Trial by Media

Amanda Knox who is on trial for the murder of her roommate in Italy has been undergoing a trial long before her actual trial began. With the onslaught of media, Amanda Knox was deemed guilty by the Italian press long before the investigators were done fully investigating the case. The media has changed the landscape of justice, not only in our country but world wide. Jurors should be able to decide a case that they have yet to form an opinion about before hand. But with the sensationalized media, this is becoming more and more impossible. The Drew Peterson case is another in which the media and the public have already formulated an opinion. I will not give my opinion as to his guilt or innocence, but I will say that it will be extremely difficult to find jurors who have not heard of him when the time does come for him to stand trial. And then what type of jurors could he possibly get? They would have to live in a cave to not have heard of him or this case before. It is only human to draw conclusions or have opinions about these stories, but it is harmful to our justice system when the media presents such a biased filter. If I was going to stand trial for a crime, I'd feel more intimidated by the media's perception of my guilt than anyone else. They have the power to persuade the public and they fail to use their power responsibly.

Video Games

My eight year old son was given his first introduction to the XBOX 360 by my 18 year old brother. It was HALO. At first, I had reservations, but I was never censored as a kid and so I figured that it would be a great opportunity to see what it was about and how he reacted. I was unprepared for the fact that he would love it! I on the other hand, realized an effect that I never hear anyone talk about and that's the stress I felt watching him being shot at. Yes, I said "him" because it felt like he was him even though I logically understood that it was only a game. As he walked down corridors searching for Aliens to shoot, and attempting to not be shot at himself... I found myself jumping every time one would suddenly appear. It reminded me of the moment in that Mel Gibson movie "Signs" when the media shows the picture of the Alien running across the screen and it startles you or when in scary movies the character looks into the mirror only to realize that the "bad" guy is standing right behind her.... I couldn't help but notice the lack of stress my son seemed to have from it and he was the one playing. He was so relaxed. Overall, my husband and I decided that he wasn't old enough to play the more mature games and he was devastated. I would love to see a study of the blood pressure of gamers versus non gamers any day. I wonder if I would be surprised by the results or not.

Killer Instinct?!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33750267#33750267

So, I'm sure you've seen the latest video of the crazy soccer player gone too far, if not, the link is provided above.... University of New Mexico's Elizabeth Lambert was caught on video physically attacking an opponent from BYU during a game. Overall, soccer can be a brutal sport. I coach little kids and it starts pretty early. They push, pull on jerseys, and talk trash. And this happens as early as 4 years old. Now, the majority of pushing and pulling of jerseys occurs because they are so little they are using these things to balance themselves. They're still so uncoordinated and then you ask them to dribble a soccer ball at their feet with 7 other kids clustered around each other. It looks more like rugby than soccer at this age. But Lambert is a Junior in college and her tactics were deliberate and inexcusable. One thing that is interesting to me is that no one seems to be looking at the BYU player who also intentionally elbowed Lambert in the chest earlier in the game. This doesn't excuse Lambert's behavior in any way. Her tactics were far more brutal. However, those individuals who have never played contact sports like Basketball or Soccer may not realize how prevalent intentional pushes and elbows are. One of the dads on my 7 year old son's soccer team recently told me that he was disappointed that his child didn't have the killer instinct that he had when he played. He added that he was prepared to deal with anger issues and that wouldn't bother him as much as the fact that his son plays calmly without the need to attack the other team. Now this dad is one of the sweetest guys and shouldn't be surprised that his kid is well adjusted without much killer instinct. I have to wonder about the parents, coaches and the referees that Lambert has experienced in her many years of soccer - that she could attack not just one player but several throughout the game and feel as if this was acceptable behavior. Killer instinct?! I'm not so sure that's what I want to teach my players....

Self Help Magazines

The latest issue of Cosmo Magazine is no different than any other month - It is filled with headlines that will help women to become more attractive to men. Out of the 9 article headers on the front cover, 6 are geared towards helping women reinvent themselves to create an image that would be just what a man wants. Whether it's how to be better in bed (not so she enjoys it more, but so he enjoys it more) or how to look better so you can find a man to try these techniques out on, none of the articles are aimed at helping a woman improve her sense of self worth or esteem. On the contrary, they do everything to diminish these qualities. The overwhelming message in these magazines is to play on women's insecurities about their bodies and identities in an attempt to sell not magazines, but adverstisement. You heard me. The publishers of Glamour, Cosmo and GQ aren't out to sell magazines, they are out to sell the advertisers. They make very little from the subscription price of selling a magazine, instead they make their money from the people who choose to advertise in their magazines. They have a chosen demographic for their product and guess what? You're it! That means that publishers have to do something drastic to make their target demographic take notice of their product in order to buy it. That means selling what women are most insecure about. Their bodies, their relatioships and their self esteem. They print articles that mislead women into believing that they are helping them to overcome their weaknesses, but instead they are seeking to reinforce that women are flawed if they fail to live up to society's ideal of what is considered sexy, beautiful and feminine.

