Toys R Us

TOYS R US is a magical place. When you step in you instantly feel like a five year old lost in the most wonderful building in the world, regardless of your age, gender or ethnicity. And yet, certain toys are clearly meant or not meant for you depending on those very categories. Just one look at the box of a toy informs us of its intended playmate. In the store, were specific sections devoted to toys for girls or toys for boys. Our group, comprised of three guys and one girl, were immediately drawn to the Nerf guns.

On the box of all Nerf guns, there is always the picture of a teenage boy with intensity burning in his eyes, looking down the barrel of his spring powered plastic weapon of choice. The box all but shouts Nerf guns are for cool boys.

Being the cool boys they are, all three of the guys in our group immediately began intensely examining the array of Nerf weaponry. We picked various objects and began to excitedly compare the features of each gun, already planning the epic battles that would soon unfold on the battlefield of the boys hall. Meanwhile, Victoria awkwardly stood there. Why is it that we did not envision a Nerf Gun battle involving all of CITY Term? Why couldn’t we see ourselves playing with girls? Was it that we assumed they wouldn’t want them to play or that we didn’t want them to play? In fact, there is nothing about Nerf guns that precludes girls from playing with them. There’s no reason they would not want to play with them besides the fact that Nerf guns have always been marketed solely towards boys.

Boys want to play with these Nerf guns fundamentally, because men shoot real guns. Because it’s a semi competitive game based on war, something that has always been associated entirely, and dominated entirely by men. Boys aspire to be men. But boys, especially in this era, have very little to do with war. What has remained is the social association between the two.

Nerf Guns are fun, everybody should want to play with them, they’re little foam bullets that don’t hurt, that anybody can use, that require virtually no semblance of coordination and skill. Yet the guys immediately left poor Victoria all alone to jump at the arsenal of Nerf weaponry, presuming that she would not want to join us.

In discussion, we realized that we were in fact an example of the gender roles we were so quick to criticize in class the day before. No amount of discussion or self-awareness changes the fact, that we are all subject, to social pressure.

"Havin' dem Bitchezz"

“Look at this view”, “Good things come in threes”, “Don’t be jealous”. What’s the first thing that you think of when you hear these three phrases? Women. With no knowledge of the advertisement, one would automatically know that women are the basic premise of the ad just by looking at these quotes. Featuring Drake, Trey Songz, Pittbull and Rihanna, the advertisement promotes Kodak’s new camera the EasyShare. In Trey Songz’ ad he receives a picture of Drake in front of a sign saying “Drake Sold OUT” and responds with a picture of him on a balcony with a girl in the background. His catch phrase is “Look at this view”. The premise of the view is the background however, to the audience, the implication of the view is the woman. He then goes on to send the picture to Drake, Pittbull, Rihanna and Facebook. These ads are a series, with one celebrity for each commercial, four commercials in all. In the series, the competition of pictures trails on to Pittbull and Rihanna, who each submit a response, Pittbull’s being a picture of him with three girls and the caption “Good things come in threes” and Rihanna’s video being one of her surrounded by many women with the caption “Don’t be jealous”. In this series of commercials the viewer is exposed to many different kinds of success. It begins with Drake pronouncing his success with his sold-out concert but in order to one up him, Trey Songz flaunts his romantic evening with his partner. Pittbull does the same but instead of flaunting romance he flaunts numbers, numbers of women. Front row at fashion week, Rihanna tops them all with a video of her with many women, a lot more than three. All in all, with the premise of the camera being to easily share photographs and video footage with friends, the implication is that in this circle of successful idols the amount of women each celebrity is surrounded by defines their success. With Rihanna’s commercial, we found it interesting that she was included in a competition with men and in order to be included and beat the other men, she had to comply with their standard of success “havin' dem bitches.”

By Lara, Miles, Amelia, Phelix

Just Like Home?!

The toy that jumped out at us most, was in the “girls” section of the Toys ‘R’ Us. It was called “The Deluxe Cleaning Set” made by the company “Just Like Home.” On the box it shows a little girl enjoying her “realistic look” cleaning supplies. The set includes a toy broom, dust pan, mop, scrubbing sponges, swiffer like mop, replacement cloths, heavy duty gloves, and a mop bucket. The set comes in either light blue or lavender.

We feel that not only does this show consumers that women are supposed to grow up to clean but they should enjoy cleaning and think it’s fun. The fact that this set was in the “girls section” and showed only a girl playing on the box emphasizes the notion that cleaning is a feminine task and not masculine. The words on the front of the box, “just like home” support the idea that young girls should grow up to clean. Also it indicates the company’s premise that at the children’s own homes the women take on this role. This and the selection of baby dolls, kitchen sets, and other cleaning sets made us wonder why society influences little girls to “play grownup” long before they should.

Some questions that this raised for us were: Why are little girls attracted to these toys? While we understand that there is a pre-existing stereotype for women to be domestic that causes the industry to produce toys like this, we wonder what makes these toys so interesting to young girls. If these toys weren’t so clearly marketed towards young girls, would young boys want to buy them too? Are products like these causes or affects of gender stereotypes? If the packaging on these toys were made more gender ambiguous would it contribute to the gradual changing of female domestic stereotypes?

-Mary T., Kate, Marin, Sophia M.

Grab a Bud and Head to the Game

The advertisement that jumped out to us was the Budweiser screen in Times Square. It showed many Budweiser products on the large screen with interchanging sports and men as well as many refreshing images of ice and frothiness. No women were featured in this ad and the male scenes were associated with sports, primarily in the baseball field. The stereotypical American male is drawn to sports and by associating beer with the all- American past time it will definitely appeal to them. Not liking sports makes a guy different by not being masculine; therefore, this ad suggests that not liking beer makes you un-masculine. It’s expected of guys to enjoy sports, and by linking the two together it is showing that guys should be expected to drink beer to fit in at the sports games they love. This ad excludes women by not showing any female figures and focusing on sports. This could be an attempt to say that women do not or should not enjoy sports as much as men do, and therefore do not like beer as much as men do. This ad even extends to the point of suggesting that when a girl drinks beer or enjoys sports, they are losing their femininity.

Although we find this add to be stereotypical and generalizing the All American man, we have this type of advertising many times in toys, magazines, and commercials. Because of its prevalence, we can assume that these advertisements are the ones that sell. What does say about our society?

Blair, Adela, Rachel

KIDS THESE DAYS...

