When I first tried to watch the brand new Lady Gaga video for “Telephone” featuring Beyonce, my computer was extremely slow so I gave up after hitting the four-minute mark. However, my cousin Colleen who is a senior Communication Studies major asked me for my opinion.
Colleen told me that she was a bit disappointed with the interpretation of the song, since she loves the song and feels that the video doesn’t bring the story to life as she expected. She also mentioned that the video was made in the same spirit as the “Papparazzi” video in which fame and the media kill celebrity. In past interviews, I’ve heard Gaga say that she does everything with a purpose and message. In other words, every controversial act is not done without thought and reasoning.
Immediately getting into rhetorical criticism mode, I watched the almost-ten-minute-long video in its entirety. The first thing that really caught my attention was the Diet Coke curlers Gaga wears in her hair when she picks up the payphone and starts singing the song. After that, the product placement became more apparent as it occurred. Virgin Mobile, Chanel, Polaroid, Miracle Whip, etc. This is likely something that stood out to most viewers. I knew Gaga, if true to her mission, would never accept product placement as advertising in her work so I tried to look at the bigger picture.
To me, the song is about feeling tied down in a relationship; the speaker is unable to have fun with the distraction of the consistent phone calls on a night out with her girlfriends. The video seems to illustrate that brands hold us hostage in a world of consumerism. Gaga feels imprisoned by the media as it throws brand after brand, product after product at us to the point of consumers not realizing their decisions are often made for them.
In typical released-inmate fashion, the first thing Gaga does is to seek revenge with her partner-in-crime, Beyonce/Sasha Fierce. She does this by killing the enemy (arguably those individuals and consumers who accept media messages without thinking for themselves, or perhaps the controllers of the media itself) with their own poison: the brands that have become staples in American life. By turning the poison against those who use it, Gaga and Sasha Fierce feel free despite the inevitable consequences they will soon face for their inexorable crime.
A few days ago, I found an article
on AdvertisingAge about the product placement in the video. Each product had some kind of tie with the Haus of Gaga or Lady Gaga herself, but the message I got from the video was nowhere to be found.
Isn’t it funny how critical thought can actually lead you to a message beyond someone else’s vision?
Click here to view the official video.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Live High
I have a serious confession: I have not written anything of substance since graduation in May (save for the occasional diary entry). As a person whose lifelong dream is to be a writer/editor/author/etc., this is somewhat of a tragedy. And a horrible embarassment.
The truth is, much like my fellow 2009 graduates I have felt lost for a majority of the time period between the beginning of summer and the end of the first semester I was out of school. It didn't hit me until finals week started for my collegiate friends (and I had no exams to study for, no papers to finish at the last possible moment) that I am officially a degree-holding individual in the working world. If I thought a semester went by quickly when I was in school, I've found that a week passes in the blink of an eye now that I work every weekday from 9 to 6.
Not only does time pass quickly, my wallet seems to empty faster than it did during my school days. Even without the full responsibilities of a working adult, I still have trouble paying for the lifestyle I seem to want so badly. A lot of conversations I have with friends have gone from the usual girl talk about boy problems to the more "mature" topic of ambition and financial success.
This past week, L.A. has finally run into winter. There was a rainstorm on Monday followed by a very chilly rest of the week. In honor of the cold weather, I often chose soup for lunch. On one particular blustery day, I walked down the block to one of my favorite lunch spots. Dressed appropriately in a winter coat and scarf, I encountered a man who asked me for spare change for coffee.
Having grown up in San Francisco, I am no stranger to strangers and homeless people. Having graduated from St. Ignatius, I am no stranger to the idea of being a person for others. However, as the daughter of my mother, my paranoia immediately came into effect; I would never open my purse/wallet on the street, especially when I am walking alone. I apologized to the man, said I didn't have any, and continued walking without missing a beat.
The minute that moment lapsed, I felt guilt. I don't know this man's story; I don't know what he goes home to every night, if he has somewhere to go. But the fact that I couldn't help him find comfort in a cup of coffee on a cold day opened my eyes.
The next day, my sister forwarded me an email from college students preparing for a service trip to Central America. There was a list of donations they were asking for, and my sister asked me to go with her to pick up a few things. We went to a discount store less than a mile away from our home on the Westside, and again I was confronted by circumstances unusual for me. I seemed to have entered an alternate reality, where people moved up and down the aisles without common social graces. No one said "excuse me." No one made eye contact. No one waited for fellow customers to move aside before grabbing something out of reach. I looked at a few of the customers and, for the first time, didn't write them off as "rude."
