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(10/31/13 10:48pm)
Esquire magazine is self-defined by a few simple things: “Beautiful Women, Men’s Fashion, Best Music and Drink Recipes.”
OK, so I, being an 18-year-old female college freshman, have little to no interest in this publication and clearly am not a part of its intended audience.
However, something published by the magazine struck me instantly as both laughable and unsettling.
For the first time, Esquire has announced a “Woman Of The Year.” Considering the above description of the magazine, I can expect this woman to be, well, aesthetically pleasing. Call me crazy, but I’d also expect her to be somewhat accomplished: an award-winning actress, perhaps. Runner-up Jennifer Lawrence seemed fitting enough.
However, J. Law did not prevail. Winner of the title with weirdly important connotations was Emily Ratajkowski.
Wait, who?
To clarify, that’s the “Blurred Lines” girl, which is how Time magazine referred to her. She’s known for prancing past Pharrell and Robin Thicke in minimal to no clothing, depending on if you opted for the PG or not-so-PG version of the "Blurred Lines" music video.
I’m not completely blind to the fact that Esquire’s readers are likely more interested in a woman's looks opposed to anything else she may have done.
Knowing the poll’s result to be solely based on consumer votes breeds an understanding of the outcome. Additionally, I recognize that Ratajkowski is gorgeous enough to make me feel like a sloth and probably has bigger goals than walking around topless in heels.
What gets me is that these men likely paid no mind to anything other than her provocative strut through the “Blurred Lines” music video.
When Miley Cyrus re-enacted Ratajkowski’s role in the video at the MTV Video Music Awards not too long ago, the hate was never-ending. But at least Miley has some talent and a little more prominence — arguably more noteworthy prominence.
Esquire is a men’s magazine for seemingly typical male interests. I understand this: it’s meant for entertainment, not social reform.
But I just can’t help but see this — giving such a grandiose title to someone whose voice I’ve yet to hear and whose skin I’ve seen far too much of — as a step in the wrong direction.
For fear of marginalizing all men, I’ll note that Esquire is likely geared more toward the Barney Stinsons of the world and doesn’t represent the opinions of all, or even most gentlemen.
Hopefully in the future we’ll be able to recognize Esquire’s chosen “Woman Of The Year” by name and accomplishments rather than just her body.
Reach the columnist at haley.tonetti@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @HaleyTonettiWant to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
(10/31/13 5:00am)
Author’s Note: This film is available on Netflix Instant Play.
(10/31/13 4:31am)
Hey, guys! It's Holly and my favorite holiday in the history of holidays is Halloween. Who doesn't love all of the free candy? And no, you're never too old to go trick-or-treating.
(10/30/13 6:53pm)
Since Halloween is just a hop, skip, and a jump away, I thought I would revisit my discussion on villains from my previous post about the Grimm Brothers. However, this time I wanted to broaden the scope of these evil characters to other books. Brutes and evildoers do not just exist in fairy tales, but also in very real and modern stories.
(10/30/13 4:00am)
SPM Prankster from The State Press on Vimeo.
(10/29/13 5:00am)
Did you ever wonder why we decide to carve a face into a giant orange vegetable every October? Well, as with many modern traditions it
(10/28/13 9:09pm)
In this blog post, I am excited to share the work of Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye, a skilled spoken-word couple. They are not a couple in the romantic sense. No, their love for each other is strictly platonic, but their passion for their work and their friendship is evident in all that they do. The two share a bubbly and gentle demeanor that wins over hearts and minds with crisp voices and eloquent words.The two met while studying at Brown University, where they were both spoken word performers. Sarah and Phil come from surprisingly similar backgrounds. Actually, "surprisingly similar" is quite the understatement. Their backgrounds connect them on a level that few of us can understand. While they both participate in their own side projects, together they created Project V.O.I.C.E, hoping to empower youth expression, especially through spoken word. Both have been featured separately as guests on TED, NPR, and many other media outlets as two of the best poets of our generation.Sarah Kay and Phil Kaye function as mouthpieces of love for words. One of my favorite performances by them is "This American Life." The poem bounces from song to song, questioning the foundation of American life and what our society truly stands for. Their performance shows their gentleness but also their true passion and power. In her 2011 TED Talk, Sarah Kay recalled her early pieces of poetry as "indignant," because all spoken word seemed to reek of displeasure and anger. Her work with Phil Kaye shows that power does not only come from the loud, with angry faces and tears, but also from quietness that packs a punch.Below is their poem entitled "An Origin Story", which describes how the two came to be a pair. You will laugh and it will make your heart happy. Enjoy![embed width="600" contenteditable="false"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esgfG3BoAPc[/embed]You can reach me at arabusa@asu.edu or on Twitter @marie_eo.
