Week 2 Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Week 2 Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm is a series that airs on HBO Sunday nights. The show stars the former head writer and co-creator of Seinfeld, Larry David, who stars on the show as himself. The show premiered in 2000 and has enjoyed critical acclaim and a steady growing audience that has helped the show to blossom from its early days of being a low-profile "cult classic" type of show. Since the show first aired, the show has been nominated for 20 Emmy Awards and won a Golden Globe Award for best television comedy in 2003. Let me just tell you...THIS SHOW IS HILARIOUS!!!! LOL.

For those of you who have NEVER watched the show known as just 'CYE' or 'Curb', you are truly missing out on one of the best shows EVER on television, next to Seinfeld of course!!!! What I love most about this show is that instead of working off of predictable scripts, "Curb" cast members review detailed scene outlines and then improvises and freestyles the entire shows dialogue to make the viewer feel as though you are 'a fly on the wall' watching dramas unfold naturally. You can watch an episode and really feel like the reactions and emotions are genuine. The great thing about this show is that it is really hard to tell what is reality vs. scripted situations, mostly because of the way the show is filmed (with handheld cameras) and the fact that the cast is provided with just story lines and not scripts.

Here is the simple premise of the show - Set in Los Angeles, the show is loosely based on Larry David's life as a semi-retired, multi-millionaire who in a world after the HUGE sitcom success of "Seinfeld", tries to continue to cultivate projects and his career based on his ideas that helped him create a "show about nothing". Viewers are invited into Larry's world and watch as he painfully tries to get himself out of uncomfortable situations. The main characters on the show are (PHOTOS are courtesy of TV.com:

• Larry David as himself. Larry David is the ultimate passive aggressive and has terrible luck in social situations and is often on the losing end of heated confrontations with just about EVERYBODY: waiters, retail clerks, secretaries, business partners, etc. His neurotic tendencies and overly paranoid personality are usually at the root of all his problems. Larry just can't let go of an issue, just like George Costanza from Seinfeld! He can never admit fault, accept blame, or let matters rest. At the same time, Larry is often the victim of circumstances and the situations he finds himself involved in. I think he helps viewers to see how people, as we interact with one another in society, can be overly-sensitive and easily-offended over issues that are blown out of proportion or taken out of context.


• Cheryl: Cheryl David (played by Cheryl Hines) is Larry's long-suffering and constantly annoyed wife. They're now estranged on the show.
  
• Jeff: Jeff Greene (played by Jeff Garlin) is Larry's BFF (best friend forever) and manager. He doggedly sticks up for his client and friend. It seems like Jeff is obsessed with sex too. He is constantly, Jeff often involves Larry in covering up his marital infidelities and hiding his porn collections.
  
• Susie: Susie Greene (played by Susie Essman) is Jeff's wife. She often reacts to Jeff and Larry's shenanigans with angry, profane tirades. When Susie has had her fill of Larry's antics, WATCH OUT! She will curse Larry out and turn the show from PG-13 straight to an R rating in under 30 seconds! LOL. She shows more affection to her dog, Oscar, and her daughter, Sammie, than her husband. The stability of her marriage with Jeff is sketchy at best, based on the number of separations and fights the two have had over the course of the show so far.
  
• Richard Lewis as himself. Richard Lewis is a neurotic, recovering alcoholic standup comedian. He is one of Larry's oldest and closest friends, both having moved from New York to LA to pursue their comedy careers.

• The Blacks: (New to season 6) An African-American family, whose last name is "Black", were invited to live in the home of Larry and Cheryl after their home was destroyed in a Hurricane. The Black family is headed by Loretta Black, played by actress Vivica A. Fox from hit movies like Set It Off, Kill Bill, Kim Impossible, and Soul Food. In the season 6 finale, Larry and Loretta wake up in bed together after attending Sammie's bat mitzvah. The ending scene included flashes of Larry and Loretta involved in a romantic relationship and "The Blacks" symbolically adopting Larry into their family and staying in his house indefinitely. We better stay tuned to see how this plot works itself out next season!
  

