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The Era of Self-Branding & the “Micro-Celebrity”

Microcelebrity: people even use it in attachment to their sexuality, constantly have to appeal to viewers. The importance of “Relatability” because your brand is literally attached to your image and your perception to audiences. There is no distinction between labor and leisure. Constantly aware, constantly working/performing, and at the same time constantly being watched. There is no more privacy on the internet. The internet transformed for a place of information, for data collection and then to a place for people to find communities online and socialize with peers. Now, the internet is a marketplace where everyone is selling their self-brand. And this selling can occur in various degrees. It can occur just through a simple untagging of a picture online or a perfectly curated picture that is sponsored by a company. People are literally selling themselves online and for financial or social capital.

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Women in Videogames

I’ll admit that Lara Croft was one of my favorite female action figures while I was growing up. Though I wasn’t aware that Angelina Jolie’s character in the movie Tombraider was actually based on the video game, I was completely taken by her. She was sexy but also really capable and cool. She was inarguably beautiful, but she was also smart, clever, and had the ability to fight all the bad guys by herself. She was someone I wanted to be and the first female action heroine that I could really think of back then. But as I’ve grown to be a little more aware and educated, I can see that there is controversy over the way Lara is portrayed. For instance, does it really make sense for someone running through a jungle to be wearing a skin-tight tank top and short-shorts? Why does her character need to have such giant and breasts? 

Maja Mikula in her piece about gender and video games discusses the complexities of Lara Croft and whether or not she is viewed as a positive or negative role model for women who are constantly being excluded from the gaming world. According to Mikula, “Lara is everything that is bad about representations of women in culture, and I everything good” (80). While she is often considered to be a “badass”, it is not question that the design of her character has catered to the minds and desires of men. Her character throughout the years has gone through a series of changes but consistently she is portrayed with large breasts, a slim waist, and overall thin figure. But nonetheless, unlike many other video games, she is the female protagonist of the video game that drives the plot of the story. But can both men and women relate to her? According to Mikula, “...research suggests that the very idea of “identifying” with a character is a gendered one...the process of identification is more important for female gamers, who tend to become “irritated” when they cannot identify with their female character” (81). It also seems as though men who play this video game don’t view Lara as someone to identify with, but as someone who is an object under their control. Rather than viewing her as an extension of themselves navigating the story, they view her as someone to protect through the dangers in the game. But still, I think that there is something to be said that there is still an appeal for men to play this game because it is not common for female characters to be the driving aspect of a video game (even if much of the appeal is her attractiveness or the level of violence in the game). 

While Lara’s character might fight traditional ideas of sexism through her independence and competence, she is still objectified and sexualized; her character is complex. Like Mikula says, “She is indeed a sex object; she is indeed a positive image and a role model; and many things in between” (85). I personally don’t know if any female video game character will ever completely appease both genders but I hope to see one that does some day in my lifetime!

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Street Food Culture

In recent years, street food has become a huge part of cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Food trucks are no longer relegated to busy office workers on their lunch breaks, but have become a part of a street food phenomenon that has become so popular. Not only are food trucks everywhere you see on the streets of LA, but their presence can also be seen on social media such as Twitter and Instagram. Surprisingly enough, many of these food trucks have huge followings. It is the merging of microblogging and food culture that has made food trucks like the Kogi Truck so famous. According to Alison Caldwell, “microblogging mobile street food vendors merge the actual and the virtual through their novel use of Twitter, creating a genuine interaction amongst the online social-networking food truck follower” (309). 

 The Kogi Truck on twitter has amassed over 520 thousand followers and its enormous following can be attributed to the fact that their tweets tell their users when and where they will be. There is something exciting about reading a tweet that a food truck is going to be in your area, going out of your way to find it, and then posting about it. It’s almost like participating in an exclusive culture. Those who don’t follow on twitter will have no knowledge of how to get the food. It’s an endless cycle of online-posting and sharing. There’s something about the online presence of a food truck; it sometimes makes the whole point in looking for a food truck rely upon getting t the food and re-posting it online. With social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat that are really culture-driven and image-based, food trucks have found a perfect way to sell their food. It’s not just about the food but about the online and real-life participation of the customers. Caldwell says that “the ultimate goal is to drive people back to the social network… mobile food trucks use Twitter to collect, persuade, and direct followers to the street food they provide (309). 

 Food trucks can be seen everywhere now. Not only are they located in front of large buildings and work areas, but they show up at all sorts of events, festivals, and more. I think some of the appeal of the food truck is that it is always on the move. The idea is that if you don’t try it right now, you may not get another chance again. Like Caldwell says, its all part of an experience that microblogging and food trucks create. Similar to the ice cream truck from people’s childhoods, food trucks bring up those same warm feelings of nostalgia. The anticipation and reaction to hearing the ice cream truck drive through your street is something that everyone can relate to (312). The microblogging food truck has created a unique interaction between food vendor and customer. It provides customers with the professional experience and service of their food, but also a more personal level of relationship through their online interaction. It’s more than just food, it’s an experience that people share with one another and food vendors online.

