Exploration 1- Beauty Pageants

For my first observation I went to a coaching session for two girls who are training for a national pageant in July. I had spent some time talking to both the girls and the coach before the session started and I couldn’t believe how quickly they changed into “pageant character” once the training had began. The thing that stood out to me the most during observation was the emphasis they placed on each contestant’s platform. I had no idea what they were referring to when I was observing, but after talking to one of the girls I was able to understand what all goes into this aspect of pageantry. They are each required to pick a topic and try to promote awareness for that particular issue in the community through interacting with people, holding tournaments, speaking at schools, etc. I was completely unaware of the multifaceted nature of the scholarship pageant these girls are competing in. Not only must they contribute hundreds of hours of community service and promoting their platform, but they must hit the gym several times a week to prepare for the fitness event, train themselves intellectually for the interview portion, find the perfect dress and outfit for the other two events, collect sponsors, sell ads in the program, and spend countless hours working with their coach to modify their posture, walk, smile, and spin, just to name a few. For the entire hour and a half session the coach was doing all of the talking. She would occasionally ask a simple question to one of the girls but the majority of the time she was lecturing them on specific details or she would have them stand or walk a specific distance so she could critique them. The coach was somewhat harsh in my opinion, but it is clear she wants the girls to do their best in the pageant and attain their personal goals.
I learned a lot from just watching these girls interact with the coach, but during the interview is when I was able to ask those specific questions and learn about the pageant technicalities. For instance, as an outsider I was unlearned about the difference between beauty pageants and scholarship pageants. Evidently there is a major difference in the types of events and the girls who compete in them as well. Scholarship pageants are very centered on community service and accomplishments where beauty pageants are geared more towards the outward appearance and physical image. I am still curious about what some of the driving motivations are behind competing in pageants and what these women hope to gain out of their years of commitment. One thing that was interesting to me was the importance that the coach placed on basically living in a bubble the last month or two before competition. I have heard sports coaches emphasize the same thing to prevent injuries in the athletes before a big game, but this is one thing was would be very difficult for me. They are not allowed to do any kind of extreme sports such as water skiing, mountain biking, or gardening was even mentioned. These girls cannot afford any brakes, scrapes, or bruises before competition and even when they are outdoors they must apply sunscreen several times to avoid tan lines that might show in their dresses or outfits. There are a lot of things about pageantry that would be difficult for me, but not being able to wakeboard in the summer would be extremely tough.

exploration 1: field notes, observations

Erica Bond
2/25/10
ENGL 102
Unit Two: Exploration #1
Field Notes in Observance of the 12PM News at Channel 7
I have sat in on the filming of the news at Channel 7 before, but never for the purpose of observing and noting each detail, as well as forming questions. On Monday, February 22, 2010, at 12 PM, I sat in a chair my dad provided for me directly behind the camera operators on the set of the news. Pen and notepad in my lap, I was ready to discover new things about this community. There were many things that stood out to me that quickly produced a plethora of questions.
Maggie O’Mara was the news anchor on set for about the first fifteen minutes and later on Larry Gebbert joined the set. This made me wonder what determines how many news anchors need to be on set at a time. Also, I noticed the flawlessness of Maggie O’Mara’s face, and the neat appearance she presented. I thought, “I wonder if anchors get special facial treatments in order to maintain that flawless image.” At times, Maggie would just finish reporting something, and one of the many TV’s in the room would be flashing a different story, Maggie not on camera. I watched Maggie’s facial expressions, and she would often produce a slightly surprised or amused look. Did she not know all of the stories? It seemed like that would be part of the news anchor’s job, but maybe they only have to know about what they themselves are covering. During these times of Maggie being off air, I noticed secret banter and sometimes laughing going on between she and the two camera men via their ear and mouth pieces. It was clear that everyone in the news room shared a mutual respect and possibly even friendship for each other because they relied on one another to be successful.
At 12:13PM there is a break and Maggie gets up and walks to the other side of the room for a drink of water. Larry gets in position at his weather set in the same room to be filmed. A cooking lady is setting up some food on the cooking set, also in the same room. There are a total of four sets in the room. Later, Maggie sits at the business set with a man named Dan who is doing a spotlight on the “It’s Your Business” segment. As Maggie and Dan talk while they are being filmed, it seemed as though some of the things they were saying were impromptu, or spontaneous. I wondered if this had been rehearsed and was part of the script, or if they speak spontaneously a lot? -And, if they are allowed to do this, are there certain guidelines for what they say?
In observing communication between everyone in the room, I identified a few different reoccurring gestures and cues. For example, when Maggie was about to be filmed lived, the camera operator would countdown: 4,3,2, and leave a silence for 1. On the number one, he would point to Maggie and make eye contact. These camera men would also give frequent one minute warnings before they were about to film one of the anchors. What was so amazing to me, was that Larry or Maggie would be bantering back and forth, sometimes laughing only seconds before they would immediately switch modes into reporting professionally. I also noticed that Maggie practiced saying an Iraqi name right before she was filmed. Do news anchors get in trouble if they make mistakes on names? At 1:05, the news was basically over and some men brought in a couple papers and conducted a post-production meeting where they presented some new stories to Larry and Maggie, and they got to choose which stories they wanted to cover for the 5PM show. Maggie then prepped for a tease, where she would give a 5 min. preview of the stories that were going to be shown on the 5PM show. What gives her the authority to choose what is shown? How much of it can she decide is shown?
As you can see, there were many things that I developed questions about, and many things that interested me about this group. I intend to find the answers to these questions through interview and research in the near future. I still need to learn more about the background or history of this community, and try to find out what their code of ethics is, what the guidelines are for that community, etc. I plan to observe other news stations as well to get a good sample of this community, and also to go to events that news anchors will be at to serve as volunteers or to show support for the news station.

