YouTube Stars!

What can we learn from the Ashley VanPevenage meme explosion? Earlier this month, there was a lot of coverage in the media about Ashley VanPevenage, a 20 year old college student from Tacoma Washington, who was the model in a "before and after" makeup picture posted by the woman who applied her makeup; makeup artist Andreigha Wazny. It is said that Ashley had some allergic reaction to benzoyl, and this makeup concealed its affects. The "before and after" picture was posted by Andreigha on her Instagram account, where it was shared on many social media sites.

It was the accompanying captions and comments that caused controversy. One wondered how such a stunning transformation was achieved for Ashley when the commenter herself could not cover one pimple successfully. Another was rather hurtful to Ashley:

For more on this story, let's watch Ashley herself, interviewed on a recent segment of a show called Girl Code Live on MTV. The discussion continues in the comments, and some males seem to be claiming a form of "false advertising" in which they state that they would become upset if they had some sort of a relationship with a female who wore makeup and then found out that they were covering something up.

Ashley VanPevenage has also made her own YouTube account, and she made a response video there, to express her feelings. She was surprised to find that a picture featuring her face had gone viral and become a meme. Ashley lost her confidence, but then she came to the conclusion that people's opinions really don't matter -- the only thing that really matters is who you are. She ends by hoping that people dealing with acne can feel confident about who they are. Here is Ashley VanPevenage's response video:

This entire episode reminds us of some of the things we have covered here in the past. Guest blogger Emma reminded us that perfection does not exist, and discussed the brave stories of three woman, one who also had an acne issue. We also had extensive coverage on Rebecca Black and the meme that developed around her song and video "Friday". She became one of the most recognized, and despised, persons on the net, at the age of just 13!

For those interested in reading more about relationships and makeup, we offer links to 2 excellent articles on these subjects. This article talks about the difference between true love and obsession, stating that "There is a tremendous difference between real, true love and unhealthy obsession or fixation." True love should be effortless in that you enjoy being with the person rather than needing to be with them. However, "When you’re fixated on someone, it feels more like you’re suffocating. It feels like you need them… like you must have them treat you a certain way, give you a certain relationship title, or somehow prove their commitment to you. You feel like until you have this, you are not OK and will not be OK."

Back to the topic of makeup and why girls wear it, here is an excellent article that goes into great detail on the subject. It talks about why women may wear makeup from the viewpoint of evolutionary psychology as well as from current social pressures. The article concludes, "Why do women wear makeup? You could say it’s a pinch of patriarchy, a dusting of sex, a smattering of fun, and a whole, caked-on layer of misplaced insecurity." it is worth reading the entire article!

Now that several weeks have gone by, what is Ashley VanPevenage doing now? She is out living her life! She has become less concerned about what anyone thinks about her appearance and is comfortable traveling around town without makeup. She recently posted the following video. All we can advise is, be careful when videoing and driving as you may run over something! Of course Ashley was not operating the recording device, her friend did that. Smart plan! So this video is titled "VLOG 1 - Out shopping with friend, also get scared to death!" and therefore we can assume that Ashley VanPevenage will be vlogging more in the future. We look forward to watching, and we wish her all the best!

Labels: acne, Ashley VanPevenage, body image, makeup, meme, MTV, relationships, self image, skin

posted by KennyCrane at 10/23/2015 12:21:00 AM 1 Comments

Back in the 80s, when MTV actually still Was Music TeleVision, the concept of music videos was fairly new. No one knew exactly what to do or what could be done with a music video. Before MTV and the Music Video revolution of the very early 80s, videos were made for a very few songs as promotional material, designed to boost record sales. But on 8/1/81 when MTV went on the air, or over cable actually, it seemed that every sing needed to have an accompanying video to make it a legit song. That meant that many videos were made on low budgets. Bigger budget videos tried to outdo each other for attention. By late 1983, Michael Jackson released a 13-minute music video for "Thriller," directed by famous Hollywood film director John Landis.

Taylor Swift goes back through the years and alludes to styles and cliches used in previous songs and videos. This is what happens in the entertainment world. People "borrow" lyrical ideas and video looks that others have used in the past. If done right, with enough modification and injection of personal style, people accept the allusion to past works and it helps them identify with the current offering. However, if people feel that the artist is blatantly ripping off previous works, they will complain of plagiarism. Both opinions are represented in reviews of Taylor Swift's new song, "Shake It Off".

It is likely that Taylor Swift will Shake Off most criticism of her latest song, "Shake It Off" because the song is actually about ignoring haters. Have a look and decide for yourself. Is this popular new Taylor Swift video, with 3 million views on day one and now 15 million views on day two, a tribute or a rip off or something entirely different?

Yesterday saw the release of the new Nicki Minaj video, Anaconda. This video is also controversial, also features elements from the past, and includes lots of dancing. In this case, the connection to the past is deliberate. The song includes samples from the 1986 hit dance song, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot. That song told of Mister Mix's appreciation of women who had a figure that was little in the middle but having much back. His Anaconda didn't want none unless she had buns. He obviously liked big butts and he could not lie about it.

So Nicki Minaj made a video celebrating the effect of her twerking butt on someone's Anaconda. In addition to twerking scenes, the video features banana eating and whipped cream shooting on Nicki's chest. Some say this video promotes porn and strip clubs. Take a look and decide for yourself. If you are a parent with young children, you might be interested to see this very popular video by Nicki Minaj that got 10 million views on day one, and decide if your children should see this or not.

Where do you buy your music? Why not get it at Amazon.com! They sell everything there! Shop at Amazon.com for music, electronics, clothes, even food! Here are some items available at Amazon related to Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj. Have a look, and check out other things for sale at Amazon as well. Happy Shopping!

Labels: 80s, anaconda, baby got back, controversial, controversy, MTV, Nicki Minaj, nickiminajvevo, sex, sexy, Shake it off, Sir Mix-aLot, Taylor swift, taylorswiftvevo

posted by KennyCrane at 8/20/2014 09:34:00 PM 0 Comments