Darius Rucker, his music, and binary opposition

As part of my last posting of this semester, I decided to write about a very talented and versatile music artist, Darius Rucker. Darius, born on May 13, 1966 in Charleston, South Carolina, is an all American musician known for many years for his lead singing position in the Rock band, Hootie and the Blowfish since 1986.

Early in the semester, professor Alperstein mentioned the phrase “binary opposition,” by which the term was used to describe a pair of theoretical opposites. Although rock music and country may not be completely different from one another, a great deal of differences separates these two genres of music. In addition, Darius also produced two solo albums including, "Back to Then," a jazz album in 2002 and "Learn to Live," a country album in 2008 on Capital Records, which many people among popular culture are quite familiar with today.

Darius Rucker has been one of my favorite artists since I was a little girl. When he married my aunt’s sister, Beth in 2000, I began to follow his music even more closely. Below is the link to my favorite music video, “It won’t be like this for Long,” written about his two children, Jack and Daniela. (mainly Daniela) When watching the video, it reminds me of my dad and me in my hometown in Seaside Park, NJ and my childhood growing up there.

To the senior class- as we mature as young adults and enter the real world, we realize how fast life goes by, so live life to the fullest and make the best of your lives. Don’t take it for granted. I wish you all the best of luck in all of your future endeavors!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6JHXHWZLpU

A Little Taste Of Home...

Living in a world of popular culture, individuals join a mainstream environment as Fiske stated in his article, The Jeaning of America. However, within a popular culture, that is, what is deemed as popular by society, there are smaller niches or communities whereby a popular culture of its own exists. Such places are identified by an unconscious gravitational pull of similar people of similar interests.

Douglas Kellner, author of journal article, Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism & Media Culture, states that media provides individuals with materials out of which “we forge our very own identities.” Therefore, in a mainstream society where the same music or television show in California can be enjoyed in New York, there exist communities by which we as individuals create smaller identities of common interests within a particular niche.

For the past four years, I have resided in the Baltimore, Maryland vicinity where I received an exceptional education at Loyola College majoring in the field of speech language pathology. However, in a diverse city created by various cultures, genders, and ethnicities, Loyola provides a common ground by which individuals, in some fashion, are part of a smaller community or niche.

As my four years of undergraduate school come to a close, I thought I would share my neck of the woods, or lack thereof, in a small beach town, Seaside Park, New Jersey.

http://www.surfline.com/video/trailers/dark-fall_25299

Hyperreality, reasonable replacements, and predetermined surprises!

I began to think back on our class discussion concerning the notion of hyperreality and the inability to distinguish between what is real and what is not real and how places like Epcot at Disneyworld become a reasonable replacement for various cultures throughout the world. Looking further into the picture, one can say that reality TV such as MTV’s Real World is a reasonable replacement for what is real. However, there comes a point in time when one can decipher between what is real and what is not real because people learn to subconsciously read between the lines of television programming. Camera angles, scripts, dress, and act can determine the level of reality within a reality TV show. As we discussed in class the show, Next, in which two contestants, usually, one male, female, gay, or bisexual contestant with five daters of the opposite sex or dating preference are hidden from each other. The contestant is on the RV and the daters are hidden on the Next Van. The dates begin with one of the daters stepping out of the van and the screen freezes while personal information about the individual is released to the viewer. Whenever the contestant feels he or she wants to end the date, a new dater is released for a trial date. My point is, the viewer is able to decipher that the show is staged and scripted. The outcome of the show is most likely already predetermined but we, as consumers, except these terms that this false reality dating show is a replacement for real-life dating situations and that we subconsciously know that the outcome has already been prearranged. Reality TV shows, therefore, become an excepted excuse to watch something that we know is already false and predetermined for the sake of watching something we may find comical or an acceptable replacement for reality.

But what happens when TV shows like American Idol that is not subconsciously known to be prearranged or scripted are in fact, predetermined? A few days ago I was listening to 106.5 on my morning commute to Loyola when I was blown away by the statement that the winners of the show are prearranged. What? Yeah, that’s what I said. I began to wonder if this was true. One of Fox’s most popular programs whose mission is to discover the best singer in the country through a series of nationwide auditions would be a major disappointment to many if viewers were aware that American Idol’s winning contestants were already predetermined by it’s show hosts. What do others think?

Sesame Street Crisis

For nearly 40 years, Sesame Street has been a wonderful all American educational classic. According to Wikipedia and other Sesame Street online resources, the show was produced in the United States by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers. Well known for its children's television series consisting of Muppet characters like Big Bird, Elmo, and other famous favorites created by Jim Henson, Sesame Street premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's program on American television. According to CBC news, Sesame Street was originally designed to help children from low-income families to prepare for school. The company then expanded to include radio shows, books, magazines and online programming.

Unfortunately, due to the economy, Sesame Workshop is cutting about one-fifth of its work force. According to the CBC news, The New York Company stated that it is eliminating 67 of 355 staff positions. Declaring it is "not immune to the unprecedented challenges of today's economic environment," the company pronounced a need "to operate with fewer resources in order to achieve our strategic priorities."

After completing our popular culture projects on media conglomerates, I reviewed some of Sesame Street’s major sponsors including, Wall Street conglomerates, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch, all of which were devastated by the economic crisis.

According to US Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2009-03-11-sesame-street_N.htm

"Among the company's early TV efforts is The Electric Company, which aired during the 1970s and was revived with new episodes on PBS in January."

"Sesame Workshop gets revenue from product licensing and the sale of its programs to PBS and syndication. The company is also funded by government agencies, foundations and corporations."

"Total revenue was $145 million in 2008, with operating expenses totaling $141 million, according to the company's website."

The "11th Hour"

The 11th Hour, a Green film? Yes! Famous celebrity Leonardo DiCaprio, star of “Titanic,” “The Departed,” and “Blood Diamond” co-produced and narrated a green community 2007 documentary film, the 11th Hour. As the Green Movement becomes increasingly recognized in popular society, hopes are that the film impacts individuals beyond the pre-existing green community. Directors and producers Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Petersen aim to both educate and inspire the masses on how it is that we as a global society live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our direction.

Check out the 11th Hour Trailer: http://11thhouraction.com/seethefilm. The DVD may be purchased online and the DVD packaging is even environmentally friendly produced with 100% certified renewable resources. Furthermore, a portion of the profits will be donated to Global Green.

In 2007, the 11th Hour received the Clarion Award, Jules Verne Audience award, and the 22nd Annual Earth Watch Film award

From the film is an 11th Hour website, http://11thhouraction.com/ which provides a community where people can go to to access methods individuals can employ to help involve his or her community in attaining sustainability. Here, people can share their ideas on sustainability and the steps needed to take proper and effective eco- friendly action. The site includes community news such as the “Earth Hour” started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one whole hour. Locally in Washington D.C., the 11th Hour Action chapter is dedicated to the “Trash Free Anacostia” project proposing a bill, the "Anacostia River Cleanup and Protection Act of 2009,” which endeavors to reduce the amount of waste deposited into the river each year.

Tools such as teaching resources, the 11th Hour film, downloads, and blogs can be accessed on the 11th Hour website to facilitate sustainable proposals and practices in your community.

Twitter Eco-Homesite

After searching the web, I found that Twitter offers an Eco- Friendly Home site that enables those who join to view eco-style living and business options. People have the ability to share information about the environment, green resources discovered on the web, new sustainable products, and updated news relating to the environment.

For those who are interested be sure to join at http://www.ecohomesite.com/

Sustainable Furnishing

The Green Movement in popular culture has extended its horizon to indoor and outdoor furniture. Sustainable and economically friendly materials are becoming a popular taste among many home owners. Listed below are some exquisite environmentally friendly home furnishings:

Manufactured and designed by the Blue Dot Company, this office seat is derived from bent plywood and a satin plated steel base.

Water Saving Fluidics Shower Head
This invigorating shower head decreases water usage by 36 percent compared to the standard-flow systems in other shower heads.

This chair consists of recycled skateboards. Want to give an area of your home an inventive hip eco- friendly twist? Try accenting a room with a recycled skate-board chair.

Eco- Friendly Cell?

So I’ve been on an environmental eco-friendly green kick lately. Recent news claims that the majority of newer handset cell phone models will have a universal charger by January 2012. I thought it was interesting to take into account the great Green Movement, particularly, the technological advancements occurring in communicative devices in popular culture. Modern society lives in a world of “excessiveness” and “instant gratification” that goes above and beyond the mere purpose of necessity. Advertisers for example, promote new cell phone models with the most advanced and up-to-date technologies and accessories, all of which are unneeded materialistic items.

Recent reports by CNN claim that the Group Special Mobile Association (GSMA), which represents more than 750 of the world's cell phone operators, will create an universal micro USB plug for handsets. Furthermore, the new universal charger will provide environmental friendly benefits by reducing the amount of raw materials produced and wasted annually on cell phones. According to Rob Conway, CEO and member of the GSMA board, "The mobile industry has a pivotal role to play in tackling environmental issues and this program is an important step that could lead to huge savings in resources, not to mention convenience for consumers."

Listed below are some statistics stated by GSMA provided by CNN. Each presents the projected eco- friendly solutions that the universal charger will provide:

“Last year an estimated 1.2 billion cell phones were sold, according to University of Southern Queensland data reported by the GSMA, of which handsets accounted for between 50 and 80 per cent. That equates to between 51,000 and 82,000 tons of chargers.”
“The GSMA hopes the initiative will slash the greenhouse gases that result from the manufacture and transport of chargers by 13.6 and 21.8 million tons each year.”
"There is enormous potential in mobile to help people live and work in an eco-friendly way and with the backing of some or the biggest names in the industry, this initiative will lead the way," Conway added.

“The GSMA says that companies which have signed up to the plan include 3 Group, AT&T, KTF, LG, mobilkom Austria, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor, Telstra, T-Mobile and Vodafone."

Organic Clothing?

As an individual interested in both fashion and an eco- friendly environment, I decided to continue my investigation on organic and natural- fiber clothing. To my surprise, an endless list of go green clothing items are available to the general public. Brands including, Beaumont Organic, Ciel, and Sternlein, just to name a select few are retailing natural articles attire. From Ciel designing clothing made from organic hemp silks, bamboo, and cotton card, to Beaumont Organic creating beautiful attire using organic materials, to Sternlein, creating fashionable tights in organic cotton, bamboo, and other natural fibers, eco- friendly clothing is becoming increasingly more popular. Even jeans can be can be found using natural based ingredients. Among these jeans include the trendy Californian organic denim skinny jeans designed by “Del Forte.”

More interestingly enough, well-known brands including “Levi’s” can be found using organic materials. Levi's "Eco" denim “Capital E” line employs elements made of 100 percent organic cotton with an expensive price tag.

Because consumers have become more aware of the environment, organic practices have become a preferred choice. Furthermore, such eco-friendly preferences are expanding into other areas of concern including, cleaners, foods, furnishings, beauty products, and well, clothing. interestingly, clothing items.

Eco- Friendly Green Craze

In recent years green- style living has become a major hit among popular culture. In fact, our popular culture class is a green course in which we participate, prepare assignments, and interact electronically which saves paper, and thus, protects the environment. Therefore, I decided to take a glance at other various eco- friendly trends including tree huger fashion and beauty items becoming popular among today’s society.

Ever hear of handmade shopping bag wallets? Owner and Designer Blain Kennedy, "Blank Entity," developed a way to reuse plastic bags without the additive of extra toxic materials.

I also came across Not Any Dye Applied (NADA) jackets created by Trail space and Merrell. According to http://www.treehugger.com/fashion_beauty/ NADA “uses 59 percent less carbon dioxide, 86 percent less water, 63 percent fewer chemicals, and 59 percent less energy compared to a conventionally-dyed jacket.”

Furthermore, customers shopping in food stores have reverted to employing reusable carriers for their groceries. Such salvaged bags are employed right here in Baltimore, Maryland at the local Mount Washington “Whole Foods Market” and Towson’s specialty grocery store, “Trader Joes.” Similarly, one bag I came across on the green website was the “Green Eyed Monster" reusable bags with audience-generated art decorating the outsides, are larger than typical canvas bags (15" X 18" X 4") and are made from 100% recycled materials.”

