Zach Galifianakis, the well known actor from the movie, "The Hangover," appeared on the Bill Maher show. Showing his support for a current piece of legislation, he took things to the extreme. How does an act like this, from a man of Galifianakis' standing, influence voters? Does this portray a message that celebrities are 'above' the law? Towards the end, Galifianakis eludes to hallucinating to show how peoples perception of the drug are far from his perceived reality. He downplays weed to seem harmless. How does this affect the minds of younger viewers? adult viewers? Finally the woman who takes the joint seems to be in complete shock. What would have your response had been in her shoes? How does her reaction affect the viewers opinion of Galifianakis' stunt?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY2BlM0YmyE
Prompt 7
ReplyDeleteThe Youtube video of Zach Galifianakis casually smoking weed on "Real Time With Bill Maher," sends a clear message to viewers that smoking marijuana is a socially accepted activity. The Youtube video affects people’s values and ideas about marijuana and the law. After watching Galifianakis’ blatant disrespect and opposition to the law, viewers may also lose respect for the law and not consider the serious consequences of participating in illegal activities. Those who watch this video clip may be influenced by Galifianakis’ behavior and may question or rethink their previous ideas about drugs and social norms. The values and ideas of young viewers especially will be tested after watching this video. The reaction of the audience is also an important factor to consider. Right after Galifianakis starts smoking weed, the audience cheers, laughs, and claps suggesting a large majority support his actions and beliefs. Also, as an actor in many popular movies, Zack Galifianakis could be considered to have a strong ethos and large responsibility for influencing others.
I agree with Rachel that people who watch this video may, to some extent, be influenced, especially for teenagers who are more easier to be influenced by others since they may not be able to make judgement compeletely and correctly on some things. Besides, the reaction of the audience is also worthy consideration. Maybe they cheers for Zack Galifianakis since he is a celebrity. Or beacuse they agree that karijuana should be legal thus they are cheering.
DeletePrompt 2:
ReplyDeleteIn the comments on Youtube, the central argument that occurs (as predicted) is the users being pro or anti weed. Although this is a valid argument to have on any video that deals with the drug, most of the opinions shared in the comments are unintelligible and broad. Many are also inappropriate because it is the internet after all. Many of the pro-marijuana comments deal with smoking being socially acceptable now. As you can see, Zach Galifianakis obviously agrees with this statement so many people find an excuse to do it in him. Many other pro-marijuana comments believe that it shouldn't be illegal by comparing it to smoking cigarettes or through personal use. Anti-weed comments are few and far between and are quickly dismissed as valid arguments. However, many of the anti-marijuana comments can be seen as biased.
I feel that Zack smoking on the show was to prove a point. People cheered because of his celebrity status, much like fans do whenever a celebrity does anything and not because he was smoking marijuana. However, according to recent polls more then half of the population supports the idea of the legalization of marijuana. With that being said, the crowd could have cheer because they do all support the legalization of marijuana. Zack Galifianakis is only one of the many celebrity supports of the legalization of marijuana, and in my opinion one of the least influential because he is known for being a funny and most of his actions cannot be taken seriously.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do not believe Zach did this act to show how above the law celebrities really are, the audience's response and lack of punishment over this action prove a point. As soon as Zach lights up, the audience explodes with applause and happiness. People read about celebrities everyday cheating on spouses, getting jailed for drugs, receiving surreal paychecks from small parts in movies, and living the luxurious life most of us will never know. The lack of reprimands from this clip prove that celebrities really do play on a double standard; had a average news reporter or politician smoked anything, especially weed, on television, they would have been fired before the show was over. But because it was a celebrity, he maybe got a fine, which everyone knows he can easily pay, and then he'll move on. This video does prove a point that celebrities can get around the law because of their fame and mostly, money.
ReplyDeleteZach is known for his comical personality. It seems like most would not take an act like this from him seriously. With that being said, I know things like this are still not looked upon highly by many. A lot of people are for the legalization of marijuana. I feel as though he was taking his celebrity status and using it to his advantage to get his opinion out to the public in a way that others cant, and are scared to do because of the consequences. In a way, celebrities are above the law when it comes to things such as this. A lot of them can just buy their way out of situations. On the other hand, for all I know Zach could have a medical marijuana license and it was perfectly legal for him to do such a thing. Marijuana is a very debatable thing to many, so the issue on this is hard to have a right or wrong side on. I don't think it was a respectable thing to do on live television, but people's opinions on this matter are very different.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah's view on this situation. Celebrities always seem to have that influence that allows them to be very effective in campaigning for what they believe in. For this issue, celebrities do seem to have the upper hand in effectively communicating issues. Like she said, Zach is known for his comical personality so it does seem that because of that, its less shocking that he would even consider doing something like this.
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ReplyDelete(2) Just about all of the comments that I've seen are in support of Zach smoking. The top comment states that the user didn't thin he could love Zach more than he already did but he was just proven wrong after seeing that video. The main arguments are that it is getting more and more socially acceptable to smoke and that weed is a benign substance. The only negative comments that I'm seeing are complaints about how the user wishes they could smoke without having to worry about law enforcement catching them because they are not celebrities.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I'm not sure why people are surprised that this was allowed to happen. It was the Bill Maher show...
prompt 7.
ReplyDeleteThis certainly does something. The fact that a popular and known celebrity smokes weed on television draws attention to the marijuana movement. As far as having an effect on people's knowledge it may do a bit. People will see that a man smoked weed on T.V. and that he is still able to hold conversations and show his views, which may convince a few that weed is harmless, however people who are not too easily convinced will stubbornly claim still that it is a harmful substance. Overall, a celebrity getting involved in theMarijuana Reform Movement definitely benefits it positively because the general population value the opinion of famous people.
Group Discussion 2-7-12
ReplyDeleteThe reaction of the woman in pink, Margaret Hoover, represents the initial reaction of many. The blog post says that she appears to be in shock. However, our group believes she is not in shock at all. By laughing, clapping, and smelling the marijuana, she appears to have direct experience with marijuana and approve of Zach Galifianaki's actions. There is a link to think youtube video that shows Margaret Hoover explaining her disproval of Galifinakai's outrageous actions. She supports her reaction by claiming that she has been around marijuana but has never actually smoked it herself. She simply laughed because she viewed Galifinakai's stunt as funny. Our group agrees that Hoover's reaction represents how there is an unclear social view of marijuana. Galifianaki's fits the stereotype of a "pot head" and clearly supports marijuana use. Hoover does not appear to be a stereotypical pot smoker, however, her reaction shows that she is not completely against marijuana usage. Therefore, this Youtube video sends a confusing message to viewers. Is smoking marijuana socially accepted or not? Should marijuana be considered in a serious manner?
Our blog group also found it interesting that the other men at the table did not show as much of a reaction as Hoover. Hoover tried to pass the marijuana to the other men at the table, but they did not accept it. This shows that they take marijuana more seriously and are more aware of the consequences associated with marijuana.