Weekly Written Analysis 3 Assignment #5-1

Why Do We Care So Much?
Christina Aguilera and Nichole Richie both had their babies! Nicole Kidman and Jessica Alba are pregnant! Is that a baby bump that Angelina Jolie has! Britney Spears has been detained by the police and is now being held against her will in a psychiatric ward! Yet I ask, “Why do we care so much”? Is it that the life of Celebrity is more interesting then our own? In my opinion the answer to that question is “No”? So I ask again, “Why do we care so much”? My answer would be that it is because the culture that we grew up in. The culture that we grew up in television has become more popular. Much more popular than it was when our parents were children. Also the popular culture of today is advertised on every newsstand. You cannot stand in a grocery store line today without some sort of headline referencing Britney Spears. The advertising industry is a growing market and they have become very good at making the popular culture today an addiction that we cannot live without. The popular culture of today is most often the topics of conversation. Just last night at dinner my boyfriend and I were discussing the Britney Spears saga. Not that you care, but I we came to the conclusion that she truly does need medical help. We no longer think its cries for attention. She’s just plain crazy!!!
While I’ve touched on some of the headlines of popular culture this week I must redirect my focus to my question, “Why do we care do much”? Unfortunately too much of our focus is directed at following celebrities lives, instead of our own. Years ago, even when our parents were children they could entertain themselves. They relied on their own imaginations to entertain themselves. I believe much of that type of behavior is behind us now. In today’s generation we have become too lazy to entertain ourselves. Don’t get me wrong we still use our imaginations, but in a different way. Our imaginations are used on video games and television and trying to imagine what Brittney Spears is up too now. Luckily we don’t ever have to what long. All we have to do is simply turn on the television, sit back and listen.

Weekly Written Analysis 3 Assignment #4-1

Reality TV
Thanks to American Idol (AI) we currently have something somewhat entertaining on TV that doesn’t rely on writers. I use the phase “somewhat entertaining” rather loosely because I believe the first couple weeks of American Idol are over rated. In my opinion American Idol is wearing out the once comical auditions and they are now just down right ridiculous! I watch AI because I want to see talented singers who work hard and want to be someone some day. I don’t watch AI, however, for the thousands of people who try out just too completely make fools of themselves. When AI first aired I have to admit that the “bad” singers were comical and entertaining, but as the seasons have gone by they auditions are focused more and more on the “bad” singers rather than the good singers. I believe if the writers were not on strike and there was something other on TV AI’s ratings would not be as high as they are today. Now I’m not saying that I’m ready AI to wrap it up, but what I am saying is that I wish they would start concentrating more on the talented singers more during the auditions. But for now I’ll wait for the auditions to wrap up and I’ll tune in as soon as they are in Hollywood.
Another reality show that is gaining popularity quickly is Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. This reality show includes celebrities that have all admitted that they have some type of chemical dependency and want to get clean. I think it is a great show because it shows that celebrities are real people with real problems too! Celebrities are stereotyped as having the perfect life because they either fell into or found fame and fortune. Well this show proves that the stereotypical role that celebrities are type cast as is not always the case. This show airs the celebrities going through the actual detoxification process, and it is not pretty. For instance Jeff Conway, better known for his role as Kenickie in the movie Grease (Celebrity, n.d.), his detoxification process has been the most highly air and talked about. He is trying to “get clean” from his dependency on several drugs, such as cocaine and pain killers. His detoxification process has included seizures, which has put him in the hospital, a dependency on a wheelchair, dependency on people helping him go to the bathroom and a lot of throwing up. What makes this so bad is that this is all being aired on VH1 for the entire world to see. After last weeks show I was concerned that poor Kenickie would not survive this process, but just this morning I heard a live radio interview. While he still did not sound great and admitted that he was still taking pain killers “for his back”, he was doing well and the show was a success. This show is being talked about all of the media circuits “as the best reality show and the most real and unscripted reality show to date” and I believe has actually gained the reality shows some creditability. Many are saying that this show proves that even reality shows can actually survive without writers and if the writers strike does not end soon there could be more shows like this. At this point I say “writers keep walking the picket lines”, because I love watching celebrities living life and dealing with real issues just as average Americans do everyday.










Reference
Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2008, from http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/celebrity_rehab_with_dr_drew/series.jhtml

Ritual Development 3-2

My understanding of the word “ritual” is an act that all society performs everyday. From small rituals, such as rinsing with mouth wash before brushing, to larger rituals, such as commuting to work everyday, these rituals are part of society’s everyday life.
Some rituals I observe in our community is the weekly act of setting out the trash in the morning before the trash man comes, then putting the trash can away in the evening, everyone commuting to and from work, the Buckeye tail gate parties and people putting up and taking down their Christmas lights.
Some rituals I observe in my family is my boyfriend playing his video games every night to help him unwind from work, my son coming home from school everyday and letting the dogs out and then doing his homework and then going to bed at 9:00, the entire family sitting down every Sunday night at 7:00 and watching “America’s Funniest Home Videos and finally I get up each morning at the crack of dawn and workout.
A couple rituals that I can identify that are prevalent today are wedding and funerals.
A ritual that I would like to develop for my society is rather corny, but I would like to start going around door to door on Christmas Eve singing Christmas Carols. I sang Christmas Carols while in middle school. We went door to door singing away. It was a magical time and really brought a meaning to Christmas.

Weekly Written Analysis 3 Assignment #3-1

Britney vs. Christina
Britney and Cristina grew up together performing on the popular television show “The Mickey Mouse Club”. During this television show the two pop stars were nothing more than innocent teenage friends. There was no rivalry that one was better than the other but today, however, that is no longer the case. Today the rivalry between the stars is quite well known.
After “The Mickey Mouse Club” the two stars both launch a career in pop music. The stars were both innocent young teenagers with hit songs, but Britney seemed to eventually steel the spot light from Christina. Britney’s imagine seemed to be edger then Christina’s. Britney’s hit “Baby One More Time” video included girls dressed in skimpy school girl outfits. In my opinion it was Britney’s first attempt at screaming for attention. Christina’s first hit “Genie in the Bottle” video, however, was quite different. Christina’s video portrayed an innocent teenager, fully dressed I might add. Christina was flaunting her voice, unlike Britney who was flaunting her body. Eventually it became evident what Britney was doing. She was trying to cover up the fact that she had no vocal talent, where as Christina did… and boy did she! The small blonde bombshell could certainly belt out the turns… remember “Beautiful”. Christina could stand on stage and simply perform using her voice, where as Britney’s act included a large dance show where she always lips sync.
What eventually came to light was that Christina was the true natural star. This has been proved especially over the last couple years. Christina has chose to keep her personal life out of the spot light as much as possible. Christina quietly got married and just gave birth to her first child. Christina today is known as a well respected artist, a diva many would say.
As for Britney, well we have her to thank for supplying society with our daily need for popular culture. Britney’s highly publicized chaotic life is a paparazzi dream come true. In order for Britney to remain in the spot light she must publicize her life and rely on the occasional “accidental” crouch shots. It has become evident that Britney has no vocal talents, but she is still determined to be famous. I believe Britney’s next obstacle will be the release of the “accidentally” sex tape! Hey, it worked for Paris so why wouldn’t it work for Britney. While Britney has no true “talent”, she is not dumb. She continues to be on TV every day and her face is plastered all over celebrity magazine. She continues to feed societies obsession with popular culture and that is what will continue to make Britney famous.

Icon Analysis 2-2 - Images

Marine Corp Mascot: The Bulldog
http://www.4armedforces.com/product/3003_18570?meta=FRG

The Harley Davidson
http://www.powerpassion.nl/harley/story-engels.html


The Catholic Rosary
http://www.marysprayersrosaries.com/

Icon Analysis 2-2

Icon Analysis
In this analysis I’m going to describe three icons of today. The first is a patriotic icon, the Marine core mascot, the bulldog. The bulldog mascot dates back to World War I. The Germans referred to the Marines attack on them as “…"teufel-hunden," meaning Devil-Dogs” (Sturkey, 2001). That is were it started, but it wasn’t until shortly after that that A Marine Core poster showed up sporting a “…snarling English Bulldog wearing a Marine Corps helmet” (Sturkey, 2001). After that the Marine Core unofficially adopted the bulldog as their mascot. The second icon some would argue is patriotic also, the Harley Davidson. The Harley Davidson motorcycle was founded “In 1903 in Milwaukee by Bill Harley and Arthur Walter Davidson…” (Harley’s, n.d.). This two man show began by building one motorcycle. The company grew at a modest pace until one day they put in a “…45-degree V- Twin…” engine into a bike and well history basically wrote it’s self from there (Harley’s, n.d.). There are not many places you don’t go today and ask a motorcycle enthusiast and you ask them what is the most ironists’ motorcycle and most would reply “The Harley Davidson”. The third icon is a religious icon, the catholic rosary. The catholic rosary is a strand of a number of beads. The number of beads depends on the number of prays that are being recited, so each bead symbolizes a pray and the number of beads can vary. The reason the rosary is used is to help make sure all the prayers and hale Mary’s are recited. As each pray and hale-Mary is recited finger is kept on a bead, moving along the strand until all is recited. The rosary is not a required in catholic pray, but it is a helpful tool that is used to help make sure everything is recited. (personal communication, January 12, 2008)
The reason I chose the Marine mascot, the bulldog, as my first icon is because there are a number of Marines in my family, my boyfriend being one of them. Anytime my family gets together stories from the men’s Marine Corps days are always shared, I just sit back and listen. The Marine Corps bulldog is an icon that I am proud to, and will always support. Everyone should be educated to know that if they see the bulldog that it is the Marine Corp mascot.
The reason I chose the Harley Davidson as my second icon is because is because the Harley is a true American Classic. While I do not support the Harley Davidson by riding one I do realize that without the Harley Davidson the motorcycle would not be as popular today as they are the sport bikes that I ride and support would most likely not exist. In the end the Harley Davidson is an American icon that will never die. Its fans simply won’t let it.
The reason I chose the catholic rosary as my last icon is because while I knew that it existed I did not know how and why the Catholics used it. I have some family that is catholic and I’ll be attending a catholic wedding ceremony in couple months. I felt it is important to understand their practices before sitting through the ceremony. While I’m not catholic, I felt it important to support their beliefs. In the end icons are an important part of history. While I knew a majority about the two of the three icons I chose, I believe one should have some knowledge about the icons of their time. If you recognize something as an icon and don’t fully understand it then you should educate yourself, because there was an important reason that that person or object became an icon and you should respect enough to understand it.









Reference
Harley’s History (n.d.) Retrieved January 11, 2008, from http://www.powerpassion.nl/harley/story-engels.html
Sturkey, M. (2001) Marine Core Mascot. Heritage Press International. Retrieved January 11, 2008, from http://www.usmcpress.com/heritage/marine_corps_mascot.htm

Written Weekly Analysis - Week # 2

The Writers Strike Continues
The writers strike has now gone on for months now. When the strike first began many people, me included, believed that it would end quickly and TV would not be affected. Sadly this has not been the case and my weekly dose of Grey’s Anatomy is no longer being fulfilled. What I did not realize was everything writers wrote for. For example, I knew that writers wrote all the material for sitcoms and were involved in writing the material for talk shows, but I had no idea that without writers’, talk shows would not exist. I believed that talk show hosts, such as David Letterman and Jay Leno wrote most of their own material. I was shocked to learn that these show hosts are nothing more than actors and just read there lines that somebody else always writes for them.
In addition to sitcoms and talk shows being forced to cut their seasons short, what was a greater surprise to me this week is that the Golden Globes has been canceled. What is normally a large event that recognizes the actors and actresses for a great job done in movies is now changed into an hour long event were the winners will simply be announced. The Golden Globes is normally a night for celebrities to shine. They spend the entire day in hair and makeup, get dressed in their designer cloths and then take a walk down the red carpet to it show it all off. During their trip down the red carpet, in addition to everyone telling them how great they look they plug every piece of designer clothing, jewelry and accessory they are wearing. Were I’m going with this is that what started out as simply a writers strike has affected much more than just them. With no Golden Globes there will be no red carpet for celebrities to walk down. So there is no need to buy any designer clothing, jewelry or accessories. There is also no need to pay the critiques to stand on the red carpet to applaud and critique the celebrities outfit. This means there will be no Best and Worst Dressed from Joan and Melissa Rivers!
The writers strike started out as some writers marching the picket lines and now the industry is losing millions of dollars. I would hope that the this war will be ended soon because besides me missing out on my weekly dosage of Grey’s Anatomy, many other people of society are being affected and are feeling the pain. Just like everything in society there is the trickling affect and what may affect one person today in a short time can affect hundreds or thousands of people. In the case of the writers strike they are the ones that decided to strike I can understand their positions and support their decision to strike. The writers have been pushed to the back for a number of years and not been given the recognition they deserve. It’s time for the industry to settle this strike and put the people back to work. As I explained earlier the writers are not the only people affected Without the writer to produce all our great TV there is no need for hair dressers, designer, stage crew… the list is endless. In the end I just want my TV back because in our generation TV is important and we’re lost without it!