This week in blogosphere we were asked, 'Is there a dark side to American success?' To me, this read as the ultimate place to display my extensive knowledge of celebrity gossip and pop culture references. So, let's go. In this blog, driven by the hard hitting journalism of Us Weekly and E! News, the lovely 'Tennis Courts' by Lorde will serve as our background music. As she sings about the fear that comes with her impending fame she states that, 'We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fear.' Fear that comes from the loss of anonymity due to fame, also fear of how fame and money can change someone as a person. If I were to delve into all the celebrities who abuse drugs to cope with stresses that come with fame and fortune (aka success) the list would be longer than Old Miley's hair. Athletes face the same challenge when using steroids. The pressure to be on top is so great that they are willing to risk their entire career and reputation to continue to be successful.
The September 2013 issue of Glamour magazine featured the story of Christina Huffington's battle with cocaine addiction. Christina is the daughter of Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post, and a congressman. Naturally, she felt a great need to be successful to keep up with the impressive track record of her family members. Much like in The Great Gatsby Christina was living a very privileged life and stated, "the thought doing drugs felt naughty and glamorous." Christina was able to quit cold turkey after first doing cocaine at age 16, but relapsed after seeing cocaine again in college. Christina went to Yale. The American mentality towards success is often 'Work hard. Play hard.' demonstrated in The Great Gatsby with his lavish parties associated with the roaring 20's. Yet, the party scene has been proven to reveal a dark side time and time again. Overall, coping with the pressures that success puts on a person is near impossible without some repercussions. In celebrity reference closing, Hoodie Allen has got us covered by summing it all up. 'Fame is for A$*holes' we can trust him because we went to University of Pennsylvania BEFORE he was famous. He so humbly informs us of in 'James Franco'. 'Ivy League cuz I'm a genius'. (I cry myself to sleep over this fact sometimes)
See ya next week guys :) bye :)
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
#changes
In today's ever changing world of communication, it should be only natural that punctuation adapts to fit the changes in language.
Punctuation has been a longstanding foe to many writers, including myself, with its rules feeling somewhat tedious. But nevertheless it seems glaringly obvious to me when I see others making simple punctuation errors in everyday life over the mediums of text and twitter. The chart of Source A provides proof of a changing language; it pays tribute to the fallen marks of punctuation in our language. It was news to me that these marks could even exist, let alone that, "the pilcrow and the hedera enjoyed temporary places in common usage before fading from view." After realizing that punctuation can be trendy, it seems obvious with the usage of the common use of hashtags '#'. Similar to how placing an exclamation point after a sentences changes its tone and demeanor, the hashtag leaves the reader reading the statement differently. Asterisks have also taken on a new meaning through their usage on twitter. Placing two asterisks around an action set the scene for a tweet. This is needed in today's world where thoughts can be limited to 140 characters. As stated in Source F, "users are forced to be concise," so they found a way to convey tone without taking up too many of the precious characters. Hashtags essentially do the same thing, they give detail without taking space. Lastly the @ symbol has come into usage in the age of the internet, serving as an identifier. All these symbols will more than likely be gone by the time I have grandchildren, maybe even by the time I get married. By then the latest craze will have come along with new punctuation to fit.
Punctuation has been a longstanding foe to many writers, including myself, with its rules feeling somewhat tedious. But nevertheless it seems glaringly obvious to me when I see others making simple punctuation errors in everyday life over the mediums of text and twitter. The chart of Source A provides proof of a changing language; it pays tribute to the fallen marks of punctuation in our language. It was news to me that these marks could even exist, let alone that, "the pilcrow and the hedera enjoyed temporary places in common usage before fading from view." After realizing that punctuation can be trendy, it seems obvious with the usage of the common use of hashtags '#'. Similar to how placing an exclamation point after a sentences changes its tone and demeanor, the hashtag leaves the reader reading the statement differently. Asterisks have also taken on a new meaning through their usage on twitter. Placing two asterisks around an action set the scene for a tweet. This is needed in today's world where thoughts can be limited to 140 characters. As stated in Source F, "users are forced to be concise," so they found a way to convey tone without taking up too many of the precious characters. Hashtags essentially do the same thing, they give detail without taking space. Lastly the @ symbol has come into usage in the age of the internet, serving as an identifier. All these symbols will more than likely be gone by the time I have grandchildren, maybe even by the time I get married. By then the latest craze will have come along with new punctuation to fit.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Getting in Touch with My Inner Teen Girl
Welcome back, friends. Today, I have decided to combine the scary true words of Deborah Tannen, the genius of postsecret.com, tying it to Deborah Tannen's book You're Wearing That?, and finally some teenage angst-from that inner teen girl I have been a little too in touch with this weekend. So now would be an appropriate time for everyone to call me Lauren Conrad, because is there anything that girl doesn't do? (I love Lauren and have not yet given up hope that MTV is coming for me; even though it's in my best interests to drop it)
I was naturally very intrigued by postsecret.com and wanted to send something in. But, I thought, and thought, and couldn't think of something I had truly never told ANYONE. Until, by some impeccable timing, I swore myself to secrecy just days after learning of postsecret. Usually, anything that is eating away at me I divulge to 4 girls I met over the summer. We met at a camp, and they're spread all across the country. We are all one another's go-to's for unbiased advice, and a sounding board for any venting that needs to be done due to the great difficulties of high school drama. Though yesterday I altered the ending to a story I was telling them to protect this newfound secret. *Wild applause because I have kept a secret for 48 hours* But, in teenage girl time that's like, at least 6 months. Why did I hide this information? Well, because, in the eyes of Deborah Tannen there is no such thing as an 'unmarked woman' (and in the eyes of John Mayer, there's no such thing as the real world).
