Monday, April 27, 2009

It's not ALL garbage...most of it is though.

Many celebrities aren't completely coked out assholes who aren't deserving of any fame or attention. Some do some good things, they donate money, they adopt children, they help build schools, this however isn't always the focus. Celebrities can do good simply by using their status to get the word out about something they care about. If you think about it, how much more are you going to pay attention to something if it has Will Ferrell or Sarah Silverman in it rather than someone you've never seen? You'll probably pay more attention to the one with the celebrities in it. Which is the aim of PSA's like this.



This reminds me of an essay by Chuck Klosterman in his book IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas. He was in Ireland interviewing Bono from U2 and he was conducting part of the interview in Bono's Maserati. He was mentioning how silly fame is and the whole concept of wealth and celebrity is. There was a point where a young child was hitchhiking and Bono pulled over and picked him up. Klosterman wondered for half a second if this was merely because there was a journalist in the car with him or if he regularly did things like this. He quickly realized it was the latter. To have everything so figured out is somewhat enviable, Bono knows that because he's so priviledged that he must help out those less fortunate even if it's something as simple as giving someone a ride home.

However celebrities also function in another way. They have the power to bring us together. Celebrities, not unlike professional sports or even a recent film give people common ground. It doesn't matter where you're from or what your socio-economic status is, mention "Brangelina" or "Tomkat" and you're bound to have someones ears perk up and want to get in on that conversation.

A brief article written by a staff writer at The Lowell makes this point and I think it's completely valid. "Everything in moderation is fine, of course. There’s nothing wrong with a little celebrity obsession. It can actually be a good thing at times. Celebrity obsession brings people together: It provides conversation starters such as, “Damn, don't you think Tom Wellings is hot?” It gives us people to love (We heart Johnny Depp!!!!), it gives us people to hate, it gives us a sense of identity and “culture.” (http://www.thelowell.org/content/view/1775/29/)

"The Soup" is a sort of magazine format show on E! It's been running for quite a while, originally hosted by Hal Sparks, it is now hosted by comedian Joel McHale. The show is basically a recap of all the celebrity news of the week presented in a comical way and generally pokes fun at celebrites for the supid things they do. More than just a recap there are production elements that take it one step further and make it into a sort of sketch show as well. It sound silly and most times it is but it's not trying to be anything that it isn't.



It's a show about stupid things and it knows it. For example Al Roker took home the award for "Outstanding Achievement in Not Broadcasting the Weather While in Front of a Weathermap" at the 2009 Soup Awards:



Stupid? yes. Entertaining? yes. It's not trying to change the world like Bono but it serves it's purpose. If you boil it down, celebrity news is no different than sports news. It doesn't actually mean anything but it's still fun to talk about it.

Celebrities: Not Just Page Six Anymore

As the temperature heats up, the desire to go to the beach is felt by all. This may sound like a great day to most, but to some it is like being placed in front of a firing squad. The thought of laying out in a two piece can be cringing to girls because of the high standards set by the media industry. Most gossip magazines have the most sales with pictures of celebrities in swimsuits on the cover or featured inside. One of Sports Illustrated's highest grossing issue's is the swimsuit edition. This puts pressure on all the girls looking to impress in a bikini, but I have learned that most of the time it is not in their heads. When these pictures of Nicole Richie were released, the media went crazy with her being anorexic, but before it was constant talk of her being overweight or vuloptuous. Then they wonder why girls have eating disorders? It is like you cannot win. Either your too fat or too skinny, short or tall, small or large. At the end of the day if you aren't happy with yourself in your own skin, no one is going to want to be around you.
Girls aren't the only ones brainwashed by the bikini buzz. Men also have their own standards set by the media as to what women should look like in their bathing suits. I experienced this first hand on one of the first warm days of the season. Everyone crowded together at local Puffer's Pond to relax and catch some rays. I happened to be with a group of young men who didn't exactly treat each girl with the respect they deserved. Every comment out of their mouths was about their chest or behind, and if it wasn't that it was about their weight and how they could spare to shed a few pounds. It really made me think about if the tables were turned. What if girls just sat around critiquing every little inch of a boys body? Criticizing eyes are always turned to yound females, and compared to the pin-thin celebs that are pictured on the covers of every magazine.



After a picture of Jessica Simpson was released to the public of her singing at a concert. Headlines of a FAT Simpson were everywhere. Even on the news outlet CNN, they talked about the singers supposed weight gain. Everyone was talking about how she let herself go, and how bad she looked.