Halloween Costumes

Yesterday I took my kids shopping for Halloween costumes. My oldest daughter is 10 and this is her favorite holiday. She starts thinking about what she will dress up like for the next year before she is even done trick or treating. She's a tomboy. She is anti- girl as she puts it. Gotta love her for it.... Shopping is certainly cheaper. But I've noticed that as she gets older, the costumes keep getting more and more inappropriate. She went in looking to be a pirate. Her idea was to be a girl pirate like Keira Knightly on "Pirates of the Caribbean". But what we found instead were "sexy pirates". Tummy showing, short skirted, fishnet stocking pirates. My daughter is a tall thin child, so it's difficult to find things that fit her that are long enough, but these costumes had built in breast cups for a size 7/8 costume and they barely covered her bottom!!!! Now, a good mom might be able to make her daughter a costume to fit, but not me.... I own a sewing machine purely for sewing straight line stitches that always unravel. So we search and search. We try on the boy version of the costume, but it too shows the stomach.
I give up temporarily to help my 7 year old son find his costume. It's a little better, but still...... Most of the costumes have built in padding to make them look more muscular. I realize women aren't the only ones who are bombarded with messages about their bodies.
So, finally after surviving the two oldest I move onto my youngest. My 5 year old daughter who is the opposite of my oldest is in search of the latest "Barbie" costumes. She picks out butterfly barbie. Other than the fact that it cost entirely too much for a piece of pink netting with Velcro wings it seems appropriate.
All and all, we survived another year of costume shopping, but it was definitely a journey in the exaggerated land of gender identity.

Pharmeceutical Ads

So.... my husband and I love to laugh at all of the pharmaceutical ads on t.v. I mean there are ads for allergy medications that promise they will help alleviate your allergy symptoms and then in the last few seconds of the commercial will add the disclaimer of the possible side effects, which not only include symptoms similar to allergies such as watery eyes, but also other bothersome effects such as permanent liver damage. Who are these companies advertising to? The answer is of course, the general public who have the ailments which their drugs promise to treat. So why market to the general public when doctors are still responsible for prescribing these medications? The problem is that patients then ask their doctors to prescribe these medications based on some glorified television ads, when that medication may not be the best one for their particular situation. I don't believe that public advertising should be allowed for prescription medications. Doctors are responsible for prescribing the right medications for individual patients and they hopefully make their decision based on their proven effectiveness and safety.

The Ghost in the Shell

There are several themes addressed in the movie “The Ghost in the Shell”. The first theme is that identity is formed from what we are told and how people react to us. The input we receive from external sources is so great it can cause us to question our own identity. For example, in this particular movie, the Major’s shell is that of a female and is human in form. However, the reality is, that the Major is a man and that he is no longer human. Instead he is a cyborg. In one segment of the movie, the Major tells Batou that his transformation has caused him to question if he is human or not. The external reaction that the Major is receiving from people is in reaction to his outward shell. Eventually this juxtaposition causes him to question his own identity because the information he is receiving is different than how he sees himself.
Another theme that is largely addressed in this film is gender identity. Because the movie only subtly touches on the fact that the Major is actually a male in a female form, the viewer is afforded the opportunity to later reflect on their own limited ideals of what makes gender. The viewer will realize that they believed the Major to be female purely based on his outward appearance. Early in the movie, there is nothing to differentiate the Major as male or female, other than his physical form. Gender and identity are more effectively argued when the viewer’s own reliability is called into question.
Batou’s attraction to the Major is a good example of how the outward appearance affects how we feel about an individual. Nothing about the Major has changed other than her shell is now that of a woman. A critical viewer might question why Batou’s attraction is more acceptable now that the Major is physically female? He is obviously uncomfortable by his attraction to the Major and this is never more evident than in his interaction with the Major after his new shell becomes that of a young child.
Overall, this film questions how much of our identity is formed by how people relate to us by our outward appearance. The Major struggles throughout the movie with several aspects of his identity and how his shell relates to how he perceives himself.