Wealth and Beauty Equals Popularity in Beverly Hills 90210
Every teenager who has attended high school can relate to the pressures that come from the desire to be popular. It’s normal for teens to feel the need to be in the “in crowd” and to fit in with the “beautiful people.” Television shows help contribute to this “need” to fit in. One such show, Beverly Hills 90210, is based on beautiful teenage characters, most of whom are wealthy and, coincidentally, popular.
In today’s society there is a shared cultural belief that in order to be popular high school students must be wealthy and beautiful. The show both challenges and reinforces this cultural belief by offering characters like Kelly Taylor, who is a beautiful, California blonde who seems to lead an ideal life. She is one of the most popular girls at West Beverly High (partly because she was able to afford a nose job). Beautiful people such as Steve Sanders--a wealthy, snobbish womanizer--constantly surround her. A character who challenges this belief is Andrea Zuckerman, an intelligent, middle-class student who is more concerned about her grades than her appearance. And there are also the twins from Minnesota, Brenda and Brandon Walsh, who are not instantly popular; rather, they use their personalities (and their good looks), not their wealth, to fit in.
On the outside Kelly, Steve, and even Brandon and Brenda seem to be happy because they are popular and because they lead fairly normal lives. But the well-seasoned viewer knows that these are just transparent beliefs. These beautiful teens do not lead perfect lives. The show has some cultural significance: seemingly superficial characters have complexities that are not obvious at a first glance.
In fact, Kelly is ashamed of how she lost her virginity and the fact that her mother is an alcoholic. She is unexpectedly conscientious; she was concerned about her SAT scores. Kelly also proved to be a good friend to Brenda after she threw her a surprise going away party when the Walsh family was planning to move back to Minnesota. Kelly seems so self-absorbed on the outside but at the same time she is constantly trying to help her friends overcome obstacles.
Steve also contributed to the going away party.
“This is the true story, of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting real”(MTV). This marks the beginning of MTV’s reality show, The Real World. The show takes 7 strangers, puts them in a trendy luxurious home, taping them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for about 4 months. The cameras capture petty arguments, late night hook ups, and pure laziness. How could this not be real? There are not many people that can live in an expensive home while laying around all day, and partying all night with little work involved. The Real World is a display of 18-24 year olds, typecasted to have their most extreme stereotypical qualities blown out of proportion for the world to see.
Edelson, Ed. "Suicide risk with antidepressants falls with age; study reiterates that young are most vulnerable." Consumer Health News. 11 Aug. 2009
People constantly overlook the severity of depression, more importantly, major teen depression, which presents a legitimate obstacle in society. The intensity of teen depression results from society’s general lack of acknowledgement of the rising affair. In 2012, “28.5% of teens were depressed” and 15.8% of teens contemplated the option of suicide (Vidourek 1 par. 1), due to their major depression going unnoticed or untreated for. Even teenagers themselves often ignore their depression or remain in denial because neither them nor anyone else recognizes the signs. “A sudden change in behavior is a main sign of someone being depressed, which could lead to having suicidal thoughts,” stated Pam Farkas, a clinical social worker in California (Aguilar 1 par. 8). The warning signs and risk factors of teen depression include behavioral issues, social withdrawal, and inadequate interest in activities (Adolescents and Clinical Depression 2 par. 3), yet the unawareness of these signs does not allow professional medical attention to intercede. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression, but treatments, such as psychotherapy, intervention programs, and antidepressants express ways to subdue this major problem. Knowledge of the increasing dilemma needs to circulate, in order to promote stable teen lives in the present and future world. Understanding major teen depression, the events and incidents that lead to depression, and how to overcome the problem will lead to a decrease in major teen depression and its growing issue in society.
In order to fully understand what constitutes as a civil liberty the definition of a civil liberty must first be established. A civil liberty is defined as “Those rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, that are so fundamental that they are outside the authority of government to regulate” ( Schiller, Geer, & Segal, 2013). Essentially meaning that a civil liberty is a basic human right that not even government should be able to interfere with it. Quick examples of these rights are freedom of speech, press, religion,etc.
Long a polarizing issue, a balance between civil liberties and national security has constantly trailed America’s pursuit of happiness. Civil liberties are defined as rights for each individual person that serve to protect said individuals, by law, from unjust governmental interference, and encompasses all interference that may infringe on given rights. Incidentally, America has sucumb to such infringments within its lifetime, some early in its history, and some with recurring now with vestiges of the more prominent liberty violations which had reigned before. A much more recent example, terrorist attacks offended on September 11 shook our nation and brought with it government reform that many had not seen before. And with these governmental reforms, America has begun to backlash after more and more information about these unjust offenses has begun to leak from both prolific media outlets and workers in government themselves. The attacks committed on September 11, 2001. Although initially intended to protect America, the war on terror has begun to encroach on civil liberties and the ...
According to the FDA, about 2.5% of children and around 8% of adolescents are affected by depression (Temple). A common way to treat depression is by taking antidepressants. Children and teens have also been prescribed antidepressants for various reasons other than depression such as OCD and anxiety disorders. While it is legal for teenagers and children to take antidepressants, many people are concerned with the issues that taking antidepressants have. Children and teens should be allowed to take antidepressants only when other forms of therapy don’t work. Antidepressants are serious drugs that have severe warnings when children and teens use them. There is also an increased risk of worsening depression and suicide in children and teens, especially in the when they begin to take it. Even the less severe side effects can make quite a negative impact on life.
Hall, Ed. “U.S. Department of the Treasury.” Bureau of the Census, 26 July 2010. http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
From the beginning, the United States Constitution has guaranteed the American people civil liberties. These liberties have given citizens rights to speak, believe, and act freely. The Constitution grants citizens the courage to express their mind about something they believe is immoral or unjust. The question is, how far are citizens willing to extend the meanings of these liberties? Some people believe that American citizens take advantage of their civil liberties, harming those around them. On the contrary, many other people feel that civil liberties are necessary tools to fight for their Constitutional rights.
High school is one of the most memorable times in a person’s life. For some those memories are full with excitement, happiness, and joy. For others it ends up being a stressful and a hormonal rollercoaster of a nightmare that they wish they could forget. And of course, there are always those stuck in between, who just float on by through their 4 years, whether going unnoticed or just sticking close to the shadows instead of the limelight. This dynamic can be broken down between social classes within the high school scenes, using jocks, class clowns, trouble makers, and the Hollywood favorite, geeks. Movies such as Revenge of the Nerds, the Social Network, and Super Bad have shed light on these clever misfits who make you question the amount of attention we all gave them during school. For this essay I will analyze the social class within the movie Super Bad and describe what high school was like for the “Super” trio of Seth, Evan, and, Fogell, through the focus of 3 main lenses: Friends; Social Experience; and Sexual Experience.
Initially in the article, Liz Lemon’s character was really loved by the viewers. However, viewers are upset about the direction the show is going in, because they used to feel as if Lemon was the heroine, but now they feel as if she is just a dumb pathetic baby. Nausbaum does not agree with the viewers and feels Liz Lemon, is “something way more interesting: a strange, specific, workaholic, NPR-worshipping, white-guilt-infected, sardonic, curmudgeonly, hyper-nerdy New Yorker” (Nussbaum 58). Lemon is starting to become a self-pleaser rather than a people pleaser and begins to embrace her individuality. This article speaks on how women need to embrace their individuality, by being who they are inside, and allowing that to show in every aspect of their lives no matter what others
Boykoff, J. (2006). Review of How Patriotic is the Patriot Act? Freedom Versus Security in the Age of Terrorism, by Amitai Etzioni. The Journal of Politics, 68(2), 457-487.
There are three main kind of data collection and storage systems, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, and records management systems (RMSs) which are located within police departments, and geographic data systems which are maintained by city, county, or state governments. Police departments use CAD technology to dispatch officers, keep track of officers’ locations and activities, and track officer-initiated activity. A data e...
Adolescents is a time of significant life transitions in which young adults learn to cope with changes that are brought about by physical and emotional maturation (Sands and Howard-Hamilton, 1994). During this time girls begin to become more aware of themselves as females, and learn to identify society’s signals to conform appropriately to their gender (Sands and Howard-Hamilton, 1994). The high school girls that are present in this writers program are starting to understand that they can use their bodies to get attention from boys therefore making them value their individual beauty. Some girls have identified that the “boys” that they like do not value them for their brains, but for their beauty and therefore this is where high school becomes a popularity contest, and academically their grades begin to suffer.
Cassidy, Sarah. "Teenagers Beguiled by False Dreams of Instant Fame on Reality TV." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 13 Jan. 2006. Web. 19 Jan. 2014.
The feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that accompany depression can fuel a downward spiral of health and self-esteem, which can have potentially deadly results: In one study of teenage suicides, 60 to 70 percent of the teenagers had been diagnosed with a depressive illness prior to their deaths. An alarming 90 percent of the sample had some form of psychiatric diagnosis -- depression, mood disorder, or substance abuse