Blog 4 "Carry Out"

            In Justin Timberlake’s music video for his hit song, “Carry Out”, women dance provocatively around him and Timberland as they sing together. Light up neon signs flash in the background while the dancers dance, and while Timberlake and Timberland sing. The women in the music video for “Carry Out” convey the myth of the classic, old fashion, pin-up girl. In the video, Justin Timberlake and Timberland suggest the stereotype of the player and the pimp.

            The women in the music video wear very reveling clothing, emphasizing their femininity. Many of the women wear fishnet stockings in this video. Tight corsets and bikini style bottoms are the outfits worn by many of the women in the music video. Many of the women wear thigh high, leather boots. The stockings and boots draw attention to the dancers feminine legs and the corsets and bikini bottoms draw attention to their feminine body parts. The women’s clothing is often old fashion yet reveling evoking the idea of the classic pin-up girl. The make up the women wear in the “Carry Out” video is very dark playing up their femininity and the image of the classic pin-up girl. They wear heavy eye shadow and other eye makeup. They have perfect skin that looks air brushed. Also, the girls hair is done up in a classic way that plays up their femininity and the classic look of the pin-up girl. They have the big bumps in the front and curls in the back, a classic look in the time of the classic pin-up girl. The clothing style, makeup and hairstyles in this video for “Carry Out” are ones the reflect femininity and the image of the classic, old-fashion pin-up girl.

            The actions of the women in the music video send the message of the typical pin-up girl. The women’s actions accentuate their femininity and the idea that they are seen as objects. When the women dance they often draw attention to their feminine body parts such as their rear end and their chest. They shake these parts of their body as they dance. They often dance closely to Timberland and Justin Timberlake. They lustfully make eye contact with the camera. They also smile as they serve the men in the video, like they enjoy serving the men and being seen as objects. They bend over in front of the camera with short skirts and dresses on. They also run their hands all down their bodies, running their hands over their curves. One women even lustfully eats a cherry in front of the camera. Another women lustfully eats a cupcake in front of the camera while others eat cake in this manner as well. The actions of the women in this video are ones that accentuate their pin-up girl image and being seen as objects by playing up their femininity.

            Justin Timberlake and Timberland are the stars of the video and while the attention should be on them, the women pay a lot of attention to them in the video. The women often dance around Justin Timberlake and Timberland playing up their masculine dominance and player image. The girls grind up against both singers as they sing and pretend to not really notice them. The girls bend over for them and stick out their chest and rear end in front of them. These actions draw attention to Timberlake and Timberland’s pimp and player image by making them the dominant figure in the music video. The women also serve the men, playing up their dominance even more. The women take their orders with notepads while they lounge in their nice car. The women also dress in skimpy maid outfits showing they are serving them. The men also just stand there most of the time while the women dance around them. Justin Timberlake and Timberland are known for being able to dance yet they don’t really move a muscle in this music video. Most of the dancing in the music video is left up to the girls. This makes the girls look like objects and not real people. They are being used to look at and not as the artist. Even most of the lyrics refer to these women as taking their orders and not being able to get enough. They are making these women out to be sex objects.

            Justin Timerlake and Timberland’s music video for “Carry Out” uses many symbols for portraying different stereotypes: The stereotype of the classic, old-fashion pin-up girl for the women and the pimp, player for the two men. These two stereotypes can be seen in their appearance and actions throughout the video. 

Blog 3

            Popular TV shows often portray racial stereotypes to evoke a sense of humor in their viewers. These racial stereotypes can be seen as offensive or humorous depending on the specific viewer’s point of view. Now on its 3^rd season on Fox, Glee is a musical explosion of every kind of stereotype there is in your typical, everyday suburban high school. Glee encompasses different cliques, religions, sexual orientations and especially different races. Glee represents every race out there in their characters; whether the roles are big or small. While this isn’t very typical of most shows on TV, Glee is typical in that they do stereotype their races. They often mock and play on the typical racial stereotypes we encounter and even use every day.

