The World is Ending Today!....Wait Sorry I Mean Tomorrow.

“The Apocalypse is coming!!” is what you might hear in some cheesy movies or novels, but what exactly does this mean? And who decides when it’s coming?

As much as the Apocalypse can be seen as something rooted from the Christian tradition, it has the same formation of the “end of time” or “judgement day” seen in Islam and Judaism. In a quick summary it can be seen as the “good” going up to heaven and the “bad” staying on earth to be tortured. What I can’t seem to wrap my head around is how people can think that they can scientifically calculate it.

The ones claiming to be the most devout and at God’s mercy are the ones sitting here and predicting God’s work. It all seems a little too wrong to me. My dad once said that “the only people afraid of dying are the ones who have a reason to be afraid”. These words always stuck with me because it reminds me that if a person is always true to themselves and true to their values then there isn’t anything to be afraid of. In this day and age people are so free with their thoughts and actions that they need a warning as to when the apocalypse is coming so that they can prepare themselves by suddenly becoming “good” people.

It’s actually funny because people who claim to not believe in God or in a higher power at all but instead believe in the science of evolution quickly turn to the mercy of God because of fear. Fear that they’ll suffer the wrath instead of being taken to heaven. I think that deep down everyone is religious in their own way but they just don’t like to admit it because they want to create their own rules in everyday life. People think of religion as a set of “rules” instead of a spiritual practice that disciplines oneself.

The most important thing that someone can have is respect for themselves. Never forget to stay true to yourself but being mindful of others

Because I love Britney and this song fits so well to this discussion please take a look at her new music video for “Till The World Ends”

Do you think Britney will be Left Behind?

God loves you!

Xo,

Y

Response to Diana’s “Should the Father have a say?”

Hey Diana! Great post! Find it here: http://dianaferlenda.blogspot.com/2011/04/should-father-have-say.html

I must say this post was refreshing as it looked into a new perspective on the topic of abortion. I spoke mostly about teen pregnancy rather than abortion in my last post so I’ll dive into the subject of abortion here.

300 abortions in Canada a day? Wow this is bananas! This should a big red flashing sign screaming warning to the next teens that decide to have unprotected sex.

I definitely think that an abortion should be the decision of both the female and male in the relationship however I do believe that the girl should have the final decision in the matter. She is the one who is going through the big change in her body and she will ultimately be the one who takes care of the baby the most. Not to mention that she has to go through the shame of being called a “slut” for the whole 9 months of her pregnancy whenever someone at school or on the street sees her.

I don’t think it’s fair for the father to force the girl into keeping the baby when it is clear none of them can provide for the child. It should be a hard lesson to both of them that unprotected sex isn’t a joke and that pregnancy can occur at any time and any age.

A woman should always have the choice to do as she pleases with her body but in this case I can completely understand why the male would get to have a say.

I just hope that more awareness is being given in high schools over protected sex and abstinence. Waiting is okay!! I wish girls would understand that having sex doesn’t mean anything.

Everything around us is over sexualized from TV, movies, music and so on. We just have to be conscious of ourselves and detach ourselves from everything else. At the end of the day we have to be able to be happy with our own choices and live with them.

Abortion isn’t a joke and there really is no right answer to whether it’s ethical or not. Religious or not, there are too many different cases where abortion can be seen as acceptable for people to tell you otherwise.

Thanks again Diana for the great read! –I also agree with your last line. Abstinence really is key.

Xo,

Y

Response to Elona’s “Media Violence in Cartoons”

Hey Elona, great post! It can be found here:  http://ekhoy.blogspot.com/2011/03/media-violence-in-cartoons-yesterday-my.html

I really wanted to reply to this post because I seriously identify with this topic. I have two nieces and a nephew who watch cartoons all the time. It’s incredibly heart breaking knowing just how much violence is seen in cartoons. My nephew always likes to play fight and as much as I enjoy spending the time playing with him, his strength outweighs mine already and he’s only 4. I find that he’s becoming increasingly violent and this is definitely stemmed from what he watches on TV.

Children are becoming more and more violent especially at school. They want to emulate what they see on the television screen because they think it’s funny or cool. Kids under the age of 6 can’t grasp what is exactly going on especially when cartoons make it look like a joke. When watching the clip you posted of Sylvester and Tweety was a perfect example of how in 3 minutes of a show there was so much violence in order to give comedic appeal to children. Did the writers of the episode think that a kid might put their siblings head in the waffle iron one day to see what would happen?

Parents need to monitor what their kids are watching or else they might be setting up disasters in their own home. It’s a parent’s job to monitor what their children are doing, watching and playing with. However it is also the responsibility of cartoon creators, writers and networks to make it age appropriate.

When it comes to the case of Eminem, I don’t think he needs to censor his lyrics simply because his audience isn’t targeted at anyone under the age of 14 and by that time kids know (mostly) the difference between right and wrong. Eminem is an adult artist who isn’t trying to be a role model or target to a young audience.

Again thanks for the great read and very interesting and important topic choice!

Xo,

Y

Response to Kathleen’s “Teen Pregnancy: Media Influence or Bad Parenting?”

Found here: http://lifeisbetterinblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2011/04/teen-pregnancy-media-influence-or-bad.html

Thank you Kathleen for such an interesting read!

I decided to respond to this post because of the utter SHOCK I had when reading it. This whole “pregnancy pact” seems so crazy to me that I have a very difficult time believing it. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that girls want to throw their futures and their morals down the drain, and all for what?? What is to gain from being a teen mother?

When I read the story of your aunt, I had to read it twice just to make sure that I read it correctly. When I was back in grade 8, I was most definitely not thinking about getting pregnant. FOUR out of 25 students? How?? That is 16 percent of the girls she spoke to.  

Why aren’t these girls answering saying that they want to get an education and become business women, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, journalists, teachers, anything other than being a teen mother. Where is the glamour in being so young and becoming a parent, a single parent at that.

In my opinion media influence and poor parenting are results of this new phenomenon. The media being these new MTV makes it seem like its okay to live this lifestyle. Bad parenting comes in from parents not teaching and advising their children about sex and specifically safe sex and how to stay protected. Teens need to understand that sex isn’t just giving into hormones it’s a sacred thing that teens need to take more seriously and realize everything that comes along with it.

If teens are so careless about sex how do they think they can raise a child?

Parents need to teach their children responsibility and values before they blame their knocked up teen daughter on the media.

Xo,

Y

First comes love, then comes a marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage....Or maybe not.

Ah teen pregnancy, what an interesting and seemingly less controversial topic as the years come to pass. Let’s take a look at a few statistics shall we? In Canada, 13 out of 1000 pregnancies involved teen pregnancies and 41 out of 1000 pregnancies in the United States involved teen pregnancies (highest among the world). What is going on?

A few decades ago becoming pregnant out of wedlock seemed to feel like the ultimate shame, a crime almost. Fast forward to 2011 and we have shows promoting TEENS as young as 15 and 16 getting pregnant. MTV shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” document teenage girls who got pregnant from their boyfriends, men who aren’t their boyfriends, and how they deal with it. These shows make it seem like its okay for young women to get pregnant before they themselves grow up.  Girls now believe it’s cool to be pregnant and in high school and are PURPOSEFULY doing it in order to be on these shows and receive their 15 minutes of fame.

These girls do not have the faintest idea what it means to be a mother and raise a child. What kind of environment are they putting these new children in if they aren’t even graduated from high school yet? Instead of encouraging this, we as a society should be trying to prevent this from happening. Whatever happened to abstinence? Are the days of women saving themselves until marriage completely gone?

People reading this might think that waiting until marriage is a ludicrous idea now a days but it really isn’t. Why is there a rush to grow up so fast?

Even if young women do decide to have sex before marriage wouldn’t the smart thing to do be to make sure that you are completely protected to avoid this situation. It’s essentially selfish and self destructive to get pregnant at such a young age. By doing so you are ultimately cutting the potential for yourself and your child’s life. How can you provide for a child if you fail to complete an education?

It is so sad to see these women over sexualize themselves, only to regret it later. I am not promoting that women could consider abortion as a resort if they do get pregnant because that is completely and ultimately a decision that each individual woman should make for herself. No one else can be the judge of whether it’s right or wrong.

This blog post should be a warning to all young women out there to think about the situation they are going into before doing anything. Teen pregnancy is becoming too prevalent to ignore it. Too many girls are finding themselves in this predicament and it’s not right.

Girls: Please stop the insanity and remember what wonderful, independent people you are!

Please enjoy and reflect on this Maury show video about a 15 year old girl who WANTS a baby....

Xo,

Y

Response to Elona’s "Gaga the Fame Monster: Monsters and Christianity in Popular Culture"

Hey Elona! Thanks for the great and interesting post! It can be found here: http://ekhoy.blogspot.com/2011/03/gaga-fame-monster-monsters-and.html


Lady Gaga has set herself apart in society as being “different”. She pushes herself so far outside the box of the norm just to prove that she doesn’t care what others have to say about her. She is who she is and she makes no apologies for it. But why does she do it?

Lady Gaga believes that everybody should be able to express themselves the way they are without feeling like they need to conform to a certain type. She is a firm supporter of marriage equality and often speaks out on gay marriage. Gaga does what she wants, when she wants and so far it’s brought her worldwide attention from every age group.

Listening to the song “Monster” is interesting because of the negative light she speaks about monsters (in this case the new boy she’s dating ends up being a monster) and in turn calls her fans “little monsters”. She uses the word monster in many different ways but mostly to describe how a monster is like an outcast in society. She claims to hate fame yet she attracts the most fame out of almost any other artist this decade and because of this calls her album “The Fame Monster”. What I don’t get is why she has to try so hard to set herself apart?

Noticing all her monster versus human references, the Christian ones seem to be the natural ones to follow.

I want to thank you for pointing out the heavy Christian symbolism in her videos because I always found it interesting for a person who believes that everyone should be “free” and not confined to rules demonstrates Christian symbols in her videos.  The “monster” that she has in her Bad Romance video is extremely similar to the picture you posted about “Saint Wolfgang”. You really nailed it when you spoke about evil collaborating with this pious. She does see herself as the evil spirit in society and collaborating as you put it, with the Christian tradition.

It really makes you wonder if she believes that by her over sexualisation and other outrages behaviour means that she believes she is a “saint”. Kind of ironic. Her uniting with the Christian tradition to her might mean to “better” society by telling everyone it’s okay to let completely loose and let the monster inside of you escape.

Completely crazy? Yes. Completely wrong? Maybe so. One thing for sure is that Lady Gaga won’t be slowing down anytime soon.



Xo,

Y

A Little Blood Never Hurt Anyone



This week’s lecture made me reminisce back to the first encounter I had with monsters. When “Interview with a Vampire” came out I was extremely young and my older sisters rented it one night and watched it in our basement. I still remember watching the first bite Tom Cruise took on a human and my giant scream that consequently woke my parents up thinking that something horrible had occurred. For years after Vampires had been my biggest fear, until Buffy came along. Buffy the Vampire Slayer quickly became my favourite show and I couldn’t miss an episode. I don’t know what it was that drew me in, but it was a damn good show. What was interesting was how I lost any fear I had for vampires, monsters and any other demonic creature. I quickly found myself falling for the character of Spike versus Angel. This seems to be a pattern for me in vampire shows as I would take Damon over Stefan in The Vampire Diaries and Eric over Bill in True Blood. Girls have fallen for the bad boy for generations so putting the heroine female lead with a vampire; the ultimate demon seemed to fit perfectly.

What I agreed with completely this week was when Prof Harris discussed how these demons struggle between goodness versus evil which is something all of us do every day.  Vampires never chose to be this way and what’s interesting is how they once were and in some cases still are God fearing, Christian individuals. In most vampire shows, the good vampires hate themselves because they know that they are evil creatures who will never see the light of heaven. The fact that they carry this guilt around makes them vulnerable and appealing to viewers everywhere. It forces people to look at their own faults, mistakes and “sins” and reflect on their own fate. What is funny about the good vampire versus the bad vampire in each show or movie is that it is usually “the bad vampire” who was actually the better and kinder human and they become these monsters once they turn into vampires because they are so angry at what they are and can’t think back to a time when they were good because it hurts too much.  

If you think about it, we all have monster type of instincts in us. If you bring it back to last week’s lecture about violence, how are these human beings who are killing others any better than the vampires drinking people’s blood and zombies eating people’s brains? Difference is that we are human beings who aren’t programmed to do those things, but they had no choice but to be made into these evil beings.

We need to look at our actions and choices a little more carefully because in essence we all started out as innocent beings.


So where is the line between good and evil? Who are the real monsters? Us or them.

