Reality Dose IV

Sunday, April 19, 2009

MOVIE UPDATE!

Okay, so I know it sounds really lame, but last night I went and saw 17 again. Although it may seem like a complete rip off of 13 going on 30 except reversed, it is actually so good. Not only is the movie funny and witty, but Zac Efron makes the movie so much better. This is his first big role outside of musicals, such as Highschool Musical and Hairspray, and I highly recommend if you haven't seen it yet, that you do it soon. Here's a sneak peek:

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Reel People, are Not Real People.

Hollywood is defined as "the film industry of the United States" and is said to be where "all the magic happens." Hollywood is also known for its glitz and glamour and if you want a chance to possibly spot a celebrity, Hollywood is your best bet. Unfortunately, people fail to realize the stereotypes and rumours that are, yet again, produced in Hollywood. [1]

In Hollywood, many stereotypes are produced and created. More specifically though, the main ideas that Hollywood puts into our minds are about certain races and religions. Repeatedly, you see Arabs as being the terrorists, Latinas as being the maids or criminals and Asians as being the superficially intelligent people of the world. The majority of people do not watch a movie and think of these things, but television networks, such as the NAACP, are starting to realize how commonly these stereotypes are being shown and are trying to make a difference by putting interracial people behind the scenes in producing the media as well as, giving minorities roles that go beyond the stereotypes. [2]
In hopes of making the public aware of these stereotypes, Cracked.com even went as far as producing a list of 'Hollywood's 6 Favourite Offensive Stereotypes' and after stating each describes why these stereotypes are so wrong. The 6 stereotypes shown on the website are meant to make people more aware of these ideas and help show how untrue they really are. [3]

http://www.cracked.com/article_15989_hollywoods-6-favorite-offensive-stereotypes.html

A film trailer, called "Reel Bad Arabs" was recently created through which numerous amounts of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters are linked together to 'dissect a slanderous aspect of cinematic history'. Through this film it can be seen that in almost all movies Arabs are depicted the same way: as villainous people, all of whom have weapons and plans to terrorize America. [4]

After watching that trailer, it is clear to see that Hollywood greatly contributes and produces these stereotypes that are extremely offensive and untrue, but what about people who are in fact multi-racial but only claim one side of their ethnicity because they also truly believe that these stereotypes are correct. Tyra Banks, model and talk show host, had an episode based solely on this problem. She had numerous biracial guests come on to the show and talk about how they only claim one side of their background because they are ashamed of the other, and throughout the program she shows how these people help contribute to the stereotypes. She also had a segment with a group of girls, where she had the audience try and guess these ladies backgrounds just from their appearance, except the audience was almost always wrong. By doing this, Tyra helps prove that although Hollywood may depict one race as looking and talking a certain way, this is not always true, and that it is possible to have a certain background but not look like Hollywood's version of it.

[5]

[6]

[7]

It is no wonder, how these made-up stereotypes are passed along throughout the world, and it is absolutely sickening how oblivious people are to the truth. Just because one person with a certain background has done something that is unacceptable, it doesn't mean that everyone else from that area is the same way. That would be like saying that because Osama Bin Laden caused 911, every other Arab has plans to terrorize America as well, which is completely untrue and false. It is really unfair of us to judge these people and divide them up into categories. Personally, just as a change of events, I would love to watch a movie become number one on the charts that has minorities playing major, uncontroversial roles.
It is sad to think that these stereotypes commonly go unnoticed, and not only are they superficial but they're false as well. If people could open up their minds and realize the role that Hollywood plays, then everyone would be a lot more media aware.

[1]http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLJ_enCA257CA258&defl=en&q=define:hollywood&ei=f2rrSZeBH6WoM6ih8OkF&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title
[2]http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20206185_4,00.html
[3]http://www.cracked.com/article_15989_hollywoods-6-favorite-offensive-stereotypes.html
[4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QKxHINgloA
[5]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM2_w-m_UFs&feature=related
[6]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34_VQQkkxM&feature=related
[7]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwn4hIWGUmw&feature=related

Sunday, March 29, 2009

"Not everyone thinks Paris should get the special star treatment"

So we have all heard of the term "Drama Queen", but this weekend Paris Hilton and her new beau, Doug Reinhardt brought the term to a whole new level!

