her. I had not deeply considered before I watched this video how accents might have an effect on people's political decisions.
Week Seven: Minnesota on YouTube
This video got me thinking about whether there is such a thing as a "Minnesota consciousness." The content of this video was familiar to me because I grew up in Minnesota, and have seen similar shots of State Fair-goers on the local news for years. It also made sense to me to hear the German music because that is the heritage of many Minnesotans. The comments other YouTube users left on this video seems to suggest that this is a uniquely Minnesotan experience. One says "lol, only in Minnesota." The representation of Minnesotans this filmmaker chose to use is familiar to those "inside."However, would this content be completely foreign, even odd, to viewers outside of Minnesota? How does this video make us look to those "outside"?
Week Seven: Minnesota on YouTube
The unique thing about the movie "Fargo" is the juxtaposition between the "Minnesota Nice" of the William H. Macy character and the cops and the crime, gore and killing that goes on right alongside it. Dark moments of murder and blood are followed by the bright spots of "Oh, sure" and "You betcha." The overall impression of Minnesota is "Crime does not belong here."
Week Seven: Minnesota on Youtube
The interesting (and relevant) part of this clip is how the man introduces himself. He says "My name is Henry Gale. I'm from Minnesota!" Later episodes reveal that "Henry Gale" is actually Benjamin Linus, leader of the others and television's greatest villain, and that he stole his identity from a man named Henry Gale from Wayzata, MN who crashed on the island in his hot air balloon (yes, "Wizard of Oz" references abound on this show). The question, though, is why choose a Minnesotan as his false identity? The answer, this clip seems to suggest, is that Minnesotans are gentle, innocent, and unlikely to be villainous island-dwellers out to kidnap plane crash victims.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Week Six: Media Ethnography
Sorry for the tardiness of this post; I was out of town this weekend and my bus was delayed coming in last night.
This week I have the privilege of examining my very favorite blog, "Nik at Nite," which is written by a woman whose job I would like in another life. Nikki Stafford writes companion guides to television shows (her "Finding Lost" guides are the ones I'm familiar with), as well as blogs about television shows.
"Mostly, I write about television. Stick around if your favourite shows are Lost, Pushing Daisies, Buffy, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, 30 Rock, Veronica Mars (sniffle), or anything on HBO. I'll also talk about my toddler daughter, my infant son, some celebrity gossip, music, what books I'm reading, and how someone SERIOUSLY annoyed me today. But mostly television."
Here, I plan to explore the intense social interaction that occur on Nik at Nite's comments section, especially the posts that concern the television show "Lost."
The most recent blog post that generated a spirited discussion was posted on August 9th, 2008, shortly after this year's ComiCon was held in San Diego. Each year, the "Lost" writers (as well as several other SciFi shows) are known to release special content at the annual comic book convention. This summer they released a video which showed a "typical 'Lost' fan" unexpectedly able to tape secret footage of the Dharma Initiative, a fictional organization on the show, with an handheld camera. The secret footage appears to be a man recording a message 30 years ago for the purposes of warning people of the future. There is evidence of time traveling as well.
Here is a link to the original post:
http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2008/08/latest-dharma-orientation-video.html
Stafford offers her take on the video, bringing up some questions and offering a few theories, then opens it up to comments. As Stafford usually does, though, she offers personal responses to people who leave comments. The dynamic on this blog is that everyone is welcome to voice their theories and comments, but it is a big deal to be recognized by Nikki Stafford herself, because she is considered to be the well-respected authority on the topic of "Lost." However, Stafford is very welcoming and respectful to anyone who comments on her posts, as well as very glad to hear theories other than her own.
Of course, the exception to that rule is her response to the third comment, posted anonymously:
Blah, blah, blah. You're Canadian, you're politically liberal. What a surprise.
How is that remotely relevant to the topic of the post, which is otherwise quite interesting?
Stafford's reponse?
Anonymous: Blah blah blah. You're taking a potshot at me and posted anonymously. What a surprise.
