Have a read of the following articles and post a comment to me telling me what you think about them.
The first is about the impact of short hair on women and I would like you to think about what the length of our hair suggests about our identity. Are there cultural and gender 'norms' associated with hair styles and length? Expectations? What possible meanings do we read into shorter hair? Why do you think Emma Watson cut her hair short? What does the article suggest?
We are going to be doing a lot thinking and discussing on the concepts of culture and cultural practices. Read the article below which discusses the changing attitudes to culture and cultural practices. It might be a little tricky, but have a go and let me know what you think. What does the writer think of as art? What do you think of as art? What cultural practices does the writer comment on? Can you think of any cultural practices that have changed over the years? What point is the writer making about 'great art'?
Once you have set up your own Communication and Culture blogs, ensure you have emailed or given me your address. Then you need to post a blog explaining what you have discussed and learnt over the past week. Refer to as much terminology as you can. I expect you to update your learning blogs each week and will have a read through them. This will be a really good way to organise your thoughts and ideas on the subjects we cover, as well as keeping a record of all the fantastic new terminology you will be learning! Feel free to add any interesting articles you find while surfing the web!
Although in today's society having short hair can lead to you being stereotypically known as a lesbian, back in the day before the haircut came into fashion people thought they were ill or criminals. When more women wanted short hair and the famous film stars got their hair cut short it was accepted more in society and to the recent day role models such as Emma Watson as short hair which inspires young people to get pixie haircut without being stereotyped.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that pixie haircuts are getting more socially acceptable, mainly thanks to famous women that are talked about in the article, part of the reason they do it is to express themselves - men are allowed to grow their hair long so why shouldn't women be allowed to cut theirs short? Short hair is associated with men and is often a sign of authority and manliness (bad guys in movies are often short-haired or even bald) which could be the reason women with pixie cuts are often stereotyped as lesbians or feminists. Personally I think it's wrong and they shouldn't, I'm against stereotyping, Emma Watson isn't a lesbian or a feminist, she just likes short hair, there's nothing wrong with that, no hidden agenda it's just her.
ReplyDeleteDifferent religions and cultures have different expectations of hair. For example the Amish culture expects the girls to not cut their hair and keep it in a bonnet as they believe that everything in their life should be simple,it is seen as a crime to cut hair. While sikh's grow their hair as a symbol of respect to god.
ReplyDeleteShorter hair can be controversial, some people like it as it is seen as strong and different, i think that Emma Watson cut her hair as she needed a change as she felt more grown up and needed to move away from looking like her character in the film Harry Potter.
Pixie haircuts have been around for a few years and it's a controversial subject. The first pixie haircuts were associated to product of illness, criminality or lesbians.
ReplyDeleteHowever, these haircuts now suggest natural elegance in the right woman.
There are still a lot of people that treat pixie cuts badly.
Some women feel like these hair cuts make them feel better about themselves, such as Emma Watson. She also says she is not a 'little girl any more' which suggest she is referring pixie haircuts as a grown up style.
The article says that pixie haircuts could look good but not on every woman.
The writer of the Art article asks the basic questions about art such as 'It may be pretty or ugly but is it art?'.
The definition of art varies for everyone.
The author also says that most types of art are used for advertisement such as logos and magazines.
Cultural practices about art have changed over the years. Nowadays art is associated to everything we see, either a graffiti or a greeting card.
In my opinion, art could be anything that amazes you and reflects anything about your life. Anything that expresses feeling and emotions could be seen as art.
Different cultures have different thoughts upon hair and hairstyles. People such as Sikhs do not cut their hair and cover it up as they believe that it is a gift of God. In my culture there is a norm that men usually have short hair and women usually have long hair however people such as Emma Watson cut her hair as she believed she was no longer a little girl anymore and believed that it gave her more confidence in herself when she had it short. Many people prefer having their hair in different ways but it just depends on the person and their beliefs and how they feel comfortable. In my culture, as you get older, You do not really see old people with long hair and they usually cut it as it is easier to look after. Teenage girls usually have hair and from personal experience, I believe this is because it's easier to hide behind and so makes me feel comfortable and confident about myself and safer.
ReplyDeleteI think that short hair is traditionally associated with men and as soon as someone in the spotlight cuts their hair short it’s seen as shocking and often receives a lot of media attention, such as when Emma Watson did so. There are many negative connotations associated with shorter hair such as illness, namely cancer, and rebellious teenage years. I think that Emma Watson wanted to distance herself from being Hermione Granger and she felt that this would prove she had grown up and was no longer that teenager any more. Short hair highlights the facial features and I feel this is why you have to have a certain degree of confidence to cut your hair short as a woman. This could also link in with the fact that most teenage girls have long hair, because it can be used to hide behind. Age is important when it comes to particular hairstyles, for example you never see an older woman with really long hair, they tend to have it shorter and cropped.
ReplyDeleteI think that many things can be art, and I don’t think it has to be a physical object. Someone’s skill can be an art, for example, and I think that this is looked past because many people think art is a painting or sculpture. The writer talks about different traditions and cultural practices such as the folk dancing in Bulgaria. I think traditions differentiate countries and places and give each one their own identity, such as England being associated with fish and chips. I think that cultural practices are constantly changing and things that my parents, for example, would have done at my age no longer happen, or at least as often. I think as a country we are getting less traditional and cultural practices that used to exist don’t anymore. The journalist is suggesting that great art is things that stand the test of time and not just a passing fad or something that is ‘in’ for a short time. She gives examples such as Picasso, an artist who, if you know a lot about, you may be seen as ‘cultured’. Whereas if you are educated and enthusiastic in Lady Gaga, for example, you may seem less cultured. I don’t necessarily agree with this and feel that great art can be something that is passing and doesn’t have to be seen as great when it reaches a certain age or length of time.
