Blog Post 1

Alessandra Bisconti

1-30-15

Women’s Role in Pop Culture

            Andi Zeisler emphasizes pop culture’s reliance on woman. Now whether this is our fault as woman or not is subject to opinion. I can’t say that I am on a fixed side of this proposal. I believe women’s roles in pop culture differs based on each situation. Zeisler suggests, “reforming and reframing popular culture is a feminist project.”(Zeisler 7) I don’t believe that this statement is necessarily fair. It should not have to be our job to rebuild such a huge aspect of our culture. However, that is the reality of today. All music, movies, advertisements etc. are done with women in mind. It’s like we are objects. Things. Treats. We are important, we feel, and we have opinions. Yet our interior is irrelevant to pop culture’s purpose. Woman’s role in today’s culture is mainly superficial. I don’t think this is ethically right or beneficial for our culture. Pop culture has become entertainment for men’s pleasure.

            Pop culture is more than just entertainment. There are so many layers and substance to it that can create different feelings from each individual. “Put simply, it’s the idea that when we look at images in art or on screen, we’re seeing them as men might-even if we are woman-because those images are constructed to be seen as men.”(Zeisler 7) Since pop culture is actually full of such substance, why is it looked at so superficially? I believe men and some woman are seeing pop culture half blindly. Walter Benjamin believes that by participating in pop culture we are distracting ourselves. I find it distracting that men can’t focus on the magic and beauty in the art form of pop culture. They are missing out on why music, media, and entertainment are so desirable. The only thing they find desirable are women images. Music videos are a big culprit of this. Guys find the sexual innuendo more appealing than the actual music. Woman feel like they need to look like the fake made-up stars in the media. “girls in Fiji began suffering from eating disorders shortly after the island nation introduced U.S. television in 1995.”(Zeisler 3) So what’s the purpose of pop culture if its causing so much harm? Who is to blame? How and who can fix this? I believe it’s a work in progress.