Analysis of article Movies, Model Ts and Morality: The impact of technology on standards of behvior in the early twentieth century

This article is about how society changed in the early 1900’s. The increase in technology has an influence on the way society looked at morals, priorities and how people lived their lives. The change in society was significant enough that even the president put together a panel of scientists to study the changes. The author wrote the article to a general audience and made her points clearly using language that everyone can understand. If follows a logical order and she uses example and quotes to provide examples to support her ideas.

The first main idea that the article talks about is how technology changes people’s perspectives. The society was changed from an agricultural to a more technological and it had an impact on how people felt. It brought about a sense of being one way in one location and another in a different location. The author talks about how the younger generation became more influential in helping create the new environment, they set the standards.  The example she gave was how daughters would have shorter skirts and mothers would emulate them. The automobile had a major impact on society because it made class standing harder to differentiate. It gave people the feeling to live in the moment and was used more for pleasure then for just a means to get somewhere. The author makes a large point about how the car provided a place for people to commit immoral acts. There was an increased lack of interest in religion and a growing interest in sexual freedom. The motion picture was also a major factor in the changing society. The movies provided a group event for people to attend together and brought people closer. The author makes a point that during this time more people went to the movies on Sundays than church. The movies gave people a chance to escape to another place and gave them ideas on what was socially acceptable. They provided an environment where things happened now and you would think about them later.

I think the key point in the article is that technology changed the way that people in the early 1900’s thought about how they were living their lives. They were introduced to new ideas and provided new opportunities and that changed the way that society thought about things. I agreed with the main points the author made such as the automobile providing many changes for people. It allowed them more freedom and that allowed them to make more choices. The author made a point of saying that technology is not the sole reason for the changes in society but helped encourage it. The movies did provide a way for people to get together as a group and this even more expanded their thinking. The fact that more people attended movies at this time than church was a surprising thing to me but the author explained that people were more interested in pleasure and were questioning life.

This article is important in describing how some things that we take for granted today came to be. The new technologies that were invented at that time laid the way for how society is based today. The article provided me with information that I wasn’t aware of and made a very good case for why technology was a major factor in changing morality at that time. It was very interesting to me and the way the author wrote it and used quotes and example kept me interested. The author done her job in convincing me that model Ts and movies made a significant impact on society’s morals at that time and in the future.

Weinbrenner, M. (2011). Movies, Model T’s, and Morality: The Impact of Technology on Standards of Behavior in the Early Twentieth Century. The Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 44,03,  pp 647-659.

analysis 3

The bachelor television show is typically not involving anyone that as a viewer you would associate with a hero. I think at times the bachelor can do an action that makes him a hero to a contestant. An example would be if one of the contestants was having an issue with another contestant and the bachelor steps in and resolves the issue by sticking up for her. In other cases the bachelor can be a hero to a contestant by helping them overcome a fear during a date. They sometimes go on adventure dates and contestants can be scared so maybe to that contestant the bachelor would seem a hero. The show can portray the bachelor as a hero and doing good deeds but really it is more of a way to garner interest in the show.

The show is so popular to contestants because it is a way for them to become celebrities. The show is supposed to be about finding true love but most of the contestants who go on the show are trying to find a way to be famous. In today’s society some people are willing to do anything to be a celebrity. They will pretend to be someone else just to get noticed and maybe have a chance in Hollywood. They show provides them the opportunity to meet people, do magazine and photo shoots, interviews, and be on television. In some cases the contestant is already someone that is involved in say the modeling industry but they are hoping to approve their career.  The cult of the celebrity is something that confuses me, I would not want to pretend to be someone I’m not just to have the chance to be a star. I do understand how tempting that life looks though with money, fame and power. The fact that they use this show to achieve that is why the show basically never works out the way it is advertised. The lure of becoming a celebrity is more important to most contestants then the chance at finding true love.

analysis 2

The television show the bachelor is based on stereotypes. The contestants are stereotyped from the beginning when they are introduced to the viewer. They are portrayed into certain stereotypes such as the southern girl, the model or the crazy one as examples. It is not necessarily who they are but the persona they take on for the show. The show always has younger contestants so that they fit in with the typical viewers’ age demographic. The bachelor is also stereotyped as the all American man. He is always portrayed as successful, charming, and good looking. He is made to seem to be the man that every woman wants.