The pixie haircut has never been well responded by society today, however by making the choice to have the 'chop' it can completely change a women's identity. For example the actress Emma Watson chose the pixie haircut after she finished her main role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, to show her transformation from a girl to a women. This inspired her peers to do the same and setting a new trend for short hair. Overall the pixie haircut has always been not well responded however it can now be classed as a sophisticated and in powering style.
ReplyDeletesociety has never been a fan of the pixie haircut. Many women choose to do this because they want to change there identity. An example of this would be the actress Emma Watson, she chose to do this because she didn't want people to know her as the girl from harry potter, she wanted to change her identity to show she has become a woman and she is nit a kid no more.
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ReplyDeleteI think short hair is considered the 'the norm' when on a male, but when a girl has short hair like a pixie cut it is not considered 'the norm'. This is because society see's women to have long hair and men with short. I personally think that when women have very short pixie cut, it is either one of two things, they want to break away from the 'norm' and want to prove their confidence and do something different or people don’t want to deal with their hair everyday so cut it so it is easier to manage. I think Emma Watson knew that if she cut all her hair off, it would cause her to get a lot of publicity but it also signifies a new chapter of her life beyond harry potter.
ReplyDeleteI think short hair is generally considered as a male hairstyle and is a controversial choice when women decide to get theirs cut. Despite it being less of an extreme style now, female celebrities who get the 'pixie cut' still receive lots of attention from the media for their decision. Although it is associated with men it can also be associated with elegance and maturity, for example Emma Watson had it cut as a sign of 'not being a little girl anymore'. She made the decision due to the end of Harry Potter which shows she was trying to break away from the ‘young girl’ image which the media had given her. I also think short hair promotes a sense of self confidence in women because of it being such a big change.
ReplyDeletemany women have choosed as part of their identity for instance JudiDench since 60s and still as light headed as ever. some part of the society are not very familiar that women's can have short hair because of their culture an example in Asia and middle East.
ReplyDeleteIt is a positive thing that celebrities with pixie haircuts are inspiring other women to get their hair cut short without worrying about what other people will think. However, I don't think this should have been the case in the first place. The pixie haircut would be/is seen as boyish by many people as it is traditional for boys to have short hair and girls to have long hair. I think boys should be able to have long hair if they want and girls to have short hair without having to worry how they will be perceived by so many people that have preconceived ideas about the length of peoples hair and the gender it 'belongs' to.
ReplyDeleteIn the article is says "Teenage Cécile's naive do separates her from the grownups she longs to join" which is a complete contrast of when Emma Watson says "Right, I'm 20, I'm not a little girl any more" These two comments shows how the view on pixie cuts has drastically changed over the years. Emma Watson felt like she was always identified as Hermione in the Harry Potter films rather than Emma Watson herself. She wanted to move away from that identity and believed she needed to hold a new mature look to do so.
ReplyDeleteI think that even though the pixie hair cut has been around for a while now modern society has still not adjusted to it to a certain extent. Alot of people used to associate the short hair cut with someone who had an illness or someone who had donated their hair to a charity, however i think now if a celebrity has a shorter hairstyle it inspires more women to cut their hair, and portray it in a feminine way, even if the public still think it isnt the 'normal' hair length for a women.
ReplyDeleteThe writer spoke about how every has different views about art.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion is the same as the writer, i think art can be anything that expresses something to someone. Culture wise everything has changed as we view most things that we see daily as art
The pixie cut has never been popular in society, but girls going from long hair to pixie cut completely changes their identity in which many girls aim for sometimes. Short hair is often associated with boys/men, so when a female has short hair some people see it as them trying to be less feminine and when celebrities get the pixie cut they get a lot of attention- good or bad, either way they like it.
ReplyDeleteIn films short hair is often seen in a negative way as it represents someone extremely ill such as a cancer patient. Many people see it as a horrible cut on women but some think it suggests a natural elegance, the majority of women who cut their hair short are a bit older and maybe want to show people they're "not a little girl anymore" and they're becoming a women.
I think art can be expressed in many different ways depending on the person creating the art, I personally didn't think Tracey Emins piece of work was art as it is a pretty basic and easy piece. The piece was hugely criticised by the public, her work was a taste of new art. For example Monets work was disliked when it was first published but now it famously known worldwide. So maybe because this is a insight of new art, thats why its disliked.
ReplyDeleteArt is very subjective, I personally don't think an unmade bed is art I think it's just being lazy. Art is making something pretty/beautiful and not necessarily giving it a meaning but it's kind of spontaneous and it's difficult not to because it's done for a reason and that reason itself can be the meaning and the message.
ReplyDeleteThe tribal projectile vomiting practice isn't really art, it's a tradition, even the people themselves said that it's stupid to think of it as a rite of passage, they just do it for fun.
When people think of art they usually think of paintings and drawings but I think art can be found in different things and not just the typical ideas it is associated with. Musicians can be classes as artists despite them not being traditional artists who produce paintings. The writer believes that art is things which have stood the test of time but I think modern art is considered as art too.
ReplyDeleteI believe that people see art in different way, if someone classes something as art and another doesn’t, that is acceptable because art does not always have one meaning it can mean a number of different thing to different people. I think someone seeing Picasso as an amazing artist and another not, if fine because it is how everyone interprets it .
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