Pientka

/14/10 "What Would Allan Johnson Say?"

The pop culture icon that I have chosen for the semester project is Janis Joplin.

Janis Joplin was not just an amazing singer, she was the first female rock superstar, and she paved the way for most female and male singers today. Janis encouraged women to question authority and also their roles as women. I think that Allan Johnson would say that although Janis was a pioneer in the male-dominated rock seen of the 1960's and a pioneer in the women's movement, that this was all just an "illusion of fundamental change." (Johnson, pg. 16) 16). Johnson would say that the people that think that Janis Joplin made some great, important imact on our male dominated society are delusional. He wouldn't deny the fact that she was a powerful woman in her time, but he would say that she was obvioulsy the exception to the rule.

Johnson would say that Janis Joplin completely upholds the four core values of patriarchy. __Male Dominance__ Janis Joplin was the only woman to achieve rock star "god" status in what was basically a male club. She was the exception to the rule and was constantly compared to and measured up against men in the same position. People don't really think of her as the prettiest of girls. It seems like she was purposely un-femenine. She would sweat when she sang, had tangled hair, drank Southern Comfort, and had tattoos. Mabey she projected this image of herself so that critics wouldn't think of her as a lady but of just simply a singer or "one of the boys". __Male Identification__ Johnson says " Any woman who dares strive for standing in the world beyond the sphere of caring relationships must choose between two very different cutural images of who she is and who she ought to be-she must resolve a conradiction between her cultually based identity as a woman, on the one hand, and the male-identified position she occupies on the other." This means that the more powerful the woman becomes, the more "un-sexy" she will have to become to be succesful. I personally think that Janis was an extremely beautiful and sexy woman, but I believe that Johnson would say that many of her characteristics were very masculine. __Male Centeredness__ Johnson would say that Janis's lyrics were male centered.

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__The Obsession With Control__ Johson would say tha everything fromt the content of her lyrics to her image was being controlled by many male dominated sources. So basically, what I'm saying is that Johnson would say that although Janis Joplin made an impact on our society, she did nothing to change the overall deeply rooted patriarchal society that we live in today. But, it wasn't for a lack of trying. She did try to change our way of thinking, she just didn't have the power to actually do it.

What Would Lisa Hager Say? 3-7-2010

"The thing that really got me about Janis the most, was how liberated she was. She stood in that power even though it was kind of blues of being completely tormented, that enabled her to just stand there and let it go at a time when women were not doing that...she just came out in the completely undone, unwrapped way and I think spoke right out of a woman's soul. Directly." -Ann Wilson This quote by Ann Wilson about Janis Joplin kind of reminds me of the things Lisa Hager is writing about in "Saving the World Before Bedtime: The Powerpuff Girls, Citizenship, and the Little Girl Superhero." In her time, and even today, Janis Joplin became an unlikely hero for women and girls of all ages. She did things that defied the norms of her time. Hager says that "Writers and animators have focused primarily on the maturing bodies of adolescent girls who are discovering their superpowers and their sexualities. However, in the genre of children's animated series, girls have recently taken on the central and active roles usually reserved for boys." She is talking about the world of television, comics and animation, but I think that she would say that this can all be compared to the world of music and that Janis Joplin could be a parallel to the powerpuff girls. Back in the 60's, Janis definately challenged the gender stereotypes of her time, just as the Powerfuff Girls are doing so today. Janis Joplin was a very sexual woman, but not in the traditional way that you would see in a female singer of her generation. Her lyrics, her body language, everything about her was very powerful, and she took on the role of a rock star that was typically reserved for a man.

What Would Shrum Say? 03-14-2010 Shrum says, " Teenagers began to rely more heavily on their peers and on commercial popular culture, such as movies and music, for guidence, and entertainment." She was talking about the 1950's, but this was true of the 1960's, as well as today. The majority of Janis Joplins following was teen girls and young adult women. They looked up to her in a time when women were liberating themselves from the shackles of male domination.

Shrum says that in the 1950's "Rock and roll, drag racing, and rebellion were the territory of boys." This may have been true in the 50's, but in the 60's, Janis Joplin was being anything but the polite, respectful girl that society said she was supposed to be. Rock and roll was her domain, and she was respected for it. Shrum would say that magazines like the Rolling Stone and other popular culture media outlets used, to their advantage, the fact that young women and teen girls idolized Janis Joplin. They cashed in on her, and they're still doing so today. The Miss Sixty fall collection was "inspired by Janis Joplin, with rocker and bohemian references such as floral prints, fringe and faux fur." What would Jack Zipes Say? 4-4-10

Zipes would say that the world of the Hary Potter phenomena can be compared to the phenomena that surrounded Janis Joplin. Zipes gives two meanings for the word phenomenom. "One refers to the kind of occurences, change, or fact that is directly perceived; quite oten the event is striking. Or the term is used to describe an extraordinary person, someone with exceptional talent, a phenom, whiz kid, or super star. Whether an occurence or person, there is something incredible about the penomenom that draws our attention.." Zipes would say tha Janis Joplin fits the criteria for both the occurence, or change and for the extraordinary person. When you look at Janis in a historical context, you see all the changes that were taking place in our society that involved women. "Women were starting to question and act out against the oppresive and discriminatory attitudes and structures of our male dominated society in order to drive social change."(Hellion: Pop Culture's Rebel Women) Janis, as a person, was extraordinary.She defied the social norms of her times. She drew our attention because she was that rare, strong, rock and roll woman, in a time when that world was mostly comprised of men.

Zipes would compare the rags to riches story of J.K. Rowling to the story of Janis Joplin. Janis went from a struggling artist to a rock and roll queen. People are drawn to these types of stories. She would also compare the rejection of Rowlings firsts attempts at publication to the rejection that Janis felt in the rock and roll world. Lucy O'Brian comments, " Despite its radical beginnings, the code of mainstream rock and roll are maybe too conservative, too rigorously male-defined for a woman to find a comfortable place." Gender in History of Rock and Roll says that, "all along th e way, women in rock and roll have negotiated obstacles, such as sexual aggression, exploitation, unfair pay, condescension, and exclusion." And I'm sure that Janis was no stranger to all of these things. The appeal of Harry Potter as the nerdy but confident hero of the Rowling books can be compared to the unconventional look of Janis Joplin and her confidence, even being described as ballsy.

What Would Inness Say? (Action Figures) 4-25-10

Inness said that "Action girls, who more resemble G.I. Joe than Barbie-have the licensing power today." Ross Brown says that" there is a clear trend toward (tough ) female female characters." It's great to see that we are on our way, if even in tiny steps, to equal footing when it comes to gender equality in action figures. It could aso be looked at in the same way when it comes to female rock stars. In her era, Janis was not the typical popular, female singer that came befoe her. She was tough, could party like the men, and was even described by some as being ballsy. These new female action figures are like her. Many of them are endowed with weaponry skills, (as well as large chests), and are supposed o be just as badass as their male counterparts.

What Would Inness Say? (Anti-Barbie) 4-25-10

There's a quote in this article by (Dumaine 106) about "anti-barbies". Rowland wanted to move away from the "the barbies that wore spiked heels, drove pink Corvettes, and looked as if they belonged in strip joints." Inness would say that Janis Joplin was kind of like the "anti-barbie" of her time. While many, or most of the female singers of her time were mainstream, classic and "safe", Janis was anything but. She was brash, unapologetic, and not your typical beauty.

What Would Say? Games Black Girls Play 5-2-10

In The article, Games Black Girls Play, it says, "But what do we make of hip-hop, an art form predominately associated with males and masculinity, sampling from the familiar chants and beats of a female musical expression?" This author would ask the same question about Janis Joplin sampling music from black jazz musicians. Back then jazz was predominately associated with black men and some some black women. Janis crossed this race line. Most people had never seen a white women singing the blues. Janis says that her musical influences were Billie Hoiday, Bessie Smith, an LeadBelly, all black blues singers.(Theophano, Theresa) To Janis, music wasn't just some beats and noise, it was a form of self expression and a declaration of difference. To her, the commercial rock and roll music of the 1950's and the1960's was uninteresting. Janis said, "It seemed so shallow, all oop-bop, It had //nothing"// So it makes sense that Janis would look outside the typical radio music of her time and would look to other musical genres to find inspiration.

