Miss America Pageant Reflection By John Oliver

Satire reflects in different ways on our society today. While satire was all over back then today we mainly see it in political cartoons and on television. On television there are show such as the Colbert Report and John Oliver who relay "news reports" to viewers. They are poking fun at the news going in the world today. One of the biggest shows of Satire is SNL. Most recently they have had "Trump" on and have been making fun of presidential career thus far. In today's society the big butt and boobs are the goal for many up and coming stars. For television hosts this gives a chance for them to make parody's of them. For example, Ellen DeGeneres has dressed up as a fictional cousin of the Kardashians. In this costume she has the big hair, big

The article “Toddlers in Tiara’s” by Skip Hollandsworth based off the popular TV show Toddlers and Tiara’s, converses the sexualization of the girls who participate in American beauty pageants. Hollandsworth parleys the effects beauty pageants could possibly have on those who participate in the pageants, such as development and emotion problems. Using the appeals of logic, emotion and ethics in a serious and informative tone he persuades his audience of parents, pageant participants and viewers of the widely known TV show the negative effects of being an American Beauty Pageant contestant. Hollandsworth gains credibility by referencing the opinions of different professionals and authorities. Before the death of JonBenet many Americans didn’t

Life is a never ending sequence of problems. Every person has to learn to overcome them throughout his or her life to better themselves. In the story, I Want to be Miss America, by Julia Alvarez, she tells the story of how she and her sisters adapted to American style and culture. Her family came from the Dominican Republic. At a young age, they watched the Miss America Beauty Pageant, which show portrayed the ideal woman. So, the sisters changed their looks to appear like the women on the show. It was not until the 1960’s that their previous Dominican style, became the new trend in America. In the story, A Choice of Weapons, by Gordon Parks, talks about when he was a journalist/photographer going to Washington D.C. for a job at a local newspaper.

The essay “I want to be Miss America” is narrated by Julia Alvarez, a hispanic teenager who was willing to change the way she looked just so that she looked more like an "American" girl. When watching the Pageant with her sisters, Julia’s thoughts were: “I knew I would never be one of those girls ever... she was - An American- and we were not" ( Alvarez 22). They started complaining about their height, the texture of their hair, their body, and even their style, They started making changes to their way of clothing, and all of a sudden The colorful outfits that mom would pick for them like “fuchsia skirts with matching vests, flowered dresses with bows at the neck” (Alvarez 13) were described by Julia as “something someone might wear in a foreign country”(Alvarez 13). When Julia realizes that being an American girl isn’t the only definition of beauty, and sees that the ethnic looks, that she once used to have, became more popular is when she finally realized that she could’ve stayed beautiful in her own way. She felt “a gratifying sense of

Both of these excerpts come from a new title called representation, and this is accurately shown in both excerpts. It fits into this category, because it shows how Americans think of beauty as a representation to your mentality . We see in " I Want to be Miss America " that Americans have a predicament in the way we see women in terms of beauty and capability . The author of this excerpt describes the ambition of young a girl , which is adjusting to an American lifestyle , to be Miss America . The Immigrants now understand that fitting in is an important part of the American lifestyle , and affects our daily lives .

Significance: In regards to the significance of these claims, the examination of how women are objectified spans a wide spectrum from appearance to persona. To hone in on this, the reading “No More Miss America” provides clear evidence as to why beauty pageants are a negative influence

Beauty pageants are an unnecessary entertainment of society because they set unrealistic beauty standards for an audience of easily influenced young women. In the world of beauty pageants, there is only one kind of beauty. This one kind of beauty is "Barbie": tall, long-legged, tiny waist, straight white teeth, long thick hair. These beauty pageants can be misleading and harmful, not only to women without this body type, but also to society as a whole. The standard that beauty pageants strive for is not an all-encompassing idea of beauty, but one that is shallow and looks only at a woman's physical appearance. In a study released in September 2013, 131 female beauty pageant contestants from 43 states completed an anonymous study. 26% reported that they had been told or perceived they had an eating disorder, 48.5% reported wanting to be thinner and 57% were trying to lose weight. Beauty pageant organizers have striven for years to ensure that contestants have an opportunity to show their skills before they are crowned a "beauty queen", but the reality is that a woman not fitting the unrealistic ‘Barbie’ physical standards of beauty competition would never be considered to win a competition.

