Welcome, fellow JMC 309 classmates!
My name is Melissa, and I look forward to getting to know you all this semester.
See you in the comments!
Final Post: A CRT and Ecocritical analysis of Sleep Dealers
Sleep Dealers is a SciFi thriller that addresses themes of artificial intelligence technology, racial inequality through exploitation of labor, and ecological impacts on farming. This bilingual hour-and-a-half long film was released in 2008 by Alex Rivera. It begins with a young hacker, Memo, living on his father’s milpa in Oaxaca, Mexico. The futuristic setting is…
Post 9: Intersections of CRT and Ecocriticism
Ecocriticism and Critical Race Theory (CRT), while different in their immediate area of interest, are very similar in the way they look at subjects with a critical perception of noticing the gaps and inequalities that are present within our modern culture. Both theories of criticism focus on intersectionalities between subjects, and they both attempt to…
Post 8: Avatar and Ecocriticism
For those who have seen James Cameron’s Avatar, it becomes hard to deny that the film offers an ecological perspective with an environmental message. The Na’vi, the native people of the planet Pandora, are portrayed as enlightened individuals, interconnected with the synchronicities of nature. In contrast, the humans from Earth are portrayed as profit-hungry conquistadors,…
Melissa Voita - JMC 309 
Hi Melissa!
In response to Post 2 on CRT, yes, YES, YESSS. I agree with everything that you said. Down to the well intentions but ignorance that follows/is attached to a statement such as “I don’t see people by the color of their skin.”Pertaining to Travis Turner, I completely agree with your analysis. I also don’t know some people easily blurt out certain thoughts without a degree of critical thought. I love your posts and writing and I can’t wait to see what else you post about.
LikeLike
Love your post! Yes, subtle is usually the vibe. I forgot about the boy name dropping and I think that is when I started to tune out. People feel better with a comfortable lie then an uncomfortable truth.
LikeLike
Hi Melissa,
I found your post interesting even if not very surprising. The problem with CRT is that it creates the racism it portends to be identifying and calling out. The story of the professor is a good example– I believe it is Bell’ own experience. I am white and I am male. I have had a very long time to experience the prejudice and jealousy of success by others. I have worked in sales and marketing and in everyone of my varied positions was always the number one producer. What I can tell you is that others talked behind my back, gave me the false smiles and accusatory smirks and attributed my success to everything but hard work and talent. Trust me, hating on people is not a race thing it is a human thing. The problem with CRT and Bell in particular is that he is just as hateful towards whites as he accuses them of being towards blacks. He slanders two scholars by accusing them of falsifying their data with no proof or evidence. Yet every article and critique of the Bell Curve I have been able to find by cognitive researchers, biologists, and psychologists, do not challenge Herrnstein’s and Murray’s data, they challenge their conclusions that IQ is genetic and falls along racial lines. In fact, the data has been verified on numerous occasions since the book was published. Bell and others do not further their cause when they misrepresent facts and fail to acknowledge that there are problems that need to be solved. To simply point the finger at “white privilege” and call it a day ignores the host of real causes and challenges, and hinders real solutions. Perhaps, this quote from Bell should be a clue.
“Professor Cheryl Harris takes up this challenge and examines how whiteness, initially constructed as a form of racial identity, evolved into a form of property, historically and presently acknowledged and protected in American law. To state this view is to meet resistance. There is no direct support for it in the precedents or in the
traditional legal writing on race and rights. Harris sets the stage for her long piece by telling the reader about her grandmother (Bell 904).”
Perhaps if the point cannot be found in the precedence or legal writings then the problem is less about the laws and more about how laws are applied and their unintended consequences than about deliberate racism and protecting white privilege. Most laws passed since the 60s in the realm of civil rights do not protect whites they establish protected classes which penalize whites in order to level the playing field.
Finally, the actor in the TMZ clip did answer the question, he said no he was not worried about the black community. He then goes on to say that social media is dividing the country. Martin Luther’s dream was that people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. How can CRT profess to be honoring one of their greatest heroes and founders by constantly focusing on race, gender, and skin color, and ignoring character and integrity?
LikeLike
In response to Post One- Hi Melissa you mentioned noticing how heavily influenced you were by men and how your blog initially reflected, especially in the literary world. Thanks for brining that awareness up for discussion. I find that most narratives around power and privilege and revolve heavily around the male gaze, academia is loaded with that which is probably why I struggled so much to relate to what I learned throughout high school and community college. Most of what is taught comes from a Western paradigm which is totally isolating, I must say that the reason I continued with my education was partly due to the few womxn that guided me through higher education system. It’s kind of hard not to be influenced by the patriarchy, I mean live in a patriarchal society, our laws and views were shaped and continue to be shaped by men.
LikeLike
Can you open your subscription option?
LikeLike
Perhaps the fact that many of us (not me but many others) just saw that as a regular commercial is in itself a reflection of societal constructs and social conditioning? Maybe it doesn’t stand out as misogynistic to many of you because you grew up in a cultural bubble where that seems normal? From a young age I heard feminist debate about our patriarchal system of white male dominance. I was taught to not assume men are smarter, or always in charge, or always right. What if the commercial was reversed and the wife surprised the seemingly sane and balanced husband with a year of psychotherapy? What would your reaction be to that commercial? I’am jealous of all the great blog designs!! I tried to experiment with different formats so that I could add a bunch of pics, and then my blog didnt show up. Only my pics! Grrrrr
LikeLiked by 1 person
Melissa,
Personally I catch myself living in a mental bubble that just accepts ads for what they are, inherently accept that only good was intended. Probably going a little farther than necessary, I think as a society we should be able to communicate with someone that is really unhealthy and focus more on looking at health rather than looks. When we categorize weight with looks, is when things get unstable and feeling start to get hurt. When I looked deeper and started to think about these thoughts, I realized that ads and media that have the possible intent of sexism is only making the situation much worse. It is really difficult for me to look this deep into such little things, but may be this class will help better my ability at looking deeper into such media.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Melissa,
I had a similar reaction to the peleton ad. I didn’t feel like it was forcing gender norms or stereo types, but felt that it was just another idealized life of a commercial family. The vodka ad I did not get at all, the product seemed to be offering comfort to a women in a challenging time. Neither of these ads bothered me or made me think differently, especially with all the ridiculous advertising that populates our feeds now. I really liked your response and look forward to having good discussions in the future.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hey Melissa,
I wanted to compliment you on being able to call yourself out because your social media influences have been dominated by patriarchy. Sometimes it’s difficult to catch yourself, but I respect that about you already! Mostly because I also thought about balancing out my media influences while writing my post. I also watch Sex Education. The second season just came out, so I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! I’m also a fan of David Dobrik and Mr. Beast. I casually watched Mr. Beast for a while, but officially started watching him when he started the “Planting 1 million trees challenge.” This is especially needed at this moment because of the extreme fires in Australia.
A bit off-topic, but I genuinely enjoyed how you wrote your blog post with the italics.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi! Thank you so much for your wonderful response. I did like the new season of Sex Ed a lot. It kind of sucks that in today’s binge-watch culture I’ve already finished the season and am stuck waiting for the next! Luckily, it’s good enough to want to watch again. Hope your blogging is going well!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Melissa!
I really enjoyed reading your cultural criticism blog post and think you have some really great perspectives on this topic! It is totally true that many of the cultural influences especially within english literature is predominantly male even though times are changing. After watching the Peloton ad, I had the same feelings as you. Initially watching it the ad I saw nothing wrong with it, even thought it was cool how her husband was getting her a great gift. Watching it I can pick up the subtle cues that some of it might trigger someone, and take it as a sexist ad. Personally it wasn’t an ad that bothered me, but I can see how it may bother some. I look forward to reading more of your posts as the semester continues!
LikeLike
Thank you so much for reading, Jessica. It seems like we had a very similar experience in watching the ad, and I appreciate your response. See you on your page! Happy blogging 🙂
LikeLike