Blog 7

This blog is a rant on Food Network. Fans of the channel should be able to follow along and understand what I'm talking about. I believe that if Food Network did away with the "chef's" I'm about to rant on, they would be a more successful network and gather many more viewers.

Rachel Ray is a multi millionaire. This is a subject I could rant about for hours. In fact, some of my friends have had the unfortunate opportunity to hear my rants and back-sided comments about my arch-nemisis - Rachel Ray. God, even uttering her name…. just typing her name… makes my mouth purse, my body shiver and I find myself making a gagging sound. To quote the immortan JC Jesmok, "Oh God, I hate Rachel Ray! 30 minute meals?! I can make a meal in 5 minutes! $40 a day?! We can't all live like kings, you know." For this reason, I try my best to stay away. Emeril Lagasse gives me the same reaction every time I see him BAM!ing or GARLIC!ing or ADDING A GLASS OF WINE, WHOA!ing. I’m now getting a skin rash. But, I must get through this post. If I save just one, JUST ONE person through my mission, I will feel satisfied.

I digress. At least Emeril owns his own restaurants, has been a head chef, went to culinary school and has a decent show where he’s not feeding into this whole idea of producing a food TV show that’s “safe, fun and absolutely k-razy" that seems to be overtaking the stupid Food Network these days. Where are the REAL cooks? Where are the REAL chefs? Where are the cooks that look like the people I know? They sure don’t look like Rachel Ray or Giada DiLaurentis and her Barilla pasta recipes (don’t even get me started). If I even begin to discuss Sandra “Life-size blow-up doll” Lee and her “tablescapes”, I may pass out of exhaustion. Food Network needs to remember that people like to buy from people that look like them. My newest nemesis - or nemesis’s (if that’s even a word) - Ingrid Hoffman. I’m not saying that the Food Network must get someone who even kind of looks Latino or has a Latino name, and I know she was raised in Columbia and has a restaurant in Miami, blah blah blah. But, it’s just hard to swallow why Food Network continues to make these choices. It just doesn't makes sense. Why does Food Network keep choosing more aesthetically beautiful “cooks” who are “entertaining” and “Caucasian-looking” over a host who can actually cook something. Is it just me? Does it make sense to you?

I feel as though Rachel Ray catapulted the Food Network into changing the momentum of what the network originally stood for. Remember the old days of Molto Mario and a few minorities like that Curtis guy? When Emeril said BAM! only once every other show and it was barely animated? Sara Moulton was the hottest woman on the network - and one of the more exciting in personality? Her voice may sound like nails on a chalkboard, but she’s not even annoying because she was being herself! Not some animated cartoon character brainwashed to grab ratings.

Now, to the positives (still mixed with a few negatives… come on, what do you expect?). Mario Batali is still a part of the Food Network. He continues to show intelligence, passion and vision (NOT ANYMORE - YOU’VE COMPLETELY LOST IT FOOD NETWORK!). Emeril’s “Essence of Emeril” is still on and continues to make me hate Emeril, but I forget all of that when I pass through the channel and catch a glimpse of that other show I love so much-Iron Chef America! Except that boring, we-have-no-other-woman-who

-has-a-degree-from-a-culinary-school-to-represent-women-on-this-show-so-we-were-forced-to-choose-this-chick, Cat Cora. CAT CORA!?! WHAT!!??! I can barely watch this show when she is on! If I have to see her create boring dishes and win again (I swear, the shows she’s on are fixed recently - probably because her losses were starting to be greater in number than her wins!). Anywho, back to the positives. Alton Brown is still a part of the Food Network. He’s smart, witty, nerdy and cool all at the same time. He really does know his stuff and I enjoy anything he’s a part of (he makes watching a Cat Cora Iron Chef tolerable). Sara Moulton is still kind of on at a weird time when only stay-at-home-mom’s and the unemployed have time to watch TV. I’m not sure if she makes new episodes. One last positive, Bobby Flay. I can’t believe I’m writing this. I just recently started kind of liking Bobby Flay. I’ve always thought he had talent, but his ego just rubbed me the wrong way. Ever since he has been willing to deflate his ego (losing a few times at Iron Chef America and losing most times on Throwdown), I’ve realized he’s not so bad. I do think he’s a good and creative chef (except that “3 Sauce” trademark needs to go).

