September 21, 2021
Variety
The Collegian: 5
Met Gala attendees somehow miss and also fit the theme This year’s Met Gala brings us misguided and successful outfits that embody what fashion and culture mean in America. Hachi Chuku Student Writer The Met Gala is an annual fundraising event established in 1948 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met is beloved by fashion enthusiasts and pedestrians alike: some come for the jaw-dropping designs and discover new designers, others to see their favorite celebrities walk the red carpet. It is a beautiful collaboration between influential models and revered designers, brought together under the guidance of a theme with the watchful eyes of the globe awaiting their attire. The theme for the 2021 Met Gala was “In America: A Lexicon of Fashion,” a look into American influences, popular figures and culture. With the 2020 Met Gala being
canceled due to the COVID-19, the anticipation for the event was doubled. However, it seemed that little to none of the wealthy affluents in attendance could take advantage of this wide and extremely interpretational theme, nor could articulate how the designs chosen fit with the mood of the night. It seems that instead of an American approach with rich vocabulary and history in fashion, the Met Gala was riddled with disjointed European influence paired with the lexicon associated with celebrities and many extreme examples with a few exceptions. I believe these examples and exceptions can tell us about the attitudes that Americans hold to their own culture. The most apparent case of ignorance towards the theme was Kendall Jenner, designed by Matthew Williams. The model wore a stunning sheer, crystal Givenchy dress that at first glance appears like Hedy Lamarr’s dress in “Ziegfeld Girls” as an homage to old Hollywood, similarly to Emily Blunt’s shimmering star-spangled dress. However, upon interview, Kendall made it adamantly clear that the gown was a ‘naked
graphic by Amy Polovich Kendall Jenner wears Givenchy and Quannah Chasinghorse wears a dress designd by Peter Dundas.
The Collegian team views and reviews a movie while getting uproariously drunk. Piper Prolago Editor-in-Chief Zach Short Managing Editor Maddie Walters Web & Social Media Manager Note: All participants in the production of this article are either of legal drinking age or did not consume alcohol. Disparity in coherent prose should make as much evident.
Zach: Monsters university is a very silly movie. It has a lot of commentary on Greek Life, probably not in a way that ~45% of campus (Greek Life) would appreciate. Well they can just watch the original Monsters Inc. or Legally Blonde, because this movie is made for real gamers. I’m just kidding; love y’all. This is a nice movie though, and it’s made much better by the fact that we are following it with Shrek 2. Plus it has Steve Buscemi and that guy is all right let me tell you. Overall I cannot say that I have much to say about the movie. Like, it’s okay, but it does not do too much to make itself memorable. There are jokes occasionally, but they’re not too fantastic. This makes the second time I have seen it, and I probably would not watch it again. Honestly, invest your time in something a little more worthwhile, like another viewing of Shrek 2. Piper: Monsters University said a lot about the university experience. I feel like the people who made this definitely wouldnt
dress’ take on Audrey Hepburn’s dress in “My Fair Lady,” a film starring the English actress, set in England about English politics. In other words, not very American. Something similar can be surmised about Lil Nas X’s three-piece attire designed by Versace: a large, golden royalty-inspired overcoat with golden armor underneath. It brings forth images of King George and European knights, both of which have very little to do with American culture — a country built in rebellion to these ideals. The artist’s interview did not lend itself to clarifying how these choices fit with the theme; he instead chose to highlight how the shedding of each layer symbolized his own personal journey. And lastly and most disappointingly, given her reputation as ‘The Princess of the Met Gala,’ Rihanna’s large black Balenciaga overcoat worn with a black beanie did not hit the mark. The overcoat was inspired by vintage Balenciaga balloon dresses, and has more Spanish and French influence than anything else. The same can be said for most celebrities who took pride in their foreign designer brands. On the other hand, there were extraordinary Met Gala looks that fit perfectly within the theme and were truly works of art. For example, Lupita Nyong’o’s denim Versace gown was clearly inspired by the role jeans played for the working class throughout American history. Her styled afro was in reference to American artist Lorna Simpson, spotlighting that the color indigo was historically harvested by the hands of enslaved people. Ciara Wilson chose to highlight the role that sports, or particularly American football, has had in our culture and entertainment, donning a bright green jersey gown with a train highlighting Russell Wilson’s jersey number and was designed by Peter Dundas. Lorde’s set, a white skirt and jacket with upcycled charms from the 1950s and 60s with a headpiece to match,
was designed by Collina Strada associates. This outfit had the ideas of the playful yet poignant era of the 70s and counterculture: recycling, individuality and exploration. And last but most definitely not least, model and activist Quannah Chasinghorse’s Native American heritage inspired attire designed by Peter Dundas was one of the most impactful looks of that night. A gold lamé dress paired with authentic Navajo jewelry served as a reminder to the history of Native Americans within this country and an accurate representation of these true Americans. With this year’s Met Gala, I and many others are left questioning about what it fundamentally means to be American and what American culture truly is. Designers for the Met Gala had a plethora of material to draw influence from such as the Roaring 20s, the Pop Art Movement, diners, landscapes, The Space Race, The Old West, American gothic literature, The Gold Rush, superheroes, surfing, streetwear, proms, dolls and the list goes on. American culture plays a dominant part of the world, so why were so many attendants wearing attire tied elsewhere? I think the former statement gives us a clue. When Chasinghorse was interviewed about the inspiration behind her look, the activist told Vogue Magazine, “It’s extremely important to represent and bring authentic and true American culture to this year’s theme, as Native American culture has been appropriated and misrepresented in fashion so many times.” I think in America, like Chasinghorse pointed out in her statement, there exists a larger issue of appropriation born out of egotistical values, the mix of cultures due to immigration and general ignorance. This issue is unfortunately a part of American culture. The 2021 Met Gala is an inadvertent, but excellent case study of these biases at play. And thus in a backwards way, maybe all the attendees fit the theme after all.
