Group Project- Women In Media

Group Project-Women In Media

The Celluloid Closet

          The Celluloid Closet is a must see documentary surveying the various Hollywood depictions of homosexuals throughout the history of North American film. In relation to gender norms, this film touches on what it means to be a man or women in the 1960’s. It was a scary place for gays because they felt criminalized for thinking certain ways. It was a confession of sort to come out of the closet followed by tears and lost relationships. Many argue this feeling of guilt has subsided, but I do not think that is true. I believe people still fall victim to this belief that their sexuality defines them and that they must confess their true feelings. 

            I felt the same pressure as many people coming to terms with their sexuality in the 60’s because people still assimilate negativity with homosexuals. Thus, our coming out experience is no less of a confession of our guilt. What are we guilty of? Being ourselves? Love is love as far as I’m concerned. Even off camera, actors and actresses did not discuss these troubles. And when they are on screen having these powerful performances, it’s amazing how accurate they can portray coming out.

            Movies have enormously shaped our culture and perspective of people, which still lingers todays. If filmmakers were more responsible in the past, society’s collective view of gays might be less troublesome today. I found that movies had so much to do with stereotyping homosexuals and how they should act. It’s profound how much of an impact film have on how gays act and how we treat them in reality. The documentary touches on England census takers; they would ask you if you have met a homosexual. If the answer was yes, they would ask what they were like, “just like everyone else,” responded Quentin Crisp. If they answered no, they would describe someone with grand gestures and a vibrant personality (rolls eyes). On a lighter note, I believe we have come along way since it was taboo and I hope we can continue moving in this direction.

Social Media: Gilts and Glamour

            Everyone’s experience on social media is different. Most people explore the leisure aspect with Instagram, scrolling through reels of beautiful sunsets and selfies sitting comfortably on the toilet. Tumblr users as well, discover this voyeuristic attachment with re-blogging waving bears and six packs. My relationship with social media is more formal than most.

Being a YouTuber, there are certain obligations to maximize branding and marketing on these platforms. I tend to use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr as a quick form of communication when I post a new video on YouTube. Reason being, each social platform has its own unwritten rules. For example, I don’t repost the same description and link about my video to all of these; instead I selectively choose the best phrase for each. With Twitter, it’s all about being concise, witty, and original. Instagram is all about having that one shot that best sums up an entire video. How? Yeh, I am sure most people would agree it’s a bit much to ask, but that seems to be the status quo.

These platforms help me sell myself to those willing to click follow or subscribe. It’s a chance for everyone to build an empire from nothing but a few snap shots and ideas. This is my experience with social media. Most posts are thought out and meant for something. Like in films, everything has a purpose, and if it doesn’t, it gets cut. It’s a balancing act on some level, but for the most part it’s a chance to practice branding in the 21^st century. With nearly 200,000 subscribers on YouTube and 50k on Instagram, its safe to say I’ve ‘played the game.’  But to be honest, once you have a following it takes the person aspect away and that’s why I still have a Facebook dedicated to my close family and friends. It goes without saying that numbers aren’t everything (or anything) it's how you choose to use them, good or bad.

Normalizing Homosexuality

Our discussion today got me thinking. Mainly about when I was a young closeted teenager seeking advice for my future. I found a sense of community on YouTube from coming out videos and gay men and women who express their struggles online. It never occurred to me that my friends and family were going to accept me for being gay and I created a strong sense of hate that may come from it. Finding support online gave me strength within a crowned world of homophobes. It gave me strength to come out to my family two years ago. Today, they still hug me, love me, and most importantly, support me. Bringing my boyfriend to family gatherings still scares me a bit but hiding is not an option. Like Ellen expressed in her thesis, it’s a liberating experience that yearns for true identity and self-worth beyond measure. This is why I created my own channel, to give back to so many that helped me. The community is real. The exclusion felt when you’re not invited to a slumber party or lunch table in the cafeteria is felt by many gay man and women. Ellen did not solve the “coming out” confession although she pointed it in the right direction. The joke is that straight people don’t have to come out, so why should gay people, which tugs at the idea of heternormativity- which in my opinion is everyone. Today, it would still be weird to ask your friend Matt if he has a girlfriend or boyfriend. Naturally, you are going to assume he is straight unless he states otherwise. Either way, normalizing homosexuality has made a large leap in 20 years ago. Cheers Ellen.

My Youtube Story

One year ago I begin making videos on YouTube. For a while I couldn’t find my niche; I bounced around making daily vlogs to more formal sit down discussions. Being a telecommunications major I had the tools necessary to create content but it wasn’t being interpreted as I had hoped. I wasn’t a “YouTuber” yet. I was just a kid with a camera, and for those familiar with YouTube there’s much more to it than that. In May 2013 I met a guy named Ethan. Today, we have been dating for nearly nine months. It was then I found my niche.

After months of filming videos alone with around 1,000 views per video and a subscriber count of 3,500, we surpassed that number within a few days. In a weeks time my channel had 20,000 subscribers. A video we made together entitled Awkward Kissing appeared on several sites including the Huffington Post. The video consisted of us performing a number of classically awkward kisses, which seemed juvenile at the time. We made our first video together on May 29^th and since then we have made over 40.

Since Awkward Kissing, we have developed a brand and are slowly expanding our demographic. Our main demographic are homosexuals, obviously, but it’s far broader than that. Being that we are comfortable with ourselves at an early stage in life, people seek our help for endless reasons. Accepting yourself exceeds sexuality, thus we aim to provide anonymous responses to anyone in need. YouTube has been the biggest ‘game changer’ either of us has experienced; we only hope to continue for years to come.

Being in front of a camera is like being on stage; you have the attention of your audience and what you say and do can be powerful. YouTube, as an alternative media, gives Ethan and I a voice; one that can be heard around the world while it was once recorded in a small town in Indiana. I begin every video with a motto and it goes like this, “Good morning everyone, its gonna be a great day and do you know why… because everyday is a great day.” Clearly, this motto isn’t accurate based on the ups and downs we experience in our daily lives but I’d like to think just being alive makes a day great.

Google bought YouTube in 2006, since then they have adopted Google’s intricate analytical system. And with this, users are able to monitor their personal statistics from playback locations, ad performance, and audience retention. On average, our videos run between five to seven minutes. On average, our viewers will watch a video for three minutes. However, these numbers fluctuate with video uploads, which are every Monday, in case you were wondering. You don’t need to be an expert on analytics to understand these numbers. Think about the last time you watched a YouTube video, the cute kitten thumbnail caught your eye on the sidebar and you were gone.

 I will be honest; half the stuff Google provides us is complete gibberish to me but to the right person, its gold. There is something I do understand, that’s if someone clicks on our video and immediately decides to click away, that number is recorded as a view. When this occurs, our retention rate averages are skewed, but those are just numbers. As a YouTuber, we are constantly brainstorming new video ideas to reach a broader audience. Recently, I wrote a video called A Day in the Life of MarkE Miller. My intention was to create a short two-minute video that showed my daily routine from when I woke up in the morning to when I closed my eyes at night. Being that it was only two minutes, substantially shorter than our typical videos, it had the highest average percentage viewed of all my videos of 79% and 105,000 views in one week. You’re thinking, “Mark, just make shorter videos and your retention will increase,” and I cannot argue with that logic. However, I know our average viewer appreciates our longer videos as they can temporarily escape their world and enter ours.

Ethan and I provide a comfort zone that many gay men and women cannot experience in their own lives. Its saddening yes, but their day will come when they can feel comfortable in their own skin. Like I always say, it doesn’t matter if you’re 15 or 50, there’s no right time to come out, the time is right when you feel it in your heart. I felt this two years ago and ever since I haven’t once regretted it. Ethan is my true happiness in life and I credit him for helping me find myself. Currently, we are followed by 155,000 of the most lovable subscribers.

Well this blog turned out a little different than I had imagined. It’s a cluster of personal and somewhat professional details of my life but thanks for taking the time to read this and if you would like to contact me for any reason, please do not hesitate. 

My YouTube Channel: MarkE Miller

Parasocial Relationships

Recently, Parks and Recreation has been an obsession of mine. Tom Haverford is a character that works at City Hall, played by Aziz Ansari. Tom’s life philosophies resemble mine in certain ways. Obviously he’s dimwitted and goofy but maybe that’s why I like him. An afternoon with Aziz is sure to put a smile on your face and personally I enjoy laughing, it’s good for you, right? My relationship with Aziz is one-sided but in many ways that’s a good thing. For instance, I’ve watched his stand up routines after falling for him in Parks and Rec and ever since he’s been my little pick me up. So I guess the root of my obsession comes from my state of mind. He helps me with state management, which is a great tool to stay productive.

A healthy parasocial relationship can help people cope with little struggles. I find nothing wrong with fan-girling over A-listers as long as you enjoy them in moderation. The article we read about Twilight fans having difficulties separating fiction from nonfiction is an example of an unhealthy parasocial relationship and sadly people won’t change. Aziz and I will probably never chat about life over a pitcher of beer (but I wish) and I keep that in mind when sustaining my relationship with him. I keep it on the surface and try not to develop any further feelings for him or the way he makes me feel. Aziz is not the only one, I am an avid YouTuber and I share plenty of parasocial relationships with my subscriptions. And as weird as it may sound, I know my viewers have parasocial relationships with me because I can tell by their comments and suggestions online. It’s as if people know me through my videos because I share personal information with them. So I suppose its expected, just as Aziz expects people to connect with him and his comedy. 

Check out my YouTube channel if you're interested: MarkE Miller