Shopping

Signs of Shopping

Norton in her essay talks about how a mall is sort of built to drive in customers of all races ages from young adolescents to old people. Yet she speaks about how in a mall you will mostly see young females spent an enormous amount of time there. She states how they spend more time at a mall than money buying things. She also claims that shopping for woman is a subversive activity. I can see where she can get this from many woman go out shopping to relieve stress or just go out and spend time with their friends and get away from their life. Some of her claims about a female shopper may be right but I don’t think that its only females who go out shopping spend and blow their money or husband’s money. I think that males also do the same, now that I think of it every time I go to the mall I always tend to see male shoppers who are  in a group of other male shoppers and if I’m right they tend to either spend the same amount of money a female or even more. In my opinion I think it just all depends on the person and who they are if they like shopping they will spend a big amount of their time shopping but if they don’t they won’t and that goes for both females and males. Now a day I see many young shoppers female and male in the mall shopping.

Science of Shopping

While reading the following article I was blown away of how technical it can be to drive customers to a certain store when it is build and opened for the public. They think of every certain angle and scenario when building a store that wants to sell good. They think of the displays out in front of the store like what type of things should be in display to get a customer’s attention. Then they discuss what should be put in the front of the store and what should go in the back. In a clothing store they usually have shirts in the front and and dressing rooms in the back so when you go and try something on you are bound to stop and look at the stuff in the back which is usually the stuff on sale. While in the grocery store they will put the dairy on one side the meat in the back and the produce on the other so a costumer won’t get what they quick and instead go through the whole store and grab more than what they needed. When I think about it that’s exactly how a grocery store is set up back home and now I understand why.

Gender Roles

Every day in the real world we see gender roles take place we can be anywhere and we can notice it. Society in the world of today puts pressure on individuals to look a certain way because there a girl or they have to look and dress ‘this way’ because there a guy. If you’re a girl you should be dressing in skirts, cute shirts or wearing makeup, dressing in pink and purple because those are the colors ‘Girls’ wear. If you’re a guy well you’re supposed to wear boy clothes and colors like blue and black. They also imply that they have to act a certain way because of the gender that they are. It can be okay if a girl cries because girls are classified as overly ‘sensitive’. Although if you’re a boy you’re supposed to act tough and do manly stuff because that’s what a boy does. Were taught since a very young age that this is how were supposed to act not only by our parents but by our society. Although with our world progressing much faster now a days we are starting to accept people who choose to be different. We see gender roles taking place in the real world we can also see them come up in video games, movies, television shows, the media, and even some toys factories come out with now days. In the following movie “Gamer” and the novel “The Surrogates” we can see gender roles being a big part.

 In the movie “Gamer” we see how gender roles are present in the movie and the video games that come out in the movie. In the movie we are introduced to a video game called “Slayers” where we see muscular guys running around caring a gun and shooting other men in order to survive. Except these are not avatars one can create these are actual humans, these are prisoners who are given the chance of being an “avatar” in this video game and if they survive 30 battles they are promised they are set free. The way a player can control this “avatar” is they are inserted with a chip on their brain and linked to the person who buys there link. Watching this made me think of the actual video games that are out there in real life with characters like this basically brainwashing little boys and teens that they need to look this why because that’s how a real man should look like. Or they should be tough like these characters in these video games because that how a real man should act like. On the other hand in the movie we also see another video game that is popular in that world which is called “Society” this works exactly like “Slayers” except the ones who play an avatar is an actual person whom volunteers to be an avatar. “Society” is like “Sims” in our real world, you create an avatar and you make it live this life you want it to. In the video game “Society” we see these people randomly partying and doing stuff a regular person would do. Except I noticed that there style of clothing is different we see the women dressing more provocative and men chasing after them. This brings us back to gender roles were a game like “Society” can teach girls that it is okay if we dress in little clothing and have men chase after us because a video game makes it seem like it’s a normal thing. It is basically degrading woman when they are portrayed in such a way.