Xo,

Y

Dig the Knife Deeper

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s lecture on many levels. Firstly I’m the least violent individual you’ll ever meet, yet I love listening to explicit rap, watch crime shows and disturbing psychological thrillers.

I immediately identified with this catharsis effect as I find myself getting this emotional feeling at the end of a violent movie, being able to walk away and leave the violence on screen. I have zero urge to go and turn violent or rage against someone if I get angry or upset. However when looking at the incapacitation effect it made me worried that I’m surrounded by crazies in the theatre.

The Dark Knight is a fantastic film and rightfully so, one of the most watched films around. Thinking about it now, I realized just how many murders and just how much violence there was in the film, and as disturbing it was when the Joker slammed a mobster’s face right into a pencil and thus killing him instantly, I couldn’t look away. The violence is haunting but you want to see more. Then I wonder are we overexposed to too much violence that watching it seems a little natural? It’s disturbing how twisted and crazy we’ve all become from being exposed to all the ugliness and raw grit of the world.

As we enter each year with promises to better society, we continue on a downward spiral of more violent crime. I had an interesting conversation with my dad about how when he was a kid it was so safe to walk out your door at any time of the night and feel safe with your surroundings. Now the minute night falls it feels like danger is looming, or at least that`s what we have started to believe in our heads. How much can we blame on media? A lot. Kids are exposed to violence at such an early age that as they continue to grow their vast knowledge of weapons and violent acts continues to grow as well. If they see their favourite rapper waving a gun while talking about “killing a bitch”, what will make them think that this behaviour is wrong if it’s glorified on the internet and on TV? As adults we can distinguish what’s right from wrong (mostly), but kids and young teens are the most influential individuals.

With psychos running rampant on the streets; society, film makers, rappers and TV executives might want to think about toning the violent imagery down and instead output a more positive image. I might be starting to sound like a parent, but I think that anything can happen at any time. And let’s get real, Huratio from CSI Miami won’t be around the corner ready to peel off his sunglasses and rescue you.

I’d love to hear your comments!

Xo,

Y

Response to Kathleen’s “Personal Paranoia: Fuelled by Law & Order or the media?”

I really enjoyed your post this week Kathleen! It can be found here: http://lifeisbetterinblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2011/03/personal-paranoia-fuelled-by-law-order.html

 

I found it interesting how you wrote about feeling scared in everyday life because these shows have had an effect on you. It’s funny because I find myself in the habit of trying to calm my mom down if I’m downtown too late or walking to the bus late at night. She watches tons of Law and Order and CSI and combined it equals way too much paranoia.

It’s crazy that a fictional TV show can have such an effect on people. My mom consistently tells me to “BE CAREFUL” as if I’m going into a war zone, even though I’m just walking around campus at night. It’s this thought process that I can almost see in her head flash by anytime I call her and say that I have to stay late to finish an assignment or study. What’s worse is her paranoia becomes contagious and soon I start to wonder “I could be that girl from LO:SVU on last week’s episode”. Crazy? Yes. However what pushes these shows so far into our brains that we believe it will turn into reality?

Well the fact that shows say that the episodes are “based on real events” doesn’t help. This plants ideas in viewer’s heads that these events occur on a regular basis. The amount of horrific and unimaginable violence on these shows makes it very surreal to think that these murders occur.

These shows are addicting, and by the end of a season a viewer feels connected to the investigators, scientists and agents that all formed teams to help solve crime. We all think we can solve real life murders and that we know exactly which chemical to use to find DNA in a forest. Now if we could just go on with our days without thinking an axe murderer is following us, we’ll all be just fine.

Xo,

Y

Response to Vanessa Lee’s "Athletes as God and God Helping Athletes"

Thank you Vanessa for a great read! Her blog post can be found here: http://homertheheretic.blogspot.com/2011/03/athletes-as-god-and-god-helping.html

 

 

I must say you nailed it with hitting the point of Athletes being seen as God like figures. In my post about sports I mentioned how Athletes truly believe that they were given a gift from Gift in their abilities to play.

