HUM3321 Final Exam Study Guide Vocabulary Alienation withdrawn or isolated Assimilation to take in and incorporate as one s own absorb to conform with customs Capitalism a system in which the means of production are privately owned and operated for profit a capitalist is the private owner Essentialism the belief in real true human essences existing outside of social and historical context Ex if you are a lesbian today you would probably be a lesbian in any time period geography Heteronormativity naturalizing and normalizing power of heterosexuality in representaion subjectivity and discipline Heterosexism promotion encouragement of opposite sex couples because of natural reproduction Homophobia fear of being perceived as gay Misogyny hatred dislike mistrust of women Nationalism a strong identification with a group of individuals sharing the same ethnicity and culture Naturalization to confer upon the rights and privileges of a citizen to introduce or adopt into a country Physiognomy a person s features or characteristic expression considered as an indication of personality Race as an essence the basic real and invariable nature of a thing Race as an illusion something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality Racial formation the sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created transformed and destroyed Xenophobia an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange Questions to Consider 1 What is the tripartite oppression Sharon L Jones analyzes in conjunction with representations of African American females in cinema Race class and gender 2 What percentage of the Oscar Academy is white 94 3 For Jones why are audiences more comfortable with representations of tripartite oppression in The Color Purple than in Waiting to Exhale There is a perceived historical distance in The Color Purple took place in the 30s in the south In Waiting to Exhale it overlooks oppression that African American women face 4 For Jones why is the depiction of racial oppression in Waiting to Exhale problematic Racial oppression is seen through lens of sexual competition for men 5 Class is not just about income or wealth it is also about 6 According to Karl Marx what is the cause of all societal problems Struggle between social classes 7 If the bourgeoisie is the thesis and the proletariat is the antithesis what is the synthesis according to Marxism A classless society 8 What is meant by the phrase alienation of labor The laborer is eventually no longer a person who labors but rather the products he or she produces the products become more valuable than the people who produce them 9 What is meant by the phrase labor power as commodity Marx argues that wage labor becomes something that can be bought and sold just like any other object The more important the products become the less important humans as laborers become 10 If labor power is a commodity what does this mean for the laborer the laborer sells his labor power laborers work to create wages not products 11 What are the four types of Marxist alienation as discussed in class 1 Alienation of the worker from his her species essence as a human being rather than a machine 2 Alienation between workers since capitalism reduces labor to a commodity to be traded on the market rather than a social relationship 3 Alienation of the worker from the product since this is appropriated stolen by the capitalist class and so escapes the workers control 4 Alienation from the act of production itself such that work comes to be a meaningless activity offering little or no intrinsic satisfactions 12 Why did the ideology of the American Dream arise during the 1930s Cultural malaise dissatisfaction depression rich getting richer poor getting poorer that they could overcome rise above the effects of the Great Depression 13 Why was the democratic art of cinema so prominent during this time period Hint Thinking of The Wizard of Oz or Gone With the Wind Strong reaffirmation of American ideals 14 Finish this sentence Hollywood was retelling the story of America in a structured narrative of CRISIS and RECOVERY 15 What are some themes of Frank Capra films State of the nation and the meaning of the American tradition in the Depression era to reassemble the fragments small towns the common man the average man the people nostalgia for simplicity 16 Be familiar with concepts of the poet and the man of the world Both idealistic sentimental and a man of action 17 What argument does Mr Deeds Goes to Town make about the poet and the men of the world People should be both the poet and the men of the world 18 What does the name Longfellow Deeds signify Longfellow tall lanky Lincoln esque Deeds good deed or deed of money inheritance 19 What is the structural theory of action Not everyone has access to certain options but may have access to other options people will compare themselves and their situation to other people that are in a similar situation 20 Why is the structural theory of action problematic for gender oppression It s harder to see oppression 21 What does it mean to perform gender 22 What is cognitive bias subordinate adaptation and trading power for patronage Cognitive bias already assuming someone else s privileged status Subordinate adaptation it would benefit them more to adapt than to challenge their subordinate status Trading power for patronage women will relinquish their agency in exchange for resources 23 What are the three theoretical traditions of defining gender as discussed in class 1 Focus on how individual sex differences originate whether biological or social 2 Focus on how the social structure creates gendered behavior 3 Emphasis on social interaction and accountability to others expectations 24 What does it mean to say that gender is a social structure it is a dynamic struggle of oppressors and oppressed 25 According to Brenda Cooper what are the three narrative devices used in Thelma Louise the undercuts and appropriates the male gaze 1 Stereotypes of lecherous and testosterone crazed men 2 Objectification of women 3 Celebration of women s friendships 26 Why is Thelma Louise a cathartic revenge fantasy for female spectators Men not women are being put in their place 27 What are the three ways the male gaze functions in cinematic discourse 1 Male characters capture women as objects of their gaze 2 The camera lens projects the male gaze onto the female characters 3 The audience
View Full Document
Unlocking...