Assignment 1: Thinking about cultural structures of gender

For assignment one, please watch the two music videos below.  I encourage you to watch the videos and to read through the lyrics.

• Pink, F**kin Perfect. Lyrics available here

• Michael Jackson, Bad Lyrics available here

While watching, think about these questions:

For both videos:

• What is the plot of each video?
• Do the lyrics of the song match with the images in the video?
• Make note of the artistic choices made in each video - what style of dress was chosen?  Who is in the video?  Does the video tell a story? 

For Pink's Perfect

• How does the Pink video make use of the cultural structure of "Effortless Perfection" as described by Farrelly?  
• What lines from the song or images from the video represent "Effortless Perfection"? 
• What lines form the song or images from the video contradict or counter "Effortless Perfection"?
• Does the video seem to take a stand about "Effortless Perfection"?
• What do you think Pink's intention was in writing this song and making this video?

For Michael Jackson's Bad

• Are there images or lyrics from this video that support the kind of "superman" or "ultimate masculinity" described in the Zirin article (and discussed in section)?
• Do the lyrics ever contradict or contrast with the images in the video?
• Does the video support the kind of masculinity described in the Zirin article?  
• What might Michael Jackson's intentions have been in making this video?

Bonus: Consider how "effortless perfection" as a standard for women and "ultimate masculinity" for men interact - do they support one and other?  Contradict one and other?   

For your Assignment: Once you have watched the videos a few times and made some notes (considering the questions above) please write a 1-2 page (300-500 word) reflection paper.  You may chose one video to focus upon or compare and contrast the videos. Answer these three questions:

1.  Briefly define "ultimate masculinity" (we called it Hegemonic Masculinity in class) and "effortless perfection."
2. Describe how you see these videos making use of the cultural structures of "ultimate masculinity" and/or "effortless perfection."
3. Do the videos contradict or create a counter-narrative to "ultimate masculinity" or "effortless  perfection"?  If so, how do they do this.

Bonus:  Do you think these videos have a useful or positive message for the people who watch them?

Please type your essays. They are due on Monday, October 7th in section.  A hard copy is required.

Please be specific in your analysis - quote the lyrics or point to specific scenes from the video to support your analysis.  Remember to cite your sources, including in-text citation of the articles you have read. 

If you are not familiar with in-text citations please refer to The OWL at Purdue.


******EDIT********Otober 3, 2013

Please include a works cited page. I think it is important for you to get into the habit of always citing, thus including a bibliography is good practice.  However, I know that you may not be familiar with how to cite a website or a video so I have included example reference below. Please be certain to include any outside sources you used, including Wikipedia.

For your reference: Youtube videos should be cited as follows (Using APA format)

Author, A. A. [Screen name]. (year, month day). Title of video
     [Video file]. Retrieved from http://xxxxx

You can see further information and examples at http://blog.apastyle.org/

Works Cited

Farrelly. (2013). Freshman Women at Duke University Battle   'Effortless Perfection'. In Blair-Loy, M. (Ed)An Introduction to Sociology: Analysis of the Social World (2nd Edition).

 Jackson, Michael [Michaeljacksonvivo]. (October 3, 2013). Bad [Video File]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/dsUXAEzaC3Q 

Jackson, Michael. (October 3, 2013). Lyrics, Bad. Retrieved From http://rock.rapgenius.com/Michael-jackson-bad-lyrics 

Pink [pinkvivo]. (October 3,2013). Perfect [Video File]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/K3GkSo3ujSY

Pink. (October 3, 2013). Lyrics Fuckin Perfect [website]. Retrieved from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/fuckinperfect.html

Zirin. (2013). NFL's In Denial About Depression. In Blair-Loy, M. (Ed)An Introduction to          Sociology: Analysis of the Social World (2nd Edition).