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Tag: Fashion
Kate Spade: an eye-opener for common prejudices
By Rossana Naveda
Mental health issues like depression among other mental diseases usually are associated to people who is not doing as winners, or at least with the common elements of a well established life. Reading about her death was something really sad for me because when you love someone by her work, it is impossible to think you would not miss the talent that everybody will miss. Meanwhile, for her family, her husband, her daughter, this is a devastating experience and probably, they would remember forever the amazing details from the personality of this Mid-Western girl.
What called my attention is Coach, now known as Tapestry, bought the Kate Spade brand last year for $2.4 billion. This is a clear sign of how having or not having money could not be the main reason of someone to kill themselves. Most of the time we believe that having things like a fortune, or a established life with a husband, a family, and friends, as well as, stability in the external would be everything to be healthy in the physical and mental aspects of our lives.
Perhaps, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was right to increase the budget with additional AUS$ 34 million for saving more lives of people thinking about suicide. A few weeks ago, the Prime Minister gave this information. It has been a long journey in different countries for creating awareness toward mental health issues. In England and The United States the Royal Family and Lady Gaga were trying to increase the confidence in young generations and adults to speak about it but we found that in a time where we are more connected to others than ever through our devices, we are more lonely than too. In Australia, Suicide deaths has increased by more than 20 percent between 2004 and 2014, and it is the leading cause of death in Australians aged between 15 and 44 years. The rate of indigenous suicide is double the rate of non-indigenous suicide.
Technology&Prejudices
This said something important. We are desperate to make robots act like humans but we forgot humans are killing themselves in highest rates in a decade. And this is happening in France, Canada, Australia, Spain, The United States, among other developed and underdeveloped economies. Some people do not like to use those words to describe them but I still believe they are better than 1st and 3rd world, the words used to mention them in my Encyclopedias of Geography and History.
While I grew up and I was studying English, I discover for the first time about the Japan’s high rate of suicides between students, who couldn’t achieve the milestone they and their parents desire to achieve, and how their perception of suicides in this culture was responsible in part of this behaviour. Honor for them was like a religion, the tradition of honourable suicide is still part of their culture. And at some point I could understand their way to see life but if someone would take my honour, I would probably rather try to kill him, her, or them, rather than killing myself. Definitely, a different cultural background determine our beliefs and actions.
However, what has been happening in the last two decades it is something the majority is ignoring. Killing yourself for economic distress is not new, even people during the Wall Street market crashed in 1929 provoked numerous incidents related to suicide. In modern times, Spain has a outrageous number of suicides attached to economic reasons provoked by the crisis where millions had lost their houses. In France, as it was reported by The Local, every year around 220,000 people in France attempt to take their own life and 10,000 of those die as a result. Most of the time, the reason is how any individual feels connected to their job, and when they are not able to find a way to make it, that caused distress.
However, what you could understand when somebody, who is not facing this kind of external issues, and it is living in a complete different scenario as successful people, kill himself or herself. Perhaps, we should try to understand the reason is not necessarily the cause but the inability to cope with the trauma, and how society tends to ignore the person suffering, or seeing with disregard the reasons or causes behind this situation.
Social criticism&prejudices
In this case, having more interaction with other and a group of people helping you when you felt like there was not anything to do, to try, to share, or to express to change your sadness. Particularly, when they couldn’t understand how someone with everything they would like to have could not be happy. People can feel even annoyed.
And this is not only for lonely people, I found that some experts said isolation is the first step in this case of scenario, but I have listened new mothers having a terrible case of baby blue, even when everybody is around happy and supporting them. Of course, I was there listening and telling them that even when the experience could be overwhelming, excessively demanding and scaring; they would raise a beautiful child in the future, rather, than criticising, humiliating, bullying, gossiping or ignoring them like most of the time people do when they must listen someone saying things like that.
For young people this even harder. The popular TV teen drama Thirteen reasons why is a good example of how younger generations face more than ever a high risk of killing themselves under pressure of being different, not so popular, not so thin, not so sexy, not so whatever other people want. And this is particularly, real for teenage girls who also need to face challenges about the figure so, dying with Anorexia or Bulimia is in some sort of way another kind of suicide.
And when I admired Kate Spade’s work during all my life while I work in the publishing industry, her case says a lot about how we can sadly see a person with so much talent, opportunities, family and success had to face a tragic end for her life. I remembered walking in the famous store with her logo in the entrance, in Sydney last February, and seeing a beautiful black dress full of poppies. I did not buy it but I believe this is a relevant example of how many talented and marvelous people is lost each year because there was not a person listening them. With Anthony Bourdain we saw the same happening, and it is devastating, another talented person, who did not only entertained us but taught us. What else do we need to see to understand something is wrong?
