Bloggy Superstars
You don’t really know them. You might not have even HEARD of them. But they are there. Tavi. Rumi. Kat. Lulu (and your mom). They are the new coming of IT girls. No, theyre not actresses or singers. Theyre bloggers. That’s right. Don’t sound so surprised. The question is..why are they so famous now? I like to think the general populace is done with the artifice of Hollywood and the talentless “talent” thrown at us from all directions. Being “connected” more to these bloggers, who are using their own words (that I know of) to talk about THEIR opinions without a filter. It’s refreshing. A “normal” persons take on movies, life, fashion. You name it. There’s a better relatability compared to movie stars who you see on screen and are basically untouchable. Who wants to relate to THAT?!
Of course, we all know that this stardom is bound to lead to the same fascination we have with movie stars and celebrities (Tavi already has that following at…13..what did you accomplish at 13?!) and where will that leave us? Jaded by their style of dress that was once refreshing and new? Apathetic to their opinions just like we are to the movie stars (for the most part..who cares what wayne brady thinks nowadays [no offense, wayne. please don't choke me]). Enough parenthesis. To wrap this up, bloggy superstars,beware, before we get bored of you too. But keep it up since we have no one else to relate to but ourselves, and who wants that?
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Living The Stereotype
Hello again.
Does living the stereotype with a conscious decision to act this way BASED on it, defeat the purpose or only make it that much more difficult for others to break it?
If that didn’t confuse you, congrats. Here’s for the 98% who didn’t understand that convoluted sentence: if I were to act like a stereotypical Asian (good grades, meek, bangs, hello kitty everywhere [two out of four aint that bad] ) ON PURPOSE only to live the stereotype, would that have me break it or make it much harder for my cousin who doesn’t do any of that, to escape the stigma that comes with being Asian?
The Breakfast Club. The Princess. The Jock. The Nerd. The Freak. The..Ally (<3). The main subgroups of stereotypes. This movie broke them down and built them up in a different light. But for every movie that does the same thing, there are five other American Pies or something equal to that.
Not all stereotypes are bad (the Asian one isn't so bad, who doesnt like good grades?) but the ones that stand out most in peoples' minds are the negative ones, mostly about the other minorities. Not only do the white people (sorry) see the whole race as one huge stereotype, the other minorities have become to see everyojne as stereotypes also. There isn't a community among races as there was in the past, where people came together ( we have facebook now!). There is a disconnect there, with our culture and that allows these thoughts of stereotypes to fester and grow in our minds about other people. Not that the media is all bad, it has grown in leaps and bounds to detract from stereotyping. But it has, of course, done it's negative things such as Beulah and Amos and Andy in the past. A give and take of stereotyping and the good/bad it does.
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The Sassy Gay
Before you get all uppity and LGBT rights upset with me, the title is just a stereotypical character you mostly find on tv. I love Kurt Hummel from Glee. He’s sassy but also depicts a realistic homosexual teenager growing up in a basically homophobic small town. While his collection of fashion couture is a bit out of reach (Marc Jacobs knee length sweater? please. i can’t even find it here in LA), the love is still there. The originality and the pain that feels from being out cast while still being a part of something because he isn’t “quite right”. He’s known for quotable one liners and being ridiculous in a good way and in a stereotypical way. In the most recent episode, he redecorates his room in what can only be called an opium den slash brothel. This gaudy sense of decor is just another characterstic of a very falmboyant character.
In Will and Grace, Jack wasn’t much but a one liner giver and a stereotypical flouncy homosexual. He is sassy. He shows Will how to “be gay” as if there is a hand book they must follow to be considered gay.
In Degrassi, there is Marco. Who fights being gay and then accepts it. With a sparkly wardrobe and a sort of tone that makes someone who doesn’t know a gay person personally believe that that is how they all act. If you know nothing based on personal opinion or experience, the media built character is what you believe a whole subculture is really like.
