Class Pulse

The class so far has definitely been interesting and also challenging. From the very beginning of class, Professor Fuqua was very straightforward with how this class would be. I think what struck me most about the class was the first day when we watched Beyonce's "Drunk in Love." I heard the song a couple of weeks before the semester began when I visited family in Alabama, and my cousin played the song repeatedly. When we watched the video in class, it was the first time I had seen it. When Professor Fuqua asked us what did we think of the video and how it made us feel, I was embarrassed to admit that I was very turned on by it, and when the professor expressed her feelings I thought to myself, "She feels the exact same way I do. The articles we have read so far makes me think more about the media's role in gender and sexuality that I would never have really thought of before. Sometimes I do wish this class was more than 3 hours long.
I like the fact that we use Twitter in class. It allows us to interact with one another and it's a way to present our feelings about the readings, lectures and screenings. It is also comforting to me to discuss something without doing it in class since I do not raise my hand very often.

The course has broadened my perspective on gender. I am a very open-minded person. I was taught growing up that there are males and females, but there are also others who may consider themselves as transgender and homosexual. Through the readings and screenings, I get a sense of what people go through; how they're judged because of the lifestyle they live is cruel. They are people, they have feelings, and as a society, we should take that into consideration.

I think Mulvey's article was one of the most engaging for me to read. It is evident in a lot of films how women are used to provide a pleasurable experience for men and Mulvey used a psychoanalysis approach which I thought was interesting because I didn't really know much about psychoanalysis to begin with. Her article also helped me with my artifact paper when I tied it into a fragrance ad and Psycho, which she also used in her article.

I found Judith Butler's article difficult to read. I think it was a lot to process. It was just difficult for me to clearly understand.