Quarter of a Century & Ending the Road!
The Oprah Show is ending after 25 years and I have been a fan of watching this program, not daily but weekly. Oprah Winfrey, the media guru, announced that she will be exiting her show sometime next year around September 2011. This is a big change for media –television. Oprah Winfrey is a powerful, spiritual individual and an inspiration to many people during her daytime talk show. The powerful and strong woman in media, Oprah, and don’t forget famous and rich who has been in many homes over the years through your television. Let’s not forget her book club, movies, Broadway shows, magazine, clothes line, and this show. She has proven to so many people over the years that she can even get them to do things like vote, buy books, clothes, and let’s not forget the ‘no texting’ campaign. One more thing…if Oprah has mentioned, advertised and/or had you as a guest…I’m sure your product or idea is out there that quick – especially if she has used it. Even though she is moving on and feels it is the right time to end this show, we all know that she will do just fine in any endeavor she creates in the media. It was mentioned that her ratings may have went down but they will not be able to replace her anytime soon. Wait The Wall Street Journal reports that “Oprah isn’t going anywhere. Although she’s giving up her daytime program, the queen of talk will host a new evening show on her network –OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network).” So the new series will be an hour long and called ‘Oprah’s Next Chapter’ and it will feature “riveting conversations with the people we all want to hear from, in some very unexpected place.”
PopEater Staff. “Oprah Announces New Primetime show Called Oprah’s Next Chapter.” PopEater. April 8, 2010. <http://www.popeater.com/2010/04/08/oprah-winfrey-new-show>
http://www.oprah.com/index.html
Add comment April 26, 2010 Sherri Lever
Hey “Gleeks!”
USA today’s Gary Levin, reported that the show, “Glee” drew 13.5 million viewers when American’s 1980-era icon, Madonna, who is a powerful women and expresses herself through her music. The April 20, 2010 episode of “Glee” was packed with many of Madonna’s songs where you can see how it relates to the television show’s episode. For example, actress Jane Lynch who played Sue Sylvester, made a great remake scene of Madonna’s song “Vogue” where a couple of lines where changed. Sue imitated Madonna’s famous 1990 “Vogue” music video and it was also shot in black and white just like Madonna’s version was done. Okay the dancing was okay but her voice was not bad…not a Madonna for sure! There was a scene with Sue Sylvester when she had a cone-shaped bra acting out Madonna’s Power-Girl icon; however, the actress didn’t need to reinvent herself and to become unique because she already is unique…this portrays women’s stance in society and how Madonna’s strength was as an individual too. The actress didn’t need to wear a cone-shaped bra to prove to others that she was unique. This was a great show depicting how older woman in television are in control of themselves and it projects how empowering women are becoming today as shown through an icon’s music. As you can see here that age is not an issue, you have a 49 year-old actress, Sue Sylvester, and she proved that women are strong individuals just like Madonna was to society and in the lyrics of her songs. The part in “Glee” when Sue also mentions about her hair falling out and wearing a short-style because she emulated Madonna so much as a kid that she bleached her hair too many times. Was it justified?
Abrams, Natalie. “Glee Episode Recap: ‘The Power of Madonna’.” TV Guide. April 20, 2010. <http://www.tvguide.com/episode-recaps/glee/glee-episode-recap-1017594.aspx>
Jones, Brent. “Glee looking at doing more Madonna.” USA Today. April 21, 2010. <http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/04/glee-looking-at-doing-more-madonna/1>
“Vogue Face Off: Glee’s Sue Sylvester vs. Madonna (videos).” TheImproper. April 14, 2010. <http://www.theimproper.com/music/?p=772>
Add comment April 25, 2010 Sherri Lever
We Spend Too Much Time in Front of Television?
Many girls are very unhappy with their body appearance due to weight and shape because of being bombarded with advertisements on television. This exposure has resulted in girls’ dissatisfaction with body image and getting mixed messages from the media. It is big business and aggressive when girls see advertisements on television showing their products to make us aware of them. For example, the average child watches about 10,000 food advertisements per year on television and that is a lot! The advertisements are showcasing junk food, fast food, and believe it or not only 2% are advertising fruits and vegetables. See chart below reflecting how much companies do spend to send us mixed messages:
“Pepsi spends an estimated $2.1 billion a year.”
McDonald’s spends an estimated $1.2 billion a year.
Coca-Cola spends an estimated $895 million a year.
These are examples of what is being advertised to make us aware of their products and it is working because “Americans spent $110 billion on fast food in 2001 and consumed 56 gallons of soda per person (that’s 600 hundred 12-ounce cans!).”
The impact of watching television has created statistics showing that 14% of children are overweight and 60% of them are between the ages of 5-10 years of age. They are at major risk for heart disease, elevated blood cholesterol, increased blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
“Body Image & Nutrition.” Teen Health and the Media. Web 10 Apr. 2010 <http://depts.washington.edu/thmedia/view.cgi?section=bodyimage>
“The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity.” American Psychological Association. 2010. Web 10 Apr. 2010. <http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx>
Add comment April 21, 2010 Sherri Lever
Are Women There Yet?