A TV Show like Curb goes from cult classic to pop culture when it starts to get main stream references on other TV shows and by other celebrities. Here are some examples, as listed on Wikipedia of when the show "jumped the shark" into pop culture history:

• Some of the celebrities that have guest starred on the show and have named the show as one of their favorites include: Ted Danson, Bob Einstein as Marty Funkhouser, Mary Steenburgen, Wanda Sykes, Shelley Berman as Larry's father, former Seinfeld stars Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Scorsese, Alanis Morissette, Hugh Hefner, David Schwimmer, Mel Brooks, Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Stephen Colbert, Dustin Hoffman, Sacha Baron Cohen and Bea Arthur.


• In The Sopranos episode "Where's Johnny?", Junior Soprano is seen watching the episode "The Doll". Due to his increasing dementia, he mistakes Larry David for himself and Jeff Garlin for Bobby Baccalieri, and is confused as to why they are on television. Perhaps in reference to this, one plot strand of the Curb episode "The End" revolves around a missing Sopranos DVD.


• In an episode of Family Guy, a flash-back shows Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV, just before the assault on the Death Star. In the famous scene Luke calls out one of the rebel pilots who says they will never be able to hit the small power core target, but Luke claims he hunted womp rats on Tatooine so its no problem. The rebel pilot is offended and asks to speak to Luke in private. When he talks to Luke there is a clear reference to Curb. Luke acts defensively like Larry, and won't admit he was wrong to call the pilot out. The scene ends with Luke being called a jerk, the Curb music, and a close up of Luke's face.


• Slate.com named the characters of Cheryl David and Susie Green as two of the best on television and as reasons they were looking forward to the return of the show this past September.
  

THE *GUSTAVE REPORT* POP CULTURE RATING: JJJJJ

ICON SELECTIONS: I'm looking out for a hero...

This week I've been tasked with identifying 3 contemporary icons.

Now while this may seem like an easy task, I found that after staring at my computer screen for 2 hrs., I was still drawing a blank on who to highlight as my 3 favorite contemporary icons.

I chose these 3 icons because of what each person represents in our society today. In my mind, an icon is someone or something that serves as a symbol that defines an era or period in time. Now, it really is a matter of opinion as to what type of impact that person has made on society or what that person represents to society.

So, without further delay, after making my way through a whole pint of Ben & Jerry's "Chunky Monkey" Ice Cream (yeah, yeah...I cheated on my bridezilla diet), I finally decided on my top 3 icons of my generation. Drum roll please...

#1 - Britney Spears (Generation Y icon)



My first icon is Britney Spears. Now I know while some might say that Britney Spears is actually a BAD role model today we need to look at this person objectively. Say what you may about Britney's current personal problems, but you cannot deny the fact that Britney grosses $770,000 per month...yes, I said per month! Britney has sold over 83 million records worldwide and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold 31 million albums in the U.S. Spear's debut single "...Baby One More Time", released in the end of 1998 became an instant international success. "...Baby One More Time", peaked at number one on the Billboard's Hot 100 and garnered nine million unit sales worldwide. The album was ranked 25th on Rolling Stone and MTV's "100 Greatest Pop Songs of all time". The music video accompanying the song featured Spears dressed in a schoolgirl uniform and soon after, it was not uncommon to see legions of girls dressing in schoolgirl outfits in honor of their new idol. The album of the same title was released in January 1999, reaching number one on the Billboard 200. "...Baby One More Time" was certified Diamond, with 25 million copies sold worldwide. As staggering as some of these figures might seem, it looks to me as though it's inevitable that Britney Spears will always be remembered as a public figure that has captured the attention of the international community. Personally, I love Britney, love *some*, not all of her songs, and truly respect all the hard work and dedication that she invested to make it to the level of infamy currently attributed to her. I just feel really bad that after all the hard work that she and her family invested in her career, that she is now being panned and even mocked by the media today...the same media that built her up to be the pop icon that she is today, is making millions themselves tearing her down and capitalizing on her personal problems. I think it is so sad that people are criticizing her so badly as though she is not like you and me with the same problems. Her problems just seem more grave because her every move is held under a microscope.


#2 - Hillary Clinton (Baby Boomer icon)



Having lived in Ohio for almost 5 years now, I know better than to publicly declare who I am voting for President in 2008. Heck, at this early stage of the political cycle, I wouldn't even dare tell you what party I am affiliated with since there's still so much time for the Presidential candidates to prove why they are the most electable candidate! LOL.

For the purposes of this post, I am just focused on who I think is in a position to be called an icon. Hillary Clinton, as we all know, is running to become the 44th President of the United States....and the first female President of the United States. WHOA! Does everyone in this Country understand how significant that is??????

