BY BLANCA GAMEZ and LORETTA GARY

In print | October 26, 2006

Do you ever find yourself fantasizing about what it would be like to live in the fabulously expensive shoes of the women of “Sex and the City”? It’s all right. Don’t deny it, and definitely don’t hide your primal urges. We’re all savages when it comes to pop culture and assuming our rightful roles as idol worshipers. If you are not, then jump on the bandwagon already. Living vicariously through stars and even fictional characters diverts the wary mind just as much as slipping away into your favorite cinematic dream world.

For example, Blanca is an avid, stalker-esque fan of the one and only Lindsay Lohan, who incites a certain level of jealousy in all of us - or at least just in Blanca. It’s sort of hard not to live vicariously through Lindsay when she follows you everywhere you go - she appears on magazine covers at the supermarket, Facebook (there are tons of accounts created under her name), television, Wikipedia and in your brother’s dirty thoughts! Though the media may have created a sort of trashy, famous-because-I’m-hot image of Lindsay Lohan, we have to remember that, in the end, she is a person just like you and us. Maybe she does have some amoral/immoral/selfish tendencies - like her waste-of-space friend Paris Hilton, she could afford to donate a good portion of her millions to various worthy causes - but, overall, we should make an effort to appreciate her, even if only for the endless entertainment and good looks she provides us with.

Blanca discovered Lindsay in “Mean Girls,” which so comically and perfectly captured high school. Her great portrayal of the new-kid, quasi-wall flower-turned-“plastic”-popular-girl got teenagers all over the world hooked on her. Blanca was one of those. Ever since, she has pathetically kept up with “La Lohan’s” life, admiring all her amazing clothes, the way she does her “smoky eyes,” down to the alleged turmoil between her and Scarlett Johansson involving Jared Leto. Blanca has been through it all with Lohan, through thick and thin … too bad La Lohan doesn’t know Blanca could be her best friend. God knows our girl Lindsay doesn’t have any true friends.

On the other hand, Loretta escapes into much more practical and admirable lives - Oprah and Beyonce. I mean, come on … who wouldn’t want to be the queen of a thriving empire that does anything and everything she desires? Both of these women have it all. Oprah appeals to Loretta’s business savvy and drive to succeed - or, as an English teacher from high school so subtly stated: her destiny “to take over the world” — while Beyonce is certainly a respectable, hott, young, vibrant thang who has the looks, the (musical-not-acting) talent, the style, the personality (at least we hope), the man and the career Loretta can only dream about. Everywhere you turn, there is Beyonce, shaking her rump in your face, and we’re just going to say one thing: it’s a beautiful thing. Although, as a side note, Loretta does kind of fear that one day Beyonce may travel down the path paved by one of her precursors, Whitney Houston, and have her productive career brought to a screeching halt due to the temptations of crack. The embarrassment of Bobby and Whitney aside, these strong black women should be an inspiration to all.

All in all, there are tons of pop culture figures just waiting to invade your fantasy life. Isn’t idolization a beautiful thing? There are so many things in life that just may not be feasible for everyone to do, but if you choose wisely, you’ll realize that your life is just fine as long as you indulge in a healthy imagination. And if you can’t help yourself from over-intellectualizing everything, there are tons of old dead writers and theorists who led interesting, desirable lives.

Blanca and Loretta are sophomores. You can reach them at bgamez1@swarthmore.edu and lgary1@swarthmore.edu.

« RETURN TO LIVING & ARTS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »