Regina H Jeong (5th)

 

How does the Spice Girls' song WANNABE capture the 'zeitgeist'?

 

 

 

"If you wanna be my lover …make it last forever friendship never ends."

 

You might have an experience that certain tune has been lingered in your head all day and you keep humming the song over again. For me, the Spice Girls' biggest hit-song 'Wannabe' did and I believe the song has appealed to many ever since it had released. Then, what made this song special and impressed millions of people during the late 20^th century? If you catch the inside meaning of the song, you might find it more interesting and easy to understand. Before I explain the meaning of the song 'Wannabe', I want to address the zeitgeist of the mid-1990s in the United Kingdom. What is zeitgeist? According to Encyclopedia, "Zeitgeist is the spirit of the times or the spirit of the age." The mid-to-late 20^th century is often referred to as 'Cool Britannia'. The term 'Cool Britannia' had revealed not only the mid-90's Britpop movement but also closely associated with the early years of "New Labor" under British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The movement, along with an influx of lively British pop music and young political leader, saw a renewal in British pride.

 

Third Way (Middle Way)

The Spice Girls' music video starts with showing three groups of people on the street. One is rolled in blanket and shivering in the dark; another is getting off a luxurious car and being escorted by a guard; the other (Spice Girls) is greeting to the shivering and calling another's attention. The Girls' gesture with singing, "Get your act together we could be just fine," cannot be just considered as a "nice and kind" but should be understood as an "overthrow-the-custom and fill-the-gap-between" gesture. This middle way is originally used by New Labor government to refer to indicate its stance to reconcile right and left-wing politics.

 

Girl Power vs Modern Beauty Culture

The phrase "Girl Power" had expressed a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s and early 2000s. It is also linked to new-wave feminism and became popular by the Spice Girls. In some respects, you might see the point of feminist movement in the video: showing braless, making first move to kiss a man. Their message of female empowerment appealed to young girls, adult women, and even to men. However, I doubt that Spice Girls had well-represented "Girl Power" indeed. First, could the five band members really appeal within the target demographic group? The United Kingdom has a long history of migration and has the oldest Chinese community in Europe. Considering the huge population of British Asian (including Indian immigrants), could British adolescents be encouraged to identify themselves with the band members who had been only formed with one black and four whites? Second, while I was watching the video, I could not help but focused on their sexually-dressed looks and sensual dances. Even their braless presence made them more look sex appeal. How many people would recall the Bra Burning movement on the 60's as soon as they saw their outfits on the video? Moreover, the five all good-looking and nice-body girls had reminded me of no more than appearance-oriented modern beauty culture and shown as a shallow marketing tactic.

 

Wannabe: Free Spirit

Regardless all the issues and attention the Girls' had made, nobody can deny their impressive impact on British culture. Especially, the young generation's unfettered spirit and movements are well-melted down to 'Wannabe' music video: clearing away the tablecloth, performing the backflip on a table, and mingling with the old generation. In addition, the song's message encourages us not to waste our precious time, tell and do what we really want:

"Tell me, what you really really want… If you want my future forget my past…"

 

 

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Sincerely,

Regina

 

 

Turna Elmaci HW Spice Girls

What does the song "Wannabe" say about the British society?

How do the Spice girls "Wannabe" capture the 'Zeitgeist'?

Back in the 1990, the music market was occupied by boy bands which were put together by managers who recognized that young teenage girls' dreams have to be captured in the image of young teenage boys/artist. This concept worked very well starting with "New Kids on the Block" as the forerunner followed by other doppelgangers like the "Backstreet Boys" and "Take That". This should be subject to change when the Spice Girls appeared on the stage of the music market. Put together by Simon Fuller the manager/ inventor of TV shows like "Britain's got talent" or "American Idol", the Spice Girls could win the hearts of young girls with their song "Wannabe" and their motto of "Girl Power". Their appearance did not only mark the sudden changes in the music market but as well in the British society. The British society was conservative and governed by a conservative government under John Brown for 18 years. New elections were about to come up and pave the way for change.

Their first song "Wannabe", a well written up-tempo song and its lyrics, indicated the social, political and economical changes. The accompanying music video portrayed the "Spice Girls" breaking the rules and putting up a new social order.

The first scene shows the "Spice girls" dressed in tank-tops wearing no bras, which was already an affront to social standards. The bra stands as a symbol of restriction by the society. Women are socially forced to wear them. The Spice girls ignored the social rule and moreover showed that the protest against social standards can be a funny enterprise. All girls were dressed in a fashion which resembles their characters or the type of "Girl" image they have to fill in and moreover young girls look for to identify with. "Sporty" Mel C. wears sportive training paints and "Baby" Emma is totally dressed in a white short dress indicating the sense of purity but still being sexy because of the length of her dress.

In the video, the girls are jumping and behaving happily like children. They run to the entrance of a luxurious hotel where beggars are sitting at the wall. The girls come to the beggars and treat them kindly. This can be seen as a signal to show mercy to the poor because the poor are at the bottom of the society and most of the time ignored by the society. Importantly to notice here is the juxtaposition of the different classes, the poor beggars next to a luxurious hotel, the haves and have-nots and in between the "Spice Girls", bridging the gap between the classes. Not only that the girls treat the beggars kindly, they also greet the members of the upper class fairly by opening the door. Significantly the upper class has problems to accept the contact to lower classes because their shocked faces and their resistance are clearly shown.

In the next scene the spice girls mess up the guest list by throwing the list into the air. The concierge tries to stop them but unsuccessfully. This step shows that breaking the rules moreover the remodeling of class and its members is taking place. The borders are blending in each other, so there won't be any clear distinction possible by anyone. The Spice Girls also continue to break the rules by endlessly dancing around and disturbing the upper class guests. The upper class guests are portrayed as old ladies with young gigolos or old man sitting statically at the table. Clear is that there is also a lot of irony and sarcasm portraying rich people like that. Rich people are caught in their own luxurious prison with accepted inborne rules observing each other carefully and waiting to see each other fail in the total ignorance of the lower classes because the lower classes are absent or only seen as servants working for the rich. So therefore the girls approach the guests and even start playing ironically with them, sitting on the lap of a priest pulling his hat down and kissing a young man first. This indicates the change of the gender roles, women being sexually free and not depending anymore on the men. They are making the first steps like men used to do it for a long time. The lyrics are giving the general idea of being free and able to do whatever one likes to do: "I will tell you what I want, what I really want so tell me what you want". These words have an impact on young people who are now allowed to express their mind and opinions. Still the idea of overcoming the gap between the lower and upper classes is conveyed in the lyrics: "If you wanna be my lover you gotta get with my friends"," If you wanna be my lover you have got to give". Both sides have to make steps towards each other, one-sided action is not favored. The line " If you want my future forget my past" indicated that people should look forward into the future and leave the past. Wisely sang, in the foresight of the upcoming political change and a new leader Tony Blair in Britain.

.The Spice Girls captured with their song "Wannabe" incredibly 'zeitgeist' by singing about the social, political and economical change and by presenting themselves as new strong, female role models in contrast to existing boy bands. Their motto "Girl Power" shaped the feeling of a young generation of female teenagers for a long time

 

Jang, Jung Doe

What does the song (Wannabe by Spice Girls) say about British society?

The song Wannabe was releases in 1996, and achieved conspicuous success. Before, boy-groups were occupying English pop market. That is why the Spice Girls' success was unrespectable but also refreshing jolt. In music video and lyrics, they reflected messages and thoughts they wanted to share with people. The message is mainly about girl power and free style life which is opposed to England social circumstance.

In Wannabe music video, it is possible to guess English society by a few important scenes. For example, in the very first scene, a family with Rolls Royce is heading to luxurious hotel while a beggar is in the street. Also, this family tries to ignore Spice Girls, and after all, moves their children away from Spice Girls. This plainly explains the gap between the poor and the rich. Furthermore, action taken by parents shows that the rich or high level people tend to be separated from other classes.

Spice Girls singing in the hotel beside people attending typical English party also implies some of important messages. The old people in the luxury hotel can be symbol of conservative privileges. Some of them were surprised or showed no kindness to Spice Girls. Also, there was a man who pointed his fingers to Spice Girls. From these examples, it can be assumed that there is a two different society, privileges and young people or new generation. However, there was an old lady who was dancing with Spice Girls. This can be understood as a hope of harmony.

In both from lyrics and music video, people can clearly see what Spice Girls wants to say. In music video, Spice Girls dress is somewhat informal; however, it shows each member's characteristics. This is contrast to the past, when female singers usually wear feminine style clothe. Also, Spice Girls kissed some of people in hotel to show their emotion. This represents young female generation becoming more leading role unlike in the past. One of the Spice Girls members not wearing brassiere and throwing customer list are also other examples to understand message.

In lyrics, it is even clearer to see how active and open minded females are at the time Wannabe was released. Until Spice Girls appeared, most of female singers song was about how much they love or sorrow of parting. In other words, their attitude and mind was passive. However, Spice Girls says 'I will tell you what I want' and 'don't go waste my precious time'. Hence, the song starts with 'if you wannabe my lover' and then says what they want a man to do or to be. This obviously shows that girl power was growing in English Society.

However, it is important to notice that this song does not show hostility to conservative upper class. As shown in the last scene of music video, Spice Girls took a bus. This means Spice Girls wannabe just mirrored how normal females becoming more respected and living with free will in English society.

How Does the Spice Girls' "Wanna Be" Capture the Zeitgeist of the Time?

In the music video "wanna be" by Spice girls -a famous British music group- the feminism spirit and the shift of the humanity toward an equal society regarding sex is being expressed. As the video starts running, poor homeless people sitting by the wall of a luxurious hotel, while a lavish expensive car drives into view ridden by a wealthy family is brought to attention. As the wealthy family starts getting off the car, the girls start talking to them in a vain attempt. The pose of the wealthy family, their behavior and the way they ignore the girls are all signs of the pointlessness of the girls' efforts. It is a demonstration of contrast among different social classes in the society and the fruitless attempts of the local class to bring this contrast into notice. Later on the girls enter a very luxurious hotel and start shuffling papers and making a mess. This brings to mind the idea that new movements are accompanied by chaos and resistance in the beginning of their birth, which cannot be interpreted as their negative side, since all the chaos occurs as the result of the dominance of the old ones and their tyranny. The way the girls are dressed (not wearing bras) is conveying their support of the feminist movement. The lyrics are representing changes in the common convictions of male-female relationships which considered male sex as the dominant one. "If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends" This part of the lyric is demonstrating a strong female who does not need the dominant male to go on with her life, she is not as flexible as she was before in order to not to be alone. She has her wishes and her desires, and she will not give up until her expectations are met: "If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give, Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is." This idea is given strength to by the scene when Melanie Brown makes a move on a guy by kissing him. This is the do-whatever-you-feel-like-doing spirit, regardless of common guidelines of the female behavior. In the ending minutes of the video, the well-off community in the hotel starts to dance and sing with the girls, implying that it is possible to make the change if its spirit is consistent. The girls could bring out their message and make it accepted. The "wanna be" music video, the lyrics and the feminist movement are all in accord with the idea that females can be who they want to be, and having no specific definition of who they should be is an encouragement toward genuineness racing against being a copy pasted of an already existing social guideline.

By: Mina Sheikhha

Guobin Li

What does the song (Wannabe by Spice Girls) say about British society?

 

The British pop sensation Spice Girls made their debut in 1996 with the song "Wannabe" which was a huge success.

 

The music video in which the five girls take over a fancy hotel in London and create mischief at a party that is going there features people from all walks of life. : The upscale, the homeless and the religious etc. The music video begins with a scene on the sidewalk. The girls are cheering and two different groups of people appear: Nicely dressed first class walking out of a limousine and blanket-covered homeless sitting at the corner on the sidewalk. It clearly shows the division and the gap in British society and the girls happen to be in the middle. Then the girls break in at the hotel and start singing and dancing. They approach people at different locations at the party who represent different groups of Britons and they do not really mingle with each other, which can be understood as the internal division and conflicts in Great Britain.

 

Meanwhile, the lyrics of the song tell something different. "Yo, I'll tell what I want, what I really want, so tell me what you want, what you really really want" As can be seen from the lyrics, the song is about female empowerment. The lines manifest the girls' rebellion against the old way of relationships with their boyfriends. Girls are tired of listening to what their boyfriends want and always try to compromise their needs. The most powerful part of the song is the repetitive chorus where the girls repeat " I wanna ".  The girls keep saying "I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna reallyreally really wanna zigazig ha." It is a clear signal sent out to the boys wanting them to listen to what the girls really want.

 

 

 

 

Ji-young HONG_HW5

What does the song (Wannabe by Spice Girls) say about British society?

 

Before starting answer the question, let us figure out who they are. The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The members consist of Victoria Beckham (née Adams), Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They are signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30 countries and helped establish the group as a global phenomenon.

 The music video and lyrics of the song 'wannabe' have said that it is time to move and change to break the past in British society. In the lyrics there are a lot of repetition, "I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want, so tell me what you want, what you really really want." There is also these lyrics, "If you want my future forget my past, If you wanna get with me better make it fast, Now don't go wasting my precious time.", "Slam your body down and wind it all around."  Before this song released, conservative mood was prevailing in Britain. In fact, in 1997, coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and very appealing, a main driving force in making Britain look fashionable again. The arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British. Because Spice Girls were different from previous girl singers who was traditional women like be pure, submissive and feminine. In contrast, Spice Girls looked like tough and tomboyish. One member of Spice Girls kissed a man before man did in the music video, it showed the change. Traditionally, men kiss women first not women kiss men first but the girl did and it showed transition to 'girl power.' Moreover, there were public figures of Britain and Spice Girls disturbed the luxury hotel and organized banquet and they departed from there by a bus finally in the music video. It is believed that it also showed transition from past to future.

Spice Girls represent all women. They have various characters and it is found from origin of their nicknames Ginger, Posy, Baby, Sporty and Scary. The girls spoke out 'forget the past, make it fast, slam your body down.' Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women, and it emphasized the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females. The phrase 'girl power' became a cultural phenomenon, adopted as the mantra for millions of girls and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." British society was transit period when the song released and one of the big changes was 'girl power' as you can see above. This song showed it firmly.

Woori- Spice girls

How does the Spice girl's Wannabe capture the 'Zeigeist'?

The success of Spice girls' "Wannabe" was backed by contemporary young
generations. The society and culture of Britain were very rigid and
conservative. Class division and its discrimination were prevalent.
Public was tired of the conservative party for 18 years. Young
generations aspired to something fresh and different. Furthermore,
Britain was at an important turning point. The country was about to
return HongKong to China. Also, People were going to vote for a new
prime minister. Spice girls' "Wannabe" captured these social,
economical and political change demands well in the lyrics and the
music video.

In the music video, Spice girls wear tank-top without bra, short
skirts and dance like a mischievous boys running over throughout the
video. This style was totally against a passive feminine concept which
was conventional in Britain. It was shocking and accepted as a riot to
the old generation and upper class. In contrast, teenagers were
cheering their rebellion. First the video starts with a luxurious
hotel and a bagger leaning on the wall. This is juxtaposition of class
between the haves and the have-nots, pinching class oriented British
society. Then, the spice girls were breaking into the banquet,
scattering papers which may be a list of guests. Paper means formality
and a guest list welcomes only invited class. Inside of the hall,
their rebellious dancing goes on, interrupting luxurious guests.
Mostly, singers approach boldly the guests and ridicule them. One
singer even kisses guys first. This behavior is also against a social
custom imposing on women. They did backhand spinning on the tables,
making a mess in the banquet. Well ornamented banquet is for high
class. We can find more clues in the lyrics too. Spice girls are
asking people to listen to their mind, singing: "I will tell you what
I want, what I really want so tell me what you want" This lyric
touches and moves people's aspiration to own freedom out of ways being
required by rigid society. Particular it affected on adolescents,
wandering between dream and things to do. Next, spice girls insists
that people embrace new, singing:"If you want my future forget my
past", "If you wannna get with e better make it fast". 1997, Britain
was being faced with reforming and innovation out of glory of the
past. Public's demands to change and fast actions were melted in the
lyrics. Furthermore, singers warn polarization in class and suggest
harmony, singing: "If you wanna be my lover you gotta get with my
friends"," If you wanna be my lover you have got to give" Low class of
people endure a longstanding class division. Spice girls are
pleasantly singing "let's be friends and share to be friends" on this.

The simple and direct lyrics, powerful dancing and stunning fashion
style of spice girls were shocking but revolution to the obsolete
society. They captured "zeitgeist" of the Britain at the moment by
being an icon of new and girl empowerment through "Wannabe".

Saeha Lee_Spice girls

How does the Spice Girls' song Wanna Be capture the zeitgeist?

 

It has been argued for a long time whether Pop Culture is a real form of high culture or just garbage. Some people insist that Pop Culture has its own value, that it cannot be dismissed as fancy vogue because it shows the artists' understanding of the society, conveys it to the people and, sometimes, actually influences the society itself. In this sense, Wanna Be by the Spice Girls, which greatly influenced people in Britain and all over the world, should be understood as real culture. This brings us the necessity for examining the meaning of the music video Wanna Be, how it portrayed the British society. 

 

At the beginning of the music video, the girls try to squeeze between the niches of social structure. As it can clearly be seen, there are two different classes – the poor on the street and the rich in the limousine – and the girls unsuccessfully try to have some connection with both of them while singing "If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends, Make it last forever friendship never ends."  In the next scene, they break into an elegant, big hotel representing the contemporary era, our current society of opulence. The girls want to break disturbing social orders in order to show themselves the way they are. They cast out the paper on the information desk and start to sing, "Yo, I'll tell you what I want, so tell me what you want." This scene puts the girls in the position in which they can speak their own thoughts and about their rights and places in the social system. They clearly express their desire not to be controlled by the grown-ups or the androcentric society. In order to achieve that goal, they take some actions towards the adults, mainly men, namely leaving them behind. They do not waste any of their precious time and do not give them any chance to react.

 

In the next scene, located on the stairs, our attention is drawn to the girls and the message they try to convey: what the girls really want is mutual understanding based on equal rights. This is why they sing, "If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends, Make it last forever friendship never ends, If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give, Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is." Their claims do not, however, end with the grown-ups who represent the old conservative ideology: indeed, they try to go for more.

 

This is symbolized by the appearance of some old people who are surprised by the girls, and with whom they want to party: a woman resembling Marilyn Monroe, the well-known icon of American popular culture, men who represent a government officials and a judge. From that we can clearly conclude that the girls insist in having their way in the various aspects of society, challenging them with their song or the girl power which they represent. For example, one of the girls performs a somersault, usually considered as a manly thing.

 

In the following scene we see two groups of people, one displaying confusion– as exemplified by the waiter – and the other showing surprise and enjoyment at the girls, like the old women with grey hair. In the final scene, they are running into the bus and beckoning the onlookers and the viewers in the bus. Although we cannot consider it a strong call for action, it is still and obvious sign for people to join the new wave they want to create.

 

 

 

	Come la primavera 안녕하세요.

Christopher Moore, uses for his humour stereotypes of male and female behavior. Please explain. I will be looking in particular for the quality and sufficiency of your evidence and analysis.

A stereotype is a generalization of certain groups or classes of people. A male and female stereotype can for example stand for male being childish and female manipulative.
In the American authors, Christopher Moore, humoristic book You suck he uses stereotypes of male and female behavior in absurd situations. In this book Moore writes about a teenage vampire relationship and in the first chapter, "Get over it, a lot of people are dead" the readers get introduced to the main characters, Tommy and Jody.

Tommy is described as a typical male stereotypne; childish and a guy that only cares about physical interaction. In the beginning of this chapter there is a conversation between the young couple about why Jody drank Tommy´s blood and why he let her he claimed, "that´s not true, it was because you needed me." But the true was, "He was lying; it was because of the sex". In another discussion they were having, and this time about the case when Tommy had sex with Jody while she was unconscious, he argued in a childish way that he was just being friendly, "like when you put a quarter in someone else´s parking meter when they aren´t there- you know they appreciate it later". Later on Tommy says another childish comment, "Well-uh-yeah, but you´re not even human. You´re just some foul dead thing".

Furthermore when the couple had calmed things down and Tommy was trying to understand and adapt to his new life as a Vampire he felt a huge hunger and wanted to eat a Burrito. Jody was an experienced vampire and recommended him to not eat it, but he insisted, " Ha, that´s cute". He took a big bite and grinned at her as he chewed". In Jody´s case, she is being described as a female stereotype, manipulative and emotional, "Jody sniffled, completely for effect", "Great, she thought, in control once again".
The readers get to experience the typical stereotype in the beginning of the chapter by her explanation in why she converted Tommy into a vampire, "I wanted us to be together".

"We´re fucked. Together. Like Romeo and Juliet, only we get to be a sequel." Jody also claimed she turned Tommy into a vampire for them to be together for the rest of their life's. This could be seen as another evidence of how Moore describes the female stereotype character in the manner of being manipulative.
Furthermore she tries to manipulate him with her body, but it didn´t work "She couldn´t believe that he didn´t respond to the naked persuasion. What kind of monster had she created?".
"If it turned out that he was going to be nineteen forever, she might end up having to kill him for real." the chapter ends in the explanation of how Jody gets worried she might have done the wrong decision by turning a childish teenager into an undead creature, a vampire.

//Angelina.F

Turna Elmaci

Homework 2 for two weeks time by Turna Elmaci

Christopher Moore, uses for his humour stereotypes of male and female behavior. Please explain. I will be looking in particular for the quality and sufficiency of your evidence and analysis.

 

There are many ways and stylistic means to express humour. Christopher Moore, the author of "You suck" uses stereotypes of male and female behavior primarily to express his sense of humor in his books. Thinking about stereotypes leads to the following answer: stereotypes are typically oversimplified conceptions or opinions of something in "You suck" it is the male and female behavior of the main characters.

The main characters argue over unimportant things, try to blame each other or they try to manipulate each other with sex following their individual agenda.

Tommy and Jody are in a very turbulent relationship. Jody after a short intermezzo with an old vampire was turned into a young vampire. Jody doesn't like to share her undead fate all by herself, consequently she turns her boyfriend Tommy, a young immature man with an enormous sex drive into a vampire. They start to argue about their situation and they display certain stereotypical behaviours.

One of these stereotypes is letting Tommy act as a young man who does not like himself being turned into a vampire but his girlfriend. Understandable is the situation when he calls her names like "You bitch, you killed me! You suck!" after he has discovered what happened to him.

Jody on the other hand acts as a young woman caught in the situation of being a newly created vampire who does not like to share her fate alone and being different from others. She decides without asking Tommy for permit to turn him into a vampire. She defends herself with the words "I wanted us to be together", which is commented sarcastically by Tommy "Yeah, that's why you spent the night with him." The stereotype of the woman who tries to keep the man at her side even if she has to kill him is being portrayed.

Both blame each other for being tracked in this situation. Tommy blames Jody because she didn't ask for his permit "You shouldn't just kill a guy without asking. It's inconsiderate." On the other hand, Tommy didn't ask Jody either for her consent in having sex with her while she is knocked out: "Yeah, wait until you go out in you jammies and wake up all sticky in a cheerleader outfit and see how grateful you are. You know, Tommy, when I'm out, technically, I'm dead…."

Being confronted with rape, Tommy tries to play the accusation down by saying that no harm was done because she is already dead: "Well-uh-yeah, but you're not even human. You're just some foul dead thing." Jody on her parts accuses him with necrophilia to make her point clear.

In that situation, Tommy tries to manipulate her by saying that she needed him not because of the sex. Jody acts like she is giving into his reasoning but again she uses the situation to manipulate him for her purposes.

Christopher Moore uses stereotypes of male and female behavior through putting his main characters in the absurd situation of being transformed into vampires. This stylistic method is well used because it boost the hum

JungDoe Jang

 

Christopher Moore, uses for his humor stereotypes of male and female behavior. Please explain. I will be looking in particular for the quality and sufficiency of your evidence and analysis.

 

 

People have stereotypes of certain races, groups or countries that are commonly believed. In Christopher Moore's novel, by using Tommy and Jody, he describes stereotypes of male and female.

Among several stereotypes of male introduced in the novel, the first and the most easily found one is 'men always think sex.' Tommy had sex with Jody while she was unconscious. Hence, Tommy dressed Jody a cheerleader outfit.  His excuse was that he just tried to be friendly. Furthermore, after Tommy found out that he was circumcised, he asked Jody whether she wants to give a quick fondle or touch. However, this stereotype was not only represented by Tommy but also Jody. Jody wanted to test whether Tommy can see in dark, by Jody being naked. However, Tommy refused it, and Jody was shocked that Tommy did not response to the naked persuasion. From these examples, it is possible to see that author is using first stereotype to develop the story.