We started our trip to Toys R Us by asking ourselves what types of toys we liked to play with when we were younger. Quela, Abby, and Mika mentioned Bratz, Barbies, and Hot Wheels, and Christian said he used to love action figures and Hot Wheels as well. There were overlapping interests for the “boy” toys, but not for the “girl” ones. Arriving at Toys R Us, the result was the same. There was a multitude of little boys and little girls running around in the Lego and Bionicle sections, but no boys in the Barbie house, and if there were, it was unwillingly for the most part. No labels clearly designated “boy” and “girl” sections, but when we asked an employee where best to find a toy for our young niece, he definitively answered, “2^nd floor. That’s the girl’s floor.” The 2^nd floor consisted of a plethora of pink and butterflies, the premise being that girls like pink, and boys do not.

Along with colors being assigned to certain genders there were unspoken implications in the packaging that we saw that seemed to say: Boys like red and blue, cars, fire, and things that move fast. Girls don’t like “boy things” and boys don’t like “girl things”. These premises lead to the implications that boys will deem it socially unacceptable to play with Barbie, and it will become socially unacceptable for girls to play with cars.

After going down the escalator we went right and found ourselves in the electronics section. After browsing the various products, we noticed a pattern; the most notable being the color scheme. For example, we came across iHome music players available in two colors; one being blue, the other pink. This further shows how color is so directly involved in societal gender roles.

After discussing what our reactions were to visiting Toys R Us, everyone in our group came to the mutual agreement that the toy industry is abhorrently sexist. They make assumptions and premises based on the stereotyped genders that are imposed upon young children today. These toys, whether it’s a remote-controlled helicopter or an Edward Cullen Barbie doll, are geared towards either the boy or the girl by embedding within the toys a specific influence of gender.

C H R I S T I A N

Q U E L A

A B B Y

Sex Appeal, What Are Times Square Billboards Really Trying To Sell?

As we traveled through Times Square amongst the sea of advertisements two stood out to us the most. One a couple in Ugg boots dressed fashionably laying on top of a pile of logs and the other a sexy women peeling down her bikini against a beautiful beach backdrop showing her tan line. What we realized was that these billboards were trying to sell more than a trip to the Dominican Republic or a pair of Ugg boots, they were selling sex appeal.

The people in the Ugg add were romantically sprawled on top of the logs and what we realized was that this tactic seemed to aim towards men. We believe that Ugg is trying to interest men into buying their product for more business by showing off the fact that other men wear it. Ugg's are primarily known as being very feminine footwear. They are now are trying to be masculine by calling their product line "Australia," a place known for its outback and wilderness. Also the add shows a man caressing an attractive women next to him, which shows that if he wears Ugg's he will attract her attention.

The add for the Dominican Republic (DR) was a blatant reminder "sex sells." It catches your eye by showing you a half-naked women peeling down her bikini to show off her tan line with a "TAN SQ" inscribed in it. Obviously geared to attract men of the idea that if they take a trip to the DR they will be confronted by many sexy women. Any man who has felt the social pressure to fell masculine will immediately fell like traveling to the DR to meet these sexy women.

The social pressure on men to be as masculine as they can be is not only being used by media, but also fueled by the media to sell their product.

By, Joe, Jack, and Peter

"Wow Matey!"

Times Square is the commercial intersection of New York City. It is an overlapping of stores, billboards, window displays, restaurants, tourist traps and every aspect of the area is lathered in advertisements exclaiming, “this could be you!” Yet it was underneath the bright lights, and the numerous airbrushed giants that we found a shocking depiction of sex and gender in the big apple. Being mid October, the city has been growing Halloween stores right and left, like pimples on an adolescent. However, one particular Halloween store that we stumbled into in Times Square contradicted some of our fondest childhood memories.

Instead of our misty images of pumpkins and ghosts from the past, we found ourselves in a pot of sexual innuendo and scantly clad representations. In whichever direction you looked, your eyes found images containing long legs, short skirts, excessive cleavage, and pouty lips. Not only did the models look unreal and representative of porn stars, but the innuendo that accompanied the package was overwhelming. Strip officer, Tara U. Clothesoff, Beer Pong Babe (with a skirt reading “don’t forget to wash your balls”) Chick-A-Dee’s chick who was chocking a chicken, Naughty Nun, and Light Me Up Ladybug. These costumes covered a whole two floors.

Although there were some male costumes that were full of sexual innuendo, and penis jokes, none of them seemed as risky or revealing as the women's outfits. One particular representation that we found fairly contradictory was that of two sailor outfits. The males was plain white, entitled “Sailor” and covered up almost the entirety of his body. The models pose on the packaging was almost child like, and the model himself had plenty of what you would call “boyish charm”. However the counterpart to the “Sailor” costume, was the women’s equivalent, “Wow Matey!” made by Delicious: Sexywear of New York; this costume was in many ways an opposite. Depicted on the front was a young women with a bare stomach, her costume was tight and very revealing. The models pose included one hand on her hip, and the other playfully coiled in her pigtail. She was very thin, very tan, and to many men, very inviting.

We observed, that in this particular costume shop, men were not being objectified as objects of sex, whereas women were. And in the few cases, that men were being objectified, it was always in a powerful, masculine manner (pimps, wrestlers, warriors.) Different to the women, who it seemed were always there “to serve” the men and bring them pleasure. Not only was this somewhat disturbing, but we also found a whole section entitled “Teens and Tweens” who had similar outfits for young men and women.

The implications of these “sexy”, scandalous, skimpy costumes are that, they are giving women and young girls alike the same message. That they should be merely attractive whores. Some of us thought objectification of any kind was bad, yet others believed that objectification was okay, as long as it was being done to everyone. Our goggle-check also showed some interesting habits, like laughing and posing with all of these costumes while simultaneously being horrified. However, we all left wondering, what this store reflected of our modern day depiction of men, women, sex, and gender?

-Gracie, Paul, Tori, Leo

I'm A Barbie Girl

What if all women had the same body as a Barbie? Studies show that the body type that Barbie has is physically impossible to achieve and function with. At the same time, women feel pressure to look this way because that is what the media convinces them is the norm. Since men and women are more likely to look at these over sexualized kinds of ads—men because they are attracted to this, women because they strive for the skinny look—they are used without exception by companies such as Barbie.

We kept thinking back to the days when we used to play with Barbies. Were the Barbies as over sexualized as they are now? No, they were not. While we were in “Toys ‘R’ Us,” we stumbled upon a section with collector Barbies, showing us Barbies from many years ago. Gradually, the Barbies became more sophisticated and over sexualized. These toys that are targeted for little kids are portraying more mature and older women in their twenties. As a result, young girls are exposed to ideas of what they should look like before they should be worrying about superficial pressures in society.