The media's vision seem to point out only imperfections, making what the beauty ideal is of "perfection" be completely impossible.












I think it is amazing that something as stupid as a woman gaining a couple pounds can make national news. Also it is amazing that they used the term fat. In no way is she fat, yes she might have gained a couple pounds, but is it really necessary to point it out to the world? It gives a very negative connotation on the female body, and young women who look up to her might look in the mirror and question their own bodies. This can lead to a number of unhealthy lifestyle changes. I just think stations like CNN should stick to things that are actually newsworthy, and maybe our society would deal with image a bit better.




It is not just the news on television or on computers that is sending us these messages in order to stay thin. Several popular magazines can't go one issue without publishing the newest diet. In the world of women’s magazines today, we have several that are all telling us the same thing-how to be/stay thin. If a women walks up to a magazine shelf the pages are basically screaming to lose weight or be skinny. Pin thin models and actresses are plastered on to every cover. I skimmed through each of these magazines above, and they all had at least 5 articles on how to be skinny.






Being healthy is one thing, but in today’s society image beats out all other crudentials in a person. We have a completely image driven society, and several self esteem issues can be seen with young women today. They are always comparing themselves to the celebrities/models they see all over the place, and can’t appreciate themselves as an individual with thoughts and dreams, all they can see is the number on the scale.


When it comes to celebrity obsession, in today's society the updates don't just come from a weekly magazine or daily newspaper. They are uploaded at the speed of light on blogs. Every minute you can go to a website and find out what's new in the world of celebrities. Even with the website Twitter you can hear from the stars themselves to know what's going on. Now the bloggers themselves are becoming famous like Perez Hilton. There is even a website called "I'm not obsessed" that actually lets you buy clothes similar to those of celebrities. Funny that it is called I'm not obsessed when it seems like the obsession just hit a whole new level. Children are growing up surrounded with the news of famous actors and models instead of news around the world. With outlets like CNN making celebrity weight issues front page news, it is scary to think about the priorities in this society.















When I was growing up, dreams of being a celebrity were a rarity. Most everyone I knew wanted to be a teacher or nurse. Now a days with young famous role models like Miley Cyrus, young women want to grow up to be actresses, models, or singers. Major media outlets like Disney are representing kids to be older then they really are. There is much more pressure to be wealthy and famous then there ever was, and children are growing up thinking this is what they have to be because of what they see on television. If this keeps up there is going to be a lot more struggling actors in the world then struggling students.




The lifestyles of young, rich, and sometimes famous people are also appearing all over the reality television scene. When flipping on the television today, there are hundreds of reality tv shows. MTV has made it a point to display their potrayal of what life is like for high school students. With shows like Laguna Beach and True Life, MTV gives a limited representation of what kids do in high school. Most of the time it is kids going out and socializing-homework is NEVER a topic on a show because well, it’s not entertraining. They are giving a distorted image to entertain teens. The problem is, most of these shows are scripted and are made just to get good ratings and enhance the company. Kids grow up and think they should act as how they see the kids do on tv. With this “reality” comes a harsh realization when they figure out that life’s not a beach party like they show on tv.






-KK

Instant Celebrity


A new type of celebrity has been introduced to us recently. This is known was the "instant celebrity" the person who is suddenly cast into the limelight and is generally famous just for being famous. We can classify several people as being part of this category. If we look at Paris Hilton or Nicole Ritchie and ask what they are actually famous for I think it would be hard to say. Is it because they're such good actresses? Not exactly, what about Lauren Conrad or Spencer Pratt, do these people deserve the attention they get? This also extends to people who are on reality shows and even people who are on game shows. Kids who were on MTV's "The Real World" get paid to make appearances places and to be seen at bars and clubs. These people didn't even do anything. They didn't work hard to produce an album or put on 30 pounds to play someone in a film. They're simply famous for being famous.
People who are on shows like "Survivor" and nearly every single show on VH1 now have a certain celebrity status. These shows such as "Rock of Love" with Bret Michaels or "Flavor of Love" with Flava Flav or "A Shot at Love" with Tila Tequila are all based on the same premise but once these shows had run their course, and even had sequals there were spin offs that were now starring contestants that were on these other shows. We were subjected to "I Love New York" then "A Double Shot At Love". The list goes on.