The second stereotype used in this novel is 'male tends to be childish.' In the novel, Jody spent time with a vampire who made her a vampire to find her identity. However, Tommy said "you spend the night with him" as if she had an affair. Also, while Jody was trying to warn Tommy not to eat burrito, he acted like everything was under his control. Besides, Tommy often used 'miasma' to make him look like a writer, and kept saying 'I am starving' in middle of conversation which make him look immature.  

Jody, a pretty, cute and long red hair girl, also shows stereotype of female. Mainly, stereotype Jody showed is "female tends to manipulate the situation.' When Tommy accidently said Jody is just a 'foul dead thing', Jody started to sniffle just to make Tommy feel sorrier to her. However, when her act did not work well, she told herself that she should have pretended to cry and mentioned what Tommy's weakness such as 'you just let me because of the sex.' After all, when the situation was over she said "great, in control once again' which we can assume that Jody, or female tends to put whole situation under their control.

Regina H Jeong (4th)

 

Christopher Moore, uses for his humor stereotypes of male and female behavior, please explain.

 

Moore, American writer and known for the witted satirist, writes novels that are not only brilliant, but fun to read as well. In his novel, You Suck, Moore writes the old clichés (sex and vampire story) with ingenious, satirical, and hilarious sensibility. He characterized Jody and Tommy by their typical thinking and behaviors which can be considered as sexual stereotypes. A stereotype is standardized conceptions of groups or types of individuals. The stereotypes in 'You Suck' are represented as Tommy's childish, sex-driven behaviors and Jody's controlling actions in their relationship.

 

Tommy, nineteen-year old, had awakened one day as a vampire. The problem is when he got changed he had dragged all of his teenage insecurities and incessant horniness with him. He accused Jody, a few months old vampire, "You bitch, you killed me! You shouldn't just kill a guy without asking. It's inconsiderate." However, it is not true. He had morbid interests in necrophilia and cheerleader thing which made him run experiments on unconscious Jody's body, including clothing cheerleader outfits and personal lubricants. For these reasons, he allowed Jody drank his blood. However, Tommy insists, "I was just being friendly… It was because you needed me." By the time when Tommy found out his body will be the same forever, he blamed Jody for loosing his future possibilities: "I was going to be buff and be an awesome hunk of muscular man-meat." It is, yet, turned out to be wrong accusation again by Jody, "No, you weren't. You wanted to be a writer." He even put up stubbornness to Jody's food caution which lead disastrous result for him to puke burrito all over the way.

 

In the meantime, Jody stayed cool and kept steering Tommy toward the bright side which came from her own judgments. "I wanted us to be together. We're fucked. Together. Like Romeo and Juliet." She once sniffled, completely for effect, and conveniently slipped the fact what eternal frozen mean to Tommy. "Will I get any smarter, or is that stuck in time, too?" "Well, yeah, but that's because you're a man, not because you're a vampire." As a matter of fact, being frozen gave Jody both blessing and horror at the same time: she would never get a chance to lose her weight forever. Nevertheless, owing to her persistent reasoning, Tommy got back to face the reality and Jody was pleased for taking the reins in their relationship again. Before they went out to hunt for food, Tommy was freaked out at his vampirized-penis. He kept checking whether Jody found it creepy or not and even wanted her to caress his. Again, she gently coaxed him to pull himself together: "Tommy, calm down. It's just your foreskin….You're fine." The truth is that Jody is not fine at all. All she wanted was a companion who could understand what she was and felt in vampire world, which means, in her world. She did not want to have a crybaby, stuck to be nineteen forever. Thus, she even considered that she might end up having to kill him if things are out of control. I believe both Tommy and Jody's actions can be generalized in the real world as the gender stereotypes: male's immature behavior, lust for sex and female's manipulations in relationship.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

Sincerely,

Regina

 

 

 

Woori

Moore shows stereotypes of male and female behavior in love positioning. He describes two steps how male and female interact each other. First how female takes male into her world and male’s reaction to it. Second is how female persuades him to stay in her world and male’s adoption to it.

