Before the terrorist scare in New York, these national events have made the deepest impression on me: the Sandy Hook massacre, the Boston Marathon bombing, and Donald Trump winning the Republican party nomination. "From those events, I have learned the following: that the Declaration of Independence is full of truth and beauty; that some people in other parts of the world hate us because we're Americans"(162) and that we have extraordinary resilience. In fact, our resilience is so remarkable that whenever tragic things happen we can just focus on celebrity news and pop culture to ease our minds and hearts. Sadly, it doesn't always work like that. Sometimes the grief settles, and makes a home in the heart. Sometimes it causes people to, get ready for it, take action and bring up issues to the government to make it known. But if it doesn't work, there's nothing to worry about; all of your favorite fall TV shows are coming back to distract you from little things that happen day to day.
I've always wondered why this happened. While pondering it, I remembered how in middle school we learned about sweat shops and the mistreatment of workers. When I first learned about it I was shocked. The fact that American companies were taking advantage of these people, and that it had been happening before I had even learned about it was mind boggling. I'm in high school now. What happened to them? Did they gain any rights or unionize during the four years while I have been following fashion trends created by Kendall Jenner and Daisy Ridley, and wondering who Taylor Swift was going to date next. No. They are still in repulsive factories filled with children and underprivileged adults making the clothes that we buy because someone, who we see on some kind of pedestal, reinvents the color black (it's still pretty black in case you were wondering). But of course, I have forgotten about the sweatshops and injustice throughout most of middle school and high school because I wouldn't be caught dead wearing black when white is the new black. I mean come on, could you really blame me? It's embarrassing. Especially in front of all of my friends.
Maybe I'm exaggerating. Maybe the real reason that American and Global tragedies get forgotten and overlooked is because there's so many that happen each day. Maybe we use celebrity news as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from the harshness of the world. Who knows? I won't lie and say that I hate all celebrity news. I mean their lives can truly be interesting sometimes; I just think that the importance given to them by society is excessive and unnecessary.
BREAKING NEWS: THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE IS BACK.
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| Unfortunately, I know more about the Kardashians than Ocean Acidification. |
I've always wondered why this happened. While pondering it, I remembered how in middle school we learned about sweat shops and the mistreatment of workers. When I first learned about it I was shocked. The fact that American companies were taking advantage of these people, and that it had been happening before I had even learned about it was mind boggling. I'm in high school now. What happened to them? Did they gain any rights or unionize during the four years while I have been following fashion trends created by Kendall Jenner and Daisy Ridley, and wondering who Taylor Swift was going to date next. No. They are still in repulsive factories filled with children and underprivileged adults making the clothes that we buy because someone, who we see on some kind of pedestal, reinvents the color black (it's still pretty black in case you were wondering). But of course, I have forgotten about the sweatshops and injustice throughout most of middle school and high school because I wouldn't be caught dead wearing black when white is the new black. I mean come on, could you really blame me? It's embarrassing. Especially in front of all of my friends.
Maybe I'm exaggerating. Maybe the real reason that American and Global tragedies get forgotten and overlooked is because there's so many that happen each day. Maybe we use celebrity news as a defense mechanism to protect ourselves from the harshness of the world. Who knows? I won't lie and say that I hate all celebrity news. I mean their lives can truly be interesting sometimes; I just think that the importance given to them by society is excessive and unnecessary.
BREAKING NEWS: THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE IS BACK.
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| Drop everything. This is a top priority. |
To start off, I absolutely love your theme! I also enjoy the fact that you relate the title of your post to the "under the sea" theme.
ReplyDeleteOn the analysis, I think you point out a major flaw in our current media system: true journalism has lost its meaning. Now, media outlets cover what will produce the most revenue instead of global issues that affect people's personal happiness and liberty. This can lead to, as you mention, significantly more media coverage on the Kardashians than on ocean acidification.
Overall, this is a great post!
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ReplyDeleteI agree that you made a very good point about what the media considers important. I thought it was very interesting that you used examples from your own life and also used a sarcastic and annoyed tone that mimicked Sarah Vowell's in the Partly Cloudy Patriot
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love how you mirrored Vowell's tone and style in your post! I think you did a great job of using sarcasm to highlight your point.
As for your point, I think it's interesting that you said we possibly use celebrity news as a defense mechanism. Society really does place too much emphasis on these trivial stories and leave real issues neglected, but you have also made me wonder if that's the fault of the media or of us, the consumers. Thank you for this post!
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ReplyDeleteI really like your blog's central focus around your own background and memories from the childhood. Though you always manage to incorporate warm and funny things from pop culture and food, you are also serious! Never forget about those kids in the sweatshops, but try to forget about the Kardashians. TBH Pumpkin spice is pretty overrated too. Great post, will be looking forward to your next ones!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to commend you on an overall great post! Your post did a really great job of mimicking "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" while also bringing light to the fact that the media is allowing superficial information to overshadow what really matters. This is especially true when applied to our generation, as social media is our main source of information! If you asked anyone from the street what had been going on in the world that day, he/she would most likely know more about Brangelina breaking up or the new iPhone7 rather than any substantial news stories. Overall, nicely done post! I really enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteWow you did a really great job of using some of the techniques from "The Partly Cloudy Patriot". This was such an enjoyable read, love how it's extremely relatable and easy to understand as well as the way you incorporated humor into a serious topic. I look forward to reading more of your posts!
ReplyDeleteNatalie!
ReplyDeleteI have to say your words in this post are so true! Celebrity news or mind-blowing TV show reveals tend to be higher up on the priority list than what's really at stake in our society. We are so backtracked on the trivial pieces of life we call "first world problems". Instead of covering what we want to hear, the world should be covering what we need to hear. Awesome, keep it up!