I decided to focus my info graphic on how women are represented in the media. I broke the graphic into three section: representation of women in advertisements, television and film and the demographics of women working in the media.
So my thoughts on working with an info graphic? It was pretty fun. I initially tried to work with infogram.am, but their templates really didn't capture what I was trying to convey. I did some research and discovered Pikt0chart, and really like the layout of the template and there is a lot more effects and graphics you can use with this program.
30 Rock is a comedy series on the NBC network that centers on the character Liz Lemon who is the head writer for the fictional show TGS. The show deals with the interactions between Liz’s boss, Jack Donaghy and co-workers. According to Artz & Murphy (2000), the media depicts men as the dominant class and women are viewed as the subordinate class. Artz & Murphy (2000) discusses how Antonio Gramsci argued that hegemony is viewed in two different ways, “It provides control through consensus but also can yield change if subordinate classes challenge these controls (Artz & Murphy, 2000: 2-4) Furthermore, they argue that hegemony only exists if the subordinate classes give into these roles, “Power is best secured if subordinates by into the arrangement, agree to the terms and make the relationship theirs. Hegemony is that system of support of the subordinate.” (Artz & Murphy, 2000: 3)
In the episode Jack the Writer (1.4), Liz confronts her assistant, Cerie about how her attire is becoming distracting for the other co-workers. The clip shows the characters viewpoints of gender roles in society. Liz’s assistant, Cerie agrees to the dominant-subordinate relationship between men and women. Rather than Liz, who provides a counterhegemonic discourse that a women’s role in society is not about just settling down and becoming a housewife. She tells Cerie, “You need to wear a bra if you want to be taken seriously in this business.” (Jack the Writer, 1.4) Cherie tells her that her job isn’t long-term and that she wants to settle down and become a mother. Liz argues that being a housewife isn’t the only occupation a women can do.
There are some great series’ on cable that challenge hegemonic forms of female gender roles such as Parks and Recreation, Mad Men, and New Girl. It would be interesting to examine these current series that are on air and explore if there is a trend of women challenging a hegemonic structure for female gender roles or that these female characters give into it.
The following video shows clips of the Liz Lemon, and how these individuals find her to be a positive and relatable character:
