Celebrities: Merit and Talent

To be or to become a celebrity, there is an inevitable truth to the fact that one will have to give up something in one's life in order to achieve that ultimate goal. It could be one's public image, one's personal life, one's education, et cetera. Nowadays, even more people, especially the young ones, are trying to break out into the world of celebrity and I often see them giving up their college education (or high school education, for that matter). It could be very necessary to give up a vital part of one's life; after all, I am just an outsider looking through the windows of celebrities lives portrayed by the mass media. It might not be in my place to judge celebrities' life-changing decisions, but as an onlooker, it is quite inevitable to put my own input into these situations.

To say that being a celebrity is a "punishment of talent" is also true. We often comment on how excellent the actress/actor portrays a character, or how great of a performer a singer is. But in doing so, I believe we are only puncturing the celebrities' lives with needles of expectations. In that industry, if one thing goes wrong--unless one has the best publicity team--that celebrity's life will dwindle down to square one (or worse). We look on as the people of talent enter this industry and I know most of us wish or at least picture ourselves to be in their places. What we often miss is the fact that celebrities are like artifacts showcased in museums--enclosed and silenced to some degree.

Lucy Yeho Hwang
September 23, 2014

Celebrity Bodies

Prompt: “Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent” – Emily Dickinson

After reading Daniel Harris’ article “Celebrity Bodies” I now look at celebrities through a different lens. He talks a lot about how close we are to them without actually frequently seeing them in person. The quote above by Emily Dickinson is in parallel with Harris’ point of view. Celebrities are selected by their talent or sometimes merely by their good looks, and for all the fame and fortune they receive, they pay the price. Harris talks about how celebrities are a creation made by the rest of us that exemplifies what an “ideal” life would be. We know all about their lives, bodies and actions. It is as if celebrities are kept captive in a small tight-knit community, whether they want to be there or not. One can even compare it to a zoo. 
 

- Elliott Beilin 

Vonnegut

Prompt: "If you can do a half-assed job at anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind"-Kurt Vonnegut 

When Vonnegut says 'one eyed', he does not clarify whether that eye has sight or is blind.

For the latter, Vonnegut is ultimately discrediting the notion of slacking off; it doesn't matter if one can reach the same level of achievement as others by half-assing a job, as long as everyone is successful. In the same sense, since everyone is blind, the number of eyes is considered insignificant.

If, however, the one eye has sight, then it becomes apparent that the beholder of the eye is not skilled enough to complete said task without a shortcut. In this scenario, any sight, be it form one or two eyes, is a considerable advantage to have over the completely blind community. Here, the number of eyes with sight is insignificant as well, for the beholder of sight is the only one with access to vision.

Ultimately, there are two ways of being intelligent: one can either be really good at one thing, or be okay at multiple things. In his quote, Vonnegut is implying that being okay at multiple things may be advantageous; while everyone else has specialized in one thing, they are ultimately blind to the others.

Generation Why

Prompt: "If you can do a half-assed job of anything, you're a one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind" (Kurt Vonnegut). 

Kurt Vonnegut says a whole lot about mankind in one, straight to the point, no nonsense kind of sentence. His first point is that half-assing a job, or to put it into other words, not giving 100% of your effort, is an acceptable way to be successful in this world. And his second point is that, by not giving your all, you can still be better than most people. But, it is his last argument that is most unsettling to me, which is that an individual who slacks off will be a "one-eyed man in a kingdom of the blind." The idea that a majority of the people in this world are somehow symbolically blind is troubling. And it is understanding what they are blind to that I struggle with. Are they blind to their potential? Are they blind to the fact that they are not doing their best? Or, are they blind to the needs of this world? But, based on what Vonnegut believes, if they can somehow manage to give just a little but more of their effort, then one eye will open. So, the next question I wonder about is, how can we push these people to open the other eye? And then, how can we get everybody to do the same? People tend to lean towards the pack mentality, "the blind leading the blind." But where will mankind's future lead to if no one had the courage or strength to open both of their eyes and see whats ahead of them?