On a different page from this shameful sort of reality television we have the sort of "working class" reality show. This includes shows like "Ax Men", "Ice Road Truckers" and "Deadliest Catch". Again, these people don't really do anything, they just happen to be living a different type of life than most people and have a camera documenting it. People in turn transform these people into a sort of celebrity. These people would probably get recognized in public, maybe not as often as someone who is on MTV but still they have achieved some sort of celebrity status.










This brings me back to the question of why? Why do we give these people so much of our attention. Why do millions of people pay attention to what is happening in the "lives" of these "normal" people? The concept of instant celebrity is sort of new but if television continues down this same path then this will be much more of this phenomenon to go around.



Reality TV star Jade Goody is very notable because she was one of these nobodies who was catapulted into the spotlight and because famous somewhat overnight. She was on the UK Reality show "Big Brother" and was kicked off but subsequently had her own TV spinoffs and product line, which included fragrances. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer and the whole ordeal leading up to her death was more of less completely publicized.










Saturday, April 25, 2009

Celebrities > News



This video is an extreme example and incredibly cheesy but it gets the point across fairly well. It's hard to define when but "fluff" pieces made their way to the front pages and were allowed to take up huge segments on our nightly news. It's almost comical but it might be the right move for news outlets to put the emphasis on stories about these celebrities because this is what people are actually interested in. This is of course speculation and I could be wrong but I think if faced with the choice of watching a news story about the economy or conflict in the middle east people would almost always opt for the piece about celebrities. I suppose i'm guilty of this, but I generally try to avoid any sort of televised news and usually get most of my news from the BBC (who even has an entertainment section on their website).

I found a short article/blog written by a woman who is a writer and pastor in Ghana and it really made me think about what it would be like to be part of these issues that are often skimmed over. She writes: "I knew I was back in America when I turned on the news.

It was Sunday morning. While on a trip to Africa, I had followed each day the growing tension between the United States and Iran, so I switched on the TODAY show at 8am to see if anything important had happened during the night.

The first item of news was from Africa.

It wasn't news of Darfur where radical Islamists daily massacre people while their government turns a blind eye. It wasn't news of the AIDS epidemic which has affected Africa more than any other continent. It wasn't news from the Congo where a civil war has left more dead than in Europe during World War I.

It wasn't news from Zimbabwe which now has the highest rate of inflation in the world (over 1000%) and the lowest life expectancy (37 for men, 34 for women). But the news was highlighting a country close to Zimbabwe—Namibia, where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had decided their first child should be born!"
(http://www.ucg.org/commentary/celebrities.htm)

To have things put into perspective like that makes you feel really awful about not always paying attention to the news that is important. We've discussed things like this in class in the context of political issues and I know that if something is happening on the other side of the world and isn't really in my own back yard it's harder to focus on because 9 times out of 10 it's not going to effect me. I try to stay as informed as possible even on things that aren't going to directly effect me but sometimes it's difficult. However as difficult as it is do we really need things like this?

Celebrity Obsession: Part of our DNA?

It may turn out that our obsession with celebrities and our constant need to want to know what their doing could be more than skin deep. When a set of monkeys at Duke University weren't given as much water as they usually are allowed during a regular day and were given the choice between their favorite juice and seeing a picture of a dominant "celebrity" monkey, they almost always opted for the picture of the other monkey. The monkeys also had the same reaction when they were offered to see a photo of the opposite sexes sexual organs. This was an experiment to study social mechanics and also to try and understand "how the brain acquires and processes visual information about social status." (http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Science/Story?id=623557&page=1) This was pretty fascinating to me because it would explain one aspect of why we as humans are so attracted to celebrities. Even more interesting is that despite their thirst and at the risk of dehydration the monkeys would rather see the picture of the dominant monkey and had to be bribed with extra juice to look at pictures of monkeys that were seen as lower on the social ladder.

Another thing to look at aside from difference species is different culture. It's always interesting to hear what people have to say when they return from studying abroad or taking a trip. I found a short article by a college student from California State University and she noticed that while she was abroad in France that her supply of celebrity gossip magazines was much leaner than here in the states. This raised questions about why our cultures were so different. (http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/archives/2006/spring/opinion/v12n83-american.shtml) This also made me think about what my friends who had studied in the UK said about how into the celebrity gossip that the English were. The UK tabloids were much worse than what we have in the states because they're not as censored and nudity among other things are allowed to be printed however, I haven't experienced this first hand. A pretty good example of this would be the United Kingdoms long running reality show, Big Brother. The states had their own version of this show but I don't believe it faired as well as it did in the UK which is now on it's 7th season.

