Pop Culture and Stereotypes

In everyday culture we encounter stereotypes and living binaries that shape our views, values, and our actual culture. The interesting thing about studying popular culture is being able to look at and analyze aspects of media in different forms and how they affect us.

In the clips from “Fatal Attraction” we are shown two completely different women. As talked about in class, Glen Close is the scorned lover who is looked down upon by the audience. Why is that? It’s because it is engraved in our mind what is right and what is wrong, who is good and who is bad, but why? It’s something our society does so well, needing to point the finger to place blame someone. Instead of blaming the cheating husband, he merely gets a slap on the wrist in this movie. Due to an unspoken code between women, the possibility that the husband lied about his marital status or whatever other excuse can be made on his behalf is not a major concern. Instead, it is the lover who has wronged the betrayed wife. Instead of taking a different view, “Fatal Attraction” appeals to the masses, in that it presents a view that most women in the United States would agree with, blaming the misdeeds of the husband on the lover.

Another interesting thing that came up in class was the idea in “Ancherman” that the female lead waited to show her approval until others demonstrated that they agreed. It is an idea that has become a popular strategy for ad campaigns. For example the slogan “Hey Mikey likes it!” implies that hey, if he likes it, you have to like it too. This now popular advertising trend has lead society to eat Wheaties, smoke cigarettes, etc. This will only continue as long as we allow it; unfortunately however, it does not look like the advertising companies will give up such a successful approach.