When will we use technology to diminish the rate of people who kill themselves because the truth behind depression and suicide is most of the time, the person suffering feels the weight of the world over their shoulders in a literal way. Beyond what is really happening outside, it is an inner issue so, when you had achieved so much in your life people could say why did you feel sad? You got everything anybody could dream about. First, we should stop believing that having a depression is something that happened only to lonely people or unemployed, or unsuccessful people.
Everyone can be a victim of this kind of state.
If you have suicidal thoughts or another issues like Anorexia or Bulimia, you can call Lifeline in Sydney, Australia 11 13 14, chat on their website or you can talk with your family, siblings or friends. If you are in the United States, The National Suicide Prevention is 1-800-273-TALK [8255]. Meanwhile in France, Spain and The United Kingdom the phone numbers are:
France
S.O.S Amitié
http://www.sos-amitie.org
Phone: 01 42 96 26 26
Spain
Teléfono de la Esperanza
http://telefonodelaesperanza.org
Phone: 902500002
United Kingdom / Ireland
Samaritans
http://www.samaritans.org
Phone: 08457 90 90 90 (UK)
Phone: 1850 60 90 90 (Republic of Ireland)
Email: jo@samaritans.org
If you are in another country, you can check this list: Global Hotline for helping prevent suicides.
Gossip Girl: A decade later
What could I say? It was definitely the best runway on your Plasma after Sex and the City ended. Furthermore, the show was a little bit more interesting while the main rule in the characters code was treason. Yes, treason. That word made the future of Serena Van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick), Nathaniel Archibald (Chace Crawford), Lonely Boy a.k.a Daniel Humphrey (Pen Badgley), and Jenny (Taylor Momsen), the meanest gang to go with around Manhattan.
The truth is this show inspired in people not only the desire of possession, as well as, having the best attires from the greatest minds in Fashion Design, with the only purpose of using them in the next soirée with their best friends or enemies. Undoubtedly, the show provoked even the desire of replicating the worst behaviour between teenagers, young adults and adults.
Maybe the fact of watching this bunch of kids doing illegal, irreverent and crazy things with parents taking care of the crazy damages caused a similar syndrome of overexposed our lives. Behaviour, which had been attracting the attention and a counter position from multiple specialists between Psychologist, Sociologist, Designers of online products, Marketers, Journalists, and Media experts, as well as, celebrities and Royals explaining why we should do less to show our personal lives online considering the value of a good balance between our real persona and the one we showed each day on social media.
The most important character in Gossip Girl: ENVY
“Envy…similar to jealousy. Discontent towards someone’s traits, status, abilities or rewards. The difference is the envious also desire the entity and cove it”.
Of course, the show did not play only with overexposure but also, with envy. The program follows the rules stipulated by Marx and the Capitalist form of production, and how it created a role for each group in that society so, the drama begins when Serena Van der Woodsen decided to return to recover her place in Manhattan and a younger wannabe Jenny Humphrey decided to be more than just Lonely boys’ younger sibling, the nickname his brother had won in a website dedicated to spill rumours about relevant teenagers enrolled in Manhattan’s private schools.
In that way the fight begins, Blair Waldorf had conquered the role of Queen Bee, which has been like her dream come true since kindergarten so, the presence of Serena, no matter how much she loves her will affect her place in the social and Academic scenario. In the other side, we find Jenny Humphrey, she is not rich, popular or deep. She has talent, poise, character, she is a good sister and daughter (at this point) but she wants a breakthrough in the social scene and, without the last name, which sounds like you are using your black credit card to pay for anything; or an extraordinary talent, it would be almost impossible to make it.
The only option for her being good in what she does, designing and creating beautiful dresses, and finding good friends (networking) to establish the best outcome for her wishes. She is good in the first field, in the second, she definitely sucks. She had no idea how to manipulate in the first three or four seasons. Meanwhile, Serena has everything and she really did not care about anything related to success. Giving an extra effort sounds like a valuable line for any sports team. For her, it is like just travelling to Europe to avoid contact with her friends, mistakes and troubles.
For that reason, even Blair Waldorf hates her, it sounds terrible but it is the origin of the best jokes you enjoyed during the show “A hippie millionaire and sex bomb being best friends with an overachiever, selfish heiress”. Blair is in that way because her mother put pressure on her to be obsessed with perfection, even if she needs to do things far from good or perfect to achieve that position, or the choice goes against her true feelings like it is common, for example: she almost died trying to decide who should she marry? Prince Louis from Monaco or Chuck Bass.
