Gaga and 'Judas'

With the recent release of Lady Gaga’s new album there was much anticipation about what controversy would be sparked. Just yesterday the new video for her single “Judas” was released, and as expected a firestorm of criticism was sparked. In the video Lady Gaga plays Mary Magdalene who is apart of an apostle motorcycle gang led by Jesus. With their names on the back of their leather jackets they ride to a party at the Electric Chapel. Just like many of her other videos “Judas” has sexual scenes, one of the most radical being flailing around in a bathtub with both Judas and Jesus as she washes her feet. 

Catholic League spokesman Bill Donohue was one of the first ones to heavily criticize Gaga’s morals and actions saying “this is a stunt…Lady Gaga tried to continue to shock Catholics and Christians in general: she dresses as a nun…she swallows the rosary. She has now morphed into a caricature of herself” (FOX 411). The video undoubtedly has imagery and references referring to Catholic iconography. It is an eye-catching video with amazing technology, lavish costumes, and talented dancers that will appeal to her target audience. The song has a catchy beat and rhythm and will be at the top of the music industry’s chart if it continues on the same path as her other hits. Gaga’s indifference to the judgment and criticism she has received has only fueled her extremist visions.

            Gaga’s creative director Laurieann Gibson said that her team went through a lot of trouble to make sure they never crossed the line but otherwise the video does not emulate or offend any religion specifically but rather “its about the inspiration and to never give up. We’ve created a new Jerusalem” (FOX 411).  

After watching the video there are obvious religious reference but I never felt offended or felt like she took it too far, if anything I was very impressed with the costume and set design. The Catholic League did not feel as strongly as Donohue saying “she typically dances on the line without going over the line” (FOX 411). This behavior is very typical of Lady Gaga and she loves to push the envelope. Although there are some people she offends it has not had any drastic affect on her popularity or career. This is video would have been immediately be banned from television years ago but the fact that it has not shows the direction our society has gone in and how our definition of civility has changed. 

The Inconspicuous Corpse

The recent death of Osama Bin Laden was a historic moment in our country’s history and the War on Terror. The question has been stirring whether Obama will release photos of Osama’s corpse to the general American public. President Obama announced on May 4^th to CBS’s Steve Kroft that “he decided against releasing any of the pictures showing the al Qaeda leader’s corpse” (Stone). Many people still believe that no matter how gory the pictures are the photos should be released to the public because it is a critical moment in our country’s history and his death needs to be documented. Obama took his time to make his decision in order to get all the opinions and thoughts he could. Sarah Palin was vocal in her opposition of Obama’s decision and in a “widely circulated tweet, Sarah Palin accused Obama of ‘pussy-footing’ and said releasing the photos were ‘part of the mission’ (Stone).  Obama knew that people would be against his and think he was doing an injustice to the country not releasing the photos, but Obama set up a hypothetical situation asking “how Americans would react is al Qaeda members killed a U.S. soldier and published photos of his or her body” (Stone).  Obama said releasing the photos is not who we are and “we don’t trot out this stuff as trophies” (Stone). Although, images of past dictors and terroists like Hitler and Saddam Hussain, Obama’s decsion is something that he believes is ethical for our country in the place that we are in now.

  White House spokesman Jay Carney stated his argument in what I thought was one of the best responses to this controversy.  He simply stated through a moral argument that “the United States would not stoop to the same level as bin Laden and his terrorist network” (Stone). This is something that people should take into account, no matter how bad people want the photos to be released it is not a necessity and it is not civil. Carney said “the respect that was shown to his body was far greater than the respect he showed to Americans on 9/11…Because that’s who we are” (Carney).  Many innocent people lost their lives in the attacks but the fact of the matter is we killed Osama and we do not need pictures to further establish that justice that was done. 