            In the novel “The Surrogates” witch is revolved around what the world can look like in the year the future when ‘robots’ are invented to take over our lives. We start off and see that there are hardly real people in the real world there mostly surrogates that are controlled by regular people at home. Regular people can have a career through there surrogates they can be a police officer or a firefighter anything they want. A person who is 18 years or older are only allowed to buy and own a surrogate, because of an incident that happened when teens used there surrogates to beat up and eventually kill a homeless man. On the other hand some people are against having surrogates because they think it’s taken over society and peoples’ lives. In the story we see a female having a male surrogate and goes under the name Victor when in reality it’s a woman named Victoria controlling the Surrogate. When the detectives find out Victor is actually a girl they question her why she chose to have a male surrogate. Her statement was that more people will actually feel safe investing with male more than a female. In the following she states “The Board of directors feels more secure having a male CEO. Investors like that sort of thing” (Venditti and Weldele 141). Basically people have more respect for a male in an industry more than a female will ever have. If she would to have a woman as a surrogate in the industry she works in they probably wouldn’t accept her or acknowledge her. So it was best to choose a guy surrogate and work the industry with him and it seemed to be very successful. Gender role is also present here were a woman feels like she wouldn’t be paid attention in the business world because our society is always portraying a man to be the ideal business person. They are portrayed as the ones who can close a good deal or can be trustworthy and for many years it has been like that. Even as our world is progressing it still never seems to change, a man in society’s eyes will always be the go to guy to close a business deal or trust with when making a deal.

            Genders roles are basically everywhere not only in movies like “Gamer” or in novels like “The surrogates”, they are also found in the media like I mentioned before. Let’s take a look at celebrities. Magazines are always putting good looking people (celebrities) on their covers; we are constantly looking at their definition of beautiful people. This includes a woman mostly professional models or famous actresses with perfect or almost perfect features and a body like no other, whom by the way is slim and always dresses to impress and wears make up every day, and who men think they are the perfect woman to be with. On the men’s side we see famous actors who are cut, muscular looking men (like the ones in “Gamer”) and perfect face features that women fantasize of all the time. Of course if you see someone that good looking you are bound to want to look like them. When society puts things types of things out and accepts them then that’s when girls and guys will want start to look like that person on the cover of the magazine and eventually do damage on themselves. People will go to a far extent to get that ideal body or look that they see in a magazine. There are so many disorders we hear about in the news that girls and guys obtain because society’s ideal image of a woman is slim and pretty and men’s ideal image is a muscular body type. Girls think that the only way to obtain such a body is to starve themselves and exercise a lot which can cause severe damage. On the guys side they become obsessed with getting this muscular body because that’s the only way a girl will ever notice them and in my guess makes them feel manlier. The media puts these magazines out for the public to see and our society accepts but what they don’t know is it can damage some people deeply.

            Media isn’t the only ones who are defining what a man or a woman should be looking like or stereotyping woman and men in certain ways. We also have toys that tend to separate girls and guys. If you’re a girl the toy you’re supposed to be playing with is either a baby doll or a Barbie. For boys you have your usual car toys, your G.I Joe action figure, and other action figures. These are the toys that society and our parents have raised us to play with. This brings us to gender roles you can basically be defined by the toys that you play with. Also brings us to image G.I Joe is portrayed as a muscular type of looking guy like the one you see in “Gamer” while Barbie is a beautiful slim looking girl that you can also see in “Society” were most of the girls looked slim and beautiful. Kids can pick up these images and try to portray them on themselves later on when there older.

            Moreover gender roles can be seen everywhere whether it’s in video games, movies, toys and the media. Our parents and society raise us to have these portrayals of what a woman should look like or what a man should look like and push it upon is. Shows, movies, video games, etc., are also constantly pushing these images down on us. Not only that but a video game or a movie like “Gamer” can degrade woman, and make it seem acceptable. As time passes this can do long term harm and damage to some people. Although this is how we were brought up it doesn’t mean we have to follow it as our world is progressing, and it is subject to change.                         

