I am going to level with you… I am no blogger. Blogging just never occurred to me, I suppose. I am more of a “write in my journal and then rip it out later” kind of a person. Or a rant to my boyfriend kind of person. Hashing it out for strangers is new, but hey, I am down for trying new things.
My mum always told me not to talk back. But you know what? I think we need back talkers in the world. And the reason I know this? Lauren Conrad. Television shows and popular films are more pervasive than ever and affect our lives in ways we probably don’t fully understand. This is evident when you take a look at “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills”, the so-called reality shows that teenagers and young adults are supposed to relate to. The sad part is that these shows are successful in their mission: teens adopt the speech patterns, dating patterns, and consuming patterns of the characters, because the show so idealizes their lifestyles that teens everywhere want to be like them. Well, the minute I caught myself using an “LC-ism” was the minute I knew that it was better to talk back than to talk like an idiot.
And so I have decided to branch out and encourage some good old back talking. Don’t get me wrong, I love television and movies, and I watch a lot of stuff that is full of messages I disagree with. And that’s kind of the point. Media literacy is so important, and I strongly believe in questioning the messages encoded in our popular media. For me, challenging and enjoying media are not mutually exclusive activities.
The title of this blog really brings that message home for me. For any fans of “The Office” out there, this phrase will be very familiar. Typically used in an overtly sexual and often misogynistic manner, it can also illicit some serious laughs. Don’t go calling me a bad feminist yet though, because I do challenge the ideas presented. The intention of this blog is not to hate on popular media, but simply to provide a more woman centered perspective/critique/praise of the shows and movies we love and hate. In a world where two people can have an entire conversation quoting fictional characters to each other, to the point that it is a defining part of their personality, it becomes necessary to question these characters on the same level you would question your friends and the people you surround yourself with. The influence is real, and it matters, and we can’t be afraid to talk back.
