"Hey Bitches!"

Bravo announced a new show, “Hey Bitches,” that will star an openly gay web commentator whose focus is pop culture and style, William Sled. I chose this clip ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJR7JNnQDv8&feature=player_embedded ) for several reasons relevant to what we have been discussing in class recently.

1. First of all, the title of the show and opening greeting of the segment is simply and plainly, “Hey bitches!” Although this term was one derogatory, it has become strangely mainstream and almost a form of endearment, as we discussed in class. The evolution of the meaning of “bitches,” “whores,” etc. can be labeled as a type of transcoding.

2. This segment toys with a couple ideologies. Since William Sled is openly gay and still extremely popular on the Internet, something is said about our culture’s shifting ideology—homosexuality is now acceptable in mainstream society. Another ideology, the “going green” ideology, is relatively new, and has become “fashionable” in today’s culture. Celebrities endorse “going green,” and now the environmentally-friendly ideology seems to have spread everywhere. For example, as William discusses, many retail-clothing stores are selling organic or recycled “going green” fashions. “Going green” is hott right now, and the media would not want to miss out on this great new way to appeal to consumers. The false consciousness of the ads slightly guilt trips us, as it whispers, “Buy our stuff, you’re helping the earth, and if you don’t, you’re killing the planet.”

3. Sled’s discussion of the process of fashion lines recycling material from second-hand stores in order to go green (“repurposing”) is kind of like the idea of “reappropriation.” In both cases, something old is completely reworked and altered to make something entirely new and different to serve a purpose that is often times, unintended by the original creator.

This clip demonstrated several issues that we’ve been discussing in class. The examples seem to be hidden under the surface, just as most of what we’ve been discussing in class is hidden by and within the media.