Met Gala

An event that was recently all over the news was the 2018 Met Gala. I saw numerous videos about it on Instagram, Snapchat, and on TV. This year, the gala was Catholic themed, which inspired amazing outfits that many fans loved. This event was an opportunity for celebrities to make a fashion statement that everyone would remember. Many of the outfits were designer which gave publicity to some huge fashion brands. These companies at the Met Gala gained publicity because they were mentioned in the news and tagged in social media posts from the celebrities that chose to advertise for the designer brands. The most popular brands at the Gala were Versace (which was tagged in many celebrity photos such as Katy Perry and Blake Lively), closely followed by Gucci, Tommy Hiliger, Balmain, Chanael, Prada, and many other companies.

At the Gala, all of the costumes were amazing however, a few really stood out, dominating all the news on social media. One of the best costumes was worn by Lana del Rey who coordinated her outfit with Jared Leto. They were both dressed as ethereal figures and their clothes were designed by Gucci. Lana del Rey's costume was great but what put her outfit over the top were her accessories. There was a large three-dimensional heart along with a dramatic head piece that looked like wings. Another great outfit was worn by Katy Perry who had a golden dress and boots along with gigantic white feather wings attached to her back. Katy Perry was one of the celebrities I saw all over social media and her outfit was made by Versace.

This event is one of the biggest opportunities for celebrities to show off how popular they are and designer brands to get publicity. Brands that appear in the Met Gala know that everyone will be talking about the event and if they create an amazing outfit, then the company will get even more advertisement. The brands and celebrities are mutually beneficial because while the celebrity advertises for the brand, the brand makes the celebrity seem more important. This is why the Met Gala is such an important Social Event for anyone trying to gain publicity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiiEzDrFkil/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BiiopP7AEt5/

Pop-Up Ads

I hate Pop-Up ads. They show up everywhere and make it so challenging to look up anything on my phone or computer. I often have to find articles on the internet for different school assignments which is so frustrating because it slows down my research.

I also find it annoying when the pop-up ads start playing videos on my computer even when I don't click on them. Then I cannot continue to read the article without having to listen to the irksome commercial. I don't understand how the ads are able to play videos even when I do not click on them I have absolutely no control over the ads and it seems like they will never stop showing up.

Occasionally, I accidentally click on them, then I cannot delete the ad until it loads and it creates such an inconvenience. Once I accidentally clicked on an ad and it made my computer freeze so I had to wait until my computer was done rebooting. Even though pop-up ads do not actually waste a bunch of my time, they are still extremely annoying because I did not ask for them, and they never seem to go away.

I understand that companies use pop-up ads to spread advertisement, however it's not a very logical technique because most people find them annoying and don't click on them. It creates unnecessary clutter that everyone hates. It's possible that people occasionally click on them out of curiosity but I believe that most people just find them irritating.

90 minutes

My dad and step mom created a new household rule where my sisters and I have to put our phones away for at least 90 minute while we do homework. This rule was not very unreasonable because, if I'm being honest, my phone definitely distracts me from my homework. However, when they first told me that I could not use my phone, I was very annoyed. It felt like a huge deal. This sparked an argument between me and my parents. Unfortunately, this further proved their point that my siblings and I were too attached. Ultimately, they did not listen to our arguments and they implemented their rule. 

Ninety minutes is not a very long time however it felt like forever. I never realized how much my phone distracted me. While I did my homework, I constantly wondered if someone might text me or what I might miss in a group chat. I also wanted to check my social media or distract myself with a funny video. I hated feeling so controlled by my phone. It's odd how my phone distracts me even when I'm not using it. I kept looking at the time and counting down the minutes until I could check my phone.

I realized my obsession with my phone was very unhealthy. Even though checking my notifications is very unimportant, that's not how it felt. I constantly use my phone as an excuse to procrastinate and I should really stop. But if I'm being honest, I probably won't stop because I'm lazy and don't have the motivation to stop. 

Makeup

Why are some makeup brands so expensive when the quality of the product is basically the same as a less expensive brand? I'm don't know that much about makeup but I still notice this common theme throughout different brands. For example, when I walk into a store for Mac or Clinique, I notice that all their lipsticks are very expensive. The cheapest lipstick often starts at $20 dollars but the majority are much higher. Meanwhile, if I walk into Walgreens and go into their makeup section, I could buy a very similar product from a less popular brand such as NYX or Essence. The difference is the price which is often at least half as expensive as the well-known brands.

