This weekend while watching the Grammy’s, I couldn’t help but notice a recent trend; the almost desperate attempt from many of today’s stars to be different. By different, I don’t mean to be overly outspoken or to have interesting hobbies. Physically and aesthetically, the stars have definitely taken their look to the next level. Of course, the first person from the Grammys that comes to mind when I say different is Lady Gaga. Her futuristic look has many people talking and even though I thought I had seen it all, she somehow manages to top whatever she has done before. In today’s conformist society, it is hard to assume that people will follow in those footsteps. Rihanna is also someone who is often wearing very unique clothing and hairstyles. However, after Rihanna cut her hair to a bob, it seemed like millions of young girls had gone out and done the same. Is there a limit to how far one will go to imitate a celebrity look? Will there be a world filled with Lady Gaga look-a-likes in the near future? I find it interesting that while young people are desperately trying to fit in they are doing so by attempting to set trends that come off as outrageous and different. Is it still most important in today’s society to fit in, or are we putting more and more emphasis on a need to be different?

I completely agree with what you are saying. I rarely watch any of those types of television shows because the life of a celebrity does not interest me. These are people that we do not really know yet some people believe that their lives are the most important thing. Our society has become the type of people who feed of others’ failures and troubles. When regular people hear that a celebrity has broken up with someone they get excited at the drama rather than feeling compassion as you would for a friend going through the same situation. We have become a society of observers, watching others and trying to forget about our own lives.
Not only are there shows such as ET and TMZ that show facts and fiction about popular celebrities but there are “reality” shows that are suppose to depict the exciting life of certain people. To become a famous celebrity, you need to be popular in the eyes of the media and in order to do that, people tend to look for scandals and romance neither of which are teaching our youth to be independent or about real life.

The specific wedding announcement that I wish to discuss publicizes the marriage of a couple that fits the image that the New York Times attempts to create. The announcement begins by introducing the bride and groom. It states their names, their parent’s names, the date of their wedding, and provides a short description of the family’s background. The introduction to the couple does not really indicate their class, however as I continued to read on, I discovered more information about the couple. I learnt that the bride is a twenty six year old Harvard graduate, and was a PhD student in History at the time of the publication. This piece of information indicates that she is a highly educated woman and was most likely included because, being an ivy league graduate, her background is relatable to the experiences of some of the readers of the paper. Her father is a retired Technical Director for BiC.

Then the announcement moves on to discuss the groom, an ex-Air Force pilot who is now working in finance at Wells Fargo in Short Hills. The couple met at the International Debutante Ball in New York City, where the bride was a debutante representing Greece. “Debutante”, which is the French word for “female beginner”, is a young woman from an upper class family who has reached the age of adulthood, and is introduced to society. The fact that the bride and groom met at her coming out to society event indicates that the couple comes from upper class families and has high social status. Debutantes, and those who attend debutante balls, typically descend from higher status backgrounds.

After reading several wedding announcements in The New York Times, I noticed that they usually follow a pattern. The newspaper tends to only include wedding announcements of couples that come from prominent and high status families. I then looked into the criteria that The New York Times uses to determine which couples should be included in the wedding announcements. I found a link that led me to the wedding/celebration section on The New York Times online and read their “How to submit an announcement” page. The New York Times requires the couple’s addresses, schooling, and occupation. They also need couples to mention “any noteworthy awards that the couple may have received, as well as charitable activities and/or special achievements”. Furthermore, they require information on the couple’s parents, such as where they live and their occupations.

I was not surprised when I read the “criteria”. As the New York Times is a prominent newspaper, they hold certain standards. They only include couples who can be relatable to those who read the newspaper, and couples who will draw attention to the newspaper.

They mentioned that a Roman Catholic priest performed the ceremony showing their class and power through religion. They are of the religion that is seen as most powerful.

The bride is keeping her name, demonstrating female power and class. Then a full paragraph on her Educational background, employment and accomplishment follows. Then a shorter less detailed but just as powerful paragraph follows with his educational background and accomplishments. Both she and the groom obtained a B.A. from Princeton University and M.A.’s from two other Universities. They both work at Universities. He is the director of a humanitarian department at Princeton University and a commander in the Naval Reserve. She works as an adjunct professor at University of Columbia. She also held a powerful position at a financial company and is on the board of a humanitarian international organization.
This article emphasized much of their educational background and accomplishments. There is a picture of the couple also. They are middle aged and Caucasian.

So far the article included everything we needed to know to place them in the high end of the class power spectrum. They are white middle aged, Roman Catholic, well paid, well educated people who held their wedding at Princeton University, a place of power. Their wedding is announced in The New York Times a high end News Paper in a powerful U.S. city.

In accordance with Victoria, Alexandra, Katherine and Mallory’s blogs, it is beyond me why anyone would want to announce any kind of personal/private information in a newspaper or social network site. Judging by the many newspaper announcement discussed on the board, it is clear to see these couples and/or their family members who post these wedding announcements are looking to announce more than just a wedding. Some may call it tradition; others may say it is proper etiquette, I think it is unnecessary. Were the wedding invitations not enough? Perhaps you feel the need to tell us a story? Is your wedding so important you need to share it with the world? Or maybe it’s not really about the wedding? Perhaps I am being a little too harsh, but I just don’t get it. The same goes for social networking sites (facebook, myspace, and twitter to name a few) have some people gone mad? Is something missing in their lives where they feel the need to post every little detail of there life? Did Victoria hit the nail on the head when she questioned if posting our lives for everyone to see the new way for validating real life? Are our real life accomplishments not giving us the satisfaction we are craving? Do we need to explore these different forms of media to get the personal gratification we are seeking?

This marriage is between two very wealthy people, one is a classical pianist and a bank examiner, and the other a Notre Dame graduate who makes a living as a cinematographer.

The photos are beautiful and elicit the significance of how wealthy these two people are. They have great careers, are well-educated, are possibly from the upper-class, and display a sense of a strong religious background judging from the cultural theme of the wedding, Chinese Tradition.
The images also portray a multicultural background. The bride is from Taiwan and grew up in Ridgewood, N.J., and the groom is a white-Caucasian who grew up in California, Illinois and South Bend, Ind., where his father was the chairman of the Notre Dame Architecture School. While looking at these images, we see a diverse group of people, from both sides of their families. Together, they share commonalities between social class. Both families seem to be from very well-educated and traditionalist backgrounds. The church they got married in was a beautiful Christian church.

I think these certain indicators have been included because much of our society looks at these things as their “dream wedding” for themselves. It’s very materialistic. Every girl wants to feel like a princess and have the perfect wedding. It’s all about having it all! The dress, the food, the guests, the decoration, it’s everything! The way we want to represent ourselves is always crucial. We feel, as a society, that we need to maintain those levels of social class because it’s what we wish to attain. Doesn’t everyone want to be in a fairytale wedding of their own?