More Than Just A Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman is one of the most well known romantic comedies of all time. For anyone who is unfamiliar with this movie, as I was until a couple of days ago when I watched it for the first time, I highly recommend it. The overall plot is based on a workaholic businessman that mistakenly falls in love with a prostitute and unintentionally changes her into being an elegant individual. Living in a world where sex is being portrayed left and right on television screens, this plot displays a unique twist to young adults in regards to positive lessons of sex. As Ward mentions in her article “Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research,” “Given the lack of alternative sources of information coupled with the media’s accessibility, openness and appealing nature, it is only reasonable to expect that the media would play an important role in sexual socialization,” (349). It can be recognized that although Vivian Ward was a prostitute, Edward Lewis provides Vivian with a credit card to buy appropriate clothes, takes her on dates to fine restaurants and truly treats her with respect. For the first time in a long time, it can be argued that Edward isn’t even thinking about sex, as every other man on movie screens are often portrayed as doing. Instead, Edward displays to young adolescents that there are finer lessons to treating a woman with respect than just having sex with her. This is an imperative lesson to display because as Ward also mentions in her article “Television and other media represent one of the most important and underrecognized influences on children and adolescents’ health and behavior in the 1990s” (350). With this movie being produced in the early 1990’s it is a perfect example of influencing adolescents and hopefully changing this “friends with benefits” world that we live in, into being a “treat women with respect before sex” world. 

With adolescents continuously acquiring new knowledge in regards to sexual health as a whole, the media is extremely influential in shaping these views of individuals and have even proven to make a difference in young people’s sexual lives (Brown, El-Toukhy and Ortiz, 91). Therefore, this particular scene stood out to me within the movie, as yet again Edward proves to be Vivian’s hero and unlike the “typical” man who is more often than not portrayed as only being out for sex. In this scene, Phillip, Edward’s business partner, is furious that he loss so much money and is seeking revenge on Edward. However, instead of getting payback on Edward, Phillip is found being in the same room as Vivian and tries to grope her and eventually rape her. Luckily, Edward arrives in time to step in and protect Vivian from such a terrible man. This is an imperative message to be portrayed on media as it will hopefully influence individuals, especially young men, into seeing groping and using men’s weight and strength against women as being unfair and unruly as a whole. It also portrays the importance of consent and the negative consequences that come without consent. We can only hope that more movies will eventually portray more positive sex lessons as Pretty Woman did.

References

• Brown, J. D., El-Toukhy, S. & Ortiz, R. (2014). Growing up sexually in a digital world:
  The risks and benefits of youths’ sexual media use. In A. B. Jordan & D. Romer (Eds.), Media and the well-being of children and adolescents (pp. 90-108). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  
  Ward, L. M. (2003). Understanding the role of entertainment media in the sexual socialization of American youth: A review of empirical research. Developmental Review, 23(3), 347-388. doi: 10.1016/s0273-2297(03)00013-3 
  
  

Meek Mill Gets Real

It is very uncommon to hear positive sexual health messages within the rap and hip hop music genres, let alone all other forms entertainment. As Collins points out, "sex is largely portrayed ... as a casual activity, without health or other life consequences. The vast majority of scenes [or lyrics] with sexual content fail to depict the responsibilities concomitant with sexual activity" (Collins et al., 2003, pg. 1115). Collins et al. have found that placing pieces of information about sex and sexual health within pop culture is a way to get the information across to a wide audience and in a way that is unthreatening and likely more helpful than formal education.

This is why - while being forced to listen to rap music by my boyfriend - I got overly excited to hear an important message about sexual health from rapper Meek Mill in his song "B Boy". While most of the song is made up of misogynistic messages about women's bodies, drinking and drugs, there is one ray of hope.

"Yeah and she tryna fuck me raw, unprotect,
But if I don't have that rubber on it I feel under dressed."

THIS IS AMAZING. I am so excited that Meek Mill and his peers and producers all decided that this was a message worth putting into his song. Young men and women will hear these lyrics and will associate using condoms with being cool like Meek Mill. Setting precedents like this within media is such an important step in making information about sexual health not only available to people that may not otherwise come across it, but also something cool and that should be done. Collins et al. agree that  entertainment "can teach the risks and responsibilities that accompany sexual activity in a way  that books, pamphlets, and classroom instruction cannot" (Collins et al, 2003, pg. 1119). Meek Mill is reaching listeners who generally have less access to sexual health information - black adolescents - where they are, and is teaching them an important lesson about how they should be approaching their sexual activity.

How do adolescents learn that not using a condom is a) an option and b) a better feeling than using a condom? From lyrics in rap songs, from sex scenes in television in movies. Combatting that risky information with something worth while and educational for adolescents is amazing and I love Meek Mill now.

Collins, R., Elliott, M., Berry, S., Kanouse, D., & Hunter, S. (2003). Entertainment television as a healthy sex educator: The impact of condom-efficacy information in an episode of Friends. Pediatrics, 112(5), 1115-1121.

