Grace Carroll
The O.C. Phenomenon
Leah Del Vecchio
Intimate Interview with Ashanti that will “Rock your Senses”
Kelley Baldwin & Adrick Brock
Hip-Hop: The New Pretty Boy
Grace Carroll
On a recent episode of Life of Luxury, Roc-A-Fella Records multi-millionaire Damon Dash paraded his room, lined with shoes from top to bottom, claiming that he will never wear the same pair of shoes twice. If he wants to, he will simply buy numerous pairs of the same shoe.
The idea of not wearing the same thing twice is not unheard of amongst these superstars; most are proud to say that they never wear an outfit more than once. TV shows such as MTV’s “Spotlight” prove to be more interested in what superstars are wearing and buying than their actual talent. Instead of conducting regular and informative interviews, they go shopping.
In the real world, it is unreasonable for teens to try and maintain the same attitude towards their wardrobes. Most of us do not have the millions to drop on our gear; yet, many teens today have become more and more obsessed with the way they look and dress, spending large amounts of money to keep up their appearance.
You can no longer only have one pair of shoes; you have to have the right shoes to go with each of your outfits, and your outfits have to match. You have to have the hat that matches your shirt, the shirt that goes with your pants, and the shoes to tie it all in—oh, and don’t forget the bling.
While many girls may be accustomed to buying tons of clothing and numerous pairs of shoes, it is no longer just girls that fuss over their appearance. When it comes to Hip-Hoppers, boys are becoming just as sensitive, planning out each new paycheque to a new outfit.
Grade 12 student, Jacob Gibson-Bascombe, says he gets a new outfit at least once or twice a month. “I get paid every two weeks; when I go shopping I’ll buy a pair of kicks and shirt to match.” Usually spending around $200 on each shopping excursion, Jacob’s shoe collection consists of around 12 pairs. “I have six pairs to go with my outfits and the other six are for basketball.”
Similar to Jacob, Grade 12 Rajko Tanovic takes care of how he looks. “You can’t wear green shoes with blue and yellow; you can’t wear off colours like that.” With a similar shopping schedule to Jacob, Rajko will never buy something if he doesn’t have anything to match. “If I buy a pair of jeans that I have nothing to match with, I’ll buy a matching shirt.”
These boys are serious about the way they dress; they even categorize their outfits by season. When it comes to his shoes Rajko says, “For basketball I have three pairs; two pairs for winter and four pairs for the summer.” So where does he store all of this clothing? “I have two huge closets in my room—I have more clothes than the average teenager and I don’t wear any of it to school; I wear them when I go out.”
You can no longer only have one pair of shoes; you have to have the right shoes to go with each of your outfits, and your outfits have to match.
While girls love to see guys who can dress well, it can become a bit intimidating when your boy’s wardrobe far exceeds your own. We love nice shoes and a crisp shirt, but when you’re taking longer to get ready than us, we start to get worried.
Senior Aisha Allen-Hurdle says, “Guys should look good but it starts to scare me when it’s overdone. Everything should be done in moderation, otherwise it starts to take away their masculinity.”
So should this new -found attention to appearance become a cause for concern, or is it simply what is to be expected after hours of idolizing superstar hip-hoppers that make money by spitting out lines like “I’m so fly”? By parading their shoes, clothes, cars and hair it seems that they have become the new pretty boys in baggy clothes.
Grade 12 student, Iliya Zarembovski says, “It’s all the hype that’s put into your gear and what you’re rockin’. Guys feel like they have to give people a specific impression about who they are and that they have money.”
It seems that the pressure to look good has been passed on, or perhaps, evened out among boys and girls. Girls aren’t the only ones who feel they have to worry about their hair and the coordination of their outfits anymore because guys are worrying too.
Bottom line, boys, is that we appreciate the effort and it has paid off - but don’t overdo it. Take care of yourself and look good, just don’t become obsessive about it and don’t even try to ask me if I think you look fat in that.
The O.C. Phenomenon
Teen Soap Opera: the New Addiction, The New Guilty Pleasure..
