The Smurfette Principle in the Modern Media Feminism Is over

The Smurfette Principle in the Modern Media Feminism Is over Coined by Katha Pollitt in the distant 1991, the term â€Å"Smurfette Principle† described the phenomenon of female characters existing in media for the sole purpose of being the male counterparts and having no identity other than that: â€Å"The message is clear. Boys are the norm, girls the variation; boys are central, girls peripheral; boys are individuals, girls types.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Smurfette Principle in the Modern Media: Feminism Is over? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Boys define the group, its story and its code of values. Girls exist only in relation to boys† (Pollitt, 1991, April 7, para. 4).Also known as a â€Å"token woman,† the given character originated from the attempts of the entertainment industry to market their product to a particular audience (Thompson Heinberg, 1999). However, despite the fact that the Smurfette principle is still applied towards mode rn media and especially film industry, considerable changes in the definition of the role of a female character have occurred, with the latter acquiring their own unique features outside of supplying color commentaries for the male characters, which can be traced in a number of present-day media specimens. One of the most obvious changes that have occurred to female characters in media and that seems to have the greatest impact on the destruction of the Smurfette Principle is that most of the female characters created in 2000s–2010s clearly have distinct personalities – in contrast to the ones of the 90s era, when a female character had a personality of a powder compact (Smith, 2008). Another obvious foot forward in promoting a less clichà ©d female character to younger audience is the fact that modern female leads do not need a male companion and often do not have one. The given feature of a â€Å"strong, independent† female character was launched by the creat ors of long-forgotten She-Ra franchise (Scheimer 1985–1986), where, though originally created as a counterpart to He-Man, the princess had a distinct personality, and her gender could be considered accidental. Although the number of female protagonists with their unique story arc and personality still seems quite little, the prevalence of female antagonists whose gender could be defined as accidental is stunning. Even the notorious The little mermaid, which Pollitt despised so much for providing an unbearably bland character with the most trivial motivations that a female protagonist can get, provides the audience with a unique and compelling evil female character. Ursula, though admittedly despicable, is much more compelling than Ariel, and her motivations are much more complex; the animators could have easily substituted her with a male character without changing a single line: â€Å"Come in. Come in, my child. We mustnt lurk in doorways. Its rude. One might question your upbringing† (Ashman, 1989, 0:39:17–0:39:25). Therefore, it can be assumed that the experience of writing negative female characters can be translated into creating unique female protagonists as well.Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It must be admitted that the idea of splitting the characters into male protagonists and their female archetypes is extremely alluring for most of the present-day media companies. In fact, even the most gender neutral TV shows and cartoon series seem to recycle the same concept of a male lead and his shallow female counterpart. In fact, female characters are provided with a leading part quite rarely even nowadays, especially in TV shows and animated series, with several major exceptions which only seem to make the Smurfette Principle even stronger. Indeed, in a retrospective, the media targeted at children rarely features the shows in which a female protagonist plays just as important part as a male one. For instance, in 1990s and 2000s, most TV shows, such as Avatar (DiMartino, 2005–2008), had male leads, whereas all that girls were left with was My little pony (Faust, 2010). The 2010s, however, changed a lot. Such shows as Kim Possible (for teens) and Dora the Explorer (for younger audience) showed that female protagonists could exist and, more importantly, were not supposed to follow the formula of shallow female archetypes. What is even more surprising, these shows were targeted not primarily at boys, but largely at teens and kids, therefore, offering big gender neutral shows with a strong female lead, not to mention the famous and extremely well grossing â€Å"Avatar: The Legend of Korra† (with 4.5 rating, according to the Staff Writer (2013, November 14)). The process of redefining female characters in media, especially in the media designed for children, is taking place at a very slow pace at present, mostly because of the creators’ unwillingness to try something new in terms of female character development. The intentions of the people involved into the media industry are hardly malicious; instead, they seem to be careless towards the way in which media shapes children’s perception of reality. There are a few exceptions in the grand scheme, but for the most part, the Smurfette Principle seems to be affecting the evolution of a female character even nowadays, especially in children TV series and cartoons and mostly for the same reasons that it appears in the adult media. There seems to be a pattern of attitudes towards the media created by women and by men in that the latter are said to create the content for girls and women, while the latter are considered to be able to create content for both.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Smurfette Principle in the Modern Media: Feminism Is over? specifically for you for on ly $16.05 $11/page Learn More The 2010s, however, have changed the cultural landscape of female characters, in children media specifically. It is remarkable that a number of movies that were released in 2010s have a female protagonist that often does not require a male counterpart and seems to be able to exist on her own. Taking Merida from Brave (2012) as an example one will see that she is the compelling female character that does not fit the Smurfette Principle at all; she even stands the Bechdel test, for that matter (Freedman, 2009). She interacts with male characters, yet marrying a prince is not her focus; true, she has suitors, but she prefers not to marry any of them at the end of the movie: â€Å"There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.† (Docter, Lasseter Stanton, 2012). The given movie is not the only example of female protagonists evolving into self-sufficient characters with their own unique story arcs. Although the process of changing the viewers’ idea of women in media, especially if these viewers are children, is not easy, it still has the potential, which more recent examples of portraying women in media show. Another obvious change to female characters in media, especially in media for children, is that the female protagonists are no longer needed to be portrayed as the lead character’s love interest or a â€Å"sidekick† – quite on the contrary, they get their own unique stories and develop authentic character traits that inform, but not define them (Michael et al., 2012). Synthesis The present-day media, especially media designed for children, still seems to suffer from the abuse of token female characters. However, the basic tendencies in the media industry are clearly geared towards redefining female characters. The recent media products in general and media products for children in particular are the exact manifestation of such tendencies, as the analysis of shows and movies above displays (Taylor, 2003). The creators of female characters in media have a number of complex and often contradictory tasks. On the one hand, they must create a female character, who is going to be authentic and will not be considered a bland attempt at recycling the character traits of the male protagonist. On the other hand, it is necessary to create the female character whose key features are not going to inform her gender and be attributed to both men and women; in other words, it is necessary to step away from stereotypical portrayal of women in media (Aina Cameron, 2011).Advertising Looking for essay on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion Assuming that female characters cannot evolve in the present-day media would be quite a stretch – as the recent movies and TV series for younger audience show, it is possible to write an interesting and compelling female protagonist. However, the introduction of such characters into popular media presupposes fighting a number of stereotypes. As it turns out, it is possible not to fall for the trope of a female archetype in movies and come up with a unique personality for a female protagonist. Therefore, it is only a matter of time and effort before a range of new and inspiring female characters appear in mass media in general and children media in particular. Reference List Aina, O. E. Cameron, P. A. (2011). Why does gender matter? Counteracting stereotypes with young children. Dimensions of Early Childhood, 39(3), 11–20. Ashman, H. (Executive Producer). (1989). The little mermaid [DVD]. Burbank, CA: Walt Disney Pictures. DiMartino, M. D. (2005–2008) . Avatar: The last airbender. Studio City, LA: Nicelodeon Animation Studio. Docter, P., Lasseter, J. Stanton, A. (2012). Brave [DVD]. Emeryville, CA: Pixar. Faust, L. (Executive Producer). (2010). My little pony. Vancouver: Studio B Productions. Freedman, A. (2009). Drawing on Modernism in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home. Journal of Modern Literature, 32(4), 125-140. Michael, E., Bakar, A. R. A.,Ibrahim, I. M., Veerappan, G., Noor, N. M., Heng, L. E. Yann, N. K. (2012). A comparative study of gender roles in animated films. Global Journal of Human Social Science, 12(5), 73–78. Pollitt, K. (1991, April 7). Hers; the Smurfette principle. The New York Times. Web. Scheimer, L. (Executive Producer). (1985–1986). She-Ra: Princess of power. East Pittsburg, PA: Group W Productions. Smith, S. L. (2008). Gender stereotypes: An analysis of popular films and TV. Web. Staff Writer (2013, November 14). Legend of Korra director creates contest for book 2 episode 11: Ratings rising after timeslot change. KPopStarz. Web. Taylor, F. (2003). Content analysis and gender stereotypes in childrens books. Teaching Sociology, 31(3), 300–311. Thompson, K. J. Heinberg, L. J. (1999). The medias influence on body image disturbance and eating disorders: Weve reviled them, now can we rehabilitate them? Journal of Social Issues, 55(2), 339–353.

