Not MY drama

After months upon months of eagerly anticipating The Hills final season premiere, it has come and as always, I am so disappointed in myself for how excited I get about it. It is a horrible horrible show and continues to progressively sink lower with its morals every season (if it had any to begin with), yet somehow I can't stop watching and can't stop caring. I grew up glued to Laguna Beach from its very beginnings and felt a weird sort of connection with these kids that I had absolutely nothing in common with except for the fact that I was of the same age (LC's class). This one detail forged a strange sense of belonging as I watched them deal with the high school drama, walk at their graduations, and start new lives in new cities (spinoffs galore). I however, was homeschooled, had only the drama of the skating world (people over 40), and still have yet to walk at a graduation of any sort. I experienced through them, the things I thought I was missing out on by not being a typical teenager.
Characters came and went as the show basically moved to the Hills (I don't think anyone cared about season 3 of Laguna Beach with the annoying little siblings left behind) and the world watched as the high school drama was blown up into tabloid fodder and shocking Enewsworthy scandal. I still watched. Hey, it wasn't MY drama and watching it reminded me how grateful I was that it WASN'T. This season though, the show just makes me sad. Heidi looks like Spencer's Frankenstein creation (it's frightening), Kristin is accused of being a crackhead, Brody is as dumb as ever, and even Lo, who I used to love because she tried to stay slightly in the background, looks like she's getting a kick out of the drama and even creating it intentionally. It still isn't my drama but this stuff, in my opinion, shouldn't be ANYONE'S drama. I know that it's supposed to be "reality" tv and that most people argue that it's fake and staged, but real or not, I think it's sad that these people willingingly make their lives resemble that of a circus sideshow.

I...I really, I just don't know.

As I walked back to my apartment from my always traumatic experience of grocery shopping at Jewel, I immediately took note of this ginormous billboard advertisement featured prominently on the side of a building directly off the red line stop at Grand and State. This picture obviously does not do the ad justice (thanks iPhone), so for clarification purposes; it is a picture of a bottle of POM's pomegranate juice with a noose around the "neck" of it featuring the slogan, "Cheat death". I had to take a moment to process this advertisement. Literally, I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk (and consequently took a picture with my phone). I was interpellated by it but it bothered me for two days (plus) as to WHY I was so affected by this image. So I did as I always tend to do whenever attempting to work through any psychologically rooted dilemma...I made a checklist.
-I wasn't shocked by the image. Check that off the list.
-I wasn't outright offended. Check.
-I wasn't opposed to its placement. Check.

The list went on and on...until that always welcomed, "aha" moment finally appeared. I can see WHY people would be offended and I can see HOW people might be shocked by its audacity, but for me, it's just a matter of innaccurate and dumb advertising aimed only at gaining attention. You probably can't see it, but at the bottom of the ad it states, "The Antioxidant Superpower". This ad was intended to highlight the potential health benefits of drinking this POM juice, ultimately being able to "cheat death" by staying physically fit. Well, a noose to me represents two different reasons for death (i'm pretty sure i'm not alone in this): 1.) Self-infliction
2.) Racial discrimination

So POM, unless you're trying to tell me through your advertising that you can either cure me of my mental illness or rid the world of discrimination based on ethnicity, nix the ad. I have never heard of a "Superhero" that saves the world from depression or discrimination so it just doesn't make sense and it creates confusion around real issues that deserve real consideration.

Look Who's Talking Finances

Talking babies? Ok, I’ll admit that this isn’t the most novel concept the world of media has yet to explore, but what it IS, is an ingenious branding strategy that employs the face of an infant as the voice of a not so child-friendly commodity. I adore the sarcasm of these commercials and the babies are so G-darn cute, that I can’t help but shush everyone around me when one of these commercials pops up on the TV. But the clever wit and “aww” inducing factors aside, these ads have a powerful effect on their viewers yet remain subtle in their delivery.

First off, we all know that the country’s economy is far from peachy keen and that there are a lot of people out there who are extremely worried and in many cases, downright scared about their financial statuses. We don’t necessarily LIKE talking about money, 401(k)s, investments, stocks, blah blah blah…..it can be scary and overwhelming and things that make us uneasy aren’t typically what we want to address. Yet, here is this smartass baby on the TV telling us to stop being such a “Shankapotamus” and get ourselves on ETrade. It’s funny. I know you laughed too. It sheds a humorous light on the dark situation and disarms us, allowing us to be more receptive to trying their service.

Secondly, it forces us (even if only subconsciously) to take a step back and analyze the accuracy of a Marxist vision of the world. This is an infant on the TV controlling the money, not some fat cat or power suit sitting at the control panel of our fate laughing maniacally. Even further, this baby is demonstrating that by using their service, you are no longer just an irrelevant piece of the nation’s “superstructure” or a product of someone else’s base. You yourself are put in the power seat and are given the means to control your own base.

So ETrade, bring on the Milk-a-holics (Milk-a-whaa?) and the babies that mistake the pilot’s voice for that of their father’s (Daaad?!), because I have my DVR geared up and ready to go.

Gee, thanks TLC! How would I have ever gotten dressed without you?

As a guest on TLC's What Not to Wear, Rita Mitchell claimed that she liked to dress in accordance with "how she feels". More power to ya Rita because so do I. Sometimes if the mood strikes me and I feel it necessary to satisy the strange urgings of my inner fashionista, heck, i'll wear a cocktail dress and heels to class if I think it'll make me feel comfortable and more centered that day. Yes, people may look at me weird and one can't easily ignore that stinging laser beam stare of judgement but hey, i'm not judging you because you chose to wear sweatpants and UGGs to class....its all about what makes someone happy.

So why is it that Rita Mitchell, a seemingly well-adjusted, working professional with a quirky style and "accepting" husband was nominated for this pointless show? The worst part (in my opinion), was that it was her husband that nominated her to appear on this program and ultimately entailed her being ridiculed for an hour on everything pertaining to her wardrobe, hair, body, makeup, and sadly, her dance moves (relevant? I think not) all so that, at the urgings of her husband once again, she could "look more feminine". Why is a tv program allowed to tell us how we should dress and more importantly, why do we listen to them? I mean yes, Rita's extensive selection of fleece isn't exactly what I would pick as most flattering but then again, the female host of the show's clown-like blush and botox-happy look isn't exactly what I would consider attractive (not to mention her co-host's plaid astro-turf blazer). I personally wouldn't want her telling me what to do with my face.

If a person is happy and surrounded by people that truly appreciate them for who they are as a human being, why would a show like this even be relevant? Media today focuses far too much on telling us how we're supposed to look, act, dress on the outside, so much in fact that the public as a whole is forgetting that it is more important to be evaluating how we feel and how comfortable we are with ourselves on the inside.