Normalizing White Trash

As we read earlier in the semester during the week on Elvis, white trash stereotypes ultimately stem from racist attitudes towards blacks and the need to reject white people that embody these "black" characteristics; in this regard, I agree with the claim that "white trash" is the last socially acceptable racial epithet, a form of bigotry that is rightly vanishing within our media culture. 

That being said, a large percentage of the white trash demographic seems, well, trashy, and it appears as though our culture strives to normalize the "white trash" aesthetic and/or lifestyle without any sort of criticism, which is probably also bad. I mention this because I visited the People Magazine website for the first time today, and the homepage proudly boasted this article about "Mama June" losing a lot of weight. Honestly, good for her, but why does this article expect its readers to celebrate this woman and completely ignore the negative aspects of her persona that happen to be linked to white trash standards (her questionable parenting style, her selfishness, her fame-seeking behavior, etc.)? Why can we not have nuanced or qualified fan articles about stars? Is this tendency to normalize characteristics typically described as white trash positive, or can we be critical of these traits in a less bigoted way? Am I a bigot for wanting to hate on Mama June a little bit despite her inspirational health and body transformation? 

Final Slides: Internet Study

Liz Taylor's Legacy

Liz Taylor has been immortalized as one of Hollywood's biggest stars. When I visited the Whitney Museum in New York over spring break,  I came across this painting and thought it was especially share-worthy when reading the caption, which details Liz Taylor's defiance of gender norms.

 

Along with the Artist's Card and Explanation:

You're a Joke, Mr. President

Comedy analysts have already begun to wonder how much longer Trump-Centric humor can last, before audiences tire of the densely saturated landscape of presidential jokes. It's hard to go to a stand up show without hearing at least one mention of President Tr*mp, if not many, many more. This week proved especially heavy in the amount of Trumpian-anchored content: Samantha Bee hosted her special 'Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner' which out-rated the actual White House Correspondents' Dinner.



The actual White-House sponsored event, which Donald Trump controversially decided not to attend, was hosted by Hasan Minhaj and also received critical acclaim. Each host didn't hold back in making jabs at the President and confronted him straight on.

Also in the past week, Comedy Central premiered the new late-night talk show THE PRESIDENT SHOW, which garnered more views than the President's actual inauguration, and features comedian Anthony Atamanuik in character as President Trump, hosting his own talk show.




Despite having built quite the reputation for responding to televised satirical content via twitter-rant, the President has yet to directly comment on either Correspondent Dinner or The President Show. God Bless.

Style, Selfies, & Sarah Paulson: #MetGala 2017

After Monday night's annual #MetGala, the internet took Twitter and other media outlets by storm, racing to define which celebrities had made the cut for the 2017 ~hot list~ and which ones...not so much.

Fans were particularly supportive of Rihanna and Zendaya's looks for the night (both pictured above) while other celebrities (*ahem* Katy Perry) did not fair as well.

 #sad

In addition to the array of couture ensembles, the notion of celebrities as spectacle was certainly on display. Despite the Met's fervent attempts to enforce a 'no-selfie' rule, Kylie Jenner charged right ahead, iPhone in hand, and was ready to capture a star-studded moment in the restroom. Kim, Kendall, Paris Jackson, P Diddy, Frank Ocean, and ASAP Rocky were only some of the Hollywood vetted subjects of the photo, which has now been compared to Ellen's 2014 Oscar Selfie.



But even after the parade of glamour and glitz, at the end of the day, we're lucky enough to have Sarah Paulson to remind us celebrities are usually just like anybody else. Even an Emmy Award Winner sometimes freak out when their idol enters the room.

Met Gala 2017: A Recap

I know nothing about fashion but somehow find myself every year looking into who wore what and what people are saying about it. Frank Ocean showed up this year? Good to know he’s alive--even though it looks like he just walked into H&M and grabbed what he could. Jaden Smith showed up literally hold his locks that he cut off? Typical Jasen stuff. Rihanna looked incredible as usual, also Zendaya? Just wow! Everyone really loves the Ryan Reynold x Blake Lively duo for some reason? The Migos were there looking dapper as hell. Also everyone loves making fun of The Weeknd and Selena Gomez as a couple for some reason? I don’t know really know what that’s about but I’m on board with it.

Honestly, I don’t fully understand what the Met Gala is but it's a perfect time for a bunch memes to circulate. Here’s one of my favorites:

Core Post #5: J Lo / Selena

The article on J Lo’s butt was a fascinating read for me. I have always viewed J Lo as the star who leeched off Selena’s dying star, since that role seemed to launch her into stardom. I have always viewed J Lo as more of a singer than an actress, probably because I have been exposed to her music more than her films. The article discusses how the Puerto Rican butt, specifically a large one, represents the excess of Latinx culture. J Lo’s butt therefore serves as an event, in which her body becomes representative of Latinx communities at large. This is important both because this reveals a lot about the consumption of the brown body, but also is interesting because it is important that this is not a black body. In general, J Lo capitalized on the fact that the media was fascinated with her behind. While this can be seen as self-exploitation, it seems to be more of a strategy based on knowledge of the consumption of her image. The article mentioned the rear as a site in which Latina women could reclaim their beauty, which also happens to co-exist with their exploitation. The dynamic between the two can be seen in Selena’s image. One interesting thing in the article was the mentioning of Selena’s obsession with her plastic surgeon who helped maintain her figure, since this is something I did not know about. This says something about the limited pathways in which brown bodies are launched into stardom. I can’t help but challenge how much progress has been made in this front. There still are only a handful of popular Latinx stars, one of them being Jennifer Lopez herself.  A hyper-focus on the physicality of brown bodies seems to hint that there value is not in their talent, their music, their acting, their products but rather just their body. This maintains power dynamics while simultaneously enjoying these bodies.