Kanye West

Issues here of not liking the messenger, liking the message, not liking the message nor the messenger, and so on.  This figure has become quite controversial.  People either love him or hate him, and it seems to be something off which he feeds.  The main issue that keeps coming up, however, is if and how a celebrated figure can comment on consumerism, race, etc.  This plays into society's re-evaluation of celebrity as it questions what it considers to be socially responsible behavior by those who have so much in an era that is so tough for many.  An opinion piece in Vibe put it perfectly, "Yet can a man who’s claimed he shops so much that he can speak Italian—the same dude who played mute at an Occupy Wall Street protest while sporting multiple gold chains—truly be a voicebox for the middle-class man?"  Maybe, maybe not. But he can certainly serve as an instrument to get a number of classes talking about the issues, and isn't that what art and artists are supposed to ultimately do at the end of the day?  

What will Kimye think of next in order to gain more publicity?  Seems like the comment-sphere has some pretty negative vibes about this one perhaps given Kim's ...er...history.  A cool sociology student has noted that the music industry is actually one of the key areas that is a major amplifier of gender inequality in our society.  Is this whole incident part of male control and female objectification?  If so, the comments show that people are beyond the buying of such a sale, at least in this case.  But language is a tricky thing, particularly when observing it within subcultures.  Depending on the context, some women have said that the word bitch makes them feel strong and in control.  The real issue just may be more about gender dominance and inequality in the board room rather than on the iTunes playlist. Let's see celebrity start to tackle that one next time!

Ah, what's a celeb post without a Kim-ye posting?  She may not have gotten in at the Met Gala but has managed to scoot into the Cannes Film Fest.  Oh and for those who may not know, Doha is in Qatar.  But we are sure there is many a film student wondering right now how Kanye got those chips for production, and he/she didn't.  Such is celeb privilege in the world of 1% vs....the rest of us, huh?