First, in the text Tommy is furious because Jody made him a vampire while he was unconscious. She needs a vampire companion to share her life. But Jody naively says: “I wanted us to be together”. Jody hides her cheap desire and replaces it with value “love”. Soon, Tommy responds sarcastically: “Yeah, that’s why you spent the night with him”. Male shows his jealousy in a childish way–mocking. Tommy keeps criticizing Jody and she logically offends it:” You had sex with me while I was unconscious”. Responding to this logic, Tommy insisting: “That’s not the same, I was just being friendly, like ….”, Male tries to justify his wrongdoings by covering it better. Soon, Tommy ends up being shameful on necrophilia, saying:” but you are not even human. You’re just some foul dead thing” Tommy soon regrets his childish reaction and curses on her. Male hates being ignored by female so they are unskillful in admitting wrongdoings. But by taking this chance Jody tries to control him:”Jody sniffled, completely for effect. Actually she was relieved that Tommy was now on the defensive” …” Dame, she should have pretended to cry”. Jody appeals to Tommy’s emotion by acting like a weak thing. Female knows how to use their tears: Male feels guilty in front of female’s tears. Tommy ends up succumbing to Jody and she acquires him: “Great, she thought, in control once again”. Soon Tommy gets frustrated with his physical changes. From here, Moore shows how female persuades male to stay in her world. Physical changes mean difficulties in adapting to female world. But Jody skillfully manipulates Tommy:” we’re fucked together. Like Romeo and Juliet…” To justify her guilt, Jody transcendentalizes the tragic changes with beautiful and sad love story “Romeo and Juliet”. Further she continues persuading Tommy, with his super power and her sexuality– both are toys for male: “you can see in the dark now. ….. I’ll get naked. You can look at me in the dark. Naked. You’ll like it”. Jody wants him to be content in her world with joys given by her. And this looks like a Mom giving toys to a son. She keeps manipulating him complimenting on his strange changes like a mom:”you’re perfect and you’ll always be perfect..” This male and female behavior shows their stereotypes in love positioning. In order to tame a male into own world, female incessantly persuades and manipulates male by appealing to emotion, encouraging, caring like a mom and using sexuality. And male reluctantly behaves to be involved in her world first but soon gets manipulated by female because of his simplicity and vulnerability to sexuality.

Ji-young HONG_HW4

Christopher Moore, uses for his humor stereotypes of male and female behavior. Please explain. I will be looking in particular for the quality and sufficiency of your evidence and analysis.

 

People can be divided two kinds. That is male and female by biological sex distinction. From this, there are some stereotypes of male and female behavior. So let us start with figure out what stereotypes mean first. The meaning of stereotype is a fixed idea or image that many people have of a particular type of person or thing, but which is often not true in reality.

In the first chapter of the book (You suck; A love story by Christopher Moore), there are some examples about stereotypes of male and female behavior are shown. There are two main characters. Male character is Tommy and female's is called Jody. From their behavior, stereotypes can be found.

For stereotype of male behavior, the indicators are followed. When Tommy was recognized he turned vampire, he felt hunger and even though Jody tried to help him and advise him, he did not listen and just did action what he wanted. For instance, he pulled a burrito out of the freezer, tried to have it. Jody said, "You don't want to eat that." However, Tommy did not care why and just did what he usually does and Jody warned once again. She said, "Put the burrito down, and back away, Tommy. I don't want you to get hurt." After all, Tommy took a big bite and he got hurt.

The other indicator for stereotype of male is followed. Tommy says hurting words without consideration to Jody. For example, he told Jody "…you're not even human. You're just some foul dead thing." And he regretted saying it. Moreover, when he found his skin cleared up he was really happy and he said, "If I had known my skin would clear up, I'd have asked you to change me a long time ago." At first he did not like what he became but when he found a little good thing of it, he liked what he was. From these indicators, it is found that male is childish.

For stereotype of female behavior, a manipulative character can be found. The indicators are followed. From one scene, Jody sniffled, completely for effect. Actually she was relieved that Tommy was now on the defensive. However, she sniffled and pretended to cry to get sympathetic feeling of Tommy. Finally, he walked into her arms and held her just like what she wanted. The other example is that. Jody told Tommy, "… I'll get naked. You can look at me in the dark. Naked. You'll like it." Jody wanted to make Tommy feel good at turned vampire so she tried to persuade him by experiencing the good thing of vampire. But he did not respond to that. This made Jody anger so she just answered Tommy's question careless. For instance, Tommy did not react to the naked persuasion and wanted to eat something. In response to this, Jody said, "Okay, I'll find you a bug or something." Here is one more thing Jody wanted to make him like turned vampire. She said, "You're in great shape from working in the grocery store. Wait until you see how you can run." Also, at the end of the chapter, Jody had not thought about whether or not Tommy would retain his incessant horniness after he turned, she just wanted a companion who could understand what she was, what she felt, etc.

Is not it humorous? It is found that Christopher Moore uses his humor stereotypes of male and female behavior. Male is childish and female is manipulative.

Saeha Lee_stereotypes of male and female behavior in You suck

Christopher Moore, uses for his humour stereotypes of male and female behavior. Please explain.

 

=> How did Christopher Moore describe stereotypes of male and female behavior?

 