Embedding is disabled so I can only do a link but you kind of get the idea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URNc1EkRB0s

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Inescapable Lure of the Fashion Industry - KM

Are you a Shopaholic?

This trailer for the recently released film "Confessions of a Shopaholic" is a great demonstration of the typical "shopaholic" prevalent today. There are many more among our society than we may think, varying greatly in intensity, of course. There have been numerous accounts of individuals, especially women, bringing themselves into great debt because they can not control their impulses to shop. Other studies have been done which determined that many more of us might be considered "shopaholics" than we would initially assume.


For instance, here is an account from a "real-life" shopaholic:

“As I lay in the darkness, all I could think about was going to the local shop, buying bottle of vodka and some paracetamol, and killing myself. My life had become a nightmare.”

“The only thing that stopped me was that I didn’t even have enough money to buy the vodka and pills.” (2)

Her problems began when she went off to school to study fashion journalism at the age of 18. Banks began offering her huge overdrafts and credit card offers for her kept coming in the mail. Since she had never had much money at her finger tips, it was very tempting to treat herself to nice things.

Below image from http://www.about-face.org/goo/

She states, “I was living in a student house and driving an old car, but being able to dress up in new clothes and have expensive haircuts made me feel good about myself.” She expressed the fact that she loves clothes and that with this money at her disposal, she began buying pants she liked in every color instead of just one, splurging on designer sunglasses, and buying a full ensemble instead of just one piece. However, she explains that because she was never spending a large amount at once, she never realized she had a problem. She was spending about £500 more than she was bringing in each month, relying on fifteen different credit cards to feed her habit.

Finally, she began noticing the debt piling up. She refused to open her mail and avoided the problem. I wasn’t until she had thoughts of suicide that she finally reached out to her parents for help. They helped her determine that she was in £30,000 worth of debt. Lucky for her, her parents took out loan to save her from declaring bankruptcy and she is now paying them back by payments of £139 per month. (2)

What would have happened to a similar individual without parents to come to their rescue? What drives people to behave in such a way, to keep spending when they know they can not afford it, to want things so bad they will do anything to obtain them?

Another “shopaholic” interviewed explained how she got into such trouble with debt due to her shopping habits. In the beginning she explains, she had control, paying off her credit card in full each month. Then she went on a vacation and wasn’t able to pay off the card, the charges just kept building from then on. She would increase her limits, when a card filled, she’d open another. She thought, “Oh I’ll just buy this top and pay it off next month.” “If I used my credit card, I would pay it off in full the following month. Then, I went on holiday one year and couldn’t keep up with my payments.

An expert on addiction explains, “Shopping addictions are on the rise as society becomes increasingly materialistic and image-conscious.” She goes on to explain that today, “how you look is who you are, so it’s little wonder that women like Natalie are developing an addiction to shopping.” (2)

As Julie explains in her blog about housewives and their right to fashion, “There’s nothing to me like wearing something I like, something creative and colorful, something that says this is me! (3)

We all use clothing for different reasons, to fit in or to show our individuality, or as “Julie” explains, it brings out something about who we hope we are and who we want to be.

Shopaholism is a serious disorder in the field of psychiatry.

“Because we all shop and it is even encouraged in our culture, we haven’t been as quick to recognize the truly devastating consequences of this behavior/disease, financially, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally.” (4)

Below image from http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~nshah/fashioncrimes/consumerism.html

A study was done on 280 people in the UK. Of the people surveyed, 67% had bought items they had never worn or used, 84% had bought a perceived bargain on impulse, almost one third shop for non-essential items every week, and one fifth admit they think about shopping at least once per day – of this group 33% said this thought made them excited and 19% said it made them feel more confident. (4)

Clearly a majority of people are struggling with these types of issues of some level of shopaholism, and addiction to material things and fashion for many different reasons – especially self-esteem.

For real sufferers of shopaholism, “they don’t acquire things, things acquire them.” (4)

Much of the research I found directly addressing shopaholism was done in Britain, I thought this was an interesting side note. Have we not come to terms with this being a true disorder here in America? How devastating that would be to our consumption-driven society!

Why do we allow Fashion to decide who we are?

Why do people feel pressure to cooperate with fashion trends? Why is it so closely linked to our self-esteem? Why must we follow fashion trends to fit in?