I think I've ranted enough for now. But, I missed the chance to discuss Michael “Seriously, I’m a real Italian-American! Did you hear me pronounce mozzarell? gobba-goo? Proccuit? Did you see how many hand gestures I make?!” Chiarello or Ina “Do I make anything other than roasted chicken?” Garten. That can be for a later note. Thanks for reading my rant. I know I'm not alone with all this… please, tell me I’m not alone...

Fohf Blog

I decided to do the Celebrity vs. Hero powerpoint because everyone and their moms are blogging about the gender stereotypes.

Veterens- Hero, because they performed a service that requires great courage and other noble qualities. Whether you support certain wars or not, I think the troops should be supported because they're over there doing a job you're not willing or mentally/physically capable of doing. Some stereotypes associated with veterans, older veterans anyway, is that many of them are crazy. I've seen countless TV shows, movies, etc. that show veterans as people that have completely lost their minds. I'm sure this is the case a lot of the time though.

50 Cent- Celebrity...what has he done that can be seen has "heroic"? I'm not familiar with his full life story, but I'm sure he never saved any kids from a burning building or anything. I guess the biggest stereotype with him is that he is a "thug" or "gangsta". Afterall, he was shot nine times. His lyrics prove the stereotype for the most part.

Blue Collar Comedy- Celebrity. Why on Earth would they be heroes? Why are they even in this powerpoint? The stereotype with these comedians is that they are all idiot rednecks; that's what their entire act is about.

Harvey Milk- I say a mix of both. Back in his prime, I would lean more toward the hero side because he, being a gay man, fought for gay rights and equality. Nowadays, with a recent movie, I'd say he's being turned into more of a celebrity. I guess since he's gay the stereotype would be that he is feminine and wouldn't make a strong leader.

Tyra Banks- Celebrity. Mayhaps she could be a role model for some troubled girls out there, but she's just downright crazy. If you don't believe me, watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOR4qekHWlA. There is no stereotype here...she's cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

Ellen DeGeneres- This one is similar to Harvey Milk. For some, she could be seen as a role model for gay women. For others, just your average celebrity. She's not really anything to me though, I'm not a fan of hers. Since she's a lesbian, the stereotype with her is that maybe she is too manly.

Mother Teresa- Hero. She helped countless people who were starving, sick, poor, etc. A stereotype of hers could come from her being very religious. She could be seen as "no fun".

Wonder Woman- Celebrity since she's not real...she can't be a hero. Since she's a strong and independent woman, maybe she could be stereotyped as a "b*itch".

Angelina Jolie- I say celebrity. Yes, she's well on her way to adopting half of the orphans on earth, but let's be real. She's a celebrity. A stereotype of hers is that she's crazy. She KISSED HER BROTHER ON THE LIPS at some award show for cake's sake! MULTIPLE TIMES! That's weird!

Jennifer Aniston- Celebrity. What has she done that's heroic? Nothing that I know of, that's for sure. With the whole stupidly publicized breakup of her and Mr. Pitt, she could be stereotyped as a jealous, angry, woman....but oh so attractive.

Donald Trump- Celebrity. He's a greedy old man with abysmal hair. He's stereotyped as a greedy old man with abysmal hair.

Bill Clinton- I guess he's a mix of both. I think he did a pretty good job as president, so I guess the hero factor could come in from that. However, the whole Monica Lewinsky business made him into more of a celebrity. The stereotype is that he cheats on his wife.

Anne Frank- Leaning towards hero on this one. Not for me personally, but for others. Her tale is one of courage. The endless stream of media on her could make her into a celebrity though. I can't think of any stereotypes...only awful jokes that are in bad taste.