Iowa 80

I was surprised of how big this truck stop was. When I think of a truck stop i think of a small gas station and not a community. The description of the truck stop on page 27 helped construct a very vivid picture of Iowa 80 and also made me want to go there. I was intrigued about the trucker journals, how nobody wanted to talk about them and the forced cheating these truckers had to do. I wanted to learn more about these journals. I was disturbed by Dan on page 34. He sounded pissed off and miserable. I think that he has been doing this trucker business for way too long.

Iowa 80 RR Questions...

I was surprised about the amount it would take to remove/replace the fuel tanks at Iowa 80. I was intrigued about cheating on the system- especially when they were talking about transitioning over from logbooks to a computerized system. I'm disturbed by the fact that truckers have to cheat on their hours to be able to eat and get enough money- because they think it's a "government conspiracy." All of the regulations on trucking was also disturbing because these people are always away from home- the road is their home. The government doesn't always help them out and it's understandable why they are angry about it.

Iowa 80

I was intrigued by the fact that the employees of the truck stop made it their goal to be extra friendly to serve as the truckers' second home.

I was suprised, at the beginning, that truckers were not excited about new technologies and developments that were going to be implemented to their job in the future.

I was disturbed to find out that they literally had to cheat to work, referring to their logbooks and recording hours when unloading and loading conflicts would come into play.

Iowa 80

What surprised me about this article was the commonality in all responses of the truck drivers regarding the logbook or "comic book." Not a single person was okay with the current system or thought it was the least bit fair.
It was interesting to me that all the drivers were concerned that the writer was a "spotter." That alone makes me curious into how many of the drivers are not being honest in their work. It seems that they are constantly on the lookout and are slow to trust any outsider that may be working against them.
I was disturbed by all the ill feelings toward the Department of Transportation and especially the issue about loading and unloading the big rigs. I was disturbed to learn that these truck drivers are not paid to unload their trucks but are forced to either perform the work themselves, or pay a lumper who doesn't pay taxes on the money they make.

Punk artifact

artifact: bright colored hair (dyed)

page: top right of both pg. 140 & 144.

what it says about the community: demonstrates a sense of rebellion that is captured in the punk ideas of anger and desire to change the world, to add to the shock value of their image

Artifact from Waco

One main artifact that I found were the Bible and comic books on p. 140. Growing up down south in the Bible Belt, always having a Bible is seen the same way as having a cookbook when you try a new recipe- essential. I thought that it was ironic that it was the Bible that led him toward the punk life, since Southern Baptists are not condoning of any sort of alternative lifestyles or rebellion. His life was centered around the Bible- and that's what took him to the 'dark side.'

On the Inside.....

Advin Prolaz is my insider connection- he is one of my good friends and also a drag queen in his spare time.....

Sample Artifacts

My samples are the bible, comic books and horror films. I picked these artifacts because they represent their similar backgrounds and mutual tastes. These kids grew up in Waco in a very Baptist community, in which they consistently battled against set beliefs. The Bible represents the shared family background and there struggle to find some other outlet that understood their opposing views of life. Growing up they embraced pop culture, specifically comic books and horror films. These similar tastes in genre helped to bring their community together. The significance of these liked and disliked artifacts were an important aspect to viewing themselves as a community.

Sample Artifact

One of the artifacts of the punk culture would be their distinct clothing and more specifically their leather jackets. This is found on page 137 and also 143. These jackets are adorned with spikes, band names, and various logos. These jackets help these people identify with their specific community and that particular band or brand. Like it says in the text this type of clothing helps convey a message of "I'm not a normal member of society." It is also a way to be distinct and somewhat rebellious. These words and pictures represent the ideas and values of the punk culture.

Connection

My connection will be my good friends Ceci and Rick, they are both Hispanic and gay:) I plan to visit the BGLAD organization on campus as well.

Insider contact

Hey everybody,

My insider contact is my dad, Brad Bond, Local Sales Manager for KTVB News Channel 7. I already talked to him about this project and he gave me some good ideas as to who he recommended I observe and interview as far as anchors go. He gave me lots of good information that will come in handy for scheduling!

Beauty Pageant Contact

Karen Carpenter is my main contact for my research project, she is the director of the Miss Boise Program here in Idaho.

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