- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
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The NFL is a great institution, and every Sunday from October to December, football-fans in America tune into various high-energy professional games to cheer on their favorite cities/teams.
On the field, uniformed or costumed festive female cheerleaders guide fans and support the general sports-arena and fanfare aura with colorful dances, cheers, and pompom celebrations. This is all part of the media and social festivity towards peaceful competitive sports.
However, do we really look at why NFL cheerleaders are considered 'diplomats' of the media age? The TV-series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team looked at the ins-and-outs of cheerleader-squad management, recruitment, etiquette, and overall 'ethos' for the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) team.
We all know of those great elegiac/epic tales/fables/movies of great empires of the past such as Egypt and Rome parading the labors of slaves and the fancy of female dancers/concubines. We've come a long way in terms of women's rights since then, so today's NFL cheerleaders, while expected to dress like 'sexy models' for their teams, are nevertheless considered 'fair ladies' of gentlemanly behavior and sportsmanlike behaviors.
However, we don't want to overlook new age media age concerns/controversies which might 'cloud' what NFL cheerleaders offer to the industry, just as we wouldn't want corporate-corruption concerns in the airline industry to cloud what uniformed airline stewardesses offer to the tourism industry.
Are NFL cheerleaders diplomats of censorship-dialogue in the age of media?
====
Cheerleaders are gorgeous and expected to be fine spirited leading ladies on the playing-field so athletes and fans alike appreciate the general 'team-magic' of competitive sports. Cheerleaders train and work hard to make professional cheerleading squads, and we appreciate their personal aspirations to contribute to high-profile professional sports teams such as the Dallas Cowboys ("America's Team").
Why do we celebrate rich and glitzy images of incredible bravado and adventure and crime-fighting in comics-adapted films like The Avengers, Flash Gordon, Elektra, and Justice League? We might notice images of fantastic/unusual superheroines and villainesses in these zany films and consider how social perspectives on what is considered 'normal' have changed in the entertainment industry. A villainess might be scantily-clad or amorous, while a superheroine might in contrast be 'naturally gorgeous' or sentimental. These public perceptions of what women are expected to 'dream about' are important considerations in any discussion about censorship-contouring in the age of media-gauged pluralism politics (e.g., Picket Fences, Desperate Housewives, etc.).
A given well-marketed NFL Sunday New Orleans Saints game featuring newly-recruited and festively-costumed Saints cheerleaders dressed for Halloween (in black-outfits symbolizing the 'witching darkness season' of Halloween) reveals to audiences how media has impacted 'publicity/exposure.' You turn on your TV and you get a glimpse of vibrant pedestrian daydreams and social activity and cultural heartbeat without even having to step outside the comfort-zone of your house! This is why censorship is so weighty in this modern age of media. What do anti-American terrorists from the Middle East who view America's brand of 'liberal consumerism' as a form of 'ethics-heresy' view these American NFL images of Saints cheerleaders parading on the field to cheer on competitive men in helmets?
When I was growing up, I loved reading Archie's Comics and Sheena female-jungle heroine TV show episodes. I love the feeling of 'pedestrian imagination' in America, since it's so darn accessible and hence reflective of free-speech values. When I was applying to college as a high-school senior, I was deciding between Dartmouth College and Yale University, both prestigious Ivy League schools. In the end, I chose to focus more on my Dartmouth application, since that school offered more 'amenities' to students interested purely in the undergraduate experience. That's really what America is about --- 'spiritual shopping.'
So when you tune into an NFL Week 10 game today and watch with your wives, kids, friends (etc.), and you're impressed with the brand-new cheerleader uniforms paraded by the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or New England Patriots squads, consider why/how the 'aesthetics' of gender-profiling has changed in the age of televised crime-fighting (Cops), industry-documenting (Airline), and model-shows (America's Next Top Model).