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the junior United States Senator representing New York (my home state - YAY!) and actually made history by becoming the first female Senator to represent the State of New York. She is married to Bill Clinton, who served as the 42nd President of the United States. She was also the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001. She was the first, First Lady to hold a post-graduate degree and also the first to have her own professional career up until the time of entering the White House. She was also the first, First Lady to take up an office in the West Wing of the White House...First Ladies usually stay in the East Wing. Hillary Clinton is widely regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history...that is of course, next to Eleanor Roosevelt. She has been ranked among the world's most powerful people by Forbes magazine and Time magazine's Time 100 lists.

For young girls and women all over the world, Hillary Clinton serves as a role model and an icon. She proves to women everywhere that we can accomplish anything that we put our minds to...even running for President of the greatest Country in the world!


#3 - Tiger Woods (Generation X icon)



Eldrick Tiger Woods is an American professional Golfer and is ranked as one of the most successful Golfers of all time. Let's be frank...currently the World's No. 1 Golfer, Tiger Woods was the highest paid professional athlete in 2006, having earned an estimated $100 million from winnings and endorsements...how many Football, Basketball, or even Baseball athletes can touch that title????

Tiger has won 13 professional major golf championships, the second-most of any male player, and 61 PGA Tour events, the fifth-most of all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer. He is the youngest player to achieve the Career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on Tour. If I listed all of Tiger Woods' accomplishments and records, you might be reading all night, but instead I will only focus on "a few" of his accomplishments.

At the age of 15, he became the youngest ever U.S. Junior Amateur Champion, was voted Southern California Amateur Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and was named Golf Digest's Amateur Player of the Year in 1991. He successfully defended his title at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, becoming the first multiple winner, competed in his first PGA Tour event, the Nissan Los Angeles Open and was named Golf Digest Amateur Player of the Year, Golf World Player of the Year and Golfweek National Amateur of the Year in 1992. WHOA!!!!!!!

To this day, Tiger Woods remains the event's youngest-ever and only multiple winner. In 1994, Woods became the youngest ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship. He was a member of the American team at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy World Amateur Golf Team Championships and 1995 Walker Cup. Later that year, he enrolled at Stanford University, and won his first collegiate event, the William Tucker Invitational. In 1995, Woods defended his U.S. Amateur title, and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year, NCAA First Team All-American, and Stanford's Male Freshman of the Year (an award that encompasses all sports). Tiger participated in his first PGA Tour major, The Masters, and tied for 41st as the only amateur to make the cut. At age 20 in 1996, Woods became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles and won the NCAA individual golf championship. In winning the Silver Medal as leading amateur at The Open Championship, Woods tied the record for an amateur aggregate score of 281. He left college after two years and turned Pro.

Tiger Woods has held the number one position in the world rankings for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of winning weeks. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record NINE....yes, I said NINE TIMES, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record EIGHT times, and has tied Jack Nicklaus's record of leading the money list in eight different seasons, most recently earning $10,867,052 in 2007! He has also been named Associated Press' Male Athlete of the Year four times, a record he shares only with Lance Armstrong.

One thing I find appealing about Tiger Woods is that he is multiracial in a sport that is predominately white. He has been credited with prompting a major surge of interest in the game of golf for a variety of people. He has opened many doors in the Golf world, having even broken down some racial barriers by being the first African-American male to play on Golf courses that historically only allowed whites to play their courses. Tiger has had a MAJOR impact on the world of Golf, having doubled attendance and TV ratings, and generating interest among a multicultural audience in a game that used to be considered insular and elitist for many years. Most importantly, I along with many other individuals admire Tiger Woods and consider him to be an American and International icon because he has conducted his career with the utmost class, style, and charisma! I love Tiger Woods and look forward to watching him impact American history and sports for many years to come.

He made it cool to Golf!!!!!

Week 1 REVIEW: THE SUPERMAN DANCE

Week 1 REVIEW: THE SUPERMAN DANCE

Some people have asked what an example of Popular Culture would be today.

When you are able to identify a new trend that is sweeping the country, and millions of people from different walks of life are all doing the same action, like a new dance, and posting it on You Tube...just because...you have successfully found an example of Popular Culture in action!

In September 2007, an American Rap Group released a song called Crank That Soulja Boy. Within a few weeks, people of all ages and from different parts of the Country, videotaped themselves recreating the dance performed in the groups' video for the song with the catchy chorus.

While many people wondered why this song in particular struck a chord with people all over the United States, the song climbed to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and has officially become an artifact of popular culture.

As our course material states, "culture is learned, meaning that culture is not necessarily determined by race, but rather by how one acquires the arts, institutions, and practices of a given culture." The artifact that I analyzed is the perfect example of popular culture because like the definition of culture states, "The Superman Dance" is not determined by race even though the stereotypes associated with Hip-Hop music would lead one to believe that only Black people would be doing it. Instead, "The Superman Dance" is an artifact of Popular Culture that has been acquired by people young and old, and from a variety of backgrounds. This is why I added the videos - to demonstrate that not just one type of person is doing the exact same dance. It was actually very difficult to find more than two videos from the same state.

Check out what all the talk is about below:









Source: Soulja Boy. Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulja_Boy

Are you with the program?

Why is an understanding of popular culture relevant in a business environment and in your present and future career?

Understanding what drives popular culture is critical for any business and is an integral part to excelling in the workplace.

In a business environment, understanding popular culture is very important when creating an effective Marketing Plan. When a company looks to implement a Relationship Marketing Plan, with the goal of increasing revenue, it is important to learn all about your customer, including what they like, what interests them most, annd what their needs are. These key factors to effective Relationship Marketing startegies are all influenced by Popular Culture. For example, Wendy's Restaurants wants to try to outsell a new Fast Food Competitor in the area - Jack in the Box. After conducting surveys, and focus groups, Wendy's learns that most of their repeat business comes from consumers in the mid-30's age range. Studies show this age group is very concerned with fitness and exercise, so Wendy's starts a fitness program to attract more interest from this age group! Wendy's also decides to hire more employees in the same age group and creates a similar program for employees to participate in. That's all it takes to use popular culture to improve business and improve employee morale with one plan of action.

This example just further proves that Popular Culture is a powerful under current of our society.

What is popular culture?

What is popular culture, and what does it mean to you?




Popular culture is all around us! Its the 100% pure, not from concentrate, fascination of mainstream America. Popular culture is as much a part of my life as it is in yours. Its the state-of-mind that bonds us as people. Instead of defining popular culture right away, think about a typical day for a working professional and you can find many examples of popular culture at work.

You wake up in the morning, hop in the shower, and then turn on the Today Show to play in the background as you get yourself ready for work. You here a segment about fall clothing items on sale at Old Navy and make a mental note to stop by during your lunch break. As you hop in your car and start off to work, you stop off at the Starbucks drive-thru for a Grande Mocha before hopping onto the highway. Later in the morning, you stop to chat with a co-worker and laugh at last nights episode of The Office. During the conversation, you notice the great pair of shoes your co-worker is wearing. You ask her about them and she mentions that she purchased them online from an eBay Auction. You go back to work and soon after decide to head out to grab a bit to eat for lunch. You stop by the nearby shopping center and pay a quick visit to Old Navy. After purchasing a couple of sweaters and some outerwear at Old Navy, you pick up a copy of People Magazine while standing in the checkout line. While working through the afternoon, you check your MySpace page for any new messages, text your friends about plans for dinner, and check out eBay for any good deals that might catch your interest. Once you get off work, you go to the grocery store and buy a handful of South Beach Diet Meals for the week and talk to your friends on your Blackberry Smartphone while sitting in traffic.

This is a great example of how popular culture influences our lives, from our purchases to our behaviors. This blog was created to celebrate the good, the bad, and the ugly of popular culture. Why was the broadcast premier of High School Musical such a ratings bonanza? Why is Britney Spears on the cover of every magazine? Why is it that when Oprah Winfrey names a new book to her Book Club, it automatically rises to the top of the New York Times Best Sellers List? The answers to these questions might seem easy to answer.

Popular Culture is defined by MSN Encarta as a set of values that come from advertising, the entertainment industry, the media, and icons of style and are targeted to the ordinary people in society. These values are distinguished from those espoused by more traditional political, educational, or religious institutions.

When I think of Popular Culture, I think of enjoying my hobbies, staying current with changing technology, buying a popular style of shoes, or even starting on a new trendy diet.

Have you thought about how much Popular Culture has permeated your life?

SOURCE: Popular Culture. MSN Encarta Premium. Retrieved from http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761585688/Popular_Culture.html