Leah Del Vecchio
So Ryan was dating Lindsay, who is Seth’s aunt because she was the love child of Caleb, who is also Kirsten’s dad, and Kirsten is Seth’s mother, therefore making Caleb Seth’s grandfather, who is the stepfather of Marissa, and Marissa, who is Ryan’s ex-girlfriend, is now bisexual and was dating Seth’s ex-girlfriend, Alex, but it didn’t last long because Marissa is still obviously in love with Ryan, and Seth doesn’t care that Marissa dated Alex because he is still in love with Summer, who was dating Zack, but Seth has recently won her back. Confused yet?
This may seem like a ridiculous plotline, but it’s actually what is currently going on in The O.C. But complex storyline aside, what is it about The O.C. that lures people in? Obviously this intricate and ever-changing storyline is a contributing factor, but there has to be more of an allure than just that.
The O.C. first aired on FOX in August of 2003, and instantly proved to be a huge success. It’s set in Newport Beach, California, which is a wealthy harbour-front community where everything and everyone appears to be perfect. But beneath the surface is a world built on lies and secrets.
“People watch the show because of the constant drama,” said Grace Carroll, Grade 12. “Their lives are so idealistic- rich and beautiful- but they ultimately deal with the same issues.”
Another reason is simply that it’s a teen drama, and other teen dramas, like Beverly Hills: 90210 and Dawson’s Creek, have proven to be big hits in the past. Teens just can’t get enough of them. “
The O.C. is my life- it’s amazing,” claimed Carroll. Teen dramas are appealing for their intensity and a cast of beautiful young people. They deal with issues that real teens can relate to. “They seem perfect on the outside, but on the inside they’re messed up,” commented Carroll.
Although The O.C. is targeted towards teenagers, another reason for its overwhelming popularity is that its viewers include people of all ages. “My dad even watches it with me,” said Lennon Sweeting, Grade 12.
The characters are also very interesting and entertaining. With a lovable, rich, comic-book geek, a mysterious, troubled boy from the wrong side of the tracks, and a beautiful but confused girl-next-door and a popular valley girl, there’s a character that everyone can be entertained by. “The characters are typical, but at the same time they’re original,” explained Carroll.
The O.C. is also infamous for keeping up with what’s “in.” The show will often feature bands and play popular music that teens like. General ratings for the soundtrack tend to be very good, and The O.C. has featured popular bands such as The Killers and Modest Mouse. They also keep up with fashion and the main characters are always wearing the new hot item on the street. “The O.C.’s characters tend to portray models right from the latest issue of Vogue or YM,” stated Kelley Baldwin, Grade 12.
The O.C. may have a little bit of an exaggerated plot, but what TV show doesn’t? However, this is the reason for complaints about this season’s The O.C. “They’re running out of ideas- the plot doesn’t make sense anymore and there’s too many twists,” complained Baldwin.
This is the common critique of this season, that it’s trying too hard to pull in more viewers. “Last season there was a party or fight every episode and that added entertainment,” Sweeting commented. “Now it’s just too much like a soap opera. It’s turned into a grandma show like Days of Our Lives.”
The O.C. isn’t pulling in the same ratings as the first season. There was a slight increase in viewers in recent episodes and some believe it was due to the lesbianism between Marissa and Alex. “The show has improved a little bit due to the lesbian activity,” Sweeting said, “but it’s still not as good as last season.”
The O.C. has proven to be an amazing phenomenon. Although the ratings are going down, The O.C. is still one of the most popular teen dramas on television today, and for many it will continue to be a guilty pleasure.
UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Intimate Interview with Ashanti
that will “Rock your Senses”
Kelley Baldwin & Adrick Brock
Step through the doors of the Four Seasons Hotel, and enter a world of botanical bliss. Courtesy of the Herbal Essences public relations team, we two Jargon reporters were given the opportunity to interview pop R&B icon and new Herbal Essences’ spokeswoman, Ashanti.
While we were waiting we met up with fellow student reporter Boonaa Mohammed from The Dish, who also gave us his card. The three of us planned our seven minute interview over the course of the extra 60 minutes we spent waiting for our turn. Finally, as the long line of ‘professional’ reporters thinned out, Daphna approached with a smile and told us to follow her.