While there are “serious” gays out there, the Sassy Gay with the limp wrist, witty yet dirty one liners wins out on television and movies. Break the stereotpye. Or live the stereotype, whoever you are. Which leads me to the next blog post…
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Facebook Jumping v. Stalking
I have a list of topics I’ve been wanting to discuss and finally have the “time” (inclination) to actually write them out. So..facebook jumping. In case you don’t know, you silly billy, is when you visit a random friend and start clicking on the common friends or just their random friends and you just keep going. Normally, you do that when you’re bored or…want to stalk people. It’s perfectly normal to do this. All my friends do this and I hear strangers talking about how so and so knows their friend from fifth grade! How crazy. Facebook WAS meant for a way to keep in contact with friends in college or after college. But when does jumping turn into stalking? Of course, there is the normal boundary such as physically following them. But when sites such as facebook allow someone to see almost everything that you’re doing down to the minute, where is the line between stalking and just looking? Sure there are privacy settings everyone can set up but some people, for some reason, don’t know this. There is an ignore button for unwanted friend requests that stops future requests, but really, if someone wanted, they could stalk the hell out of you.
In a society where everything is welcome to be shared, where does the line get drawn? Who draws this line? The person being stalked or the admins on the website. Shouldnt they take precaution with their site since it shares so much information, even going as far to ask if where you live. I remember when I was younger (back in the old days), when we had those chat rooms (YOU KNOW THE ONES) with a strict admin watching over what was being said. Not saying that as adults we should have admins watching over us but being cautious is the first step in prevention, as well as putting your profile into private.
Having youtube and all of these sites that allow a person to put so much of themselves into the public eye gives us a bloated sense of self worth anyway. I think that there should be SOME boundaries in what youtube accepts. But that is why youtube is so popular, it accepts all except the obvious porn. But I believe obvious child exploitation should also be barred such as children dancing in skimpy underwear while a parent cheers in the background. Please. Have some decorum and respect for the child. And my burning burning eyes.
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In A Perfect World
The basketball players won’t be as paid as they are and teachers wouldn’t be fired left and right to try and “save money”. As outraged as I am about the idea that some lanky man-child (Michael Cera) is making millions while one of the most brilliant teachers I’ve met is getting a ridiculous pay cut, I am still interested in what celebrities are wearing. I buy magazines. How does one keep their righteous anger while not really living up to their morality of not wanting to be part of the system the media has created? You can’t! That’s just it. You can complain all you want and yet, here we are, here I am, using the computer to look at pretty people wear pretty clothes and buying magazines. You can’t call a boycott on all things Hollywood, on all things media-related. That just isn’t rational or do-able.
We look to celebrities and pseudo-celebrities because we want that escape from our seemingly boring lives. We aren’t the ones spending thousands of dollars in one day. We aren’t flying around the world to make movies nor are we falling down drunk out of clubs in front of the paparazzi (at least I’m not). This lifestyle the celebs have are seemingly simple and fun. They get to hang out! And be rich! And travel! And be rich! We want that. So we watch them with covetous eyes.
They provide us an escape from our daily lives and get paid in the millions for it. How about the creative writing teacher who taught me how to create my own world? Nah, she get’s a 15% pay cut. Bravo.
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(I realize how complain-y this blog just was. My bad?)