I am not saying that the quality of a popular brand and unpopular brand are always the same because typically the more expensive brand is slightly better, however; the difference is not significant enough to make a large impact. Some people may say there is a huge difference which is why they only buy from the more expensive brand but personally, I have never noticed a significant difference in quality. For example, I once purchased a highlight from Sephora that was $30 and a few weeks later I found a very similar highlight that was $8 but I did not recognize the brand. I was curious so I bought the makeup and compared the two products. They were almost identical which was annoying because I spent over three times as much money on the highlight from Sephora.

Why are the popular brands so expensive? Because the popular brands have much more advertisement. A few days ago I went to Arden Fair Mall and I saw a huge poster advertising Mac lipstick. The poster was very aesthetically pleasing and after looking at the poster I continued to think about the advertisement. Another example is Covergirl. This brand has numerous commercials with famous people such as Zendaya Coleman and this makeup brand constantly appears on America's Next Top Model. Popular brands charge more for their products because even if their prices are unreasonable, people still buy them because they are popular.

Clutter

I found the video on advertising very interesting. The clutter from advertisement has polluted all media. No matter what we do, we cannot avoid it. Some advertisement is obvious like giant billboards while some advertisement is subtle yet it still affects our subconscious. Giant companies put so much thought into how they can get into our heads and control our thought process when we make purchases. 

Something I found interesting about the Persuaders was how big industries try to acquire "devotion beyond reason." Companies actually feel that they can provide a sense of community for people or even help understand the meaning of the world. This is ridiculous because people don't find the meaning of life through buying merchandise from a popular brand or traveling with Song Airline. People find meaning in life through experience or learning from mistakes. 

I think it's sad how people feel the need to identify with certain brands. We live in a society where brands can define a person. Associating with popular brands is part of the problem. We feel like brands express who we are when really they confine us. When we identity with a popular product or company, we all become the same. Instead of trying to figure out who we are, we ignore our individuality by becoming like everyone else.

Spoiler Alert!

On April 27, the new Avengers movie came out. I just saw the movie a yesterday and the most shocking ending. Unfortunately, I already knew how it would end because I previously saw a spoiler on someone's Snapchat story. One of my friends actually filmed the entire ending of the movie and posted it (which is illegal anyway). I was so annoyed because I did not get to experience the ending while in the movie theatre. 

Whenever I want to watch a new movie or tv show, I always have to be careful to avoid spoilers in social media. It is so easy to have the entire movie ruined by some post or story and even though it's illegal, people film movies on their phones and post it about it on social media. It's almost impossible to watch something without it being spoiled. 

I should not be this invested in a movie in the first place. It's not real and it the film does not affect me. It's a little alarming how so many people including myself, get so invested in a movie. I should not be angry that the ending of the Avengers was spoiled but it still bothers me. Marvel is just one example of how people can get obsessed with something that ultimately does not matter.

This specific situation was especially maddening because I was really looking forward to watching the movie and the ending was so unexpected. If I look at this objectively, I know it's not a huge deal however it's still frustrating.

Verne Troyer

On April 21, Verne Troyer died from suicide. When I first read about his death on the official site for People, I read about how loved Verne was and how he would be missed. The article starts out by briefly informing the reader on how he died then it switches to a more positive tone. Verne's accomplishments were mentioned along with a statement from his family. The article mainly focuses on Verne's greatest qualities and why he was so loved. 

When I read the article from Fox News on Verne's death, only facts about his death were mentioned. the article did not talk about Verne as a person but more as an object. There was not mention of his character or accomplishments. If I had only read the article by Fox New, I would not know that Verne was good at making people smile and despite his many challenges in life, he managed to create many opportunities for himself which led to his success. The article merely states facts such as the amount of alcohol in his system and the 911 call that authorities received from Verne that night. Fox News discussed Verne in a very impersonal way by completely glossing over his life and accomplishments.

These two articles are similar in that they present some similar information but they are also extremely different based on the way they talk about Verne Troyer. The article from People talks about Verne with passion and sadness while the article from Fox News only mentions facts about Verne's death which could be seen as disrespectful to Verne's colorful life. I think It's really interesting how two articles on the same topic can be so different based on how the information is presented.

Articles:http://people.com/movies/verne-troyers-death-possible-suicide-very-high-level-of-alcohol-in-his-system-says-coroner/
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/04/23/verne-troyer-reportedly-had-3-times-legal-limit-alcohol-in-his-system-at-time-his-death.html