Natalie's Alevel Blog

I have decided to create a presentation on a pod cast about my case study on knocked up. My reason for this is because I believe that I have very strong opinions about my case study and have theorist which express the same or different opinions. My essay question: “To what extent does knocked up represent American family values and ideas of the American dream?” The American dream is to build a family with the person you love and wish to spend the rest of their life with. This is very nuclear based which is a husband and house wife who cares for the family and 2 children which the husband works for a living. This fits in to the American family values as society as a whole Plan: To start off I am going to find 3 clips which represent typical American dream, basic family values and any clips which break these values. Each clip will be a minute long. Clip 1: (time: beginning til 1.24) This is a clip which breaks the typical American values as Ben and his friends are all old enough to work for a living but instead of doing that they are partying, smoking, drinking and all living in a run down house which dirty water and no common sense. The theorist I would use for this clip is subculture by hebdige and hall- resistance through rituals(the book).

Clip 2: (time: 1.41-2.15) This clip represents the typical American nuclear family which is with Alison’s sister Deborah and her husband and two children. How ever even though everything looks perfect as they have a huge house, swimming pool, nice car and good jobs they argue which shows tension in the relationship. This suggests that the American family isn’t the American dream as not everything is perfect. The theorist I would use to express my views on this clip is Gramsci as he formed the theory call Hegemony which suggests that the media influence our views and ideas on life which make us act in certain ways. Therefore by showing this clip we almost want to life that life but when the tension between the couple is shown it makes us leave the dream world and come back to reality.

 Clip 3: (time: 6.15-8.12) This clip represents Alison as a hard working woman who fits the norms and values of society (the American values) she works for a huge corporation based on the news. She interviews celebrities and ends up getting a promotion but it comes at a price. This shows that for her to achieve in life she must fit the American values of being slim, pretty and blonde. The theorist I will be able to use for this clip is feminism by Laura mulvey as Alison Is seen as the ideal woman which media represents based on the American values. She is a very typical slim, blonde character which is very fetishistic as she is like the untouchable Madonna.

Clip 4: (time: 32.00-33.30) I have decided to show a clip of when Alison decides to keep the child and tells Ben. My reason for this is because even though this is a classic moment which is very funny it immediately represents the Americans view and value on abortion which is that it should be avoided and not even considered. The theorist which I would be able to relate to this clip would be traditional vs post traditional by Anthony Giddens as this clip shows how the director would rather stick to traditional values of avoiding abortion the post traditional values and giving her the options of abortion or adoption.

After discussing the four clips I will conclude all of my views and opinions including the theorists. And sum up my presentation expressing my final feelings and views on my essay question about American values and family values. Below are lists of quotes I shall use when explaining my clips and why I believe they are relevant.

Clip 1: the theorist and theory I have decided to discuss for this clip is Subculture by Hebdigde and Hall. Below is information about the theorists and how it relates to my chosen clips. In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture (whether distinct or hidden) which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong. If a particular subculture is characterized by a systematic opposition to the dominant culture, it may be described as a counterculture. Gelder identified six key ways in which subcultures can be understood: 1. Through their often negative relations to work (as ‘idle’, ‘parasitic’, at play or at leisure, etc.); 2. through their negative or ambivalent relation to class (since subcultures are not ‘class-conscious’ and don’t conform to traditional class definitions); 3. through their association with territory (the ‘street’, the ‘hood, the club, etc.), rather than property; 4. through their movement out of the home and into non-domestic forms of belonging (i.e. social groups other than the family); 5. through their stylistic ties to excess and exaggeration (with some exceptions);

Clip 2: the theorist and theory I have decided to discuss for this clip is Hegemony by Gramsci.

Here is a quote I can use to back up my idea based on American family values. “There are no obstacles,, nobody is holding you back so if you work hard you can make money and become successful. The idea of the American Dream is widely popularized in many rags-to-riches stories (e. g. stories about Dick and Jane) and in the portrayal of the good life in advertising on TV shows and movies.“ The quote above states what the typical american dream is and how it is valued and it also mentions how the media is used to portray this image which happens in the film with Alison and her sister Debbie.

