Four Weddings

I recently fell in love with a television show called “Four Weddings” on the Learning Channel. In the show, these four brides believe that they are having the best wedding ever. The network makes them guests at each other’s weddings and the brides vote on who had the best wedding. The winner then gets to take a honeymoon that the network pays for. It seems innocent enough, however you have brides of all economic backgrounds coming together to compete. I see this as a major flaw in the show. Sometimes it is comedic how ridiculous the weddings are and we as viewers know that there is no way that some weddings will win. Then we have to ask ourselves is it fair that the woman who had the nice 80,000 dollar wedding should win an all expense paid honeymoon, versus the woman who had a 7, 000 dollar wedding and probably can’t afford that type of honeymoon. We as viewers even scoff at the woman with the cheap wedding and the editors of the show clearly depict the bad parts of the weddings so the viewers make up their mind that the cheap wedding just cannot win. It also doesn’t help that the bride who is usually having the cheap wedding is a woman of color and of course of a lower class. However, as a viewer I cannot deny that this is entertainment.

When Aren't the Kennedy's Controversial?

http://youtu.be/HGf8pWpZ35k

Much controversy has been surrounding the 8-part miniseries that takes a never before seen look into the lives of Americas only royal family, the Kennedys. The History Channel was signed up to take on the miniseries, but after viewing it they found it to be far controversial and not a suitable show for their channel. They also received backlash from the remaining Kennedy family members. The History Channel did not want this show to blur the image of it’s brand due to the fact that the show takes things that are speculated about the Kennedys and paints them as accuracies. After watching the show, which I believe is great, I can understand why the History Channel made the decision it did. The show touches on mob dealing, JFK’s affairs, and Jackie O’s addiction to prescription medicine, all things that make the family look less than perfect. I found it interesting that the show was picked up by the Reelz channel which is a station that not many people have heard of or were not even sure if they were subscribed to. I know when I heard that I knew that was not a part of our listings here at DePaul. I believe the show would’ve been more successful if it had been aired on a more popular channel

Cabrini-Green is falling down...

As I write this, a wrecking crew is hard at work demolishing what is left of the legendary Cabrini-Green housing complex. As it says on it's wikipedia page, this housing complex became the symbol for all the problems associated with housing projects. As far as popular media is concerned, it will always make me think of Good Times and Candyman.




This is a classic television program. I've seen it in syndication and enjoy it, but I've always felt a little uncomfortable with the way in which this show uses the terrible social problem of poverty as a way in which to market the characters. If you look at this in contrast with All in the Family (another Norman Lear creation) I think working with these themes makes sense. Good Times is a classic show that can't help but show it's age. I think it's worth mentioning that nothing mentioned in the title song is ideal, or good for that matter, yet the message is 'ain't we lucky we got 'em.' In other words, be happy with what you have and don't try and improve you station in life. (IMHO)

Candyman, on the other hand, uses Cabrini-Green to a much different effect...



In case you haven't seen it, the Cabrini-Green housing project is central to the plot of this film. The Virginia Madsen character is a student researching urban legends who comes upon the legend of the Candyman, who may or may not be a real killer living in the Cabrini-Green housing projects.

Look at the imagery related to Cabrini-Green used in the Candyman trailer as opposed to the same setting in the Good Times opening. These are the same buildings, and Candyman was even filmed on location at times. It's interesting that the social meaning that these buildings held can be used for both horror and comedy. In both cases the housing project's implicit meaning connects it with poverty and other social ills. Also notice at what point the Hancock tower is shown in both of these. What does it mean that this building is shown in relation to Cabrini-Green? What purpose might the juxtaposition of these buildings serve?

In any case, the last of the Cabrini-Green buildings is being torn down right now, but the legacy that that particular landmark carries is likely to continue.

Hey Y'all, Welcome to MCS 271

Just wanted to drop everyone a hello.  Check out my other blog linked to D2L to see an example of what I'm looking for. Ben and I will also be contributing to the blog, so check us out on this blog to see the kinds of posts we're looking for.  Remember, you don't necessarily have to use the readings for your blog entries. Just make sure that you are critical in your observations of the media. This doesn't mean you are criticizing the media, rather than you're thinking about it. This could be about aesthetics, text, ideology, ownership, etc.  For example, tonight I watched the newest episode of the Biggest Loser. I could address the show in various ways.  How does it show men differently than women.  The show has CRAZY product placement.  How does that speak to the rise of reality television?  I could discuss the overall racial makeup of the show, the stories that are chosen by producers to highlight each participant, etc.  Any such topics would be critical.  In short, just take some time to think about the stuff you're watching, listening to, etc.