have been allowed to rush Roar Kappa Roar. There’s a lot of pent up rage at greek life there. I’m not saying i dont like it, . I’ve definitely seen that giant underbite frat monster walking on TU’s frat row. im just saying they didn’t need to go that hard. I really liked randall’s villain origin story. Monsters University walked so The Joker could run. It’s so sad he really just wanted friends and what happened? He is still friendless. I’m so glad that shot for shot was the perfect environment to tease out the nuances of these characters. Namely, there were a lot of controversial milves in this movie. I’m looking at you, Sherry. I can give you what Don Carlton couldn’t. Perhaps an even more controversial milf? The scary dean. Maddie: Our main man Steve Buschemi stole the show. He had the perfect transformational character arc, only he turned from good to worse. Monster’s University offers ther backstory to the original film’s antagonist. I agree with Piper. The character arc
for Randall rivals that of the Joker from the Joker. Spoiler alert, but not really because its been like two years, but in the Joker he’s invited to a chat show only to further make fun of him after they already ripped him earlier. In Monsters University, Randall is invited to a fraternity, but only as a ploy to make Sully jealous and when they initiate him, he’s just their scapegoat for their own pathetic performance in the final challenge of the annual scare challenge. At the end, everyone laughs and he’s still friendless…. Sad! I do not read Piper’s comments about Randall; creepy how we’re sharing the same single brain right now. The dean also reminds me vaguely of a professor here...No, I will not elaborate. Point point, I agree with Piper about the dean. It’s a divided household, but I agree.
“Montero” proves Lil Nas X is not a one-hit wonder
In his debut studio album, “Montero,” Lil Nas X displays his brilliance while utilizing his handle on outrage marketing. Joseph Boehm Student Writer
Imagine the first song you release sets new records on the top charts as the longest running number one song of all time. Not only does your reality completely change, making you an international superstar overnight, but now you have the eyes of the world on you wondering what you will do next. This is the reality for Atlanta native Montero Lamar Lil Nas X, better known as Lil Nas X. Lil Nas X’s path has been one riddled with controversy. It started unintentionally, as most things do, with the country charts removing his song from their lineup claiming that“Old Town Road” was a hip hop song. The internet erupted with outrage and people were calling for apologies and claiming that country charts were racist. This was until country icon Billy Ray Cyrus stepped in on the remix of the acclaimed song and shot it back to the number one spot on the country and general charts respectively. It remained there for 17 weeks, blowing away the previous record holder, Bruno Mars with “Uptown Funk.”
However, in more recent outings, Lil Nas X has decided to lean into the backlash that has ensued. Lil Nas X described his actions as seemingly trolling on “The Breakfast Club’s” interview on September 16, 2021. The artist has leaned in and allowed himself to be the butt of jokes and criticism. Frankly, I think it’s brilliant. By making fun of himself and allowing people to see his humorous side, he’s won over a lot of people by pulling back the curtain. Although there are certain stunts that may have taken it a bit too far, (i.e. twerking on satan during the “Montero” music video, which sent the internet into a tailspin) Lil Nas X has made it clear that he’s just having fun. Nevertheless, we live in a culture dominated by outrage. Since some of his stunts have been seen as offensive to large groups of people, he has opened himself up to heavy criticism. Whether you agree with the mantra “there is no such thing as negative attention” or not, you cannot argue with the numbers his single “Montero” put up. But enough about his persona, you’re not here to listen to me talk about his brilliance on social media or how he uses outrage culture to get his name out there; you’re here to see how I’m feeling about this album. Safe to say, I love it. I think Lil Nas X delivered and I’ve been bumping this album for the past 5 days on repeat. For a debut album, he killed it. There were high expectations, but I truly believe he delivered. Personally, I enjoy his genre-bending beats ranging from alternative to pop and
trap. This was the pop album we wanted and needed in 2021. Lil Nas remains authentic, speaking openly on his life and his struggles with self-love, his sexuality and his varying levels of success. This album feels deeply personal and although every song doesn’t hit home, there are definitely quite a few that delivered. My personal favorites are “Industry Baby,” “Dead Right Now,” “That’s What I Want,” “Dolla Sign Slime,” “Tales of Dominica,” “Montero” and “Don’t Want It.” The topics of these songs range from depression, fear, success, broken relationships and living one’s personal truth. If nothing else can be said for Lil Nas X’s character, it’s clear that he is honest. He’s not here to put on a front for anyone or be something he’s not
“Montero” was released Sept. 17, 2021.
and I respect it. Love him or hate him, I believe this album solidified him as a name to know. He’s not going to be the one-hit wonder many of us thought he would be. He has a voice. He has a melody and he has a message. I’m not here to judge his character one way or the other, but I do know musical talent when I hear it. According to Billboard, “Montero” drew 46.9 million U.S. streams and sold 21,000 downloads in its first week. Love him or hate him, take offense at his actions or not, the kid is here to stay and his outrage-marketing is only adding to his popularity. Regardless of what he does in his own life, there is no argument “Montero” is a quality debut record. I’m excited to see where he goes from here.
courtesy Columbia Records
