OMG! Gossip Girl returns juicier than ever
After a three-month hiatus due to the writers’ strike, Josh Schwartz’s CW teen drama Gossip Girl, a show peopled by preternaturally attractive new stars dressed in the latest clothes, steeped in simmering emotions and smothered by a thick coat of money, is back and bitchier than ever.
In an advertising ploy to draw in more viewers, Gossip Girl’s creators have ushered in a sex-soaked promo campaign. The ads (print and video), in a nod to the show’s text-happy teen and young-adult viewers, use emoticons (:-O), the OMG (Oh My God!) acronym. While the OMG ads are being showcased around a good majority of the country, in larger and more liberally populated areas like New York City and Los Angeles, a racier version is being showed – OMFG.
CW marketing chief Rick Haskins says the campaign achieved its goal by getting attention, even if some magazines, local stations and cable systems refused to run some of the ads. But “it was less about the shock value and more about speaking in the language our target audience (female teenagers) understands.”
The CW has also stopped streaming Gossip Girl online, in hopes to draw viewers to watch on television instead of the Internet. To encourage viewers, the show’s writers are incorporating much more juicy and controversial plot lines in the remaining five episodes of the first season. In the first thirteen episodes, Schwartz has already included a pregnancy scare, a marriage proposal, an attempted rape, a lost virginity, a near-deadly accident, a divorce, a suicide attempt, multiple thefts, blackmail, a drug addiction, a threesome, at least two counts of breaking and entering and an eating disorder. Some viewers are wondering how it can even be possible to create more twisted plot lines, but have no fear. The first three of the last five episodes, “The Blair Bitch Project,” “Desperately Seeking Serena” and “All About My Brother” make the previous thirteen episodes pale in comparison, and the last two episodes, “Woman on the Verge” and “Much ‘I Do’ About Nothing” are sure to top it all off, eliciting many “OMG” or even “OMFG” responses.
One Buena Vista University student in particular feels that The CW is hurting itself by pulling the Gossip Girl stream from it’s website.
“The CW’s decision to pull Gossip GIrl’s streaming is ridiculous. It’s only eliminating ad revenue that could have been brought in by streaming the episodes online,” sophomore Jason Jacobs, TV fanatic extrodinaire, said. “Fans are just going to start illegally downloading the show. The CW loves this show so it’s going to continue to promote it. I don’t think the show should be cancelled, but there’s no sense in lying to itself anymore. This is clearly a desperate ploy.”
Something had to be done though. The first thirteen episodes of Gossip Girl averaged only 2.5 million viewers per episode, but sales on iTunes have been outrageous, regularly spiking to the top-selling slot. Among network shows, Gossip Girl ranks No. 9 among female teens. Among total teens though, it reaches No. 30, tied with Dancing with the Stars. Despite lower than expected ratings, the show’s impact on the broader culture, from music to fashion, is fierce, drawing comparisons to the marks that Sex and the City and The OC (also created by Schwartz) made. Because it’s set and filmed in New York City, the show is introducing a new and much younger generation to the city Sex and the City glamorized a decade ago. And it’s key to the struggling CW network’s future.
Schwartz’s dream is to get 10 million people to watch the show, but such numbers are clearly not in the cards. Until, or if, Gossip Girl is able to draw in that many viewers, Schwartz just wants viewers of the show to be passionate about it.
After Gossip GIrl’s season finale on May 19 at 7 p.m. EST, the show will return with an extended 24-episode second season to make up for the episodes lost during the writers’ strike.
-Lindsay
Witter Brings Summer Art
For those students staying in the Storm Lake area over the summer, the Witter Gallery has a great variety of art exhibitions to be seen.
During the month of June, the Artisans Road Trip will be displayed in the gallery. This is a collection of works from about 41 different professional artists coming from 8 Northwest Iowa counties. The exhibit will consist of a range of mediums such as oil paintings, photography, ceramics and drawings. This exhibit is sponsored by Paxton’s Jewelery and is a great opportunity for members of the community to get out of the sun and enjoy some great pieces of art.
