Summer 2012

Although my blog has had a (too long) summer break popular culture has not grinded to a standstill in fact summer 2012 (at least on this side of the world) has had enough things to keep the world fascinated.

Firstly, there were the 30^th Olympic Games in London of which the opening and closing ceremonies gave me all the more reason to love popular culture. With millions of viewers worldwide it was definitely an event that deserved our attention. These ceremonies are in fact intertwined with popular culture and let’s face it, Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony just may have been one of the most entertaining movies of this season. The direction of this event was captivating, smart and entertaining from the beginning to end. Take for instance Britain’s comic the world has come to love doing an act, James Bond (Daniel Craig) escorting the queen to the ceremony or the wonderfully inspired music history sequence.

Secondly, still linked with the Olympic Games we witnessed the probably last performance of the Spice Girls ever. I hate say it but for all the nineties people (at least for me), and I was never even a fan, it was a goosebump moment. Not to mention that they put on an entertaining show and they proved they still had it in them. Too bad their reunion was before and after sometimes overshadowed by petty fights.

 

Thirdly, there was the much awaited release of the third (supposedly final) Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises. In 1939, Batman became another much loved American superhero that to this day has not faded from our popular culture. I personally also look forward to that other hero flying onto our screens again in 2013, Superman. Despite all the hard work Christopher Nolan put into the direction of this last film (I still remember him being excited at the MTV Movie Awards when announcing the then still upcoming movie) it was dwarfed by the terrible theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, America.

Fourthly, and even though it might yet be presumptuous I hope Lindsay Lohan has been making her comeback this summer. Where do I start, she was just there in many a movie I liked as a child Parent Trap, Freaky Friday, Mean Girls… and I always thought she had it in her. Therefore, I’m hoping her upcoming movie about Liz Taylor (whom she also portrays), Liz and Dick, can be the start of something new because goodness knows she has had many a chance.

Fifthly, popular culture made a bang when on 21 February 5 members of the Russian feminist punk rock group, Pussy Riot, staged a performance in a Russian orthodox church. During that performance they ‘prayed’ for Russia to be saved from Putin. Even though the members were wearing balaclavas they were identified by the police. Three were sentenced to a prison camp but the other two are meant to have fled the country. This summer the story really made the press as the trial and conviction attracted international attention.

(The end of the romance between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson :(

Finally, on a more personal note I am happy popular culture is there and it continues to brighten my path in surprising ways!

Bijzondere acteur

Populaire cultuur is iets dat eigenlijk nooit stil staat. De gezichten van een bepaald tijdperk zijn dan ook niet van elkaar los te koppelen, net zoals die van  Britney Spears, N’Sync en de Backstreet Boys in de muziekwereld van de jaren ’90. Daarenboven hebben we uiteraard acteurs, actrices, modellen, modeontwerpers en kunstenaars die het straatbeeld mee bepalen. Vandaar dat ik het ook geschikt vond om het te hebben over de alomtegenwoordige en bijzonder veelzijdige acteur, Ryan Gosling. 

                Hij werd op 12 november 1980 geboren in Canada. Zijn carrière begon, ook tot mijn verrassing, na een open auditie in 1993 bij de Micky Mouse Club.  Hiervoor verhuisde hij naar Orlando in Florida. Hier had hij bekende co-sterren zoals Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera en Justin Timberlake. Hij werd zelfs goede vrienden met Justin Timberlake want toen zijn moeder terug naar Canada moest verhuizen omwille van haar werk, werd de moeder van Justin Timberlake zijn legale voogd. Ze blijven tot op vandaag een goede verstandhouding hebben. Na zijn serieuzere rol in de thriller Murder by Numbers waar hij acteerde naast onze favoriete ‘girl next door’ Sandra Bullock en Michael Pitt, brak hij voor goed met zijn verleden in de jeugd televisie. 

                Ondanks het feit dat hij misschien geen typische ‘looks’ heeft, kan hij rekenen op heel wat bijval en heeft hij menige schone aan zijn arm gehad. Wat hem echter zo bijzonder maakt is het feit dat hij op een geloofwaardige manier overkomt in al zijn films, die op zijn minst uiteenlopend van genre genoemd kunnen worden. Zijn eerste, echt grote rol in een Hollywood productie was naast Rachel McAdams in 2004 in romantische film The Notebook naar de roman van Nicholas Sparks. Het werd onmiddellijk een voltreffer en bracht de populaire cultuur weer een tijdloze kusscène mee waarvoor het ook, destijds in 2005 op spectaculaire wijze, de MTV Movie Award won voor Best Kiss. Je voelt de chemie want hij won toen ook niet minder dan 4 Teen Choice Awards. Bovendien heeft de film tal van betekenisvolle 'quotes'. 

Prijs voor Best Kiss

 De beruchte scène

Na deze prestatie heeft hij meer dan bewezen dat hij zijn naam verdiend heeft in Hollywood, naast de groten. Zo bracht hij Lars in Lars and the Real Girl (persoonlijk één van de leukste films die ik in lange tijd gezien had) met alle ingewikkelde gevoelens volledig tot zijn recht en het was niet iemand waar je medelijden mee had maar waar je echt met kon meeleven. Eén woord: wow! Daarnaast overtuigde hij in de warm onthaalde film Blue Valentine naast Michelle Williams. Dat hij ook een comedy rol aankan heeft hij dit jaar bewezen in Crazy Stupid Love. Echt wel een grappige film en leuk om naar te kijken. Onlangs in Drive en politiek drama The Ides of March naast George Clooney heeft hij nogmaals zijn publiek kunnen overtuigen. Qua acteertalent is hij dan ook moeilijk te overtreffen en is hij goed op weg de nieuwe ‘Hollywood golden boy’ te worden, voor zover hij dat nog niet is. Het is namelijk zeldzaam dat een acteur je zo kan meeslepen in een verhaal.

De trailer voor Lars and the Real Girl

Omdat hij zo goed is in wat hij doet heeft hij ook die zogenaamde x-factor op het scherm. Zijn prestaties en zijn algehele zelfvertrouwen maken hem nog aantrekkelijker, zeker in Crazy Stupid Love waar de ‘Dirty Dancing move’ best wel grappig is. Nog iets voor Barney uit How I Met Your Mother ;) Zijn tof gezicht en leuk lichaam is voor de meisjes nog een extra troef J  Het komt erop neer dat , omwille van de bovengenoemde veelzijdigheid (er zijn weinig die de diversiteit van zijn films zouden aankunnen), hij een acteur is die in de smaak valt bij mannen zowel als bij vrouwen. Ik alvast ben een fan van hem en zijn werk en ik kijk alvast uit naar komende projecten! 

Dirty Dancing scène in kort, want ervoor is ook grappig, wanneer zij niet in de 'move' gelooft. 

Every shoe has its silver lining

As I have mentioned before the great thing about shoes is they always fit and you choose them to your taste, therefore something that can never disappoint. That is why I love every single one of my shoes. Moreover, they each have their own special story. Nevertheless, there is an exception to that always fitting. Recently when I was asked to take off my shoes at the airport security, on the way to a connecting flight, I ended up having to take off my boots. It comes down to the fact that it was really hard, considering my feet had swollen and the boots did not have a zipper or something. This was much to the enjoyment of the security men (it was not really a very busy time of the day). At least they said the boots were nice ;)

 Back to the silver lining. It seems that this summer shoes with a silver (or gold) tipped toe are going to be all the rage. With it pointy shoes are also back. Especially popular among celebrities at the moment, is the ‘merry go round’ collection by Louis Vuitton. Shoe guru, Christian Louboutin, has not let it pass him by either. You can of course also make this trend your own if you frequent stores like ZARA. Before we know it all shoe shops will probably have their own versions of the shoe J Moreover, you can also wear ballerinas in this trend. Either way, a silver/gold note to start the summer on.

Fabulous cap toe Louboutins ('duvette')

Above you can see on the left a cap toe ballerina by Jimmy Choo and on the right a similar ballerina you can buy at the Zara. Needless to say the high street stores will also be selling similar pumps this summer. After all, the price tags of the above mentioned can sometimes be overwhelming. Either way, happy feet this summer J

Once upon a time...

… there was a forest and in it lived many magical creatures. We all know how fairy-tales start but soon our modern popular culture books can be started in the same way. Since about 2010 fairy-tales put in a modern jacket are making a huge comeback fueled by Hollywood. Currently the honour belongs to Snow White who we has two movies coming up with popular and loved Hollywood actresses. The first is Mirror, Mirror (2012) starring Julia Roberts as the evil queen and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) with Twilight’s Kristen Stewart and Oscar winner Charlize Theron. Whether we accept it or not, Hollywood is an entity with uncountable creative talent that in a certain way defines what is popular in a broad sense of the word. Currently that is fairy-tales!

                                         

                It probably all started with the animated movie Shrek (2001) which was a major success worldwide. I believe this success is thanks to lovable new characters, Shrek himself, sidekick Donkey and the lovely Fiona, and that they are surrounded by the storybook characters we have grown up with. More specifically, grown to love. With irony and humour mixed in it makes for a perfect cinematic cocktail great for children and adults alike. It is then also not surprising that Hollywood heads started thinking further.

                Last year we saw the release of a modern little red riding hood, Red Riding Hood (2011), clearly aimed at an older public. There is promise of much to come but my personal favourite is the television show from ABC Studios, also the makers of LOST, Once Upon a Time (2011). Here all the characters from the fairy-tale world have been cursed by the evil queen from Snow White to live in our world in a town called Storybrooke, where there are no sure happy endings. Moreover, all the shows characters do not remember they were once someone else which makes for an intriguing and truly wonderful television experience. The decors are breathtaking and the costumes are already enough to watch this show for.

               What is also great about the current atmosphere is that the stories are about the princesses we love so much. Yet, they are more than happy-go-lucky damsels in distress to be saved by their prince. They are just that much better, as are virtually all the characters. The characters are deep and worked out, such as Belle, Snow White and Cinderella etc. in Once Upon a Time. Moreover, they know what they want and will work to make their dreams come true. There are lovely messages of love, friendship and so much more. Moreover, although in a world where ‘magic’, in the literal sense of the word, is possible it is very tempting although they are always warned that ‘magic comes with a price’.

                Although, for all of us of this generation fairy-tales are pretty standard, for the generation after us and after that they are not at all that self-evident. This is probably because parents have stopped telling these tales because they are scared that they can be emotionally scathing and give nightmares to their children. For instance Little Red Riding Hood walks alone through a forest only to find her grandmother eaten by a wolf. Rapunzel is a bit ‘dark’ and the story of Cinderella is put aside because it upholds traditional roles.[1] Modern stories are preferred. I guess it depends, because for the record, I did not have nightmares although I was told the stories and I was very happy when I received Disney’s Snow White for my 6^th birthday J

                Personally, I am excited to be able to experience this comeback as there are so many possibilities and it has such an obvious effect with regard to popular culture. For instance, Marc Jacobs, a passionate designer who, in my opinion, embraces popular culture has designed a ‘glass’ slipper (made out of PVC). Although it might not be what people are waiting for, the attraction is undeniable given the associations. The sheer fact that he designed something like this has something magical. Fairytales are clearly becoming that much more tangible. So who knows, it definitely sparks the will to live happily ever after.

On a personal note

I realize it has been a bit quiet on my blog but I plan on changing this. From now on I might not always publish longer articles, although my aim is still to do this at least once a month. I will try and also post shorter messages because I genuinely take a lot of pleasure from this pastime ;)!

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[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/4125664/Traditional-fairytales-not-PC-enough-for-parents.html

Man's Best Friend!

Hoewel er eerder reeds is stilgestaan bij het feit dat huisdieren een steeds belangrijkere rol spelen in onze virtuele leefwereld is het een niet te verwaarlozen feit dat ze nog steeds beschouwd worden als ‘man’s best friend’. Bijgevolg wil ik het graag hebben over de plaats van honden in onze visuele populaire cultuur en het veranderende beeld in onze westerse cultuur en hoe dit allesbehalve vanzelfsprekend is.

                Wat betreft onze visuele cultuur zijn honden er niet uit weg te denken, zoals deze voorbeelden uit de filmwereld duidelijk maken: 101 Dalmatiërs (Disney animatiefilm 1961 en de echte 1996), Milo en Otis (1986), Scooby Doo (reeds populaire cartoon en Hollywood film in 2002), K9 (1989), My Dog Skip (2000) etc. Deze verhalen zijn doorgaans tijdloos maar er was toch wel een serieuze hype in de jaren 90 met succesverhalen als Lassie en de familiefilms van Beethoven. Bovendien waren toen ook meer extravagante figuren zoals Skippy de kangoeroe en Flipper bekend.  Veruit de meest rijzende ster was die van het Golden Retriever ras dat opdook in ontelbaar veel films zoals Homeward Bound en zijn vervolgen (vanaf 1993), Air Bud (5 van gemaakt) (1997), A Golden Christmas (2009), The Retrievers (2001). Zelfs wat betreft een uitblinker in dit genre, Fluke (1995), is de ster een golden retriever die voor de gelegenheid bruin geverfd werd.

  Wat dit ras zo veelzijdig en aantrekkelijk maakt in de filmindustrie én voor thuiseigenaars, is dat ze heel kind vriendelijk en speels zijn, uitblinken in hun loyaliteit, gemakkelijker getraind kunnen worden dan andere rassen, intelligent en zachtaardig zijn. Het is ook niet voor niets dat ze gebruikt worden als begeleiding voor blinde of dove mensen of meehelpen bij ‘search and rescue’ missies. Dit heb ik zelf in levende lijve kunnen ondervinden dankzij Benja, een super schattige Golden Retriever die niet veel moet doen om me aan het glimlachen te krijgen. Zeker als hij met zijn dekentje komt aandraven  ;)

 Hollywood maakt in het eerste decennium van 2000 een kleine sprong naar verhalen die niet langer de nadruk leggen op dapperheid en kamaraderie. De films roepen eerder diepere gevoelens en emoties op. Ze brengen verhalen in beeld van echte vriendschap, liefde en devotie aan elkaar zoals Marley en Me (2008) en het hart verwarmende Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale (2009). Hier is de hond nog zoals ze doorgaans gezien worden in de Zuid-Afrikaanse en Australische cultuur waar de hond erbij hoort en beschermt. Zo bestaat er in Zuid-Afrika ook het hartverwarmende verhaal van ‘Jock of the Bushveld’ waar er sinds 1992 een film over gemaakt is, en vorig jaar verscheen er een animatiefilm met de stem van Bryan Adams.

                Wat betreft ons Aziatische werelddeel ben ik spijtig genoeg niet zo op de hoogte hoe ze tegenover honden staan. In China staan honden namelijk soms nog op het menu wat voor westerlingen wel even aanpassen is. In Japan echter is al zeker een speciale plaats weggelegd voor de rashond Shiba Inu waar het ook uitgeroepen werd tot een ‘national treasure’ vanwege zijn uitzonderlijke kwaliteiten. In 1975 werd er ook een Japanse animatiereeks gemaakt van Maria Louise Ramé’s roman Dog of Flanders (ook al is het behoorlijk droevig). Hoewel het oorspronkelijk geschreven werd door een Engelse, speelt  het drama zich af in Vlaanderen waar een jongen, Nello, en zijn hond, Patrasche, wonen. Het is in Japan zo populair dat er in de Antwerpse gemeente Hoboken (waar de gebeurtenissen zich zouden afspelen) zelfs een  standbeeld werd opgericht en het is iets dat jaarlijks vele Japanse toeristen die België bezoeken willen zien.       

Toch heerst er in onze Westerse cultuur tegenwoordig een steeds zorgwekkender beeld van honden. Steeds meer mensen behandelen hun hond als iets dat vertroeteld moet worden tot in de ergste graad. Het komt natuurlijk niet uit het niets, natuurlijk is er ook beinvloeding vanuit de maatschappij. Zo bestaan er winkels waar je allerlei accessoires kan kopen voor je hond dat gaat van tassen, trendy kledij tot gouden kettingen of leibanden. Bovendien kan je je hond een leuke salonbehandeling geven. De vraag is echter of een hond dit werkelijk allemaal leuk vindt, laat staan nodig heeft (een beetje grooming natuurlijk wel J). Het hoogtepunt is voor mij de zogenaamde hondenkoetsen.

 De keerzijde van de medaille is de soms gruwelijke mishandeling, wat natuurlijk niet goed is voor de honden. Omwille van de dikwijls verkeerde opvoeding die we ons geliefd huisdier geven, roepen we al snel de hulp in van een hondenfluisteraar. Desalniettemin heeft een fluisteraar als Cesar Milan blijkbaar wel enig idee waarover hij spreekt in zijn show. Mijns insziens zou het al veel oplossen als we onze hond gewoon wat meer vrijheid zouden geven om hond te zijn!

2012!!

This is just to wish everyone a happy 2012! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar (as we say in Dutch), make a wish and above all make it poptastic ;)

This song has a PATD effect on me so I'm dedicating this to the world and especially the people that have taken time to read an article!! (always wanted to do that)

xxx

Petopia

It is time of the year again to fill the house with Christmas cheer. We hopefully eat something delicious, go carolling or go to Christmas markets all depending of course on traditions and customs. In most of the world it is also the night Santa Claus visits all good children and he hopefully bring them something to cherish, even if it might just be temporary :) For many people this happiness is enhanced by a pet and many a child beg their parents, even though it might not be at Christmas necessarily, for a pet to come and join the family. After all, who can deny the unconditional love oozing from a pet’s sweet eyes. Every so often you see people opening their Christmas present and a cuddly pet jumps out. Nevertheless, it is not self-evident that just because you beg for it you might just get lucky. Pets can be extremely cute like the pictures below prove. 

 Yet, they are terribly reliant, needing you to feed them, play with them, preferably train them and cleaning up after them seems to me also part of the job, although it might be the most unpleasant. People should definitely consider these things before allowing a puppy or kitten etc. in the house. Most importantly, people should realise they are, hopefully, in it for the long run.  Moreover, you cannot leave them alone for days on end and they need to be let out or have enough room to play. For those parents or young adults with little time or who become stressed just thinking about dealing with the usual pet problems popular culture might have just the answer to please both parties.

                It all started with that very 90’s thing we called the Tamagotchi and it was what we can truly call a hype. I remember when I was in grade 6 and 7 almost everyone had one, to great irritation of the teachers. (I think it is truly something of our generation J). For those that do not know what it was, it was a virtual pet on a little electronic device that was developed in Japan and quickly became loved worldwide. When you buy this ‘pet’, you will see an egg on the screen that eventually hatches and from then on it is your job to take care of your tamagotchi. The pet will, if taken good care of, pass through life stages such as childhood and adulthood. It also had the possibility to die if not taken care of properly or otherwise of old age, sickness etc. This was in fact the birth of virtual pets, to become a serious contender in popular culture. Nevertheless, there was quite a bit of criticism at this stage since many children were taking the thing to school to keep taking care of it since the earlier versions could not be paused except with much effort (Wikipedia: The first Tamagotchis could only be paused by going to set the clock, effectively stopping the passage of time in the game). Later versions could be paused, yet it was also not always self-explanatory how this was achieved.

                More recently there has been, the still popular today, Nintendogs + cats game which was released in Belgium and the Netherlands in October 2005. The game virtually offers you what you might not be able to have in reality. With this game, enhanced for the Nintendo 3DS, you can in essence adopt that dog or cat you have always been dreaming of and it allows you to train, care and most importantly love your new pet. The game, from what I understand, allows you to go on walks and even enter competitions with your pet. With the new feature on Nintendo 3DS, StreetPass, you and your pet can now also interact with friends and passersby. To be honest, I can really appreciate this concept and I am sure that many people, young and old, can enjoy this game.(If you want to know more visit: http://nintendogspluscats.nintendo.com/about/)

 Secondly, Playstation introduced in original version the EyePet in 2009 and the PSP version in 2010. The special thing about this pet is that thanks to technological advances it seems to be able to interact with its surroundings and owners. If you watch the advert below the way you can play with this pet is truly unique. Nevertheless, I seem less attracted to this game as the pet is a strange creature that to me does not resemble the traditional pets that so many generations before us have also loved. It is cute but not my style J This to me gives Nintendogs + cats a huge advantage. Moreover, this pet cannot be carried around to be interacted with at any time as you can with a Nintendo.

  

                Lastly there are the robot pets that are becoming more and more available to the general public. It is also the most costly of options. These pets in comparison with their counterparts have the undeniable advantage of being palpable (you can cuddle them etc.). This is also why they are becoming extremely popular for easing the pain of hospitalized children and making the loneliness of some elderly people more bearable. Nevertheless, these pets do not have to be restricted to these two target groups. Many a child or adult longs for these pets made to be as lifelike as possible through artificial intelligence. I would say this is robotic technology at its best. Moreover, these pets need not always be traditional with, for instance, the ground breaking Pleo, the robotic pet dinosaur which made the headlines in ... for its ability to capture emotions (happy and curious, sad and vexed, playful and lively or scared and surprised). Moreover, it supposedly thinks and acts independently like a real baby Camarasaurus would. Pleo can feel hunger and it reacts to our human touch. This is a one of a kind robotic pet I would not mind welcoming to my home. Additionally, Pleo shares a designer who also helped design probably the first credible and affordable toy/pet, Furby. [1]

                I still notice myself wishing for a pet, since I am not a pet owner, but for me to properly take care of one is not always self-evident. More precisely, I am not always home on weekends, I take holidays, they require at least some time to be played with and trained. Therefore, it seems that popular culture is offering me the perfect substitute. Even facebook gives me an option with their game Pet Society. Yet, my personal choice this year will go to the Sims 3 expansion pack Pets. Can’t wait to adopt my puppy or kitty ;)  

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[1] http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2010/1/17/from-paleontology2c-to-technology2c-to-pet-e28093-a-labor-of-love.aspx. Also for more information on Pleo visit: www.pleoworld.com and for Furby info just read wikipedia ;)