As we continued past “Toys ‘R’ Us” to explore more of Times Square, we noticed that almost all fashion ads for women were promiscuous. Advertising companies are under the impression that this is the only way to grab the attention of men and women. At the same time, men are over sexualized as well. Most ads include men without their shirts on or staring seductively at a woman, who bears lots of skin and wears the same expression as her male counterpart.

To make a long story short, advertising towards adults and even children has gradually become more sexual than it has ever been. These advertisements are sexist towards men and women, inspiring the wrong ideas in the minds of children of the next generation.

-Deema, Mary R., Lucy, Hunter

Barbies Vs. Legos: Caelyn, Lauren, and Sophia N.

Yesterday we walked into Toys R Us in Times Square. We were hit with the memories of when we were 4 and getting to go to Toys R Us and pick out whatever we wanted. Everyone went to Toys R Us as a kid, it was the toy store to go to. This time it was different, we went in with different goggles on. We went in, however, not to pick out a toy, but to observe the gender stereotypes unconsciously built into toys.

When you are young your imagination is at its peak, children's toys are made with intension of kids putting themselves into the character. The pattern that stood out the most was girls characters were given unrealistic jobs, girls have dolls and Barbies that depict a lifestyle of, a princess, a girlfriend/wife, a mother, or prom queen. With the exception of mother, young girls are striving to be something that will not get them anywhere. Also all of them rely on someone else to provide for them. However boys toys have jobs such as: pilot, firefighter, doctor, or farmer. All of these jobs are practical and lucrative. Playing with these toys, boys will follow their dream and have a realistic profession, while girls dream of becoming a pretty princess. The likelihood of a boy achieving his dream is much higher then a girls.

To what extent do the gender specific toys affect the way children grow up?

Friends - Deema

Every weekend, I tell myself one more episode, and then I will start my homework. Yet, one more episode turns into five more episodes, and Sunday afternoon turns into Sunday night. This is the addictive nature of the hit comedy called Friends. Yes, I have already seen every episode of Friends, and yes, every weekend, I continue to watch and rewatch the episodes. Maybe it’s the comical relief brought by Chandler’s witty jokes, Phoebe’s quirkiness, or Joey’s shocking immaturity, or maybe, it is Monica’s obsessive qualities, Ross’s geekiness, or Rachel’s self-absorbed behavior. However, together the six of them fall into hilarious situations in all aspects of their life – relationships, work, and other miscellaneous situations. Through the seasons, I began to watch them grow up as people, to the point where I feel as if I know them. I have heard people say, myself included, things like, “Oh, that’s such a Rachel thing to do”, or “I can’t believe Joey got that turkey stuck on his head.” Those who watch the show regularly speak about these six characters as if they had cultivated personal relationships with them. However, it’s not only that, I sympathize with Chandler when Janice randomly pops back into his life; I laugh at Ross when all of the characters make fun of his multiple failed marriages, and I get excited with Rachel when she finds out that she is going to have a baby. Not only that, during the 90’s, Friends was so popular that people were constantly asking for the “Rachel” haircut.
Friends is an attractive show to all because of the blatant but still funny humor. For me, there are some shows that people find funny, but since I can’t seem to understand the jokes, I just nod along and pretend to enjoy it. There are other shows, like slapstick comedies, that are obnoxiously funny that after a while they stop being funny and become boring. Yet Friends mixes up the jokes in a way that every episode is funny. I always find myself looking for a funny episode but then remembering, it doesn’t matter because every episode is funny. However, what is it that makes a friends episode funny? I looked up the top ten funny episodes online, and almost every list had “The One Where Everybody Finds Out.” If you look at the description of that episode, it combines all the kinds of funny. The basis of this episode is Chandler and Monica’s secret relationship, combined with Ross needing to find a new apartment. Therefore, you have one random situation and one relationship. When Phoebe finds out about Monica and Chandler’s secret relationship, each of the characters handles the situation in a way that fully embodies their personalities. Monica’s competitive edge shines through, as do Phoebe’s weird quirks. Meanwhile, Ross is desperately trying to get this apartment and resorts to all ends to do it. Finally, work issues get worked into the episode as well because Ross has been fired for his job for his intense rage and is trying to show his boss that he is back on his feet when he sees Monica and Chandler through the window and freaks out in a typical Ross manner. This episode meshes together all of the qualities that makes Friends a funny show. Everyone can relate to work problems, relationship problems and those random problems that just rattle your day. Friends attracts so many people because it is about everyday issues that people face everyday.

Hey Bro - Stefan

There comes a time, when a man asks himself if they truly understand what it means to be a bro, and more specifically what it means to be in a broship. You hear about bros all the time, weather it be as I pass you in the hall and ask “what’s up bro?”, when somebody’s stray Frisbee lands at your feet and you hear “hey bro can you help us out”, or even as it was originally used, an abbreviation for brother. Bros, or the idea of a bro, are everywhere and shape our society in ways we can’t even begin to understand. I’m not kidding when I say, that the idea of a bro can lead a little boy cough* ten year old me coug* to their understanding of masculinity or their relationship with their friends. It definitely affects people’s idea of college, it’s value, and fraternities, but I’ll get into that later. We all see the word ‘bro’ in a different way, and it affects us all differently, because like any word, or concept, (words are concepts after all right?) it’s meaning is derived solely by yours and societies perception of said word/concept. So before my thoughts run away with me, I’ll try to project my understanding of what it means to be a bro onto you in the hopes that the whole world embraces it.
Of course we’ve all heard and some even seen what the comedic media presents as bros. Websites like College humorr will show you pictures or articles of trust fund frat guys drinking beers playin’ some LaX, icing each other and nailin’ some chicks. But the comedic media also portrays like, female high schoolers as, like, dumb valley girls, as if, portrays conservatively minded voters as George W esque, grammatically incorrect sentence forming buffoons, inhabitants of rural areas as gun tottin’, bible thumpin’, drawling fools, and eco conscious individuals, as bleeding heart liberal greenies who would sooner die of thirst than buy a plastic water bottle. The media does all this for one reason, and one reason only, it’s easier to make fun of an exaggerated or even falsified stereotype than the real thing. And I for one, simply refuse, to ever, ever accept that the beer drinkin, football watchin’, lax playin’, loud, annoying, bigoted college frat dude, is a bro.
Maybe I’m being idealistic, clinging to my what’ I’ve always held to be a bro, but as my bro put it, “a bro is someone you can tell things you can’t tell a friend, who you have a special relationship with where you start words with bro like: brolationship, broski, brossef. A bro is someone you can trust, because they’ll always be there for you.”
I concur bro,
I concur.
I know that said bro is my bro, through and through. The past five weeks of my life have shown me that there are bros out there. There are guys that you can stay up with for a few hours after the days work has been done, or more often than not put off till tomorrow and just talk with, make incredibly disgusting or offensive jokes with, and just kinda chill with. Because If you can just chill with someone, talk about nothing, the meaning of life, about your problems, or not say anything at all, than they are your bro. I can say without a doubt that I have found bros to last a lifetime, and if this doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, it should. For all my witty little quips, this is a truly beautiful idea and I’m opening my heart to it and to you; via blog…
The next time I pass somebody µin the hall and casually call them a bro, they should know, I don’t mean it. In the same way kids my age desperately try to convince each other that they simply “love this person” and don’t meant it. Maybe we’re trying to get people to like us by begin affectionate, maybe we’re desperately searching for love/a broship… I digress…
Nay, a bro is more than an insincere passing comment in the hallway. There’s a reason you put bro’s before ho’s. You can ditch your friends for her, but unless u loves that girl, bros come first, because a bro is a dude who’s there for you, no matter what.
And with that I can say to all the guys reading this,
I love you bro.