Christopher Moore wrote about the two young vampires' love, which is impossible and absurd per se. The uniqueness of this fiction is that the author does not try to fulfill the readers' desires for fantastic, erotic or perpetual love of vampires like other vampire novels do. Rather, he used this unrealistic condition of the characters for highlighting stereotypes of male and female behaviors and giving some practical views on sexual interaction between them. Most women have a tendency to pursue the emotional intimacy in the relationship with a man, and as a means or result, sexual intercourse takes place So, Jody killed Tommy to achieve her goal and said, "I wanted us to be together." They were arguing about the fact that Jody turned Tommy into a vampire, which is a real issue between them. When Tommy expressed his anger and complaint about his change, she tried to draw Tommy's attention to her physical attraction to change the issue from murder to sex. For example, Jody said to Tommy, "You had sex with me while I was unconscious." Even though both sexual abuse and murder cannot be justified, she succeeded in making him step back and retaking the initiative in their tug-of-war. When Tommy completely engaged in his libido, she was relived and thought, "Great, in control once again." Because her goal is to satisfy her longing for emotional intimacy, she even thought, "If it turned out that he(Tommy) was going to be nineteen forever, she(Jody) might end up having to kill him for real." On the contrary, the very opposite process is going on in men's mind. It does not necessarily mean that men do not consider any emotional aspect in the relationship. However, for most men, the physical intimacy cannot be detached from their emotion or their love. They tend to be satisfied through physical interaction. For example, Tommy had a different plan. He worried and suspected that Jody just chose him only for convenience and run off with the old vampire who had changed Jody, and finally tried to bronze them, yet he failed. Like most men, he did not look for 'platonic love.' He easily could be happy to have sexual intercourse. While he was planning to make them statues, he wanted Jody and had sex with her dead body. He had put a cheerleader outfit on her and he had let her drink his own blood because he loved her. Unlike Jody who used physical interactions as a means, he simply wanted to interact with her physically, even in a panic. When he found his foreskin grew back, he freaked. But he said, "You are sure you don't want to give it a quick fondle?"

 

 

 

Guobin Li

Guobin Li
 

Christopher Moore uses for his humor stereotypes of male and female behavior. Please explain.

 

In the novel "You Suck", Tommy is portrayed as a typical absent-minded, immature, horny nineteen-year-old. On the other hand, his girlfriend Jody is a sarcastic, manipulative girl.

 

Tommy has necrophilia and fantasizes about cheerleaders. He is in love with the dead body- Jody and decides to bronze her because he does not want her to run away. He drills an earhole in the sculpture, which enables Jody to get herself out of the bronze and kill him.

 

When Tommy condemns Jody for killing him, she confronts him with the fact that he had sex with a dead body. He comes up with an ignorant rationalization; He says: "I was just being friendly, like when you put a quarter in someone else's parking meter when they aren't there-you know they appreciate it later, even if they don't thank you personally." Tommy calls sex a friendly act whereas Jody feels she was used which is typical of some boys and girls to react after having sex. Then Tommy goes on to call Jody a dead foul thing. Jody, as manipulative as she is, feels relieved to hear the things Tommy say. Christopher Moore adds a sentence to the scene. "Damn, she should have pretended to cry." He uses the cunning behaviors of mean girls here for his humor.

 

Tommy likes to use words like "miasma" just to pretend he is smart. When Jody tells him he will always be the same. He says a few things that distinctly show his ignorance and immaturity. "But I was going to start working out tomorrow. I was going to be buff. I was going to have abs of steel." There is a scene in which he flexes his chest in the mirror. He is obsessed with the way he looks, especially with his muscles. It is something that a lot of boys do. Further Christopher Moore shows Tommy's confusion. "What about the writer thing? Will my brain always be like this? I mean, will I get any smarter, or is that stuck in time, too?" Tommy reminds the readers of a typical confused teenager.

 

In the scene in which Tommy finds out his foreskin has grown back, he becomes furious and calls himself "a radioactive mutant freak". He wonders if Jody would find it creepy. When Jody says she is ok with it, he wants her to touch his penis. He says: "You're sure you don't want to give it a quick fondle?" Tommy just sounds like a horny teenager who always wants to indulge in sexual pleasures, which again is a clear stereotype of teenage boys.

 

Jody knows what she can do to get what she wants; she sniffles for effect. She lures Tommy by asking him if he wants to see her naked body. She kisses Tommy's neck when she feels like she is in control.

 

These distinctive and entertaining behaviors of males and females become laughing stocks in his novel.

 

Christopher Moore, Uses For His Humor Stereotypes of Male and Female Behavior. Please Explain.

 

                  The society tends to imply to its members certain stereotypes which by time become common sense. Among these exists a good few number regarding to sexual differences. In "You Suck", a humorous novel by the American author Christopher Moore, several of these stereotypes are used as a source for humor. "You Suck" starts with an argument between Tommy and Jody. Tommy, being just transformed into a vampire by Jody, is furious about what had happened to him. In his argues with Jody most of his sentences are in favor of common stereotypes the society attributes to both sexes, to mention a few the following lines chosen from the first chapter are to be considered. The chapter starts with the transformation of Tommy to a vampire by Jody. ""You're perfect," Jody said." Or even earlier in this chapter Jody mentions she transformed Tommy into a vampire because: "I wanted us to be together." These two phrases are referring to one of the most well known stereotypes of a female-male relationship: The attempts of females to change males so that they can be together, a change considered to be a strike of perfection. "It was as if his nerves had been dialed up to eleven. "Okay, it was because of the sex." Great, she thought, in control once again." Tommy's sentence is based on the stereotype of founding all the attempts of men in a relationship as an attempt to have sex. It is good to also note that Jody's feeling is based on the common belief of females' desire to have the situation under control at all costs, and for that Jody uses her power of monopoly over Tommy, a power in possession of females; of course again based on the well known stereotypes. It is interesting to note that one can never claim the stereotypes of female-male relationships are common sense or just false beliefs, for the common sense can be a false belief sent on to the younger generation via their elders.

By: Mina Sheikhha