Learning English in Non-English Countries Essay Example

Learning English in Non Learning English in Non-English Countries Essay Learning English in Non-English Countries Essay As long as English is spreading widely, its value, importance and usage are also in progress. From English as lingua franca to EFL (English as a foreign language), and from EFL to EMI (English as medium of instruction) English is growing and spreading rapidly. EMI is one of the global phenomena that has been debated across the world and carries many controversial ideas. While many countries accept EMI as a path to development, opponents believe that EMI is a form of language imperialism and undermines the multilingualism and the learning efforts of students. However, in past few decades EMI has succeeded to gain its position as a key factor of development. In this paper, the beneficial points of EMI (globally, economically and internationally), by providing evidence from many countries, will be argued. EMI is accepted as the best way of globalizing countries because English has become a global language among other languages of the world. As the global usage of English estimated, â€Å"Some 380m people speak it as their first language and perhaps two-thirds as many again as their second. A billion are learning it, about a third of the worlds population is in some sense exposed to it and by 2050, it is predicted, half the world will be more or less proficient in it† (The Economist). Globalization has also made English extremely important in many fields like, diplomacy, internet, entertainment, medicine, and mostly education and information. As experts say, â€Å"About 85% of the world’s important film productions and markets use English as well, and 90% of the published academic articles in several academic fields, such as linguistics, are written in English. In many cases, the increased growth in the use of the English language can be attributed to educational, econo mic, or cultural globalization†(Li and Ben-Canaan 1). Therefore, many countries with the aim of training their students in English and make them able to cope with global

Ways of Seeing by John Berger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Ways of Seeing by John Berger - Essay Example In the attempt to convey the disparity in perception of â€Å"beauty† between men and women, Berger illustrates that women tend to adore themselves much more than men, while the latter focus on women’s appearance rather than their own. This gives the implication that women perceive themselves as being beautiful and they expect men to recognize the same of them. This is a theme that Berger builds with the pictures described hereunder (Berger [b] 35). On the 36th page of â€Å"Ways of seeing†, there are two photographs of two different women. The first photograph depicts a lady working at a store, wrapping a box on the table with her head bowed low (Berger [b] 36). Despite her admirable stature, the lady has numerous portraits of â€Å"beautiful† ladies hanging on the wall behind her. In the second photograph, there is a lady sitting in the back left side of a car. The lady appears to be receiving a lot of attention from onlookers, who seem to be astounded by her looks. However, the woman in the photo looks so carefree, an aspect evident from her sitting posture and closed eyes. This is a clear indicator that she perceives herself as being beautiful and expects complete attention from others, yet she does not even acknowledge her admirers. Her perception is, however, as a result of people’s general definition of beauty. Both photographs, display women yet they maintain extremely diverse levels of â€Å"beauty †. Most importantly, the depicted â€Å"beauty† is defined by other people. For instance, the lady working at the store is striving to achieve prosperity and become like the woman on the second photograph since she also upholds a definition of â€Å"beauty†, similar to that, which is admired by other people (Berger [b] 36).

Lessons Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lessons Plan - Essay Example Introduction to Computers is a beginning college course for intermediate level English students. The course takes place in the classroom and the computer laboratory with the instructor acting as a meeting facilitator, content presenter, and tutor. Although the course is documented online and uses the Internet, it is traditional face-to-face pedagogy (Wuensch, Aziz, Ozan, Kishore, & Tabrizi, 2008). Because students come from different national educational systems and they have different computer skills already, the course has to make room for these differences. Giving choices of which learning objectives to work on helps students develop their computer literacy as well as demonstrate practical skills. The topics for the class meetings show the general scope of the course. The student chooses one or more of the objectives for each meeting. If the objectives and their learning activities for a meeting do not give the student something new to learn , he or she can work with the instructor and decide what is best. 1. Course Overview, Computers and the Internet: The learner should be able to design a directory structure for a student taking three courses, or for an office worker involved in three projects. The design should include folder and file naming, the types of files included, and sample content for each. 3. Word Processing: The learner should be able to create and print or upload a one-page, double-spaced text document showing as many features of the program as possible--fonts, point size, tables, columns, pagination, and so forth. 5. Spreadsheets: The learner should be able to create two original spreadsheets, one showing a personal or project budget with monthly and annual sample numbers and one showing the formulae for the calculations. To show how this course uses the Internet to meet learning goals or aims for different students, the first thing

In the Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Essay Example for Free