I'm constantly amazed by the fact that if I make an off-handed comment against Herr Bush in any of my posts, someone no doubt jumps all over me for it, in a rude and abrupt way. That's quite the insecurity.
As to your comment about liberal Canadians, you do realize the Canadian prime minister is Conservative, don't you?
This seems to be the end of Stafford's response to the interruption of the "Lost" discussion, but several other posters tack on their own reponses to their theories and discussion of the show. A poster named Kristin says:
**As for the president comment, I just roll my eyes and go on. Everyone has their opinion...but sometimes it surprises me to find them in blogs about non-political topics.**
This echoes the feeling I had when I first read this set of comments: I was offended that this blog, a "safe space" to talk about a television show with a community who shared my love of it (even if we didn't share other things, like political beliefs) had been invaded by someone and that both Stafford and her readers had to veer away from the discussion to attend to it. This made it clear to me that people choose the blogs they read based on specific, personal reasons. Unlike getting information from television news or print media, blogging allows a space for response. If commenters break the unspoken agreements of that space (like, "When Nikki Stafford posts about "Lost," we all agree to discuss "Lost") people begin to feel uncomfortable with the experience.
The discussions of "Lost" theories continue, with the last comment posted over a week after the original post. When new episodes of "Lost" are airing, Staffords "recap" posts are known to generate over 100 comments, with discussion continuing for week's afterward. In addition, Stafford and the other posters begin to get to know one another in a limited kind of way. For example, we all look to one particular poster for his knowledge of physics during discussions of time travel related episodes. But mostly readers look to Nikki Stafford for her brilliant, comment generating posts about a show it's worth getting together in an online forum to discuss.
This week I have the privilege of examining my very favorite blog, "Nik at Nite," which is written by a woman whose job I would like in another life. Nikki Stafford writes companion guides to television shows (her "Finding Lost" guides are the ones I'm familiar with), as well as blogs about television shows.
"Mostly, I write about television. Stick around if your favourite shows are Lost, Pushing Daisies, Buffy, The Office, Battlestar Galactica, 30 Rock, Veronica Mars (sniffle), or anything on HBO. I'll also talk about my toddler daughter, my infant son, some celebrity gossip, music, what books I'm reading, and how someone SERIOUSLY annoyed me today. But mostly television."
Here, I plan to explore the intense social interaction that occur on Nik at Nite's comments section, especially the posts that concern the television show "Lost."
The most recent blog post that generated a spirited discussion was posted on August 9th, 2008, shortly after this year's ComiCon was held in San Diego. Each year, the "Lost" writers (as well as several other SciFi shows) are known to release special content at the annual comic book convention. This summer they released a video which showed a "typical 'Lost' fan" unexpectedly able to tape secret footage of the Dharma Initiative, a fictional organization on the show, with an handheld camera. The secret footage appears to be a man recording a message 30 years ago for the purposes of warning people of the future. There is evidence of time traveling as well.
Here is a link to the original post:
http://nikkistafford.blogspot.com/2008/08/latest-dharma-orientation-video.html
Stafford offers her take on the video, bringing up some questions and offering a few theories, then opens it up to comments. As Stafford usually does, though, she offers personal responses to people who leave comments. The dynamic on this blog is that everyone is welcome to voice their theories and comments, but it is a big deal to be recognized by Nikki Stafford herself, because she is considered to be the well-respected authority on the topic of "Lost." However, Stafford is very welcoming and respectful to anyone who comments on her posts, as well as very glad to hear theories other than her own.
Of course, the exception to that rule is her response to the third comment, posted anonymously:
Blah, blah, blah. You're Canadian, you're politically liberal. What a surprise.
How is that remotely relevant to the topic of the post, which is otherwise quite interesting?
Stafford's reponse?
Anonymous: Blah blah blah. You're taking a potshot at me and posted anonymously. What a surprise.