"Brideorexia"

The Royal Wedding has been the topic of conversion for everyone, especially the media’ in the past months. Everyone questioned the location, decorations, dress, and hair for months. However, the media focused on one particular topic in detail throughout their wedding coverage, Kate Middleton’s weight and her alleged pre-wedding slim down. According to Margaret Hartmann of Jezebel, a popular blog, “Kate is getting a double dose of scrutiny, because she recently became a public figure and a bride-to-be: two roles that apparently make your weight everyone else’s business” (Hartmann).

            After the wedding pictures were published of the royal couple, the British edition of Grazia, a popular weekly magazine, published a shockingly thin picture of Kate Middleton on their cover. Irin Carmon, of Jezebel, believed Grazia was not content or satisfied with Middleton’s supposed “brideorexia.” Her image and her weight did not represent their image and, “ It seems while the graphic designers were designing the cover, they went ahead and took the liberty of slicing at the princess’s already narrow waist"(Irin Carmon). Grazia denied that it enhanced images to make Kate look slimmer; however, with new trends in brideorexia and the importance of women’s looks it is not hard to believe that this “magical slim down” was done by Grazia for the soul purpose of enhancing Kate’s image to represent their perception of how a duchess like Kate should look.  

            This scrutiny of personal image by the media has increases with the huge surge in Internet, blogging, advertisements, and gossip magazines. The media fuels perceptions of how women ought to look, and the media created a perception of how brides should look in their recent coverage of the royal wedding.
         While there is nothing wrong with wanting to lose weight before your wedding day, Dr. Jeffery Sobal, author of the Cornell study, says future-brides “accepting weight loss as an inevitable part of the wedding process is a problem” (Hartmann). Dr. Sobal has discovered that 2000 was the year when the pre-wedding weight loss industry started to boom. There are now reality shows where future-brides compete for plastic surgery and bridal boot camps. These shows give into media and the false importance of image they are trying to instill in future brides and the public.  The media encourages the idea of being the spitting image of what THEY consider the perfect bride.

            Whether Kate Middleton was content with her weight before her wedding day or not, the influence of media’s perception on image has caused brides, like Kate Middleton, to “feel like trying to slim down is just part of the wedding checklist” (Hartmann). The media influence on people’s lives and perceptions is overwhelming and the constant focus on the importance of image is a disgrace to the values and honors that were instilled in our society. 

Too Sexy, Too Soon?

 I was watching the Today Show this morning and a report dealing with the latest item of clothing from Abercrombie kids clothing line came on. It is called the “Ashley” and is described as a classic triangle top, striped pattern, padded, with pretty detailed straps and a classic fit.

The clothing company has used racy marketing techniques in the past, but I was surprised they have not backed down after harsh criticism they have received.

 Abercrombie has created a padded push-up bikini top for girls’ ages 7-14 that are normally made for women and teens in their later years. Abercrombie continues to push the envelope with tight revealing clothing that models the clothing in their sister adult store Abercrombie and Fitch, along with advertisements and pictures in their store that have been compared to soft porn.  

Parents are outraged with this new product and the message it sends out to young girls. This swimsuit makes girls think about themselves in sexual ways before they are actually mentally prepared to deal with the concept of sexuality. Young girls should stay young for as long as they can and enjoy the simplicity and innocence of childhood. Clothing that promotes sexual stereotypes is damaging to their self-esteem and mentality, and children should not know about these stereotypes until they are older. Childhood is a time when children should be taught to love themselves from the inside out and focus on their talents and intelligence.

It is not just a bikini top that is causing commotion but it is an addition to the whole notion of sexual advertising and sexual stereotypes. Abercrombie has been apart of this sexual advertising movement for years and they continue to do it because it is a successful media trick that attracts attention to their company and products, even if for the wrong reasons.

Although, I agree that the “Ashley” should not be sold to girls as young as 7 years old, I do believe that we are part of the problem when we complain about the swimsuit in public. We are  giving the company  attention and promoting the product, which is exactly what Abercrombie wants just in time for summer. Parents do not have to allow their children to shop at Abercrombie, but when we promote the bathing suit and say it is bad, it is natural for children to rebel and want what they cannot have.

