School is coming to a close, and with it the summer movie storm is going to start. So many explosions, so many bikinis. Countless villains are going to flow off the screen and into our eyes.
It happens every summer, and the bigger the box office opening, the more times we are more likely to go see it.
There is nothing wrong with it. Sometimes the best way to beat the heat in the hottest days of the summer is to curl up in a cool movie theatre with a box of popcorn and your best friend, or perhaps it’s watching some TV in your air conditioned house, or even still it’s curling up on your bed playing an awesome video game. Pop culture dominates our time, and it’s awesome.
“Wow, the way they portrayed that female character was awful...”
“It’s a good movie, shut up!”
How quickly a conversation can turn after you finish a film, book, TV show or game. The point of these coming sentences is to suggest a few things about the way that we view pop culture and how that isn’t a bad thing. Be critical of what you are watching. Pop culture has an effect on us, even if we like to pretend that it doesn’t, so looking at what you’re viewing with a critical lens (even in the summer) is good.
How can the writers do a better job? Was that gratuitous boob shot necessary for the story, or was it just there to satiate the male desire to gaze upon women as objects?
Asking these questions does not imply that you hate what you’re watching. One of this writer’s favorite shows is Supernatural on the CW. Talk about destroying women as though they were a dime a dozen (don’t get me started). There is nothing wrong with evaluating the way that pop culture represents us (or lacks the representation of us), and it doesn’t mean that you hate what you’re watching. So stop shaming people for trying to think a little more about what seems to be so vapid!
This is the age of social media. See something that you don’t like? Tweet it at your favorite film stars or directors. Writers are all over the Internet; and if you don’t think that 140 characters can be a powerful thing, then you are mistaken. What’s that thing people are saying now? The world is flat or something? Don’t think that a star is looking at what you say about them? They look a lot more than you think they do. You can have a positive effect on representation within our media outlets if you just take the time to think critically and respond even in your own little way. What’s so bad about thinking a little more than one might have to over the summer?
I know what you’re thinking, “But why would I want to think while watching/reading pop culture?” Mindless entertainment is still stimulation, so you might as well get as much out of it as you can and take the time to grapple with it.
‘High art’ is great, but nothing speaks about what we really think than watching some of those trashy shows on MTV. There’s a reason that it’s mass media, and there is a reason that it should be evaluated. Hate and criticism are not the same thing, and this need to categorize them as such is a weak argument.
So, what’s the point of all this?
Think about what you watch. Comment on it. Tell people what you think, and maybe start a dialogue.
It’s never too late to increase or change the way we represent people in all types of media. And it doesn’t matter how good the show is. There’s still something that you can discuss, and sometimes that thing is positive! Which shows do a good job in their representations and which shows can do better? Summer may be a time to relax but that doesn’t mean that pop culture is relaxing.
Now, excuse me. Teen Wolf season 3 is coming out in two months, and I have a few books on feminism to read.