#TEAM Hannah Montana

     Based on today's class discussion, it is apparent that many of my peers feel that Hannah Montana, the character, is a poor example of "girl power". As a fan of the show, un-apologetically, I believe that the character was misjudged in that Hannah Montana is a pop star so her outward appearance reflects the lifestyle she leads. On the other hand, Miley Stewart, is the typical school aged girl that is combating all the issues young teens face. She chooses to keep her life as Hannah Montana a secret for fear of being judged or used for her celebrity. As we have discussed previously in this class how many of us have multiply lives'. So isn't it a bit harsh to come down on a fictional character? Maybe it's just me.   
     If I were a young girl I would think Hannah/Miley was empowering simply because she is able to differentiate people who care about her because she's just like them versus those that just want her for her celebrity. In a society where people and youth alike pick friends based on status, it should be refreshing to have a character on TV that illustrates that people should like you for who you are. So yes, in some aspects she lives a privileged life, but that privilege is afforded through hard work, determination, perseverance and other empowering traits that we should all hope to aspire to.

Brand *bleep*

    As I read the articles for this week, it was so evident that at times I am a brand whore and I am completely OK with that. I believe that if you like a brand and CAN AFFORD a brand you should have it. The biggest thing though, is being able to afford the brand. I would never purchase a brand knowing that it would seen me straight to the poor house. For me, there are certain things I buy that must be brand name such as: shoes (specifically sneakers), electronics, and some foods. However, my mother believes that every food item she purchases MUST be brand name. There have been times I called my mother a food brand whore or sidity (bourgeois). My mother is an amazing cook and when she cooks people stalk our house for whatever she prepared. 
     Last Thanksgiving, I was sent to buy heavy whipping cream for her famous homemade vanilla ice cream and well I picked up the Great Value (Walmart) brand priced at $3 a quart. When I got home, you would have thought I committed a heinous crime. As she mixed all the ingredients and taste tested the mixture, she swore that it didn't taste right simply because I bought the wrong brand. After a comical argument, I told her she was crazy and that the cream was made from the same milk milked from the same cow that Dean's used. The next time she made her ice cream she purchased the name brand cream that was $5 a quart and according to her taste buds, her ice cream tasted heavenly. 
     Although, I believe my mother's belief about branded foods is naive, I do understand that it is something we program ourselves to believe. If a item is not branded with a name we trust and know, we believe that it is an imitation and of lower quality. When I got in college and moved into my own apartment, I removed that naivety from my life because I couldn't afford the higher priced brands anymore. I learned to read and compare name brand items to the store brand and ultimately realized they were the same damn thing. Recognizable brands make people feel like they're a part of a community and sadly they will go broke trying to fit in.

How Not to be Cool

     The Thomas Frank reading could not have come at a better time! As I read it, I could not help but to think of how this article relates to the 2000s. In the article it discusses "the sixties" and the 90s, but the 2000s are truly a repeat of everything explained. More than anything, I focused on the definitions of "hip" discussed in this article simply because being hip is something people still strive for in this day in age.
      In the article, Andrew Ross defined the characteristics of hip, "'an essentially agnostic cult of style worship... advanced knowledge about the illegitimate'" (p. 13). The most important aspect of this "definition" for me was the term agnostic, which simply means unopinionated. As a dweller on a college campus, the number of hip people I see is astronomical. Everyone looks the same, dresses the same, talks the same, and the craziest thing is they all believe their sense of style of "original". Ball State's campus is over-ran by skinny jeans, Toms, fake glasses, piercings, tattoos, and Bieber-ish haircuts just to name a few, but like the article discusses this fake counterculture. Nothing about it is organic, it is a mass replication of what one considered to be "hip".
     At the very end of the article, Frank defined what hip meant for him in 2000, he states, "Today hip is ubiquitous as a commercial style, a staple of advertising that promises to deliver the consumer from the dreary nightmare of square consumerism" (p. 15). For me, 12 years later, this definition is relevant and telling of so much. How can one not be a part of the fake counterculture when the media tells us how to be? We're told how to dress. How to talk. The type of products we must own in order to be "hip" and ultimately placing us back into the dreary nightmare of square consumerism we were trying to escape.

Getting Back to the Basics

After our discussion on Wednesday, I couldn't but to think that in some ways social media is our generation's version of hand written letters. Years ago the only means to communicating with someone was through a hand written letter. However, as technology was created and expanded, the means to deliver those same messages became much faster and far simpler- granted they also became less personal too. As someone that utilizes social networking sites such as Twitter, Tumblr, and Blogger, I have found that I have reverted back to the act and skill of writing. Although Twitter only allows 140 characters, I find that I must decide which writing crime to commit in order to get my thoughts out for all of my followers. It means a lot to me that I even realize I am committing a writing crime because it shows that I, as well as others still appreciate the written word for what it is. In terms of blogging sites, they allow for people to express themselves in longer, drawn out ways that are not acceptable on Facebook or Twitter. As a avid blogger, there is no better feeling then writing a posts about something that I love or hate and then publishing it for the world to see. Although my posts don't follow a letter format they are my thoughts and feelings presented on "paper". So despite what older generations think, my generation still very much appreciates and understand the wonders of the written word, we just don't have to wait a lifetime waiting for a response from a loved one, LOL!

Study Pop Culture? Duh!

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We should study popular culture for multiple reasons, obviously, but one major reason is because there are some that believe that popular culture is only what happens in the media such as music and television, but it is truly more complex than that. Merriam Webster defines popular as, “of or relating to the general public”, for this reason solely we can understand and possibly agree that popular culture is something that effects the masses in one way or another. As it relates to culture, Brummet (2006) defines culture as, “the integrated set or system of artifacts that is linked to a group (p. 26). Topics that are considered “popular culture” texts are examples of artifacts that link a group and in turn create culture. It would seem that one could not work without the other. Culture could not exist without these popular texts to connect the group, and in turn, the connected group then creates the artifacts that make up and continue to expand their culture.

With all this in mind, one may wonder how another’s cultural issues effect them, but Brummet (2006) argues that cultures are highly complex and overlap and because of this, effect many people. Take me for example. I am an African-American, which is one of the cultures I identify with, but I am also a woman and can relate to the culture of women. I am also from Chicago, where our culture is completely different from Muncie’s culture. I am a member of the Hip-Hop culture, which is a misunderstood culture by those not a part of it. I too, am a graduate student and as a grad student I realize the obvious differences between undergraduate culture and grad culture. These are just a few examples, because everything I do, identify with, wear, etc. is a part of some particular culture. If there is a problem in any one of my cultures it not only effects me but others in my culture and possibly outside of my culture depending on the severity of the problem.

So? What is the point of everything I just said? How can we be conscious consumers of our own cultures if we don’t understand what is going on with the countless other cultures revolving around our own? In order to make strong arguments or try to persuade someone about something that effects us, we need to be able to take in consideration their viewpoints and cultural backgrounds as a mean to improving our chances.