All four of us took the leather-interior elevator to the conference floor, and were led to the waiting room. We were swarmed by PR people and their business cards, and introduced ourselves:
“Nice to meet you. I’m Carrie Truman, Procter and Gamble Public Relations Manager, here’s my card...”
“Kelley Baldwin, Jarvis Jargon, student reporter... no card.”
We were given Ashanti’s new CD, Concrete Rose, and picked at the dwindling smorgesbord. Herbal Essences gift packages would have been distributed, had they not run one short, so they promised to send it in the mail (...until then our hair will have to wait).
The white Victorian doors to Ashanti’s personal chamber cracked open, and we peeked in. There she was, clad in jeans and a jean jacket, hair down with large hoop earings -Ashanti’s mom.
The Flare reporter ended her interview and it was finally our turn. We gathered our equipment and approached tentatively. Ashanti was reclining on a plush white loveseat - stirring her tea - and smiled when greeting us. She was wearing white slippers, flared jeans, and a low V-neck pink tank top. Her unblemished caramel skin was complemented by her voluminous waves of dark brown hair, and she smelt like Herbal Essence Fruit Fusion (mandarin, starfruit, papaya). Behind her stood a white backdrop spotted with the pink floral Herbal Essence logo.
After a long morning replete with interviews, radio shows, and photo shoots, she was ready for a break - but first she had to finish her final interview. Boonaa’s gift of a grey Oakwood hoodie cheered her up considerably (as she said, she could now be mistaken for a Torontonian) and soon we were sitting down beside her, ready to begin.
Ashanti: A little bit of everything, you know? I had a crew, a group of friends. We were in the middle crowd. We weren’t juvenile, we weren’t nerds.
Boonaa: Who were your musical influences growing up?
Ashanti: Definitely Mary J. , Tupac, Biggie, Nas, Jay... people I happen to be around now.
Adrick: The path getting here was not easy for you. How did you stay optimistic and motivated when those two record deals fell through in your teenage years?
Ashanti: Well, my first record deal I got when I was 14. I was signed to Jive Records and it wasn’t a really good situation. I wasn’t allowed to be hands-on with the project. So I made the decision, not the people around me, myself. I made the decision to kinda say, you know what, if I’m embarrassed to play this song in front of my friends, I don’t think I’ll be able to do this for the public. So I decided that was something I wanted to get out of. You know, when you come so close each time, it doesn’t make sense to go backwards. It doesn’t make sense to stop. If you were running and you’re doing the mile, and you’re almost there, almost there after everything you have accomplished, why go back? Just keep going.
Kelley: When you signed on to Murder Inc., did you have to change your image, style or music?
Ashanti: (laughs) Irv would love that question. We did do a few changes. Obviously at the time Murder Inc. - being such a thugged-out-boy-hip-hop oriented label - were like, what are we going to do with this little girl? (laughs) So you know, I went up there and became what they call a ‘studio rat’. And you know, I was just in the studio every day, with all the guys, hearing how they talk, what they’ve done, hearing the stories that they forgot I was there when they were telling me stuff. A lot of stories and a lot of secrets they let out influenced a lot of the music, but definitely I think we genuinely influenced each other. I gave them some R&B, and they gave me some hip-hop... hip-hop/ R&B.
Adrick: In regards to the Herbal Essences deal, was there pressure from your management and from the music community - with Beyonce signing with Revlon for example - to sign on?
Ashanti: I think that endorsements are part of the deal with being an artist. There are great opportunities out there, so everyone wants to be a part of that. But I have a wonderful team of people, they put all the good stuff in the works for me, and we pick the deals that make sense.
Boonaa: Do you have any advice for young singers?
The interview concluded with Ashanti’s plans for the future. Besides a world tour and new credit card, she looks forward to settling down and having “the white picket fence, and the cute little babies running around.”
She signed our new CDs for us, and retreated to her room for lunch. We shook hands with the mob of PR people and exchanged contacts once again. As if waking from a dream, we left the hotel (loaded with business cards) and re-entered the real world, where hair is limp, split, and damaged. Our senses had been officially rocked.
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