(10/27/13 10:23pm)
TIME Magazine, a fixture of journalism since 1923, usually produces a uniform cover for each of its different areas of publication, with one exception: the U.S. edition.
(10/24/13 7:25pm)
On the northern side of Tempe and the southeastern side of Phoenix sits a plot of land with some small buttes. This desert space is known as Papago Park and it holds lots of activities for the residents and visitors to the Phoenix Metropolitan area. There is the Phoenix Zoo, the Desert Botanical Garden, and picnic and hiking areas.
(10/23/13 10:41pm)
I think it's a fairly agreeable fact that November is an eventful month. Here in the United States, we celebrate the things for which we are thankful (like food) on Thanksgiving. After we're stuffed with stuffing and pie, we celebrate the unconventional, consumerist holiday fondly dubbed Black Friday. That's basically the day I tag along with family at the mall, plucking gifts from shelves and subsequently returning them to the shelf because the line is just too long. Every four years, the Presidential election takes place in the month of November, sending the nation into a political frenzy.
(10/22/13 5:00am)
Located on the corner of Orange and Forest Malls is a red adobe building called Moeur. This building was a part of a larger plan to really grow the ASU campus in the 30s. Spearheaded by President Grady Gammage, this new Campus Building Program would include many projects such as: obtaining ten acres adjoining the school, constructing a woman's physical education building, a new wing on the library, a remodel for Old Main, street paving, installing new boilers in classroom buildings, two new dorms, a swimming pool, and a 500-seat athletic stadium. It took some explaining to the school board, but to everyone's surprise, they accepted the proposal on the terms that Gammage would spread the work out and apply for Works Projects Administration (WPA) loans in order to pay for it all. Gammage made the announcement of the approval to the school from the steps of his home on the corner of what is now Palm Walk and Tyler Mall.
(10/22/13 12:30am)
On October 25, 1962, John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for his literary works. You may recognize him from your high school reading list, nestled between other writers such as Ray Bradbery, Chaucer, and Shakespeare. He was the most notable American lit writer on my list and when I saw "Of Mice and Men" on the list, I groaned. How many times would I have to read about the depressing sympathy killing of the complicated character Lennie?
Nevertheless, John Steinbeck is actually one of my favorite writers. Not only was he an excellent narrator, he also illustrated and perpetuated major events in society at the time. This is easily seen in one of his best known works, "The Grapes of Wrath."
This event in history — Steinbeck winning a Nobel Prize — met with a lot of criticism. People disagreed with the decision and felt Steinbeck did not meet the standard of a Nobel laureate. Despite those criticisms, I think we cannot deny Steinbeck's place in American history and his special tact for identifying the importance of social issues while living through them.
So this week, if I get a chance between exams and essays, I will grab my favorite Steinbeck novel, "East of Eden," off the shelf. I will sip on mandarin orange tea and be transported to the not-so-distant world created by the American people, and illustrated by the legendary John Steinbeck.
You can reach me at arabusa@asu.edu or on Twitter @marie_eo.
