"Desperate" Housewives

The Real Housewives of (insert county here). Yet another of my favorite brain junk food choices. All of the shows entertain some mindless story lines that keep the masses pleased. Again, the idea of what exactly entertainment is comes to mind. How easy it is to get swept away by Kim’s desire to be a country music star (even though her singing can be compared to what it may be like to hear a train wreck). Or better yet, how about the antics of Bethany; the enterprising (once single) gal roaming New York. Or to take the cake, those crazy table flipping, mob dating, thicker than thieves ladies from New Jersey. New Jersey seems to take all the awards for bizarre and outlandish, yet highly entertaining antics. The Real Housewife series’ are supposed to offer glimpses into the lives of women, who all know each other (but actually did not previously) and follow the trial and tribulations that are certain to affect the privileged and filthy rich. Interestingly enough, quite a few of them have declared bankruptcy and are just as broke as you and me. Well, maybe not as impoverished as a college student, but certainly not living the high life shown in the shows. I can honestly say I get quite a bit of enjoyment seeing how the other half lives. It doesn’t seem so hot from where I’m sitting. Some many shows glorify the lives of the rich and powerful, but there just doesn’t seem like to much is going on in there. It seems that we revel in being able to glimpse into the lives of those who have money. It’s almost like window shopping. We get to look through the glass and see all of the pretty things, but do not have to shell out the dough to see it. How engulfed we become in the issues of money. I had never heard about any of these women before the shows began airing. I guess it helps having money to get on a tv show. Then again, having your life scripted out and having a rough marriage doesn’t seem all that worth it to me. All we see is desperate and catty women, yet we eat it all up. Go figure.

Kanye West

Kanye West. What can you say? He certainly is an interesting figure in the music industry. When his College Dropout album came out, I was in high school and enjoyed the new music that he offered. He had a new look and sound that was fresh to the rap/pop scene. He was a dynamic presence that knew how to put on a show and drop beat that would keep the audience coming back for more. Then, he was known for his music and his music alone. He intertwined significant messages into wildly catchy songs. He was a mentor for young artists and kids alike trying to fulfill their dreams. Then, Kanye West was one of my favorite artists. Now, here seems to be losing his grip on reality. Kanye is no longer the talk of the town for his musical endeavors. No, he is getting all of his notoriety because of his out of hand and offensive actions. From openly getting drunk at public awards show, to the Taylor Swift debacle, to his statements about President Bush hating black people; Kanye West is no longer the artist he once was. How much merit should we give a man who shows little respect to others? I totally get that everyone has their own opinions and should be free to say them. However, it seems that West has lost all sense of common decency and decorum. He is no longer the humble star he once was, but a revolting prima donna who thinks he is free to say and do however he pleases. In my book (not that I’m sure it matters to him) he is an absolute fool. I mean even Barack Obama called him a jackass. Now that one I’m sure packed quite a bit of a sting to West’s seemingly unending ego. How do we as consumers get him to realize his action suck and need to change asap? Stop buying his albums? Maybe. It seems like he’s getting quite a case of the crazies.

Jersey Shore

Jersey Shores seems to be everybody’s guilty pleasure. I know it is certainly mine. I love watching those crazy “guidos” up to their latest shenanigans. However, on the same token, it is interesting to see how the drink culture of young adults has become entertainment. When Snookie got punched by a drunk guy at the bar, all MTV did was black out the scene and put out a brief message about violence in the beginning. Not once did they address the fact that this event came about because a man was grossly intoxicated. So a show the feature almost always drunk kids hooking up and acting out, what message should we take from Jersey Shore. Sure half of what they do is ridiculous. Jwoww beat up half the girls in Seaside County and Mike “the situation” got the other halves phone numbers. What is MTV trying to tell us about the youth today. I know that this is a show created to entertain, but honestly, it is a reality show. How realistic is it that these characters had seemingly no substance to them and only further perpetuated hurtful stereotypes about a culture. We saw fist fights, arguments, binge drinking, indiscriminate hook ups, and that’s only the beginning of the list. While this may be a guilty pleasure, it also does offer some food for thought. Is this really how we want our generation defined? We are the generation of “reality” tv. How realistic is our reality? Jersey Shore does little to inspire hope for the future of our generation. I honestly wonder, what is my part in all of this? Though we watch this from the couches of our college apartments, do we play a role in a generation defined by drinking in excess and not caring about our sexual partners? MTV certainly has us believing that this behavior is in some way a norm, a standard for people our age. That doesn’t inspire much confidence. While taking this all in, might we remember that this is nothing more than television?

Guitar Hero and Rock Band

Britney Spears is certainly entertaining, but on what merits is she. No doubt she has had a rocky life. First of all, being a child star put her in the spotlight from a very early age. She endured grueling hours and many years being manipulated and molded into who she should be. A few years ago I’m sure everyone remembers the crazy and erratic behavior that landed her in the hospital and losing custody of her children. Are celebrities driven to such behavior by the constant pressure they are put under? What is it like to be put under a microscope and have every detail of your life under close watch? Britney Spears broke out into the pop scene with her innocent school girl look and sweet tone. She moved from innocence into a virtual sexpot. She worked to get a banging body and used it to her every advantage. Her career took a nose drive a few years ago. After the strains of being in everyone’s lenses, Britney seemed to crack. She attacked a paparazzi car with an umbrella then came the now infamous her cut. She walked into a salon and took buzz cutter to her hair, becoming bald Britney. I think Britney is more known for her outrageous and outlandish behavior than she is for her music merits. She is just another pop singer, but her behavior make the people keep coming back for more. I personally went to her Circus concert in March. The concert was a spectacular visual experience, but Britney did not sing one word of it. Britney Spears is known for her lip syncing, and it definitely showed in her concert. During the concert, she said “Merry Christmas,” it was March. So with all of this in mind, what draws us back to Britney? Honestly I think we in some way want to see the rich and famous seem as human as we are. Britney’s antics are what make her a desirable product.

Glee

Glee has rocked the country and is moving across the pond to become a breakout sensation in England. Glee recently won a Golden Globe. The dynamic cast and awesome music numbers makes for a highly entertaining and raucous comedy. Who would have thought that this little gem of a show would become such a craze. I know that I watch the show every week without fail. Such a show should by most standards not be popular. Who would have known that a musical show would have become such a smash hit. Glee concentrates on not just the hilarious tribulations of high school students. It is not just a show that follows the lives of the kids that are not so popular in school. This show concentrates on problems that are very identifiable for most people; the struggles with finding out who you really are and accepting yourself as you are. Glee also takes a look at an unfortunately still taboo subject: homosexuality. Most televisions shows about teenagers in high school hardly look at the highly marginalized group of young homosexual teens. In Glee we see a change in this standard. While the exploration of homosexuality is not the main premise of the show, the character of Kurt. We see the problems and stereotypes that follow gay youth. Kurt’s character struggles to deal with dealing with his sexuality as well as the problems and insecurities that come with coming out to his father. Along with such a taboo, we see teen pregnancy. Quinn’s character becomes pregnant in her junior year of high school. While more and more shows are beginning to address teen pregnancy, Glee addresses the emotion issues that affect not only the mother, but the father as well. Glee does a wonderful job addressing the hard issues and attacks the taboos in society head long.

The College Life via Text

Textfromlastnight.com is a new “blog” craze that is causing quite a sensation in the young adult community. Known for being a website where people send in text messages from nights they can barely remember through the haze of alcohol, many of the post will have you laughing out loud. Having your texts posted on this site seems to be an honor and has seemingly become the definition of college life. I highly doubt “I stayed in and study all night because I want to succeed in college” would make the grade. Instead, “(214): The parties out here are fucking awesome and I've got the grades to prove it,” prove to be the golden standard of this website. While I’m all for reading such blurbs and laughing over the sheer ridiculousness of them, it makes me wonder what message we’re sending about being in college. If this website was the definitive explanation of college life it could be summed up in three words, hookups, breakups, and blackouts. Is that really all that great and amusing? While these little gems are outrageously entertaining, that fact seems to resonate a little more than what’s comfortable. Has such drunk behavior and reckless sex become entertainment? Has decisions that have possibly dangerous and deadly ramifications become our sport of choice? Every time I read a post now I wonder, is this really what their parents are paying thousands of dollars of year for and is this really the cultural environment of college today: binge drinking and random sex?

Lady Gaga Craze

Lady Gaga is by far one of the strongest forces in the music industry today. In her relatively short career, she has already sold over eight million records. However, Lady Gaga represents more than just a new blip on the pop music radar. She is virtuoso of empowerment. As a young woman myself, I have been greatly empowered by her music. Lady Gaga certainly marches to the beat of her own drummer. She is sexy without having to conform to industry standards. She appeals to a wide variety of listeners. She is a new brand of music herself. I think of her as what Madonna was to the eighties. She defies every standard that stands in place. She creates music and an identity that is so far beyond the realm of “acceptable” that she opens up new audiences of people. Her music videos are always just as abstract and outlandish as Lady Gaga is herself. I think it is important to remember however that she stand for more than just selling records. Whether you love her or hate her, I think that anyone would agree that it is commendable that she does not just rest on her laurels, but also take a part in the world around her. She is a firm supporter of gay and lesbian rights. And even if you disagree with her views or not, it is refreshing to see a new young artist who take part in the political climate around them. Though Lady Gaga is quite an interesting public figure, it is more than what she sings that gets a bold new message across. Her voice as an activist is just as powerful as her music. Each aspect reflects the complex nature that is Lady Gaga. Though one would imagine her bold image in controversial beliefs would segregate her viewing community, it seems that everyone loves Lady Gaga.

The Blind Side

The Blind Side has got to be one of the most inspiring feel good movies that I have ever seen. This movie, based on a true story certainly had me rooting for the underdog. This movie had the best of all cinematic themes. I laughed and I cried. Each moment seemed to be better than the next. The characters were endearing and moving. The actors and actresses in this movie did a marvelous job. It was almost like you were being able to glimpse into Michael Orhe and his new families life. I did not realize how recent this story was. Or how plausible its messages were. The Blind Side was more than just a movie about the underdog beating unbelievable odds making a success of himself, but also recognized the very reality of race relations that exist today. How many times do you hear on the new that another child or young adult is dead due to unnecessary violence? More to the point, this violence occurs in neighborhoods that seem to have been left behind and neglected. Though of course in the movie, the “ghettos” were dramatized, but in reality so many children slip through the crack. The movie certainly touches on the many flawed programs in the United States that leave children and young adults no room to succeed; on how many children are set up to fail. The school systems in such neglected cities pass children through the system so that they become “someone else’s problem” as one character cleverly put it. Specifically in this movie, black youth in certain poorer areas were shown as succumbing to the violence and little bit of power that were available in such walks of life. While I was so moved by Michael’s story, it made me think of all the children he grew up with and their stories, the addiction to drugs and how it ruins lives. The Blind Side shows the intricate power struggle not only between races, but within races. It was a refreshing and eye opening story all in one.

Green Fashion

Green Fashion. It was not until recently that I realized this was a legitimate possibility. I’ll be the first to say that I love to rock my UGGS on campus during those cold days when flip flops just are not an option. However, I never really took into account what part my deliciously warm choice of footwear took in the global world. Really, I honestly never gave a thought my choice of attire. As a woman who loves to shop I never looked to see what my clothes or other purchases were made out of. It was not until recently (having become a vegetarian) that I stopped to think about how my fashion choices affected the world at large. My good friend, and rising star in the green blogging world (she’s a vegan), let me know all about the terrible things animals have to endure to make us look fabulous. Now I’m not saying that I am against wearing animal product or people eating meat (meats just not my thing), but I do think people should be aware of the treatment of animals and quality of life they have (or lack there of) in order to give us our leather jackets or chicken nuggets. So how would one be able to dress themselves in the latest fashion and still be able to be friendly to the environment and its furry little friends? Green fashion is an up and coming phenomenon that allows people to purchase faux just about anything. Designers like Stella McCartney are using faux fur ect. in their lines to be a little friendlier to the environment. High fashion certainly can be achieved while also being a little more conscious of the environment and living conditions of animals. Many shopping websites are popping up and showing the world that green fashion is quite possible. Faux leather pump look just as cute as their real leather sisters. This rising trend in signifies a change in society. I think that we’re finally getting it. Even fashion can help the environment.

Avatar: The Truth in Reality

As everyone knows, James Cameron’s Avatar has become quite a sensation. His groundbreaking half animated, half real life movie has been sweeping the awards show this season and raking in incredible amounts of money in the theaters. It can easily be said that Avatar is one of the best pictures both animated and real life to come out in not only this year, but in the last decade to be sure. Cameron has shown the world how far computer animation has come. The technology to create his beautiful blue world took somewhere around fifteen years to develop. As I sat watching the movie, I myself was in awe. I felt as if I could reach out and touch this fantastical world. James Cameron creates more than a splendid blue planet that amazes the eye, but also challenges the mind. Even as a semi-animated action movie, the story is not without merit. The story certainly rings close to home. Cameron challenges the viewer to look not just on this fantastical world as a cinematic adventure that pulls us from reality and leaves us captivated by the graceful Na’vi’s of Pandora, but portrays a very real situation in our own lives. The race for resources affects people around the world in a shockingly identical way to the Na’vi people. The blatant truth rings clearly throughout the movie. As a view, I was almost ashamed to see the direct parallels between Cameron’s Pandora and the world we live in. How often we overlook the worlds and lives of people we consider ourselves distanced from in the quest for natural resources. The ethnocentric attitude of the Americans in the movie was alarming yet a lesson, an understanding of truth. Needless to say, Cameron has taken his viewer on a cinematic adventure that amazes and dazzles, yet leaves the viewer with an important message to think about.

The Truth of McDonalds Exposed

Supersize Me

Documentaries have become very popular in our societies popular culture over the past decade. One documentary that sent our entire nation into a state of mass confusion was “Supersize Me.” This documentary exposes how unhealthy McDonalds food is. It was made in 2004 by Morgan Spurlock, it follows Spurlock on his 30 day journey of eating only McDonald’s food. Spurlock’s health suffered extremely. He gained 25 pounds, his cholesterol increased, and he also suffered from negative psychological effects such as mood swings and constant fatigue. This documentary was extremely eye opening for our entire nation. Of course, before this documentary, it was general knowledge that fast food isn’t healthy, but people did not realize that the chemicals and poor quality of the food could do actual damage to your body. Even though fast food restaurants aren’t typically seen as part of pop culture, McDonalds is iconic in America, it has been around since 1940 and serves millions of customers every day. Supersize Me shed an extremely negative light on something that our society had never looked at in such a way. Supersize Me is an example of how powerful mass media is in our country. Because so many people in our country watched this documentary, McDonalds sales and stocks dropped significant percentages. McDonalds had to revamp their entire image with marketing for their new “healthier” menu. I have talked to many people who have not eaten McDonalds since they saw this documentary. This documentary goes to show how seriously people take documentaries, movies, and T.V shows that they see. Tell all documentaries like Supersize Me have the power to be extremely persuasive to viewers, and they have the power to negatively affect major corporations. The entire fast food industry in our country is an example of how people in our society live. New technologies have led everyone to be living in a constant rush, until this documentary people never stopped to really examine McDonalds and the negative effects its fast food can have on us.

The Real Gem of the Jersey Shore

Chelsea Handler

Lately the tabloids and most of America have been obsessed with MTV’s new show the Jersey Shore. To be honest, I am quite sick of it, and don’t understand the obsession. I think the real gem of the Jersey shore is Chelsea Handler. For those of you who may not know, Chelsea Handler is a stand up comedian who was born and raised on the Jersey Shore. She now has her own show on E! called Chelsea Lately. Chelsea currently has two published books, My Horizontal life, and Are You There Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea. Both books are detailed accounts of her personal life experiences. The stories are hilarious accounts of wild nights, partying, growing up, and any other taboo topic you can imagine. Chelsea has lived a crazy life, and by writing it all down and publishing a book about it she been able to make millions. I think that audiences receive Chelsea so well because she “cuts to the chase”, her statements are very bold and blunt, basically she says what everyone else is too scared to say about celebrities and gossip in Hollywood. Yet, some people do not receive Chelsea very well because they think that she has no right to constantly be “making fun” of celebrities, they ask the question “why does she think she’s better then everyone?” The debate over weather or not Chelsea Handlers fame is due to her own personal “greatness” or if her fame is manufactured, can easily be put to rest. Chelsea had to work hard to establish herself as a comedian. She started from the bottom and worked her way up, doing many stand up shows, appearances on T.V series and other gigs in Hollywood. E! is a major corporation that would not give a show to just anybody. Chelsea Lately has brought Chelsea’s career to the next level, and has allowed her to gain her fame and fortune. It’s true that the majority of her jokes are trashing other celebrities is Hollywood, but she has to be doing something right. People in our culture have allowed her to become famous for a reason. Our culture loves to analyze and critique celebrities, and Chelsea accomplishes that very well on her show. Our culture also easily buys into sex, drugs, and alcohol, which Chelsea covers quite well in her tell-all books. I think Chelsea Handler is an icon for our era, and her humor will be well appreciated in our culture for years to come.

