Two pieces from the Wall Street Journal:
1. I Just Called to Say, Ahem, I Love You: This article looks at those three words and what they really mean. How might MA community members struggle with the opposite effect of what the author writes about? Is there an article idea we can take from this article and bring to The Voice?
2. God at the Grammys: The Chosen Ones: An interesting article on the role belief plays in the role of famous people. What are your thoughts on what this author claims? In what ways does the author see belief and success intersecting? Is there an article idea we can take from this article and bring to The Voice?
8 comments:
I Just Called to Say, Ahem, I Love You:
I found this article a little hard to relate to. I don’t think that, especially at MA, we have a difficult time expressing our love. Rather I think that we have the opposite problem –too much love, and maybe as the article explores, insincerity. Just the other day I was walking down the café when I saw two people (who are not in a relationship) hugging each other. I walked the entire flight of stairs and by the time I got to the bottom, they were still locked in a solid embrace. To me, that’s just excessive. On the note of insincerity, I’m not sure whether or not that term properly describes the love at MA. I think that there is a large part of the community that is genuinely very loving and passionate towards all things MA. The fake/insincere chunk of the community, however, cannot be denied. Whether it is the “We don’t have cliques” front, or the casual (“easy breezy”/”safe”) ways thee we express our love, insincerity and how it pertains to love definitely exists at MA.
God at the Grammys: The Chosen Ones:
I thought that this article was very interesting. Celebrities have always fascinated me. I never want to add to the attention that they already receive, yet at the same time I find them very difficult to ignore. I think that what makes celebrities so undeniable are their idiosyncrasies, and, as this article discusses, their claims to fame. The two factors, in my opinion, go hand in hand. These wildly successful people accredit their celebrity to God, the self-proclaimed chosen people. They are crazy enough to think that there is some higher power serving as the driving force of their destinies. And maybe they ought to; there really is no other good explanation for the amount of success that Justin Bieber for example, has attained. To somehow have the perfect combination of talent, looks, and personality seems possible only in the hands of the divine, right? I think, however, that conviction and self-perception is as great a driving force as any supposed god could be. Even in high school the students who are the most confident and entitled seem to be the most popular ones, and, like celebrities, their entitlement is sometimes both presumptuous and unwarranted.
God at the Grammys: The Chosen Ones:
It's funny when you realize that it's almost obligatory to thank God when you've won something big, like an award or a competition. It annoys me, however, because thanking God takes the focus from the winner and the time he spent working toward that goal and gives a higher power the credit. Or maybe the act of winning makes a person religious. Then again, if the list of people you have to thank include your manager, your label, your producer, and the Lord Almighty, then it somehow diminishes the act of thanking God for your success. If you're religious, thanking God is a perfectly acceptable act, but thanking him for your massive success and earnings seems a little fake.
I just called to Say, Ahem, I love you
I found this article sweet and very expressive about the ups and downs of verbally expressing one’s love for another. I believe that it’s true that if someone’s parents aren’t consistent with saying “I love you” out loud to their kids, then the kids will have trouble doing the same, and too their kids as well. Making sure that you express your love every day and appreciate them (by telling them so) is important so that they can reciprocate. While this article may be a bit hard to relate to due to the fact that us high schoolers haven’t necessarily gotten into the lengthier relationships, I think it’s important (on a physiological standpoint) to take a look at our own lives and think if our parents have been persistent with their verbal admiration and expression of love.
God at the Grammys
This has got to be one of the most interesting articles I’ve read yet! The fact that singers and other famous super stars who have faith in God or some other higher power seems to not only have God on their side, but the confidence that they are destined to succeed. I personally believe that this article took an interesting angle, comparing Lady Gaga, Diddy, Christina Agulera, etc. to show how it each had “saved” them in one way or another. I think it would’ve been a little more interesting to have some contrast and interview other stars that thought that their success was purely by their own talent, and/or didn’t believe in God or a higher power. It would’ve provided some other view points and possibly develop an argument leaning towards one particular side
I just Called to Say, Ahem, I Love You:
Like Ilana, it was hard to relate to this video. It was never difficult for me or my family to express our love by simply saying "I love you." In fact, my little brother (10 years old) says it almost excessively. When I ask him why he has to be so extravagant every time any of us leave or say goodbye, he says "what if you die and I never see you again? I'm just big on goodbyes." Also, like Ilana said, I don't think we have trouble with this at MA. I think that we are incredibly comfortable expressing our feelings. I think this is evident with the amount of hugging that takes place on a regular basis. Not that I am not a fan, but I remember a speech given at MA's 06 graduation, from a girl who spoke of hugging at MA. She admitted that she was uncomfortable about it before coming to MA, that she had never enjoyed a warm embrace. However, as she went through her 4 years here and was about to accept her diploma, hugging had grown on her, and she wasn't afraid to give Bodie B. a big hug before officially graduating.