Works Cited: Theophano, Tersa www.glbtq.com/arts/joplin_j.html

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What Would Lamb and Brown Say? 5-8-10

This article is all about cliche's. Girls wear pink, boys wear blue. It's talking about what's cool, what's mainstream, what's in style. The authors say at the end of page three that, "The commercialization of girlhood hits hard. Sexy clothing for four-and five year old is all the rage, and if you read T-shirt slogans, you know how girlhood is marketed. Your daughter can choose her identity, but the choices are frightfully limited: Professional drama queen, Paradise Princes, or Pretty PricessBeauty Queen." I think that Lamb and Brown would be happy to know that, while browsing the inernet, I found web sites dedicated to learning how to dress like Janis Jopiln did. Janis Jopin did not dress like the typical, avereage, everyday American woman. She was a "hippy". She even made it popular to dress like a "hippy", which was bell bottoms, flowing dresses, and earthy materials. I mean look, even now, 40, years later, there a lot of girls who emulate her style. I would say that this is defenitely a small percentage of the population. I think, just by lookig around, you can see that most tween and teen girls are leaning more towards The Pussycat Dolls kind of look. It kind of gives me a little bit of hope that there are still the kind of girls and women out there that like to look and dress different than the"average" girl.

What Would Kearney Say 5-11-10

Kearney writes, on page one, that, "Unfortunately, youth scholars have yet to adequetly document and analyze one of the most interesting transformations to have occured in youth culture in the last two decades- the emergence of girls as cultural producers." This change from girls being passive consumers to girls being active producers happened far before the last two decades. Janis Joplin, in the 60's and 70's, was one of the pioneers of female rock and roll. She was brave, she took a stand, and she actively produced not just music, but a new way for women to look at how they fit into our culture. She challenged the traditional roles that females were expected to play. She made it okay for women to have an opinion and paved the way for female singers in rock and roll.

What Would Heilman and Donaldson Say? 5-13-10

In Heilman and Donaldson's article on Harry Potter, it says " Like Winnie the Pooh, the Harry Potter books are dominated by male characters." (p. 141) Is this art imitating life? I would say so and I believe that Heilaman and Donaldson would say that this mirrors the world of rock an roll in the 60's, 70's, and even today. Men in rock and roll vastly out numbers women. Heilman and Donaldon say that, "when boys and girls adventure together, boysusully have more fun." (p.109) This is truenot jut in the fantasyworld of books, but also in real life. Whenyou hear about male rockers, you learn abot their awesome lives, their effortless rise to fame and glory, and their rock and roll party lifstyles. When you hear abut a female rocker, it's always about their constant struggle, how no one will take tem seriously, and in Jani's case, you learn about her struggles wth drugs and alcohol. So who does it sound like is having more fun? When it coms to famous and successful rock and roll stars, traits and antics that ca be common in both sexes are often seen as glorified whn the men do it, and villianous when the women do it. For example, some rock and roll stars partake in drugs and alcohol and have multiple sex partners. Some would say that this is part of the rock and roll lifestyle. If a male star goes towad this path it's nothing- it's hardley even talked about, but when a female star participates in these behaviors, it can be what defines them as a person and a musican for ever. Almost everything that I have read about Janis Joplin eventually talks about her voracious sexual appetite for both men and women and her overuse of drugs and alcohol. It is mentioned just as much as her actual career. It's the common double standard you see everywhere in life and in books. Why is it, in the Harry Potter book, that Ron and Harry are able to defeat he troll,while Hermoine cowers in fear? They are all at the same level of schooling, so you'd think that they'd have equal abilities. Janis Joplin did not follow the "rules" about how women should behave in society and she made a huge impact on the lives of women in an era of great social change. Even though she is gone, she continues to inspire women of all ages to just be yourself and not care what anybody else thinks.