Works Cited

Venditti, Robert, and Brett Weldele. The Surrogates. Ed. Chris Staros. Marietta, GA: Top Shelf, 2006. Print.

Project Space

For our project space we chose the Botanic Garden that is located right next to the Chapparal Hall. When we got there we entered the little park. There was a pathway of cement but as we got further in it disappeared, so we just decided to walk around and explore the space. We saw two park style benches in an open grass area. On the opposite side there was a little dirt trail that led to a cautioned off area were there was a wasp nest. We walked the other way and we saw more plants and trees and suddenly came upon three greenhouses. After talking to a person from there we were allowed inside of them. The greenhouses were something else they contained unique and very gorgeous plants that I never seen before.

When we got to the garden it was almost 10 am so it was definitely very quiet and empty, we were the only ones there. I think that this Garden can definitely be used for some peace and quiet. I can also imagine studying in this area just because it’s so isolated and there is no distractions what so ever. I have never seen this part of CSUN so it definitely didn’t feel like it was part of it but the garden was really beautiful, I felt like I was somewhere else. We also noticed that most or all the plants and trees had a little sign that indicated what type of plant they were or type of tree they were.

                The garden is definitely different then the places here at CSUN I find it really nice that we have a place like this because at times where we are in need of some peace and quiet we can come to the garden and experience that. Or we can also just go and use it as a place to study because of how quiet the place can be, plus no one can disturb you. I also see this facility as a learning place just because of the many plants and trees plus the greenhouses that are located inside the garden.  

Essay Proposal

For my essay I’m planning on doing question #4 which explores gender roles in both “Gamer” and “The Surrogates”. While writing this essay not only do I want to explore the gender roles these two bring in there story line. But I also want to explore why people choose to play an avatar in the opposite sex, I’ll start off with ‘Gamer’ and ‘the surrogates’. Although I want to go further and do research on what other people feel about the subject and maybe find explanation to why people play with an avatar that’s there opposite sex.

Response to "Gamer"....

 Watching the movie ‘Gamer’ is eye opening; the story line is interesting and pretty scary if it actually happened in real life. I think that “Gamer” functions as a social commentary because in the movie we see people who are actors (also known as avatars) in the ‘Society’ game act out and pretty much do anything their player has them do. For the player it’s a good thing because they can do things they wouldn’t be able to in real life. For instance the players who play ‘Society’ have their avatar do stuff like drugs have them drink and do pretty awful things. The player can also live the life of their opposite sex. For instance a guy can have a girl avatar and a girl can have a boy avatar. Advertising was a huge part of the movie; since the movie started till it ended we saw that advertising was huge. In the movie we saw big screens advertising ‘Slayers’ we saw big posters practically covering a whole building also with ‘Slayers’ on it. The ad’s in the movie were similar to the ones we have today big posters and billboards that advertise a new movie or a new video game.

                The game ‘Slayers’ in “Gamer” is a game about death row inmates converted into an avatar were someone on the outside world can control them and play the game with them. The game consist of death row inmates shooting each other and trying to survive  in a battle once the battle is over they return to a check point and do it all over again the next day. If the inmate survives 30 battles it is promised that he will be released and set free. Some differences ‘Slayers’ have with real life is that people don’t actually control real human beings while playing a video game that consist of players shooting each other. Another one is that if an avatar dies while playing the game he is actually dead and doesn’t come back to life like in a video game in the real world. One similarity is that there is a person on the other player controlling the avatar like in ‘Slayers’ and in an actual video game.  I don’t think there is even ethics in both ‘Slayers’ and ‘Society’ just because the creator of these both games was only thinking of himself and all the money he was going to be making. In both games there is no rules and you can make your avatar basically do water you command it to do. If a game like ‘Slayers’ was ever introduced as an idea in real life I don’t think it would ever be OK for a death row inmate to die for entertainment it’s just immoral. As for ‘Society’ it also isn’t a good idea it’s basically prostitution because its selling your body to someone to control and make you do things they want you to do.