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The Aesthetics of Exceptionalism in Street Art/Grafitti

Growing up in Los Angeles, graffiti has always been a part of my life. It was always interesting to see which buildings and stores that I was so familiar with were “tagged” up overnight. Generally, people that I knew thought it was messy or disrespectful and most of us attributed graffiti to juvenile delinquents and people in gangs. I didn’t really think of graffiti as street art until recently. There has definitely been a rise in the popularity of street art in Los Angeles. People come from all over to take pictures with murals and random paintings and messages considered as some of the “Best Instagrammable Street Art” all over Downtown and Hollywood. But we have to question when and where is graffiti acceptable? What does it look like to be considered “street art” rather than vandalism? What social implications does the differences have? 

Apparently the difference between “vandalism” and “street art” is permission. If this is the case, why are things such as “yarn-bombing” and paintings by artists like Bansky, that are placed into public spaces without prior approval, deemed acceptable and harmless? In their piece about the art of yarn bombing, Leslie A. Hahner & Scott J. Varda discuss the “aesthetics of exceptionalism” in relation to forms of street art such as yarn bombing and graffiti. Yarn bombing, also known as “guerilla knitting”, is a form of graffiti in which people can place yarn installations around things like lamps, benches, etc. Its intent is to liven up and personalize public spaces. Even though yarn bombing can be temporary and easily removed, it is technically still illegal in many areas. So what makes this form of street art so widely acceptable? Well Hahner and Varda say that, “With yarn bombing, the conjunctures among gender, race, class, and access to capital become the modalities animating the aesthetic virtues attached to guerrilla knitting.” (305). When we think about the types of people who participate in yarn bombing, who can we think of? According to Hahner and Varda, it is middle-class white women.

The hobby of knitting in itself is one that can be attributed to those who can afford to spend lots of money on materials and long stretches of time for their leisurely activities. So what can be said about yarn bombing? As “yarn bombs are situated as warm, cozy additions to the dour urban landscape”, they imply social class as status and by taking over public spaces, they imply that they are a superior form of aesthetic to other forms of street art (304). Both spray-paint graffiti and yarn-bombing are a way for people to “reclaim” public spaces and but one is considered warm and endearing and the other is considered aggressive and harmful. The fact that it is hard to remove and often permanent is always brought up in the discussion of the crime aspect graffiti. But yarn bombing also has some potentially harmful effects as well such as promoting rot in trees, clogging storm drains, and more. I guess it can be said that it’s more about race and class than anything else when differentiating between vandalism and street.

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Branding & Advertisement

Apparently, we see as many as 5,000 ads a day. That’s a crazy amount of opportunities for companies to tell us their products. And what is the message that these ads normally give us? How do they get us to buy things and participate in consumerist culture? According to Sut Jhally’s piece on advertising and popular culture, “Fundamentally, advertising talks to us as individuals and addresses us about how we can become happy. The answers it provides are all oriented to the marketplace, through the purchase of goods or services” (79). Advertisement’s don’t usually literally tell us to “be happy” but they do use ideas and markers of happiness such as self-esteem, family, and love to sneakily imply that such things can be obtainablE, work together with, or enhance those experiences with material products or services. 

 For some reason, the first company that came to mind while writing this was Old Navy. Throughout the years, the messages in their ads have been, in my opinion, pretty consistent. Old navy is family-oriented and I guess inclusive too (note: the interracial couple). “It’s warmer together” is a pretty cute little message that reaffirms our values for family togetherness while simultaneously promoting their winter clothing line (at a steal of a price too, because we all know families are expensive).

 Our values and interests are always reflected in the advertisements we see. Clothing, for instance has become a perfect platform for the commodification of politics. In our current political state, it’s no coincidence that we are currently seeing such a large influx of politics in ads and brand marketing. Shirts that read “feminist” can be found in huge stores like Forever 21 and H&M. Even luxury brands such as Chanel and Dior (pictured above) are trying to weigh in and profit off of this opportunity. As our values shift, brands and companies react accordingly. “Commodity activism”, as Sarah Banet-Weiser calls it, is “…one of the new ways that advertisers and marketers have used brands as a platform for social activism” (40). 

 Companies like Dove Soap have transformed their brand into one that fully integrates consumers into their marketing strategies. Their Self-Esteem Project, for instance, specifically targets young women who might be experiencing issues of self-esteem. By publicly claiming their support for such an issue, consumers gain an awareness of whether the company’s value aligns with theirs. Therefore, those who purchase Dove’s products might do so with very purposefully. Customers are not only participating in consumer culture but also in a sort of social activist culture as well. But the commodification of culture also makes us question the true motive behind every brand’s movement. Can we really trust that companies share the same values as everyday people if they are making such a large profit from it? Wouldn’t they do anything to make more money? The integration of consumer and branding might make people actively have to think about what it means when they purchase products. What we buy is now linked and reflective of our values and the values of the brands and companies we buy products from.

