Kanye West... the "Musical Genius"

Kanye had once stated, "You're going to love me, you're going to hate me, but I'ma be me." Trying to be accepted from society is extremely difficult and it contains many obstacles. "No matter what you do, you're never going to make the people proud" my mother told me yesterday. They are both true, why be someone you're not and "be accepted" or be someone you are and "be accepted." No matter what you're going to be judged all of the time, one way or another, people are going to have to deal with who you are and do nothing but to accept.

In my opinion, I thought Kanye was a true jerk for calling himself a genius, for interrupting Taylor Swifts greatest moment in the VMA's. But after reading the articles about him last night and watched the interview of him by Jimmy Kimmel, I can sense what he was talking about. I do feel bad because he is one of many artists being judged on a daily basis. In Kimmel's interview, Kanye added how us, the people, "Treat celebrities like zoo animals." In other words, we believe that everything we think or say about celebrities won't hurt them, but it does. Michael Jackson, for instance, was know to be a "horrible father," but he was a kid himself trying to relieve the childhood he never had before. Lady Gaga is considered an alien but she is just unique, creative and different. Kim Kardashian was never considered a "wifey type" but now she holds a family with Kanye. Point being, we are not all perfect for the society, we are all humans and no matter what, people are going to have to respect that. We must all accept and believe in one another, we don't need to keep in mind people's opinions. What matters is that you believe you're doing the right thing for yourself. "All I care about is protecting my girl, protecting my baby, and protecting my ideas and my dreams," Kanye stated, "and thats the reason why I went so crazy." This musical genius doesn't care about just himself, he cares about what he loves. And for that, he has my total respect.

- Melissa Machuca

"Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities ." -Daniel s. boorstin

 

         It takes time to accomplish a goal in order to save your world. However, time is consuming and could wash away ones youth and personality. Daniel Boorstin once said "time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities". He basically means that throughout time a person trying to change the world will go through strife and inconvenient situations just to make a change. Yet, “celebrities” don't have to always struggle to get to where they are. A celebrity however, must still has to spend time maintain their fame and keep an audience satisfied.

     At the end fame comes and goes, just like money and power. That's why in order to keep a high standard and be loved by society celebrities must keep up with the latest trends such as music, body, and fashion. Doing such things just to be "hip" and "in" eventually "dissolves them like Boorstin expresses.

      Now take a hero like Nelson Mandela, he did not have to keep up with fashion all materialistic manners that a celebrity like Chief Keef has to. He wasn't trying to satisfy the people in his society and be "all that”. No, Mandela he was devoted to break South Africa from apartheid. The nationalist did everything for his people. He even spent 27 years in prison, just to make his point. Mandela took "time" to become a hero whereas our modern celebrities take time trying to impress everyone by their appearance, which eventually leads to their down fall.

 

 -Nixaliz Pena

" Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities" quote response

"Time makes heroes but dissolves celebrities", is just another way of saying everything that's good does not last long. We live in a society where everyday there's a new emerging artist and in order for that artist to be known and succeed, another artist has to fall. The hero part I don't understand. But when it says that it "dissolves celebrities" it means that their career path is being affected because as time passes by new and better things happen that steal away the shine of that artist. Just as I mentioned before, it sucks that for someone to succeed, another person has to fall. That's our society! Degrading others to benefit ourselves. It's survival of the fittest. The strongest ones are the one that make it further. Another way this quote can be interpret is that celebrities get tired so as time passes their just getting drained and exhausted so as someone else out there gets better, they're just tired. A lot of people think that celebrities have a good life because they have money. But just imagine for second, living your life to satisfy others. I bet it's difficult. Specially in a society where nothing is too much and there are no limits. Just like in the article " Celebrity Bodies", celebrities are going through these massive diets and surgeries just to look good. In this society nothing is perfect and no matter how hard a human being tries, is just not enough. Is about who do you see as yourself and not living through others' eyes because at the end of the day society will always try to change who you are. They tell you to be yourself, but they try to change that.

Arlienny Hernandez

"Time makes hero's but dissolves celebrities" - Daniel J. Boorstin

English 101
July 8, 2014

I don't necessarily think that thats true because how many times in out everyday lives do you hear someone speak about the latest scandal with Miley Cyrus, or Kim Kardashians latest outfit and last but not least what Beyonce and Jay-Z bought baby blue for her 3rd birthday. But not many people can tell you whats going on in the news or what was the latest thing Obama did for out country was. Celebrities are hero's to many people, for example Beyonce is a hero for most young girls and gay artists are hero's to for the gay community because they are so called inspirational for being who they are on a normal basis. Beyonce taught young girls that one plus one equals two but does that mean that she should get a trophy for it? Or maybe this quote is trying to say that we dissolve celebrities into our lives so much and we are so absorbed by this fantasy world that they live in we fail to realize all the work that regular people do. Who are they? Believers, fighters, compassionate people who care about children's education and the environment. We recognize the people who do nothing for us and praise them but those who sacrifice their life to try to make the world a better place are pushed to the side. I'm not saying that I'm not just as guilty as the next person, but I'm just wondering if we have out priorities straight.

-Serenity 

Does coming from nothing make a difference?

July 7, 2014
English 101

I think its always best to be humble about what you have even if you come from nothing. Because its not what you have that defines you but rather who you are. This quote applies to rappers especially, for example French Montana. French grew up in the South Bronx, coming here as an immigrant must not have been easy for him. But look at how far he's made it, look who he's dating!  French boasts a lot about what he has but how much has he given back to the community that he grew up in? Has he given back anywhere? Thats what I wonder. Although he was able to reinvent himself, is showing off really who he is? You're always supposed to ask yourself if you like who you're becoming as a person. I wonder how many people do that and if we were to all do that would all of us have made the same stupid choices we made or would we be slightly better people? If you came from nothing I'm not saying theres no room for gloating but what I'm saying is that there is a limit. Once you reach the limit you have to decide who you want to be. I say this because money changes people, some for the worst and very little for the better.

-Serenity 

"I came, I saw, I conquered" -Julius Cesar

July 2, 2014
English 101

I think this quote is like when you walk to the top of Machu Picchu and you saw it, you did what you had to do so you feel accomplished. You feel like you conquered something but honestly what did you really accomplish if you don't know anything about this historical landmark. Why even come? I think to feel like you conquered the task you have to know about it, you cant just be there and see it. The thing you conquer has to mean something, it has to stand out to you and lastly it has to make an impression on you that you wont forget. Its like a lesson, you learn from it. Although this quote might motivate others its just the beginning of something to me, like a stepping stone to learn more.


-Serenity 

" I came , I saw , I conquered" - Julius Caeser

In life people take advantage of what can allow them to prosper. Julius Caeser , of the Roman empire once said , “ I came, I saw , I conquered.” Coming from a man who truly did make the Roman Empire as big as it was, the quote comes to show that he was not a fool. The minute a land was discovered to have riches that would benefit the empire, such as fruits, gold, animals, etc.  He seized the opportunity to “conquer it “.

         This concept still continued to be practiced centuries later. Take the British for example, in the 17^th century they conquered land in Virginia. Although, the land did not have gold as they desired to find like the Spanish did in Latin America, they found the land to have “black gold” or what we know as tobacco. The British sailors saw that they could easily make profit out of the product to benefit the mother country. Even today people don’t just sit around after seeing an amazing opportunity. If one finds out that there is a position in Victoria Secret, no one will just let it be. People will want to grab that opportunity before someone else occupies it.  Women especially will fill out the application and submit their resume. When you “see” an opportunity you will “conquer” it by taking it, or at least attempting to.

-Nixaliz Pena