Core Reading Response #1, Week 4

This week, I was particularly interested in Charles Eckert’s article on Hollywood films’ influence over fashion trends and sales. I am interested in fashion, and I like to pay attention to current trends, whether they are clothing styles, popular colors, or the latest must have accessory. I find that the easiest way to get this information is in weekly celebrity magazines, or in current television shows. US Weekly, for example, always has a section on what color dress was popular with celebs, and In Touch often has a list of what’s “in” and what’s “out.” Television shows (when they’re new, that is) are a great way to see current trends. Gossip Girl, for example, has just recently started several trends, most notably Blair and Serena’s ubiquitous headbands, knee socks with high heels, and mini skirts. In fact, when watching online at thecw.com, they have pictures of the clothes the characters are wearing in the scene, which you can click on and purchase. Of course Sex and the City was the most remarkable of the trend-starting TV shows, with Carrie bringing back the nameplate necklace, wearing a tutu, and introducing thousands of viewers to Manolo Blahnick shoes. After reading about the stores like Cinema Fashions, I thought about the equivalent now; there really isn’t an exact one, but I think that stores like H&M and Topshop’s lines of celebrity designed clothing are getting close, or at least working off of the same general idea of “real people” wanting clothes celebrities wear.

I also thought that it was interesting that product placement worked basically the same way as it does now. I will admit that the extent of my knowledge about product placement comes from one class in Intro to TV and a few episodes of 30 Rock, but from what I know it seems like the system hasn’t really changed that much. There are still celebrities that represent specific items, like Jennifer Aniston’s unofficial endorsement of Smart Water, as well as celebrities who are models for different clothing lines, like Patrick Dempsy for Versace. There are also a lot of tie-ins on TV shows: Snapple on 30 Rock (even though they’re poking fun at themselves) and a bunch of different products on all of Bravo’s reality shows.

What do you think it is about our society that makes us want to follow celebrities in everything they do, whether by reading about them, dressing like them, eating like them, or driving like them? I think it’s the same basic instinct that makes me, at least, compulsively check celebrity gossip sites. I admit that it may not be healthy, but it’s become such the norm in our society. I hardly know anyone who doesn’t keep up with celebrity news, and I’m sure anyone, if asked, could provide an example of a celebrity tie-in. Our culture is very consumer-based, especially now that the internet makes purchasing so simple. I don’t know if this is an applicable topic for this class, but I feel that the United States is more extreme in its consumerism than almost any other country, and I wonder why? Is it because Hollywood started us on that path 80-something years ago?