On Thursday night while dancing at LIV nightclub in the Fontainebleau hotel, Miami Beach, Hilton and her personal "bodyguard" (Reinhardt) approached the DJ booth to personally request that he plays some better music. From here events got a little out of control. Apparently the DJ's bodyguard felt that Paris was getting too demanding and a little too close for comfort, so he gently pushed her back a few steps to what he felt was a safer distance. At this point her knight in shining armour came to rescue his princess, or should I say heiress. This somehow led to a brawl breaking out between Doug and the bodyguard. In the end the police were called to the scene, Paris was apparently rattled beyond belief as to why "someone would do this to us", and Doug left the club with a fat, bloody lip. [1]

To me this all sounds like your typical club fight. Someone tries to do their job and leaves people unhappy ending up in a fight, pretty basic right? Unfortunately, not quite. Instead of dropping the issue Paris decided to state that she was just an innocent player in the game, and that she was unnecessarily assaulted. This is where the term "Drama Queen" really starts to take effect on the whole situation. For once in her life the little princess didn't get what she wanted which is pretty fair, isn't it? Well not in Paris' eyes it isn't. We all kind of expected her to throw a hissy fit about the whole situation and exaggerate on the actual events of the story and we were right. On her personal blog she wrote,

"Just checking in to say hello and clear a few things up. I've been getting a lot of calls and emails regarding these subjects I'm about to discuss. First of all, last night at a club my boyfriend and I were assaulted for no reason at all. The DJ (I don't even know his name cause he sucks so bad) was playing the worst music ever! I like certain techno music, but this was not even danceable and was frankly giving me a migraine. I asked one of my friends who runs the hotel if he could change the music and he said " I'll lead you up to the DJ booth tell him and he'll play whatever you want." So he walked Doug and I over there. I asked the DJ if he could please play Daft Punk or Bob Sinclair and he rudely snapped at me and was like 'I only play this kind of music." I think he was jealous cause Bob Sinclair is a far better DJ then this guy by about a million times. He was so unbelievably rude and all because I asked to play one good song. Then out of nowhere his bodyguard (don't ask me why he has a bodyguard, like he really needs one. Ha) pushed me really hard, that's when my boyfriend, like my knight in shining armour, stepped in and told the guy to keep his hands off of me. Then all hell broke loose, it was like something out of a fight movie, it was so frightening. I had never seen anything like it in my life. Doug was fighting off like 6 guys. But he was of course stronger then them all but one of the idiots punched him in the face and busted open his lip. There was blood all over, I cried I was so upset and scared. It was ridiculous and for such a stupid reason, I cannot believe people behave this way, like animals! FYI this is not in my nature to be in club brawls, I've never been around anything like that. It was totally unprovoked and thank God Doug was there to rescue me. A man should NEVER put his hands on a woman in that manner." [2]

I know that is quite the LONG quote, but it really shows how she blows the whole situation way out of proportion. Most people would agree that if you don't like the music playing at the club, then you leave. It is unnecessary to start insulting the DJ especially when all he is trying to do is his job, give the poor guy a break! But the thing Paris forgets to mention is that she really isn't so innocent after all. In her blog, she 'forgot' to mention that this wasn't just any ordinary club; it was part of the Winter Music Conference and had strict guidelines as to what music the DJs were allowed to play. Also, she kind of forgot to mention that it wasn't as if she had visited the DJ booth once and gotten denied, but she had actually been up to request the same song on apparently over 10 occasions. [3] No wonder Angello's bodyguard was getting defensive... Just a word of advice Paris: Learn how to take a hint. :)

What about the DJs side of the story though? The club's DJ, Steve Angello, has a whole group of people backing him up that claim, "He politely refused Hilton's requests but she got more and more agitated, and it escalated pretty quickly. Out of nowhere one of her security guards smacked Steve in the face...Steve is a quiet guy, but he had to act in self defense and fought back. He started pounding on the guy and it suddenly turned into a full scale fight in the DJ booth." [3]

His publicist goes on to say that Hilton is the one to blame as she was the one pestering him, and it was Doug who threw the first few hits. This is a complete opposite reconciliation of the events than what Paris gave us. [3]

Perez Hilton was also quick to comment on the situation, stating on his website http://www.perezhilton.com/, that "Not everyone thinks Paris should get the special star treatment." [1] I think it is fair to say that Perez said it best
All in all the night ended on a decent note and the results were nothing spectacular. The police decided not to press charges and the biggest injury was just a fat lip. Come on now Paris, was that really worth it? This all could have been avoided if you just enjoyed the night and stayed out of everyone's business.