I enjoyed examining the LeBron James ad for Nike. I have to agree with you in that it’s taken too far with the Christ symbolism. LeBron may be an amazing athlete in the NBA but to compare him in Christ in an effort to sell shoes is a little indecent. The slogan of “we are all witnesses” is cheesy and over dramatic. Star athletes let the fame and glory get to their head and sponsors like to amplify this by making them seem more powerful than they are. If you are a true believer and have faith in God then isn’t trying to imitate Christ, a slap in the face and a sign of mockery? I just find it ludicrous that an athlete can thank God for everything they have and in turn pretend like they are a Christ figure. If God did give you a gift to be such a strong athlete than selling yourself doesn’t showing gratitude.

I believe everyone has a gift and is talented in some form and that these are seen as God given gifts. However it’s how you use it that reflects on yourself. If star athletes were more humble I think I could appreciate and respect them more. What I do have to hand to them, is that they seem to cope well with the pressures from coaches, fans and everyone else around the world who believes they have a say in a particular team. Yes they have a gift. No they are not Christ figures.

Thanks for the great read Vanessa, I really enjoyed it!

Xo,

Y

All of the lights, all of the lights

This week’s lecture was all about sports and Christianity. So let’s dive right in and let the games begin.

I want to start this post by focusing on the pilot episode of Friday Night Lights that we watched in class last week. The show focussed on the fictional town of Dillon Texas and hones in on its players and their families. Just from watching the one episode, it was clear to see how strong of a community this town is and how centered it is on football and faith. Before and after games the team is always praying and keeping a strong hold on God. They are thankful for everything God has given them and are true to their roots. Funny just how much religion plays a part in a show so focussed on football, it’s almost as though their faith is at the center of the show, they take pride in being believers and thank God for being able to play on the field.

In general, sports can be seen as a type of religion. A cult sort of following with fans across the world.  The whole idea of renewal and hope is really interesting to me because it shows how much dedication and how much time people invest in not just a specific sport, but a specific team. It’s this adoration, love and respect that nobody can take away from a hardcore fan. In this essence, sports and Christianity are extremely similar as they share the same type of adoration towards something. So it seems only natural that sports fans and players are firm believers in God and everything religion has to offer.

Going back to Friday Night Lights, I found that the episode was extremely entertaining to watch and I found that the characters Christianity and just the fact that they are real believers.

In my opinion I relate athletes having such strong faith in God and their religion because of how athletes are consistently told that they inhabit a “gift”. That their abilities to play professionally or at any high ranking level is because they were born with a “God given gift”.  This then makes athletes believe they need to thank God and hold on to their faith in order to keep their “gift” alive.

Feel free to leave your comments!

Xo,
Y

Response to Kathleen’s "Finding Positive Pop Icon Role Models (Like Finding a Needle in a Haystack)"

Hello Kathleen, thank you for writing a wonderful post for me to comment on!
Original post can be found here: http://lifeisbetterinblackandwhite.blogspot.com/

This post caught my eye because it proves a valid and strong argument about the reality of popular culture these days. It also reiterates my point in my last post about how Justin is providing a positive message to the youth of today.

Justin’s music is targeted to a more teen audience and I think that is why so many people in the class were overtly opposed to the idea of him and believe that he’s just a fabricated brand. Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne and K$sha can definitely not be considered role models. Because they serve to entertain an older and more adult audience they don’t feel the need to hold back their “creative expression” as they like to call it. The problem does not lie with Bieber himself, it lies with the fact that because people are used to viewing and hearing such obscene and vulgar lyrics and music videos, someone producing a more wholesome image is seen as “fake”, as if being real and true to oneself doesn’t involve loving God or giving back, it’s noted as a “publicity stunt”. Keeping in mind that Justin just turned 17 this week, there is still time for him to evolve as an artist and who knows he might abandon his squeaky clean image as does the lot of young stars.

What I think is important to remember is that Justin is outpouring positivity to his young fans and it helps defer young pre teens from looking at a Lady Gaga video and thinking that being overtly sexualized is the way to attract attention from other peers. Whether we like it or not, Justin is having a huge impact in pop culture and for us to sit and judge him for being too ‘clean”, it says a lot about the downward slope of media and society today. The reality is kids, teens and everything in between are mimicking what they see in music videos and overexposure to all the disturbing things seen in these videos makes us wonder...what are “kids” going to be like in the next 10 years? If you think about the vast differences between our generation and the one that came after us, it’s scary to hear the things they already know. Drugs, violence and sex are all becoming a sort of mainstream norm. So what’s the problem with kids preserving their youth, listening to JB’s songs and taking away a positive message from them?

