Why Rush?

We recently started Junior Theme in my American Studies class. Junior Theme is a research paper where we create an argument that responds to a current issue. I began Junior Theme with the broad topic of sororities. I have since changed my topic to the current issue of hazing. However, sororities is still an interesting topic to me. I was reading the book Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities by Alexandra Robbins and it made me wonder why girls join sororities.

Often you hear of the insane activities that occur to girls in sororities. I mean its around a hundred girls living in one house. That's insane! I myself have desired to join a sorority before. It just seemed like it was part of the college experience. However, sororities are known to have problems with binge drinking, eating disorders, drugs, and sexual assaults. That doesn't change the fact that hundreds of girls each year rush in the fall in order to be a part of a sorority. Why?


For me, I wanted to join a sorority because its a new family. There all "sisters" after all. You have a  group of friends already made for you. And as sororities often house girls that are much the same you are bound to get along with some. There is also the "cool" perk. Greek houses often times lead the party scene. If you are Greek, then you are then cool. There are also "cool" sororities and not as cool sororities. To be chosen for the top sorority would be a high honor. Some girls, like Brooke from Pledged, have sororities ingrained into society. In high school Brooke couldn't wait to get to college to rush and become an Eta Gamma. Once she was a part of the sorority, the reputation helped her even when she was far away from the campus grounds. "Even decades after you graduate, you're only accepted or not by what sorority you were in" (118). Brooke has found that her status as an EtaGam helped her slip into high social circles because it was a "top" sorority. Being able to take advantage of such a thing would be very useful in later life.

I also think that a large part of why girls join sororities is because of how they are portrayed in the media. Even when they are being condemned there is a hint that you should be one of them. Movies and shows often describe the sorority girls as "mean girls", yet still you find yourself wishing you were with that crowd. They were cool, everyone wanted to be there friend! Sure, they were mean, but not all of them were like that! To be a part of an elite and exclusive group would be a dream come true. You were specially picked out of hundreds because you were exactly what that elite group wanted. Who wouldn't want that honor?

Call Me Maybe

I'm sure everyone's heard it. The fairly recent song by Carly Rae Jepson. The song is "Call Me Maybe" and it's gone viral. However, the official music video hasn't gone viral...the home made video featuring Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ashley Tisdale, and Big Time Rush is much more popular:



The video depicts the teenagers dancing to and lip syncing "Call Me Maybe". Their video has five times more views than the official music video. Bieber's has more than 25,000,000, while Carly Rae Jepson has a measly 5,000,000.

The song itself, though catchy, doesn't show any serious musical talent. It's just another peppy pop song. However, Bieber signed Carly to his record label, so he had a large interest in the song's success. He was able to use his and his friends' star power to create a chart busting single. Without this video, Carly's success would have been undeniably less, or at least the song would have gained popularity slower.

Celebrities in America have a huge influence on the media and people's lives. Stars are most often beautiful, in shape, and overall cool people. Most everyone wants to be like them. And the stars have a serious star power. It's everywhere you look. Celebrities are paid to wear certain clothes in order to sell them, and it works. Stars appear in certain ads and are "the face" of different companies in order to increase selling. Even in charity organizations stars wield a fierce influence. Invisible Children is using them in their Kony 2012 campaign so that people will donate and be aware of the problems in Uganda.

Where have you seen celebrities influence everyday life?

I'm Still a Guy

Today as I was riding home from hockey practice I heard the song "I'm Still a Guy" by Brad Paisley. The song made me think what it meant to be a guy. Some of the lyrics caught my attention. Here's the song if you haven't heard it:



He talks about how fighting, fishing, and hunting make him a man. And if you are "feminized" then you aren't a man anymore. The lyrics that especially caught my attention were "then turn right around and knock some jerk to the ground 'cause he copped a feel as you walked by." This stuck out to me because it reminded me of White Noise by Don DeLillo.

When Jack finds out that his wife, Babette, has cheated on him Babette refuses to give Jack the man's actually name because she believes that Jack will seek revenge and kill him: "We all know about men and their insane rage...Insane and violent jealousy. Homicidal rage" (214). It is a common stereotype to believe that men are filled with an anger that surfaces with every chance. All men are subjected to violent jealousy. I believe that it is the stereotype that forces men to believe they should be insanely jealous. Jack wasn't planning on hurting the man Babette cheated on him with, Willie Mink, until another of his friends also told Jack that men are filled with violent anger and that Jack should shoot Willie Mink.

Snoring Kills

The past few weeks as I am driving on the highway I have seen billboards for SnoringCenter.com. They are pretty shocking too. They immediately capture your attention with the large script that reads "Snoring Kills" and then below it in smaller script is something like "[happy marriages]"

This really caught my attention because we are currently reading White Noise by Don DeLillo in my American Studies class. The book is a satire on American culture. He brings attention to the influence of media and other large themes in American life. One of those themes is death. The characters are constantly thinking of their own death and how to prevent it. As Murray says "There was only one topic of conversation. Sex and death" (207). While Murray is commenting on the connection between sex and death he is also talking about how prevalent death is in our culture.

Putting "Snoring kills" on a billboard is bound to catch a lot of attention by passing motorists because people are almost always on the look out for things that will either kill them or prevent their inevitable death. It is much like the rumors that are spread of how cell phones and microwaves cause cancer. Our obsession with death fuels many of our activities. And obviously the media is using it against us.

What was your reaction to seeing this billboard?