Stars and stripes have represented the united states in many different media forms. Sometimes being portrayed as a positive symbol provoking patriotism, while other times being used as a negative symbol to show other perspectives on America’s actions. The examples I picked that depict this trope show how different forms of media and locations portrayed…
The idea of Lady Columbia first originated in a poem from 1697 by Samuel Sewall who proposed “Columbina” to be the name for the American colonies in honor of Christopher Columbus. It wasn’t until 1775 during the American Revolution war that it gained popularity through a poem written by a black slave, Phillis Wheatley where…
Many previous posts acknowledged snakes within the media (such as Andy Li’s recent post), however, I wanted to focus more specifically on snakes within health media. Since the Enlightenment, snakes have taken on a series of different roles, ranging from biblical backgrounds representing greed and temptation to other interpretations of serpents as wise (Matthew 10:16).…
Throughout the media, snakes have been portrayed as a notorious creature with bad connotations. The earliest connotation we saw with this trope originated from the bible where the snake led Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden apple. With its long and venomous teeth on top of the implication of greed and temptation, we began…
For this assignment, I chose rats as my trope. When first looking over the description of this assignment, I began to think about images that I have seen in the media and which were the most impactful. It was at this time that I distinctly remembered being in my modern American history class here at…
Performing services for an individual, group or organization; a hero is one who is willing to risk their lives in defense of certain ideals. “The key to heroism is a concern for other people in need” (Zimbardo 2011). Heroes serve great deeds to society and also function as an indicator of that society’s morality and…
Asians in American popular culture and media have been subjected under-representation, and when rarely an appearance is made, it is often unfairly stereotyped and marginalized. These prejudices can trace their roots back to the Yellow Terror starting in the late 19th century. It must be acknowledged that a perception of the “Other” is experienced in…
A widely popular trope utilized and seen across mostly western media is the cowgirl trope. This trope is unique in the sense that it portrays women in a more strong and powerful way than most tropes involving women in the media’s history. The cowgirl persona is known for being a skilled shooter and rider, and…
In this example from Ephriam S. Well’s Rough on Rats (1886) advertisement, the trope of a rat represents death, impurity, racism, and eradication. There is a large dead rat at the top of the image and a very stereotypical and racist depiction of an Asian man eating the rat. This imagery is based on anti-asian sentiments…
The trope of Native Americans in American history is problematic to say the least. Since the beginning of the settling of North America by the Spanish in 1565, the indigenous groups have been at odds with these newcomers—often meet with the results of famine, violence, disease, and colonization. Yet, even though these indigenous groups are…
Example 1 (medium=poster): “Yellow Peril” is a eurocentric metaphor that highlights Asians, and more specifically East Asians, as a threat to society. This trope used by the media, Asians as people to be feared, has an extensive history, and the term “Yellow Peril” dates back to before World War One. Pictured below is an American…
The use of the eagle as a trope in the media is widely known and very recognizable. The eagle, especially when used in the media is commonly associated with being a symbol of the United States. Specifically, the bald eagle has been the nation’s emblem since 1782. Upon the sight of a bald eagle, some…
There is no doubt about the disproportionate sexualization of women in media compared to men. We see it in almost every genre of media, and in the United States advertising of products causes us to confront hyper-sexualization of women every day. One of the most recognizable sex-symbol tropes in media is pin-up portraits. A pin-up…
The “femme fatale” trope is defined as a portrayal of a female character as “an irresistibly attractive woman, especially one who leads men into difficult, dangerous, or disastrous situations” (Source). I was drawn to this trope because of how enigmatic it is because the most dominant characteristics of this trope exist on two total opposite…
Damsel in Distress Trope Rachael Litavecz This 1953 advertisement for ketchup reads, “You mean a woman can open it?” (“Beyond Belief: Shocking Vintage Adverts from the ‘Golden Age’ “). The advertisement features a close-up of a woman’s face and her holding a ketchup bottle. The advertisement’s imagery and text promotes the hassle-free design of the…