The Past is Back... Again

As you look around the world of fashion at the moment you see lots of different styles, most of which are good. To me, the items like "Daisy Dukes" and "bell bottoms" are all cool and something interesting to try out for the first time. However, most of the styles that millennials like me get advertised to be the next best thing are all things from the past that have been rebooted into something slightly different but are really the same as before.

One great example is cut off shorts, also known as "Daisy Dukes." This style of shorts was a huge hit in the '70s but after a few years they died off for a little bit. Then in the '90s, Cindy Crawford brought them back with the introduction of her Pepsi commercial. The surge of cut off shorts came back for a little while and then died off again. Now they are back and sell for ridiculous prices. They are advertised as the next best thing and the new, modern way to dress when in reality they have been back and forth in society for decades.

Another example of the past being coming back is in the new movies being released. With the release of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the soon-to-be-released "Rocketman" some of the secrets of the stars that were in the charts decades ago are finally being uncovered. These stars are getting a fame reboot because of societies fascination with the past.

Finally, the reinvention of the iPod. The device I always wanted as a child but when I was finally allowed electronics, was already way past its prime. Apple's big new release is nothing other than a reboot of the iPod which is a bit more high-tech and is now selling for between $199-$399.

As society continues to advance and push into the future, the past makes its way back, again and again, into the lives of those who follow the trends.

Cindy Crawford Pepsi Commercial

Analyzing Entertainment: Clueless

Clueless is one of my favorite movies out there. From the fashion to the lifestyle of the characters it is very appealing to me. However, it has a lot of unrealistic ideas in it.

For example, the main character is tall, blonde, and beautiful not to mention rich and popular too. She is what most girls dream of being. She seems to be perfect. Unfortunately, that is not reality or even close to reality really. Most people can't relate to Cher's outgoing lifestyle, just picking up friends to make themselves feel better. Most people can't convince two teachers to fall in love for the sole purpose of raising their grade.

But maybe its that lack of reality that truly draws viewers in. This movie does have a targeted audience and that is people that aspire to live like Cher. They show what life could be like and draw viewers in using persuasion. While it is not the kindest thing to do, why not do it if it helps ratings right?

Merchants of Cool

As I have gone from school to school growing up I have seen the way trends change. Mostly it happens with clothes, but changes also happen in electronics, habits, even physical features of a person.
People try to stay on trend but when most people finally have the ideas down, society has moved on to some other waste of money. This topic was brought up in the documentary "Merchants of Cool" where they talked about how big companies try to sell a lifestyle to kids and teens, most of the time making what is edgy and out there cool. Unfortunately, doing this makes the idea not cool anymore and completely ruin the trend much faster than it would have gone out had it not been publicized.
People like to be different. That is one reason teens rebel. It makes them stand out and get attention. Its why teens are so caught up in social media: attention.
As brands go on to take over these trends they will continue to trash them while making some bank in the midst.

Dr. Seuss

As I grew up my family had a huge fascination with the stories written by Dr. Seuss. The wackiness and peculiarity of his stories always drew us in. This love was mostly shared by my dad and me probably due to the fact that he is so fun and free-spirited. Dr. Seuss took his imagination and spilled it all out onto paper. He took the gifts of cartoons and youth and turned them into best-selling books for children.
With his inspirational quotes like, "Kid you'll move mountains" and others similar to that, he helped kids go out of their comfort zones and dream big. Dr. Seuss had amazing ideas and extraordinary imagination and that is what made him so famous. He never turned to the draws of money from social media or publicity, he did things his own way and never looked back. This made him so amazing. He didn't write for money or fame, he wrote to help kids branch into their own selves and become the best that they could be.
Dr. Seuss was practical yet not basic at all, a hard place to be it seems like in modern society. That explains why his stories aren't as well known anymore. However, they will always have a place in my heart and in my memories and he is by far one of the best authors out there.

Missrepresentation

As I’ve gone through my life I have heard about the gender inequality factor that is a common factor in the world we live in today. I have seen it in television shows and on social media sites as well. There are different types of advertising techniques also used to target different types of people and some use women as objects to get a certain audiences attention.

I recently did a report on the “Glass Ceiling” and I found out a lot. It was interesting to hear that men still make so much more than women. I think that women do a lot of the same work and pay shows be equal.

However I think that women should be willing to put in the same work and be willing to try for all of their accomplishments in the future just like the successful women of today, and not just expect it because they are women. Everything should be equal, not just leaning the opposite way.

Social media hurts women so much because of the way it portrays them as objects. This was just seen in the documentary “Missrepresentation.” It was interesting to learn new things about women in the field but it was disappointing to hear about how women get photoshopped so much and lots of other horrible things like that. This was a great documentary and I’m very glad to have learned from it.

Are Kids Growing Up Too Fast?

As I’ve grown up my dad has told me stories of when he was my age. It really annoys me because it’s usually due to the fact that he is trying to make a point to me. His stories of childhood are very interesting and it seems like such a simpler time. Little to no technology, big open fields, school, homework, then play, that’s it. Nowadays though, are kids growing up too fast?

Well, yes. As kids reach their “tween” years they start to act more like teens. This means more in their phones and more and more attitude. I’ve definitely noticed this in my sister, and I have to say I think a lot of it has to do with her phone. I got my first phone in 6th grade and social media way later than even that. She got her phone when she was like 8 years old, though.

It’s not all just phones however. It’s also everything you hear and see on a daily basis. When you turn in the radio you hear songs about love or breakups and topics like sex or depression that I really had no idea about at her age but that she knows about. It’s crazy to me that you can turn on your television and a super sexual commercial can be playing. Media is filtered, but so much less now. This is causing kids to grow up way faster.

This does not mean that kids shouldn’t learn about these things or about responsibility, it just means that it is speeding up so much you have to ask yourself, “How far will this go?”

Social media is everywhere nowadays and while there are lots of good parts it also exposes a lot which takes some getting used to.

The Glass Ceiling

Women have been lesser than men for as long as I know. With all of the developments of the current times however, there have also been some developments with the social issue of men being more powerful than women. Unfortunately, women still do equally as hard if not harder jobs and it is proven that they get paid $0.79 for every whole dollar that men make.

This does however differ for age groups. Younger women have more similar of a salary to men than older women to older men.

One part of the issue of women getting paid less than men has been named "The Motherhood Penalty." This is due to the fact that some women have children and they seem to face different issues at the workplace than women with no children. This may be part of the reason why older women seem to have a harder time with their salary and their environment in the workplace.

Despite the differences in salary between younger and older women, there is still a bigger gap between men and women. This is called "The Glass Ceiling." What this term describes is that women can get jobs that pay okay, not great, but enough and they can see the higher level jobs from their place on the "corporate ladder" but they can never get to them because of this difficult invisible force names the Glass Ceiling.

While this is a huge problem that looks hopeless, it is being solved. By spreading the word and making the issue known equality can be reached. Word can be easily spread through social media. On social media, the news, advertisements, or really anywhere else, if the issue is spread enough more can be done to help it. This is one of the good parts about social media. Although the Glass Ceiling is horrible and unfair, its not helpless and all it needs is a little attention.