The Face of Hate

Cullen has done a good job highlighting characters and situations in television which have essentially been game changing. Lucy and Archie were clearly groundbreaking characters in both their presentation and content of character.
Yet, today, despite all of the big revolutions preceeding it, South Park is responsible for quite possibly the largest taboo breaker ever.

Eric Cartman:


Cartman has ushered onto the screens incredibly ludicrous ideology which is fueled by a hatred that he doesn’t even attempt to hide. Not one little bit. Perhaps that’s what makes him such a gamechanging character. Eric Cartman has never apologized for his ideas no matter how racist and horrible they are.

Cartman is still routinely punished for his ideas and the in doing so South Park shows that it doesn’t stand behind the hate presented within their characters but if we’re talking about truly groundbreaking content, Eric Cartman, the boy who attempted to literally kill every hippy on the planet has got to be your guy.

Nobody on the show likes Cartman, they all openly admit to hating him and this doesn’t seem to bother Cartman at all, he instead chooses to selectively listen to his friends and spin everything they say into oblivion.

He is maniacal, delusional, and 100% nuts but he is perhaps one of the greatest sources of humor on television and it’s because his character is never in on the joke. We can always laugh at Cartman, and we never have to worry about his feelings.

Disney Salutes Popular Culture in America

Disneys Pop Century Resort

Many people may not know this, but a great place to learn about pop culture in America is in a resort at Walt Disney world. Walt Disney has a resort called “The Pop Century Resort” that is themed with everything in our popular culture. Various artifacts from past decades decorate the entire hotel. Icons in pop culture are represented throughout the entire hotel. Even their swimming pools are themed, one is a flower shaped hippy pool, one is in the shape of a bowling pin, and one is shaped as a computer monitor. Any fad, gadget, song, or toy that was ever popular in our culture you can find here in Disney’s resort. This resort is extremely clever and innovative. It is a symbol of how important studying and remembering popular culture is. This is a great place for parents and families to take their children and point out things that were popular while they were growing up. This hotel is like living inside History textbook on poplar culture throughout the 20^th century. It is a real life, hands on experience, of pictures and artifacts from our popular culture. The Walt Disney Company is extremely successful and wise with all of its business decisions. So for such a successful company to make a hotel based off of popular culture says a lot. They had to have known that they would be able to have a substantial amount of people interested and eager to stay in a hotel based off of popular culture, in order for them to make considerable profit. Disney knows that our countries popular culture is essentially the definition of our countries culture. I think Disney has done a great job depicting the icons from past decades in this hotel, and this hotel says a lot about how important popular culture is to the people of our country.

The Minstrel Show – Little Brother’s Rebuttal

The Antebellum shows of the past were shows put on by white people portraying their idea of what black people act like.

The shows were obviously racist and ignorant and their success was due in large part to a preponderance of cluelessness when it came to the audience.

As was pointed out in the reading, the minstrel shows really told us more about white people than black people because the white people were putting on the shows and saying what they thought black people were like. So instead of getting real information, we got garble.

Today, fortunately, there is an equal footing as far who is allowed to say what.

With this kind of freedom comes new exploration into frontiers yet unexplored. Such was the work of Little Brother’s album, The Minstrel Show.

Thematically The Minstrel Show lampoons a lot of institutions which are present in black culture. On the album, a new television station is created called UBN which stands for U Black N***** Network. What’s interesting about this album is that the group Little Brother did not fight back and lampoon those who used to persecute them but rather, they seek to highlight the flaws of their own culture and bring those flaws out in the open so they can be seriously considered.

This is truly the best kind of cultural progress. Little Brother took what was an evil empire and just by labeling their album The Minstrel Show they demonize it but can still use the tactics within to present their ideas on current popular culture.

Sex Sells and Saves

The Guttenberg Press is considered one of the greatest inventions ever. With it came the ability to print and distribute material efficiently, and cost effectively.

A little known fact about the Guttenberg Press is that while the very first thing printed on it was the bible, the next thing to be printed was… pornography. Well pornography at least in the sense back then. There were printed engraved pictures depicting different sexual positions.

As Cullen reminds us, it is the software that drives technology and progress and sex is almost always at the forefront when we’re talking about new technology and progressive ideology.

Before it was even considered acceptable in film, there was inter-racial and gay pornography. The pornography industry has always been at the forefront of pushing the envelope and it’s that kind of daring sense of adventure and exploration that has allowed to carry every medium that has tried to integrate it.

