LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Separating

F*ck the Dress

DIRECTOR

PLAYLIST CONNOISSEUR GABS SGRO

So, you walk into one of those funhouse halls of mirrors. Not only is the lighting atrocious, and the environment anxiety-inducing, but every way you look there are mirrors distorting what you see. Normally, mirrors tell us the truth in their reflection, but in this disorienting scenario, all the reflections twist it and tell a different story about what form we all take. All the while you are bumbling about, bumping clumsily into mirrors to make your way out of the chaotic kaleidoscope of a mediocre fair attraction. This, though, much more physical, is an apt description of how going down an opinionated media rabbit hole feels.

We start somewhere harmless, joining the crowd already ushered in, only to be driven down a sugarcoated version of hell, in which nothing makes sense, everyone is seeing something different, and all information that supposedly tells the “truth” seemingly lies in conflict with another. Social media culture as a whole is a much more complicated web of complexities that I cannot gracefully tackle, but a smaller part of the puzzle has taken hold of my fascination within the last year. I like to call it the hot take discourse.

‘Cinnamon Toast Crunch isn’t that good…The Office is overrated…The green M&M needs to be sexy again…

Cereal is soup… I don’t see the point of neopronouns…Don’t have kids till you are thirty…Get married young’ the list truly refuses to end, and gets increasingly striking as it goes. It feels like you’re drowning in opinion, after opinion, after opinion, but does this constant stream of opinion sharing hold a greater purpose for the creator and the consumer? As shallow as it feels on the surface, the need to express a hot take is something I believe has a deeper route among our generation and culture—the need to be heard, seen, related to, and cause a stir. First, let’s break down the anatomy of a hot take. It starts with a flashy exterior like a ‘You won’t like to hear this,’ ‘the unpopular truth,’ or something along those lines that glues you into the screen before you can scroll much further. From there comes the take. This is the part of the story where I quickly rush to the comments to see if my own opinion is reflected in what everybody else has to say or to look for the exact opposite: somebody to spark up a little controversy inside of me. And then I get bothered. But instead of cutting it off at the source and stopping my scroll, I continue down the trail and continue to immerse myself in the ocean of arguments. As much as the tiring influx of subjectivity may be, and as irritated as I may get, there is also an understanding in the back of my head as to why all these people feel the need to add to the hot take discourse.

Social media both gives us both a platform to perform and be heard, and also a row in the audience to witness the production. By participating in hot take culture, we feed into both sides of this equation. In stating our opinion, we receive attention, confirming a feeling that our presence and ideas are important and deserving of the space we take up online. The stir we cause has brought people together, only to probably drive them apart in opinion, but nevertheless, it is a miraculous thing. We have removed the classroom debate from the classroom, all our guards are down and the floor is nice and open for all the educated students, devil’s advocates, and others to add to the noise. Unlike the classroom debate, there is a level of anonymity we take on, and despite that, we build ideabound communities based on strangers’ judgments. And from there, we are able to find how we identify. Like the mirrors at the messy fun house, we choose what mirror best aligns with our truth and choose to believe it. We build ourselves and our beliefs on how our world works around what the reflection says. Despite our best wishes, we all drown each other out. So many voices until they all blend together, leaving us confused and disheartened. So maybe it’s time to tell people how you feel about that.

Aftera long day, it’s safe to say a lot of Gen Zer’s like to relax on the couch and watch an entertaining TV show or movie. Often, I like to relax or watch my favorite TV show regardless of how my day went. During the pandemic, my weeks consisted of binge-watching Survivor on a daily basis. Something about being entertained without having to do anything but sit is addicting. Reality television is also something that brings individuals together. When people have seen the same shows, they immediately have something in common. Whether it’s something to gossip and talk about, or provide conflicts that aren’t your own, these forms of entertainment attract people from all over the world. Essentially, all of these reasons give society a common ground.

Reality television is extremely captivating. Something that makes us say, “just one more episode,” then another goes by, and before you know it, it’s been three hours. So, why is it that we are so fascinated, addicted even, to reality television?

Reality television provides us an escape from our own lives. It allows us to invest in the lives on our screens. The characters we see are real-life people, but to us, they just as easily could not be. They are simply “characters” in shows that we watch. This is partly due to the fact that the shows often showcase dramatized and unrealistic scenarios. Getting engaged to someone you never met? Dozens of women dating one man? Going to an island to groupdate? Living deserted while competing in physically grueling challenges to win a million dollars? Are you kidding me? Yes please!

What specifically about these shows keeps us so invested in the false realities that the shows perpetuate? And yes – the realities are false as the overwhelming majority of the shows are extremely edited. But the answer to this question could be several things. All of these answers have a bigger common factor: entertainment. The things we do as people to become entertained is astonishing–it feels like the list of entertainment forms are infinite. Entertainment is so highly valued in our society. Some of the most high-paying jobs are those in the entertainment industry. On the other hand the non-entertainers (a.k.a us) will pay a lot of money to be entertained. The book Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial for Financial Analysis said, “Each year, Americans cumulatively spend at least 175 billion hours and more than $350 billion on legal forms of entertainment,” (Harold L. Vogel), this statistic shows the value of entertainment to us. To emphasize this even more, I know someone who spent $2,000 on Taylor Swift tickets recently. You never actually think people will pay that much for a concert, but really, people do it all the time. It doesn’t matter the price; it will be bought.

Why is it that we rely so heavily and pay so much money for entertainment? Many people, including myself, use it as a pastime. But I think there is a deeper question behind all of this. What makes us, as humans, so reliant on this style of entertainment? Is it to occupy us? Is it the fascination of a life that we are not living? The unrealisticness of those realities in TV shows? The stardom of characters in television? The boredom in our own dayto-day lives? Personally, the more I have thought about this question the more I believe it is partially due to the societal need for drama and gossip. It brings us excitement; a form of adrenaline that is not directly affecting us individually. We can share the same feelings as the people on our screens without actually having to undergo them ourselves.

Our society seems more invested in the characters of reality television shows and the entertainment industry, rather than identifying what’s missing from our own lives that media and entertainment clearly fill. Instead of expecting something on a screen to provide adventure, love, and excitement, we need to search for these feelings within our own lives. It may seem harmless, but the truth is you may be less inclined to experience these feelings if you can watch other people do them. The 411 is that it’s time to get out of the reality binge and go live real life.

Resources:

Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis By Harold L. Vogel

ILLUSTRATED BY SIERRA BAKER

DESIGNER ALLY WOODRING

WRITTEN BY JOSIE WILLARD