Lindsay Lohan: From ‘Movie Acting’ to ‘Acting Stupid’

If there is a celebrity name that people are really tired of hearing, it’s Lindsay Lohan. This girl has been trouble with the authorities more than any other female celebrity I know. Since 2007 her career has gone from ‘movie acting’ to ‘acting stupid’. Two DUIs and 3 rehabs are just among the many highlights of her new life.

Just recently, Lindsay was in trouble with the law again after allegedly stealing a $2,500 necklace from a jewelry shop (Alpert, 2011). This time the judge wasn’t any lenient to her; she was sentenced to 120 days in jail for the offence and 480 hours of community service for violation of parole. Her defense: she thought the store owners agreed to loan it to her (Alpert, 2011). How reckless is that?

This week we analyzed the differences between heroes and celebrities, and this is a good example of it. A celebrity’s contribution to society is not always as positive as a hero’s contribution is. While celebrities do things in search of fame and popularity, heroes do them in search of welfare for others.

Lindsay Lohan has lots of potential in the film industry if at all she settles down and leads her life productively. Even though she claims to be working hard to put her life together again, reckless moves such as this one will always pose to be obstacles in her rehabilitation. A bail posted by her lawyer has made her free again; the question is, for how long?

References

Alpert, L. (2011, April 24). Lindsay Lohan is prepared to face jail-time, but actress 'blindsided' by 120-day sentence: reports. Retrieved April 24, 2011 from http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/04/24/2011-04-24_lindsay_lohan_is_prepared_to_face_jailtime_but_actress_blindsided_by_120day_sent.html

Nicolas Cage Arrested

Time and time again we have seen celebrities getting in trouble with the authorities on different accounts. The cases range from misdemeanors to serious felonies that may result into long jail time for the perpetrators. Despite the social responsibility celebrities have of keeping a good public image due to their high influence in the society, many have faltered in maintaining a satisfactory profile.

Nicolas Cage is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood today. He is one of the few actors that reached high levels of success at a young age, including securing an academy award at just the age of 32. Currently facing financial issues due to “living beyond his means”, Cage has ended up accepting roles in low budget movies such as Drive Angry so as to sustain his financial needs.

On April 15, 2011, Cage was arrested in New Orleans, Louisiana on charges of domestic disturbance, battery and public intoxication. He allegedly got a little bit physical when arguing with his wife over whether the house they were in front of was theirs (Dolak, 2011). Cage, who was drunk at the time of the incident, grabbed his wife’s upper arm and dragged her towards the house he believed they were renting. Police arrested Cage, but he was later released on bail. Cage now is required to appear on court on May 31^st (MSNBC, 2011).

Being his first major public scene, Cage’s actions may not impact much his public image due to the nature of the charges. Actually, people in the neighborhood of the incident sympathize with cage as he faces charges that add to his already financially troubled life.

References

Dolak, K. (2011, April 16). Nicolas Cage Arrested for Domestic Abuse in New Orleans. Retrieved April 17, 2011 from http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/nicolas-cage-held-domestic-abuse-charges-orleans/story?id=13390765

MSNBC (2011, April 17). Nicolas Cage arrested in New Orleans. Retrieved April 17, 2011 from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/42624176/ns/today-entertainment/

Journal Article Analysis

Kentucky Noir is an editorial article by Gary Hoppenstand that is directed to crime drama series’ fanatics. The audience for this article is portrayed by the subject matter of the article and the use of subject-specific concepts such as “Appalachian hooligan”, and “Neo-Nazi racists” (Hoppenstand, 2011).

The article is about one of the current crime drama series on TV called Justified. The writer starts by labeling the show as the best crime drama series on TV today, ahead of CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) and NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). He conceives the show as a combination of the traditional Western and the hard-boiled detective story (Hoppenstand, 2011).

He compares the show to motion pictures such as “El Dorado” and “Rio Bravo” both starring John Wayne. He relates the events in the first episode of the show to those at the end of the motion picture, “High Noon”. He talks of how the series successfully replaces the villainous stereotype of urban gangster hit men with an equally engaging villainous stereotype of the Appalachian hooligan (Hoppenstand, 2011).

In summing up, Hoppenstand points out the action in Justified to be addictive; its dialogue crisp; and the characters believable and problematic (Hoppenstand, 2011). The plots are usually spontaneous and rational hence making the show enjoyable and interesting. The main character of the show is borrowed from a novella by Elmore Leonard titled, “Fire in the Hole”. The same title was used for the first episode of the show.

The article has a free flow, with the author presenting his ideas in an informal manner. The main aim and ideas of the article can be clearly grasped. The simple language used in expressing the main points and absence of hard vocabularies facilitate the easy and effective deliverance of the message to the targeted audience. The key idea that I took from the article is that a good story is normally created when several narrative formulas come into play; not just one.

References

Hoppenstand, G. (2011). Editorial: Kentucky noir. The journal of popular culture, 4(2), 193-194.

LeBron Makes A Wise Investment Decision

Last week, several sports channels and websites had this headline on for a couple of days; reporting on the decision by an NBA star and the current reigning MVP, LeBron James, to buy minority stake in one of the most successful football clubs in the world, Liverpool FC.

Many labeled the move ‘smart’ and filled with lots of potentials. As a big fan of both Liverpool FC and LeBron James, I welcomed the news with lots of enthusiasm and enjoyment as I watched my two most favorite sports phenomena create what promises to be a successful collaboration.

Liverpool FC is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. It is regarded as England’s most decorated club, and one of the most successful clubs in football history. The club is currently owned by an American sports investment company called Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston red Sox and Roush Fenway Racing.