"Products are social tools, serving as a means of communication between the individual and his significant references." The study found that self-esteem was the main motivator to both encourage or discourage participants to consume certain items, brands, and styles of clothing. Interestingly, women were found to be less brand reliant than men for identity communication. Consumers who considered themselves "anti-fashion" or dressing to show their individuality even experienced some situations in which they were more likely to conform to others' expectations.

The study found two motivating functions for fashion: social identification and distinction. The participants were able to pick out which groups they did not want to be considered part of through their appearance and which ones they did want to be apart of based on types of clothing choices.

One participant shared, "If you are seen negatively it is like rejection... being seen as not fitting in or being rejected or whatever... you are accepted if you are OK, you are middle of the road, you are totally accepted if you are not just making fashion statements... (Chloe, age 25)." (6)
Below image from http://the-lovely-hearts.deviantart.com/art/
An interesting thing to note about this study is that each of the participants fully acknowledged that they are judged by others on their appearance. They actively consider how they will fit in when deciding what fashion trends to follow and what clothing to wear. They know which looks to avoid and which to adopt. It just seems to be acceptable that we are all judged by how we dress ourselves. It leads me to ask the question, what about people who can not afford certain types of clothing, or afford to buy new clothing. Are they then denied entry into a certain social group? How can this be so readily accepted?

We can't seem to escape this relationship with fashion. It seems to be deeply engrained in each of us, a need to label others by their appearance and the way they have decided to present themselves. We are taught which types appearances belong to which group each and everyday by the media we are bombarded with.

A study using personal shopping diaries was able to point out two "vulnerability factors" which seem to raise the risk of being a compulsive shopper. The first of which is a "materialistic value system", meaning that a person looks to what types of material goods they have and how many to determine whether or not they have achieved major life goals, like happiness. These types of people tend to feel that material goods are a solution to any and all of their problems.

The second factor was found to be "concerns of the self-concept". This means that if a person feels far from what they would like to be, far from their ideal self, they are also vulnerable to a shopping addiction. This type of person uses spending and buying material goods as a form of "self-repair". They buy goods which symbolize the ideal self they are trying to emulate. For example, a person with concern of the self-concept might think, "If I buy a glamorous dress, I might feel like a glamorous person." Many people fall into this second category because fashion is so closely linked to self-image. (5)


The Fashion Trap

Because we are so wrapped up in fitting in and how we match up to the people around us, we are an easy target for retailers and the fashion industry.
Fashion magazines make you feel subpar and that you need to go out and buy things, or change the way you apply your make-up to keep up with fashion and be attractive.
One blogger who recently struggled to pay off more than $30,000 of debt posted a blog, "Throw Away the Fashion Mags". In it she explained fashion magazines were hard for her to let go of, but in the end realized she was just torturing herself by viewing the things she wanted but could not have. She realized that these publications "sell an impossible lifestyle". She exclaimed that in magazines with the “‘What’s hot, what’s not’ sections – the what’s not was what was hot last month!” (1) How are we supposed to keep up?
"The media 'bombard us with ideals and role models that are likely to make us feel inadequate and in need of fixing'". It is not necessarily fair to pin point one advertisement or magazine that makes us feel this way. We are faced with these images every way we turn, sending a general message that we are only what we have, bringing us back to the checkout counter to better ourselves. (5)
Because fashion magazines are both commodities and cultural productions, "in which the not-entirely-separate interests of advertisers,
the fashion world and readers come into play, all kinds of contradictions emerge in their contents."
I did a project last semester for Lynn Phillips, dissecting an edition of both a women's and men's magazine. I chose to work with Women's Health and Men's Health, thinking they might be less ad filled and less likely to send negative images to their readers. However, what I found was much the opposite. Each of the magazines contained ads on more than 60% of their pages. On top of this, advertisements were embedded in many of the articles. Articles detailing which beauty products to buy typically choose to showcase products from whichever companies are willing to send the magazines free samples, not which beauty products work the best. While these magazines focused on health, they showcased every piece of clothing or workout equipment you "had to have" to stay fit and look good while doing it. These magazines were not about the health of their readers, they were created to sell more products, to sell the new idea of health as fashion.
A writer for the Economist wrote a piece, Fashion is a way of defining our identity. He begins by pointing out the unnecessary nature of the fashion industry, the overzealous runway outfits and fashions so outrageous we would never see them on the streets. He mocks the outrageous prices for things we can find similar for a mere fraction of the cost. But, just as he is about to bid farewell to fashion, he admits we are all trapped within its grasp. He summarizes his feelings well for all of us, "a resentment of the fact that we are all fashion victims." He makes a great comparison about an elegant Parisienne who must have her top notch designer fashions to identify with her particular crowd. While, a London businessman fashions himself in a classic pinstripe suit and a dreadful tie to fit in with his crowd. If either of these individuals chose to switch it up, the Parisienne to wear some totally out of season accessory, or the businessman to don a flamboyantly colored coat, they would stand out from their particular group and be turned away. "The underlying paradox is that fashion, by definition ephemeral, is always with us. Fashion is a mark of "collective identity." (10)
So how do we fight this?
It's clear that something needs to be done to alter our relationship with the fashion industry. Far too many negative effects come from the current relationship, overspending, self-esteem issues, body image and health problems, and more. The problem is, changing the current relationship is not an easy or simple task. It needs to be apart of a change to the entire layout of our society. Our capitalist system requires that we function as consumers, consumers who respond well to messages from advertisers and corporations, so that we act as they need us to for the system to function. The fashion industry is a prime example of this relationship. The current fashion constantly changes and we feel obligated to participate because the industry has invested deeply to ensure that we are constantly consuming and servicing their profits.
An interesting organization was put together to help transform the fashion and beauty industries to put these problematic relationships to an end. The organization, Inside Beauty, has created a list of "5 Resolutions to Transform the Fashion and Beauty Industries." These steps are written from the point of view of those in the fashion and beauty industries, what they can do to help transform the industries in which they work. I've included them below as my paraphrasing allows important content to be lost from their original content.

