J 320 Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Lgbt, Intersectionality, Consumerism
12 Oct 2018
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Department
Course
Professor
J 320
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
1
J320 Class Dismissed Worksheet
Use the concepts and questions below to help you make notes on the film.
Class Matters
• What is social class – based on income, occupation, lifestyle, expectations, education
• Economic class – based on income
• Political class – based on power to influence the public
• Cultural class – based on education, tastes, lifestyles
• Working Class – capitalism, 62% of people, majority, stigmatized class, commonly shown in
television
• Class consciousness – about understanding yourself as a class and that your situation is many
other people’s situations too; people share a common experience as a class
American Dream Machine
• Role of TV advertising and consumerism – power and influence, redefined meaning of the
American Dream from the dream of a better life to the pursuit of a consumer lifestyle, Ex:
The Goldbergs (1949-1955)
• Rise of suburbia – setting of success and happiness, a place for products that makes people
think they are middle class instead of working class
• The American Dream
• Why/how was class dismissed in TV and in cultural discourse?
From the Margins to the Middle
• Representation of African American characters on TV + class – service and entertainers,
blacks had to have faith in the American Dream, on TV there was plenty of room for
everyone, if they work hard they will succeed, hopeful, makes it look “not so bad”, suggests
that young black people need white people to help them get out of the ghetto, erases the
struggles of black people
• Representation of Latino/a characters + class – excluded from prime time, confined to cable
and Spanish networks, overwhelmingly working class, always following the American
Dream, hides the discrimination and problems of Latino’s
• Representation of LGBTQ characters + class – often comic relief
Women Have Class
• How does TV ignore the reality of women’s relationship to class? – ignores that women
receive less than men and often work double time or jobs, only a handful of working class
females
• Importance of Roseanne – put gender and class together, feminist & working class show,
shows how badly working class women need feminism
Class Clowns
• Mythology and ideology of social mobility – blames characters for not being able to change
social classes, mythology: everyone maintained social mobility, ideology: it’s your fault if
you can’t move social classes (poor work ethic, dysfunctional family values)
• Stereotypes about working class
o Bad taste
▪ How is taste connected to class? – taste is acquired, you can’t have high class
taste if you don’t have the money to acquire it
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
2
o Lack of intelligence
▪ Reversal of gender stereotypes – males lack common sense, females (wives)
are smarter, kids outsmart the parents, men are incapable of being the head of
the household
o Reactionary politics – working class is not interested in politics or very conservative
o Poor work ethics
▪ How we perceive upward mobility
o Dysfunctional family values – shift away from your “typical family”, don’t have d
access to the American Dream
No Class
• Class + Cop shows
o Relationship to race – uses race to talk about class, reinforce who is criminal okay
(racially)
• Rural working class
o Redneck pride
o white trash/trailer trash
▪ describes low lives, they’re sought out and coached to behave in certain
acceptable ways (Jerry Springer), violent, aggressive, fat, when working class
does these unacceptable things its class; however when middle class people do
it it is a mistake and not typical
Class Action
• Why is it important to be aware of these representations? Why is it important to change
it? Issue of cultural citizenship, an assault of workforce,
• What is the role of activism and social movements? Fight for racial and social equality,
economic progress
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Use the concepts and questions below to help you make notes on the film. American dream machine: role of tv advertising and consumerism power and influence, redefined meaning of the. American dream from the dream of a better life to the pursuit of a consumer lifestyle, ex: Dream, hides the discrimination and problems of latino"s: representation of lgbtq characters + class often comic relief. Ignores that women receive less than men and often work double time or jobs, only a handful of working class females. Importance of roseanne put gender and class together, feminist & working class show, shows how badly working class women need feminism. Taste is acquired, you can"t have high class taste if you don"t have the money to acquire it. Fight for racial and social equality, economic progress. Ideology a set of ideas that constitute a particular world view.
