Blogging Experience

I can say that I truly enjoyed my blogging experience. I really like the idea that I can voice my opinion on a specific topic on the Internet and have other people give a response back to me. In doing so I felt that blogging helped me learn the material for class by relating my topic to the the material. I have always felt that when one learns something new that they should apply it to real life to help understand in a different perspective. Blogging is much more superior to traditional papers because it is all digital. Commenting on other peoples projects would be more complicated, because if the assignment was in paper form then every student would have to have a copy of their partners assignment.

The most important detail I learned through my project was semiotics. Before learning about semiotics I had no idea how much detail was put in show, music and art to describe people and places. Now when I look at a poster or and album cover I will not miss out the important details. In the end I feel as though I am more interested in my topic because I want to analyze The 70's Show for accuracy and look deeper into than just the show than just the plot.

Postmodernism

Postmodernism can be defined as culture produced by the media in terms of style over substance. Style over substance portrays that appearance is more important than reality. For example when someone buys a brand new car in most cases they make a down payment on the car and take a loan out for the remaining amount that they owe . However when one buys a car they are usually very excited because they have a new car, but in reality they do not actually own the car until years down the road when it is paid off. This shows how reality is less important than what they see.

Postmodernism proves how media has an effect on society and focuses on the impact of individuals. Postmodernism shows how the media shapes ones beliefs. The media attempts to control what material items we buy, what music we listen to, and what we watch. For example, when shows are put together specific music that is played and clothing that the actors wear are all pre determined to influence the people what to buy.

After learning about postmodernism I felt that my topic That 70's Show does not provide a good example when relating to postmodernism. This television show is a comedy sitcom that deals with the ordinary every day lives of teenagers during the 1970's. Such as getting into trouble, and everyday drama between friends and relationship troubles.

While I was learning about postmodernism a specific show known as One Tree Hill popped in to my mind as an excellent example. One Tree Hill is a very modern show that can be classified as a night time soap opera. This show attracts teenagers because it is about the life of a group of high school kids and the struggles they face.

This show in my opinion is a great example of postmodernism because most teens who watch the show look up to the actors and actresses as a hero. The fans of the show including my sister and some of her friends want to be just like the actresses because they look up to them. The producers of the show intended to make the actors and actresses idols for pure benefit of sales. After watching the show first hand I easily understood that the clothing actors wore and the music they played are setup for pure advisement. At the end of the show, for example, the the music that was played on the show is stated and also says that the CD can be purchased online.

One Tree Hill also elaborates high school and makes it seem as though high school is a once and a life time opportunity and can be seen as the best time in one's life. The actors are always saying that they do not want to graduate from high school because then they hit the real world. This is an example of postmodernism because it shows an exact example of style over substance. One Tree Hill portrays high school as an opportunity to meet new people, go to sporting events and have the time of ones life but never actually shows the work involved such as projects and tests. The show concentrates on the fun a teenager has and not the reality that teens are in school to learn.

Clip Analysis!

For my clip analysis I watched the first few minutes of The 70"s show, episode 411. This clip, in my opinion has a strong stereotype towards men. The stereotype labels men as not being capable of living with out women. In other words it portrays the guys in the episode as being lost with out women in their life.

The episode starts out with the four guys all sitting around in Eric's basement watching television. Eric asks the boys if they herd the sweet sound of no women, a statement of freedom. Kelso, who is in a steady relationship with Jacky, says "I still hear voices; Jacky's voice is burned into my brain." The way I understood the statement was that Kelso never hears the end of Jacky; she is always telling him what to do and correcting his mistakes. Even when she is not around Kelso can still hear the ringing in his ears. The author portrays Kelso as a dumb, air head, but usually Jacky straightens him out. As the guys all sit around they realize that without the women to decide what they are going to do for the night that the decision was in their hands.

The boys decide to go out for a guys night at the bowling ally. This is a rare occasion because usually Eric's girlfriend Donna is right beside him and Jacky is also right by Kelso's side. At the bowling ally the guys get about halfway through the game and wouldn't you know it, a girl that Hyde knows walks right up to him and gives him a kiss. At this point Eric, Kelso, and Fez, the other single guy are all shocked. Here once in a blue moon they get a chance to hang out with just the guys and a random girl that the guys have not met before barges right in. The guys now realize that if their girlfriends were their with them that they would not feel left out. Here again, the guys are lost with out their girlfriends, first they had nothing to do because the women usually make the plans, now they could not even have one guys night out because this new girl came barging in.

I do not agree with the stereotype the author portrays men as in this episode. I can think of many examples at the top of my head of very successful single men that are just fine with out a women's help. Sure women can most certainly be beneficial, but a man can defiantly survive with out a women in his life.