In an extreme comparison, it was like Leonardo DiCaprio's character Jack in Titanic; it wasn't that he was intentionally rude... He never learned the etiquette that the elite class held as second nature. The people in the store were there not because they enjoyed a discount but because these are the products they could afford for their families. They lived under circumstances where survival was first and foremost. Perhaps manners and courtesy are things they never had to learn. When we left the store, I didn't know what to make of our experience so I commented on how depressing it was in there.
Tin: Yeah, did you see the girl's shoes?
Me: No. What shoes?
Tin: One of the women's shoes was taped up.
Consumed in my own selfish problems for months, maybe years, made me forget that other people around me in the same two-mile radius still lack the basic necessities that many of us take for granted.
The fact of the matter is that money is not the only answer to the problems of the world. Money will not solve ignorance. In some cases, it often aids ignorance. Many go from day to day caring only about themselves and never once face the issues that plague the rest of society. We forget to look away from the mirror and look to the world around us. It may not be our responsibility to solve poverty (or oppression, or terrorism, or hunger), but it is our responsbility to learn. To know. To understand. To lend a hand.
Disney Theme Parks seem to agree: Especially in these difficult times, it is important for all of us to step back and help each other out. Starting in January 2010, if you give a day to those in need they will offer you a day-pass to one of their parks. For more information, click here.
This holiday season, I challenge everyone to get the f*** out of your comfort zone. Give up your time to do something 100% selfless. Walk down the street. Read the newspaper. Smile at someone. Keep extra change in your pocket in case someone asks you to help them buy a cup of coffee. When you see strangers as individuals with a story, you'll remember that no one should suffer alone. It's not about simply writing a check to a charity; it's about opening your mind. If everyone truly cared about others, we could change the energy in our lives and start to change the energy in the rest of the world.
As I grow up in a society where capitalism and wealth prevail, I hope that I don't lose sight of the values I learned from St. Ignatius. If we climb the ladder of success that higher education promises, I hope we continually look back... and still care.
The truth is, much like my fellow 2009 graduates I have felt lost for a majority of the time period between the beginning of summer and the end of the first semester I was out of school. It didn't hit me until finals week started for my collegiate friends (and I had no exams to study for, no papers to finish at the last possible moment) that I am officially a degree-holding individual in the working world. If I thought a semester went by quickly when I was in school, I've found that a week passes in the blink of an eye now that I work every weekday from 9 to 6.
Not only does time pass quickly, my wallet seems to empty faster than it did during my school days. Even without the full responsibilities of a working adult, I still have trouble paying for the lifestyle I seem to want so badly. A lot of conversations I have with friends have gone from the usual girl talk about boy problems to the more "mature" topic of ambition and financial success.
This past week, L.A. has finally run into winter. There was a rainstorm on Monday followed by a very chilly rest of the week. In honor of the cold weather, I often chose soup for lunch. On one particular blustery day, I walked down the block to one of my favorite lunch spots. Dressed appropriately in a winter coat and scarf, I encountered a man who asked me for spare change for coffee.
Having grown up in San Francisco, I am no stranger to strangers and homeless people. Having graduated from St. Ignatius, I am no stranger to the idea of being a person for others. However, as the daughter of my mother, my paranoia immediately came into effect; I would never open my purse/wallet on the street, especially when I am walking alone. I apologized to the man, said I didn't have any, and continued walking without missing a beat.
The minute that moment lapsed, I felt guilt. I don't know this man's story; I don't know what he goes home to every night, if he has somewhere to go. But the fact that I couldn't help him find comfort in a cup of coffee on a cold day opened my eyes.
The next day, my sister forwarded me an email from college students preparing for a service trip to Central America. There was a list of donations they were asking for, and my sister asked me to go with her to pick up a few things. We went to a discount store less than a mile away from our home on the Westside, and again I was confronted by circumstances unusual for me. I seemed to have entered an alternate reality, where people moved up and down the aisles without common social graces. No one said "excuse me." No one made eye contact. No one waited for fellow customers to move aside before grabbing something out of reach. I looked at a few of the customers and, for the first time, didn't write them off as "rude."