Where the Wild Things Are

I have a fear of letting go of my youth. I am enticed by everything about being young, and innocent. I love reading, and rereading books from my youth, and trying to recreate the feelings that I had when I was reading the books for the first time. I especially love when books are transformed into movies. My favorite movies would have to be Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Cloudy With a chance of Meatballs, and my all time favorite, Where the Wild Things Are.

Where the Wild Things Are is a children’s picture book that was published in 1963. It was written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. The book was so popular that it became an animated short, and opera, and in 2009 it was made into one of the best selling movies in the country. The movie is about a boy named Max is sent to bed for misbehaving, where he imagines a place where the wild things are. The Wild Things crown him their king after the promises that he makes to them, though he soon longs to be with his family again.

I have found that more and more people are becoming attracted to the minds of children and infants, and this movie shows a perfect window into the imagination of them. I am one of these people. I am obsessed with the brain, and the things that change throughout the lives of people. I realized that as we grow older, we lose our ability to imagine, and we become more boring. We are conformed by the rules and standards set by our society. This is why I have a fear of the future; I have a fear of losing my imagination.

Max is a ten-year-old boy who is living with a snotty sister, and a single mother. He has no idea what is happening around him in the world, and he couldn’t care less. He is naïve, and in his naivety, he is blissful. I want to hold onto my innocence and blissfulness as long as possible. I want to be ignorant to the world, and live without fear of anything except a fear of the dark. If more people had the imagination of children, there would not be nearly as much violence in the world as there is now.

Children don’t think in terms of hate, they love everything, as adults should. Children don’t judge someone based on their race or their religion, they judge them on whether the person is nice or not; and even if the person isn’t nice, they don’t categorize everyone that looks like them into the “mean” category; they categorize them based on that specific persons’ personality, and persona.

If the rest of the world had the mentality of Max in Where the Wild Things are, we as a people would be much better off. There would be no prejudice, and no hate. I am learning that it is okay to grow up; I just can’t loose my childhood mentality, and be sucked into the dull world that hates people based on what they look like, or whom the look up to.

Wyatt

What's So Funny?

Some claim the show is unoriginal. Some claim the show is offensive. Yet after nine seasons, most claim Family Guy to be one of the funniest and greatest shows on television. Yet why? The question here isn’t simply why people like it; the question is why it has caused the splash it has. Recently it has had ratings and viewers comparable to Dexter and Sunday Night Football. Sunday Night Football has on average, 18.1 million viewers. To be compared to that in a positive manner is ridiculous! Considering the fact that football is almost a religion in most parts of the country, having anywhere near that is amazing. So Family Guy with its 10.6 million viewers can be pretty much stated as a successful show. I personally love the show but I still can’t understand what brings me back every Sunday night. It’s not a drama, so there’s no background story to play out in the next episode. It’s not teaching me anything like any show on discovery, it’s just funny. However that can be said about comedy in general. Family Guy has many distinctions from the rest of the comedic genre. It isn’t placed in an interesting city, and it’s not live action. That narrows it down to pretty much just the animated comedy routine, but still Family Guy stands out. I know that the Simpsons is the longest running show in the U.S. and probably more nightly viewers but the question isn’t whether or not Family Guy is better, but why specifically does it work? The writers for Family Guy have produced their own breed of humor, topics and jokes that if a passerby heard not knowing about the show they would find horrific to say the least. But why does this entice us? Sure it has the usual array of bodily function jokes and hilarious physical violence but Family Guy takes it a step further. For instances here, where a simple bodily function joke goes in a direction no one has thought of, on any other circumstance this would be considered across the line having an entire family down Epicac to induce vomiting over a simple thing like the last slice of pie. Now to some this may be across the line but that’s what Family Guy does, it dances on the line and sometimes it pays off, such as in the hilarious scene, yet sometimes it doesn’t. Family Guy has been has already had three lawsuits and is still going strong. Not only have they danced with the legal lines but controversy has plagued Family Guy. Family Guy has been cancelled numerous times, not only because of competing time slots but because of just general offense that has been felt by its comedy. Venezuela banned the show from all stations because of an episode promoting marijuana. Perhaps that is where part of its charm comes from its ability to survive the worst of scandals. Another aspect that appeals to the public is its quirky uniqueness; I can honestly say that there is nothing like it on TV. Family Guy has the ability to pull off jokes that would bomb in any other context. They tend to stretch jokes to the point where they are hardly bearable and then cut to some other crack on some sensitive subject that make it either funny or offensive. For some reason this routine is found hilarious time after time by people such as myself. When they are using the same joke in a new context, they are probably prodding some sleeping bear of a sensitive subject, like religion. Some people are the first to get into a heated debate about religion while others are avoiding the discussion like the plague. But Family Guy crates a third category by diving right in, headfirst all while staying jocular. They make light of a heavy subject by putting religion into weird situations. Such as taking Jesus to dinner, on any other show this would be grounds for immediate cancellation. Yet Family Guy pulls it off and makes people laugh in the process. One of Family Guy’s trademark gags are cutaways, these constant random mini-scenes are iconic to the show. And though they can happen several times per episode and they seem to have no relevance, the audience takes it. When considering the audience of Family Guy however it makes sense. Teenagers are infamous for having low attention spans and a random scene with a small joke in it is just what one is looking for when sitting through a half an hour program. These scenes range from thirty seconds to two minute but no matter what they always seem to be a hit. Even with jokes that wouldn’t usually appeal to teenagers, such as musicals they seem to be able to form it in such a way that they bring the viewer to love it. I think that is why people find everything in Family Guy so funny, its universality. Family Guy makes fun of every group of people and walks away. I think that is why people love this show, it is such a break from the mold and it has the audacity to kick the rules aside and think nothing of it.
-Joe