In the Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Essay In the Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway, alcoholism is an important theme in the novel. Alcoholism is a large part of Ernest Hemingway’s novel â€Å"The Sun Also Rises†. Drinking is the greatest escape that the characters use and the author employs it very often in the novel. All throughout the novel, the characters are drinking excessively. They use drinking to also help prove themselves. Because of Jake’s war wound made him physically unable, he feels that he must prove himself to people so he uses drinking to prove himself. Jake also uses wine to forget the things that he doesn’t like about his friends such as the fight between Mick and Cohn, when Mike was mad that Cohn is always looking at Brett and holding in to her everywhere she goes. â€Å"There was much wine and ignored tension, and a feeling of things coming that you could not prevent happening. Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed that they were all such nice people† (Hemingway 150). In reality, all that drinking does is to give them something in common so that they can relate to one another in some parts of their lives. They are always drinking together and talking about their life difficulties. Often, drinking provides a way of escaping reality and allows them to avoid their problems by avoid thinking about them. In conclusion, in Hemingway’s the Sun Also Rises, it is clear that alcohol dependency is a main theme.

The Poetry of Emily Dickinson Essay example -- Personal Response Essay

Emily Dickinson has always been one of my favorite poets. I love her poems because of the pain and sorrow they contain to which I can easily relate. She often writes of funerals and death. I myself have watched too many friends die and have wondered why God would let this happen. At every funeral, some well meaning mourner would say--,"The Lord called him" or "She's with Jesus now." My gut reaction was always, "Bullshit." Then Emily Dickinson's poem "My Life Closed Twice Before its Close" would come to mind, especially the last two lines--,"Parting is all we know of Heaven and all we need of hell." More than anything I've ever heard those lines summarize the doubts I've had about an afterlife and the pain of those left behind. My friend Molly Moynahan, recently wrote a novel and titled it Parting is all We Know of Heaven. The book opens with Dickinson's poem in its entirety. It is the story of a young woman whose life is destroyed by grief following her sister's death. I too have been at the point where grief combined with my own stupidity (drugs and alcohol) almost destroyed my life. My best friend since childhood killed herself by eating 56 valium pills. Her suicide note said that she was too ashamed of herself to face her family anymore. Her parents didn't even bother to come to her funeral. We had to take up a collection in the bar to bury her. Two weeks later another good friend choked to death on his own vomit. His three year old daughter found him the next morning. I was overwhelmed with guilt when I realized I had been drinking with him the night before. To this day when I see his wife and children at the supermarket, I can't look them in the face. Within the next two months I lost three other friends t... ... we discussed in class the tradition among New England Puritans of looking in the face of the dead and reading their emotions to determine whether or not they were going to heaven. I've thought about this a lot since I've found God and I hope that it isn't true. Everyone I've known has died a horrible death. They were all cut down in the prime of their lives--face down in their own vomit, on the cold, dirty floor of a bathroom, decapitated in a car wreck, in a crowded AIDS ward in a city hospital. None of them had a chance to make their peace with God or with themselves for that matter. I'm sure none of them died looking content or peaceful but terrified and at best surprised. Therefore I would like to believe that hell is all that has gone on here in this life and that after the parting there is a heaven where those who suffered on earth are given a second chance. The Poetry of Emily Dickinson Essay example -- Personal Response Essay Emily Dickinson has always been one of my favorite poets. I love her poems because of the pain and sorrow they contain to which I can easily relate. She often writes of funerals and death. I myself have watched too many friends die and have wondered why God would let this happen. At every funeral, some well meaning mourner would say--,"The Lord called him" or "She's with Jesus now." My gut reaction was always, "Bullshit." Then Emily Dickinson's poem "My Life Closed Twice Before its Close" would come to mind, especially the last two lines--,"Parting is all we know of Heaven and all we need of hell." More than anything I've ever heard those lines summarize the doubts I've had about an afterlife and the pain of those left behind. My friend Molly Moynahan, recently wrote a novel and titled it Parting is all We Know of Heaven. The book opens with Dickinson's poem in its entirety. It is the story of a young woman whose life is destroyed by grief following her sister's death. I too have been at the point where grief combined with my own stupidity (drugs and alcohol) almost destroyed my life. My best friend since childhood killed herself by eating 56 valium pills. Her suicide note said that she was too ashamed of herself to face her family anymore. Her parents didn't even bother to come to her funeral. We had to take up a collection in the bar to bury her. Two weeks later another good friend choked to death on his own vomit. His three year old daughter found him the next morning. I was overwhelmed with guilt when I realized I had been drinking with him the night before. To this day when I see his wife and children at the supermarket, I can't look them in the face. Within the next two months I lost three other friends t... ... we discussed in class the tradition among New England Puritans of looking in the face of the dead and reading their emotions to determine whether or not they were going to heaven. I've thought about this a lot since I've found God and I hope that it isn't true. Everyone I've known has died a horrible death. They were all cut down in the prime of their lives--face down in their own vomit, on the cold, dirty floor of a bathroom, decapitated in a car wreck, in a crowded AIDS ward in a city hospital. None of them had a chance to make their peace with God or with themselves for that matter. I'm sure none of them died looking content or peaceful but terrified and at best surprised. Therefore I would like to believe that hell is all that has gone on here in this life and that after the parting there is a heaven where those who suffered on earth are given a second chance.

