How Pinteresting

It’s interesting how social media can often get a bad rep, and understandably so. I think that there is one type of social media that helps more than hinders (this may be me justifying my actions). I’m frequently on Pinterest. I see this type of social media as one that expands your thinking. It helps in creativity, building hobbies, and staying fit (when the ideas pinned are actually implemented).

Of course there can be too much of a good thing, being addicted to Pinterest isn’t a good thing. However, there is so much to explore and it’s fun to see new styles of things as well as things that your friends are interested in. Pinterest is not a popularity contest like Facebook and Instagram can be. I see it as a way to get new ideas and keep track of the things that you like. It can even be uplifting and inspiring. 

The Bachelor: Breaking it Down

I caved. The social pressures got to me and somehow I ended up watching The Bachelor, for the first time all the way through. I was never really against the show, I was just never for it. The concept is ridiculous. One man expected to find his true love among too many dramatic, yet beautiful, women. If we’re being honest, we watch the show for the entertainment factor, not for the hope that the young bachelor will find his happily ever after. What does that say about us? I’d rather not think about it. We watch to judge the girls, pick our favorites, and get ideas for our dream date.

I liked the show on the superficial level, only because there is no other deeper level to the show. I watched with the basic white girl phrase “I can’t even” coming out of my mouth at each part I found outrageous, about every other scene. I cringed at the girls on screen and every awkward, dramatic, and unbelievably cheesy thing they did or said. That being said, I’ll probably keep watching it, mostly for the social aspect (I like to know what my friends are talking about), but partly because I hope Olivia and her cankles go home next week. 

Perceiving Prada

It’s not very often that I will go out of my way in the middle of the week to watch a movie. Between work, school, family, and friends I feel like there is a better way to be spending my time. Miraculously, I found myself pulling up a movie on my laptop on a Tuesday night. I had recently seen a clip of the movie The Devil Wear Prada. I had never seen the movie before, so that short snippet was enough to spark my interest, it was also the only movie that came to mind that I hadn’t already memorized the dialog to (i.e. Mean Girls, Pitch Perfect, The Count of Monte Cristo).

For those who haven’t seen The Devil Wears Prada, it is about a new graduate who, in order to work her way up in the world of journalism, works as the assistant for a demanding editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine.

I sat through the movie, laughing through the funny parts, cringing when something went wrong, and making my predictions as the plot carried on. Overall I would say that I enjoyed the movie. I understood the conflict of doing whatever it takes to succeed while also being true to who you are. However, I did not understand what makes Anne Hathaway, the main character, a good candidate to undergo through yet another fashionable transformation, she already did that in Princess Diaries. I also realized that I must not understand fashion at all. In a movie where fashion was highlighted, I wondered how they put together some of the outfits and if people actually wore such outlandish clothes. Other than that, I thought the content was good and uplifting. There was little gore, few swear words, and in the end I was satisfied.  

I can’t see how The Devil Wears Prada will have a lasting impact on my life, it probably won’t. It has not persuaded me to wear heels on a daily basis, or work for a high-end magazine. Yet the movie helped me appreciate my work place, and solidified my realization that I could never be a fast-paced, high maintenance, busy city girl. I like who I am.