Presentation notes
Introduction
My portfolio of articles will focus on relationships and Rom-Coms of modern day, how Instagram can socially and politically motivate, the overexposure and dehumanisation of celebrities and embroidery as a contemporary art form.
Is our faith in romance over? – Romantic Comedies and Lasting Relationships
My first article will explore relationships and romantic comedies. I was interested in this subject because one of my best friends is very into classic Rom-Coms and after re-watching Bridget Jones’s Diary with her, it made me think about the ideologies that these types of films present. It also got me thinking about modern Rom-Coms and how the change in style (from depicting dramatic romantic gestures and a fairytale
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We act as though they are a character that we dislike and wish for their demise. However, some celebrities are the heroic character and can do no wrong – we idolise them and they can sometimes become untouchable (like in the case of Jimmy Savile). The truth is, famous people are neither, they are just human and we should treat them as such. Like Josh White points out in the Huffington Post, we think that because they’re famous, they can take it (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/josh-white/the-leveson-inquiry-wont-_b_1115093.html?). Dehumanisation of celebrities, often caused by overexposure, can have a multitude of negative affects on not only them but also, as an article from Medical Daily states, on fans (http://www.medicaldaily.com/psychological-effects-idolatry-how-celebrity-crushes-impact-childrens-health-358604).
I think this issue is newsworthy because celebrities are more exposed than ever, with endless reality shows and social media being part of their job, we can access them 24/7. The Kim Kardashian robbery attack also got a lot of people thinking about this issue and Chrissy Teigen even tweeted “Fame is interesting. Celebs are suppose to love you guys [fans] while also knowing you’d make a meme of
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She uses the medium of embroidery to spread body positivity, mental health awareness and the message of equality. I think this article is newsworthy now, as @hanecdote recently embroidered the famous Arthur meme with the caption “When you remember that historically, embroidery hasn’t been taken seriously as a medium because it’s ‘women’s work’”, which went viral and proves that “despite being sidelined as ‘women’s work’ for centuries, requires a ton of skill and effort”
all worthy people living in a jubilant but melancholy world, why should anyone get worse penalties than another? Some may feel like celebrities should have longer jail sentences, higher tickets, and pay more money for fines. Others think that celebrities should be treated fairly like everyone else. Honestly nothing determines who a celebrity is, what actually determines who a celebrity is? Celebrities are all regular people however some receive a high amount of bad publicity plus the sentence or what they owe.
The quandary is that some celebrities can't understand that when one is out in plain view of the public, one cannot reasonably expect privacy. Privacy is a right reserved for when one is in private.
Part of that is because some people’s perspectives of celebrities allow them think as if they’re on a pedestal and are more important than the average human. When people vision these celebrities as these quintessential people it enable’s their own thoughts and opinions on the celebrity. It’s like brainwashing, these celebrities only show the media what they want, which allows them to put up a whole façade and mask who they truly are. During the O.J Simpson trial it opened more people’s minds to visualize the concept that celebrities have the ability to be just as deranged as the average person, and that we are all equal, but the only difference that’s separates us is the fact that their job is in the lime
After observing and researching all the sources portraying celebrities I have came into a conclusion that todays society it seems like all we want is to be accepted and we tend to look at other people and judge. Its not right, we all are different and thats what makes the world go round. It would be a pretty boring world if we were all the same. Celebrities deal with this everyday, I think the paparazzi know more about some celebrities lives than they actually do. They judge them for who they are and what they do, it is not right nor fair.
The fairytale depiction of love and romance seems to no longer exist in society. With the growing divorce rate and the increase of loveless marriage, it is rare to find an honest depiction of twenty first century love. Using the relationship of Carol and Howard as a hyperbole to modern day romance, Mavis Gallant explores the theme of algorithmic relationships to develop a commentary on the lack of love in modern day relationships. The characterization of Carol and Howard as an engaged couple lacking love and the use of abstract ideas, analogies, and hyperbole, “The Other Paris” tells the dismal future of relationships.
The public has been able to have access into celebrities’ private lives thanks to the “paparazzi”. Definitely, celebrities will always be in front of the camera. It comes with the frame. Nevertheless, it does not justify photographing the lives of people at the expense of their privacy. Society always wants to keep an eye on their favorite celebrities’ lives.
We are part of a generation that is obsessed with celebrity culture. Celebrities are distinctive. Media and consumers alike invented them to be a different race of super beings: flawless, divine and above all the real moral world. In a 1995 New York Times article “In contrast, 9 out of 10 of those polled could think of something
“Year after year, twenty-something women come to New York City in search of the two L's: labels and love” is the very catchy line that opens the film with Fergie’s ‘Labels or Love’ as the soundtrack and The Big Apple as its introductory shot. The scaling deduced from the bird’s eye-view-point of New York City, showing its Metropolitan atmosphere with skyscrapers and the famous Brooklyn Bridge; to the urbanites of the City; then to the lead actors of the film. A fifteen year-old girl watches the film, mesmerizing the ecstatic city while admiring the skinny white bodies of the ladies. And last but never forgotten, she gets carried away with the funky upbeat rhythm of the song emphasizing “Gucci, Fendi, [and] Prada . . .” That is the introduction of Sex and the City and the focus of its cinematography. With its elements, the movie can honestly influence teenage girls. Yet as much as critics such as Maya Gordon of Psychology of Women Quarterly say how media contributes to the sexual objectification and values women “based on their appearance,” this film should be an exemption.
Much of today’s society seems obsessed on what actors/actress, athletes, and music artist are wearing, eating, who they are marrying, dating, where they are vacationing, what affairs they are having or have had, and how they live their everyday lives. What’s so interesting about this obsession is as a society we are implacable and often place celebrities on a pedestal, only to destroy them when they are illusive or promiscuous. Media outlets are swift to report when celebrities are in trouble but quickly forget all their accomplishments. It’s as if we want them to be perfect but once they are associated with a scandal we embark on destroying their reputation and character. Should society hold celebrities to higher standards just because they are paid millions for endorsements and a craft they worked hard to perfect? Do we as a society have the right to castigate celebrities when they misbehave? Do celebrities have the right to become livid when they are focused on for their immoral behavior? Do they love the media attention only when it benefits them? Before we can answer the above questions, would we, furthermore, can we live our life as a celebrity if given the opportunity?
The deception of media consumers allows for the abuse of economic infrastructures of society. An obsession with celebrities’ lives passifies ordinary people in accepting the stratification of the elite businesses and the ordinary citizens. Though pseudo-events and celebrity worship may not be exactly complementary, the similarities of both leaves the public to be utterly vulnerable unless they begin to critically think for themselves.
Today, romance is one of the most popular genres to watch on television. Unlike most, romance is a genre where the plot revolves around the love between two main characters as they experience the highs and lows of love. “Common themes that revolve around romantic movies are kissing, love at first sight, tragic love, destructive love, and sentimental love” (Taylor). These themes appear in many historical films and the pattern still continues in modern films as well. Watching romantic movies has a giant negative influence on the viewer's analysis of what love and relationships should really be like. These films give the wrong impression of reality when it comes to dating, marriage, having children, and even how to manage a relationship in the first place. Even though romantic movies are commonly watched, there are many effects on personal real-life relationships after watching these types of films.
Galician, Mary-Lou. Sex, Love & Romance in the Mass Media: Analysis & Criticism of Unrealistic Portrayals & Their Influence. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. PDF.
According to the article “The Effects of Celebrity Role Models on Kids and Teens” by Eliza Martinez,“Many celebrities do not make a secret of alcohol or drug abuse and the glamorization of dying due to an overdose in the media might make your child feel that using these substances is acceptable.” The fans see the celebrities’ work and not the person themself. This is the main reason celebrities make such terrible role models. The fans will idolize them, but they don’t know what the celebrity is like on a personal level. They don’t know the opinion of the celebrity on certain issues. If they did and they agreed with the celebrity, then there is a whole other reason to look up to this person. If a fan disagreed, then they could still like their work and just agree to disagree, but it will never be like that. It is no one’s fault, but that is the main reason celebrities aren’t good role models. That is why parents, siblings, friends, other family, and even fictional characters work as role models. The people that look up to them know their role model personally and therefore know whether or not they agree with the role model’s
Should celebrities have their right to privacy? Before newspapers, television, and the internet, ordinary people were not exposed to endless stories about celebrities. Today however, we are bombarded with information about who is dating whom, where they eat, and what they wear from magazines such as People, Entertainment Weekly, and Star. Also, most ordinary people respect the rights of others to a private life. However, some people are just obsessed to get information out of celebrities.
When it comes to the topic of should the private lives of famous people be off limits to the media, most of us will readily agree that no private life should be entirely off limits. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how the media always finds their way into the life of the artist. Whereas some are convinced that the media should not interfere into the private lives of the celebrity, others maintain that because even if they make a lot of fans happy, they can always live a life of loneliness. I agree that the private lives of a famous person should be off limits to the media because they might have everything in the world but underneath all that they might be living their life melancholy and loneliness.