Hypebeast No More, My Final Thoughts and Personal Growth

For the past three years of my life, I was a consumer in society that is labeled as a hypebeast. According to Urban Dictionary, "A hypebeast is a slang for someone who is a beast (obsessed) about the hype (in fashion), and will do whatever it takes to obtain that desired hype, and the attention of others." Determined to be "cool," and gain the approval of others, I had fallen victim to the marketing of overpriced brands. Below is the stereotypical image of a hypebeast, and a fashion type of which i used to dress. 

The guy above looks like a total fool, and even worse his outfit costs over $500! Sadly, I used to own almost every single piece being worn in this image. I was falling into the abyss of a compulsive consumer, yet studying media and marketing helped me save my individuality and my money. 

Going into this unit of analyzing media and marketing, I would have never expected it to make such an impact on my life. Before exposing the slick techniques and motives of brands, I was a consumer mindlessly wasting his money on clothes that he didn't really want or need. I learned how the media was setting an impossible, ever-changing standard of cool that I so desperately wanted, but always failed in obtaining. I found myself losing interest in buying the latest sweatshirt or pair of shoes from some exclusive, over-priced brand. It's safe to say that my wallet is going to start getting a lot fatter now that I have broken away from being an obsessive shopper. 

On instagram, I used to follow tons of sneaker and clothing accounts. Every time I refreshed my feed, I would be bombarded by images of new outfits and pieces that I felt the instant need to own. I now realize how badly I was being brainwashed by these effective ads. I had the burning need to fit in, while also wanting to dress and look like I was in a league of my own. Influenced by these ads on social media, I was so concerned with looking "cool," that I allowed this set image to determine how I dressed and presented myself. Now that I know how little these clothing brands matter to my life, I'm not as attached to my social media, nor do I follow such accounts that blast relentless ads onto my screen. After this unit in Critical Thinking, I'm honestly less attached to the media and consumerism as a whole. I'm ashamed that I used to care so much about looking "cool," and even more embarrassed by the amount that I spent in chasing this empty dream.

I am definitely more media literate, and less of a consumer of it altogether. Whenever I see an ad, or even a movie or tv show, I now notice the subtle placements and messages that brands are successfully delivering to the masses. It is vital for people to understand the media, and in doing so won't be as easily influenced by its never-ending advertisements and images. Being media literate, will lead to people transforming into educated consumers. When consumers are educated, they don't allow themselves to make careless and wasteful purchases, or concern their time and money with looking a certain way. The general population is what gives the media its power, when people blindly follow, like, and buy into the trends and products that it shoves into our faces. Learning to detach from media's consumer oriented messages, will build our confidence in and ability to express our own individuality. 

Diving into media and advertisements' deceiving layers, I was able to grow more aware of the way that companies have successfully sent the standards of society. The never-ending quest to become "cool" and "popular," continues to drain people's money on a huge scale. I found that many of my blog entires were influenced by my experience as a mass consumer of hyped brands such as Supreme and Adidas. This media blog has guided my process of detaching from the world and mindset of a hypebeast. I'm proud to say that I've discovered more about my true self, and am not as quick to follow mainstream fads.

Is this Ad Offensive?

     Many city dwellers in NYC are complaining about this aggressive ad that is all over the city. Some have even gone as far as to write letters to Fox executives demanding that all of these X-Men: Apocalypse posters be taken down immediately. As a comic book fan, I know how pivotal this moment is when the villain, Apocalypse, dominates the depicted female hero, Mystique. However, to the millions who aren't well versed in the world of Marvel comics, this picture is simply a muscular man choking a blue woman to death.

     As much as I love superhero movies and the ads that come along with them, I don't think that it was a smart choice to use this particular image on so many posters. In being very knowledgable of the X-Men comic books, I also know that Fox could have easily portrayed a scene of a male protagonist being choked out or beaten down by the villain. This ad radiates a vibe of male-domination, and I don't think that it should be all over NYC. The way people are reacting to the poster, Fox is only losing potential viewers of its latest X-Men film.

     In Miss Representation, the idea of women being inferior to men intellectually in movies was discussed. This ad takes the idea of inferiority to the extreme, and has to depict a muscular behemoth choking a female. While the two characters are clearly portrayed as non-human, the represented genders are obvious. With the title reading "Only the strong will survive," it is being implied that the men are the strong, and the women are the weak. There's also something so belittling in the way that with one hand Apocalypse is squeezing the life out of his victim, while she helplessly struggles for life. The female has a look a powerlessness, while the male a look of dominance.

     In my opinion, it was a huge marketing error to publish this ad all over NYC. For this particular movie at least, Marvel has given its female protagonists an image of weakness and inferiority to male antagonists. With its new movie Captain Marvel coming out in 2018, I'm interested to see how the company will have its latest female protagonist fare against her male nemesis.

Why is Kobe Bryant a Ghostbuster?

   

     Not too long ago, a reboot of the Ghostbusters movie was announced. The twist? This time the lead protagonists will be a team of women. As noted in Miss Representation, women are rarely given educated lead roles in movies that don't revolve around romance and men. While Ghostbusters may not be the most serious of films, it will give a more empowering team of heroines on the big screen for children to look up to. The female team is composed of famous female comedians, that don't act or dress in a sexual way in the ads. It was a bold move on Sony's part to change the classic  team of ghost hunters to females, and it looks as if the company may already be regretting its decision.

     So the question still remains, why are images of Kobe as a Ghostbuster surfacing all over the media? During game 1 of the NBA Finals, Sony aired an ad for its new reboot, but with the Black Mamba himself suiting up to save the day. When I first saw this advertisement, my entire body flooded with excitement. The idea of such a star becoming a Ghostbuster truly hooked my interest in seeing the new movie. However, after the hype had died down, I realized what a sad statement this ad was making. Ghostbusters being remade with an all-female cast has received a very mixed reaction, with many feeling angry with the bold change. To try and counter this negativity, Sony has resorted to using male-only ads to promote the upcoming movie,

     The company is now relying on stars and celebrities to divert its viewers from the reality of the movie's cast being female-dominant. Kobe will not appear as one of the main characters in the actual movie, yet by portraying Bryant as one in the commercial, and immediately cutting to the films release date, many will become interested in going to see it for the sole purpose of seeing Kobe on the big screen. Sony resorting to such forms of diversion shows how desperate the company is to attract consumers to the cinemas to watch its new movie.

     I think its sad how Sony has been so quick to take back the trust it has put in having females as its protagonists. It will be interesting to see how well the remake does in the box office, and how fans will react to the female cast after watching the movie. Sony is smart to be using NBA players to attract male viewers, though I'm not sure how effective it will be in convincing them to say to see Ghostbusters.