            The show is made to entertain the viewer as the contestants and bachelors true personalities come out after the show has aired. The show has rituals it follows every season such as exotic locations for dates, overnight dates, the date with the singer and jewels, and they always start out in the same house every season. The rose ceremony is a ritual they have on every show. They do these rituals to stay consistent with what the viewer is used to. This show and the bachlorette show are on every year and they are consistently set up the same way with those things becoming rituals. When I actually examine the show and not just watch for entertainment I found it to be primarily a show about supposedly finding love if you are good looking, white and have money. This is what I have found the show to be based on in my opinion.

Analysis 1

            I am analyzing the television show The Bachelor which has been a long running reality show that uses the belief that everyone can find their true love even on television. The show is based on the romance myth and tends to follow socially excepted guidelines in dating. The show tends to choose their bachelor so that the viewer will either find them appealing or dislike them to bring the viewers in. The contestants they pick to date the bachelor are usually a varied group with many personalities. The bachelor then takes group dates or single dates where they go have dream dates that help the bachelor pick who they have that connection with. They hand out roses which play into the whole romance myth to the people who are staying on to the next round. In the end the bachelor picks their final choice and usually proposes marriage.

             It is supposed to seem like a modern day fairy tale to viewers. The show is made to show the belief that everyone has a match out there. They go on out the most romantic dates to exotic locations where money is never an option. The show supposedly shows how people find their true love but throughout the years it has typically shown the opposite. It has had some success stories but it has turned into more of a way for someone to become famous by being on television. The few people that it has been successful for it have followed the theory of true love. They have stayed together typically leading normal lives and following the American dream of getting married, a good job and having children.  There are many critics of this show and people who watch it just to have a good laugh at the hyped up romance. I think most people still watch this show hoping to see if the bachelor finds their sole mate and have that true love because as a society we still believe in the myth of romance and want to watch other people find it.

Icon Analysis

I am choosing as my three contemporary icons Lady Gaga, John Wayne and Hello Kitty. They are all very different from each other but all have achieved the status of being known around the world for what they stand for.

I chose Lady Gaga as a contemporary pop icon in our society today. The fact that she has only been around a few years and has accomplished so much is impressive. She is recognized around the world and even for people that don't like her persona or music she is still someone you recognize. I picked John Wayne because when you think of old western movies that is a name that everyone recognizes. He created so many movies and became someone that has appealed to many generations. I also chose Hello Kitty as a example of a icon. The cartoon character has been around for many years and even though it has went through phases of popularity she never really goes away. It has become an image that girls around the world recognize.

To me personally I feel that even though Lady Gaga has an outrageous stage persona she uses her popularity to promote good causes like recently taking up the cause of bulling in schools which is something that is a very important issue to me being a mother. I choose John Wayne because I have fond memories of watching his westerns with my father growing up. I can't watch one of his movies and not think of those times and I am looking forward to sharing with my children his movies. Hello Kitty was always a image that I enjoyed since I like cats but it became more special when my best friend married a women from Japan and they have gotten me quite a collection of Hello Kitty memorabilia.

A popular culture artifact

Popular culture can be anything that defines what we are as a culture. When I think of popular culture it can be a song, person, movie, t.v show, fad or anything that is instantly recognizable to a wide variety of people. In the health care field it is important to know what is going on in popular culture so you have a way of connecting with the patient or another employee. It can give you that connection you need to open the channels of communication.




Picture from http://www.syfy.com/ghosthunters/

I chose the popular television show Ghost Hunters from the Sci Fi network as my artifact. My family and I have been a fan of this show since its creation in 2005. I have even visited places they investigated on the show during vacations hoping to have a better understanding of things I really don't understand. It was one of the first reality shows to deal with the paranormal and became a instant sucess. It allowed people to experience and question things that they might not normally think about. The show created the paranormal phenomenon that we have today on television and in our culture.