Exposing the Hobo

This week I’m going to talk about how the homeless are portrayed in the media. Before you start to moan and groan just think about it for a second. The homeless are about the most one-dimensional group portrayed in the media. They are seen as either drug addicts or people that were screwed over in life one way or another. No matter how you look at it its one big pity party.

What if there is another way to look at this population? There is. Granted there are some homeless that fit the previously listed stereotype; but there are others. I know a church that found a homeless man, acquired identification for him, found him a job, found him a place to live and basically gave him a clean slate. However, after living the “average Joe,” nine-to-five lifestyle for about a month he wrote a letter to the church thanking them for the assistance and explaining that he preferred the homeless life. He then disappeared and was never heard from again.

You don’t see that scenario played out in the media. Few acknowledge the fact that some people prefer the bohemian, free spirited lifestyle.

Perverting the Perverted

One thing you might notice when you first visit France or many other countries in Europe is that they have a much more liberal appreciation of sex. Pornography is not contained in lowly adult book stores but is displayed on public television.

Would it shock you if I said the United States is not far from that? We display sex in a different but just as public way. Countless ads in magazines and on TV show men and women wearing sometimes less than nothing.

This media is based on the idea that sex sells. America is now even dealing in homoerotic advertising as well. Gay vague, as it’s called, is being utilized by clothing companies as a way to break through the cluttered media.

So what is worse? Displaying sex for what it is; or using it as a beast of burden to persuade the public to buy things?

Equal Rights for Men

At the moment, it seems popular to go to bat for women’s rights. This is a good thing. Women are still not treated equally to men. However, what about the guys?

It seems that the public’s opinion of men has been declining in the past 50 years. Just look at TV shows. In the days of ‘I Love Lucy’ and ‘The Brady Bunch’ the man was looked at as the wise leader of the family. Today, it seems that every father on TV is the bumbling caveman that can’t do anything but drink beer and put together the occasional coherent sentence.

While women’s public image has improved, men’s has gotten worse. How could this be? Is there only so much respect to go around that someone has to get cut short? Could it be that someone has to be upon the head of the goat?

Giving equal rights to everyone does not mean we should move around the pluses and minuses. It means the lower party should be lifted to the same status as the higher party.

The Portrayal of Women

In class we recently began talking about how women are being portrayed as bodies in magazines, television and movies. There is no doubt that this is detrimental to future generations of women. However, where did the concept of “women are just bodies” come from? Did women start showing more skin for attention or did the media start exploiting the idea that sex sells? Lets take a look at both sides of the spectrum.

Let’s say it started with women. If women started wearing less and less to attract attention then the fault of women being perceived as bodies lies with them. The only way this scenario can be corrected is if women of the world dress differently and bring peoples eyes above the neck.

Lets say it all started with the media believing in the idea that sex sells. In this scenario women are the victims. The only way to curb this problem is to boycott and publicly reprimand the companies that cheapen the image of women.

The lines are probably not as finely drawn as what I just described. The problem could very well be a mix of the two mentioned scenarios. If this is so then both solutions must be put into action to restore the proper public image of women.

Something About Nothing

I cannot think of anything to blog about, but here I am blogging my little heart out. However, the very idea of not having an idea gives me an idea of what to blog about.

Years ago the masses looked to a select few for answers and commentary on daily events. This tended to keep things organized, less cluttered. Now, due to the Internet and the increasingly popular view of the “every man,” everyone’s opinion can be heard.

Most everyone in the public cannot wait to pull out his or her soapbox and begin telling it how it is. With all these messages flying this way and that, how do we know what to listen to? Today that question is becoming more and more difficult to answer.

Plus, all these opinions are chipping away at the idea of credibility. If there are millions of people out there telling me the way things are and what to believe as true then they all seem credible. If everyone sounds credible then no one sounds credible.

Should we tone back our voices to hear the more passionate ones? How do we know we do not have the better more passionate idea? Who should we listen to?