Each titleholder has a platform. A platform is a non-profit organization the young women can relate to or feel passionate about to make a difference. The title holders make appearances and hold events throughout their year of service. In addition to her personal platform, Miss America remains as a goodwill ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. This national platform provides the Miss America Organization the opportunity to not only raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, but to also raise extra money for the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Scholarship Foundation. It increases exposure and awareness in both organizations. The driven women want to serve their community and be that role model to the younger generation. Young girls think Miss America is a real princess and watch her every move. The crown might look pretty and shiny, but it does so much more—it makes a

The NYRF protest critiqued both the representation side of the behavioral expectation of “traditional women” as well as the structural side of the obstacles that women faced within social institutions such as labor and educational opportunities. With the representative side “traditional women” promoted by the Miss American Pageant, it reinforced women’s submissive and sexist inferiority and racial beauty criteria within the structural side to be approval by men. However, there was intersectionality in the structural obstacles and representation side extending the social discrimination based on

This being said satire helps our generation realize there is a big problem and gives us solutions without straight out telling us what we need to do. Satire is an important part of our society today because we like to know what is going on but we do not just want to here depressing news and satire brings a bright side to tough subjects. Our whole generation acts like children if we are told to do something we probably will not do what is asked but if the same thing is brought up nicely we will be more apted to do it. We do not like to feel obliged to do anything. John Oliver is a genius when it comes to satire and being up serious situations with a funny

After reading our assigned transcripts, I have drawn a similarity in topics such as Barbie, Miss America pageant, and Marilyn Monroe. The underlying message which I found common in all readings were the importance of a women’s self-image. From the very beginning, Miss America pageants in the 1920’s based their winner primarily on their personal appearance. As the years went on, gender stereotyping became more frequent. In television ads that were running during the 1950’s had shown women as the “perfect “package.

Satire is constantly evolving in order to maintain with the times. As technology, culture and humanity change and grow, satire is forced to grow with it. Satire of our modern time is more likely to be found on our phones than on print, more likely on a television than a telegram. By merging with pop culture, in forms of Family Guy and Comedy Central news shows, these forms of satire are able to stay relevant. But, despite the change in medium, the purpose of satire and effect of satire holds true. Modern satire, just as that of past satire, sheds light on the problems of our society through ridicule and mockery, without reinforcing and further cementing the stereotypes and prejudices they are trying to expose.

Today, comedy news shows are becoming progressively more popular, and in so, becoming a new source of information – which may, or may not, be a positive consequence. Most comedians twist the truth in order to connect to people and make them laugh. The article “A Serious Business: What Can Comedy Do?” suggests some comedians “use logic to make painful things make sense” (O’Hara 108). Satirical comedy acts as a relief mechanism in that it comforts people that may be wary about a certain subject, especially in the realm of politics. Similarly, Peter McGraw and Joel Warner discuss how comedy can act as a coping mechanism. The authors conclude that “activists all over the world have been using comedy as a form of political protest” (McGraw & Warner 147). Iain Ellis writes about how political satirists do more than just deliver jokes, they use satire “to expose, ridicule, and–implicitly–call for action and change” (Ellis 152). Ellis contends that comedy can make a difference by its constant presence in our daily lives. Socrates, Plato, and even shows like South Park believe that humor is a way to persuade others. One of the most effective expressions of humor to affect social change has been the inclusion of satire. Although humor often provides people a welcome escape from the burdens of their daily lives, the satirical comedy deconstructs social issues in various ways as a means to persuade the

Her eyes glimmer with the latest layer of eyeliner. Her cheeks, a wind-bitten pink, ache from constant smiles. She combs her hair, unaware of the damage she is inflicting on herself. She looks around. Some wear false hair, others false teeth. Every participant there is driven by the same potential outcome of beauty: meticulous hair, white smile, bright eyes, and a thin figure. Everybody strives for that same superficial facade – not the average values for a 5-year-old-girl. Since 1921 beauty pageants have been the roots of society's delusive portrayal of beauty and until they are stopped, they will continue to cause detrimental impacts on a female's perception of her self worth.

III. Beauty pageants encourage judging others by appearance, rather than inner personality and character. (Gats, Thomas)