Pornography, as an industry has seen phenomenal success throughout history and is only struggling now because of piracy issues and the distributors still have no figured out the best way to monetize their content.

But for the time being, if you’re creeped out by the idea of pornography, that’s fine and understandable but you can still celebrate pornography for it is the ultimate form of software driving hardware.

Why we Game

Recently, the video-game industry has become enormous, raking in more money than the film, book, and TV industries.

Perhaps one of the reasons for the video game industry’s success is its versatility in genre. For example, people can experience the same the historical event like the colonization of America from a “god’s eye” over the top strategic view, from a lone gunman’s point of view, or maybe just as an animated scene which is being used to further a story.

While the other industries have genres, video games have different ways to actually be interacted with. Some games require exploration, some require hard skill, and some just require a time commitment.



The time commitment aspect is probably one of the most interesting to consider.
One of the “modes of interaction” in video games is the “role-playing” game or RPG. In RPG’s oftentimes the character becomes stronger as he faces more and more enemies, so if your character gets stuck on a hard boss, all you really have to do is take the character back to where things were easier and beat up weaklings until your character is strong enough to defeat the harder foe ahead. Gamers refer to this notion as “grinding” because most people will tell you that it is a tedious process.

But is it so tedious?


What people get from games like RPG’s are a sense of satisfaction that any single person could achieve just by playing the game for a while. People continue to play RPG’s because that sense of accomplishment is easily attainable and you really can’t fail so long as you commit to the process.

The problem of course is that with that kind of a commitment, the aesthetics of the game become irrelevant, and simply slide into the background, because they don’t matter anymore, instead, games simply become a job that end up not yielding any fruit.

People will play these games and gain a false sense of accomplishment as opposed to accepting games for the work of art that they can be, and then moving on with their lives.

It’s a frightening notion and I think Theodor Adorno would have spoken out against such a medium were people get so distracted by the diversions in life that they actually begin to care about their standings in the world which they are escaping to.

Laughter: The Road to Education

How people get informed has always been an interesting topic. Now with the birth of the internet, the possibilities are truly infinite. This has caused things like TV and Newspapers to take quite a hit.

However, there are still a fair amount of both available and the way in which these things are chosen is interesting.

No too long ago Bill O’ Reily had Jon Stewart on his program, you can watch the interview here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5pK7sK0i4A .

Despite the rudeness and general boorishness of O’Reily in this clip, he did bring up some interesting talking points. Namely, that more and more young people are getting informed by The Daily Show every day.



Where he got the data to support his claim is never brought up, but I’m going to go ahead and assume for the sake of argument that he is right.

If we make that assumption we then have to ask the question… does it matter?

Of course it doesn’t matter! So what if Jon Stewart cracks some jokes and ridicules the current institution, at least he’s doing it openly and not claiming to be fair and balanced. Perhaps the most beautiful thing about The Daily Show is that Stewart is open about who he is. Most importantly however, the truth does come from humor.

We don’t laugh at the jokes Stewart makes at the president because they’re ridiculous, we laugh at the jokes because they are grounded in the truth.

There’s nothing wrong with people choosing to watch Stewart’s show and quite possibly it’s a greater sign of the cultural circuit. What Stewart is doing differently from people like Bill O’Reily is he’s actually engaging his audience. Stewart doesn’t necessarily talk about what people want to hear, he just talks in a way that people respond to, and accordingly he has been one of the champions of keeping the youth informed.

O’Reily can whine all he likes about Jon Stewart, but at the end of the day, people know the score.

Pathetically Manufactured Paris

Paris Hilton is what Gamson would call manufactured fame. She is famous because she is rich enough to make herself famous. I wanted to find someone who could apply to many of the discussions we have been involved in this semester and I believe that Paris fits perfectly.

Paris is not a natural celebrity. She has no talent. We have all seen her try to sing and that failed miserably. What she is famous for is posing, sex scandals, and showing how spoiled she is on television. Paris wanted her to be famous so she took the opportunity to manufacture a persona that was appealing to the media. She made people like her by making them envious of her party lifestyle.

Another way she became famous is through her sex tape. Cashmore argues that celebrity sex scandals are tools for attention and that is exactly what Paris Hilton received; lots of attention. People are so set on becoming famous and gaining attention that it doesn’t matter what type of attention it is. I had rarely seen Paris Hilton in the media until her sex tape surfaced. She put on such a performance about being so upset and embarrassed, but she knew she was going to make money. If she was honestly upset, then why wouldn’t she have followed through with a lawsuit?