(10/17/13 6:01pm)
The government shutdown, fiscal crisis, and threat of the US dollar losing its reserve status, has left many to wonder what the future
(10/16/13 4:45pm)
"The morns are meeker than they were,The nuts are getting brown;The berry's cheek is plumper,The rose is out of town.The maple wears a gayer scarf,The field a scarlet gown.Lest I should be old-fashioned,I'll put a trinket on.""Autumn," by Emily DickinsonA few days ago we had one of the coolest, sweetest days in the valley. The rain drizzled in the early morning when the sky was a little meek. We hit a high of 70 degrees, the breezes were blowing, and I broke out my favorite light cardigan. By midday, the sky was a beautiful blue. We don't get too many days like that in Phoenix. We bask in the Arizona heat until our skin burns and we grow accustomed to blasting the A/C in our cars because it's the only way to set our bodies and minds at ease. And when we turn the calendar to November (per one of my favorite websites, the Weather Channel), we'll feel the silence of a perfectly tempered car, no air bouncing off the inside walls. No more screams of pain when our arms accidentally hit the metal part of the seat belt that we were trying to avoid in the first place. This is the Arizona version of Emily Dickinson's "Autumn." She spent most of her life in Massachusetts where the leaves change color before falling to the ground, the air lowers to a deeper chill, and everything seems to fade into beautiful shades of brown. Dickinson values the colors and the nature around her, as described in her poem, and wishes to welcome in the autumn weather with a trinket, a special piece of simple jewelry. For us, autumn will fade straight into winter and we may not even notice the change. But for that brief moment we will feel Arizona's own colors change. Everything will brighten to a more muted yet vibrant hue. Autumn is coming, friends. I'm excited, are you?You can reach me at arabusa@asu.edu or on Twitter @marie_eo.
(10/15/13 8:06pm)
It’s no secret: The Internet has wrung journalistic, film and music industries dry. The front pages of newspapers can be obtained free of charge via Newseum, any movie you crave — new or old — can be found online and, come on, who even pays for music anymore?
Even as vast cultural enterprises are at war with the vastness of the World Wide Web, one area has stayed reasonably safe: books.
Books and literature can play a huge role in personal development, as author Neil Gaiman told The Guardian on Oct. 14.
“I don't think there is such a thing as a bad book for children,” Gaiman said. He also discussed the challenges the publishing industry has and will continue to face in the digital age.
Publishing has managed to keep dry throughout the technological storm because as Evan Hughes wrote in an Oct. 8 New Republic article, “Books don’t want to be free.”
In fact, because e-books are cheaper to create, the publisher’s pay-off is actually quite a bit more than that of a paperback. E-books are inexpensive on the consumer’s side, too — talk about a win-win.
But why books? All this innovation over the years and books are the things that really stood the test of time? Well, yes. People still find value in literature, and although some authors might argue that $14.99 isn’t placing enough value on their work, it’s more than people are paying for movies, television and news (which is more often than not, nothing). The timeless quality of books has kept the industry alive.
While Twilight and Harry Potter fans can argue with one another until the end of time about which book series trumps the other, the fact is they’re both mythological and unrealistic. You’ll never have to give up your mortality in the name of love, and you likely won’t receive a letter from Hogwarts via owl.
Books, like movies, are often fantastical and unrealistic, evoking little more than far-fetched dreams and dreadful nightmares.
However, this isn’t always the case. Literary fiction has recently been proven to play a major role in our understanding of others’ emotions, as well as our own.
So yes, this excludes any mythological stories or Nicholas Sparks-esque romances, but how much did those novels really teach you about realistic social interaction?
A study conducted by David Kidd and Emanuele Castano published Oct. 3 in Science magazine concluded that those who engage themselves in literary fiction, which focuses more on the characters (as opposed to popular fiction, focusing more on the plot), tend to possess greater levels of empathy and better social skills.
Subjects were asked to read excerpts of literary fiction, which included works by recent National Book Award finalists or winners of the 2012 PEN/O; popular fiction, taken from Amazon’s best-seller list and non-fiction stories from Smithsonian Magazine. Those who were assigned to literary works scored highest on emotional and empathetic tests. They tended to have greater understanding of those around them and were more in touch with reality.
While the difference between “literary” and popular fiction can be debatable, the genre in the context of this project pertained to books that contained more complex and therefore more realistic characters with a lesser focus on the plot.
In popular fiction, the characters are often fully developed and stereotypical, thus allowing room for a messy yet intriguing plot. Literary classics such as J. D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” are quite the opposite — an example of literary fiction. It’s plot is almost non-existent, but anyone who’s read the novel knows the attachment readers can form with Holden Caulfield, an incomplete and deeply flawed character that you piece together with parts of yourself.
Popular fiction is great; sci-fi can be addicting, and I’m a sucker for a good biography. But nothing can change you like an almost-developed character waiting for you to grow with them.
Never doubt the power of literature.