In an extreme comparison, it was like Leonardo DiCaprio's character Jack in Titanic; it wasn't that he was intentionally rude... He never learned the etiquette that the elite class held as second nature. The people in the store were there not because they enjoyed a discount but because these are the products they could afford for their families. They lived under circumstances where survival was first and foremost. Perhaps manners and courtesy are things they never had to learn. When we left the store, I didn't know what to make of our experience so I commented on how depressing it was in there.
Tin: Yeah, did you see the girl's shoes?
Me: No. What shoes?
Tin: One of the women's shoes was taped up.
Consumed in my own selfish problems for months, maybe years, made me forget that other people around me in the same two-mile radius still lack the basic necessities that many of us take for granted.
The fact of the matter is that money is not the only answer to the problems of the world. Money will not solve ignorance. In some cases, it often aids ignorance. Many go from day to day caring only about themselves and never once face the issues that plague the rest of society. We forget to look away from the mirror and look to the world around us. It may not be our responsibility to solve poverty (or oppression, or terrorism, or hunger), but it is our responsbility to learn. To know. To understand. To lend a hand.
Disney Theme Parks seem to agree: Especially in these difficult times, it is important for all of us to step back and help each other out. Starting in January 2010, if you give a day to those in need they will offer you a day-pass to one of their parks. For more information, click here.
This holiday season, I challenge everyone to get the f*** out of your comfort zone. Give up your time to do something 100% selfless. Walk down the street. Read the newspaper. Smile at someone. Keep extra change in your pocket in case someone asks you to help them buy a cup of coffee. When you see strangers as individuals with a story, you'll remember that no one should suffer alone. It's not about simply writing a check to a charity; it's about opening your mind. If everyone truly cared about others, we could change the energy in our lives and start to change the energy in the rest of the world.
As I grow up in a society where capitalism and wealth prevail, I hope that I don't lose sight of the values I learned from St. Ignatius. If we climb the ladder of success that higher education promises, I hope we continually look back... and still care.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Heal the World
As the day of Michael Jackson's awesome memorial officially comes to an end, I thought I'd use his words as the title of my message for today. We all want MJ's legend to live on, so what better way than to ensure that our planet stays healthy enough to accomodate the generations to come? Despite the quick expansion of the Green movement, many people I know continue to neglect their responsibility to Mother Earth. This recent article from Reader's Digest offers 13 simple suggestions for everyday life... things even the most wasteful and non-green people can consider and incorporate into their routine.
Going Green, The Reader's Digest Version
Going Green, The Reader's Digest Version
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
a pastoral for LA
(a poem I wrote, as published in The Los Angeles Miscellany 2009)
millions of cars on endless pavement
zoom past palm trees on abbot kinney
to get to venice beach
i had my feet in california sand,
pacific ocean water
that chilly shade of blue—grey—dirt
i felt the santa ana winds on my face
and saw fire on the hills somewhere in the distance
smoke replaced the smog
so cal sunshine dulls, almost disappears
but no one takes off their sunglasses
i look down from the bluff across the vast expanse of
buildings and streets to the hollywood sign
that shines more brightly than the sun
like the bigger than life celebrities who
always seem smaller in person
walking down rodeo drive to buy prada and chanel
doesn’t beat melrose in the middle of a sunday
afternoon when shabby chic finds new levels of
timeless elegance and grunge never smelled better
we pass on the moca and the getty
so i can have my picture on sunset boulevard.
millions of cars on endless pavement
zoom past palm trees on abbot kinney
to get to venice beach
i had my feet in california sand,
pacific ocean water
that chilly shade of blue—grey—dirt
i felt the santa ana winds on my face
and saw fire on the hills somewhere in the distance
smoke replaced the smog
so cal sunshine dulls, almost disappears
but no one takes off their sunglasses
i look down from the bluff across the vast expanse of
buildings and streets to the hollywood sign
that shines more brightly than the sun
like the bigger than life celebrities who
always seem smaller in person
walking down rodeo drive to buy prada and chanel
doesn’t beat melrose in the middle of a sunday
afternoon when shabby chic finds new levels of
timeless elegance and grunge never smelled better
we pass on the moca and the getty
so i can have my picture on sunset boulevard.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Happy Birthday
Photo By: Smiley's Sweets and Creations
Today, I am no longer 21. However, the past year has given me more love than I ever could have imagined. A new chapter is about to begin in my life, and for the first time I have absolutely no idea where that will actually take me. As my friend pointed out to me, I begin this week with my birthday and end it with graduation from college. For now, I am just enjoying the ride.
To see more delicious treats, click here.
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