Paris also embodies the element of celebrities being invincible. She sets a bad example for the public and sends the wrong messages with her over usage of alcohol and drugs. She claimed her fame and then used the fame to party. Because she was constantly partying she had a habit for being arrested while driving drunk. What amazed me was that she continued to drive drunk and only spent the least possible time in jail, 24 hours! Manufactured fame creates stars with poor work ethic and horrible values.

Internet Profiles

After reading Bell’s piece on construction of identity online, I wanted to write a piece about online dating websites. Online dating has become very popular and in 2004 was considered the highest grossing internet industry other than pornography. Why is internet dating so popular? According to Bell, people have the ability to leave their insecurities at the door and either create a completely new persona or reveal truths about themselves they feel they cannot do in person.

The internet allows for freedom. My roommate, who is an attractive, young woman, always had issues with confidence. She did not like talking to men in person and found that she would “freeze” up when confronted with one. She had all the great qualities men were looking for, but never seemed to make the initiative to date a man. One night we were sitting on the computer and she decided to reveal to me that she had paid for a Match.com profile. We checked out the profile and I was amazed; she seemed like a totally different woman! She had many dates (online) and was surprisingly able to talk to them and share information she had never been comfortable sharing with people in person.

Another reason online identities are useful is because they enable you to be your true self. For example, I come from a very small town where everyone knows each other. My best friend had went away to college and came out about being a lesbian, but she didn’t want to tell anyone and she was embarrassed to date. Coming from a small town she thought that no one would understand her and she would be outcasted. Online, she was able to be honest with herself and be truthful about her sexuality. The internet allowed her and gave her the confidence to connect with other females. This is such a positive experience because it gave her the opportunity and the power to create her true persona.

Gaga - pretty smart girl

Lady Gaga is one of the most widely talked about celebrities in the media today. Her songs, outfits, and performances continue to shock the world in such a provocative way. At first glance her outfits seen offensive and unnecessary. When listening to her songs they seem sexual and inappropriate. When watching her perform her set and actions seem outrageous and offensive. But Lady Gaga is one of the only pop artists currently to have a real meaning. She is a great performer with a good heart and a great work ethic.

When listening to Lady Gaga’s lyrics they seem to be the same sexual pop lyrics that every singer uses. But, she takes time to create a meaning underneath every song. In the song “Poker Face,” it is lyrically about sex and gambling. The real meaning behind the song is a tribute to her rock ‘n’ roll boyfriends and bisexuality. Gaga has told fans that the song dealt with her personal experiences with bisexuality and that she was supposed to be with a man, but found herself fantasizing with a woman. The man in the song must read her poker face to understand that she really wants to be with a woman. She says that the premise of her first album was filled with sexual lyrics because she was symbolizing that she was willing to do anything to obtain fame. Her new single “Bad Romance” describes the ritualistic entertainment industry and depicts Gaga as a sex slave.

Lady Gaga’s music videos have a meaning as well. The “Bad Romance” video depicts the process of her turning into a fame monster, how she becomes addicted to fame. She starts out in the video as being born from a coffin. Her innocence is then shown with her wide-eyed expression and pink hair. To the regular viewer the part of the video where she is seen dancing around the men looks like a prostitute bidding, but really the men are different record companies and they are bidding to see who will sign her.

The artist’s performances all revolve around messages she wants to be heard. Her MTV Video Music Awards performance featured the song Paparazzi. The song and performance were about Princess Diana and how she struggled with the media and the paparazzi eventually killed her. Hence the massive amounts of blood and being hung on stage.

Lady Gaga uses the power of her celebrity and sexuality and translates her messages into shock and awe popular culture. Instead of listening to mindless Britney Spears songs, listeners get a taste of real art. Gaga wants people to be free to express themselves and she proves this by her lax attitude on sticking to the norm. I think that she uses her sexuality and fame, what seems to be popular to viewers and to hold power, to tell people her stories and to connect with them. She isn’t just another bubble gum pop star.

Acceptable?

Not much has been left unsaid concerning the Michael Richards incident. The incident at the comedy store in which Richards became so frustrated that he began shouting racial slurs was ushered to the forefront of public attention thanks to one person in the audience who had the foresight to film the entire thing.

Immediately the entire public turned on Richards. His presence in the media had since vanished with the conclusion of Seinfeld but as Cashmore reminds us, it only takes a scandal to bring someone back into the public eye.