Work Cited:

[1] - Hilton, Perez. "Paris Hilton & Boyfriend "Assaulted" In Club!" PerezHilton.com. 2005. PerezHilton. 2009. <http://perezhilton.com/2009-03-27-paris-hilton-boyfriend-assaulted-in-club>

[2] - Hilton, Paris. "Clearing a Few Things Up." Myspace. 2003-2009. Myspace. March 27, 2009. <http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=6459682&blogId=479446356>

[3] Girard, Keith. "DJ Steve Angello Disses Paris Hilton's 'Assault' Claim." AC Associated Content. 2009. Associated Content, Inc. March 27, 2009. <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1602303/dj_steve_angello_disses_paris_hiltons.html?cat=49>

Picture Works Cited:

Paris Picture: "Paris Hilton and Doug Reinhardt at the Hard Rock Hotel." Nacho Foto. 2008. nachofoto. March 27 2009. <http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://s3.amazonaws.com/images.nachofoto.com/b-Paris-Hilton-and-Dou-4c2abd6824ee.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://nachofoto.com/gallery/Paris_Hilton_and_Doug_Reinhardt_at_The_Hard_Rock_Hotel-1&usg=__S_NeEIfUBA7BGccX7YNAjHKglD4=&h=479&w=318&sz=35&hl=en&start=58&tbnid=YeVKgnjIvuDsTM:&tbnh=129&tbnw=86&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dparis%2Band%2Bdoug%2Breinhardt%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D54>

Steve Angello Picture: "(Old) New Jack." WordPress.com. March 27, 2009. <http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://getweird.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/steve-angello.jpg&imgrefurl=http://getweird.wordpress.com/2008/01/15/old-new-jack/&usg=__rczWty7-DrLDPe7QA5U4K-N8bp8=&h=350&w=349&sz=69&hl=en&start=6&tbnid=bXYLcVdDGIIoxM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsteve%2Bangello%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den>

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Hey! Wait that sounds familiar...

Miley Cyrus, also known as the infamous Hannah Montana, is at it again... and when I say "it" I'm not talking about taking more racy photos, I'm talking about plagiarism.
This time she is being accused of copyright infringement by L.A band, Lustra. Never heard of them? They are the ones credited for writing the very popular song sung by Matt Damon in Euro Trip, "Scotty Doesn't Know." Apparently, there is an uncanny resemblance between that song and Miley's song "Rockstar." When Lustra publicized their belief that they truly thought Miley was guilty of copyright, many people questioned how the two songs could be similar seeing as how they were sung by two completely different genres of bands. This led the public to have doubts on the similarities that the two songs shared, so Lustra invited Miley's fans to visit their myspace and comment on whether or not they believed that Miley's song was actually original, or if they could hear the resemblance too. A majority of people reported back that the two songs were, "the same in tunes, but different in lyrics." [1]
Listen for yourselves...

[2]
Hear the resemblance? It is quite blatant in the first few seconds of each song. The two guitar riffs are literally identical to the average ear, and from there the resemblance is a little bit harder to hear, but it is still present at various points.

I actually believe that Miley had perhaps seen Euro Trip and maybe blind-sightedly copied the songs beat without realizing that she did it. The beat is something easy enough, that if you heard it once it would not be very hard to selfconciously copy without realizing it. Opposed to this comment though, I have sympathy for Lustra and don't blame them for wanting to work out an agreement with Miley Cyrus.

Problem is though, apparently it isn't Miley who writes her own music for her character as Hannah Montana but it is either her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, or her Disney Producers. This becomes troubling because who should Lustra charge? The teenage sensation or her producers when they really have no idea who is responsible for the copyright of their guitar riffs. Plagiarism is a very serious issue in the music industry and needs to be stopped before all music starts to sound the same.

So question is, what exactly is copyright infringement? The U.S Copyright Office defines copyright infringement as, "a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner." [3] Without these laws in place on music (tempos, beats, lyrics and rythmns) no originial work would exist and something that appears to be a "hit" would eventually turn into an overused piece of work.

Commenting on the case of copyright is a spokesman for Lustra who stated, "The immediate solution is to minimize leaks, and keep all future recordings in a vault, under extreme security." Commenting on another issue is Lustra's guitarist Chris Baird who tried to lighten the mood by commenting, If "Hannah Montana" wants us now, who is next? The Jonas Brothers? That said, if (Vanity Fair photographer) Annie Liebovitz is interested in photographing us nearly nude we are certainly open to it and we look forward to her call." [1]

In the end of it all, Lustra never went through with charging Miley, although it was stated that at points they still contemplate on whether or not they should. The group finished the case off with stating that they only wished they had been given some credit for their work. Miley's Producers refused to comment on all issues involved in Lustra's copyright statement against their star.

I guess it is fair to say that this case is solved, even though it really isn't a case anymore since Lustra dropped all charges. Oh, and to Miley Cyrus: be careful with your music since this isn't the first time your music has sounded an awful lot like a past musicians, such as Corey Hart's, "Sunglasses at Night." (Miley's version is called "See you again") On a final note check out the comparison to these two videos, and post your comments letting me know what you think of Miley and her copyright cases!