Remember, your kids will want to know why an iconic actress is featured in a fantasy-adventure film about a space-hero tackling an evil kingdom on an alien planet. Such an actress, portraying a very deadly villainess, will prompt your kids to wonder what is permissible on modern television and in the movies. Parental-controls on cable-boxes go so far, and after that, you have to think about what politicians and social pundits are saying about the contouring of media-entertainment with ethics and values concerns.
We American men love the NFL. We want to tune into an easy-going and action-packed NFL game on Sunday in November leading up to Thanksgiving football. We want chicken-wings, pizza, and pie to complement our football-viewing experience. Hey, it makes TV better, right? Should we think of ourselves as 'culture cops' (since we're 'monitoring' cultural-heartbeats every NFL Sunday on TV)?
A recent story about the allowances of femininity portrayals on TV in China was presented on CNN in America. We Americans are curious about what other cultures are doing in terms of gender-politics and the aesthetics of media, so we want to keep even closer tabs on what we're doing ourselves! After all, it's all about solid journalism these days...
The Hallmark Channel offers high-quality family-values oriented programming every holiday season (which runs from Halloween October to Thanksgiving November and through Christmas December). These three months of values-themed television complement the three months of high-action NFL Sunday programming. Americans eat it all up with a spoon. So we want to consider the contours of 'gender-aesthetics' on NFL-TV and Hallmark-TV. Here's a really easy way to approach this whole 'media-censorship-gender-marketing' issue --- "Would you want your daughter to be an actress in a Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel or an NFL New Orleans Saints cheerleader?"
TRUMP: I'm a fan of the Hallmark Channel.
CARTER: It's a nice amenity for housewives tired of NFL Sunday TV.
TRUMP: Last night, I had a dream an airline stewardess was threatening me!
CARTER: What?
TRUMP: Yes, she was angry about my sex-scandal allegations in the media.
CARTER: Sounds like you've been 'brooding' about journalism again.
TRUMP: Hey, journalism separates democracy from communism.
CARTER: That's why Americans are still haunted by McCarthyism.
TRUMP: Are you a fan of Say Yes to the Dress (TLC)?
CARTER: My wife loves that show!
====
On the field, uniformed or costumed festive female cheerleaders guide fans and support the general sports-arena and fanfare aura with colorful dances, cheers, and pompom celebrations. This is all part of the media and social festivity towards peaceful competitive sports.
However, do we really look at why NFL cheerleaders are considered 'diplomats' of the media age? The TV-series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team looked at the ins-and-outs of cheerleader-squad management, recruitment, etiquette, and overall 'ethos' for the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) team.
We all know of those great elegiac/epic tales/fables/movies of great empires of the past such as Egypt and Rome parading the labors of slaves and the fancy of female dancers/concubines. We've come a long way in terms of women's rights since then, so today's NFL cheerleaders, while expected to dress like 'sexy models' for their teams, are nevertheless considered 'fair ladies' of gentlemanly behavior and sportsmanlike behaviors.
However, we don't want to overlook new age media age concerns/controversies which might 'cloud' what NFL cheerleaders offer to the industry, just as we wouldn't want corporate-corruption concerns in the airline industry to cloud what uniformed airline stewardesses offer to the tourism industry.
Are NFL cheerleaders diplomats of censorship-dialogue in the age of media?
====
Cheerleaders are gorgeous and expected to be fine spirited leading ladies on the playing-field so athletes and fans alike appreciate the general 'team-magic' of competitive sports. Cheerleaders train and work hard to make professional cheerleading squads, and we appreciate their personal aspirations to contribute to high-profile professional sports teams such as the Dallas Cowboys ("America's Team").
Why do we celebrate rich and glitzy images of incredible bravado and adventure and crime-fighting in comics-adapted films like The Avengers, Flash Gordon, Elektra, and Justice League? We might notice images of fantastic/unusual superheroines and villainesses in these zany films and consider how social perspectives on what is considered 'normal' have changed in the entertainment industry. A villainess might be scantily-clad or amorous, while a superheroine might in contrast be 'naturally gorgeous' or sentimental. These public perceptions of what women are expected to 'dream about' are important considerations in any discussion about censorship-contouring in the age of media-gauged pluralism politics (e.g., Picket Fences, Desperate Housewives, etc.).