Foniasophobia

I have an obsession with serial killers. I read about them online, watch "Dexter" and other crime TV shows, and constantly tell others about serial killers. I promise I am normal, but I know my obsession is really weird. However, I am obviously not alone in my obsession, proven by the prevalence of the serial killer in American pop culture.
Albert Fish. Hannibal Lector. Ted Bundy. Dexter. In slasher films, crime shows such as “Law and Order SVU”, or even television shows such as “Dexter”, the idea of a serial killer fits right in with the portrayal of violent figures in Pop Culture including gangsters, spies, vigilantes and the like. Not only are fictional serial killers prevalent in American pop culture, but the media also obsesses over real life serial killers such as Albert Fish or Charles Manson, with multiple documentaries and books about these real life horror movie characters. However, some opponents of violence in the media suggest that such prevalence has desensitized the public to violence, and could possibly even cause admiration for such acts. But is this really possible? In horror movies, with what character does the audience empathize with, the killer? No, they empathize with the victims. So, the real question is: why is it that we as a society are obsessed with such characters? If we love horror movies, yet empathize with the victims, does our obsession just stem from a desire to feel fear? It may very well be the simple fact that like sex, violence sells. Perhaps it is as simple as that for most, but for me it is not. I cannot watch horror movies, but I obsess over their characters. I read about serial killers online, but only those with female victims. I have a paranoid fear of serial killers, yet I am obsessed with them. Why is it that I am obsessed with serial killers? Perhaps my motive is the same as the rest of the world; I want to feel fear. But if that is true, why don’t I watch horror movies? The extent of my horror movie experience is watching the trailers whenever they come on television. Well, it is actually watching the first two seconds of horror movie trailers before I run out of the room with my eyes covered. Why do I have this obsession with violence and serial killers but can’t watch movies featuring them? Perhaps my obsession comes not from my desire to feel fear but my paranoia. Perhaps I obsess over serial killers as a subconscious form of self protection: if I am an expert about my fear, than I can recognize it and avoid it in real life. I really am not sure, and throughout the duration of this assignment, I still have not been able to pinpoint why exactly I have this obsession or the reason it is so specific. However, I did come to one conclusion while on this project; I really want this book.


Victoria G.

Farmviller

There are fun and addicting games online in the world today that are nearly impossible to avoid if you are a gamer, such as myself. Gaming web sites like Mini Clip, Addicting Games, Armor Games, etc. can be found in the history of any true gamer’s web browser. Even social networking sites like Facebook have picked up on the crave for online gaming and offer games of their own. These are popular games such as Happy Aquarium, Mafia Wars, and my favorite, Farmville.

Farmville is quickly becoming the most used online game in the world. On February 13^th, 2010, there were approximately 78,000,000 monthly active users. In one month’s time Farmville had approximately 83,000,000 monthly active users. In one month, Farmville gained approximately 5,000,000 users. Why are so many people playing Farmville? What is it about this game on Facebook that is so amazing? Well, Farmville is great for three reasons: it makes every day life easier, it relieves stress, and it allows you to express yourself.

Farmville makes your life so much easier. Why would you want a plantation in real life when you could have one in your bedroom and maintain it with nothing more than the movement of your thumb and index finger? You don’t need to worry about hurting yourself with real machinery when you can use plows, seeders, and harvesters on Farmville. Farmville provides you with 100% enjoyment without even getting out of the chair you’re sitting in. Also, maybe you’ll decide to buy some Farm Cash with the money you save on not buying sunscreen.

Farmville will help you relieve stress. My grand mother has a Facebook, my grand mother has a Farmville, and my grand mother is a level 40 farmer! She shared with me that she needs Farmville. She told me that when she goes to bed at night, it makes everything that’s wrong in the world for her, right. After a long stressful day at work, it feels amazing to go on Farmville. Visit the cows and sheep, pet the horses and feed the chickens. Leave all your worries behind with the ducks as they relax in their little pond.

Lastly, with Farmville you can truly express yourself. One could argue that because there is no killing in Farmville, because there are no fast cars, and because it is not fast paced that is not a great game. Those people are forgetting all the other possibilities Farmville has to offer. Farmers have 32 or more different crops to choose from, 17 or more different trees, and 12 or more different animals. Now I say “or more” because every holiday, season, or any other national event of any kind there are specials which include limited edition crops, limited edition trees, and limited edition animals as well as those already available. There is a huge selection of houses ranging from a rest tent to a villa. There are buildings for your animals to live in like dairy farms, chicken coops, and horse stables. There is also a great selection of barns to choose from in which you can store things away from your farm. With hundreds of decorations available you can make your farm look like none other. I know people who have farms that are meant to make profit with the maximum number of plots possible. There are also those who decorate their farms solely to look great. What ever you want your farm to be, you can make it possible because Farmville makes it possible.

Are you tired of your Facebook friends nagging you about Farmville and all you want to do is unfriend them, block them, and block Farmville from your Facebook all together? You know the old, “Howdy friend! Leo Schuchert wants to be your neighbor on Farmville!” All you want to do is write on Leo’s wall how much you hate him and how much you hate Farmville. But give in! Trust your friends to know what they’re talking about. They people of the world trusted Paul when he spread the word of Christianity! Give in to the spreaders of Farmville! You know it’s right. Although some see it as a waste of time, I see Farmville as the key to heaven. It’s just a shame not everyone’s found it yet.

Leo

Lil' Wayne - Kate

When songs like “Got Money” and “A Milli” play on the radio, there are usually mixed reactions. Some opinions are stronger than others. According to one of my good friends, Julie Maffucci, “Weezy is God.” If you asked another friend, Frederick Mcnulty he might say, “Lil' Wayne with his raspy voice and crude imagery, has skyrocketed to the top of the hip-hop/rap charts within the last few years. Fully utilizing the abilities of the Internet, he heavily promoted himself by releasing numerous mix tapes, remixes, and freestyles. Personally, I enjoy listening to Lil' Wayne's music, especially due to his heavy usage of similes, metaphors, and symbolism - often making his music into a riddle of sorts, just begging to be deciphered. That being said, Lil' Wayne has a tendency to overstate his own importance, relevance, and talent - especially in comparison to more heavyweight rappers." Although Fred obviously has a bit more to say, each has a strong opinion on this artist. Both Fred and Julie, along with most other young adults in this generation know the name Lil’ Wayne and can usually recognize more than one of his over 700 songs.

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr, better known as Lil’ Wayne, or Weezy, joined Cash Money Records at the age of nine, as the youngest member of the label. He released his first solo album “That Block is Hot” in 1999. Although he had been part of two other hiphop groups, The B.G’z and Hot Boys, he decided to go solo for more creative freedom. After releasing two more albums, neither as successful as his first, in 2004 Lil Wayne released Tha Carter, selling one million copies. Then in 2005 he came out with Tha Carter ll selling 238, 000 copies the first week. His sixth album Tha Carter lll was his most successful yet, selling one million copies the first week and going two times platinum. Since then he has released I Am Not a Human Being, as well as releasing several mix tapes and freestyles.

Lil’ Wayne’s popularity has increased over the past few years. Many of his fans enjoy his unique raspy voice, catchy beats, and use of literary techniques such as metaphors and smilies. “More than even his music, Lil’ Wayne’s popularity and image in the media has had his fan base growing as well. Weezy is known for his “don’t care” attitude, vulgar language and obscene symbolism, tattoo covered body, and recreational use of marijuana and cocaine. Currently, he is serving a one year prison sentence for criminal possession of a weapon, as well as possession of a controlled substance. Despite the seriousness of his crime, his sentence has gained him even more fans and popularity. There is even a popular new t-shirt stating “Free Weezy.”

Although Lil’ Wayne is highly popular, there are also those who dislike his music, stating a lack of talent. On an iTunes review of his new album I Am Not a Human Being, a listener posted “Mumbling all over the album, can’t stay on topic for more than two bars, pure garbage, you people will listen to anything.” Those who dislike Lil’ Wayne and his music criticize him for a lack of substance in his lyrics, superficial and simple beats, and commercialized songs. The majority of Weezy’s songs are about sex, women, drugs, or himself. As mentioned before, mainly what makes him popular is his image, his catchy beats and voice. More serious hiphop fans look past the initial image given by the media and into more technical aspects of hiphop/rap. His lyrics don’t mean anything important, his beats aren’t unique or interesting, and his hooks are purely radio-friendly.

The way I see it, Lil’ Wayne is catchy. When one of his songs comes on I can dance, I can sing along, I can enjoy it. But it never goes past that, I can listen for fun, but I can’t respect what he is rapping about or the technicality of his music. What I can respect is his ability to create music that is popular and the business aspect of his career. Weezy writes flimsy lyrics, creates superficial beats, and makes millions of dollars. Despite either opinion, Lil’ Wayne is a successful rapper with a lot of money, a family, and a relaxed life style, although I can not respect his music, I respect his career.

Is Ugly contagious?

When you watch the show, you can’t help but to tear up or cry a little bit. Is it because that you felt bad for Betty, or the fact that you can relate to it completely; either you were the ugly one of the whole class or that you picked on the ugly ones?
Ugly Betty launched in the fall of 2006 and ran for four seasons. Wish I could say: It ran for four season STRONG; but I can’t. Apparently, the show struggled with the ratings in season three, and ABC made the executive decision to cancel the show after the fourth season.
The pilot for the show started out with Betty struggling hard to find a job, finally ending up with the job as assistant for the new editor in chief for Mode Magazine. Betty received that job because of Bradford Meade, owner for Meade Publication, who wanted his son to have an assistant that he will not be tempted to sleep with. When Betty found that out, it devastated her, and if that wasn’t bad enough, Daniel (Betty’s boss) tried to sabotage her so she would quit her job. It was her look, her quirkiness, and “unique” style of clothes choice that made America fall in love with America, who was playing the role of Betty Suarez.
But after four seasons, they made “Ugly” Betty into “Pretty” Betty. Maybe more; she became gorgeous and beautiful. Why did they choose the end of season four to do that? Wasn’t the whole point of Betty being ugly was so that it shows “ugly” can be beautiful inside and out? I guess people evolve and eventually they get better at what they do… right?
Then there was Justin. Justin was one of the supporting characters for the show. He started out with the show being really flamboyant. However, at the end of season four, he comes out of the closet. It’s a tough world out there, but why did it take four seasons for them to get Justin to come out? Not to say it’s a bad thing because The Suarez family all support him to the max… to the point where he had a coming out party when he wasn’t even out yet. One reason the writers might have done that is to show that people takes time coming out of the closet. In some cases, they were really trying to channel the fact that Justin himself doesn’t know that he is gay but he can dress really well.
The typical Latino family consists of a really hard working family that really values the sense of family, trying to hold the family together. That was one of the essential thing that the father, Ignacio Suarez, did in the show. Ignacio really was the glue to the family and held onto to the Hispanic culture that they have.
Meade Publication basically tied the whole show together, the high fashion magazines company. The plot around Mode Magazine is so complicated that one must watch all four season to get the story line. Some of the major characters in that show involve Wilhelmina Slater, Marc St. James, Amanda Tanen and many more. All of them at one point or anther had made fun of Betty for her looks and the way she dresses.
With the story line spinning like crazy, how can ABC be so inconsiderate of people like me that love the show to cancel the show? Is it even remotely the viewers’ fault that the ratings dropped like that? I find it despicable that the station is blaming the viewers for not watching the show. During season four, the station tried to improve the ratings by moving the show to different time slots. First moving it to Friday night at ten, then moving to Wednesday night at ten. More than 5.8 million viewers watched the series finale, which in my mind is a lot of people. It is very saddening that they cancelled the show, but as America Ferera had said, people today don’t only watch shows on TV; they can catch it on Hulu, TiVo, and so many other media resources.
But many questions are not answered: Did they cancel the show because Betty has turned beautiful and there were no more story lines to write? Or was it the fact that Justin is about to come out and they thought no one would watch the show because there is a gay character on Prime Time TV? And what about the wardrobe? Did it cost too much for them to continue the show because not enough people were watching?
The show meant so much to people across the nation. For the Ugly Betty cast, the show was more than just another show; it was empowerment. The main character for the show is a Latino, and not even just a Hispanic person, but also a Latina female. For many of the people, they will have some sort of ugliness that they feel inside at one point or another that they can relate. It is also one of the very few drama shows that have fashion as one of the main themes. Ugly Betty will be missed and lets hope for a movie... soon.

Pee. El.

True Blood Trumps Twilight

Vampires are the new fad. Twilight has taken over the tween scene on the big screen, while True Blood is heating up HBO on Sunday nights. But which one is better?

That debate is up to the fans.

It is arguable that they are very different because of their target audiences. Twilight targets tween girls who want to read about a romance sans any real intimacy. True Blood targets a mature audience who can stay up past 9:00 on a school night.

For those of you cave dwellers who don’t know, Twilight is a story about Bella Swan (Kirsten Stewart), an everyday “plain Jane” who falls for angsty vampire, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison.) True Blood is also about love between vampire and human. Strong southern lady, Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) falls for the vampire Civil War vet Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) in the fictional Louisiana town of Bon Temps.

The Twilight films’ follow the general plot line of Bella and Edward falling in love, Bella and Edward staring into each other’s eyes, Bella and Edward running into some sort of trouble, and Edward saving Bella. It never becomes more complex than one conflict, nor does it move past the story of Bella and Edward.

True Blood episodes begin with some sort of conflict and sometimes end with the resolve of that one conflict but always end with new ones and some sort of cliff hanger. It’s all about conflict. Not only those of Bill and Sookie but also those of their friends. The characters of Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley), Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis), and Sookie’s brother Jason (Ryan Kwantan), among others, all share interlacing conflicts. (See Alan Ball discuss the end of Season 3)

Basically, if True Blood’s plot is the Hudson River, Twilight’s is some creek running through the backyard.

The female protagonists, Bella and Sookie, are relatively similar. Which character, however, is the better one?

Bella, a character who shows no growth throughout the Twilight Saga, is not the ideal female role model for tween girls. She is the ultimate empty character for any thirteen-year-old girl reading the books to insert her own personality into. She depends on her relationship with Edward to make her special, and defines herself by it. It is never actually explained why Edward has an interest in Bella. What makes her more special that other girls? Why can’t he read her thoughts when he can read others? As far as clear-headed readers know, Bella is nothing special and is no different from other girls.

On the other hand, Sookie is a character that has always been a strong woman. When Bill comes along, sure she is instantly infatuated by him, but she makes a point in saying she doesn’t depend on him. Unlike in Twilight when Edward saves Bella, it is Sookie who first saves Bill. If it weren’t for the show tendency to be risqué, Sookie would be a good role model for teenage girls when it comes to being an independent woman. Not only that, but it is revealed why Bill, and all other vampires, seem interested in Sookie.

In terms of the Vampire in both shows, the True Blood vampires are definitely more threatening than those sparkling creatures that call themselves vampires in Twilight. Here are the reasons why:
Vampires in Twilight sparkle in the sun. Vampires in True Blood burn up and die in the sun.
Vampires in Twilight are hidden from society. Vampires in True Blood have come out of the coffin.
The Cullens don’t kill humans. Bill kills a number of humans by the end of the first season. Not to mention killing a few vampires too.

Just with these three points, its agreeable that True Blood vampires are way more B.A. than those of Twilight.

As a fan of True Blood, I am totally biased and clearly feel that True Blood is the superior of these two Vampire phenomena and those are my reasons why. Whether or not you feel the same is up to you.

Tori J.

The Lord of The Rings - Sophia M.

Since 1937, over 150,000,000 copies of The Lord of the Rings trilogy have been sold. As of 2006, The Return of the King ranked second on Box Office Mojo’s list of worldwide gross receipts with a gross product of 1,118.9 million, Titanic coming in first with 1,244 million and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone coming in third with 976.5 million. The Lord of the Rings online was the top selling PC game in North America and Europe in 2007. The saga is clearly a pop culture phenomenon, yet nowadays one is much more likely to see a group of teenagers gossiping about the latest Harry Potter movie or swooning over Edward Cullen than conversing about the adventure of Frodo and Sam in their quest to Mount Doom. The Lord of the Rings has become iconic of the more nerdy side of pop culture, as a dialogue from Friends perfectly describes: Ross and Chandler ask “Didn’t you read Lord of the Rings in high school?” to which Joey replies “No, I had sex in high school.”
Having two older brothers, I was exposed to The Lord of the Rings at the age of seven when it came out in 2001. I was and still am more fascinated by the fantasy world of Middle Earth than Twilight, High School Musical, The Jonas Brothers, or even Harry Potter, of which I am a huge fan. However, after my brother’s eleventh birthday, where after begging him for weeks to let me go with his friends to see The Return of the King he finally gave in and let me sit in the very back row by myself, I’ve felt that saying I’d rather be Arwen than Bella Swan is not something many people would agree with me on. Although the trilogy was a huge hit in the 50’s and 60’s, it seems as if today’s youth does not have the same appreciation for The Lord of the Rings. So what makes fads such as Twilight and Harry Potter so much more appealing?
Having always been a fan of The Lord of the Rings movies, over the summer I decided it was time to read the books. After receiving the trilogy as a birthday present, I was really excited to start reading them. However, after the first fifty pages, I realized that this excitement hadn’t really been fulfilled. I couldn’t believe that I, a devoted Lord of the Rings fan, didn’t love the books as much as I though I would. I tried to think of reasons why this would happen, and I realized that I had been expecting something. I had been expecting them to be like the movies. In order to be relatable to the general public, the movies are significantly more cliché than the books. I was anticipating the suspense, drama, and epic feeling that the movies embody. It wasn’t until I became conscious and got past this that I realized what I just read was an amazing piece of writing.
Boiled down, a huge part of pop culture is about making money. If something is popular, it needs to not only be a phenomenon but also a commodity. This sheds some light on The Lord of the Rings’ status in pop culture today. As Micheal A. Hall articulates in The Influence of J.R.R Tolkien on Pop Culture, while commenting on Tolkien’s struggle to get the trilogy published, “When considering the influence of Tolkien’s work on western culture, one cannot overlook the conflict between high art and the desire of marketers to make it a commodity for selling. Tolkien was making a work of art while the publishers undoubtedly were primarily interested in having a sellable commodity. This conflict between the “high art” nature of the histories of Middle Earth and the desire to make it a popular culture item that can be marketed and sold would continue up to the present day.”
In order to make money off of a pop culture phenomenon, the creators of the phenomenon have to make it relatable. When looked at closely, most pop culture books and movies contain relatively empty characters so that people can put themselves in the character’s place. Although I would argue that Tolkien’s characters are not empty, The Lord of the Rings books used to have a relatable quality that people seem to no loner identify with. One explanation is that what is “relatable” has changed. Although Tolkien is adamant about his books not being allegories, there have been many connections made between The Lord of the Rings and the real world, mostly in the 50’s and 60’s. The Influence of J.R.R Tolkien explores some of these connections and reasons why the trilogy was so relatable in the 50’s and 60’s. One very plausible explanation is the birth of counter culture during the time period. The elder generation considered the trilogy crap, which meant everyone in the young generation wanted to read it. Another explanation was that the time period was “a time of utter boredom and grey”, and The Lord of the Rings provided a completely new and alien world. Another theory of the time was that the books were a fantastical account of WWII, a relevant subject of the time.
The Lord of the Rings is not as relevant today as it used to be is because our generation does not value these concepts the way they were valued in the 60's. Teenagers as a collective don’t care about the connections between pop-culture phenomena and world politics, or the simplistic struggle between good and evil. In comparison to the younger generation of the 60’s, we don’t even really care about rebelling against the institution. Whereas people in the 50's and 60's were seeking escapist novels to get away from their own world, teenagers would rather read books such as Harry Potter and Twilight that are set in a world very similar to our own with one huge twist. It is a rare type of 21st century teenager that appreciates the detailed world that Tolkien has created in The Lord of the Rings. We, as a collective, relate to empty characters and plots because we can imagine ourselves in those positions. We would rather read books about a world similar to our own than experience something entirely strange. We care about beating the bad guys and getting the guy/girl in the end. However, I as an individual, find The Lord of The Rings appealing for the same reasons as people did when it was written. I’m more interested in good versus evil and the subtleties of the human condition than pining over the fact that I will never be with Edward Cullen because he is a fictional character.