 Clip 3: the theory and theorist I have decided to use for this clip is Laura Mulvey on feminism Mulvey is best known for her essay, “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, written in 1973 and published in 1975 in the influential British film theory journal Scree.n Mulvey’s article engaged in no empirical research on film audiences. She instead stated that she intended to make a “political use” of Freud and Lacan, and then used some of their concepts to argue that the cinematic apparatus of classical Hollywood cinema inevitably put the spectator in a masculine subject position, with the figure of the woman on screen as the object of desire. In the era of classical Hollywood cinema, viewers were encouraged to identify with the protagonist of the film, who tended to be a man. Meanwhile, Hollywood female characters of the 1950s and 60s were, according to Mulvey, coded with “to-be-looked-at-ness.” Mulvey suggests that there were two distinct modes of the male gaze of this era: “voyeuristic” (i.e. seeing women as ‘whores’) and “fetishistic” (i.e. seeing women as ‘Madonna’s’). Mulvey argued that the only way to annihilate the “patriarchal” Hollywood system was to radically challenge and re-shape the filmic strategies of classical Hollywood with alternative feminist methods. She called for a new feminist avant-garde filmmaking that would rupture the magic and pleasure of classical Hollywood filmmaking.

 Clip 4: the theory and theorist I am going to use for this clip is Anthony Giddens on post traditional vs traditional values. Giddens’s theory of structuration explores the question of whether it is individuals or social forces that shape our social reality. He eschews extreme positions, arguing that although people are not entirely free to choose their own actions, and their knowledge is limited, they nonetheless are the agency which reproduces the social structure and leads to social change. His ideas find an echo in the philosophy of the modernist poet Wallace Stevens who suggests that we live in the tension between the shapes we take as the world acts upon us, and the ideas of order that our imagination imposes upon the world. Structuration is very useful in synthesizing micro and macro issues. On a micro scale, one of individuals’ internal sense of self and identity, consider the example of a family: we are increasingly free to choose our own mates and how to relate with them, which creates new opportunities but also more work, as the relationship becomes a reflexive project that has to be interpreted and maintained. Yet this micro-level change cannot be explained only by looking at the individual level as people did not spontaneously changed their minds about how to live; neither can we assume they were directed to do so by social institutions and the state.

 Script

First of all I will introduce the pod cast with a basic introduction about my topic and what I will be discussing. Introduction: My essay question: “To what extent does knocked up represent American family values and ideas of the American dream?” I will introduce my self and what my essay question is. I could give a brief introduction about the film and what it is about so the listeners know whatthe film is about.

Natalie: “Knocked Up is a film produced by Judd Apatow which is based on two main characters Alison and Ben who have a one night stand which ends up in a shocking dilemma as she becomes pregnant. The film shows how their life changes over time as the pregnancy progresses, towards the end they face hard decisions which affect the ending of the film. My views of this film vary as I think the ending fits the typical American dream but I find the way the characters are represented are a very important factor towards the plot as over time their values change to fit each others lives and the typical American values and dream. The essay question I have come up with is “To what extent does knocked up represent American family values and ideas of the American dream?” The reason why I have decided to mainly focus on the American values of the film and the American dreams is because this film represents all of those. I also like the way the characters are completely opposite but still can fit the typical American values and dream.” The dominant ideology of American families is nuclear based, husband and wife with two children where the husband is the breadwinner and the wife is a house wife caring for the family.

However in this film Alison is a hard working news reporter who wants to fit the Medias image of women while Ben doesn’t care about his image and is a low life that doesn’t work but surrounds his life with weed and alcohol. However as a important event occurs they soon realise that both their lives aren’t perfect and they need to meet each others needs in order to be there for their child. Clip 1: As I have generalised the topic and what my presentation is about I will narrow down my ideas into four clips and theorists to prove my question. This is a clip which breaks the typical American values as Ben and his friends are all old enough to work for a living but instead of doing that they are partying, smoking, drinking and all living in a run down house which dirty water and no common sense. This suggests that Ben and his family of friends have created their own subculture and enjoy going against the norms and values of American society. They are following the 6 key points in which subcultures can be understood. bwloe are a few of them which are represented in the beginning of the film.