Semiotics

For my semiotic analysis I used a picture from the official That 70's Show web sight. This picture can be found at http://www.that70sshow.com/index.htm. This web sight is very interesting and has a good bit of information about the show. Some of the information the web sight has is an episode guide, a gallery, a news section, plus a music and about the show tab. The web sight along with the picture is very colorful to catch one's attention. The color and flashiness help sell the show.

This one simple picture describes a good bit about the show. The first major detail in the picture is the purple shadow around the characters; this shadow could very much resemble a shadow of a black light. Black lights are not actually black; they have a purple bulb that glows purple. Black lights were very popular during the 70's. Another major part of the picture is orange that outlines the characters actually changes color on the web sight. The orange changes from orange to teal to yellow and back to orange again. Although these colors do not describe the show the change of color is used to attract one's attention and keep their interest.

In this picture, the characters position and style of dress is used to describe the show and the individual's personality. The characters stance of a knee bend and different arm positions is used to make the characters look like they are dancing. The dancing describes the nineteen seventies because during this time the disco dancing style was very popular.

The position of the characters is used to show the level of importance, style and personality. First Eric Forman in the green shirt is placed in the center of the crew because he is the main character and the most important. He is the most important because the group of friends usually all get together as a meeting place in his basement . The next character to Eric's right is Steve Hyde; Steve is the cool guy in the group who loves his rock music, his sunglasses help describe him as having a slick personality. To the right of Steve is Jackie; during the show she is always talking about guys and who she has a crush on at that particular time. Her position shows her facing Steve, like she is checking him out. On the end is Fez, Fez is a crazy Spanish character who is usually confused, his dress and disposition helps describe him as out of the ordinary. The last to characters to the left is Donna Pinciotti and Kelso. Donna and Kelso are both the crazy and out going, the picture helps describe them because they have the craziest dance position.

This picture did a very well job describing the characters of the show and the show it self. The pictures colors and back ground help show the time period of the nineteen seventies and the characters position and style of dress help describe the characters personalities.

Ethnography

I interviewed my uncle Ron. Ron has always loved popular culture ever since he was a teenager. During the 1960's and 70's he would buy a lot of rock albums to listen to. His favorite bands were The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Even today Ron keeps up on all the new rock bands. Ron also watches most of the newly released videos and television programs. It is very easy to know he is a popular culture fan because he is always quoting movies and music.

Ron is a very big fan of the 70's show. He watched almost every episode since the very beginning. Ron enjoys watching the show because it reminds him of his childhood. According to Ron "The 70's Show is a very good example of how teenagers would act during the 70's." For example Ron remembers and episode when Eric and his friends buy a beer keg from a friend and have a party in the neighbors empty in ground swimming pool. He says that this was very typical during the 70's because teenagers were always getting into trouble.

Ron also likes how realistic the show is for the 1970's time period. The main character Eric Foreman lives with his parents Red and Kitty, they are both a very good example of parents during this time. Kitty is a stay at home mom that does all the cleaning and prepares dinner, while Red is a grumpy old man and is usually very sharp and uptight. Ron finds it hilarious when Red call Eric a "dumbass" when ever Eric does something with out thinking.

I felt Ron was a very good pick for this Ethnography because he lived thought the 1970's and knows just how accurate the show really is. He is a devoted fan to The 70"s Show, and can answer many questions about popular culture from the 1970's up until now.

The 70's Are For Me!!

I am a semi fan of The 70's Show, I try to catch and episode every now and then, but I am not a big enough fan to watch every episode or buy a whole season and re watch the episodes on DVD. The 70's Show is a comedy sitcom that revolves around several high school kids during the nineteen seventies in Wisconsin. http://www.that70sshow.com/index_about.htm (This web sight describes the show in more detail)

When I first saw The 70's show on Television I thought the show was genius. The idea of teenagers during the seventies partying, getting into trouble, and simply having teenage drama was an awsome idea for a sitcom. Not to mention teenagers today hear story's from their parents about how they grew up during the seventies, the music they listened to, and the cars they drove.

Even though the last season ended over year ago the popularity of the show still remains very high. The show is still aired on more than one channel. The Cw still has an episode on almost every day with a page on their web site designated for the show at http://portlandscw.trb.com/entertainment/syn/stv-70sshow-syn-pkg,0,1841066.special?coll=kwbp-home-nav.

To me this show is very interesting, it contains hilariously funny situation comedy with real life situations, but also adds entertainment because it takes place over thirty years ago. I can watch the show with almost everyone, my friends who can relate with the teenage drama and my parents and anyone who grew up during that time who can also relate. This you tube video shows the intro to the show and the main characters. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOrAGchvI_A

The 70's show is a show that almost everyone can watch and get a good laugh. It reminds people of their childhood and helps others relate to their friends. Over all it is a good show with a lot of meaning.