Politics as Media Spectacle - Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor Essay

Politics as Media Spectacle - Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger’s California recall election gubernatorial victory demonstrates the increasing collapse of the boundaries between entertainment and politics in an era of media spectacle. Over the past decades, major struggles around politics, race, gender, and sexuality have played out in the media. In the 1990s, the O.J. Simpson trial, the Clinton sex scandals, and the proliferation of tabloid journalism made serious political issues and conflicts the stuff of popular entertainment and culture. Moreover, presidential politics on the level of campaigns and governing have also exhibited a growing politics of the image and spectacle. In our media-saturated society, politicians become celebrities who fine tune their image through daily photo opportunities, spin out their message of the day, and, like celebrities, employ image management firms to make sure that their performance is playing well with the public. In an era of media politics, celebrities can become politicians and take on increasingly political roles. Hollywood stars of film and television were prominent opponents of the Bush administration’s 2003 Iraq war, while teams of celebrities were employed by both sides in the California recall election. Arnold Schwarzenegger had a familiar role to play in the California recall election scenario. The people were angry at higher taxes, energy costs, and what appeared to be a deteriorating economy and were looking for a savior. Arnold presented himself as the hero on the white horse who would ride into California and solve the problems. His â€Å"Rescue California† ... ... how the media present his policies, actions, and colorful past. Schwarzenegger has allegedly paid over a million dollars to purchase the original and outtakes from his 1976 film Stay Hungry that allegedly has him singing â€Å"Springtime for Hitler† and prancing about in Nazi regalia and poses, and there are Nazi poses of Schwarzenegger floating through the Internet. In an era of political spectacle, image is all and negative images can produce critical views of politicians and their policies as George W. Bush is learning from images of daily carnage and mayhem in Iraq that put in question his foreign policy decisions. Schwarzenegger too will become an important part of the spectacle of contemporary politics and what role he plays will be determined by his policies and politics, the media, and how a volatile and fickle public perceives him.

Sexism & Bigotry

Divas N. Quinine's Professor G. Pier Sexism and Bigotry. August 26, 2013 By definition the term sexism meaner prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex; in restricted Job opportunities; especially, such discrimination directed against women. As well a bigot is a person who is intolerant of any ideas other than his or her own, especially on religion, politics, or race. As I researched for this paper in the Museum of Tolerance in N. Y. , I learned that the human mind makes 11 assumptions about a person in the first 7 seconds of meeting them.We must be aware of this in order to take a positive action rather than a negative approach based on false assumptions. Is it fair to say that everyone is a sexist and/or a bigot? I will be blunt enough to affirm that hypothesis, bases on the fact that our borrow values and our social construct drive us in that direction. As Mr.. Anthony Porter verbally expresses in his lecture â€Å"A Call to Men† we must break from the so called â€Å"MAN BOX† and teach boys and men that not being part of the mainstream male dominant society is perfectly correct.The power that an mage holds has depicted many things in American culture during the 20th and 21st centuries; such as propaganda, stereotyping, and the demutualization of minority groups. In the same form, the power of words, which can lift a person, has brought down ethnic groups all over the world. Words have power; they can inspire, incite, can be hateful, can terrify, can be destructive and intimidating, as well as have consequences†¦ In the museum, I observed a propaganda poster from 1917 that stated: â€Å"Gee!! I wish I were a man, I'd join the Navy.Be a man and do it – United States Navy recruiting station (artist Howard Chandler Christy 1917). The poster showing a young woman in a Navy uniform during World War l. † As I read and saw the visual I was livid not only about the sexism, but also about the exploitation of woman through the painting as sexual objects†¦ How is it that we live in a world where in some countries it is a crime to be born a female? We live in a time where one out of three women is victimized by men (father, brothers, uncles, husband, or boyfriend).They experiment domestic abuse, traditional abuse, rape, and are trafficked†¦ In some cultures if a woman is proven to eve committed adultery she will be murdered or maimed (honor killings). These crimes are committed against women in the name of religion. A man will take sexual control over a woman by sexual organ mutilation or female circumcisions; which is practiced without any medical training and is commonly performed in countries like Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.This procedure is done lacking anesthesia and bring infections, shock, and death due to hemorrhage. In Kenya a women's advocacy group has developed the term â€Å"Circumcision through Words† in order to prevent the female mutilations. Seven million women are trafficked annually for sexual slavery, the Russian mafia high risk of contraction Stud's, rape, drug addiction (and abuse to cope), torture, and rape†¦ This is a seven billion dollar a year â€Å"business and to my surprise, in some countries it is perfectly legal to sell a female into any type of slavery.In the Unites States a female is victimized by men every two minutes ranging in age from sixteen to nineteen years of age and less than 5 of the victims report their assault. One to three million women is battered annually and one to four will be murdered by their husband or significant life partner. This sexist and abusive behavior must be detained and we as an aware society must inculcate to our boys and men that a woman is not a sexual object or the pun of sexual anecdotes. It is easy to write off bigotry to extremists, but how do you stop it from occurring?In my opinion, we can stop bigotry through tolerance. With the discipline to ho ld back and learn to co-exist, to respect thy fellow human and to pursue in harmony our goals as a positive society. In my walk through the museum I came upon a section entitled Globalize. Com which features touch screen computer terminals that have unmasked the danger of a one sided story; the story of hatred. The proliferation of hate through the internet is greater than I thought, in fact it showed me how extremely saturated it actually is.The Karri Cultural Institute or KICK is an Iranian institution with an on-line fifty-seven page book, which claims that the Holocaust genocide was a lie. The Fate Kids is a HAMS site which published a comic strip in which â€Å"EVIL ZIONISTS† made beautiful toys that were actually bombs that were used to kill innocent Palestinians; they also used this comic strip to recruit children to come Jihad. People such as Doll Hitler, Stalin, the K. K. K founders 0. Calvin Jones, Frank O.McCoy, John B. Kennedy, John C. Lester, James R. Crower, and Richard R. Reed), and Osama Bin Laden have been extremist bigots who have committed genocide than being tolerant of others. We must assume responsibility and take a stand against bigotry, initiate a Diversity and Tolerance group in our community, remember to always dialogue not scream, to commit to assist meetings, empower, support and above all educate people on what it meaner to be a bigot and how can we help to stop it.

Tattoos Of Americ Johnny Depp, My Body Is My Journal And...

Tattoos in America Johnny Depp once said, â€Å"My body is my journal and my tattoos are my story† (Simons). Most people who have tattoos will say that these tattoos have different special meanings for many special things which they will remember forever. Others will say that they just want to try something new or pursue fashions which make them feel different from other people. Some people think tattoos are art: â€Å"Your body’s an empty canvas, so you almost want to continue to add to it† (Yu). Many people, especially young people, want to create their own tattoos. For me, I want to try new things and record some important events. I went to Lijiang with my boyfriend this summer where there is a type of tattoo which is temporary and can stay on the skin for few days. My boyfriend and I got our own tattoos. â€Å"Believe† is mine, and he tattooed â€Å"Soul mate† with a fish. As it tattooed, we believe that we can have an everlasting love. From ancient to present, tattoos in every tribe, every nation or every country have their own ideas and meanings. â€Å"In China, Han Chinese connected tattoos with criminals, gangs and bandits which are not accepted by the community. In Middle Eastern, people got tattoos because it’s a symbol of respect for the dead. Native Americans regarded tattoos as the symbolization between the earth and their spiritual being† (Wikispaces). As Squires, Josh mentioned that Americans made tattoos based on military service, religion and love. The soldiers tattooed in the