"

We invite all members of the fashion and beauty industries to unite and...

Educate Our Audience
We recognize that our industry sets trends and influences millions. We take that power seriously. We will celebrate the true spirit of fashion and beauty with healthy messages and images. We are aware that girls are especially vulnerable to the idealization of thinness and the drive for perfection, and that it is critically important to set positive examples for future generations.

Educate Ourselves
It is imperative that we learn from tragedies like the recent death of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston, who succumbed to anorexia. We will align ourselves with trusted experts to ensure that all members of our industry are prepared to recognize the signs and symptoms of eating disordered behavior.

Take Responsibility
We are deeply troubled that eating disorders and poor body image have reached epidemic proportions around the world. While we acknowledge that these are complex issues with no single cause, we will do our part to respond proactively because we know that some sufferers are young models and many others are our consumers.

Take Action
We understand that eating problems do not always appear in the form of skin and bones, and that every sufferer should receive support and referrals. We will reach out to those in need. We will also participate in the creation of ongoing industry-wide programs, events, and awareness-raising campaigns rooted in honesty and compassion.

Stay Connected
We believe the best way to bring about change is to bring the most passionate, open-minded, and creative people together. Therefore, we will form a network of professionals dedicated to holding the fashion and beauty industries to the highest standards of integrity and social responsibility. [11]"

As for us, those not working in the fashion or beauty industry, fashion and beauty consumers, I think the steps are fairly similar. Education is key. Media literacy is something we need to have ourselves, and we need to educate those around us, especially young, impressionable girls, on how to digest the media they are bombarded with everyday. We need to teach them that what they see on TV and in the magazines is not the truth and it is not reality. We also need to create strong programs for young girls to build self-esteem in other ways to prepare them for the harmful images and messages they will soon be bombarded with. Once we have done what we can to deal with the consequences of the fashion industry, we then need to take it step further and limit the consequences from the source. We need to lobby for more regulation on how things can be advertised and who they can be targeted at. The issue of the fashion magazine especially, that material needs to be presented in a more clear way. It needs to be common knowledge that those pieces of print are not our friends, they are purely advertising material for fashion and beauty retailers throughout. While this seems like a problem bigger than any of us can solve, the most important part is to shed light on the issue, to let people know their is a problem, and it NEEDS to be changed. We need to educate our youth, we need to educate ourselves in order to stop these negative effects of the fashion industry. We should not be slaves to something that we ultimately drive, through our participation and purchasing, we should have more of a say.