The aftermath was interesting as someone who had been reseeking the status of celebrity suddenly got his wish, but probably not in the way that he had hoped.
Everyone said pretty much the same thing about Richards, “He’s finished” or something along those lines. But then suddenly, he makes a semi-comeback.

On this past season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David, the creator of the show and the co-creator of Seinfeld, created a story arc for this season which essentially called of the old actors from Seinfeld back for a reunion show.

Larry David did not shy away from the conflict that Richards had brought on himself. In one episode, Leon, a Black character on the show, knocks on the Richard’s door and when Richards opens the door he looks at Leon and comically begs for forgiveness because the incident happened years ago.

Celebrities are people and sometimes we forget this, and I can say, as someone who has taken the stage to do Stand Up; I don’t fault Michael Richards at all for what he did. He got carried away because things weren’t going well. This wasn’t so much an indication that he’s a racist, but much more so that he’s really just a crappy comic who cracks under pressure.

Either way, it’s certainly interesting to look at Michael Richard’s career and take note that he was most famous when he was at his best (Kramer) and at his worst (a shouting “racist”). What the public misses out on is the in between, I think that’s an important thing to remember here, we don’t get to see celebrities just being regular people so we expect more from them. We don’t see celebrities scratching their underwear on the way to the bathroom at 3 in the morning. It’s because their humanity is protected from the public eye that fame itself comes from a person’s peaks and valleys.

Power of Photoshop

Over the semester we have really went into dissecting the study of celebrity and how it pertains to power relations. We see a celebrity as someone we look up to and someone we can connect with. But are we really looking up to the real person? I think that one of the most prominent reasons why people like a celebrity is for their looks. But are you being fooled?

The power of photoshop is everywhere. When you look at an advertisement or a picture in a magazine, are you viewing a real image? Recently on PerezHilton.com, Perez posted a picture of Demi Moore on the set of her perfume line. She is shown before photoshopped on the left and post-photoshop on the right. The differences between the two photos are very distinct. Compared to the real picture, Demi has bigger and more defined breasts, her skin is glowing, her neck and collarbone are more define, her eyes are brighter, her eyebrows darker and more full, her lips are bigger, and her teeth whiter. I find this ironic because Demi Moore recently claimed to not be photoshopped at all in W Magazine.

Are the celebrities we are looking up to real? There is such a frenzy about body image and the need to achieve the look and body of the women on the advertisements but it is almost impossible. It is not the power the celebrity that is greater than the viewer, it is the power of the computer that is altering the women on ads to look fake. In the past, women were accepted for who they were, but ironically there was no way to alter the people they were seeing in the movies and advertisements. Now women in ads legs are becoming longer, midsections smaller, arm fat is being erased and their skin is perfect. We are creating a false sense of image.

Negative Relationship in Media

Relationships in the media are warped and portrayed in negative ways. When was the last time you went to PerezHilton.com and saw him blogging about a healthy relationship. We talk about the power of the media and how celebrities have such a big influence on us. As the years progress, the ideas of monogamy and fidelity are being thrown away, sending a poor message to our youths.

First I wanted to point out the concept of fidelity in the media, or the lack there of. Celebrities, tabloids, and other forms of media make light of being faithful. Celebrities are exploited when they cheat and many tabloids make light of the situation. For example, Jon Gosselin from Jon and Kate Plus 8. Jon’s face is plastered over every tabloid magazine with a new girlfriend. He publicly humiliated himself by claiming his fame in a family industry and then completely going against the persona he had created. By him making the choice to publicly date, he is sending the message that he doesn’t care about his family and will due whatever he wants. He completely disregards the fact that his eight children are at home watching the television and reading the magazines that he is being featured in with someone other than their mother.

Another issue that negates the idea of positive relationship is the role of monogamy on television. Currently, the popular television shows consist of reality television. Many of the reality tv shows are of love and finding love. Although they are about finding one person, they create a completely negative standard. Shows such as Rock of Love, The Bachelor, and For the Love of Ray J depict a sense of polygamy. These shows portray one bachelor or bachelorette and a set of twenty suitors. The twenty suitors live in one house and go on a set of dates in order to win the suitors “love.” The contestants are competing for a relationship. The bachelor is seen kissing multiple women and some go as far as to sleep with the contestants.

The media portrays a negative idea of a relationship. How can our youth maintain healthy relationships when they are constantly surrounded by unhealthy ones?