Simply put, I didn't want to be judged by these girls. I've always felt like a bit of an odd one out. They'll laugh at how my life and stories are always more entertaining, more dramatic, and more wild than anything going on in their lives. I was afraid of pushing my life from chaotic, to something that they would look down on. My first impression with these girls was the epitome of a 'marked woman'. Literally everyone I met and spoke to in Boston, at one point or another confessed to originally labeling me as a 'mean girl' or more bluntly, a bitch; even our own mentor. People tried to turn it into a compliment, my hair was curled too nicely, and my winged liner was too even. The black sundress and gold jewelry I chose to make a good first impression-didn't. The conversation I struck was seen as a trap, it would disappear as soon as authority figures left the room-I would then reveal myself as Regina George. My attempts to look pretty to impress these people had originally marked me as someone to steer clear of, and now I find myself afraid that my actions will mark me as someone to look down upon.
The genius of post secret is a way to vent feelings that would otherwise leave someone as 'marked'. Our society is in love with marking, marking someone is so easy, its nearly impossible to not love it. You're Wearing That? by Deborah Tannen explores mother daughter relationships in conversations and mothers' attempts to shield daughters from unwanted marks is greatly discussed. Tannen states that mothers and daughters critique one another on the 'Big Three-hair, clothes and weight'. This obviously relates back to the problem in society, that women are judged based on their looks.
Overall, I would like to thank anyone who read this dissertation of teenage angst thinly veiled as a blog post on issues in society. I obviously just have a lot of feelings...
I was naturally very intrigued by postsecret.com and wanted to send something in. But, I thought, and thought, and couldn't think of something I had truly never told ANYONE. Until, by some impeccable timing, I swore myself to secrecy just days after learning of postsecret. Usually, anything that is eating away at me I divulge to 4 girls I met over the summer. We met at a camp, and they're spread all across the country. We are all one another's go-to's for unbiased advice, and a sounding board for any venting that needs to be done due to the great difficulties of high school drama. Though yesterday I altered the ending to a story I was telling them to protect this newfound secret. *Wild applause because I have kept a secret for 48 hours* But, in teenage girl time that's like, at least 6 months. Why did I hide this information? Well, because, in the eyes of Deborah Tannen there is no such thing as an 'unmarked woman' (and in the eyes of John Mayer, there's no such thing as the real world).
Simply put, I didn't want to be judged by these girls. I've always felt like a bit of an odd one out. They'll laugh at how my life and stories are always more entertaining, more dramatic, and more wild than anything going on in their lives. I was afraid of pushing my life from chaotic, to something that they would look down on. My first impression with these girls was the epitome of a 'marked woman'. Literally everyone I met and spoke to in Boston, at one point or another confessed to originally labeling me as a 'mean girl' or more bluntly, a bitch; even our own mentor. People tried to turn it into a compliment, my hair was curled too nicely, and my winged liner was too even. The black sundress and gold jewelry I chose to make a good first impression-didn't. The conversation I struck was seen as a trap, it would disappear as soon as authority figures left the room-I would then reveal myself as Regina George. My attempts to look pretty to impress these people had originally marked me as someone to steer clear of, and now I find myself afraid that my actions will mark me as someone to look down upon.