Often, the idea of searching for a most successful life while you spend most of the time comparing yourself and the things you have with people around you could be the worst alternative. It is not the only basic element to create chaos for you and others, but it increases the doubts inside each individual of any group. Suddenly, people start to feel the lack of value and congruence between what they do, love and care for; or doing anything else only for winning in a social and economic competition, where the most important value is having a stronger status and more money. Multiple times, Jenny, Blair’s mother, Serena’s mother, Dan should face selling their values for material compensation. Usually, you understand better the character and yourself while you think what path you would have followed.
In that sense, being friends is one of the most difficult tasks. Of course, it is fun for the viewers but for the characters involved is only an endless and hopeless situation of backstabbing, blackmail, betrayal, which undoubtedly, ended in two simple words hate and distance. That was how the show begins, Blair cried in front of a helicopter while she was trying to explain why she couldn’t stay any longer in New York to her best friend. Meanwhile Serena Van der Woodsen, the scandals’ expert, who went to Connecticut because she was trying to clean her conscience after sleeping with Blair’s boyfriend, Nate, behind her back, tried to do the right thing and convince her to stay. Of course, all these behaviours shouldn’t or couldn’t be experienced without dressing the best clothes designed by PRADA, Louis Vuitton, Dolce&Gabbana, Chanel, Versace, Balmain, Carolina Herrera, Ellie Saab, Oscar de la Renta, Narciso Rodriguez, Alannah Hill, Toni Maticevski, Vera Wang, among others, which was for some viewers next to the sarcastic lines the most pleasant elements during the show.
Watching people being mean in high fashion is not only tolerable, it could entertain you. However, at the end this group discovered once and again that sometimes, they were the only one, who really cares about the other, that effect provoked they come back to each other like magnets each season because it is possible that only those who live and experience the same upbringing and environment as you could understand your feelings, your mindset, your behaviour, your mistakes, your fears and your choices.
Having parents with enough money to help you go out of messy situations after they paid for the damages caused by the lack of empathy or betrayal their dearest descendants are involved with. Why did they do it? It could be the regular question from everyone, who consider parents should do a better job. However, these parents look sometimes even more lonely and messy than their children. At some point, the most interesting dialogue I found during the show was between Nate and Blair. He was trying to understand his role and the expectations of his family on him, he found confusing his luck and having all these privileges he hadn’t ever asked for. Although, at the end, after trying to hide his lack of interest smoking weed or feeling uncomfortable for having a good life, he understood that there is no way to go out. If you were born an Archibald or a Waldorf, you only keep going with the structure your parents expected from you.
Scary, of course, I am pretty sure nobody wants a life designed step by step from their birth until they die. Even if the rewards sound so excited as exploring all the experiences of your life through money, social status, pleasure, hedonism and selfishness. In part, I need to be honest, the funniest thing was finding the characters’ efforts to destroy the good behaviour of another character for pleasure or to destroy their social status. Such a lack of creativity!!! That was the real goal in the crazy lives of this group of friends. Georgina was going behind Serena; Blair was trying to do the same to Chuck; Jenny Humphrey is, perhaps, the biggest exception. She was the youngster and usually the character everyone tried to protect until she became the strongest and the worst considering the values previously mentioned.
To close the column, during six seasons I love the romance between Blair and Chuck, even when the majority of adults around me expressed something like “That is a toxic relation.” However, at the end, they changed, they grow up, they tried to do the best and not only for them, in that sense, perhaps for a TV show there was a good happy ending. Meanwhile, finding Serena was able to forgive Dan Humphrey after hurting her on purpose not once or twice but during ages, which sounds more like a S&M relation than a crazy passion. At least, Blair and Chuck knew perfectly how they were. Serena trusted in Dan since the beginning without imagining how much despair for her he got inside of him. I wasn’t glad she married Dan, I wanted she should have gone back with Nate but What can we do now? In the original books Nate run away to sail in a boat, leaving New York because he didn’t want to choose between the blonde or the brunette. Once and again, he is the real gentleman in shining armour but nobody married him. Senseless advertisement and advocacy for supporting the bad boys’ charming personality, or woman just love to date troublemakers. Open your eyes ladies, if you find a Nate Archibald, don’t let him go away so easily, especially, if you love him.
XOXO
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W-strength 