                I honestly wouldn’t know why men control women in ‘Society’ my guess I that it’s a fantasy they get to live. Maybe they get some type of pleasure out of playing a woman in a game. Either way I just think its plane wrong.

                In the essay Waggoner writes he talks about how people get so into video games and spend so much time in a virtual world and creating avatars for that specific game they are playing. It’s similar to Gamer because in gamer we have players who make and choose their avatar something so completely different from what they actually look like. In Gamer we also have a lot of players who spend a large amount of time playing the game ‘Slayer’ or ‘Society’.

"Videogames, Avatars, and Identity" Response

After reading “Videogames, avatars, and identity” I started to get flash backs to when I played video games when I was a child. I never really got obsessed with them as the author explained he did, not getting any sleep and just have his mind race as he thought about he can play the game better or what he can improve on. In his essay he mentioned Pac-man and Nintendo and other systems created as technology improved when the years passed by. When I thought about it I do remember playing the first Nintendo that ever came out I remember my brother was obsessed with that game system and he would sometimes let me and my sister play once in a while.

                There was a time in my life though were I got into video games a little more than usual and for my twelve birthday I asked my parents for the Gameboy SP in which they did get for me. When I look back the only reason I got the game was because my friend had one and she had a Sim’s game in which I really liked playing. My friend would let me play all the time with her avatar that she created. When I think about that avatar it actually was not similar to her at all she designed an avatar that was a complete opposite to her. Although she did spend a lot of time playing that game, I also started to notice that she got more and more Sim games she even got one for her computer. Time did go by and she eventually grew out of that face but I did notice that she invested so much time into that specific game. Once I got the Gameboy I got a couple of games with it but for a reason I didn’t get the Sim’s game I don’t remember why but I guess I also grew out of that face.

                There was one time were I did created an avatar and it was for the Nintendo Wii, I was with my friend (the same one with the Sim obsession) at her house and her mom had gotten a Wii for her younger sister. They asked me and my sister if we wanted to play we said yes so they set it up so my sister and I can make our own avatar to play with. One thing I do remember was the process being so long. It took me especially a long time to create my avatar because I wanted to create something that resembled my features. I looked carefully and the type of face I had and the type of nose I had what types of curly hair there was the mouth types they had and lastly what types of eyes that resembled me. I got so into it that when I did finish my avatar it actually looked like me and I was so proud of it.

After reading “Implications” my reaction to the “ghettoization” of MySpace was that I somehow can agree to some of the students the author interviewed stating that Facebook is classified as more for sophisticated and higher class people. I know it’s hard to hear but that’s how most of our society sees MySpace user as more of the ‘ghetto’ type. When I switched to Facebook I was in my junior year and when I first got a MySpace I was in 7^th grade, I was a little skeptical about it at first because I heard that Facebook was like a MySpace for grownups to communicate with their business colleagues. One of my closest friends mentioned Facebook to me to join Facebook so we can talk on there because she no longer was on MySpace. When I finally switched I noticed that the switch was major and I was completely lost but as time went by I got the hang of it. I also noticed that every one of my classmates had already done the switch probably a year before I did. Once I was hooked on Facebook I quickly let go of MySpace I still have a profile but I haven’t logged in since I made the switch. In my opinion I see Facebook as a social network were high school students and college students can communicate with each other. I also see how many companies and other business take advantage of Facebook to advertise. MySpace on the other hand I see as a social network for students in lower grades like middle school and even grade school. The way my Facebook is designed is it has information that I only want people to see only my friends are able to see my page. I’m careful about what I post and what not to post, when I think about I rarely post on my Facebook just because I’m a private person and I don’t want people being nosy. Although, I do like Facebook because it’s a place where I can keep in touch with my friends and family that I don’t see often. Now that I look back I’m glad I made the switch Facebook is more convenient to use. Not only that but all of my friends are on Facebook everyone I know left MySpace so there was no reason to stay there.