Reflections

This past week we learned about the Merchants of Cool and the concept of cool hunting.

The whole concept of looking for the next best thing is as American as apple pie. We are constantly on the look out for progress, whether it be technological, fashionable, or popular, its just what we do and the rest of the world is starting to fall in step due to major westernization in the global community. Whats more, the technological advances, such as internet and satellite television offer a much broader sense of “whats hip” from America to Bagdad or Dubai.

I admit, I have fallen prey to the concept of what is cool. I found it interesting that Malcolm Gladwell mentioned hanging our in Portland to be near the skateboarders when that was cool because I actually moved to Portland, Oregon in 2001 because I knew how progressive it was (kind of like Haight-Ashbury in the 1960’s but in the new millennium). I too have tattoo’s which was once taboo and now is “cool”. I still feel as if I got my tattoo’s as mile markers and not for the reason of being cool but maybe my subconscious has a different opinion.

I also watched the Merchant of Cool on PBS.com and I noticed that it does truly document the relationships between youth culture or cool culture and marketing. You can really see this on television, especially with MTV. Since we are a nation that celebrates celebrity even if they are reality tv stars, the media and marketers prey on this novelty. When you see a commercial with LC from the Hills selling a new type of cell phone you know that the two worlds have collided. Here is a other example: my friend, the same one I spoke about last week, went to her hairdresser last week and requested to have her bangs cut like LC on the Hills…I guess we can equate this with the  “Rachel Hair” from Friends phenomenon in the mid 90’s. To quote Lester Bangs, this nation has turned into an “Industry of Cool” where how talented you are is not nearly as important as how you look while you are doing whatever it is you do. I guess Andy Warhol was right, we all get our 15 minutes.

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Bee Pollen the Wunder Pill

Recently my hairdresser convinced me to try Bee Pollen in pill form. She swears by this homeopathic remedy for a myriad of ailments and issues. It cost me $20 for 100 pills. I have checked online and it seems comparable to other vendors who sell the pill form. The granule form cost about $15 for a 16oz jar.

So what is Bee Pollen you may ask. It is a substance that is high in protein and carbohydrates and contains trace amounts of vitamins and minerals. It is not found in the average daily diet but people have been taking the supplement to enhance energy, memory and performance. It is also taken to prevent hay fever and some people even believe that ingesting the pollen will help to build up a resistance to them although there have been cases of sever allergic reaction to the supplement.

Bee Pollen is the male seed of flowers. It is required for the fertilization of the plant. Every variety of flower in the universe puts forth a dusting of pollen. Bee Pollen is the food of the young Bee and contains about 40% protien. It is considered in most circles as natures most completely nourishing foods, so even though it is not found in the average daily diet, it probably should be. It contains nearly all of the nutrients required by humans. It is high in amino acids which are the building blocks of the proteins that are required to sustain human life.

I have been taking it for about 3 weeks and I can tell you that I feel pretty good. It is good for the complexion as well as weight management as well as joint pain and blood circulation. I know that it sounds like one of those new wave type drug things, kind of like ephedrine was a few years back but I am truly a fan. I should warn some folks that they may experience some sleepless nights in the beginning because it does increase energy like a stimulant but that goes away or at least it did for me.

I recommend Bee Pollen to anyone who is interested in this homeopathic remedy.

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Further Reflections

This past week we learned about Toy Theory and the  Barbie Doll as well as the phenomenon of the romance novel and how they effect the women who read them.

I guess I will begin where we began this past week, with the romance novel. I have to say I was rather shocked by the reactions of many of the women in Dotty’s store. I felt a little sorry for them because their lives seemed, in their minds, so empty. So much so that they had to “escape” into these steamy stories that were based in the opposite of reality. It is funny though, when I saw my friend in NY this weekend, one of the first things that I noticed was a recently purchase vampire romance novel ( I wish I remembered the name) that she swore was for another one of our friends…I trust her, but I bet she will at least take a peak. I also was really enthralled with the comparison between one of my favorite shows, Sex and the City and the modern romance novel. Up until that point I felt that I was one of the folks who was “above” the romance novel, opting to read the classics and anything by Chuck Palahniuk but alas I was wrong.  I too have been sucked into the romance novels vortex because through Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte I live a life that is most likely the opposite of reality. It probably doesn’t help that I am from NY and have lived in Manhattan…but I have to tell you, my life their was never as pleasant and theirs seemed to be. I personally spent the majority of my time working just to pay the $1500 rent on my 300 square foot studio apartment (including bathroom and kitchenette), not something that they mention on the show. But I admit that those lovely ladies are my guilty pleasure just as the vampire romance novels are my friends so I should never be so quick to judge.

