Modern Role Models

A while ago I was having a conversation at dinner with my family and my parents asked us who our role models were.  My brother and sisters and I had a difficult time coming up with any one specific example.  My parents were shocked.  They brought up that when they were younger they could name specific people who they wanted to be.  My dad mentioned that his role models had included Bruce Springsteen and the president while my mom mentioned singers and movie stars.  After hearing that it was my turn to be surprised.  It was hard for me to imagine wanting to be like a celebrity and I tried to figure out why.

I came to the conclusion that because of our intimate view into the lives of all different types of celebrities we are less likely to want to emulate the individual.  Where as my mom was able to look up to movie stars because she mainly saw them only in the best light- mainly through the films- we are constantly exposed to the most dramatic and worst aspects of the star's lives.  

Also my dad says that when he was younger it was very taboo to directly question the current president.  While there was a focus on debating the issues, it was rare to contradict the president and to not see him as something more than the average citizen.  

How has the use and perception of role models changed? Is this a positive change? Who, if there are any, are examples of model role models?

OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD

According to CNN world news, Osama bin Laden has died.  I will update this blog post soon, but I wanted to let people who haven't heard know.

Great Gatsby, Tennis and the Use of the Color White

This week we started reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  We have been focusing on class indicators in relation to this book including: income, wealth, location, occupation and exclusivity.  Another focus of our discussion has been the importance of the color white in the book.  The use of this color in the book so far is to emphasize the upper class, exclusivity and social status.  This discussion reminded me of country club tennis.

Country clubs are commonly associated with upper class.  They are very exclusive, some requiring months of work in order to get accepted.  Tennis is also a sport associated with high social status.  Country club tennis makes an interesting link to our discussions.  At many country clubs "tennis whites" are required in order to play.  It is a dress code of all white necessary in order to be able to be on the tennis court.  White is strictly associated with the upper class and exclusivity represented in club tennis.
In what ways is white a tangible representation of exclusivity?  Is white always associated with the upper class?  What are the problems with associating white to the upper class?

Junior Theme Expanded

The week after Junior Theme was turned in!  Congratulations everyone- we did it!  But even though my Junior Theme is turned in I still am thinking about my topic outside of class.
This past week I was on my favorite website, PostSecret.  It is a blog to which people anonymously send in their secrets on postcards and they are shared.  The secrets are all different, some are very serious and others are quirky or funny, but the secrets told are all important to the person in a different way.  The secrets posted on the blog are rotated out weekly, but last week I found this very interesting secret that got me thinking about my Junior Theme:

Because I focused my Junior Theme on: Why are eating disorder on the rise, this secret showed me a different focus on my topic.  This secret illustrates a link between eating disorders and feminism.  While my paper did not highlight this link, except slightly in the conclusion, it is an interesting expansion of my topic.  

This secret reminded me of the interview I did with eating disorder therapist, Suzanne Gazzolo.  When I asked about the future of eating disorders she said, "I believe that we still live in a patriarchy that often when things begin to affect men and boys in negative ways than it begins to be taken seriously... I think when it was only a girl problem it just could be ignored in a lot of ways, but it is going to be hard to ignore now".  This is a quote that also looks at eating disorders in terms of feminism and patriarchies.  

These two expanded links to my Junior Theme are really fascinating to me because they are representations that the Junior Theme wasn't just some random paper I wrote, but it allows me to look at a bigger picture idea and link it to my everyday life.