(only watch the first scene)
Cultural Studies is a theory by Stuart Hall supporting the belief that dominant, powerful groups influence culture. It assumes that culture is a part of all human behavior, and that people are a part of a hierarchical structure. Ideologies- frameworks of meaning of our social existence- rule the everyday life. A driving factor of this theory is hegemony, which is defined as the domination of one group over another, usually weaker, group. Sometimes, however, individuals will challenge that domination; these instances are what are known as counter-hegemony.
This clip is a good example of how a certain ideology can drive hegemony to suppress, or push out, the minor public. In this instance, there is an ideal of young, attractive women, and the doorman at the club will only allow this certain social group access. When the two ladies attempt an entry, he quickly rebuffs them. He explains it is the fact that they're both old or pregnant, and as a representative of the dominant group he cannot grant them access, since they don't match the requirements. The older lady however does not fall under a false consciousness, where she is unaware that she's being exploited, but instead uses counter-hegemony to fight back and eventually walk away in anger and frustration.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
This is a really good example of cultural studies. In class we talked about the media’s portrayal of beauty and how body characteristics, such as thinness, equate to beauty. The doorman’s views are definitely in line with the dominate view of the media; certain characteristics are beautiful while others which fall short should be rejected. This was also a good example of counter-hegemony because instead of staying silent, the woman speaks her mind and states the minority opinion.
This example of Cultural Studies seen through the film Knocked up provides a good example of hegemony.
The door worker gives the younger, thin, attractive women preferential treatment because they fit the image created by society.
Meanwhile, when the two featured characters approach the door: "You're old and you're pregnant," are the reasons provided for why he cannot let them into the club.
However he goes onto explain its not his decision, he is required to by the higher ups, those in charge (hegemony) of the club won't allow it.
I think this clip is a great example of cultural studies. I found it very interesting that he said he was only allowed to let in 5% black people. This shows that they are not just segregating by beauty, but also by race.
This clip clearly shows the theory of Cultural Studies. The doorman did not person believe in what the hegemony was saying, however he had to go along with it. By only allowing the beautiful white women into the club, it is showing how society has preferential treatment over gender, race, and how people as a whole should look.
I thought this was an interesting example of cultural studies! Although the doorman is being influenced directly by his boss and not my the media, we can assume that his boss is enforcing who the doorman can let into the club based on things he has seen on television or read in magazines. The other interesting thing about this clip is that even though the movie is technically addressing the negative side of the media's influence on our culture, because the women were not let into the club, this movie is still serving as yet another example of the same message the women were the complaining about in the first place!
I think that you can also look at this clip from the doorman's perspective. The woman berates him by saying that he is just a "doorman", using the term with a negative connotation. This is because the media tells us that only certain jobs like doctors or CEOs command respect. Our society has taught us that money=respect and therefore there is something wrong and pathetic about someone being a doorman for their occupation.
This is a good example of cultural studies. It shows the impact that the media's portral of beauty has had on society. Because the 2 women don't fall into the mold of being young and skinny, they are unable to enter the club. However, instead of giving in, they challenge the domination with counter-hegemony
I think this is a good textbook case of cultural studies theory. The main point in class was looking at a mainstream magazine, maxim, and how the representative of the dominant class, the doorman, shows the views of the media on beauty. Only 'beautiful' and 'attractive' people are allowed in the club and the doorman is the messenger to the ladies that being old and pregnant does not fall in line with that view. The use of counter hegemony by the older lady, in which she stereotypes his position and is aggressive is good in that she is forceful instead of silent.
I remember seeing this part of the movie and being upset by it. It illustrates hegemony by giving the doorman the power to choose who did and did not fit society's image of an attractive woman, and even though he expresses disagreement with this hegemonic norm, he perpetuates it nonetheless. Though this is an exaggerated situation within a comedic movie, the sad thing is that this scenario occurs in real life. Debbie's fight against the doorman exemplifies an attempt at counter-hegemony; however, it does not work. Therefore, the women are silenced further and hegemony is perpetuated even more.
This scenes actually parodies a real life event where celebrity, Lindsey Lohan, was not allowed in a club because the bouncer thought she was old news.
As I said in my blog about cultural studies many people look up to and idolize people they see on television. This is necessarily not a good thing because super skinny, young, blonde, perfect face and body are seen as attractive for most people hence those very very select few get privileges like instant access to clubs. Only if women shown on television were more representitive of an average woman in the United States and the world images of women would drastically change.
Post a Comment