Gangnam Style: Not So Innocent?
My RCL post this week is in response to Crystal Anderson’s blog post about the popularity and social implications of the “Gangnam Style” video. Anderson brings to light that the popularity of the video may not be linked to people simply admiring the musical merits of the song but rather that Psy is the laughingstock of American mainstream media. She also highlights previous examples of this such as Mr. Chow in “The Hangover” wherein these Asian characters are only seen as comedic resources.
To look at this from another perspective; earlier today Korean-American rapper Tiger JK let off a rant about his thoughts on the “Gangnam style video” and what it means to him personally. To add some context to the story, Tiger JK was shouted at by fans to perform the “horsey dance” which led him to unleash his frustration over Twitter. Some points raised by the rapper were that he is only looked at as a joke even though he is a serious musician. He also talked about how silly videos like “Gangnam Style” gain so many hits on Youtube but artists like Tiger JK are still struggling to break into mainstream media. The profanity laced tyrant and an accompanying article can be viewed here.
Tiger JK eventually apologized for his rant and also his generalization of whites and their involvement in his frustrations. However, I feel that his rant and also the blog of Crystal Anderson bring up some very good points. I don’t think that these opinions deserve an apology. Both people used their rhetoric platforms to showcase their opinions, albeit unpopular, and to highlight some real problems in our mainstream media.
Read MoreIdeas for Rhetorical Analysis Essay
An artifcact that I’m thinking of analyzing is a speech from a movie “The Great Debaters” :
The speech in question is actually a debate in which black students argue with white students on the admittance of black students into white universities. The purpose of the speech is to get across the need for change felt at the time in which the movie takes place. The audience of this particular speech is anyone who feels affected by segregation or the movement of integration. The poignancy of the speech is heightened by the context of the movie: southern states during the 1930s.
The essay shown on page 323 of the CDA employs both good and bad strategies for writing. The writer opens up with an image that grabs the reader and explains the cause effectively. However, the writer tries to describe the website of the organization but the imagery falls short and it’s hard for the reader to imagine exactly what is being described. The conclusion of the essay is also fairly lackluster and only uses a sentence to wrap up the information.
When I write my analysis I will make sure to have a solid introduction and conclusion. Also, the imagery I use will be sure to grab the reader unlike this essay.
Read More“Love is Louder than the Pressure to be Perfect”
The topic of this week’s blog post is something pretty serious: Eating Disorders and Body Issues.
Earlier this week; Lady Gaga posted pictures of herself in her bikini in response to rumors that she had gained a large amount of weight. The caption with the photos was, “Bulimia and anorexia since I was 15”. This revelation opened up a torrent of responses with fans posting photos on Gaga’s website of body parts that they feel insecure about. Now if you visit the website littlemonsters.com you can see a multitude of random people from a variety of walks of life and ages displaying their vulnerability through these photos.
Lady Gaga is known for her crazy antics but this might just be the sanest thing that she’s ever done. Through her website and personal experiences she has revealed a commonplace of young people who are navigating the same struggles that she has had since the age of 15. This “body revolution” of Gaga’s brings into question many disturbing aspects of the world that we are surrounded by. Recently the pop star was hounded for her weight by tabloids and paparazzi. Even now, her weight is still a hot topic that generates money for the media. It seems that there is so much focus put on not only celebrities but young women in general. It’s hard to be surrounded by images of beautiful supermodels and not be affected in some way; now we know that not even pop stars are immune to this feeling.
What do you all think of Lady Gaga’s revelation? Is it a way to get people to open up about their insecurities or is it just a publicity stunt?
Read MoreRCL Blog- Voter Registration
Today during my 9am class a young woman passed out voter registration forms while explaining the process of being able to vote here in PA. Almost collectively, the room of almost 200 people groaned and ignored the girl. I even caught one of the TAs with an annoyed look on her face. I was so surprised, I would have thought that people would at least be somewhat excited to help be a part of such an important election. It seems that many people my age seem hesitant to take a chance to be apart of a civic opportunity. I know that a lot of people are already registered to vote but I also know that a lot aren’t. A process that takes all of two minutes and many of my fellow classmates felt that was too much to spare.
Read MoreCelebrity Marriages: Destined to Fail?
As you have probably guessed form the title of this post, this week’s topic is celebrity marriages. For some reason, celebrity marriages seem to function differently than those of regular people; they seem to last for surprisingly short periods of time and at times don’t even seem real. This week I chose to focus on a celebrity couple who have just recently tied the knot…
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds!
The couple secretly got married just the other week after dating for almost a year. Reynolds has been married once before to actress Scarlett Johansson and engaged to singer Alanis Morisette. Lively has never been previously married or engaged but that’s probably due to her being only 25.
One of the concerns surrounding this particular union are Ryan Reynolds and his previous relationships. He was divorced for a little over a year and he is already re-married to someone new. For the past ten years he has been in ongoing serious relationships with 3 different women; all with the intent to marry.
Can Lively and Reynolds actually survive their union? The track record of Reynolds doesn’t suggest this and yet they seem relatively happy. Is this a twisted PR stunt? The tabloids have definitely been abuzz with this recent news and there have been many cover stories about the recent nuptials.
Why do celebrity marriages come off as so frivolous? Are we as the public missing something or is this where the state of marriage is currently heading?
Don’t be afraid to leave a comment! See you next week!
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