I heart Adele!

Last night Adele was on MTV Canada and I am in Love. She performed a few songs and chatted with the hosts about her newly released album, her love of country and hip hop as well as ex-boyfriends. Now usually when I watch these sorts of interviews I'm left thinking "I wonder what she's really like." This interview, however, made me feel like I have gotten to know Adele a bit. The interviews were short, and probably Adele knew the questions in advance but her answers seemed real and unrehearsed. She was shown a surprise clip from a teacher at her Alma matter (The Brit School) and she 'started blubbering' (her words not mine.) This reaction seemed really real to me and I felt like she had a connection with her teachers and that they liked her. I also get the feeling that Adele is a powerful woman and a good role model. I don't feel like she's like Taylor Swift or Hillary Duff who are really trying to be a good role model by following the path of what a stereotypically good girl is supposed to be. Having good role models too look to for guidence is important, not only for young girls but for grown women as well. Hochschild(1990) has argued that much of our gender ideology comes from a combination of relevent cultral ideals and personal experineces. I would argue that a role model, such as Adele, can provide positive cultural ideals. It's important to know that it is possible to be a strong, independent woman and be successful.  I really feel like Adele is successful because she is just being herself- a powerful, down to earth, level headed, soulful, sweet, smart woman.

Here are some of the reasons why I think Adele is a good role model, not just for girls but for all people.

1. She's not crazy into drugs or sex or money (or at least if she is, she fooled me.)

2. She's not selling herself as a sex symbol. She is a very beautiful woman but she's not defined by her status as a sex symbol (like many other female pop artists are. i.e. Britney, Xtina, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha etc.) I'm sure someone out there is thinking "that’s because she doesn't look like a sex symbol" i.e. she's not a size 2. But let’s remember Jennifer Hudson, who before her huge weight loss still marketed herself partially on her status as a sexy (albeit curvy) singer. I really get the feeling that Adele doesn’t care at all if people think she's sexy. (But maybe I'm being biased because I like her music so much.)

3. She's doesn’t use diminutive or strictly polite language. Adele said that the Brit school was in was "a shit area." She wasn't afraid to throw in slang or swears into the conversation and it seemed completely normal.  Hopper (2003) has suggested that women often speak in a more polite manner, avoiding swears and slang because it is less socially acceptable for women to swear than men. Others have suggested that people in positions of relatively less power tend to speak in a more polite manner because they can't risk being rude. Either way, Adele didn't come off rude, but she certainly didn't come off as a typical polite, sweet docile little girl that many (adult) pop stars do. (Contrast Adele to J.Lo, Mariah Carey or Britney Spears who are painfully polite and sweet all the time. Also you could contrast Adele to an Avril Lavigne who swears a lot but it still comes off as forced.)

4. She talked about past boyfriends and how they influenced/ treated her. The host asked her what her ideal man would be and she replied "like him [ex-boyfriend] but more respectful." Apparently Adele values being treated with respect which is such a great thing to say. I really hope that women and girls who look to her as a role model really take that to heart.

5. She likes country artists because she "immediately believes them." She also likes hip-hop because of the way that rappers manipulate words and the progression in the songs. I like that she just has something good to say about other genres of music that makes sense. (Unlike Britney Spears who has said she just likes whatever makes her want to move.)

6. She's got talent. Ok I guess having talent doesn't make you a good role model, but she's using her talent in a productive way, and that makes her a good role model. She writes her own lyrics, she works hard and she's grateful for the success she's received.

While Adele may not claim the Feminist label, I don't think many would object if I were to say that she embodies it. She is a hard working female who has yet to fulfill any female stereotypes. She may not be out championing for the rights of women, but she is setting a good example of how a successful woman can behave.

It's Britney Bitch!

Britney Spears is back, again. How many times does she have to fade into obscurity and then make a comeback before people stop caring? Probably a few more times, since I too am eager to judge and make fun of her once again. Don't get me wrong, Ms. Spears has made some classic contributions to music history with songs like "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Hit Me Baby One More Time" however I just can't understand why everyone is so excited for her next album. I think it comes down to the fact that we love a comeback, even when we never liked the original. This got me wondering, why do we love them so much. Here are a few possible theoretical understanding of why we are excited to see what Britney has in store for us this time:

Marxist: A lot of money is going to be made by some already rich record labels. A cynical, sinister understanding of the motivations for the release of this next album could be that it all comes down to money. and we as consumers are being manipulated by the bourgeoisie record label execs. Every time Britney releases a new album, at least one of the singles hits (close to) the top of the charts. This leads to increased album sales which leads to more money. So why not make Britney continually release new albums you ask? For three reasons reasons

1. It takes time to make an album and very few artists are able to cut an album, tour, and then cut another album in sequence without a break. Making music and touring  is exhausting both physically and mentally. (In Britney case, very mentally exhausting which can lead to ... wel, you know- head shaving, umbrella attacks, infant drivers, ect.) 
2. Even a very good artist can over saturate the market and thus her popularity will decline and each release will make less than it could have. So it makes sense to avoid this and make her go away untill we are happy to see her again.
3.  Britney was never that good in the first place. Yes I said it, get over it. Even in her hay day, nobody exclaimed what an amazing vocal talent she was, or how powerful and moving her music was. In fact most critics noted that Britney is very likely lip-syncing to bad music that is carefully produced so that the general population doesn't notice how bad it really is. They need to make her visits with the public short enough to mask her lack of talent.

Feminist: Ok now maybe I'm taking a leap of faith here, but  I'm pretty sure most feminists would probably dislike Britney and what she stands for. (I'm a Slave 4 U -> put the feminist movement back  a very long time considering women haven't been considered property (ie slaves) in a few decades.)  Maybe men like when Spears has a comeback because it leads other women to emulate her persona a become more docile (and slutty). But women love Britney too (and I really dislike the argument that these women are brainwashed popular media run by men.)  We need to understand why women love her. Maybe it's because for a short time we like to see women in the media who we know are not perfect (she stopped being a perfect replica of a barbie when she dropped her baby.) I'm a little shaky on this argument as you can see, I don't fully understand why competent women like Britney Spears. (Myself included, I have a bizarre affection for her and have even caught myself defending her music- "it's good to dance to")

Social-Functionalist- This theory might posit that a comeback reifies the notion that hard work is rewarded. We are glad to see Britney make a comeback because we are confident that she worked hard for it. She should serve as an example to others, so that they too will work hard to make it on top again. (This theory sucks though because all of structural functionalist theory completely ignores the fact that not every one who works hard is rewarded, and not everyone who is rewarded worked hard for it. We don't live in a meritocracy Britney Spears may be a hard worker but there might be another reason why this White girl has managed to make so many comebacks while other Non-White artists are held to stricter standards.)

My theory- We like her costumes because usually they are sparkly and shiny and we like her live shows because thy have lots of pyrotechnics. We also like to talk about how crazy she is and a comeback likely signals more craziness to come!

Poor Charlie Sheen ?

I really don't know if I should feel sorry for Cahrlie Sheen or not. I mean he's 'winning' right and who feels sorry for winners? No one, because they won, and we are supposed to feel bad for losers only. Maybe  I should just feel bad for laughing at him and  the ridiculous things he has said.

Maybe I am feeling a little bit of  Schadenfreude  (the term in German for taking pleasure in the misery of others, often translated as 'shameful joy'.) I feel like I shouldn't be laughing, but I am anyways, which reminds me of Hoschilds idea of 'feeling rules'. According to Arlie Hoschild (1979), our emotions and reactions are governed by 'feeling rules.' this theory basically says that people will manage their emotions in order to feel the emotion that is appropriate to the situation. But what am I supposed to do if I can't figure out if my reactions are appropriate in the first place. I'm going to blame my lack of knowledge of appropriate emotional behaviour on my culture.

 This dilemma, I am arguing, has been created by a culture that regularly derives joy from watching the once successful fail. We love to read magazines about who has 'gotten fat' and who's husband cheated on them. We can get pleasure from knowing that someones else's life, at least for the moment, is worse than our own;  but only if that person once occupied a status better than our own. If Charlie Sheen had never been famous and was simply a (possibly) recovering addict, I certainly would not laugh at his situation.   When I laugh at someone, like Charlie Sheen  (who I would argue is in need of some psychological guidance) I do feel a bit guilty, but only a little bit. I think that I have decided that that tiny bit of guilt can be successfully stowed away so that I can enjoy myself if only for a minute.  I think I will continue to make jokes about being 'on a drug named Charlie Sheen' and 'bi winning' and having a brain that "fires in a way that is not from this particular realm."

For the Charlie Sheen interview that this blog is based on, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5aSa4tmVNM