• Through their often negative relations to work (as ‘idle’, ‘parasitic’, at play or at leisure, etc.); This is shown in the film when you see them working on their porn website which is meant to be their job especially ben as he is living of his compensation which is slowly running out!

 • through their negative or ambivalent relation to class (since subcultures are not ‘class-conscious’ and don’t conform to traditional class definitions); This is shown in the film when they are seen smoking an illegal drug “weed” and playing dangerous games in the dirty, run down pool.

• through their movement out of the home and into non-domestic forms of belonging (i.e. social groups other than the family); This is shown in the film as Ben and his friends are all like a huge family living in a run down house, smoking weed and going against typical hygiene and basic living values. “which passively accepted commercially provided styles and meanings, and a ‘subculture’ which actively sought a minority style … and interpreted it in accordance with subversive values”.

Clip 2

Natalie: This clip represents the typical American nuclear family which is with Alison’s sister Deborah and her husband and two children. How ever even though everything looks perfect as they have a huge house, swimming pool, nice car and good jobs they argue which shows tension in the relationship. This suggests that the American family isn’t the American dream as not everything is perfect. The theory Hegemony by Gramsci which suggests that the media influence our views and ideas on life which make us act in certain ways. Therefore by showing this clip we almost want to life that life but when the tension between the couple is shown it makes us leave the dream world and come back to reality. This clip relates to my essay question as I am looking at how the family is represented and the values and dreams in America. Debbie and her family is shown as the typical family life which everyone dreams of achieving but the film shows that problems occur and not everything is perfect or great. Sometimes dreams are best left as dreams.

“There are no obstacles,, nobody is holding you back so if you work hard you can make money and become successful. The idea of the American Dream is widely popularized in many rags-to-riches stories (e. g. stories about Dick and Jane) and in the portrayal of the good life in advertising on TV shows and movies.“

This quote states that any one can achieve the American dream as long as they fight for it. The quote also states that movies like to advertise the American dream and values because they are advertising what everyone should be working for even though in many cases it isn’t reality.

Clip 3

 Natalie: Alison is represented as a hard working woman who fits the norms and values of society (the American values) she works for a huge corporation based on the news. She interviews celebrities and ends up getting a promotion but it comes at a price. This shows that for her to achieve in life she must fit the American values of being slim, pretty and blonde. The theory I will be able to use for this clip is feminism by Laura mulvey as Alison Is seen as the ideal woman which media represents based on the American values. She is a very typical slim, blonde character which is very fetishistic as she is like the untouchable Madonna. In many films I feel that the overall images of the females are very similar (stereotypical blonde, small, thin, rich, ambitious and hardworking) even though most of these are achievable they are unrealistic as not all women are like this which puts pressure on the audience to aim for this appearance. This clip shows how far the film is trying to represent the typical American values and what affect it has on audience. These representations just add to how other forms of media represent women and families in society which is structured by the Elite who want to take control of the matter.

Clip 4

Natalie: I have decided to show a clip of when Alison decides to keep the child and tells Ben. My reason for this is because even though this is a classic moment which is very funny it immediately represents the Americans view and value on abortion which is that it should be avoided and not even considered. The theorist which I would be able to relate to this clip would be traditional vs post traditional by Anthony Giddens as this clip shows how the director would rather stick to traditional values of avoiding abortion the post traditional values and giving her the options of abortion or adoption.

Evaluation

Natalie:

 I have decided to create a presentation towards the class about my case study on knocked up. My reason for this is because I believe that I have very strong opinions about my case study and have theorist which express the same or different opinions.

My essay question: “To what extent does knocked up represent American family values and ideas of the American dream?”

The American dream is to build a family with the person you love and wish to spend the rest of their life with. This is very nuclear based which is a husband and house wife who cares for the family and 2 children which the husband works for a living. This fits in to the American family values as society as a whole

Plan: To start off I am going to find 3 clips which represent typical American dream, basic family values and any clips which break these values. Each clip will be a minute long.

Clip 1: This is a clip which breaks the typical American values as Ben and his friends are all old enough to work for a living but instead of doing that they are partying, smoking, drinking and all living in a run down house which dirty water and no common sense. The theorist I would use for this clip is subculture by hebdige and hall- resistance through rituals(the book).  

Clip 2: This clip represents the typical American nuclear family which is with Alison’s sister Deborah and her husband and two children. How ever even though everything looks perfect as they have a huge house, swimming pool, nice car and good jobs they argue which shows tension in the relationship. This suggests that the American family isn’t the American dream as not everything is perfect. The theorist I would use to express my views on this clip is Gramsci as he formed the theory call Hegemony which suggests that the media influence our views and ideas on life which make us act in certain ways. Therefore by showing this clip we almost want to life that life but when the tension between the couple is shown it makes us leave the dream world and come back to reality.

Clip 3: This clip represents Alison as a hard working woman who fits the norms and values of society (the American values) she works for a huge corporation based on the news. She interviews celebrities and ends up getting a promotion but it comes at a price. This shows that for her to achieve in life she must fit the American values of being slim, pretty and blonde. The theorist I will be able to use for this clip is feminism by Laura mulvey as Alison Is seen as the ideal woman which media represents based on the American values. She is a very typical slim, blonde character which is very fetishistic as she is like the untouchable Madonna.

Clip 4: I have decided to show a clip of when Alison decides to keep the child and tells Ben. My reason for this is because even though this is a classic moment which is very funny it immediately represents the Americans view and value on abortion which is that it should be avoided and not even considered. The theorist which I would be able to relate to this clip would be traditional vs post traditional by Anthony Giddens as this clip shows how the director would rather stick to traditional values of avoiding abortion the post traditional values and giving her the options of abortion or adoption.

After discussing the four clips I will conclude all of my views and opinions including the theorists. And sum up my presentation expressing my final feelings and views on my essay question about American values and family values.

Below are a list of quotes I shall use when explaining my clips

Media studies “To what extent does knocked up represent American family values and ideas of the American dream?”

Knocked Up is a film produced by Judd Apatow which is based on two main characters Alison and Ben who have a one night stand which ends up in a shocking dilemma as she becomes pregnant. The film shows how their life changes over time as the pregnancy progresses, to wards the end they face hard decisions which affect the ending of the film. My views of this film vary as I think the ending fits the typical American dream but I find the way the characters are represent are a very important factor towards the plot as over time their values change to fit each others lives and the typical American values. The essay question I have come up with is “To what extent does knocked up represent American family values and ideas of the American dream?” The reason why I have decided to mainly focus on the American values of the film and the American dreams is because this film represents all of those. I also like the way the characters are completely opposite but still can fit the typical American values and dream.

The dominant ideology of American families is nuclear based, husband and wife with two children where the husband is the breadwinner and the wife is a house wife caring for the family. However in this film Alison is a hard working news reporter who wants to fit the Medias image of women while Ben doesn’t care about his image and is a low life that doesn’t work but surrounds his life with weed and alcohol. However as a important event occurs they soon realise that both their lives aren’t perfect and they need to meet each others needs in order to be there for their child. At the very beginning of the film we are given an insight to the lives of both Alison and Ben. Alison is represented as a very high maintenance woman as she works for a news company and lives with her sister’s family in the pool house. Also she is a very typical slim, blonde character which is very fetishistic as she is like the untouchable Madonna. Alison would also fit the working woman as she fends for her self and doesn’t rely on anyone else even though she is still living with her sister’s family. When Alison goes to work it is very clear that she is well paid as she is immediately working with famous actors and gets called in by her boss for a promotion. This represents Alison as hard working and aims to achieve a better life for her self. However when Alison is given the promotion she has to fit a few norms and values of the news corporation which is clearly stated, she must slim down and tighten her appearance as well as tidy up her overall appearance which is a very typical value in society as every woman is set to look a certain way which is unrealistic. When Alison goes back to her sisters to tell her the good news they are excited but the husband clearly wants her to move out which she isn’t keen to do which represents she still isn’t ready to be completely independent and live on her own. Alison’s sister Debbie is married and has two kids which is the basic nuclear family. However their marriage isn’t meeting the typical American values or dream idea as they are constantly seen arguing and disagreeing on topics. Their two little girls are very well educated and open to new ideas which are shown in the scene where the oldest daughter is tormenting the little girl about images she saw on Google which wouldn’t be appropriate for a girl her age but as time has changed children are more open to technology.