The month of July offers those in the community the chance to view an exhibit entitled Patriotism. This particular exhibit consists of old World War I and II posters. These 19 posters have been collected by Ella Witter, one of the galleries founders, and have been restored to their original condition. This exhibit is sure to be enjoyed by all as these controversial posters are finally unveiled to the public.
August brings the art work of artists Art Martinez and Noemi Oyarzabal. Martinez’s portion of the exhibit will consist of various paintings and drawings based on his Hispanic culture while Oyarzabal invites viewers to thing about the representation of art through her use of abstracts and colors.
For more information on these and other exhibits and opportunities through the Witter Gallery feel free to visit the galleries website at http://www.thewittergallery.org/. And if the summer heat is getting to you, or if you just find yourself bored with the campus happenings during the summer months be sure to stop in to the Witter and enjoy the artwork presented.
Specific dates for the exhibits are as follows:
- Artisans Road Trip: June 3-27
- Patriotism: July 2-31
- Martinez and Oyarzabal: August 5-29
- Mackenzie
Fashion blog offers style inspiration
Every morning, millions of Americans are united in a ritual that many do not even realize they are partaking in. While it is proclaimed that breakfast is the most important part of morning, on any given day people tend to place this meal on the backburner during a prolonged attempt to answer the burning question, “What should I wear today?”
For those walking the streets of New York, Paris, or Milan, there is an added pressure to look their best as there is no telling when one might bump into Scott Schuman on the streets.
Schuman, better known to the fashion crowd as The Sartorialist, has parlayed his hobby of photography into a 21st Century art form, snapping photos of well-clad people on the street and posting them to his blog.
“I started The Sartorialist simply to share photos of people that I saw on the streets of New York that I thought looked great,” says the Indiana-born Schuman.
The decision to start an online blog focusing on the fashionable everyman and everywoman came during Schuman’s 15 years of working in various fashion showrooms, representing the collections of the likes of Valentino and Jean-Paul Gaultier.
“I always felt that there was a disconnect between what I was selling in the showroom and what I was seeing real people…wearing in real life.”
After the events of September 11, 2001, Schuman closed his showroom and turned his interests toward photography.
“I didn’t want to become a ‘fashion photographer’ but I knew somehow that my loves of fashion and photography would eventually merge. I just never guessed it would be in the form of a blog.”
Schuman says that his way of looking at people on the streets is similar to that of how designers look at their creations and the people who wear them.
“My only strategy when I began The Sartorialist was to try and shoot style in a way that I knew most designers hunted for inspiration. Rarely do they look at the whole outfit as a yes or no but they try and look for the abstract concepts of color, proportion, pattern mixing or mixed genres.”
This strategy has seemed to pay off. A single photo that Schuman posts to The Sartorialist can generate up to 200 comments by his readers. These comments serve as testimony that readers enjoy seeing unique looks being put together by real-world citizens rather than just in the confines of the pages of fashion publications.
Since beginning The Sartorialist, Schuman and his work have been profiled in publications such as Vogue and Esquire magazines and has been featured on the website Style.com chronicling the looks of various Fashion Week attendees. In addition, Schuman also has a monthly page devoted to his photos in GQ.
Despite his success, Schuman says the greatest result of his work has come in the form of personal emails from readers, telling him how his photos have inspired them to take fashion risks and not always play it safe, as so many tend to do. Likewise, Schuman has received correspondences from several designers, informing him that some of his photos have played a role in inspiration boards when putting together a new collection.
To get The Sartorialist look is not as difficult as it may seem. Play with colors and contrasting textures. For men, tuck away the ripped jeans and seek out a return to classic elegance. Pair a cream blazer with black pants for a fresh twist on an old classic. Team a traditional suit with an unexpected shoe.
Ladies, play with shapes! Try billowing tops with super-skinny jeans or leggings, or a close-fitting top with flared pants. It is all about proportions.
Buena Vista University students need not overhall their entire closet, but can find a signature look that works for them. Perhaps there is a specific pair of shoes or an accessory that has particular value. Incorporate this into your daily rotations. Go ahead and experiment with new pieces, but most importantly, be true to yourself and your style aesthetic. On such a small campus, it can be easy to become in a style rut, but with a little inspiration and a dash of confidence, everyone can develop their own unique look.
You can visit Schuman’s blog at http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/.
-Justin
Musician and professor all rolled into one
Dr. David Klee, associate professor of music at BVU, is a man of many traits. Whether its opening a recording studio or starting a new degree program, he gives his projects all he has while managing to keep a smile and cheerful attitude about him.
Like many other students, Klee started college after he graduated from high school. However, he found himself drifting toward the jazz music scene. By the age of 19, he was playing professionally in Florida.
“I eventually quit college and just did music,” Klee said.
Throughout his professional career, Klee has been to many places, including the Bahamas. He took a spot with Razzy Baleey, an RCA artist. This was when he did a great deal of touring in Georgia and places in the Southeast.
“It was at this point when I decided to go back to school to finish my education,” Klee said.
Klee has a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Flute Performance from the University of Georgia, a Master of Music Education Degree with an Emphasis in Flute Performance from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and Flute Performance from Mercer University, which is located in Macon, Georgia.
In 1990, Klee opened a recording studio.
“I have had a long background of performing in recording studios. I have also had experiences in music production and technology,” Klee said.
Before Klee came to BVU, he was the Director of Bands and the Assistant Professor of Woodwinds at Peru State College in Nebraska. He has also held faculty positions at Mercer University and at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Klee has also worked to get the new degree program in music technology and production approved.
“When I first came to BVU, a group of guys approached me about putting this program together,” Klee said. “I put a package together, and the new program was approved four years ago.”
Currently, Klee plays principal flute with the Fort Dodge Orchestra and is a freelance musician throughout the Midwest.
“I am a musician; I have dedicated my life to that instrument,” Klee said.
Klee has released a total of six CDs, including two that contain his original works. His latest release is titled River of Emotions, which is a combination of light-jazz and new-age music.
Klee’s current recording studio is located in Cherokee, Iowa. The building has three floors. The top floor is where he lives with his wife, the second floor is her bakery and the basement is his studio.
“The community loves us being there,” Klee said.
In the future, Klee would like to perform at more university concerts and corporate events.
“I want to promote my professional self as a performer,” Klee said.
Klee has some simple tips for aspiring musicians.
“First of all, you have to be good,” Klee said. “Once you are good, you are literally thrown in with everyone else and you have to fight your way to the top. Second, you do not give up on yourself, no matter what happens.”
-Rachel
Media criticism and reality television
Jennifer Pozner was only 15 when she wrote her first opinion editorial for her high school newspaper. At the age of 17 she started editing a feminism newsletter and merely a year later, enrolled at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. where she studied journalism, media criticism and feminism.
During her years at Hampshire, Pozner read The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism by Katie Roiphe, a book which “the mating rituals of a rape-sensitive community” are brought forth and looked at critically. Pozner found The Morning After to be incredibly inaccurate. Pozner felt that Roiphe took a lot of liberty with her use of statistics, using ellipses and taking certain words out.
“A book is a book,” Pozner said. “It wouldn’t have changed my life.”
However, this particular book certainly had an impact on Pozner’s life. Not long after reading Roiphe’s book, the cover of it appeared on the front of The New York Times Magazine. Pozner felt that The New York Times Magazine had not done any research, and hence, sat down with her red pen.
Pozner then started scouring the Nexus News Database, looking for anything to debunk The New York Times Magazine article with. Pozner thought that surely newspapers like the Washington Post, Miami Herald or Chicago Tribune would have credible articles debunking not only The New York Times Magazine article, but Roiphe’s book as well.
“Instead of finding stories debunking inaccuracies, I found dozens of stories that repeated the inaccuracies of the book – how date rape doesn’t exist; women are just whining,” Pozner said.
Eventually, Pozner found only two articles that had solid statements debunking The Morning After. One was an opinion editorial piece by Katha Pollitt, written for The New Yorker. The other was written for Extra!, a media monitoring magazine. What Pollitt’s article was missing, the Extra! article had plenty of – facts.