God at the Grammys: The Chosen Ones:
This article was a little annoying. I honestly find it self-righteous and self-centered to think that God has a plan specifically for you, especially if that plan is to become famous. I think rising on the charts and becoming famous is more about confidence than faith. Yes, faith may be a way to reach that complete confidence, but I don't think it's necessary in becoming famous. I think gestures like Gaga's arrival to the grammys in an egg to Diddy's gang is ridiculous and, like I said before, self centered. Here's a good question, why would Diddy have god as his gang when he was charged for assault, gun possession , and bribery, a handful of sins. I don't think faith has much to do with it, and as well written as this article is, I don't agree with it.
I Just Called To Say, Ahem, I, Uhh, Love You
This article is an interesting insight into the phrase “I Love You” and what it means. The author concludes that people struggle with saying those words and showing affection in general because of how they were raised. He suggests showing affection in different ways for people who struggle with those three meaningful words. This problem of a lack of ability in showing affection doesn’t apply for me. I’ve often heard my mom tell me about her childhood. She tells me that her mom never said “I love you” and that she doesn’t want me to be raised that way. I think that our parents are overcompensating with love to make up for the lack of affection in the way they were raised. Here at MA, I see no problem with students expressing love. I see students hugging and showing affection every day. The problem is that with all of this affection and all of these “I love you”s, there is danger of that powerful phrase becoming meaningless. An article idea for the Voice would be about the “over-affection” at MA and about what “I love you” means to students here.
I Just Called to Say, Ahem, I Love You:
I read somewhere recently that Valentines Day can be one of the worst and stressful days of the year for people. This unhappiness and stress is not limited to singles, because many couples feel pressure to show how much they love someone. I see some of these same themes surface in this article. At MA however, I see different problems arising. The abundance of hugs, back massages and cuddling is not limited to people in relationships and would seem to signify that we have no problem showing how much we love each other. On the contrary, I think that we often use physical contact and short phrases like “love ya” instead. Although there is a lack of serious “I love yous,” I don’t think it is a problem. Students and friendships change so much over the 4 years of high school, and I think it is to be expected that we are more hesitant to use those three little words. It might be interesting to apply this idea to the pressure associated with Prom and the stress of finding a date.
God at the Grammys: The Chosen Ones:
For some reason, I had always assumed that celebrities had little to no relationship with God. I think this might come from the fact that many of them are regularly arrested for breaking the law or swear heavily in songs or movies. The author presents the idea that belief and success intersect because famous people feel supported or “chosen” by God. It is much more difficult to fail when you believe you are destined to succeed. I see this same mentality carry over to students at MA. We are a group of 400 students who had to work our butts off just to be accepted into this school. Now that we are here however, we are constantly told what potential we have and the opportunities that await us - it seems almost impossible to fail. Our statistics (almost every year everyone graduates and goes to college) further set us apart and make it unlikely that this trend will be broken. We could do an article about success here at MA and what it means. Although we have high standards for achievement, the message sent to us by the MA community is that there is no reason we shouldn’t achieve our goals.
God at the Grammys: The Chosen Ones
In this article, the “true” connection to G-d is evident. Many say that if one has faith in G-d, and believes in them, then ones confidence levels rise, and you are able to complete your goal successfully. In this years Grammy’s and super bowl, the singers, athletes, and actors have admitted to having a connection to god in their soul. This connection has not only given them confidence in their career, but in Justin Bieber’s case, he is, “untouched when getting booed recently by fans at a New York Knicks game.”
In religious persons eyes, celebrities, are normally unreligious, and constantly sinning. Although, the celebrities are content and satisfied with their belief, therefore, having a stronger belief in themselves, and able to accomplish what they originally set out to do.
I Just Called to Say, Ahem, I, Uhh, Love You
It has always been difficult to say I love you to those you love, but in this 21st century, where love has many different connotations. Going as far to say that it is now easier to say I love you to one of a different sex, than someone of the same sex. Because it is harder to admit love to one of the same sex, in today’s society, the power the phase carries is greater than in the past.
I Love You:
I certainly agree with people that we don't really have any problems expressing our feelings at MA, but some people do tend to express their feelings to an excessive degree, and I don't really see the point in such public displays of affection. All it does is basically say the same thing as "I love you," and in some cases, just saying "I love you" is much less disruptive than expressing your love in another way. I enjoyed the article because I could empathize with the people who struggled to say those three simple words.
The Chosen Ones:
This is absolutely absurd. Why would God (if he exists) choose these people over others? What makes them so much more special than the rest of us?
The author did make an interesting point about how the fact that Lady Gaga, etc. had faith seemed to make a difference in how popular they were, despite the fact that most of them have been denounced by religious groups. I agree with him that it gives them a way to rationalize their failures or shrug off insults.
I think that we could do an article based off of the article on love, possibly something about how people feel about saying "I love you."
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