I'm constantly amazed by the fact that if I make an off-handed comment against Herr Bush in any of my posts, someone no doubt jumps all over me for it, in a rude and abrupt way. That's quite the insecurity.
As to your comment about liberal Canadians, you do realize the Canadian prime minister is Conservative, don't you?
This seems to be the end of Stafford's response to the interruption of the "Lost" discussion, but several other posters tack on their own reponses to their theories and discussion of the show. A poster named Kristin says:
**As for the president comment, I just roll my eyes and go on. Everyone has their opinion...but sometimes it surprises me to find them in blogs about non-political topics.**
This echoes the feeling I had when I first read this set of comments: I was offended that this blog, a "safe space" to talk about a television show with a community who shared my love of it (even if we didn't share other things, like political beliefs) had been invaded by someone and that both Stafford and her readers had to veer away from the discussion to attend to it. This made it clear to me that people choose the blogs they read based on specific, personal reasons. Unlike getting information from television news or print media, blogging allows a space for response. If commenters break the unspoken agreements of that space (like, "When Nikki Stafford posts about "Lost," we all agree to discuss "Lost") people begin to feel uncomfortable with the experience.
The discussions of "Lost" theories continue, with the last comment posted over a week after the original post. When new episodes of "Lost" are airing, Staffords "recap" posts are known to generate over 100 comments, with discussion continuing for week's afterward. In addition, Stafford and the other posters begin to get to know one another in a limited kind of way. For example, we all look to one particular poster for his knowledge of physics during discussions of time travel related episodes. But mostly readers look to Nikki Stafford for her brilliant, comment generating posts about a show it's worth getting together in an online forum to discuss.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Week Five: Media Representations: Jessi Ramsey, the only black girl in YA lit
Since the first book was released in 1986, the Babysitter's Club series by Ann M. Martin became a worldwide children's literature phenomenon. I personally devoured these books as a preteen, and confess to have a continued fascination with them to this day.
The premise for the book series was simple: a group of middle school aged girls from Stoneybrook, a fictional Connecticut suburb, form a babysitting club. Each book is told from the perspective of one of the girls, and the plot is both about babysitting and what is going on in the girl's personal life. The girls are characterized as smart and responsible, and the problems they face (divorce, death, disabilities, etc., etc.) are meant to reflect picturesque suburbia.
This blog will focus on Jessi Ramsey, the only black girl in the club. She is introduced in book #11, when her family moves to Stoneybrook from New Jersey. During her first day of school, she is described through the eyes of her soon to be best friend Mallory:
"I wondered what being the only black student in your grade would feel like. I guessed it would feel no different from being the only anything in your grade. I was the only one in our grade with seven brothers and sisters...But I knew that wasn't quite the same. The kids couldn't tell that just by looking at me" (Martin, p. 14).
As Mallory gets to be friendly with Jessi, she hears about how Jessi's family has been received in Stoneybrook:
"'I don't belong in this school, or even this town. Neither does my family.'
'You mean because you're, um...'
'You can say it," Jessi told me. "Because we're black."
'Have people done things to you?' I asked.
'Nope.' Jessi shook her head. 'Well, a few things. Like Benny Ott shooting rubber bands at me in class. And I've overheard Rachel Robinson and her friends talking about me. Mostly, though, it's what they haven't done. The neighbors haven't introduced themselves to us, haven't paid any attention to us. Except my dad. His company asked him to take his job, so the people he works for are okay. But do you know you're the only kid who talks to me?" (Martin, p. 69-70)
These are the tensest moments in the series in terms of conflicts over race. In later books, the problems Jessi faced here are portrayed as already resolved:
In book #17:
"The Ramseys moved to Stoneybrook very recently...The Ramseys are black, and there aren't many black families around here at all, and non in Jessi's neighborhood. Jessi is the only black kid in the sixth grade, if you can believe it. However, things are setting down and getting easier for her family" (Martin, p. 17).