“Bit by bit it had a phenomenal debunking of both the book and trend stories,” Pozner said.
Pozner thought that if Extra! was the only magazine in the country doing this kind of “watchdog journalism” that she felt needed to be happening, maybe she should be working for the publication. Through this experience, Pozner became more and more interested in media criticism and at the age of 24, Pozner landed her dream job at FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting), writing for Extra! In 2001, Pozner left FAIR after she founded Women In Media & News (WIMN), a women’s media analysis, education and advocacy organization dedicated to increasing women’s presence and power in the public debate. Pozner also created and manages WIMN Voices: A Group Blog on Women, Media, AND….
In addition to her roles with WIMN and Voices, Pozner also analyzes reality television, with a political and critical eye, uncovering misrepresentations and stereotypes in relation to gender, culture and race.
Following a presentation by Ponzer at Buena Vista University, I had the honor of driving her to the airport in Sioux City. During our drive, I specifically asked Pozner about reality television in relation to class. Two shows Pozner finds particularly damaging in relation to class are The Swan and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
The Swan aired from April 7 to December 20, 2004 on Fox. The reality television program took “average-looking” women and gave them “extreme makeovers” that included several forms of plastic surgery. Each contestant was assigned a panel of specialists – a coach, therapist, trainer, cosmetic surgeons and a dentist – who together designed an individually tailored program for her. The contestants’ work ethic, growth and achievement was monitored during a three-month transformation process. Two women were featured every week and at the episodes conclusion, one went home and one was selected to move on to the Swan pageant, where the women competed with each other to be The Swan (in opposition to the ugly duckling).
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition first aired on November 3, 2003 on ABC, and is currently still running. The show is hosted by Ty Pennington, formerly a carpenter on the TLC reality show Trading Spaces. It is sponsored by Sears (and their properties, Craftsman and Kenmore), for which Pennington serves as a spokesman and which are prominently featured in the episodes. The series is devoted to rebuilding families’ homes when they are in need of new hope.
Pozner feels that the producers of The Swan are putting the “ugly ducklings” that they makeover at risk.
“They’re giving them plastic surgery that they don’t necessarily want and that they don’t necessarily need just to make them feel better about themselves; to make them feel ‘beautiful’” Pozner said. “It is a proven medical fact that breast implants need to be replaced every 10 to 15 years.”
What will happen to these women then in 10 to 15 years? The women that were made over on The Swan were lower working class, did not have health insurance and if they have a problem with their plastic surgery, do not have the money for another operation. Pozner speculates that in 10 to 15 years, the breast implants in these women will go bad and explode. The women will ultimately die, and because no one will be looking after them medical-wise, no one is going to know why they died until it is too late.
“With the example of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, lower class families are taught to think that they need a 400 dollar couch or a 700 dollar refrigerator,” Pozner said.
What happens when these families are forced to pay the electric and water bills and taxes for their new fancy house? They obviously do not have that kind of money.
“What happens when their 700 dollar refrigerator craps out on them?” Pozner asked. “They don’t have the money to hire a repair man to come fix it or to replace it, so they’re just going to have to be without a fridge.”
Because these are only two examples of what reality television has to offer, Pozner encourages everyone to begin watching such programs with a critical eye and to get involved with media activism and criticism.
-Lindsay
Moore Summer Options
With summer just around the corner, trying to figure out how I want to spend my time this summer has certainly been one thing on my mind. Of course I plan on getting a job, if not two, plus I’ll be taking a summer Shakespeare course, as well as trying to find time for myself and my friends. I also have another thing that is on my mind—which books am I going to read this summer? I usually go through eight to ten books by the end of the summer. One author that should definitely be on everyone’s summer reading list is Christopher Moore.
Moore has been writing since he was 16-years-old and published his first book in 1990. Throughout his entire life, Moore has been surrounded by books and has enjoyed most of the stories that he has read.
“My father, who was a big reader, was a cop, but somehow he managed to read a book a day when I was little,” Moore said. “When I was older and he was a commanding officer, that dropped to a book every two or three days. I guess reading was just a big thing in our house and I liked stories.”