Our Parents- I guess this one is hero by default for most of us. Our parents raised us and all that. The stereotype, amoung us teenagers at least, is that our parents are stupid and should leave us alone.

The Third Blog

The program I decided to view was Family Guy. The episode I decided to view was titled, "Don't Make Me Over". The episode featured the daughter, Meg, getting turned down for a date and becoming depressed. The mother, Lois, decides that buying Meg a new wardrobe will cheer her up, so they venture off to the mall. This illustrated the American core value of "material comfort" because the new clothing was supposed to make Meg feel better. Whilst at the mall, the duo happens upon Channel 5's Asian correspondent Tricia Takanawa giving away free makeovers. Meg gets a makeover, becomes attractive, becomes more popular, and gets a confidence boost. I guess this would illustrate the value of "youthfulness" because...uhh...well...just because. While all those shenanigans are going on, Peter, the father, and all his friends turn the local bar into a karoake bar to help it financially. The deed is a rousing success. It's so successful that they decide to form a band. That would illustrate the value of "Achievement and Success", "Progress", and "Activity and Work" because they worked hard, improved upon something, and were successful. Anyway, their band epicly fails...so, the Griffin family rushes on stage to support them during a gig and the audience (of prison inmates) is enthralled with Meg. The family decides to exploit Meg's aesthetics and becomes a modern day Patridge Family. Blah blah blah some more stuff happens, Meg goes back to being ugly, and Jimmy Fallon sucks.

I don't think this show is telling us what we should value, I think it's telling us that we shouldn't value certain things as much. Making all these situations comical shows us that maybe it's stupid to value looks so much and having major success isn't all that is important. Mayhaps they are trying to tell us that a person is a person no matter how they look....except for Meg...she's just awful.

The second blog thing

I watched the video. It didn't really teach me anything, it only reinforced what I had already thought. The sole purpose of most media is to make money, so of course they're going to toss their ads in the direction of children and other impressionable beings. Is it morally sound? Probably not. Should we just sit around complaining and blogging about it? Probably not. If everyone is so upset about this video, which seems to be the case, they should make changes in their lives to stop the "money farming". If girls don't want to stop being "forced" to always look good maybe they shouldn't put on makeup. That's a voluntary action if I ever saw one. I don't think any of these things are ever going to change, they're ingrained into our brains. Girls are supposed to be pretty and guys are supposed to be big and strong, it's been that way for a long time and that way of thinking will never change unless serious changes happen on a large scale. Yes, I'm taking the glass half empty approach to this, but I think I'm being realistic. I don't think the media should take all the blame on this either. They're trying to make the most money they can, that's capitalism at its core. I think a lot of the blame is on the parents' side. The kids who are being exposed to all the media don't have money, transportation, or the cognitive ability to go to the store and buy their own things. Tell the parents to stop being consumer whores and buying their adorable little offspring things they don't need. Hypocrisy strikes again.

End of rant.

Blog Numba One

This assignment showed me a few things. It showed me that preteen girls don't care what you have to say and most middle-aged people don't know how to use modern technology. The middle-aged participants said their only sources of media were newspapers and a device called a "television". Either they did not understand the complexities of the internet, or they are from the 'old school' and prefer their media in a non-electrical document form. The youngest participant, my sister, was far too busy engaging in some stupid penguin game to give me quality answers. Her views on media seemed to be very narrow. She decided that media wasn't cool enough to talk about at the time. The real shining star in this questionnaire was Erin, a junior girl at BHS. The youth of today are more in tune with new gadgets and fads, which increases their exposure to media. Erin's answers were more detailed and were of a better quality than the others.
In conclusion, if you were to graph the data found here, it would be parabolic in shape. The absolute maximum beings Erin's media savvy, with the lowest of the lowest of the low being my sister's responses. My mother and step dad would have finished somewhere in the middle, which is still losing in my book.


This assignment was really dumb fun.