- Attiyya Settle

Life Journey

Jillamika Pongsachai
9/16/14

Prompt: "I make the road, I draw the map. Nothing just happens to me. I'm the one happening." - Denis Johnson

This statement reminds me of the phrase "taking initiative." It seems that Johnson is the one starting to act or taking initiative. He makes the road and draws the map. He is the one making everything happen. The sentences "Nothing just happens to me. I'm the one happening" indicate that Johnson believes that since he is the one taking action, he should accept its consequences. "Nothing just happens to me" means that there is no external force or supernatural being that causes something to occur. You, yourself, alone is the one who begins a doing that leads to a certain result. And if you want to achieve something, you must begin the act yourself and work toward your goal while remembering to take responsible of what will follow. The words "road" and "map" suggest an adventure. When he makes this statement, Johnson might be saying that there are many journeys in life and if people desire to find a new interest or improve themselves, they have to take off. They must get off from their comfort zone and go on a new, different path even though they might not know what lies ahead of them.   

Disney: True Beauty Is Knowledge

Jenesis Veras
Prof. Jackson
9/16/14

Prompt: "Any woman who counts on her face is a fool." -Zadie Smith

For many years women were defined as child-bearers, nurturers, housewives, beauty symbols, sexual objects, but never as intellectuals. Women were mostly seen as unfit creatures to give back common knowledge to the world because they were only presentable for show and display. Some still to this day, give into to that concept and genuinely believe that outer appearance is more valuable than ideas and aspirations. Where does this common conception come from? Well, young girls start to grow in many mental areas in their Early Development. That can range from morals, ethics, intellect, and judgment. If that is the case than what is it that makes them lose hope in their mind and gain hope in their facial beauty? When many young girls turn on the television at home, they see these young women with a truckload of makeup on and who probably have been Photo shopped from head to toe. However, in the eyes of many young girls they look like perfect, tall, gorgeous supermodels that are successful because of their physical appearance. 

What young girls should be watching at a young age rather than heads on sticks strutting down a runway, are Disney movies like Mulan and The Little Mermaid. In the Disney movie Mulan, a young girl's parents' dream for their daughter is nothing but to get married and to be contained as a typical "proper" Chinese girl. Mulan then sees how her disabled father is called on to help fight in the war at the time and she ends up leaving her life behind to take her father's place acting as his "son." She fought hard and saved China, not with her beauty and delicate feminism, but with her determination that a woman can fight as hard and be just as deserving to military acknowledgment as any man. She proved that work and bravery is a more powerful tool than the outer beauty of a female. In the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid, we can see how constrained Ariel felt in the underground world. She wanted to be more than a creature trapped in a body with a tail. She was always curious about learning and being part of a world greater than her own. In her song Part of Your World, she sings "Bet'cha on land they understand. Bet they don't reprimand their daughters. Bright young woman, sick of swimmin. Ready to stand." She wanted to increase the common knowledge that mermaids had about the outside world. She simply wanted to know more, know what the humans know and get her questions answered. She even gave up her most beautiful quality- her voice. Her voice had the most memorizing sound to it but she was willing to put knowledge and ambition before beauty. Stories like the warrior Mulan and the inquisitive Ariel are the ones that should show examples to future women that true beauty is knowledge.

If They Only Knew...

Jenesis Veras
Prof. Jackson
9/16/14

Prompt: "I make the road, I draw the map. Nothing just happens to me. I'm the one happening." -Denis Johnson

Many individuals who encounter hardships in life try to place the blame on something or someone else rather than themselves. We usually hear them say things like "Why me?", "These things only happen to me" or "The universe does not like me and I simply have bad luck." Is this really true? Are we living in a world that has already been designed for us, telling us what to do, how and when to do it or do we hold the key to our own lives???

Many people feel the need to blame the universe or their surroundings when things are not going the way they hoped. It is a defense mechanism that relieves pressure from their own heavy shoulders. However, the reality of the matter is that we do hold the map to our own lives and we can control what happens to us. If we are determined and motivated hard enough to work from getting to Point A to Point B,  we sure can accomplish what we set our minds to do without allowing any negative thoughts seep them.

Speaking from personal experience, I have seen friends and family who live in the Projects, in the Bronx who decide to quit on school and simply work at any minimum wage job they can find. This is due to the created idea in their head that they can not obtain anything greater for themselves. Their reality is that they honestly believe that their life has already been planned for them the moment they were born or for many immigrants who live under these conditions, the moment they came to "the land of the free." The sad truth is that they are the ones that are not letting their own desired plans and unspoken dreams take control because of the feeling that they can not control what has already been set in stone, but if they only knew where their hard motivation could have taken them...

The Alpha Geeks

Prompt: "If your culture doesn't like geeks, you are in real trouble" (Bill Gates).

In The Alpha Geeks by Brooks, he devotes an entire essay that preaches almost to the struggles Geeks have gone through in America to gain recognition and respect. He acts as if we, the readers, should be grateful and envious of the lucky few brainiacs that God has graced with an extraordinary gift. This can be seen when he says at the end of his article, "The Geek shall inherit the earth," a spin off of the original quote, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Perhaps Brooks sees these Geeks as royals. That's certainly how it seems. They are the ones who led us through the internet craze, the computers, and cellphones. Technology that we would feel crippled without, we owe the creation of it all to the Geeks. But, what would happen if a culture was not like America is now–praising the Geek who has grown to be placed on the same level, and maybe even above, that of a professional athlete or movie star? Well, Bill Gates believes, if that's the case, then you are in real trouble. But why? Maybe you personally are not a Geek, so you think, I could care less about the social and economical status of Geeks in America. But, if you love your apple and cellphones as much as you say you do, if you love the modern world as much as you think, be concerned. 

- Attiyya Settle 

"Last" Generation

Lucy (Yeho) Hwang

Writing I

9/11/14

Prompt: "Every generation wants to be the last...we hate to give up those reins of our culture. To find our own music playing in the elevators..." -Chuck Plahniuk

I think that I agree with this quote. Every generation wants to contribute to the world with most of their willpower, and innovation is what drives us, motivates us today. We are too focused on taking control of the generation that we pump out unnecessary essence that ultimately pollutes the future generation. There is a sense of selfishness and competition to produce the best even if it is a fabrication of true beauty.

It's a building block, a sequence of dominos how each generation wants to be the last. We think of being number one when it comes to commercialization, consumerism, et cetera, that there is not much left to control anymore.

Today, it's hard to find originality in the world because most of the products of our generations are derivatives of the previous one's. In that, I find irony. We talk about our generation's desire to become the "last", when in truth, it's not possible to do so. Everything will become some sort of controlled fabrication of what was once before.

Labeled

9.10.14

Prompt: “If your culture doesn’t like geeks, you are in real trouble.”- Bill Gates

            With the relatively modern rise of geekdom as a socially acceptable and often praised clique of sorts, tension can and does arise over the idea that being a geek is not only positive but better than belonging to alternate groups focused on beauty or sport. Bill Gates, a geek by standard and self-admission, asserts that society should accept and “like geeks”, presumably because of their major contributions to technology, intellectual advancement, and culture. Still, to decide whether or not geekdom is distinctively positive, negative, or otherwise, one must first question the nature of belonging alongside the contemporary pursuit of human interaction completely.

            It is an innate tendency of humankind to group together, to gather, to share, to survive with one another. Human interaction is said to be one of the most vital components in the total health of mind, body, and spirit. Looking to modern civilization, many (if not most) go one-step more in their venture for contact, joining together under the umbrella of labels like “geek”. But one has to wonder whether or not labels help or harm- Do they join people together, or isolate many completely? Does everyone need a label, or is it enough to solely be oneself without outside identifiers?  While belonging is most definitely comforting and important, it is a difficult thing to stomach- the idea that one must put themselves into publicly understood boxes to be recognized and admired by others.

            Moreover, what does identifying with others do to a person’s internal knowledge? In the space between ones identifiers- between “agnostic, daughter, feminist, student”, or “Chinese and chef and lover of dogs”- what is the inner voice and spirit saying? It sounds flowered and whimsical, but the reality of the situation is that a person is not who they are on paper- a being cannot be exclusively molded in words. And in a society where it has become more important to make oneself understandable to others than to focus on truly understanding oneself, identity crisis is inevitable.

