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The Proper Self

Sociology as a course aids in the study of the myriad ways the human society influences

individuals. Through a keen analysis of the sociological perspective, it is possible to identify

corresponding patterns of the society, which may seem specific to particular people.

Understanding oneself within the society is crucial since it helps one accept him or herself, as

well as blend well with people around him or her. Myself I belong to the middle-class section of

the society I am a young person with desires to love and to be loved, and I often find myself

influenced by the society around me especially the social media. Regarding how the society

influences individual behaviors, it is imperative to deeply analyze how various scholars represent

masculinity and femininity in their works, in a bid to understand what the society terms as the

“proper” self.

A critical analysis of Dreamworlds 3 by Sut Jhally will aid in deconstructing how the

contemporary media, music, and videos shape individual behavior within the society. This video

by Sut Jhally aids in investigating the social constructs influenced by various music videos,

extensively portraying how these videos shape cultural ideals of individualism, masculinity as

well as femininity. Applying the sociological aspect of deconstructing the strange from the

familiar, one is quick to understand how human bodies and especially those of women used in

advertisements have been converted into a type of currency (Jhally). In this film, Jhally clearly

depicts how misogyny has continued to take shape within the society through objectification.
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Regarding relationships, Music videos According to Jhally have also focused on the fact

that fetishized women will often crave for a particular hyper-masculine represented man, which

is socially troubling since most of them will live in a dreamland and the real world will dawn to

them when it is too late. These women will often develop a fantasy for the ideal masculine man

represented in the images and therefore will find it hard to develop relationships with men that

fail to fit those descriptions (Jhally). It is sad that the society is often swayed towards developing

various attitudes on sexuality, which are dangerous, eventually eroding our ethical and moral

standards (Jhally). Jhally, therefore, calls for everyone to deeply analyze images from the videos

and not to take meanings for granted. The stories and erosion of moral values as depicted by

Jhally relate directly to most other young people and me. Young people conform easily to the

values portrayed in these media, believing that by doing so they will adapt to the “proper” self.

Watching Dreamlands 3 related directly to me as a young person, since I have found

myself drooling over certain celebrities who have been featuring in several music videos,

commercials as well as films. Often, I find myself rejecting advances from age mates that fail to

measure up to my fantasies, and this has led to a lot of psychological torture. In fact, I have also

found myself engaging in some morally unacceptable behaviors influenced by these celebrities

such as using vulgar language unknowingly. This proper self-depicted by the music videos and

commercials have not shaped me in the best way, and I feel that it would be better if I start

viewing them keenly to understand what is healthy for me to conform to and what will ruin me

socially. Therefore, it is safe to say that the pop culture has influenced my self-image, but

watching Jhally’s video have impacted me differently since now I will be able to critically

analyze any video that I watch before conforming to the general ideals it portrays.
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Works Cited

Jhally, Sut. "Dreamworlds — Desire, Sex, and Power in Music Videos." Thought Maybe, Sut

Jhally, 2007, thoughtmaybe.com/dreamworlds-desire-sex-and-power-in-music-videos/.

Accessed 29 June 2017.