In book #25:
"I might as well be straightforward...and say right out that Jessi's family is black. They moved to Stoneybrook near the beginning of the school year and they're one of the few black families here. A lot of people gave them a hard time at first, but things have gotten better" (Martin, p. 9).
In book #26
"[Jessi and Mallory are] similar in some ways and different in some ways. The biggest difference is that Jessi is black and Mallory is white" (Martin, p. 12)
In book #83
"Jessi moved from a racially mixed town in New Jersey...I'm sorry to say that the Ramsey family faced some really stupid prejudice when they arrived here. Fortunately things have smoothed out since then" (Martin, p. 19-20).
What interests me about these descriptions of Jessi is that they are really the only mention of race or racism that appear in the books. Of course, there is no need for Jessi's function in the books to be solely based on her racial identity (in the books she is also characterized as a babysitter, an avid reader and a talented dancer). But the Ramsey's experiences of prejudice are extremely abbriviated in the series. Almost every one of the quotes above describe racism to have been a problem once, but not anymore.
In addition, no mention is made about Jessi's personal experiences moving from an entirely black neighborhood in New Jersey to a practically entirely white town in Connecticut. The series discounts the fact that Jessi might have needed to learn a new set of social codes in becoming part of an all-white social group, or that her life (other than how others in town treated her) has changed. There is no mention of her feeling like the odd girl out in a club full of white girls.
Looking at this phenomenon from a sociology perspective, Gordon Allport's Theory of Contact seems to apply. According to the theory, the idea that contact between two groups that hold prejudices against each other will get rid of those prejudices is FALSE. In fact, when two opposing groups make contact, levels of prejudice will actually rise. The writers of the Babysitter's Club series seem to be operating on the myth that if the town of Stoneybrook just gets to know the Ramsey family, tensions will decrease. This is the value assumption the writers are working with--they believe prejudice is a simple problem that will go away with simple contact. Not only that, but they value the Ramsey family's ability to slide right into majority white culture. As long as the neighbors come to see the Ramseys as a family "just like us," they have no trouble erasing the prejudice.
When I searched a few online blogs about Jessi's character in the Babysitter's Club books, I found at least two perspectives. The first challenges the fact that Jessi's primary character trait is her race. One blogger says "i REALLY hated reading bsc because everytime they mentioned jessie, they’d say. “Jessie is black.” that’s the whole sentence, then proceed to explain how cool she is despite that start reality. ugh."
The second perspective, though, acknowledges the absence of black protagonists in adolescent lit, and is appreciative that at least there is a black character in the series, period. One blogger describes it this way: "Jessi, the only black member of the Babysitters Club, was one of my girl idols back when I was a nerdy tween who had yet to blossom into full teenagehood." She also says "I related to Jessi’s struggles just to be a normal girl in a lily-white reality, with a white dominated hobby," even though I would argue those struggles weren't explored nearly enough. This blogger makes the point that the series of books popular with teenagers today (the Gossip Girl series) don't have a black protagonist at all.
The premise for the book series was simple: a group of middle school aged girls from Stoneybrook, a fictional Connecticut suburb, form a babysitting club. Each book is told from the perspective of one of the girls, and the plot is both about babysitting and what is going on in the girl's personal life. The girls are characterized as smart and responsible, and the problems they face (divorce, death, disabilities, etc., etc.) are meant to reflect picturesque suburbia.
This blog will focus on Jessi Ramsey, the only black girl in the club. She is introduced in book #11, when her family moves to Stoneybrook from New Jersey. During her first day of school, she is described through the eyes of her soon to be best friend Mallory:
"I wondered what being the only black student in your grade would feel like. I guessed it would feel no different from being the only anything in your grade. I was the only one in our grade with seven brothers and sisters...But I knew that wasn't quite the same. The kids couldn't tell that just by looking at me" (Martin, p. 14).
As Mallory gets to be friendly with Jessi, she hears about how Jessi's family has been received in Stoneybrook:
"'I don't belong in this school, or even this town. Neither does my family.'
