sexual ownership on tv
I was at my parents’ place on sunday, and the TV was on. There was an ad for “That 70s Show” (a popular TV comedy) that showed the following scene:
two guys (hyde and eric) are sitting in the basement talking. They start imagining their female friend in a coconut bikini, but then in their imagination the woman starts complaining about splinters, and then gets mad at them for forgetting to bring tweezers. the fantasy fades out, and the scene is back in the basement again.
Eric: No, it doesn’t work.
Hyde: Try it again, but do what i do!
Eric: Ok, here goes…Eric imagines the exact same image of the woman in a coconut bikini, but this time there’s music playing that drowns out all sound of the woman talking. Her lips move, but we can’t hear her. The fantasy fades back to the basement again…
Eric: Oh my god! she IS hot!
I wonder how many people can watch this and not think about it. it seems that the norm is for men to consider women to be sexual objects for men to own, and when they complain about being objectified then they need to be silenced…and that the more silent and submissive they are, the more desirable they become. It’s sorta bizarre that this passes for “comedy”.
March 30th, 2005 at 15:59 pm
She’s not complaining about being objectified (she likes being objectified) she’s complaining about splinters. It’s just a stupid TV comedy, there really is no deep hidden meaning. And I say that as a holder of a BA in Mass Communication who studed under several professors who championed a Marxist interpretation of all meadia and its normative functions.
March 30th, 2005 at 23:23 pm
actually, she is being objectified. i thought that was quite obvious. The purpose of the skit is to compare and contrast how desirable she is when they have absolute control over her appearance and actions.
they literally take her voice away and then exclaim how she’s a more attractive possession after she’s been silenced. Whether she’s merely complaining about a splinter or giving a feminist critique of society, she’s still a woman being an object in a male fantasy where they are attracted to the idea of silencing any complaint she might have.
and while we really appreciate all the letters after your name, i don’t see how that makes your argument any better. it makes me more critical, actually…it’s not like male marxists have a great reputation for feminist sympathies.
March 31st, 2005 at 07:47 am
in response to fixedgear, they also find her hot when they shut her up. That’s the objectifying part.
As far as the rest of your post, isn’t that the appeal to authority fallacy?
Person A claims to be an authority on subject A
Person A says C about subject A
therefore C is true.
What’s most amusing is despite yer BA, you’re still a shitcock.
April 2nd, 2005 at 17:12 pm
While its true that modern society is still guilty of marginalizing and objectifying women, I don’t think this is a great example of that. If you have ever watched the show the character in question is rather yappy and annoying (female or otherwise). I think they were arguing that yappiness killed any possible sexual desire
Now if “That 70’s Show” suggested all women or even more than that one female character on the show, needed to “be silenced.” Then yeah lets burn those fuckers down. While the show isn’t a particularly a bastion of human society, show the strongest and most intelligent character does happen to be female. Plus there is also a complementary ditsy male character who should also stay silent (i.e. Ashton Kutcher).
Actually, now that I think of there are many guys out there that would do a lot better at increasing their desirableness, if they just shut up – myself especially included.