#mini media

[popwhatnow-blog]

Mini Media: Warm Bodies

Even zombies are getting in on the action. Warm bodies is a love story between a zombie and a human. It's an interesting twist on the supernatural love story. It's not focused so much on sex and it is focused on love conquering all! What is this, a Disney movie? It's also an interesting departure in that the story is less about the danger and the forbidden appeal of dating a supernatural creature. There still is danger of course. Instead it follows a zombie who, through the power of love, slowly starts to regain his humanity. It is when he is fully human once again that the romance is fulfilled.

It's interesting that supernatural creatures can be used to explore more tame ideas of romance in addition to exotic sex practices. It also shows that not all supernatural creatures are glorified as better than human. In this case the zombies wish to be human once again.

[swilson90]

Mini Media: Teen Purity

One of the most awkward subjects to face during puberty had to be the "sex" talks with parents or even with teachers during sex-ed.  But what should we be teaching teens when it comes to sex? Do you just tell them lies and ATTEMPT to scare them into making sure they stay virgins until marriage? Or do we tell them the truth and what they should do if they do make the choice to have sex before marriage (And let's face it, what they'll need to still know even after marriage).   While an abstinence only education may have had its role a long time ago before reliable forms of birth control (if you didn't know, the earliest recording of use of condoms dates back to 950 B.C. in Egypt), we no longer live in a society where we are doomed for life if we get pregnant. If multiple partners is the issue, we have ways to figure out who the dad is too (starting at $79!). 

We now have options and we need to share them with young teens before they start to have sex so that they can protect themselves from diseases and unwanted pregnancies. Also because an abstinence-only education can make rape victims feel as if they are not worthy since virginity is what is emphasized.   If you don't believe in a comprehensive sex education, then take a look at what only an abstinence-only education does.

  If you have time check out this channel on youTube called Sex Ed the Series. Bring on the Awkward!

[popwhatnow-blog]

Mini Media: Juno

I apologize for the poor quality of the video, but the audio is coming in strong and that is what matters.

In this scene from the movie Juno, the title character, a pregnant teen, is receiving an ultrasound when the technician makes a comment about how it's a relief that the baby is being adopted.

This is a wonderful scene because it addresses a common problem with teen mothers. People assume they are bad mothers just because of their age. People are so quick to judge a mother's fitness based solely on her age, financial status, or if she is married. This is ridiculous. A lot more goes into being a good mother than being 30 and having a husband. Even those mothers have to deal with criticism depending on how much time they spend away from their children. Being a mother is a complicated job. There is no one right way to do it and it's not something that should define a person's character anyway. Just because someone is young doesn't mean they aren't caring. And being a good mother isn't the one and true goal of womanhood. People just need to chill out with the judgment.

[julia0914-blog]

Preachers' Daughters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6906U_aKkr4

There are many reality shows on television which set our society back and the show Preachers’ Daughters is definitely one of them. The show follows different families that have either one or two parents that are preachers. The focus is supposed to be on the children and what their lives are like being a preacher’s daughter. But it ends up being more a game of which father can control their daughter the best.

The problem with the show is what I just mentioned..the fathers feel as if they must heavily control their daughters. Mostly because they do not want them to have pre-marital sex because to the Christian faith this is a sin and the girl would be seen as un pure. So again we see the theme of a woman’s body not being under her own control. While men are also not supposed to have sex before marriage in Christianity, it is not as big of a deal. This is because men in our society are not punished as much for having sex. It’s the good old excuse of well he’s a guy so he is more driven towards it biologically. Honestly that excuse is bogus because I know plenty of girls who want to have sex just as much as their boyfriends. But as a women, we have to be the ones to stay pure otherwise we will just be really gross and ruin everything. Also, if we think about why everyone wants a woman to be pure, it is for the pleasure of the man. Screw that….why don’t you stay pure for me!

Throughout the show it is obvious that they hope to make a point in showing that female sexuality is evil and it must be controlled. The preachers think that their daughter’s bodies are theirs to regulate. They do this by taking away her agency and telling her that they will not allow her to do anything that would even remotely lead to having sex. That’s the way to raise a kid, don’t let them experience the world for 18 years. I am not saying that these parents should be encouraging their girls to go out and have a bunch of wild sex, but the points is it should be her choice. Not her father’s choice.       

The interesting part about it is that many daughters of preachers end up becoming promiscuous despite their fathers desperate attempt to ward off all men. They feel that they must rebel against the fact that their bodies are being controlled. To one of the girls, she thinks freedom is being a stripper and a porn star. There are plenty of other occupations where she can feel free and in charge but because her body is what’s being controlled, she thinks porn star is her only option. Having sex would be a much healthier way to express sexuality and the desires you have with your body!