Moore has published ten novels to date, with another one on the way in February 2009. His days are spent writing, goofing off and then writing some more. Moore is definitely a unique author and describes his books as “funny novels with an element of the supernatural.” He finds that the writing process goes much better when he is learning, so he chooses topics that he does not know a lot about in order to keep the writing process going.
“You can’t keep the moment of inspiration for the whole year it takes to write a book, so inspiration comes when you’re researching, often, before you’ve even begun writing, when you’re still learning. That’s one of the reasons I like to pick subjects I don’t know a lot about to write books on. By the time I finish the book, I know a hell of a lot about the subject, and that learning kicks off ideas that make the story,” Moore said.
When researching for Island of the Sequined Love Nun (1997), Moore took a few lessons in how to fly a helicopter, as well as live on an island in Micronesia. And in order to write Lamb (2002), Moore read all of the Gospels and became well versed in the different theologies that he used within that book.
Moore certainly has a different way of storytelling. His ideas are very abstract and out there; take for instance The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove (1999). The story is based around a sea beast named Steve that comes to Pine Cove, California after the entire town has been taken off their anti-depressants. No one could say that that is a plot line that you would typically see in a book.
“I usually just put two things together that haven’t been put together before. Like Lamb, a humorous retelling of the life of Christ.”
Lamb is a fictional retelling of a “forgotten” gospel—the Gospel of Biff, Christ’s best friend. This book is telling the story of those years that are unknown about Christ’s life. You meet Christ and Biff as they are children. As the story progresses you are taken through the process of Christ becoming the messiah, which includes going on a journey for the three wise men that were present at Christ’s birth.
“I had just seen a special on PBS called From Jesus to Christ, where some theologist said, ‘there are thirty years of Christ’s life that aren’t covered in the Gospels.’ I thought, ‘someone should write those years, and since I know nothing about theology or history, I should be that someone,’” Moore said.
One aspect of Moore’s writing that engages readers are the characters that he creates. The characters have so many different levels to which they are that the reader cannot help but be enthralled with who they are. Sometimes the characters are even based on real people.
The storyline, and therefore characters, for The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove were loosely based on Moore’s friends who were on anti-depressants and trying to get off of them. After talking to a psychiatrist, Moore thought this would be a great basis for a story.
“People tend to get very anxious, very depressed, and very horny. I thought, ‘wow, I wish all my friends would just go off their meds at once, so I could take a couple of weeks just to put out emotional fires.’ But then I realized, ‘Oh my God, then they’d all be horny, too. It would be a nightmare.’ So I wondered what would happen if a whole village went off their meds at once. Oh, and their anxiety attracted an ancient predator from the bottom of the sea who came to shore and started eating them.”
Some of the characters that Moore creates for certain stories, also appear in other novels. The Emperor appears in all of the San Francisco novels, Mavis appears in all of the Pine Cove novels, and Catch from Practical Demonkeeping (1992) also makes in appearance in Lamb.
“I bring them back mainly because people, my readers, ask me to. And I think it’s cool when I’m reading [someone else’s] book and that happens,” Moore said. “It’s like running into an old friend. It sort of makes you feel special, like you’re on the inside of the story. I’m all about making people have fun while reading my books.”
Moore is unlike any other author I have ever experienced, both in the way he writes as well as how he treats those who appreciate his writing. He is known for talking time out of his day to answer his own fan mail; he is especially nice while touring and will actually sit there and have a conversation with a fan.
“I am pretty busy, and there are times now that I can’t keep up with my e-mail, but I also think that writing, at its heart, is communication,” Moore said. “And communication is a two-way thing. I don’t want to just sit in a palace and send my hallowed thoughts out to the world. Besides, people have been nice enough to pay money to read something I thought up, the least I can do is help out with a paper now and again.”
If humor is what you look for in a good book, Christopher Moore will surely be an author to check out. His off-the-wall humor may be a little twisted at times, but if you are in need of a good laugh, he will surely be able to help. His books are available at almost anywhere books are sold as well as at Amazon.com.
-Katie