Suri Cruise, posted by Caelyn

Suri Cruise, a daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, was born in April 18, 2006, at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. She is often called as 'Tom Kitten' by public and media, and this four year old girl is a top star. Type Suri Cruise on the google search bar. You will get not only myriad photos of and articles on her, but also related search words. 'Suri Cruise high heels', 'Suri Cruise ipad,' 'Suri Cruise outfits', 'Suri Cruise news', and 'Suri Cruise out of control'; these are all what people googled to learn more about her. Suri even has her own fan blog. The blog is full of her photos and comments on her fashion sense. In fact, what happens is: paparazzi wait in front whenever Suri leaves her house, and the world learns the brand and the cost of her clothes before the following morning. She is not a star. She is a world star. If you do not know her or never heard of her till this moment, you are definitely out of trend. People argue about her shoes preference on high heels as a baby, ownership of an ipad, and the degree of her 'spoiled-ness'. Who could have possibly imagined a four year old girl who never made one's debut yet will be this famous? She is not an actor, nor a singer, but a daughter of A-list movie stars.

By now, we all know how dangerous it is to be so famous in a young age. Many young stars including Macaulay Culkin and Lindsay Lohan have shown the side effects of prematurely achieved fame. Both of them were the center of attention of their times as an adorable child actor and actress, respectively. However, they went astray as they go through puberty. I'm not saying Suri will end up being one of the unfortunate case or anything. I'm just questioning the subject of this move. Macaulay and Lindsay at least had their will on walking a path of an actor and actress. Also, they have their signature movies, Home alone and The Parent Trap, respectively. On the other hand, what did Suri do? Suri herself did nothing as a 'star,' but still she is frequently on the front page of entertainment magazines. What are we doing to this innocent girl and her fragile life? Just because this girl is a daughter of the movie stars we usually gossiped about, does that mean we can do the same to the baby? It is wrong for someone's life to be shaped by the public. She needs to have her own choice on her life to be lived by her. So, lets stop googling about which top designer's clothes Suri wears, or if she owns the newest ipad or not. Please leave the parenting to her parents. I believe two parents are enough for her to be parented by.

Gaga Fever - Mary R.

Whether we will openly admit it or not, there is a time when all us of just can’t stop “rah rah ah ah ah-ing” to ourselves. If we’re not belting out Bad Romance, maybe we’re serenading Alejandro, or “just dancing”. Lada Gaga, love her or hate her, has the ability to take songs with catchy, annoying beats and catchphrases and imprint in our minds. I wouldn’t call myself a Gaga fan necessarily, but sometimes when open up I open up my iTunes, I find myself searching vigorously for Telephone. There isn’t much I can relate to with Lady Gaga; her lyrics don’t speak to me, her odd outfits aren’t cool and different to me, they’re weird, and I was horrified by her 2009 VMA performance. After Gaga’s controversial performance, John Kubicek, a writer for BuddyTV, took it to the Internet to write his review of the night. He said he believes Lady Gaga “delivered what [he] maintain[s] is the single greatest VMA performance of the last five years”. I’m not sure what attracted him to her staged death that came at the end of her song, made complete with fake blood spilled everywhere. I know she is taking a risk, breaking away from the norm, and making a performance that sets her apart and will be talked about, but I found this a little too over the top. I know that I may sound a little annoying as I was 15 years old when I watched this, and I am on the younger side as VMA critics go, but luckily, I stumbled across the Diary of a Hollywood Street King, Jacky Jasper, who shares a similar opinion to mine regarding Gaga’s performance. In his post he calls the “so-called artist’s” performance horrifying. He is “appalled” that Gaga would mock the handicapped, and he doesn’t agree with anything that blogger Perez Hilton is saying about supporting Gaga, and he believes that Gaga, with the help of popular blogger supporters like Perez are “furthering the destruction of real art”.
In continuing her destruction of real art, Lady Gaga kept the jaws dropping when she arrived at this year’s VMAs in an outfit made entirely of meat. Along with being disgusting, this can also be offensive to many people. She has taken her wacky style to another level, and is no longer wearing clothes that are not just socially weird and unacceptable, but are actually offending some people. While I am aware that the animal rights activists can be a little crazy and wait for opportunities to ounce on people, I think on this one Lady Gaga took it a little too far.
Although Gaga has stirred up many controversies, I don’t let it get in the way of my liking of her songs, and try to look past the crazy lifestyle that she leads to create an image of herself. After all, would people actually liker her songs if they weren’t accompanied by her absurd ways of life and shocking performances?