"The Asianization of America" by Olivia Barker

What I like about this article is that it addresses both areas of improvement in the recognition and acceptance of the Asian culture but also recognizes the need for improvement. This need for improvement to me stood out the most in the author's description of how Asian culture may be more 'romanticized' in American than actually authentically represented. Personally I feel like America has a history of ‘romanticizing’ cultures into what we want. There is no doubt in my mind that Americans are trendy. We enjoy being a 'cool' and 'in-style' society; however, it is essential that efforts be made to not trivialize the culture our trends may stem from. Reading articles like this really makes me think about my own actions and how I need to be aware of how they are perceived. The article discussed the movie industry and that although Eastern films are being shown more frequently in America, there is still this overarching theme of Americanizing these films. Also described in the article, was the need for Asian-American actors to be able to perform martial arts and speak with an Asian accent if they wanted to be able to be greatly successful in the movie industry. I feel like the most important message to take away from this article is that the blending of cultures and style is perfectly acceptable, as long as the ‘blending’ is emphasized. The point at which the blended product becomes equivalent to authenticity, is when a serious revision of thought processes needs to begin.

Mosaic vs. Melting Pot

In class, we watched a commercial where a Canadian said that he believed in diversity and not in a melting pot. Matt said it best when he said "I think he is implying that in America we expect people to lose their identity and individuality in order to blend into one whole... and that if you come to America you need to surrender yourself to the common whole." As a group, we believed this to be untrue and a very primitive way to view the American society. The melting pot does not symbolize the trivialization of the American people but rather puts the emphasis as being seen as an American no matter what you look like or who/what you believe in. There were several commercials after 9/11 that focused on being an American.

These commercials were a powerful tool in remembering that although we are different we are one. To imply that America is a place where you cannot be yourself is to be uneducated, but to believe there is a place in this world where people are free from all racial prejudice is ignorant.

Group Members - Matt, Kallie, Anthony, Yu, and Courtney

Advertisements in "Shape"

This post is directed toward an in-class assignment in which we categorized magazine advertisements. From those categories, we were to develop themes or identify themes conveyed by these ads. The magazine I used for my analysis was the September 2007 issue of Shape. I would classify Shape as a women’s self-help magazine generally centered on fitness for women, healthy eating, and related articles.

The results of my analysis reveal the categories with the most advertisements were cosmetics (39/130), dietary supplements (33/130), and “other” (39/130). The cosmetics category consisted of make-up, hygiene, and hair products. Dietary supplements included weight-loss pills, diet drinks, vitamins, and healthier eating options. The “other” category consisted mostly of car ads and organizational ads. The main theme I developed and want to focus on, I called “flawlessness”.

“Flawlessness” is what seemed to be presented with in the cosmetic ads. The flawlessness is promoted by these cosmetic ads by having enlarged and probably photo shopped head shots of models and celebrities. When you see these images, there is not a blemish, shiny spot, or wrinkle to be found. It is blatantly clear these women are epitomized as beautiful in our society but is a perfect face the only type of beauty? No! Of course it isn't but looking through this magazine all I could think is that wow I need my teeth to be straighter and whiter, my skin to be less blotchy, my hair to be silkier, and my face to be toned and smooth...then I'll be pretty. I don't know if that was the intent of the magazine but those are the feelings I get while looking at the ads. My question is what does the magazine want to 'shape' exactly? Shape us into women who are strong, healthy, and beautiful in our own way? Or, Shape us into a socially accepted view of perfection that women should look like?

"Introduction: Imagining Sociological Narratives" by Jim Denison and Robert Rinehart (2000)

Simply stated, I really enjoyed this article. The way it was written with thick descriptions seemed to pull me into the page. I felt as though I was sitting in the class that was being described. It's readings such as these that allow the reader to develop a connection with the words on the page and not just see them as an obstacle to gaining knowledge. Not to say that less descriptive and more straight forward articles are not important because they truly are.

Denison and Rinehart (2000) did an excellent job of using the style of writing they were promoting. They highlighted the importance of accepting a different style of research and critical thinking. Trying to relate this to my possible thesis/research ideas is very easy considering I am thinking of conducting a case study. I would use mainly interviews to describe the coach-created motivational climate of a women's basketball team. So this article really helped me to feel the importance of varied types of research and how a writing style can allow the reader to almost feel like they were involved in what is being described.