Violent Spectacles and Masculinity

I read the article, "Manhood on the Mat" by Jackson Katz and Sut Jhally.  This article describes how wrestling has increased in popularity in the past decades.  The theory is that men and boys are drawn to it because they feel that they are being threatened by the continuing empowerment of women.  Furthermore, the lack of "manly" jobs due to the increase in technological use has caused men to no longer have the feeling that they are doing a hard days work.  WWE has helped men and boys redefine masculinity to fit in to today's understanding of society.  In WWE wrestling, the men are looked to as manly beasts who are muscular, tall, and full of testosterone.  The mens role in the show is to fight each other, often to avenge a "girlfriend" or a woman that is associated with the act.  This helps young men and boys to fantisize about being that masculine person who's sole job is to save the weak and helpless woman.

UFC differs in that the men are actually fighters.  Women do not have a big showing in UFC either.  They have separate gender roles.  The men are the fighters and the women hold up signs and cheer. 





http://www.sutjhally.com/articles/manhoodonthemat/

The State and Embodiment on Campus

The first example of the state and embodiment on campus would be the signs that say "Drug Free Zone" and "Gun Free Zone".  These signs on the campus tell us that it is illegal for us as students to both use drugs and bring guns to the Bellevue College Campus.  Failing to follow the posted signs will result in arrest and probable termination of your enrollment at the school.

The second example of the state and embodiment on campus is the institutional learning that we endure while at Bellevue College.  The state and school make a list of objectives that a student must meet in order to graduate with an Associates Degree from Bellevue College.  If the objectives are not met, a student cannot expect to leave Bellevue College with a degree.

The third example of the state and embodiment on campus is the smoke shacks.  One may not smoke cigarettes anywhere, you must stay within a glassed in building while doing the deed.  There are signs all over campus reminding students of this fact as well as signs on the outside of the smoking buildings letting students know that this is the place to smoke.

The fourth example of the state and embodiment on campus is the parking lot.  A student must pay to park on campus if they wish to attend school before 3:00 PM.  There are different levels of parking as well.  If you want to pay 50 dollars for the quarter, you may only park in three parking lots.  If you pay more to park for the quarter, you may park in any student lot, many of them closer to the buildings.  Student parking is segregated from the teacher parking and students may never park in teacher lots.  If a student is parking improperly, they are issued a citation which must be paid for the student to graduate with a degree.

Who rules America?

The website used to find this information was "Who Rules America?" The link below is the article I am speaking of: http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/corporate_community.html

I read an article about interlocking directories which is the act of two companies sharing a common link through a director of their board also sitting on the board of a another company.  Some of these directors sit on four or five boards, creating even more links from their company to another.  If a company has ten members on their board of directors, each with four or five links, they could have an interlocking directory of 40-50 companies.  Tying theses corporations together gives owners an economic advantage because it brings together a group of individuals that can bring a very specific set of skills to the table.

While in the past, most of the major corporations with interlocking directories have been banks like JP Morgan or Citigroup, or insurance companies, that has changed with the addition of Sara Lee (a food company) and 3M (an office supply company).  Both of these corporations have links to at least 31 other companies.

Another major change in banking boards is the addition of women and people of color to help "diversify" the company.  This has led to a change in the interlocking of banks because corporations are having to recruit people outside of their corporate grouping.

Education

Higher Education and Society:

 

Classroom sessions as ritual-like events:

 

 

1.

In this ritual of a lecture, the lecturer, or teacher, speaks in front of the class about a specific topic.  The teacher usually stands while the other people (the ones raising their hands in this picture) sit in a chair.  The people in the chair are the students and their job is to sit in the seats and listen to the teacher and what the teacher says.  If a student has a question of the teacher, or needs clarification, they may not just speak, but instead must raise their hands and wait for the teacher to call out their name before they speak.  This is a very common ritual in a class.

 

2.

 Another common ritual in classrooms is for the student to have a piece of paper and a utensil with which to write.  When the teacher speaks, the student will write down key points that the teacher says to refer to at a later time. 

3. 

A common ritual for students of all ages is to put all of their belongings into a bag called a backpack, or a bookbag.  This backpack has many different pockets to hold tools that students would need throughout the day.  The contents of the bag vary from young student to older student, but the most common instruments are pencils, pens, books, and paper.

 

4.

 

One of the most common and interesting rituals among students is called daydreaming.  This is a time when, during a lecture by the teacher, the student completely tunes out the world and stares off into space.  This is a good tactic when the words coming out of the teachers mouth are boring and useless.

 

 

Sources:
1. http://www.pacificav.com/graphics/classroom.jpg
2. http://www.bcnn4youth.com/college.classroom.jpg
3. http://www.rumson.k12.nj.us/rumson/Forrestdale/Health%20Services/Forrestdale%20Nurse/___zumuhead.html_files/backpack-books2_.jpg
4. http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/wavebreakmediamicro/wavebreakmediamicro1111/wavebreakmediamicro111109402/11183585-students-taking-notes-while-their-classmate-is-raising-her-hand-in-an-amphitheater.jpg

Valentine's Day

1.

 

These products above are all props that one can use when performing the act of love on Valentine's Day.  These products are called gifts and they can range from food or a stuffed animal.  A stuffed animal is a product that is made to look like and animal but it is actually a fake fur, stuffing filled thing with plastic eyes.  Girls are supposed to like crap like this.  Other gifts include perfume- a liquid that you spray upon yourself to make yourself smell a certain way, sweethearts- a type of sugary candy shaped like a heart that has sayings like "Love You" and "You're Sweet" written on them, and cards- folded up paper with poems written on them.

 

2.

 

On the ritual known as Valentine's Day, one will see people walking around with their hands entertwined.   This is known as "holding hands" and it signifies that two people are in a relationship or that they love one another.  This is an act that people do to show the rest of the world that they are in love, it does not make the relationship stronger or hold any special significance to those not involved in the relationship.

 

 

Sometimes, when a person is so in love, they feel the need to put that love into song.  In this video from the movie 10 Things I Hate About You, we see a gentleman singing his heart out to his lady love to attempt to woo her into his arms. 

 

 

 

Sources:

 

1. http://www.kouponkaren.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Valentines-Day_February.jpg



2. http://www.writerscafe.org/uploads/stories/3a74ac57cac954d93fb36c3e706a850e.jpg