Sexting in Suburbia

          So my mom and my sister are obsessed with Lifetime Movie Network movies. It just so happens that one of the titles of these movies they were watching a few years back was called "Sexting in Suburbia." I tuned in for a bit of it and the movie proved to be yet another Lifetime drama- filled, poorly acted, small budget movies designed to enamor young girls and their moms. Thinking back on this movie, however, I come to realize that its themes are echoed in both our class discussion on the dangers of sexting and in Lippman and Campbell's Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't…If You're a Girl: Relational and Normative Contexts of Adolescent Sexting in the United States.
          Sexting in Suburbia is a story about a teenage girl who was at the peak of high school popularity. She was voted prom queen and was admired by her peers. The movie proceeds to show the main character of the film, Dina experience pressure from her boyfriend to lose her virginity to him at a party. She denies him the opportunity and as a result, her boyfriend leaves the party and cheats on Dina with another girl. Dina, who is upset at this situation decides that regain the approval of her boyfriend by sending him naked pictures of herself the next morning. However, her plan backfires and as she enters school the following day she is greeted by sarcastic applause from her peers and is made a laughing stock because her pictures were leaked and viewed by seemingly everyone in the school. She opens her locker and condoms fall out- a practical joke played on her by other girls. The film takes a dark turn and reinforces the damaging effects of teen sexting as Dina, distraught from her ordeal decides to commit suicide.
          The negative consequences of sexting are clearly illuminated in this film. First, Dina becomes the laughing stock of her school because her pictures got out. In our class discussion, we spent a lot of time explaining how oftentimes, when pictures are sent, they will be leaked and more than the intended audience will view them. The film depicts the shame and helplessness that comes after the photos are leaked. Her suicide serves as a major consequence of teen sexting and I think the film definitely achieves in making teens think twice about sending pictures. The film also exemplifies one of the themes of Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't…If You're a Girl in that the doubled edged sword of girls being perceived as prude if they do not sext and considered a slut if they do is a major plot point. Dina, to make up for denying her boyfriend sex, sends the pictures. Her worries initially stem from the belief that she is being a prude and decides to make up for this by sexting. However, the other end of the sword rears its head once she sends the pictures and her actions become public knowledge and she is cast out from her social groups as a pariah and a whore.
          In my opinion, the movie, as poorly acted and typically dramatic as any lifetime movie, actually sheds light on some serious issues regarding the phenomenon of teenage sexting. The social consequences of engaging in sexting are exemplified in the film as well as the lose-lose situation teenage girls face when deciding whether to face being considered a prude for not sexting or a whore for sending pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QfJpuBr268

Sources:


Lippman, J. R., & Campbell, S. W. (2014). Damned if you do, damned if you don't… if you're a girl: Relational and normative contexts of adolescent sexting in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 8(4), 371-386.



Stimpson, J. (Director). (2012). Sexting in Suburbia [Motion picture]. United States of America: Moody Independent Film Company.

Friends with Benefits...and Complications

Friends with Benefits tells the story of two strangers, turned friends, turned “booty calls,” and finally lovers…?  The film begins with an executive recruiter for a job agency in New York City, Jamie, trying to recruit Dylan (an art director from LA) for a job.  Dylan comes to New York for an interview and Jamie decides to take him out for the night to show him what NYC is all about, and convince him to take the job he was just offered.  Quickly, Jamie and Dylan become good friends.  One night, while drinking, they agree to be each other’s “friends with benefits,” saying it would “take the weirdness” out of sex.    

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_CVAI_twO0   (watch after clip above) 

After playing this game for a while, Jamie and Dylan only grow closer.  They even help each other find potential significant others.  At one point during the movie, Jamie and Dylan take a break from having sex together (but they remain friends) because Jamie “wants something more” and begins seeing another man.  This is a clear example of what Markle discusses in her article about Sex and the City.  Similar to the women in Sex and the City, Jamie is willing to abandon her “desires to ‘have sex like a man’ in favor of committed relationships – ‘happily ever after’ endings” (Markle, 56).     

When her relationship with the new man inevitably ends, Dylan comes to her rescue, inviting her to California to visit his family with him.  As predicted, while here, the two seem to only develop deeper emotional connections with each other.  It’s safe to say that this is the point where the two move from “just friends” to something more.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-bcBODMDww  

But, the next morning Jamie overhears Dylan saying that he “has no real feelings for her.”  She is upset, and what follows is a number of arguments and some time spent away from each other.  The movie ends with Dylan confronting his feelings for Jamie, and deciding to go for it and win her over. 

In her study, Lippman finds that “exposure to RTST movies was positively associated with endorsement of the belief that Love Finds a Way” (Lippman, 136).  Friends with Benefits illustrates a great example of how this plays out.  Throughout the movie, we are rooting for these two to get together (for real), and in the end, they do.  Given everything that these two go through (going from strangers to friends, friends with benefits, friends without benefits, arguments, emotional connections, other significant others, etc.), their love still finds a way in the end, and they end up together. 