Who are we kidding? It’s the only form of culture for which we’re still willing to pay.
Reach the columnist at haley.tonetti@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @haleytonetti
(10/10/13 5:00am)
The Tempe History Museum sits on the corner of Rural Road and Southern Avenue in Tempe, Ariz. The complex also features the Tempe library and community center.The space around the museum is full of shade and places to sit.The museum itself welcomes those coming in from the desert sun to take a peek at some of Tempe’s stories and, of course, it’s cool air conditioning.
(10/09/13 5:34pm)
Once upon a time I was a little girl growing up in the world of Disney princesses. I was always enthralled by the bright colors, beautiful dresses, and glass slippers. The idea of my own Prince Charming was more of an expectation rather than a fairy tale.These characters were formed from the world of the Grimm brothers, who wrote hundreds of fairy tales. They are not fairy tales that necessarily include an air of uber-positive mysticism and kind, talking animals. The Grimm brothers wrote stories of girls without hands and dying farm birds alongside the stories of princesses with beautiful golden hair and heartthrob princes. Despite the apparent lack of reality that exists in some of their stories, the inherent dilemmas and deeper meanings bring about that human quality. For that reason, everyone feels something when they experience the fairy tales and adapted stories — it's universal. That universality made the stories appealing for adaptations: Gregory Maguire's "Mirror, Mirror", "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine, "Beastly" by Alex Flinn, among various others. There are television shows and movies: Once Upon a Time, and the recent influx of Snow White based movies. What makes these written works so powerful and moving for generations upon generations? These stories, and the emotions they stir, are timeless. Once upon a time I was that little girl that watched Disney princess movies more times than I can count. Today, Prince Charming is I'll-know-it-when-it-happens. And while I've grown, these fairy tales will never cease to have a hold on me.How do you feel about fairy tales? Let me know through email at arabusa@asu.edu or on Twitter @marie_eo. .
(10/07/13 11:51pm)
How much do you like trees? I mean, really like trees. If you asked me to list off trees, my list would probably be something like this: mesquite, evergreen, pine, sequoia, palo verde, cypress, palm. And then at some point I would repeat palm again, because that's a lot of what I see here in the Valley. I appreciate trees, the shade they offer from the scorching summer heat, their participation in our air quality. But, I'm not Will Blacklin. He studied trees in college, stared at them for hours on end. He took Cordelia Kenn on a date where all he talked about were trees.Cordelia is the protagonist of one of my favorite books, "This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn" by Aidan Chambers. And Will Blacklin is the instrument-playing boy she falls in love with. (Not sure what a Pillow Book is? See one of the most famous pillow books here.)The book is a tome at 808 pages, but it never slows down and never grows tiresome. The first time I read "This is All" was early on in high school. I enjoyed it, but while I scanned the pages, it seemed that the ideas and themes of the book went over my head. I felt like my life was just beginning, which is how Cordelia felt in the beginning. But towards the end, I was lost.I picked the book up again recently and started to read. I reminisced in the moments that once made sense to me, falling in love with a boy who accompanied my piano-playing. But now, I can feel the pain of losing that boy in my bones, the frustration of people coming in and out of my life, the playfulness of a new and foreign environment and the occasional loneliness of it. I realized that this is the beauty of Aidan Chambers' work. One day, maybe four or five years from now, I'll pick up the book again (for the 9th or 10th time) and read the moments that lead up to the end of the Pillow Book. Perhaps I'll be able to relate to those events in ways that I have not been able to relate before. If you haven't read this book before, it is worth a gander. It is real, it is timeless. Plus, it's the perfect fall book (especially since there's a cute guy that loves trees, and trees remind me of fall). Do you have any other fall book recommendations? Let me know at arabusa@asu.edu or on Twitter @marie_eo.
(10/03/13 4:00am)
I believe the phrase, "What the hell, McClellan!" was heard a lot in the White House. General George McClellan was the first General-in-Chief during the start of the Civil War. Now, he didn’t last very long in office. He was a headache for Lincoln and extremely criticized by citizens. In the Tumblr history community, he’s mostly a vehicle for jokes about retreating. Here’s a few reasons McClellan actually kind of sucked at his job.
(10/02/13 4:00am)