Final Post

As this class is almost finished, I can say that I learned interesting notions. Having a better understanding of the theories we studied will surely help me in my future researches.

The theory that interested me the most was the Consumption and Power one. By trying to understand the relationship between power, consumption, media, social classes or even social networks has made me think a lot about our current society and the direction it is taking.

Two texts have had a significant impact on me. The first one is the text from Anderson – “The Instagram Effect”.

This text has made me realize how materialistic our society is. We live in a world where self-satisfaction is generated by letting others know what we do and receive some positive feedbacks about it (likes on Facebook, likes on Instagram etc.). We are more and more bound to the image we share on social networks and how people perceive us. This text allowed me to take a step-back on my social networking and to reflect on the future evolutions of this kind of social interactions and social recognition.

The other text is O’Connell – Capitalism, Communism, and the Hunger Games Again. This text made me think about the real status of our capitalist society. I realized how much power some people or organizations have and how they can easily fulfill their desires. I am still asking myself how “democratic” our modern society is? How much objectivity is left in the major decision processes? And how financial interests dictate the future of our society.

These questions can also be applied to a comparison between France and the USA; a subject that could interest me for future reflections.

These subjects have interested me and will continue to make me ask questions to myself and to search for further information.

As this post will be my final contribution to this blog, I would like to thank you for the class and for explaining interesting concepts. I will bring this information with me back to France and hope to be able to use them in future papers.

Hermann JAGOT.  

French feminist group criticizes new movie Gone Girl.

ALERT: this post may contain SPOILERS

After the release of David Fincher’s latest movie Gone Girl, a French feminist association called “Osez le féminisme !” (dare feminism!) raised its voice and criticized the misogynistic tone of the film.

The film shows the life of a couple living in Missouri. One day the wife disappears and the police starts investigating on the case and interrogating the husband. The following events illustrate the dark past of the couple, based on adultery and revenge plans.

The French feminist group explains that the actions of the wife when looking to take her revenge on her cheating husband are the stereotypical patriarchal vision of men on women. They say that the film shows how women are supposed to use psychological violence because it is a woman’s weapon. They state that the film should not portray the woman as guilty and mentally disturbed as she is in Fincher’s movie.        

This case illustrates well the impact of Third Wave Feminism. This movement which appeared in the 90’s focuses on how women are portrayed in the media and offers stronger criticisms from diverse sub-groups. It has enabled a change in the mentalities regarding how women are portrayed as news anchors, actresses or talk show hosts.

However, some of these criticisms appear to lack credibility and persuasive power because of the lack of arguments and knowledge from these feminist sub-groups.

When looking at the criticism of Gone Girl we discover that the association may have not acknowledged the fact that the film is an adaption from a novel written by a woman. The group seems to only focus on the film that was directed by a man, the perfect target for a feminist group.  

Third Wave Feminism offers major changes that will allow a better representation of women in the contemporaneous media. However it also appears that this movement includes sub-groups that are aiming intense and sometimes violent critics on subjects they do not always master and which could impact the credibility of the whole Feminist movement.

Sweet manipulation - (Hermann's 3rd entry)

After watching a French documentary about the food industry I have realized that the sugar industry happens to be one of the most manipulative industries in the world today.

Drawing on the Neo-Marxist perspective that we explored during class, we can observe that the sugar industry built its power thanks to its strong ties with politicians and governments around the world, with fierce lobbies, with control and manipulation of the information.

In fact, the lobby for the sugar industry is so strong that it influences a very important number of organizations including the medicine, schools, marketing, science and politics.

For instance in France there are meetings organized by the sugar industry (Kraftfood for instance) where nutritionists talk about the importance of the taste, the practical aspect of the product and the amount of sugar needed in the product. In fact these so-called “experts” help the marketing department and promote the brand rather than worrying about the impact of the products on customers’ health. This shows that the sugar industry is directly tied to the medical industry.