Fenway Sports Group made a deal with LeBron’s marketing firm, LRMR Branding & Marketing to be LeBron’s representative around the world and in return LeBron would become a minority owner in Liverpool FC (Hunter, 2011). The deal is supposed to expand Liverpool FC’s brand in the United States, while doing the same thing for LeBron James around the world. It is a win-win for both sides as each already possesses an established and widely recognized brand in the sports world.

References

Hunter, A. & Rushe, D. (2011, April 7). Miami Heat’s LeBron James secures minority share in Liverpool. Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/apr/07/lebron-james-liverpool

Yahoo Sport. (2011, April 7). Premier league – NBA star LeBron buys Liverpool share. Retrieved April 10, 2011 from http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/07042011/58/premier-league-nba-star-lebron-buys-liverpool-share.html

Icon Analysis

An icon can be an object, image, person, or symbol that is held with high significance or reverence by a wide range of people, or a particular cultural group. Icons may differ according to religion, culture, geographic location, and traditional background. Today, the term ‘icon’ is so much used that it is starting to lose its original meaning and implication. Not everything can be labeled as ‘iconic’ unless it possesses a significant and lasting influence on a particular people’s way of life. Good examples of contemporary icons include Michael Jackson, Bruce Lee, and the Barbie Doll.

Michael Jackson, or the King of Pop as many label him, was and still remains the best and most successful pop artist of all time. I can say he was and still is the most recognized music figure around the world. Most musicians’ fame and recognition today lies mainly in their cultural groups, but Michael Jackson’s entertainment outreach has defied borders and cultural differences worldwide. His album, “Thriller” holds the record of being the largest selling album worldwide in the history of the recording industry (Bio, n.d). With his music influence spread all over the world, Michael is a music icon to all musicians and fans around the world. I too have always been a huge fan of his music.

The history of martial arts is never mentioned without the name Bruce Lee popping up. He was a renowned martial arts master who invented his own style of fighting called Jeet Kune Do (Biography, n.d). As a child, I grew up loving action movies, and there are no movies that I enjoyed most than Bruce Lee movies. His movies popularized martial arts worldwide, hence making him the most influential martial artist of modern times.

One of the most obvious iconic objects in the American culture is the Barbie doll. It is one of the most famous fashion dolls in the modern world. The doll’s popularity has spread over the years to different parts of the world. My youngest sister used to be a big fan of the dolls when growing up in a small town of Moshi, in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Yes, that shows how far the doll has spread globally. My youngest sister is now 20 years old.

References

Bruce Lee, (n.d). Biography. Retrieved April 9, 2011 from http://www.brucelee.com/downloads/biography.pdf

Michael Jackson, (n.d). Michael Jackson bio. Retrieved April 9, 2011 from http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/bio

Rebecca Black: Awful Is The New Great

I bet many of you are not new to the name Rebecca Black, as it has been the headliner of many entertainment news recently. The 13-year old California born singer released her debut single on March 14, 2011called ‘Friday’. The single was released on YouTube and went to more than 50,000 views in just the first three days. By the end of its first week, the music video had more than a million clicks.

The above stats might seem so attractive and persuasive to anyone who has not seen or heard the song yet, but it is the lyrics and vocals of the song that give a whole new meaning to ‘song popularity’. If I was to describe the song in one word, that word would be ‘awful’. The lyrics don’t give the song any meaning, and the vocals are just too amateur. Lines like, “Yesterday was Thursday, today it is Friday… tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards” (Oldenburg, 2011) makes one to wonder if the song was made for 3-year olds; did people really need to be informed that Thursday comes before Friday and that Sunday comes after Saturday?

The song gained momentum when it was posted on Tosh.0’s blog under the title ‘Song-writing Isn’t For Everyone’. Many would wonder why would any record label take a risk to produce such a bad song, much less make a video of it. But the resulting popularity of the song is proof enough that ‘awful’ can match ‘greatness’ in fame. Today, the video has over 85 million views on YouTube (with 1.7 million dislikes and 216k likes); the single has sold over 2 million copies (Perpetua, 2011); and it has entered in big music charts like Billboard Hot 100 and New Zealand Singles Chart. Its awfulness is what made it popular; makes one to wonder if awful is the new great. But I’ve got to agree, there is something really catchy about the song.

Here is a video of the song...

References

Oldenburg, A. (2011, March 16). Who is Rebecca Black and why do we care about her? Retrieved April 5, 2011 from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/03/who-is-rebecca-black-and-why-do-we-care-about-her-/1

Perpetua, M. (2011, March 18). What you need to know about teen viral phenom Rebecca Black. Retrieved April 5, 2011 from http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-teen-viral- phenom-rebecca-black-20110318

Popular Culture

Popular culture refers to a people’s way of life, attitude, beliefs, interaction, and perceptions at a particular point in time. Unlike general culture, popular culture constantly changes with time. It tends to reflect the prevailing trends and developments in everyday life in the society or the world at large. Popular culture is usually heavily influenced by mass media.

In a business environment, understanding popular culture is vital in equipping producer-consumer interaction. Popular culture tells producers what to produce, how to structure their products, and how to reach out to consumers. Every career in this world involves human interaction; this is made easier with knowledge of popular culture.

A good example of a popular culture artifact is the ‘Moonwalk’. The moonwalk is a dance move which creates an illusion that the dancer is being pulled backwards while trying to move forward. This dance technique was popularized by Michael Jackson, the best pop artist of all time.

Many versions of the dance technique have been created by different dance artists, the most common one being the side-slide. I consider this dance technique a pop culture artifact because it is one of the most used dance technique by musicians, dancers, and music fans all over the world.

Here is a video collection of the dance performed by fans around the world as a tribute to Michael Jackson...