[paigejakuszewski]

Mini Media: Purity and Pregnancy

First of all, I love Lifetime Movies because they are always so filled with drama that they make you appreciate your life no matter how hectic it is. So when I saw the commercial for “The Pregnancy Pact” and found out it was based on a true story, I immediately wanted to watch it. Not only because of that, but because I found it relevant to my life. When I was a senior my high school of roughly 1,000 students, had 22 girls who were pregnant, in one school year. Not counting the girls who were already mothers. This may or may not seem like a lot, but there was a huge spike in the numbers considering my three years before that there was only a handful each year. Of course there are accidents and some were unplanned but there were stories that these girls did it on purpose, they felt they were ready, or they wanted to “trap” their boyfriends.  I wondered why the change, was it because of shows like 16 and pregnant, or Teen Mom, which glorify pregnancies. Yes it shows the battles these girls face but I don’t think anyone realizes how hard it will be until you go through it yourself, no matter what your age is. But why were so many teenagers willing or wanting to get pregnant at such a young age?

“The Pregnancy Pact” answered that question for these girls. They thought having a child was the most important thing in life and couldn’t wait any longer. They had no other aspirations in life, but to be a mother at that instant. Most of these girls didn’t have the support of the father and the one that did pushed him away by lying to him about her intentions of getting pregnant. This group of best friends thought it would be so cool if they all got pregnant around the same time, so that their children could play with each other and be best friends too. But what these girls did was way worse than that. They sparked a trend, where 18 other students in the school got pregnant within 8 weeks, catching the attention of the media. The town council didn’t know what to do to stop it and the principal eventually resigned from all the stress and bad publicity he was receiving saying that it was the schools fault.

To a degree, I believe this. Most schools hold virginity to be such a sacred thing, which it is. But the trust of the matter is that more and more kids are having sex. They don’t need to be taught abstinence only programs, but safe sex programs; teaching them how and where to get different contraception’s. Maybe if not only schools, but parents were teaching this method of sex education, there would be a decrease in teenage pregnancies.  

[paigejakuszewski]

Mini Media: Sex and the Supernatural

So we’ve learned about Supernatural Sexuality, but what about sex and the supernatural? As Jackie said, “In a society where female sexuality is highly regulated, fantasy elements provide an escape where women can explore sexual desires”. Whether that is through movies, books, and videogames, or real life situations, this allows women to experience a whole new world.

The women in this video, not only believe in the supernatural and the presence of ghosts, but they believe in a strong sexual tension between them. One woman even entices a ghost by wearing very little clothing in bed, hoping to feel some kind of sexual force. She invites him in and calls for him. While others feel violated and scared, because they don’t know what they’re dealing with. Personally, I would feel this same way. I’m not sure if I believe in ghosts, but I think this supernatural fantasy is taking it to a whole other level. If a supernatural being can come in and have sex with you, what’s telling them no. You can’t physically push them off of you, how would you stop it?

[lwilmes2-blog]

Mini Media: Purity and Pregnancy

Pregnant Barbie Doll

In this video they show a Barbie made by Mattel in 2002 that is pregnant. People immediately took concern to this and made a huge fuss about it and stores like Wal-Mart took it off their shelves. The Barbie who looks young and is not actually Barbie but her friend, Midge has a magnetic baby bump which holds a baby, and it comes with more than one baby. Many people thought this was promoting teen pregnancy by having her look young, have no husband, yet they did make it clear to put a wedding ring on her finger. There are some problematic issues with this Barbie, one being that she is pregnant and that is considered a problem with society? Last time I checked if women did not get pregnant then there would be no future humans. Also, she has realistic features to her like feet shaped only to wear high heels.

What 9 month pregnant lady is wearing heels? Or could even get her swollen feet in heels?

Next problem is that she has a magnetic belly and it just comes off and boom, skinny size 0 Midge again… yeah not realistic, it takes just as long to take off the weight as it does to put it on.

Also, why does she have to be married to have a baby, yet there is no husband with her that helps her through a pregnancy, or that is there to help her in her heels… This also makes the point that her only goal in life is to be a mother; to have a family and get pregnant over and over again. Children’s toys shape how they believe life is and with misrepresentations it can be very unclear and confusing. We need to promote this pregnant aspect in a different way and not show it only in one way. 

[lindsaycwhite-blog]

Mini Media: Teenage Purity

The day before we watched "The Purity Myth" in class, a friend on facebook had a link to this article. I was shocked. In the article, Katelyn Campbell, a West Virginian high school student, describes how her principal threatened her for speaking out against an abstinence assembly held at her high school. Not only did this public high school host an assembly funded by a Conservative religious group, but the assembly was also full of factual inaccuracies.

I was completely dumbfounded by this. Never once in an assembly at my high school did I believe that I was being shared inaccurate information. I think it is completely wrong to push religious and “moral” beliefs on high school students, but even worse to try and push these beliefs by tricking them with false information. Not only is this unfair to students, but also makes them less knowledgeable and much more ignorant.