Another example of control and manipulation is the ties between Ferrero, Nestlé, Orangina and VIF France, an association created to promote healthy food and ways of consuming in order to avoid obesity. As a result, the events allow these food companies to promote their image and to associate it with healthy ways of consuming food. In addition, such events are often organized in schools in order to promote healthy habits to the younger population. That is a good way for the sugar industry to associate their products to a positive image in the eyes of children.

Some prominent scientists also happen to be linked to the food and sugar industry. As a result they can get financial compensations for promoting these industries and by delivering biased scientific studies about the impact of sugar on people’s health.

These various examples follow what we have seen in the “Food Inc.” documentary. Major industries such as the food or sugar ones maintain their power and their control thanks to their influence in diverse institutions as we have just seen. They are a good example to apply for the Neo-Marxist perspective.

Ray Rice’s press conference

The controversial Ray Rice scandal recently appeared in the news and aroused many reactions supporting or opposing Rice’s actions.

This scandal has led the professional football player to confront the press through public speeches in order to justify his actions.

(Link to the video: http://www.baltimoreravens.com/videos/videos/Ray-Rices-Full-Press-Conference/405fea46-d4d4-44c7-b381-33497bf6d12f)

Ray Rice has been filmed by CCTV cameras punching his wife in an elevator and knocking her down. This act went public recently and had for consequence the suspension of the footballer by the NFL. Both the husband and the wife attended a press conference where they explained the situation and where they tried to defend Ray Rice.

This speech includes many elements that we have seen in class. Here are a few that I could notice.

First of all we can observe the use of three modes of persuasion: logos, pathos and ethos. The most prominent one is pathos. Ray Rice’s speech was based on emotion, one of the keys to seduce an audience and a great tool of persuasion. The emotion is conveyed through crying, the repetition of his apologies and the fact that he looks lost and destabilized reading his notes on his phone.

The logos appears in the fact that he recognizes that he has made a mistake and that he his explaining that he is willing to change his behavior in the future. This seems to be the most logical reaction to have regarding the mistake he made.

The ethos intervenes through the fact that his speech is supported by his wife sitting next to him. The ethos is also present through what Ray Rice represents. He is a professional football player, which means that he has won credibility through his career and his achievements.

However, the purpose of this conference is to save this credibility that has been impacted by the beating of his wife.  

Overall, I think that even though Ray Rice delivered a speech that can be regarded as honest and emotionally driven, I am not convinced by this performance and I think that his ethos remains weakened by the mistake he did.

Ray Rice is part of the popular culture. His actions are watched by millions of people and he is part of today’s sport culture, therefore I think that this kind of public speech represents interesting texts to be analyzed.

The French electronic music scene: crossing point of modern popular cultures.

France might be renown for its wine, its food or its Eiffel Tower, however France has recently succeeded at imposing itself in the music industry. In fact, the French electronic music scene has transformed the music industry in France and all the elements connected to this new cultural phenomenon.

French electronic music is one of my current addictions. The reason why I am passionate about this musical movement is because it has broken barriers; it gathers symbols and signs from various musical genres and it successfully unites different industries such as fashion, music, design, cinema, advertising and many more.

As part of this new musical genre, I have a particular preference for the French artist Gesaffelstein. This French artist has intelligently linked fashion, violence and power in his music and his artistic image. He is always wearing a suit and he looks quiet even though he plays a music that can be judged as violent, dark, repetitive and sometimes controversial. His music and live shows combine symbols from metal music, hip-hop music or even classical music. He also uses symbols of religion as part of his scenography. All these elements sometimes constitute antinomies. However Gesaffelstein successfully assembled an artistic image that relies on a good balance and an appropriate use of each element to constitute what he is today. This combination of such different cultural areas is what allowed Gesaffelstein to become part of today’s French (and soon international) popular culture. This is also why I do have a lot of respect for this artist and his work.

This example illustrates well the fact that the modern pop culture is a collection of various industries, various genres, and various ideologies, which are constantly evolving, allowing the birth of new movements that will define tomorrow’s culture.