Bald for Bieber
My post this week deals with the idolization of celebrities. I chose to look at the overzealous fan base of Beliebers to drive home my points. If you don’t know, a Belieber is a fan of the 
pop singer Justin Bieber. They are usually girls in middle school with too much access to the internet and not enough parental guidance. Just by looking at social networking sites like Twitter or Tumblr you can see just how excited these fans get over their idol.
An example of this is the incident that occurred this past week. A fake twitter started claiming that Justin Bieber had been diagnosed with cancer and that his fans were shaving their heads to show their support. Now, if I were a Belieber I would do some fact checking before pulling out the scissors. Evidently, some girls didn’t have the same idea because they are now bald and discouraged. Here’s the shocker: Justin Bieber does not have cancer and there was no movement to shave heads to rally support for the singer. At first the incident seems funny that some of his fans were dumb enough to actually shave their heads for their favorite singer. A closer look reveals a trend in our youth culture where they idolize a favorite celebrity to the point of potential harm.
It seems that these superfans forget that Justin Bieber is no more than a person, and not a god to idolize. I think it’s time to examine why we allow the youth of today to become so wrapped up in a person to the point that they would drastically alter their physical appearance in order to somehow please the person. We put these celebrities on a pedestal and then are shocked when the consequences include the idolization of these figures. Celebrities are paraded in the media, seen as glamorous and untouchable. Is it the fault of today’s youth that they worship these people or ours?
Read MoreWhat Makes a Good TED Talk?
Watching all of the TED Talks this week, I think that I have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a good talk. Due to the talk of Amy Cuddy I have learned the importance of body language in relation to not only public speaking but also everyday life. Melissa Marshall’s TED Talk was funny as well as informative; I will be sure to infuse some comedy into my presentation. The most important aspect of a good TED Talk is the fact that your topic must in some way be relatable to your general audience. The Melissa Marshall talk used images such as Alice in Wonderland as a metaphor in order to draw the audience in. I think that if I can infuse all three of these aspects into my own TED Talk then I will be on the right track. I also think that being direct with the audience from the beginning of your presentation is also essential. In class we talked about saying what your topic is about from the minute you start talking. This way, you avoid beating around the bush and confusing your audience.
Read MoreWIP – TED Talk Prep
Thanks to the help of the Gale Opposing Views website I may have found the perfect topic for my TED Talk. The topic will be on marriage and I will be exploring how marriage can be used in relation to the reduction of poverty rates. Granted, the idea is very far-fetched but I’m sure it will grab my audiences attention. I wanted to choose a topic that I didn’t know much about but still interested me. During my research this particular topic did not fit into my paper but I still kept it in the back of my head. In my TED Talk I will examine how the scholar Janice Shaw Crouse argues that married households are less likely to fall into poverty than single households. The visuals that I will employ will include images of homelessness and poverty as well as married vs. single individuals.
In Amy Cuddy’s TED Talk she brings up many points concerning body language in relation to one’s personal life and success that are very relevant to my own TED Talk. One point in particular that stuck with me was how she explained the effect of body language on how others judge us. When I present I will keep in mind that the way I project my voice, my posture, and stance all have a bearing on how my peers will perceive my presentation. I will also employ what Cuddy calls “non verbal expressions of power and dominance”. This way, even though I probably will not be so confident on the day I give my TED Talk, I can at least fake it.
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