[4]

[1] "Miley Cyrus accused of stealing song from LA band Lustra." 2009. Website. Gossip Boulevard - Celebrity Gossip, Celebrity News. March 9, 2009. <http://www.gossipboulevard.com/2008/05/14/miley-cyrus-accused-of-stealing-song-from-la-band-lustra/3861/>
[2] "Lustra vs. Hannah Montana." July 19, 2008. Podcast. Youtube. March 9, 2009. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMkHz-T2he4>
[3] Elkins, Maria. "Copyright Infringement." 1999-2009. Website. Lost Quilt Come Home Page. March 9, 2009. <http://www.lostquilt.com/CopyrightInfringement.html>
[4] Van Essen, Matt. "Miley Cyrus vs. Corey Hart - I See You Wearing My Sunglasses Again." April 18, 2008. Podcast. Youtube. March 9, 2009. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNY9m4spXaE>

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Are you Sure you Want a Piece of Me?

"It's Britney, bitch!", and she's making a 'comeback' - to say the least.
Over the past few years, the Britney Spears saga has escalated to a whole new level of entertainment. Beginning last year, at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, the news of her attempted 'comeback' was on the rise, but after her presentation went downhill, she was seen all over the covers of celebrity gossip magazines and other sources of media.

An anonymous writer on the Usenet wrote that, "Britney Spears is fat in all senses of the word. She's chunky. Heavy. ‘Big boned.’ Whatever!” [1]

From here it led to escapades of she's "too fat, she's too thin", a 'horrible mother', out of control and she needs psychological help, but are all of these statements really fair? She even created a song called "Piece of Me," to try and show the public that the news rants about her were uncalled for and weren't fairly published after everything she has gone through.

In the past year or so, Britney has been through enough to last her a life time and the statements made against her are far from legit. She's a mother of two and has been in the spotlight her entire life. Not that I'm trying to say that she's a victim of the paparazzi , since she is an equal player in the game, but maybe it's time to give the girl a break! She didn't grow up with a regular childhood, and never had time to rebel but after being under extreme amounts of pressure from the media it makes sense that she suffered from a breakdown.

Unfortunately, the public is obsessed with watching the rise and fall of all people around them, and when news of Britney "going crazy" got around, there was never a time where you could walk into a store and not see her on the cover of a magazine. This clearly shows that the paparazzi have pushed it too far. They were there for every second that she made a mistake making sure to catch it on film and had constant teams following her, 24/7. After a while you have to get sick of trying to please people all the time, which possibly led to her noticeable breakdown. Question is though, did she do it to keep her fans entertained and the money rolling in, or was it actually serious? She hasn't been a total victim as she makes herself appear, and often falls game to the paparazzi, playing along with them and creating new issues to keep them coming back for more. For example, buying a stuffed donkey and walking around with it in public and driving with your windows down? Are these real signs of someone trying to get away?

Celebs throughout Hollywood, have been feeling mixed reactions to Britney's latest bizarre behaviour. 50 cent claims he was inspired to base his new album around her. The song , "Before I Self Destruct," was in fact inspired from Britney's umbrella rampages, psychotic acts of shaving her head and her massive meltdowns, saying, "She was going through her issues in public… It was great to watch her spin out of control because it makes the average person feel better." [2] On the other hand though, Demi Moore, a fellow celeb and mother, offered sympathy towards Spears, claiming that Britney has "seen it worse than anybody," and that the paps have "redefined what an invasion of privacy is". Most celebrities believe that everyone should just leave Britney alone, she's been in the spotlight long enough. [3] Philip Hensher wrote in the article, 'The Spectacle of Fame,' "If Britney wasn't a celebrity, there would be no entertainment in her collapse."

Some of these Hollywood stars are trying to change the odds against the paparazzi, and are creating rules to actually earn something from the paparazzi's chaos. One of these laws created was the "Britney law", which is the unofficial business of controlling the paparazzi's agressive photographers and creates boundaries. People need to get over their obsession of celebrities and really shouldn't expect to know every detail of their life. Get a life of your own. The paparazzi have already pushed it too far and really need to get in control of their business.

All in all, Britney's attempt at a comeback has been going quite well, with the release of her new CD, and her chart-topping songs, 'Circus,' and 'Womanizer.' She appears to be fixing herself up, and bringing herself back to the top. She even made a surprise appearance at the 2008 MTV awards, and reporters say that she was looking strong and healthy. Hopefully she can clean up and stay clean, but I'm sure that we will be seeing a lot more from Britney. It is Britney Spears after all..

For another opinion on what should happen with Britney, visit: