COMM 2360 1nd Edition Lecture 5Outline of Last Lecture I. Media OwnershipII. Consolidation a. Television b. Internet III. Fiske’s Cultural Studies Account: Reading and Resistance a. Question of Authorship b. Technological ConsiderationsOutline of Current Lecture IV. The Cultural Studies Perspective: Questions to Consider V. Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tale Documentary Current Lecturecynic- word is greek- related to canine (dog) because there was a group of Greeks called cynics that consider themselves to be the dogs of philosophy- did this to antagonize greek culture (intellectual establishment)when we use the word cynical now- how do we use it - looking at life in a negative way- twisted sense of humor - no faith in higher ideals that we take for granted- a person who believes that someone’s motivations are selfish rather than selfless when we use the word cynical- in that way Frankfurt school can be thought of as cynical- don’t look at high art- look at negative - in another way- Frankfurt school can be thought of as the opposite of cynical- asking us to pay attention to cynical motivation (to please stock holders) - BUT also say there is art that exists outside of that system - Adorno would say he’s not cynic- cynics are people that think no art can exist outside system of exchange Interrogate idea that Frankfurt School make use more cynical- These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- there to give you tools to separate art (for a higher sake) and what’s meant to make money Paragraph that explains the role of cynicism in ferreting out distinctions- essay from Janex generation- David Foster Wallace- what does going on a cruise actually mean?- a cruise is all about returning to the moon - mediation on whether needs can be extinguished once satisfiedo Wallace says no- just come up with additional needs- ask Frank Conroy (novelists) o asked to write positive story about a cruise line o Wallace went to school with him- wondering why he’s selling out- Wallace talks about the serious difference o “In the case of Conroy’s issue- celeb cruises is trying to position an ad in such a way that we come to it with lower guard and leading chin we reserve for coming to an essay, for something that is art (or that is at least trying to be art). An ad that pretends to be art is—at absolute best—like somebody who smiles at you only because he wants something from you. This is dishonest, but what’s insidious is the cum effect that such dishonestly has on us: since it offers a perfect simulacrum of goodwill without goodwill’s real substance, it messes with our heads and eventually starts upping our defenses even in cases of genuine smiles and real art and true goodwill. It makes us feel confused and lonely and impotent and angry and scared. It causes despair.”Review: the cultural studies perspective - John Fiske- Focus on response, interpretation and resistance - polysemy (as many interpretations as there are receiver) o can respond to a subculture - changing notion of “authorship” o written by groups - technological changes o more buttons o channel surfingo now receivers are authoring things on the spot Questions that Fiske wants us to consider:o is there a dominant, mainstream cultureo MSM- mainstream media- more than five years ago- not recognizable o ex. even Glenn Beck disparages mainstream media (hilarious)o idea of a mainstream is being questioned by technology o to what extent do people have power to bend dominant meanings?o what do these acts of resistance look like? o individual interpretation o Lost produced- megafans, fandom people, what happens what’s the myriad response to a show like Lost  why does this matter to academics?documentary- cultural responses to Barbie: Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tale - starts off at mattel auction- then gay parade- then connection between barbie and decision to get implants protest - then mattel explanation o Barbie was perfect vehicle to tell story about many situations in Americao Ruth Handler (Mattel cofounder)  cult activity at Barbie festival- not phony “everybody has a barbie story” Handler’s daughter started playing with adult paper dolls  Handler wanted to ease insecurities girl feel about getting boobs- make 3D dolls- saw hole in market- child limited to play with baby dolls, or toddler dolls- no adult dolls- couldn’t play out futures with dolls- adult dreams o Barbie was always wholesome - then Sandi- barbie wholesaler (Barbie Attic) o started collecting to pass down to kids  compare when she was growing up (gloves, hanky, dress)- to relive safe period of time (things were passive/compliant) to now - uses memories to sell barbie dolls - Franklin doll artist o has a fashion relationship with barbie- unauthorized Documentary goes through number of unauthorized uses of Barbieo barbie is a high sexualized toy o modeled after German pin up doll- proactive- men would put it on dashboards of carso Lily- o Handler told there was no way we could make a doll with breasts- o executives didn’t go for it at the time o then Mattel made changeover to direct marketing to kids o bypass mothers to sell sex doll to kids-o people weren’t asking what do you have for a “bright 6 year old”- now asking for specific toy o 2 barbie dolls are sold every second somewhere in the world o average girl has 8 barbies in US; in Germany- 7; o in Japan- girls don’t play with doll- challenge- in advertising teaching girls how to play with dollso learning to play barbie looks a lot like learning to play female next part- evolution of barbie- in 1980s barbie was professionalized- then went back to being a sex doll barbie o question of authorship o then the market took over- o negotiation should barbie get a job, or stay in kitchen o response to change in culture Frankfurt wants to control