Reality TV Hype

What makes reality TV so enticing? After revisiting the notion of popular culture and the affect reality TV has on society is that reality television has the ability to grab hold of the audience’s attention. According to one of the very first articles read for our class entitled, “What is Pop Culture,” ideology plays an important role in popular culture through which a systematic body of ideas are created by a group of particular people. Therefore, the display of numerous reality shows aired on TV is the outcome of the types of topics and events well liked by society.

So what draws the audience to reality TV? Why do people enjoy watching reality TV shows including, “the Hills” and “Real World?” Perhaps it is a guilty pleasure phenomenon through which one can engross themselves into an extreme situation of what we as human beings encounter throughout our daily lives; money, sex, drugs, drama, ideal body images, etc. No matter the degree to which we as individuals can relate to the topics presented by reality programs, every person is able to relate to these events to some degree.

Today, the American people have become infatuated with the thought of personal wealth and prosperity. Words like “money,” “bigger,” better,” and “instant gratification” contribute to a world of pop culture surrounded by materialism. Often reality TV shows are saturated with materialistic items and instant gratification which mainstream society feeds off of. After all, we as a society are in part, responsible for the types of reality shows aired on TV, right? Such presentations are representational of our state of mind and the frames through which we view the world. Does anyone think reality TV is problematical and perhaps, hazardous to future generations? If society is this indulgent now, what will media be reflective of in 10, 20, 30 years from now?

Dark Night 3D?

Director Christopher Nolan of the “Dark Night” starring Christian Bale, who plays the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, has recently been released in IMAX theaters as of 1/23/09. Such an experience features six sequences filmed with IMAX cameras. According to the official IMAX website, such an event marks the first time ever that a major feature film has been even partially shot using IMAX cameras, marking a revolutionary integration of the two film formats. Currently, the film “Fly Me to the Moon 3D” is out in IMAX theaters and “Under the Sea 3D” is underway.

Recently, I have heard rumors spreading the word that Dark Night will be presented in 3D. I am not sure if this is true. However, with increase in technology and the demand for 3D in the popular culture in which we live, the possibilities are endless. Creating a film that gives Gotham City a more realistic feel with more intensified effects would be wild. If anyone is interested, an IMAX theatre is located down in the Baltimore Inner Harbor at the Science Center, so check it out.
http://www.imax.com/movie/TheDarkKnight/videos.

Garden State Comes to Tampa Bay

From supporter and campaigner of the first African American president, Barack Obama, the “Boss” and his beloved E- Street Band will perform this Sunday at the XLIII Super Bowl. The half-time show at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Fl with the All American Rock ‘n’ Roll artist will be sure to be a success among the approximated 148 people or so that will be watching the game.

Perhaps the gig will result in increased sales for Bruce’s brand new album “Working on a Dream” recently released on Colombia Records. As an All- American Pop Culture idol, in the music industry the Boss will be a major hit! But, will his new record be as popular as his last recording “Magic,” referred to as his second best album by the Rolling Stones? Guess we will have to wait and find out.

GeT tHe SkInNy On ThE sKiNnY

Want to get your skinny fix for the week? Simply put on a pair of skinny jeans. Not too long ago, skinny jeans were well, trivial. Now, the blood flow obstructing pant has become a hit fashion item in popular culture. After the 80’s the idea of skinny jeans remained an outdated fashion article, but due to popular culture, skinny jeans and leggings have become a worldwide craze among women and men.

Everywhere I turn there seems to be another pair of skinny jeans as I, myself, carry the guilt of becoming a victim of the Skinny. From Lindsay Lohan to Zac Efron to the everyday ordinary person, the fashion fad can be found among a variety of brands in a variety of colors on a significant number of people. Skinny jeans are easily accessible at a plethora of stores including Express, Target, Macy’s, and Nordstrom’s, just to name a few. There are jeans, grey leggings, black leggings, brown leggings, and oops, lets not forget the purple or yellow leggings!

According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeans) the wearing of blue jeans by teenagers and young adults in the 1950’s became symbolic of mild protest against conformity. Why then, does society seem to conform to a sort of mainstream fashion? Why are skinny jeans worn by the masses? Because trends in fashion are usually a result of what is occurring in the world at a particular time, then I can’t help to wonder what incites society, both male and female, to consume the Skinny?