- Kayla

References

[1] (2006, March 27) Throw away the fashion mags. http://thedebtdefier.blogspot.com/2006/03/throw-away-fashion-mags.html

[2] O'Hagan, Eimear and Christina Windsor. 'My 33K fashion addiction almost KILLED ME'. http://www.fabulousmag.co.uk/features/feature_fashionaddict_issue_029.php

[3] Leung, Julie. (2004, October 4th). Buying sly and sexy for self-esteem. http://www.julieleung.com/archives/1373

[4] Moyo, Lynda. (2009, Mar 23). Confessions of a real-life shopaholic. http://www.bodyconfidential.co.uk/index.asp?sessionx=IpqiNwy6IW7lJ0qiNwF6IHqi

[5] Mundell, E.J. (2005, Sept. 28). Compulsive Shopping Carries a Heavy Price. http://sexualhealth.e-healthsource.com/index.php?p=news1&id=528132

[6] Negative symbolic consumption and consumers' dive for self-esteem: The case of the fashion industry. Emma N Banister, Margaret K Hogg. European Journal of Marketing. Bradford: 2004. Vol. 38, Iss. 7; pg. 850.

[7] Krcmar, M., Giles, S., & Helme, D. (2008, May). Understanding the Process: How Mediated and Peer Norms Affect Young Women's Body Esteem. Communication Quarterly, 56(2), 111-130.

[8] Stillion Southard, Belinda A. (2008). Beyond the Backlash: Sex and the City and Three Feminist Struggles. Communication Quarterly, 56 (2), 149-167. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://www.informaworld.com.silk.library.umass.edu:2048/10.1080/01463370802026943

[9] Moeran, B. (2008, July). Economic and cultural production as structural paradox: the case of international fashion magazine publishing. International Review of Sociology, 18(2), 267-281

[10] "Rags and riches." The Economist (US) 370.8365 (March 6, 2004): 4US. Academic OneFile. Gale. Univ Mass Amherst. 20 Apr. 2009

[11] Fiona Bawdon. (2007, October). No model for girls. New Statesman, 136(4864), 28-29. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Global database.

[12] Amadei, Magali and Claire Mysko. 5 Resolutions to Transform the Fashion and Beauty Industries. Inside Beauty http://www.insidebeauty.org/5resolutions/

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Escapism and Celebrity Obsession


There is actually a scale that had been devised by researchers and now being obsessed with celebrities could mean you have a disease. "Celebrity Worship Syndrome" has three different levels according to Ketorah Gray of ABC News;

"Entertainment social: This is casual stargazing. The level of celebrity worship here is really quite mild: "My friends and I like to discuss how Ben could have moved from Gwyneth to J.Lo."

Intense personal: The person seems to feel a connection with the star: "I consider Halle Berry to be my soul mate."

Borderline pathological: Here, admiration has gone stalker-esque: "When he reads my love letters, Brad Pitt will leave Jennifer Aniston and live happily ever after with me."'

(http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=101029&page=1)

The question that always surfaces is: why?

Escapism is the most common theory, seeing these movie stars and musical artists everywhere and reading about how amazing their lives are sort of let's us sit back and wonder what it would be like to have a private jet or a mansion. We can constantly consume stories about celebrities and put our own spin on it. What would it be like to marry Jennifer Anniston or Brad Pitt? Most of us will never know but we can put outselves into these situations and imagine we live that mansion instead of the crappy apartment and drive Maseratis and hang out with all our friends like Vinnie Chase.





Seems harmless enough but kids today now see being a celebrity as a soultion to all their problems. Most kids today when asked what they want to be when they grow up don't give the answers they used to. They used to want to be astronauts and police offices, now they want to be famous and rich. Kids even develop a sort of "bond" with celebrities, tell any little girl that you don't know who Hannah Montana is and she'll probably explode.

Marcy Franklin of the University of Colorado cites "Jake Halpern, the author of Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Addiction, noted a survey given to 635 middle school students in Rochester, New York. One question asked with whom they would most like to have dinner. The clear winner, with 17.4 percent, was awarded to Jennifer Lopez. Jesus Christ came in at second with 16.8 percent, and Paris Hilton and 50 Cent tied for third with 15.8 percent (Halpern xvi). Additionally, when students were asked to rank which job they would most like to have in the future, the clear winner was the job of a celebrity personal assistant, sweeping the contest with 43.4 percent (Halpern xvi)." (http://colorado.edu/pwr/occasions/articles/americas_obsession.htm)

We put so much emphasis on celebrities and trying to become famous that we ignore our actual lives and always look to escape and live vicariously through stars.





I know this is horribly cliche by now but the words of Tyler Durden certainly give you something to think about.