The genius of post secret is a way to vent feelings that would otherwise leave someone as 'marked'. Our society is in love with marking, marking someone is so easy, its nearly impossible to not love it. You're Wearing That? by Deborah Tannen explores mother daughter relationships in conversations and mothers' attempts to shield daughters from unwanted marks is greatly discussed. Tannen states that mothers and daughters critique one another on the 'Big Three-hair, clothes and weight'. This obviously relates back to the problem in society, that women are judged based on their looks.
Overall, I would like to thank anyone who read this dissertation of teenage angst thinly veiled as a blog post on issues in society. I obviously just have a lot of feelings...
Sunday, November 3, 2013
I'd Come up with a Witty Title, but this Blog is All Over the Place
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has seen it's share of movie revamps. Of these, there are 9 based solely on the book, and 10 if you're to count the 2010 film Easy A. Yet, the conflict of the film seems so dated. This day in age premarital sex is not only acceptable to be happening, it's expected. Even extramarital sex isn't really going to cause a frenzy in the village. Cheaters still make headlines, but no one is slapping an A on Angelina Jolie's all-black wardrobe. Having a child out of wedlock is no longer a rarity, in fact in 2010 over 50% of babies born to women under 30 were babies born out of wedlock. In it's own crazy way Hester's life is rather similar to that of Kim Kardashian's. Both Hester and Kim had a baby out of wedlock; Hester with Dimsdale (the minister), and Kim with Kanye (who identifies himself as a god). While Hester was still married to Chillingsworth, Kim was still legally married to Kris Humphries at the time of baby North's conception-yet, both of the men were out of the picture with the ladies got knocked up. Yet, aside from the occasional jokes, Kim isn't publicly shunned. If anything, she's praised as a public figure. She endorses products, has her own product lines, and is put on the covers of magazines, and as all these items sell. Love her or hate her, she proves to hold some power over the general public.
So how could a story that feels so irrelevant still be taught in schools today? What is the purpose of reading about a society that publicly shuns Hester when no such thing would happen today? Not only is it taught in schools, it's referenced in pop culture. 2010's Easy A was loosely based on the book, Taylor Swift's 2008 hit love story references 'a Scarlet Letter', and the 2008 novel (and 2012 movie) Silver Linings Playbook in which Pat mentions how he likes that Hester believes in silver linings. The Scarlet Letter isn't just about Hester being shunned for adultery, it's about the morals behind her actions as opposed to Dimsdale's. The relevance of the story is how each of them deal with sin. Hester 'pays' for her actions up front and dies a saint, whereas Dimsdale appears to die as a result of keeping his sin hidden. The sin consumes him. It goes with the Puritan beliefs of the afterlife being more important than life on earth. Hester is in this sense alike to John Proctor, both confess early on and are able to die in good standing with society, and more importantly god.
Despite what it seems the lessons of The Scarlet Letter hold up in today's beliefs. Owning up to mistakes proves to be a hard choice, but one that garners respect from society. Yet, people in power tend to hid their missteps (alike Bill Clinton or Richard Nixon). Though some of the stigmas Hester faced have lessened, double standards exist (the slut shaming Miley got for her VMA performance, while Robin Thicke was forgotten). Society has changed, but we still have a long way to go.
So how could a story that feels so irrelevant still be taught in schools today? What is the purpose of reading about a society that publicly shuns Hester when no such thing would happen today? Not only is it taught in schools, it's referenced in pop culture. 2010's Easy A was loosely based on the book, Taylor Swift's 2008 hit love story references 'a Scarlet Letter', and the 2008 novel (and 2012 movie) Silver Linings Playbook in which Pat mentions how he likes that Hester believes in silver linings. The Scarlet Letter isn't just about Hester being shunned for adultery, it's about the morals behind her actions as opposed to Dimsdale's. The relevance of the story is how each of them deal with sin. Hester 'pays' for her actions up front and dies a saint, whereas Dimsdale appears to die as a result of keeping his sin hidden. The sin consumes him. It goes with the Puritan beliefs of the afterlife being more important than life on earth. Hester is in this sense alike to John Proctor, both confess early on and are able to die in good standing with society, and more importantly god.
Despite what it seems the lessons of The Scarlet Letter hold up in today's beliefs. Owning up to mistakes proves to be a hard choice, but one that garners respect from society. Yet, people in power tend to hid their missteps (alike Bill Clinton or Richard Nixon). Though some of the stigmas Hester faced have lessened, double standards exist (the slut shaming Miley got for her VMA performance, while Robin Thicke was forgotten). Society has changed, but we still have a long way to go.
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