One the other hand Ben is represented in a completely different manner. Ben is represented as a Young adult as he has no job but lives of compensation he received many years ago after being run over. His image is very basic, over weight, messy hair and casually dressed who clearly doesn’t care what people think of him especially society. He goes against the typical norms and values of society which are to have a reliable job, take care of your personal image and have a family. Ben’s family are his mates who are also very laid back and smoke weed along with Ben instead of working and making a life for them selves. Their so called job is a porn website based on video clips of when women show their body parts and how often they do so even though the website is still in the making they don’t actually have a steady income but still find ways to buy alcohol and weed. This overall appearance completely goes against the typical norms and values of society; they would be classed as rebels. As it is clearly shown the lives of Ben and Alison are completely opposite as one clearly follows the values of society when the other does the complete opposite.

At this point I asked my self how such opposites would end up having a one night stand. They end up meeting at a club which is where you can clearly see how different they are because when Ben and his mates are queuing up to get into the club Alison and her sister Debbie walk straight in with out question. This scene clearly shows how different they appear in society. Ben is the low life while Alison is the untouchable Madonna. At the beginning of the film Alison is seen as fetishistic but in the club her appearance soon changes to voyeuristic as she is very open and available. It is very clear that Alison would never give Ben a chance if he approached her so the director cleverly gave them a chance to meet accidentally which is at the bar when they are waiting to be served Ben very kindly gets two beers from the counter as the waiter wont serve them. However as Alison needed two beers Ben gave her both of them as she was completely in shock that someone as beautiful as her was giving him the time of day. Later on that night Ben and his friends gain the courage to approach the sister even though the sister soon goes home leaving Alison and Ben together to enjoy the rest of the night. As the night progresses they get really drunk and end up back at Alison’s pool house where they have sex but due to lack of patience and communication Ben ends up not using a condom as he takes too long to put it on which is where the problem begins. This is a typical incident which happens on a day to day basis as people are careless and don’t think clearly when they are drunk. This means that people can relate to his film as it is such a common issue.

As weeks pass by Alison comes to conclusion she is pregnant as she suffers from the typical symptoms and takes a number of tests to only come to the conclusion that Ben must be the father when she tells him he reacts badly as she is shocked but soon remembers that they didn’t use conception but it is too late to argue about what could of happened as they now have a baby on the way. I found it very interesting that Alison automatically decided to keep the baby and the topic of abortion didn’t even appear. This clearly represents an American value as abortion is clearly prohibited or not a solution to a one night stand as it is their irresponsibly which brought the problem across.

 “Abortion is presented as an option in the movie; it’s just presented in an extremely negative light” This quote came from a review about the film by Ross Douthat from the Atlantic. He feels that abortion is a very important American value and a choice is given but is clearly dismissed. This would relate to the traditional vs. post traditional theory as the traditional view of things would be that they would get married and start a family, however they aren’t married, don’t know each other very well and don’t intend to get together. Anthony Giddens looks as society as a whole, the traditional culture is centred around small family and community groups but post traditional culture is based on institutions and media conglomerates pass down ideas for society to follow which don’t fit the traditional view of life.