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Gaze & Spectatorship

The concepts of the “survey” and the “surveyor” in terms of societal spectatorship are things that I’ve discussed in many of my COMM classes. Funnily enough, the idea of spectatorship was something I always thought about in the back of my mind but didn’t really understand until it was put into words for me. I think I’ve always been aware of the fact that I was being “watched”. Growing up, I really resented comments like “sit like a lady” and “don’t act like that in public”. I grew up with two older brothers and could immediately recognize the differences in the types of things grown-ups would tell us. This all made sense when I learned about spectatorship through John Berger’s piece,” The Ways of Seeing”. 

 The idea that “how a woman appears to a man can determine how she will be treated” (46) is unfortunately something many women can relate to. I can confidently say that most of us in some way have internalized the idea that women need to be aware of their presence, and that how we choose to do so will affect how we are perceived and treated. As Berger puts it, “men act and women appear” (47). Everything a woman does has a second meaning, a deeper motive that is attached to how she wishes to “appear” or be treated (especially by men). Whereas, men are innately people of “action”; everything they do is simply because they want to, not because they are being watched. A man’s presence is composed of whatever he wants it be and a woman’s presence is determined by what the world wants it to be.

 A great example of this can be seen in the film The House Bunny in which Anna Faris, a former Playboy bunny explains to a group of “frumpy” girls how women need to play up not only their appearances but how they act in order to get what they want from men and other people. They have to think about how others currently view them, how they want to view them, and then behave accordingly. 

 Through analysis of art throughout history, Berger says that spectators are usually always men: “the ‘ideal’ spectator is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him” (63). Brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Guess, and Guess (pictured above) are known for their racy ads that often feature women in odd, contorted poses while half-nude. Here we see a perfect example in which Berger’s idea that women in art are displayed for a male spectator. Here, it seems as if the model is meeting the spectator’s gaze. And rather than looking at her partner, she looks out at whoever is looking at her in real time. The man behind her is clearly not even that important, but somehow the male presence is still heavily present in this image. Though we can’t really see his face, we see his muscular arm and hand grasping the side of her face in a moment of passion. He acts out of lust. On the other side, the woman, even in what seems like an intimate moment, shows awareness of herself and how she is being displayed. The man is someone of action and the woman is someone of appearance. The woman needs to be desired by both the man in the ad and any man who looks at her.

Ads in 2017 don’t seem all that different to the paintings throughout history. it seems as if Berger was really onto something. 

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The Harvey Weinstein Effect

Harvey Weinstein and several other big names in Hollywood have been outed as sexual predators and it seems like nobody is really surprised.

On October 5, 2017, The New York Times published a story revealing sexual assault allegations against big-time movie producer Harvey Weinstein. Women in the story that have decided to come forward against him include actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, the actress who previously came out in 2016 on twitter about her rape by an unnamed studio head. 

Since the publishing of The New York Times’ article, it has been revealed that sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinsten date all the way back to the ‘70s. 

Details of the accounts can be found all over the internet but for this post, I will save you the stomachache...

Harvey Weinstein has been a big-time producer in Hollywood for decades. He is responsible for putting out movies such as Gangs of New York, Shakespeare in Love, Good Will Hunting, and more. 

....Unfortunately, he is also responsible for a gross abuse of power and privilege. 

Since the story’s publishing, over 40 women in Hollywood have come out to say that they have also been victims of Harvey Weinstein. The collection of names on the list still continues...

Overall, the public response over the scandal has been... surprisingly positive. 

Celebrities all over the internet have been publicly stating their support and admiration over the victims and their bravery for coming out. 

For years, Hollywood has been notorious for its sexual assault scandals. Not only for the sheer number of instances, but for its ability to minimize or hush any story or person that tries to speak out. 

But it seems as if news of Harvey Weinstein and his treachery has created some sort of snowball effect in airing out Hollywood’s dirt and it has people at the edge of their seats. 

Not long after this story, an actor publicly shared his own sexual assault experience at the hands of Oscar award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, who made aggressive sexual advances at the man when he was just 14 years old. 

Other celebrities accused of sexual assault since then include Ben Affleck, Ed Westwick, Jeffrey Tambor, Louis C.K., and even former president George H.W. Bush. 

The list continues to gather... I am personally hoping that Tom Hanks (aka America’s Angel) doesn’t make it anywhere near that list.

Hopefully this spur of allegations will begin a public conversation about the issue of sexual abuse in the entertainment industry (and everywhere else in the world) and encourage victims to speak out against their perpetrators. 

Until then.....

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OLYMPICS: LA 2028