Group 5 - Ordinary Muslim Man

Attached is a selection of examples the internet meme known as "Ordinary Muslim Man" from the website know your meme. Stemming from the dissemination of personal computers and freedom of internet autonomy, internet meme's have become a new way cultural expression. Internet memes take form in pictures, written expressions, hyperlinks and websites. Due to their anomimity of the internet these meme are sometimes expressing thoughts and ideas that might not be expressed in public.

This meme follows the form of a "Image Macro", which is a image with accompanying text. The picture in the foreground was taken by Pakistani Photographer Aman Kahn of a unidentified fifty-year-old Pashtun Muslim. The text that typically is placed with this meme follows the "bait and switch" format with the first line making a remark that follows the stereotypes of Muslims and the second line explaining the statement as normal situation. This meme first developed in the social news website Reddit in January of 2011 and spread in other social media sites such as Facebook and Tumblr.

This meme brings up many questions about how stereotypes are developed and reinforced. What does this Meme express about the underlining stereotypes about Muslim in America? How does the feeling of Internet Anonymity effect what people create and express online?  

This picture is a screen shot from http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ordinary-muslim-man

Group 4 Blog Post - 9/11

The photograph above was taken on September 11, 2001 by Thomas Hoepker.  He took this photograph minutes after the second plane hit the World Trade Center.  It appears to show New Yorkers casually observing the devastating scene.  The artist kept the image hidden for 5 years after the attack because he expressed concern that they, "didn't seem to care," and  felt it was "ambiguous and confusing". 

The controversial nature of this image and is still being talked.The author of the article describes the people in the image as,  "The young people in Mr. Hoepker's photo aren't necessarily callous. They're just American."    This picture displays the stereotype of the "typical American", and portrays American's negatively.

Do you think the Americans in this photo are portrayed negatively, or would you just consider them to be in shock?  Why did the photography feel the need to hid the image for 5 years?  Does this image actually portray the stereotype of the American society?  Some people consider this picture to be a "cheap shot", and that there is more going on than what is seen.


The picture came from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/02/911-photo-thomas-hoepker-meaning

Group 3 Blog Post : Mental Illness and Stigma

The cartoon above was drawn by Mike Lake. Mike has a mental illness and this drawing was one of the ways he expressed his feelings toward society and how they look at other people with mental illness. Mike posted the image to WhyHope.com, which he made to talk about the issues of discrimination and hate that those with mental illness deal with regularly. His comment on the cartoon is as follows: "This cartoon also shows why it is easier to write about these issues than to talk about them."

This picture makes many statements about the stigma that those with mental illnesses deal with. The picture shows something of a bullying attitude from society toward those with mental illness. The words of society suggest that there are multiple stereotypes associated with mental illness. It could also suggest that when one label is applied, many more can be associated with the same person. The caption makes one final jab; "we are not hurting the mentally ill. They are crazy!"

Do you think society has been unfair to those with mental illnesses? What do you think the cartoon says about how those with illnesses feel? Why does Mike claim it is easier to draw the issue than actually talk about it? What does the caption say about society's guilt or lack thereof?

Below is the link to the picture, followed by analysis.
http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/Mental+health+and+social+stigma

-Group 3

Blog Group #2: Teen Pregnancy

This video, called “Maury: Teen Pregnancy Prevention Day - Baby Boot Camp”, is a  clip from a talk show hosted by Maury Povich.  The show entails Maury attempting to “stop” three teenage girls from getting pregnant.

.Maury Povich is the host of the Maury show, which has now run for 14 seasons.  Povich earned a degree in television journalism from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962.  He was the host of The Maury Povich Show (1991-1998), which covered controversial topics such as transsexuals and sex change, teenage drug use and pregnancy, and abusive relationships.  The show was then taken over by a different company and the name was then changed to The Maury Show in 1998.

In this episode, pregnancy is portrayed as a desire of teenage girls.  The girls who appear in this show display no knowledge of what it takes to raise a child.  They are shown on camera talking about dozens of  sexual partners, multiple miscarriages, going on welfare to pay for the child's’ needs, and even taking money for sex.



Click on the link below to view the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBCAloxCKII

Group 1 Blog

“Young Blood”

This picture was taken from a website that depicts the negative social commentations of younger societies.   This website also showed other popular stereotypes.  The picture has examples of what activities that society believes that “young” people take part in.  It is a generalization of todays “young” as a whole. 

The pictures comes from this website http://listphobia.com/2010/09/28/10-most-funny-nonracial-stereotypes/ . This website is by Ahsan Mikhtar.  He is a problogger, engineer and photographer.   This picture was taken from one of his blogs that was titled "10 most funny non-racial stereotypes."  The purpose of this blog was to show the public some common stereostypes in society.  He also does this to bring out the humor in modern day stereotypes.

-Group 1

Sample Post: Image from "The Coal Miner and His Family"

This image is taken from the 1947 supplement to the Department of the Interior’s publication, A Medical Survey of the Bituminous Coal Industry, entitled “The Coal Miner and His Family.” This federal investigation explicitly critiques coal-mining communities for their “uncivilized” culture and illiteracy. In talking about the miner’s wife and the “drudgery” and “stultifying monotony” of her job as a housewife, the author makes statements that assume the feelings of the wife, claiming she is “appalled by the nothingness of her surroundings.”

After this depiction of the miner’s wife as isolated in a cultureless, featureless wasteland is a condemnation of her housekeeping, health, hygiene, and nutritional practices. The supplement asserts that “She buys and feeds her family the traditional diet in her part of the country, and that happens to be less scientific than the diet of urban and industrial families,” “Also lacking in the culture of the miner’s wife is a full enough appreciation of health and hygiene,” “She has protested, but has since ceased to care, about the absence of screens on the widows of her house. She regards the flies not as disease carriers but merely as pests that annoy her children,” and “She simply does as her neighbors do – she flings the dirty wash water and slop onto the ground from her back porch.”

The author offers an explanation of these coal town practices: “Many [of the coal miners’ wives], without any conception of better standards or training in homemaking, never try, even where conditions in their favor are the best.” Yet the supplement also points toward the ultimate futility of trying to maintain a home, explaining that “grime hangs like a pall over the camp” and “the incessant dirt, a native blend of coal dust from the tipple, smoke from the railroad, dust from the roads, sand, grime, and acrid fumes from the burning slag heaps permeates and clings tenaciously to the structures and furnishings of houses and to human bodies.”