Tuesday 22 May 2012

"We Are Not All Created Equal" The Class System In America

http://www.esquire.com/features/thousand-words-on-culture/american-class-system-0112

The general consensus of this article is that the United States is approaching a state where it has a fixed social structure, where one's place in society is pre-determined by birth rather than work or talent.

It argues that the class system is "clandestine" because of the convictions held by the upper classes that they are there because they worked hard and the refusal of the lower classes that their poverty is permanent.

The article ends on a despondent note, saying that America's social immobility is irreversible at present due to immensity of the problem.

Thursday 17 May 2012

"It's O.k. To Be Gay". Contemporary Gay American Identity.

N.B. I'd strongly urge that you wear earphones before you watch the following video. Also, don't feel obliged to watch the whole thing, I've done that for you.

It's OK To Be Gay, by Tomboy.

Tomboy's "It's OK To Be Gay" music video on the surface appears to be a humorous and exaggerated take on Gay identity, with many 'features' of homosexual identity on display; such as bright colours, wearing makeup, cross-dressing, and an emphasis on male bodybuilding.

However underneath the kitsch exterior there is a story being told, in the beginning of the video we see a young boy in bed who is awoken by a fairy (the word fairy having negative connotations in regards to homosexuals but here being used in a positive light) and taken to his closet, where he is transported to a world full of homosexuals and is shown that, as the song repeats like a mantra that it is "OK To Be Gay", and by the end the boy is seen bursting out of a chained up closet, "coming out of the closet" is a very significant part of a homosexuals life, for it is the moment they confirm that that they are gay to their friends or family.

In this regard therefore, the main emphasis of this video, if it wasn't made obvious by the title, is that homosexuality is acceptable and people should not be afraid to confirm their sexual identity.