Who I think I am

                Who I think I am
                    Hasnah Farraj
            The person that I think that I am is a student who enjoys looking at various media not only for information from the news channels but also for entertainment.  Listening to music and reading magazines in my opinion are a good way to relax. From my media consumption I do notice that there are messages that they (the media) are sending that can indeed be harmful to ones self-esteem. So while I am watching, reading or listening to a form of media I constantly remind myself that it is all a form of entertainment, and that none of it is real, with the hopeful exception of the news. Which I gain access to via television, whether it is FOX, NY1, CNBC. It is very easy to see that women and young girls are often portrayed as objects whom are only valuable for their looks, and are under pressure to maintain a certain image, if they do not maintain this then they are seen as worthless.
          In Laura Mulvey’s article she discusses how in film women are indeed seen as objects for male pleasure, without anything else to offer from their mind or personality, and even that is seen as the males “property” (Mulvey 3,7). Mulvey says “The image of women as (passive) raw material for the active gaze of man takes the argument into the structure of representation, adding a further layer demanded by the ideology of the patriarchal order as it is worked out in its favorite cinematic form- illusionistic narrative film”(Mulvey 7). Here Mulvey continues to support the claims that women are seen as objects for the male gaze and that in film all that women have to offer all belong to the male character and viewer. She is unfortunately correct in this claim because indeed there are countless films in which this is true, and very rarely do we, as viewers, not see a film in which the female character in the film is not objectified to the males desire.
         As I continue to read Berger and Oppositional Gaze I began to think about how as I purser a career in either publishing or journalism that I can show that it is alright for young girls and women to be themselves. That looking a certain way does not make one any less attractive or worth while. Viewers forget that entertainment should be the main purpose of looking at media and not a logical standard to live by. I hope to make this true when I purse a media making career. As a publisher I hope to make stories that show individuality and uniqueness and as a journalist show stories of real women and hero’s.
         While reading Berger it boiled my blood to see that in these paintings the women were basically just a piece of meat for the men to visually tear apart. As I pursue my career in media making I hope that I can show that women should not just put themselves on display for others to                               look at. That looking a certain way should just be beneficial to themselves and not feel that they have to gain anyones approval to be seen as pretty. The Judgment of Pairs that Berger mentions is one example that I am talking about, today there are tons of beauty pageants which is another way to hurt ones self esteem (Berger 52). It was also interesting to read Bell Hooks article on watching from a racial stand point (Bell Hooks 1-2). Viewing should be for all and no one should ever be punished for looking, because viewing should be open to all and for all (Bell Hooks1-2).  As the author spoke about feeling conflicted to know when she was allowed to look and it can indeed feel overwhelming when to know when to look at someone or something and in my own view everyone should be allowed to view anything they want and form their own ideas and theories (Idea formed from Bell Hooks 1-2). 
            As stated in class I am a horror movie fanatic and it is always interesting to view women in horror films and notice how they are portrayed.
The ring Noah’s death :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD-Y9JCRQcw

Scream part 1 Drew Barrymore’s death Warning: There is bloody graphics in this video. Viewer Discretion is advised.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulykPn5ZUVs&feature=related 


    Throughout my post I talk about being under pressure to look a certain way here one advertisement that portrays this. Its hard for a girl and guys self esteem to not be effected when they are told they have to look something like this :

The express image is from
http://aowenscomm263.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/express-clothings.jpg



hfarraj:  Hasnah Farraj