'You mean because you're, um...'
'You can say it," Jessi told me. "Because we're black."
'Have people done things to you?' I asked.
'Nope.' Jessi shook her head. 'Well, a few things. Like Benny Ott shooting rubber bands at me in class. And I've overheard Rachel Robinson and her friends talking about me. Mostly, though, it's what they haven't done. The neighbors haven't introduced themselves to us, haven't paid any attention to us. Except my dad. His company asked him to take his job, so the people he works for are okay. But do you know you're the only kid who talks to me?" (Martin, p. 69-70)
These are the tensest moments in the series in terms of conflicts over race. In later books, the problems Jessi faced here are portrayed as already resolved:
In book #17:
"The Ramseys moved to Stoneybrook very recently...The Ramseys are black, and there aren't many black families around here at all, and non in Jessi's neighborhood. Jessi is the only black kid in the sixth grade, if you can believe it. However, things are setting down and getting easier for her family" (Martin, p. 17).
In book #25:
"I might as well be straightforward...and say right out that Jessi's family is black. They moved to Stoneybrook near the beginning of the school year and they're one of the few black families here. A lot of people gave them a hard time at first, but things have gotten better" (Martin, p. 9).
In book #26
"[Jessi and Mallory are] similar in some ways and different in some ways. The biggest difference is that Jessi is black and Mallory is white" (Martin, p. 12)
In book #83
"Jessi moved from a racially mixed town in New Jersey...I'm sorry to say that the Ramsey family faced some really stupid prejudice when they arrived here. Fortunately things have smoothed out since then" (Martin, p. 19-20).
What interests me about these descriptions of Jessi is that they are really the only mention of race or racism that appear in the books. Of course, there is no need for Jessi's function in the books to be solely based on her racial identity (in the books she is also characterized as a babysitter, an avid reader and a talented dancer). But the Ramsey's experiences of prejudice are extremely abbriviated in the series. Almost every one of the quotes above describe racism to have been a problem once, but not anymore.
In addition, no mention is made about Jessi's personal experiences moving from an entirely black neighborhood in New Jersey to a practically entirely white town in Connecticut. The series discounts the fact that Jessi might have needed to learn a new set of social codes in becoming part of an all-white social group, or that her life (other than how others in town treated her) has changed. There is no mention of her feeling like the odd girl out in a club full of white girls.
Looking at this phenomenon from a sociology perspective, Gordon Allport's Theory of Contact seems to apply. According to the theory, the idea that contact between two groups that hold prejudices against each other will get rid of those prejudices is FALSE. In fact, when two opposing groups make contact, levels of prejudice will actually rise. The writers of the Babysitter's Club series seem to be operating on the myth that if the town of Stoneybrook just gets to know the Ramsey family, tensions will decrease. This is the value assumption the writers are working with--they believe prejudice is a simple problem that will go away with simple contact. Not only that, but they value the Ramsey family's ability to slide right into majority white culture. As long as the neighbors come to see the Ramseys as a family "just like us," they have no trouble erasing the prejudice.
When I searched a few online blogs about Jessi's character in the Babysitter's Club books, I found at least two perspectives. The first challenges the fact that Jessi's primary character trait is her race. One blogger says "i REALLY hated reading bsc because everytime they mentioned jessie, they’d say. “Jessie is black.” that’s the whole sentence, then proceed to explain how cool she is despite that start reality. ugh."
The second perspective, though, acknowledges the absence of black protagonists in adolescent lit, and is appreciative that at least there is a black character in the series, period. One blogger describes it this way: "Jessi, the only black member of the Babysitters Club, was one of my girl idols back when I was a nerdy tween who had yet to blossom into full teenagehood." She also says "I related to Jessi’s struggles just to be a normal girl in a lily-white reality, with a white dominated hobby," even though I would argue those struggles weren't explored nearly enough. This blogger makes the point that the series of books popular with teenagers today (the Gossip Girl series) don't have a black protagonist at all.
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