-Ally Gorder

“I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.” -Gordon Lish

Perhaps Lish was a talentless child, envying those around him who had talent in natural form. Some people are born into this world with the ability to carry out acts in a seemingly easy way. However, there are others who, no matter how hard they try, are unable to succeed. Lish may have been a troubled child…a wanna-be-over-achiever in school who, despite hard work, took two steps back for every one step forward. Yet Lish saw the potential in himself and in others who tried hard. My father would always tell me that nothing mattered as long as I try my best. This, of course, is not true, and was most likely intended to make me feel better about failing middle school math tests. No one cares how hard you try if you repeatedly fail. You may gain respect, but no elevated status. But, people who don’t try hard yet succeed obtain fame. Success comes from winning and everyone loves a winner but no one loves the one whose winning. If I was a dog I would be a Rhodesian Ridgeback and have a brother named Earl. Together, Earl and I would take to the forest and hunt tigers in-between classes. Chasing them from behind, we would trip up their hind legs and go straight for the throat. Our recently deceased tiger would make a nice fur coat or perhaps a tapestry to be hung on the wall. But I don’t agree with poaching for furs, I was just saying that if I was a dog, I would be a Rhodesian Ridgeback.

9.8.14- Excuse of Privilege

Prompt: “I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance, application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.” – Gordon Lish

In a modern world so drunk with substantial aptitude in all levels of skill, both in and out of the workforce, the weight of competition is daunting. Now, this competition is not solely plastered to the idea of trying to get a job or make a living but can be and is applied on a social level at the earliest stages of development. Kids are trained from the day they enter education to get good grades, to learn, to join a sport, to get a hobby, to be the best. Adolescents dish out heaps of cash to afford tutoring, coaches, advisors, and SAT courses. We are taught that the pursuit of our own wishes is not enough; there is always more to strive for. On a certain level, to make it both socially, financially, and mentally in modern America, it is true. But to what extent does natural talent come in to play? Is there truly no excuse for a lack of success; should those who are not innately bright in traditional academia or gifted in sport, music, or art just have to work harder? Is it okay for those who are gifted academically to slack, or work less?

I believe that the entire argument as to who reaps the benefits and why quite futile, if not moot. Yes- those who are naturally talented or smart can and do skate through schooling and get solid jobs and opportunity with relative ease. Yes, they typically must have some drive, even if it is minimal, to do so. No, those who are not naturally skilled are not doomed to a life of poverty or inherent misfortune. However, none of this matters because, though we should, as human beings, be positive and personally believe that we can achieve anything, we must recognize that we are not born on equal footing.

Idealistically, I would like to believe that success is possible for most people, at least in America. However, the thought that there is no excuse for lack of success (“make up for lack of talent with hard work”) is not only dangerous but contributes to discrepancies between social classes, genders, and races. It invites those of innate power, wealth, and/or talent the privilege of continuing to ignore just how difficult it can be for those born into racial, monetary, locational, debilitating stigmas to prosper in a world of competition on all fronts. It allows people like my father and my father’s father to look down upon those in slums, to casually assume that they were on equal grounding the day they were born. It allows for a lack of empathy. It perpetuates ignorance.

9/4/14
Prompt: the floor of a white man's failures is the ceiling of the black man's expectations

In society's views, white people pare generally more wealthy than the people who are considered a minority. Therefore, they can afford more. what a white person considers "average" or a "necessity" can be seen as a privilege or extraneous in the eyes of others. There are more opportunites in this society for white Americans than there are for African American people and other minorities. The "floor" can symbolize the basic needs and wants of white people; however, this "floor" can be seen as a luxury for minorities. Wealthier people expect more out of their lives because they have the influence to make their desires and expectations a reality. Other people, minorities, generally do not have that kind of influence and have more difficulty making their desires and expectations a reality. Racism still exists in the world and people are always judged by their appearance. This is why there is such a big gap between different economic classes. Wealthier people are able to attain what they desire. Sometimes, though, those who are considered a minority are able to achieve their wants but they usually have to put in more effort and it will not come as easily.