Another big thing that this film does is challenge traditional female and male stereotypes.  This movie portrays the idea that women can want and enjoy casual sex too.  Similar to Sex and the City, this movie shows a leading woman “attempting to transgress gendered sexual roles in her quest to experience ‘sex like a man’, which they characterize as without feeling, for pleasure only, and with no commitment” (Markle, 46).  But, what’s funny is that while Jamie wants this, it is only for a short amount of time.  The minute that someone else comes along who she can see herself in a more committed relationship with, she jumps at the opportunity.  Dylan, on the other hand, doesn’t do this.  It is also Jamie who seems to be more vocal and accepting of her feelings towards Dylan first.  For him, it takes a bit more time to come to terms with his feelings for her.  So I wonder, does this movie really challenge traditional female and male stereotypes, and provide a new perspective?  I say yes and no.  What we see is actually the feminine stereotypes being reaffirmed.  Ultimately, women want relationships, no matter what they say/do is the message that the movie gives.  But, the movie also shows that men don’t always want something casual (as Dylan falls for Jamie at the end and wants something more too).  And finally, we understand that while “friends with benefits” can be fun for a little bit, it leads to a greater number of complications.    

Citations:

1. Markle, G. (2008). “Can women have sex like a man?”: Sexual scripts in "Sex and the City". Sexuality & Culture, 12(1), 45-57. doi: 10.1007/s12119-007-9019-1 

2. Lippman, J. R., Ward, L. M., & Seabrook, R. C. (2014). Isn’t it romantic? Differential associations between romantic screen media genres and romantic beliefs. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(3), 128-140. doi: 10.1037/ppm0000034

3. Merryman, K. (Director). (2011). Friends with Benefits [Motion picture on DVD]. United States: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

    

Win a Date With Romance

Win a Date With Tad Hamilton is a movie about an actor commonly cast as the idealized, romanticized guy in all the romantic comedies who gets in trouble with his public image. In order to make sure he maintains his reputation as the dream guy in movies, his manager and PR team decide to create a contest called “Win a Date With Tad Hamilton.” One lucky girl is chosen at random to fly to Hollywood and met Tad and go on a date with him. The lucky girl, named Roslee, absolutely adores Tad and loves his movies and cannot wait to meet the man from the silver screen. After their first date Tad falls for her. The plot of the movie has the audience questioning whether Tad is turning that one PR date into a longer PR stunt, but Rosalee genuinely thinks Tad and her are falling for eachother. 

    This movie plays with the idea of a parasocial relationship where someone has a “convenient romantic attachment, which can be idealized" (Karniol). Commonly, it is a relationship between a celebrity and an average person. Roslee believes Tad Hamilton is the guy he plays in his movies, when she meets him she already has preconceived notions of his behavior and actions, even though it is not representative of who he actually is as a person. This parasocial relationship Roslee has with Tad before meeting him changes into an actual relationship after she meets him. It is every girl’s dream who has a crush on celebrity that if they got the chance to meet their crush they’d instantly fall in love with them too. Girls who have their own parasocial relationships and see this movie may develop an ideal that there is a possibility that their celebrity crush could fall in love with them if they got the chance to meet. This creates an idolized romantic ideal and belief of how romantic relationships work among girls because of their exposure to romantic media. 

The romantic idealization of relationships is a common theme within romantic comedies. Roslee saw Tad’s characters in movies fall in love with extreme romantic gestures and passionate speeches about love, and she perceived it as though it was reality. This perception of reality is positively associated with general romantic beliefs (Lippman), meaning that through her exposure to romantic media, Roslee not only formed a parasocial relationship with Tad Hamilton, but idealized his romantic gestures which influenced her beliefs on romance and how men are expected to act in relationships. Throughout the movie she is portrayed as a doe-eyed girl who is love-stuck by her celebrity crush and the idea that he actually likes her back. Her naive demeanor plays into the idea that because of her exposure to Tad's movies she believes that the relationship is a realistic representation and doesn’t realize it is mostly a PR stunt.  The movie takes an interesting look at parasocial relationships and how they affect actual relationships, especially when the object of the parasocial relationship is the one who becomes part of the actual relationship; while it makes for a good story line and a great day dream, it isn’t a reality. 

Citation

Lippman, J. R., Ward, L. M., & Seabrook, R. C. (2014). Isn’t it romantic? Differential associations between romantic screen media genres and romantic beliefs. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(3), 128-140. doi: 10.1037/ppm0000034

Karniol, R. (2001). Adolescent females’ idolization of male media stars as transition into sexuality. Sex Roles, 44(1/2), 61-77.

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! Dir. Robert Luketic. Prod. Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher. By Victor Levin. Perf. Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel, Nathan Lane, and Sean Hayes. DreamWorks Pictures, 2004.