The sexuality craze is out of control and spreading to younger generations. Abercrombie is not helping this problem with their continuing raciness. The “Ashley” is a huge move in their sexual marketing techniques, but if we ignore their techniques and racy clothing, they will not get the attention they want and they will need to resort to conservative techniques to attract customers.

"Is is Civility Dead?"

Every morning I wake up and watch the Today Show. The news program has covered many topics through many series, and last November one caught my attention, a new series called “Is Civility Dead?” I watched Matt Lauer’s interviews with specialists and analysts on civility, and thought they were over exaggerating and did not understand the means in which technology is forced upon younger generations.

            I remembered the series and looked it up on the todayshow.com. It was amazing how much my arrogant opinions had changed after only two months into my second semester English class. After reading Forni and Carter’s books and analyzing their commentary in class, it was apparent that we are  a society with no balance between technology and humanity.

            People named their biggest pet-peeve dealing with incivility in public and I could relate to these all-too-common annoyances. Talking loud on the cell phone in public  is an annoyance I have encountered more than once in the past week. During my Sports Management test last week, my professor handed out the midterm and after went outside the room and began to talk on his cell phone.  At first I thought it was going to be a quick phone call  but, after ten minutes he was frustrated and his voice he was practically yelling. It was a huge distracting to his students who were looking around shocked, and it was a huge hypercriticism on his part considering he does not tolerate phones or any use of technology in class.

            Our grandmothers were not around to enforce the rules and etiquette on texting and technology, and pop culture has influenced our technological manners. There is a lack of  face to face intimate conversation, eye contact, general manners, and an overall general classic civility.

            Although many think we are too deep into this uncivil-technology-run society, the end of the interview seemed to portray a sense of hope. A hope that parents can teach their children proper etiquette when using technology. Parents need to re-instate this idea of civility in their children’s generation along with reality TV shows, celebrities, and the entertainment business. They need to adjust their emphasis on negative, outlandish, and uncivil actions to generate revenue and attention. Hopefully we can start a new movement that will instill civility back into our society.

Jennifer Aniston v. Perez Hilton

As I was flipping through channels the other afternoon and  I saw one of my favorite celebrities Jennifer Aniston was the guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Ellen went into conversation about Aniston’s face-off with Perez Hilton, who is widely known for his website/blog where he proviedes exclusive scoop on celebrity gossip along with pictures and his infamous snarky commentary.

Jennifer Aniston is among the many celebrities that Perez Hilton likes to pick on. Aniston explained her encounter with Perez last week on Ellen.  She ran into him in a garage and confronted him on his bullying. She approached him said “Hi” and simply asked him “Why are you so mean?” After blank stars and an awkward confrontation, Perez posted his own commentary after the encounter vowing that he would become a friendlier person.

The negative attention he has received for his commentary has made him one of the most famous celebrity bloggers in modern society.  This new notion of “negative attention” is not something Forni would commend. To Forni our society believes that “if you are polite you are perceived as weak.” (25) In Perez Hilton’s case, being polite gets you nowhere in the tabloids and media business. The harsh reality is his inconsideration for others increases his net worth, professional career, and ultimately his ego.

In our technology-filled world today it is so easy to express how we feel (via the internet, text messaging, blogging etc.) without encountering another human. This new trend of cyber-bullying has become all to present in our society and has attributed to the massive decrease in civility today.

Jennifer Aniston took a step out of our technology-heavy world and confronted this cyber bully with class and civility. "There's something really great about putting a human being in front of another human being and then the reality that those words come home," she told Ellen. There is a human being behind everything and it is easy to forget all human have feelings and rights that should not be disregarded or disrespected. Carter’s metaphor that we cannot live our life sealed in our cars isolated, but we must live life as if we are on a train interacting with others and aware that we must show a courtesy and respect for others, relates to Anniston’s comments and actions. Carter and Forni would commend Aniston’s actions, her confrontation has decreased Perez’s snide comments and made the world a little more civil, one snarky blogger at a time.