One example of a stereotyped race are the two Asian characters Mike and Tina. In the first season they are often referred to as “Asian” and “other Asian.” It didn’t matter what their names were or from where in Asia they came from (China, Japan, etc.). When Mike got a D on a test Tina called it an “Asian F” referencing the stereotype that Asians are often assumed to be geniuses. Mike even feels the pressure from his parents that he must be a doctor or surgeon. Mike’s parents are strict and serious as most stereotypical Asian families are seen. The stereotype of the typical Asian character is strongly and bluntly played upon in many of the episodes of Glee.

             The cheerleading coach, Sue Sylvester often uses racial stereotypes toward others. She calls Mercedes; the only black girl in the group, Aretha and the only black male in the group she calls Shaft. Sue Sylvester is just throwing these two into a stereotypical famous black person role and does not use their real names when addressing them. She even segregates the glee club into whites and everyone else that isn’t white. She tells her “minority group” that they are probably living on food stamps and makes other stereotypical remarks regarding their being a minority that for the most case aren’t true. On her talk show she mocks minorities by saying she’s “1/16^th Comanche Indian” and feels the pain that minorities feel. She also states that people only learn to speak Spanish to be dishwashers and gardeners; a typical stereotype often used toward Mexicans. She manages to find a racial stereotype for every person in the glee club.  Sue Sylvester’s character comes off as racist because of all the racial stereotyping she does to the glee members and the other students and staff at the high school.

            The main characters in the show are Finn and Rachel. The other members in the glee club don’t get as much spotlight as Rachel and Finn. The other group members including Mercedes don’t get the leads in songs and when they do they are often songs that are stereotypical to race. Mercedes only sings lead in R&B songs or sings the parts of songs that are “belt it out” parts where a strong voice of a black woman is expected. She even points this out to the group and tries to put up a fight that is lost and she even gives in and tells Rachel she should sing lead. As Omi points out in his writing, the darker black women are often seen as the frumpy type and not the sexy type. Mercedes is often depicted as not ever having romantic interests. No guy ever goes out of his way to be with Mercedes and she doesn’t really try to find a romantic partner in the first couple of seasons. The one time she tries to find a romantic partner, she mistakes a gay glee group member as having a romantic interest. While yes, in the new season she does have a boyfriend he is black just like her, not an interracial couple. Mercedes is just one example of how most of the Glee characters are racially stereotyped.

            Santana is a spicy Latina cheerleader that is also racially stereotyped in her character. She often tries to fight people and gets aggressive and “ghetto” when angry. She will yell at others in Spanish and try and hit them. She is also portrayed as the sexy Latina mistress and seen as a sex object by the opposite sex. She has casual sex with many of the cast on the show and is open about it. She is blunt and loud as most Latino’s are portrayed as. Santana is an example of one of the more hidden racial stereotypes that maybe most viewers wouldn’t notice at first glance.

            Finn, one of the main characters on Glee, is the star quarterback with the cheerleader girlfriend. He also can’t dance. The stereotype of white guys can’t dance is portrayed here in the character Finn. He is also the lead of all the songs while the others sway in the back. The only black guy in Glee never even speaks and no one even knows his name. He is far from the lead singer or the star of the show. This stereotype is common in TV and movies we see every day. In many shows and movies the leads are played by a white male or female and rarely by an African American, Asian or any other race other than white. Finn is a good example of how the stars of many popular TV shows are white men and women and not other races.

            Glee is a popular TV show consumed by many ages and races. While many people love the show and take the comments as “humor” there are people who take these racial stereotypes as offensive. Almost every racial stereotype is represented somewhere in Glee some are very obvious and some are not as obvious. We all take in this stimulus of racial stereotypes in our everyday lives in some ways we don’t even notice. It starts at a young age especially in cartoons and TV shows such as Glee.