This film would fit the post traditional view of society but as they end up joining forces and working together they create the American dream which would fit the traditional view of living. Judd Apatow values and how it influenced American values…conservative/right wing…finish As the film progresses they meet each others families which is a clear eye opener as she realises that she works to hard and doesn’t have as much fun as she should especially as Ben points out that marriage isn’t the answer to everything as Debbie isn’t happy with their marriage and problems do occur. Ben also realises that he needs to get a job and work harder as his way of life is too laid back and a baby wouldn’t fit into his old lifestyle. Even though they both realise that they need to change it isn’t easy and they struggle to cope which causes them to make decisions they aren’t ready for. Ben decides that the best way to make Alison happy is to marry her but sadly she turns him down because she doesn’t want to get married and pushes Ben away as she has always done things on her own. Their time apart gives them space to breathe and prepare for the child. The biggest change was with Ben as she gets a job in the ICT industry and buys a flat which he decorates for the child. Over time Ben realises that he wants to be part of the baby and Alison’s life so makes sure that he is at the birth of his child with his friends and Alison’s family. The end of the film is very typical as they have the child and drive off into the city ready to start a life together which would be based on the “American Dream” as they overcame their differences and have ended up with a happy ending. I didn’t expect the ending of the film because they were so different and it is very unlikely that they would end up together but because it is a typical American film the American dream seemed like the typical ending

Essay Question: The development of new digital media means the audience is ore powerful in terms of consumption and production. Discuss the argument for and against.

As society has developed over the year’s technology has advanced in many ways such as blogs, fan pages and advanced websites including YouTube. Therefore society has learnt how to adapt to this technology and has become apart of media production. As a consumer I am now able to produce my own media and broadcast my ideas using technology without cooperating with the elite. This makes myself and others more powerful within the media industry as it opens a variety of doors and loop holes. I agree with the essay question provided as I feel that the new media production has allowed the myself and others to have a choice in what we watch and create within the industry. This means that we can make videos of any topic and share it with the world without being completely controlled. However the elite have caught on to the freedom we have been given by new media so are trying to gain back the control the once had.

Professional theorist Raymond argues that new digital media benefits society and is a positive development. He believes that old media was life a cathedral where everyone looks up to and follows the priest which would be the elite in the media industry, therefore the priest has all the power. However new digital media is referred to as Bazaar which means the media is like a huge market place which consists of new ideas, views and opinions. It isn’t structured as the consumer has the power rather then the priest or elite. I agree with Raymond’s theory as the audience have a lot more power especially on the internet as they can upload home made videos, images and even have live discussions without being forced to use the controlled websites. Raymond is a programmer who works for a program called LINUX. This program is run by professional hackers who are trying to drown out the large corporations such as windows who charge for their programs unlike LINUX which is free and extremely popular.

Another theorist who agrees that new media has give the audience a more producer role is Jenkins. He argues that new digital media has created a world where all media forms convergence which means that the consumers are now more directly involved in the production of media then ever before. This is a positive effect on the industry as it allows more choice and opinions. Jenkins had a simple diagram which explained his theory on new media; he combined the old media “consumer” with the new media “producer” to create one word “prosumer” as this is what the media is all about. The audience are no longer consumers but also producers.

However not all theorists agree with the way new media has changed the role or the audience as they believe the new digital media is just another way of controlling society and advertising products and events. Lisa m Blackman is a theorist who argues that nothing has changed. The new media is just another way to advertise products and trick people in society to buying them and keeping up to date with technology even though they aren’t necessary. Also Blais and Ipplito are theorists who argue that art has a significance role play in the new media especially as the job of art is to be challenged and questioned. However they also feel that technology is like a virus which mutates at a fast pace which leaves the audience fighting to catch up without being given the chance to enjoy what they already have. Therefore new media and technology is moving way to fast.

In conclusion to my argument I still believe that new media gives the audience more power as they can be the producer as well as the consumer. By having this option people are given more opportunity and freedom. However I also understand where the other theorists are coming from as I also agree that technology is moving too fast and should be enjoyed like art rather then waiting for the next best thing.

Natalie Grant

This is my first lesson of media in period bloody six KMT!!!!!!!!!!!!