Oct
28
pop culture
Posted by: Natasha Chiang | October 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment
On the bus home from my office, ten young teenage girls came onto the bus. They were all wearing the same brands (TNA, Talula, Wilfred), and were heavily clad with makeup, expensive purses, and smelled of perfume. I guess they were from rich families. They got on, giggling half- drunkenly, and squealed and gossiped like the characters on Gossip Girl. I think if they read this they would think it was a compliment. They were the stereotypical “popular girls” of high school, and seeing them I realize how shallow (worthless, pointless) that label is. But they were nice girls, probably; I shouldn’t judge.
At the mall earlier in the day, I overheard two eight-year-old girls holding poster tubes, begging their daddy, “please, please buy me these Justin Bieber posters,” to which he responded (exasperated), “you girls, driving me crazy with your Fever Bieber fever (SDFDFDSFHGHGHJLKLDRKER, mentally in his head)”. I couldn’t help but laugh, but it wasn’t a happy laugh. or a purely amused laugh. It was a little disconcerting, actually. What’s the deal with celebrity crushes?
I stayed a little later at the Academy tonight, marking my students’ tests. There are two other classes that run at night; one of them was a little boy (5 or 6) who came in for a class every week (newly immigrant parents want to expose their children to English ASAP). My boss asked the little boy, “do you miss your mom, when is she coming back from Taiwan??” to which he said, “I’m okay.” Then, she teases the little boy, “did you miss me???”, which he honestly replied, “not really….”. So she asks, “who do you miss the most right now, at this moment??” “Lady Gaga.”
Another boy (14 or 15) walked by and retorted, “little boy, you’re like 2 years old. Do you think you have a chance at her?”, all the while implying that he did.