Ann DuCille essay about the Barbie Doll was rather enlightening. I personally was not a fan of Barbie as a child…it may have something to do with my hippie bra burning mother or just the fact that I would have rather played kickball…now Sheera she kicked ass! Either way it is not a secret to adults that the Barbie Doll is targeted to a certain demographic, the African American Barbie to African American girls, the white Barbie to white girls and the Latina Barbie to Latina girls; but Matel goes even further by churning out “specialty Barbies” for the collector. These Barbies cost a fortune might I add (my friend… the same one I mentioned above owns over a hundred and they are all still in the box). The art of collecting these Barbie dolls can be compared to little boys (and adults) and their action figures or my vinyl collection…or any collection at all. Matel seems to prey upon these collectors like some capitalistic sport…but I guess in reality that is truly what capitalism and consumerism really is. All in all, I thank my hippie mom for taking a stand against Barbie so that I don’t have a Barbie addiction now.

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Spotsylvania Mall Field Work

On Friday October 10, 2008 at 2:03pm I arrived at the Spotsylvania Mall for my field work. It was a gorgeous day, about 70 degrees…not prime mall weather if you ask me. Once I walked through the doors I noticed the very pleasant, subtle sound of jazz music…not the normal muzak that one would hear in the elevator…I thought that it was a nice surprise. I began my journey and immediately noticed that the mall was populated mainly by women with children in strollers, a bunch of older adults of AARP age, some men, and a few young adult (college age students). I did notice some teenagers and I assume that they had cut class.

I started walking towards the nearest department store name Belk’s they focused on average department store type stuff…with more of an adult feel rather than a junior feel. I headed to JC Penny’s next to make a contrast between the two stores and I noticed 1) that the store contained much more Junior or young adult related clothing, and 2) there was no male clothing in sight. I found out later that there was a separate JC Penny Home and Men’s Wear store, it was much smaller. The differences between the two department stores were subtle. They both contained the normal department store items such as clothing, make up and jewlery, but JC Penny’s had a salon, something that we talked about at Macy’s at 34th street. The patrons were mainly the older adults who were not really buying anything just socializing and “window shopping” or as Fisk puts it Proletarian Shopping.

Moving on to the more “boutique” type stores I ventured into Hollister. The first thing one notices about this store is that there is a porch with palm trees out front. The inside was very dark and techno music was blaring. Every pass way was ridiculously small, I felt like I would knock over a palm tree wherever I moved and the entire placed wreaked of perfume…not in a good way.

There were many kiosks including cell phone sellers of all carriers, beauty supplies, and designer knockoff sunglasses , which are basically in any mall in America. The one strange thing that I noticed was the Proactive Vending machine…it looked like something out of Japan…they have the most fantastic vending machines. You punch in you skin type into the touch screen computer, swipe your credit card and out comes you acne treatment, you don’t even need to interact with a person, amazing.

All in all it was a successful trip that ended an hour later…I have to admit after the research I shopped around for a shirt for a bachelorette party so I became one of these shoppers on a mission which was funny. I am not a huge fan of the mall in general because I don’t like huge crowds and I normally go there on the weekends so this experience was much better than usual.

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Reflections

Last week we discussed the situation at the Manassas battle grounds and Fisk’s assessment of consumerism, mainly in shopping malls. We also took a “field trip” to the Spotsylvania Mall which was quite interesting after reading Fisk and seeing the short movie about shopping malls in the 1950’s.

I guess that I would like to start off with the situation at the Manassas battle grounds. As a resident of Prince William County I am keenly aware of the sprawl issues within our vast county. It seems like a new development or strip mall is popping up every day. Kyle Brebner, a resident of Woodbridge, VA (where I live) wrote this article about our situation.  The Manassas battle grounds is considered hollowed ground to most people in our county, aside from the fact that too much blood was spilled during the civil war in those fields and woods, Virginians have a whole lot of civil war pride. I can see how a large corporation or business bi wig treading on that memory would be seen as appalling.

Fisk’s assessment of consumerism and shopping malls was generally eye opening. I have always believed that most marketing is targeted towards women and children but his description of how we feel empowered but we are actually under the thumb of market execs (mostly males) really means that we are powerless, was facinating. It also seemed to me that Fisk did not agree with Marx or Baulldillard but found more relevance in more modern theories. I have to admit that while we were on our shopping field trip I was thinking about Fisk and the 1950’s movie which made my shopping experience much different then any other shopping experience I have ever had.

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