In researching for my voices project, I explored how relationships were portrayed throughout different forms of media, including art, literature, popular music, and even romantic movies. The two most influential ideas that I learned from my research were as follows:
- Women were leaders in defying social norms and gender roles- some in quite similar ways. Both Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican painter, and Edna Millay, the prominent American poet, advocated for female liberties within their relationships with men. They also championed sexual liberty as well, both women partaking in either open or extramarital affairs. They challenged the conventional perspectives on women’s roles in a patriarchal society that confined women to motherhood and marriage, inspiring entire generations of women to redefine their female identity into something more complex and truthful.
- So much can be learned from the evolution of songs from the 1980s until modern times. When I was researching relationships being depicted through music, I found that some 1980s songs actually promote unrealistic expectations of love. It was perpetuated that love will conquer the trials of any relationship, and that there was that one true love, a one true soulmate. However, contrasted with songs like in the album Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, by Halsey, relationships go beyond these romantic tropes and become more nuanced. With the recurring waves of feminism following into the 21st century, more sexual and gender identities are represented in music and pop culture, with women embracing a more empowered role that is in control. The main characters of Halsey’s imagined world experience a loss of their true selves, yet as much as they choose this path for themselves, they choose to let go.
From my project, I hope that others learn about both the positive and negative effects of media representation of fictional relationships. This topic is incredibly nuanced, especially among various generations of people and social evolution. The tropes continually expressed in the media and pop culture, conveying the model romantic relationship within heteronormative standards, have long been a part of patriarchal societies. As an ever changing society, we should try to move beyond this tradition of achieving perfection within relationships and expecting those within a relationship to act according to those tropes.
In my time at NNHS, I have learned that hard periods of life come at the most inopportune moments, and that the only thing I can do is to persevere through those moments. High school is absolutely not the idealized version that I have seen in TV shows and movies. It is not riddled with overly enthusiastic students circulating their lives around drama, but more realistic. There are those that are so driven by passion and others that burn out after working so hard for so long, that may have very little passion. Nor was my high school experience full of Euphoria type issues with substance abuse and somehow very little studying. In order to survive, I had to acknowledge my academic limits and find some spark of energy within myself to keep on going.
For future NNHS seniors, I hope you do not romanticize high school, to really explore how you work and interact with others. Find something that you are passionate about, things you truly love without pretending to, and commit yourself to them. At the end of the day, these things, no matter how big or small, will be a source of energy for a last push towards the next step in your life.
Isabel,
Your video was so interesting! I really liked your research question too! I found your examples of the leadership roles women had to be very inspiring. I love how you expanded beyond traditional media and art and included examples of your research question in music as well. A lot of love in music, as well as movies, is completely unrealistic. Media from several years ago, like in the 20th century, distorts what real relationships were actually like. Overall, great video and blog post!
Hi Isabel, your analysis for your research project was incredible. I really admire how you looked at media representation from both a positive and negative light. While artists like Frida Kahlo helped emphasize female voices and sexuality, a lot of the times, media and music romanticize what love is supposed to be and thus can lead to a lot of underrepresentation.
The thing that stood out to me the most was the depth in terms of time periods and the breadth of the ideas that you covered. It was interesting to see how machismo in the time of Frida Kahlo was similar to how certain stereotypes are being defied by artists like Halsey in the current day.
What connected with me most was how you extended this idea of romanticizing love to life in general. High school is quite an unpredictable time as is life after as well, and it’s paramount that we understand that life will not be as glorious as others may portray it to be. As such, it is necessary that we deal with this “imperfect” version of life with gratitude and persistence.
Hi Isabel! Firstly, I thought your presentation was extremely empowering as it talked about topics that may be considered taboo to even think about. The typical forms of breaking through societal expectations right now still don’t include the standardized role that women play in relationships – child-bearers and husband pleasers. It was also super interesting to listen to a presentation about women being entrapped in norms as my own project was about the emasculation of males and how it would explain their need for order and casual superiority in the home life. Thanks for such an interesting read and I definitely do appreciate your advice as I will take it to heart in college.