By Justin showing to his fans that he’s active in donating it encourages his fans to do the same and to see that it’s a good to be good.

Thank you again Kathleen for the great read!

Xo,
Y

Beliebable Bieber

This week in class we all kind of experienced an overdose on Justin Bieber. I must say I never took the time of day to listen to a JB song or watch a single video he’s made as I just decided that he wasn’t worth my time. As someone who never likes to give too much attention to popular trends seen in media, I just steered clear of anything Bieber related. This class really forced me to look at just how big of an icon Justin has become and the kind of effect he has on a part of the world population.  To dub him as a sort of “miracle child” would be a far stretch in my opinion but I guess I have to admit that he does have talent for such a young age.

At first when watching the video for his song “Pray”, I thought “what a corny video to show himself off as an angelic role model”, but after reflecting and listening to everyone else’s hate on the video, it made me start to really think about his age and how even at 16 he’s giving back to the community. These kids who are stuck in a hospital for most of their lives don’t have much to look forward to and if they get enjoyment, pleasure or any other type of euphoric emotion from Justin’s visits then who are any of us to judge his intentions? How many of us can say that at 16 we were active in giving back to the community. If he’s making a difference with his music and his messages about God to his audience then there really isn’t any room for us to judge.  

He may not be categorized under the Christian musician category but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t having a bigger effect on youth than bands and singers that fall under the three Christian music categories stated in Schill’s article which include: Separationist, Integrationist and Transformationist.  

The irony of it all can come from the fact that a singer like Justin can attract more attention to religion by not being a typical “Christian” singer than a band like Petra or Switchfoot simply because the second a band falls under a certain religious type, they also carry along a stigma with it. People don’t want to be told to be better “Christians”, they want to enjoy their music without judgement. Justin Bieber managed to incorporate God and religion without segregation of religions and because of that he is able to reach out to more of the mass population and to people who come from all different religious backgrounds.

Take a minute to think about all the different singers and bands you listen to. Do you find any hidden or subliminal religious messages in their lyrics?

Xo,
Y

Response to Vanessa Lee's “Go away, I’m watching TV”

Thus great posting can be found here: http://homertheheretic.blogspot.com/

When reading this blog post, I couldn’t help but think that this is a post that I could have written as she says exactly how I feel about personal programming and my love for On Demand.

I have to completely agree with your first point Vanessa, about how even though Detweiler and Taylor believe that niche programming is dividing America and turning it into a negative thing, it actually is a more convenient and efficient way of incorporating television into a very hectic schedule.

As a student who commutes to school every day with a full course load and a part time job, I can never watch any of my favourite shows at the specific days and times they air, so I have to rely on “On Demand” as well as online outlets to be able to watch them according to my schedule.

What I really liked about your post Vanessa was how relatable it is to almost all North Americans today. As you said, it caters to people’s individual needs. Although television was meant to be a medium to bring people together, I completely agree that instead of it being a physical thing it’s more of a communication tool. My best friend and I share the same obsession over a certain show that I’ll keep anonymous to save us both from the embarrassment. Sometimes we’ll Skype and watch the show online together or try and watch it during the same time so we can both discuss every event that occurred during the episode.

Personally I like watching my shows alone and without distraction, it becomes my escape from everything else going on around me. It distracts me from thinking about the assignment I have due or the test I have coming up for a little while. I should also mention that when watching shows online, they are commercial free which saves 10 min in a 30 min episode or 20 min in an hour long episode- this adds another bonus to my life.

Television has moulded our society entirely, for the better; I don’t know. What I do know is that it does help relieve stress and provide entertainment to the masses.  Too much of anything is never a good thing and I don’t believe children should be exposed to most things that are on television now a day but in moderation, everything works.

Xo,
Y

Labels of Love

I was chatting with a friend the other day when she turned to me and said “you know I almost always see you with a Second Cup coffee in your hand, never Starbucks or Tim Hortons, why is that?” I stopped to think about it and realized I unconsciously had chosen to be loyal to Second Cup and since coffee makes up for a majority of my diet, it seemed as though my relationship with Second Cup was more than just a convenient coffee shop on my way to class. When she proceeded to ask if I would consider changing over to Starbucks as it was her brand of choice, I quickly replied “absolutely not” and retorted the same question to her about trading over to Second Cup and her answer was identical to mine. So what makes us choose which brands or chains we become loyal to?