A given well-marketed NFL Sunday New Orleans Saints game featuring newly-recruited and festively-costumed Saints cheerleaders dressed for Halloween (in black-outfits symbolizing the 'witching darkness season' of Halloween) reveals to audiences how media has impacted 'publicity/exposure.' You turn on your TV and you get a glimpse of vibrant pedestrian daydreams and social activity and cultural heartbeat without even having to step outside the comfort-zone of your house! This is why censorship is so weighty in this modern age of media. What do anti-American terrorists from the Middle East who view America's brand of 'liberal consumerism' as a form of 'ethics-heresy' view these American NFL images of Saints cheerleaders parading on the field to cheer on competitive men in helmets?
When I was growing up, I loved reading Archie's Comics and Sheena female-jungle heroine TV show episodes. I love the feeling of 'pedestrian imagination' in America, since it's so darn accessible and hence reflective of free-speech values. When I was applying to college as a high-school senior, I was deciding between Dartmouth College and Yale University, both prestigious Ivy League schools. In the end, I chose to focus more on my Dartmouth application, since that school offered more 'amenities' to students interested purely in the undergraduate experience. That's really what America is about --- 'spiritual shopping.'
So when you tune into an NFL Week 10 game today and watch with your wives, kids, friends (etc.), and you're impressed with the brand-new cheerleader uniforms paraded by the Kansas City Chiefs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or New England Patriots squads, consider why/how the 'aesthetics' of gender-profiling has changed in the age of televised crime-fighting (Cops), industry-documenting (Airline), and model-shows (America's Next Top Model).
Remember, your kids will want to know why an iconic actress is featured in a fantasy-adventure film about a space-hero tackling an evil kingdom on an alien planet. Such an actress, portraying a very deadly villainess, will prompt your kids to wonder what is permissible on modern television and in the movies. Parental-controls on cable-boxes go so far, and after that, you have to think about what politicians and social pundits are saying about the contouring of media-entertainment with ethics and values concerns.
We American men love the NFL. We want to tune into an easy-going and action-packed NFL game on Sunday in November leading up to Thanksgiving football. We want chicken-wings, pizza, and pie to complement our football-viewing experience. Hey, it makes TV better, right? Should we think of ourselves as 'culture cops' (since we're 'monitoring' cultural-heartbeats every NFL Sunday on TV)?
A recent story about the allowances of femininity portrayals on TV in China was presented on CNN in America. We Americans are curious about what other cultures are doing in terms of gender-politics and the aesthetics of media, so we want to keep even closer tabs on what we're doing ourselves! After all, it's all about solid journalism these days...
The Hallmark Channel offers high-quality family-values oriented programming every holiday season (which runs from Halloween October to Thanksgiving November and through Christmas December). These three months of values-themed television complement the three months of high-action NFL Sunday programming. Americans eat it all up with a spoon. So we want to consider the contours of 'gender-aesthetics' on NFL-TV and Hallmark-TV. Here's a really easy way to approach this whole 'media-censorship-gender-marketing' issue --- "Would you want your daughter to be an actress in a Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel or an NFL New Orleans Saints cheerleader?"
TRUMP: I'm a fan of the Hallmark Channel.
CARTER: It's a nice amenity for housewives tired of NFL Sunday TV.
TRUMP: Last night, I had a dream an airline stewardess was threatening me!
CARTER: What?
TRUMP: Yes, she was angry about my sex-scandal allegations in the media.
CARTER: Sounds like you've been 'brooding' about journalism again.
TRUMP: Hey, journalism separates democracy from communism.
CARTER: That's why Americans are still haunted by McCarthyism.
TRUMP: Are you a fan of Say Yes to the Dress (TLC)?
CARTER: My wife loves that show!
====