In Which I Refuse To Be A Model
If you don’t know the story of Terry Richardson (who I mistakenly googled as Richard Terrison-totally the wrong guy), he is a “renowned” photographer who has been hired by TONS of magazines. Also, he’s a pervert. Constantly masturbating during interviews as well as “forcing” models to be photographed nude even if it isn’t in their contract and forcing his naked self onto the models. I quote forcing the first time because, in Terry’s own words, “We were having fun. No one forced them.” Really. Because I’m so sure that if a model refused your insane ideas, they would totally get another job with that magazine. Sarcasm. They would obviously be labeled as a diva or uncooperative. Who decided that this was art? Who decided that a man forcing himself on a woman in image is sexy, that it will sell more? Shock value? There’s a point where I stop seeing things as just purely for shock value and start seeing it as exploitation of young girls who want so badly to fulfill their dreams that they will even let a pervert do things to them. Many of these thoughts (of letting someone do whatever to you so you get your dream) is seen in tons of movies and books and shows. This is no longer a taboo but a generally acceptable method of getting where you want to go. Not to say our culture is completely corrupt but I would like to see more guidance out there for young girls (myself included) that don’t involve having to expose ourselves to get what we ultimately want.
The pictures of Terry Richardson are sometimes artistic and well-executed. Those pictures are ones that don’t involve a penis on a young girl’s chest. My one comment to Terry is stop being an ass and go back to being a real artist*.
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*a blurry photograph of a naked woman jumping, an artist does not make
St@rstruck!
(because that’s how the cool kids right [sidebar:is it just me or is the postiness being quite laggy?])
I was watching the Disney Channel around eight tonight. Why? Because I was wondering if Starstruck was the same movie from 1995 with Justin Timberlake and the girl finds her twin and they switch places and everyone falls in love, anyway, it wasn’t it. It was something from this year and I did watch ten minutes only to text my friend the whole plot and find out I was right. Not just a few details right. I got EVERYTHING RIGHT. The girl doesn’t like the star, the star is surprised and thinks he can like her blah blah in the end fame gets in the blah blah and he follows her to Michigan, Minnesota, whatever and they stay in PG13 love. All of it was right. I wasn’t even surprised at it. Disney Channel has a formula and it works. No matter what generation we’re at now (was I y? z? who was x?!), Disney will find a way to get you.
Right. There was a point to this. During a commerical break, some Disney created band came on and I noticed how auto-tuned all of the Disney artists are getting. I understand that they are following what’s hot or what was hot five seconds ago (ie. Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus [still hot right? (boy I feel old)]). They find a formula and stick with it, milk it for all it’s worth and then let go and find something else to go after. It’s what makes the Disney corporation ruthless and so goddamn good. If you want to make money, exploit what’s good now. Really. It works. Trust.
But what happens when the acts you have go AWOL [as seen by Vanity Fair-Miley or..uh..Not-Miley doing something equally outrageous]? You, of course, force your hand and have them apologize and say they were tricked into something you didn’t understand. Then go back to making your millions with a dirty-squeaky clean image. My hat is off to you,Disney. You sure do Mickey Mouse proud.
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Lack Of Creative Title
(Minus Two Points)
Websites such as TextsFromLastNight.Com and FMLife.com are all about bringing people together in a way that is completely in touch with our generation and the generations younger than us. We have a celeb-fetish. Don’t lie, I know you love TMZ and watching famous people fall on their faces or wearing atrocious clothing. But now, we aren’t satisfied with that. We want to laugh at people we don’t know. Schadenfreude basically translates into taking pleasure in other people’s pain. And that is just what we are doing, with relish. We read about mistakes and people getting dumped in very emotionally scarring ways. And we laugh or wince then laugh. In the privacy of our own homes or, you know, iphones. Why are we so interested in reading or hearing about someone elses’ mistakes or pain? Because it isn’t our mistakes or pain. We can scoff our moral superiority in not getting so drunk that we woke up in an alley or that our boyfriend didn’t fake propose to us over the phone only to break up with us. We can laugh and say “what a dumbass” because it wasn’t us and we like to think that our friends would never post our mistakes on the internet. But how many stories have people being betrayed by their friends?