 A good Advertisement lures its audience into consuming the product or brand as a whole and if a brand manages to make a type of cult following. When a consumer becomes accustomed to a certain brand it becomes hard to stray away from it.

This can also be seen with religion, one becomes consumed in their beliefs that no one can convince them otherwise. What makes being preached too by a priest different from being told to buy the new Apple product? Faith and products are things that make us feel complete as human beings; it makes us feel like we’re part of something. Having comfort in knowing we’re holding a Blackberry in our hands or wearing the new Prada pumps to Church on Sunday, it helps gives us confidence and ultimately makes us happy.

As much as we would like to believe that we aren’t a society that likes to be bought, we really are. We want to be persuaded to buy the new products, to follow a higher power to be part of a community. Blogging about this right now and knowing people will read it demonstrates how big the blogging phenomenon or ‘cult” has gotten. Why did I choose to use Blogger? Why didn’t I find a lesser known, different outlet instead of following the trend?

With keeping in mind Twitchell’s article and our class discussion, I don’t think I’ll be getting any opposing views to this post as it seems that people actually have an unconscious need to be labelled.

Xo,
Y

McQueen Elevates

As a huge fashion lover and follower I thought it would make sense to have my first real class post relate back to it while keeping the themes of the class prevalent.


This is a video tribute made by Nick Knight to the amazingly talented genius British fashion designer, Alexander McQueen, who died February 11^th 2010 by cause of suicide. The music and lyrics provided in the video are by Bjork, one of McQueen’s dear friends, and an artist who like McQueen is known to push boundaries.


Now let’s take a deep look into this video; this piece of art.

This video was shown at the 2010 British Fashion Awards in December to pay homage to one of the most visionary designers of this generation by awarding him the Outstanding Achievement award. This video is dark, deep and will give anyone shivers. Only black models were used, and the video demonstrates some of McQueen’s most memorable and iconic pieces. The opening sequence with the white dress and pitch black background floating almost looks as though the model is being born. Everything in the video is dark in order to showcase the clothes as the only “light” in the video a very symbolic way of depicting the sadness of his passing by the beauty of his clothes. At around the 2:04 mark in the video you will notice one of the pieces break out into a million different ways as the climax to Bjork’s song and lyrics start to kick in. Bjork says:


“We know, we know, we know it was all worth it. We know OH we know it was all, all for a reason. Let’s elevate. Let’s elevate. Let’s ELEVATE ABOUT NOW. NOW. NOW. NOW. NOW.  “   


These lyrics  and the images seen in the video during these strong statements demonstrate Bjork and Knight’s depiction of McQueen being a sort of higher power, a saviour, with the suggestion of him being resurrected are repeated and chanted over and over. 


 The video starts off with a birth with the images of the models in white flowing dresses emerging in the middle and a structured dress that emulates that of an angel with wings then rises in. His life and his work are being showcased in different angles and models, the climax of his death shown by the shattering of clothing and the angry faces shown by the models. At 2:28 the model wearing all black feathers starts moving in vast motions suggesting a change and sequence of events. The imagery of blood starts to follow at this point with images of black feathers and red dresses being flashed to show the darkness of his death and the bloodshed. As this continues the images get darker, faster and scarier as Bjork’s voice elevates as she chants. From 3:07 and on, the two images being shown are a model wearing a wreath on her head with long hair and a strapless bondage ivory coloured dress. The other image is that of a red dress draping so fast over a model that it looks as though blood is being splattered on her. The image of the model with the wreath ends the video and it’s obvious to see that this model is suppose to emulate Jesus Christ, as this whole video was suppose to show the power of McQueen and how he was viewed in the fashion world and his “sacrifice” (ie. the red dress supposing to be blood) is why he’s gone. Bjork chants for McQueen to “elevate” back to life, as if it’s inevitable. The single tear drop from the “Jesus” model brings the whole thing to a close and it will leave you speechless!




Sorry for my long rambling. Please feel free to comment! I’d love to hear what you all thought of the video :)


Xo,
Y

Newbie

Hi Everyone!

I'm new to the game in this class but I thought that blogging would be a fun way to interact with everyone. I hope you all enjoy my title as it took me a while to come up with something a little creative that mixed the elements of both christianity and popular culture.

I hope you guys enjoy reading my ramblings.

Xo,
Y