Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
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Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I read FHM for the articles: an academic dillema
I only got one subject this sem, and I took the Pop Culture class from the Sociology Department thinking that pop culture would be the unifying thread of whatever topic I would concentrate on for my thesis.
It was a practical move. My choices were political discussions and Filipino masculinity. Political discussions were interesting for me because I want to paint a picture of Filipinos talking politics in their public or private spheres. I talk politics with taxi drivers; I even want to record the conversation and post the transcriptions just to see the beauty from the mundane. Of course I talk politics at work like a drunk fish. And sometimes at school. Heck, most of my relatives and friends turn their political talk mode on whenever I walk in the room, starting with "Kamusta na ang boss mo?."
When telenovelas, "straight" news, and showbiz talk shows seemingly have the same scriptwriters, political talk is also entertainment. I am particularly interested with the hows, whether people would come to blows or laughs when talking about politics.
For a few sems, this was my topic, and looked up internet forums for data. And Prof. Samson, the pop culture prof said it was kinda boring.
What was more interesting is the other topic I have in mind: Filipino masculinities and 'new lad' magazines.
Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net
Feminist studies on mass media have primarily focused on the representations of women and how the patriarchal system utilizes the "male gaze" to impose its hegemony. Studying how men react to recent developments in the social, political, and legal systems due to the feminist movement is like Clarice Sterling interviewing Hannibal Lecter. Men have always been villainous ants under the feminist magnifying glass, and I think putting us in an ant farm is a welcome development. A bit more humane too.
Words like New Man, New Lad, metrosexuality, bromance, man-crush, and man-date (Aldus and Marco, I'm looking at you) have been creeping out like unsightly nosehairs. And like unsightly nosehairs their existence could not be denied both from the observers and the observed. Kanto boys can now mention chuva and eklat without direct association with the "federation". Cosmetic companies are now targeting males (WTF!), a fact that never fails to illicit a WTF from me. Gender equality may now mean that both men and women can be sleazebags and get away with it, as seen in Summit Media products.
So FHM Philippines can show how both men and women are depicted in popular media. Most of the time I feel that it's not my business to write a feminist paper precisely because I have balls. Now I can have an excuse, but not exactly the same undergrad excuse to see a prostitute just to conduct and in-depth interview (I'm looking at you ****!!!). But I do read FHM for the articles. OK, I mostly read and critique the captions for their witlessness. And I think I have a lot to say.
But it's still a choice between the boring-but-methodologically-sound and the exciting-and-new-but-kinda-messy. I wish I can have both, like bacon and cardiac health.
Thank you Prof. Samson for the intellectual push.
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