Since the 1970’s women were told that they would never make it to the top-management jobs or even the middle ones that men held. These were the times the business world wasn’t for women however many women were ambitious and started to become restless about working under the image of wearing short skirts, heels, and dark-rimmed glasses. This image portrayed that women were beneath men and that they were the secretaries of top-management employees. Women also started to become restless and wanted change so many started to get involved in a group and sued their employer where these set of women were employed by Newsweek Magazine. They were the first set of women, media professionals who sued for discrimination based on gender.
Three women writers’ research about how much has changed since the 1970s and what hasn’t changed. Now 40 years later there is still a gender difference for women in the workplace and we still have to work hard to overcome the stereotypes. The fight for equality has not been totally won by women compared to the higher salaries of men. We have come a long way though. According to a study done, “the U.S. Department of Education data show that a year out of school, despite having earned higher college GPAs in every subject, young women will take home, on average across all professions, just 80 percent of what their male colleagues do. Even at the top end, female M.B.A.s make $4,600 less per year in their first job out of business school.” What amazes me is that if we do judge about what we see and read in the media – it seems that women have made it! It was quoted that at Newsweek Magazine over 40 years ago that “women don’t write here” and only 25 percent were female writers for the magazine where today it is 39 percent young women. Also, 49 percent of the company is female. We are still battling for equality and many young women entering the workforce with enthusiasm do have their dreams and hopes diminished.
Work Cited:
Ball, Sarah, Jessica Bennett and Jesse Ellison. “Are We There Yet?” Newsweek. 19 March 2010. Web. 24 March 2010. <http://www.newsweek.com/id/235220>.
Add comment April 7, 2010 Sherri Lever
In the spotlight…then taken away just as fast!
I heard today on television, ABC News, mentioned that Sandra Bullock is having marital problems and along with this announcement the wonderful moment of her life where she won the Oscar two weeks ago and now she is in the news about an affair her husband is having. Isn’t this what women are faced with everyday with the stereotype-downplay about women not being as good as men and then when they do get recognized it’s reversed and/or diminished this fast by men who are fools, their husbands. Just in the media announced on the Academy Awards where Sandra Bullock took home the best actress award for the film, The Blind Side it did hit her from left field just like a blind spot. Well, another one has wins and then loses, that is winning the Oscar and losing her husband – enough said about the disaster marriages that have been demolished. US Weekly Magazine quoted that, “we’ve seen it happen repeatedly in the past ten years.” Sandra Bullock is not the only one who has separated from her husband right after winning an Oscar – Kate Winslet, Halle Berry, and Reese Witherspoon have all split too! Just look at what Sandra Bullock and the other actresses have to face when you want to be center stage to receive your honors and then to hide from the media just as fast because of marriage problems, and women have been battling for center stage and recognition for years. How can we make a difference? We have come a long way in front of the cameras and as it has been mentioned in past postings women are starting to move behind the cameras especially when Kathryn Bigelow took the award for best director this year at the Academy Awards. In the past, “women have made their mark in Hollywood, but this year’s cast is gathering plenty of attention” and they sure have!
Friedman, Emily. “The Oscars Curse: Is Sandra Bullock the Latest Star to Get Hit?” ABC News. March 18 2010. <http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/sandra-bullock-latest-hit-oscar-curse/story?id=10128777>.
Harlen, Sarah. “Women behind the scenes stealing spotlight at Oscars.” WorldNow. March 7, 2010. <http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=12097338>.
PopEater Staff. “Jesse James Cheating on Sandra Bullock? Not So Fast.” PopEater. March 17, 2010. <http://www.popeater.com/2010/03/17/jesse-james-affair-sandra-bullock/>.
1 comment March 18, 2010 Sherri Lever
Today marks “International Women’s Day”
What a day to blog…today is International Women’s Day (IWD) and I didn’t know that every year this is celebrated globally. In many different regions of the world women are recognized by all types of media for the economic, political and social accomplishments. It is amazing how far we have really come! It is away for men to express their appreciation and love for women in general…just like in America how we have Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. In 1909, it started as a Socialist political occasion in the United States. For example, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911 brought national attention to the inhumane working conditions at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, in which it revealed change for women and children. The desire for reform also brought about the union movements advancing women’s rights and we need to still work on new areas of accomplishments for women and children. We do have a long way to go because the media still does portray women in negative ways. Also, it is a reality that eating disorders among adolescent girls is a serious problem and they should feel beautiful the way they are! How can we globally reinforce confidence and self-esteem to help them climb this mountain that we are not at the top yet and the biases that do still exit among women?
Finally, I guess this day is perfect timing for the first women Kathryn Bigelow who took home the Oscar for best director and she won her prize on the film, The Hurt Locker, in which I didn’t see yet! She was also the fourth woman ever nominated for the award. It is very difficult for women to achieve this status in the past since many women directors have been passed up by other nominated men directors.
“About International Women’s Day.” Aurora GCM Limited. 8 March 2010. <http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp>.
Luchetti, John. “Bigelow, Women, and The Oscar for Best Director.” The Film Stage. 10 February 2010. <http://thefilmstage.com/2010/02/10/bigelow-women-and-the-oscar-for-best-director/>.
Add comment March 8, 2010 Sherri Lever
Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!
1 comment February 5, 2010 Sherri Lever