It’s so interesting that these websites have tons of hits even with opposite sites springing up (such as givesmehope.com). While hearing an uplifting story is great, most people would rather hear about the boy who masturbated to a picture of a family member by mistake. Why? Because we are a bunch of sick people? Because it wasnt us? Because it’s hilarious? What dictates what is funny? Personal taste? I’m not sure anymore. A group of friends were laughing hysterically about a man getting beat up for some reason and I sat there, very confused. Then they turned to me and asked why I wasn’t laughing. I felt out of place and said..it..is..kinda funny and they were satisfied. I don’t see what’s so funny about it but a combination of peer pressure and social insecurity had me agreeing that it was funny.
Are we all experiencing herd mentality or are we, as a country, finding a complete strangers’ pain hilarious because of how we were raised? And I can say, for myself, I was raised on violent and inappropriate television.
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The Hamburglar
Earlier this week my friends and I decided to have Mcdonalds (for lack of funds). One of them mentions that they now felt “happy” after eating McDonalds. From SuperSize Me, I remember that from eating McDonalds for a while, you begin to rely on it to feel happy. And biting into their strangely comforting squishy fries, I began to wonder how often my parents took me to McDonalds when I was younger. I remember how I almost drowned because I fell into the pool but my grip wouldn’t let go off my Happy Meal. I remember how when I would cry and moan until I would get to go to McDonalds. How easy it is to just drop by McDonalds (which can be found any direction in five miles from my house) instead of actually making a meal. “We Love To See You Smile” is their moto. But what about when we’re so obese that we cannot walk on our own?
I look at the different adverts that they have saying their meals are now “healthier”. But how are they healthier when they were never healthy to begin with? I think this tactic is just to relieve the guilt we have in buying McDees instead of making a healthy meal. It’s cheap. It’s “healthier” now. It’s fast. Why not?
It is actually recommended that you get the chicken mcnuggets instead of their salad because it is actually less fattening. What message does that send to our children? Don’t get the salad. Not all salads are made equal, my friends. They are not all covered in grease and fried chicken. The food insdustrys’ “healthy alternatives” aren’t really healthy at all, are they? And they lack the pseudo-flavor that we have come to recognize as “comforting”.
Either way, until healthy food becomes as easy and cheap as fast food, we will continue to eat at McDonalds and munch happily on what I like to believe is cow or a mash-up of fifty cows.
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What Are Your Kids Reading?
There are so many websites. Absolutely incalculable. Unless you decide to actually count them all, good luck. So, I have a friend who is in the habit of reading kid-based gossip sites such as Just Jared.com etc etc. And no, that friend is not ME. I read kid magazines like TEEN VOGUE (you never know when you might need another prom dress…for no reason). Anyway, it just occured to me: the younger age is now just as obsessed with celeb gossip as the rest of the adult world. Different actresses and actors but really, the same thing. We find out where they shop,eat and what they wear. It’s sort of ridiculous. I was just wondering how old are you when you start registering advertisements and gossip and all of these media-based information. Actually,registering it. I never blink when it comes to ads anymore. I think of it as just another regular part of my life. It shouldn’t be! There should be a boundary when it comes to ads being in our personal space. There was an article in LA Weekly about illegal ads being put on buildings by a billionare. He strikes up deals with the owners of buildings,you’ve seen them. The ads on buildings and you wonder how people can see through the windows at all. The thing is, they aren’t allowed but they are still finding ways to by pass it and have these ads in our faces.
I’m not thinking about having children anytime soon but I’m already worried about the influence that the media has on my kids. My younger cousin is a complete Miley Cyrus fan and I disapprove. I do not think Miley Cyrus is a good role model at all. But it’s not like I can stop her from watching her on tv and if I even DO manage that miracle, this girl is plastered everywhere from the internet to billboards. I can’t just leave my cousin in an empty room, I’m pretty sure that that would count as child abuse. There really is no way for anyone to hide from the media completely. It will forevermore be a part of our lives. The future generation will have nothing but ads on their school buses, in their books and everywhere they look. Maybe…EVEN IN THEIR DREAMS. Too sci-fci? Just wait, Starbucks will find a way to place ads in our eyelids. (Probably not.)
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