It530

Assignment Grading Rubric Course: IT530 Unit: 5 Points: 120 Copyright Kaplan University Unit 5 Assignment Outcomes addressed in this activity: Unit Outcomes: Explain flow control and congestion management and their significance to overall network performance Evaluate standard routing techniques and their application to a business’ internet connectivity Recommend a comprehensive security plan Plan and describe methods to secure data including encryption techniques and security protocols Assess LAN communications and management protocols and examine their significance in business environmentsCourse Outcomes: IT530-5: Analyze issues surrounding the connectivity and administration of networks. Assignment Instructions: 1. In recent years, the concept of â€Å"ethical† hacking has grown in importance as more companies consider hiring â€Å"black hat† hackers as security consultants. Research the elements that comprise â€Å"ethical† hacking. In what ways does et hical hacking differ from â€Å"black hat† hacking? Put yourself into the position of a system administrator considering hiring a hacker.How would you ensure that this individual was actually strengthening your company’s network security rather than hacking into your company’s sensitive data? Would you even consider hiring a hacker in the first place? Why or why not? Try to find at least one example of a real world â€Å"ethical† hacker being hired; was it a good or bad decision on the part of the company? 2. Based on your research, write an 8 to 10 page paper that researches the concept of â€Å"ethical† hacking, as well as the ethical dilemmas inherent in hiring a hacker as a security consultant. Preparing your AssignmentThe written essay/paragraph formatted paper should be 8 – 10 pages long NOT including cover page and references. As you research ethical hacking, ALL of the pages must have citations and references. No more than one direct quotation (of 40 words or more) is allowed per page and bullet lists without substantial narrative included are strongly discouraged. There should be no spelling or grammar errors. All written assignments should be in APA format. APA formatted in-text citations and references are required for all sources, and all figures and tables must be captioned in APA format.If you are unfamiliar with APA formatting, please see the Kaplan Writing Center for more information on how to work with APA. Directions for Submitting Your Assignment: Compose your assignment in a Microsoft Word  ® document and save it as Username-IT530 Assignment – Unit#. doc (Example: TAllen- IT530 Assignment-Unit5. doc). Submit your file by selecting the Unit 5: Assignment Dropbox by the end of Unit 5. Assignment Grading Rubric Course: IT530 Unit: 5 Points: 120 Copyright Kaplan University Assignment requirements:All papers must meet these standard requirements: Paper follows APA formatting Length is 8-10 pages long not including references and cover page No more than three bulleted or listed points per paper. No more than one direct quote per page from a reference source and those quotes must be properly cited within the body and in the references at the end of the paper Title page Reference page No spelling errors No grammar errors *2 points will be deducted from grade for each occurrence of not meeting these requirements.Review the grading rubric below before beginning this activity. Unit 5 Assignment Grading Rubric = 120 points Assignment Requirements Points possible Points earned by student Document includes introductory paragraph discussing the general concepts of ethical hacking as opposed to black hat hacking. 0-30 Document includes well supported argument pro or con for hiring a hacker as security consultant. 0-30 Document includes example of â€Å"real world† hiring of hacker and discusses the outcome. 0-30 Discussion of ethical hacking considerations should be substantia l nd flow logically. 0-30 Total (Sum of all points) Less: Standard Requirements points deductedAssignment Grading Rubric Course: IT530 Unit: 5 Points: 120 Copyright Kaplan University Assignment Total For more information and example of APA formatting, see the resources in Doc sharing or visit the KU Writing Center from the KU Homepage. Also review the KU Policy on Plagiarism. This policy will be strictly enforced on all applicable assignments and discussion posts. If you have any questions, please contact your professor.