Final Project: Social Effects of Tinder

Ellen Degeneres

So, I personally love Ellen. I have seen her from a distance when I found out she was going to be at Universal when I was there. I waved to her and she even laughed at me because I was screaming just about anything to get her attention. She was next to her wife and she looked so happy. Now, I didn't know she was gay until she said so on her show. I was not surprised and it certainly didn't make me hate her. Why do I love Ellen? For her life choices or her comedy and work material? I love her sense of humor and what this blog is about is to not judge this woman for being gay and how she uses it as a publicity stunt.

I know she is a genuine person for many reasons. First one is because when I, among many others, was at Universal she was handing out water bottles herself and told us not stick around because it was so hot. She wasn't expecting star treatment to be fanned and cooled, she was being human. Second reason is because she helps so much to those she can. She gives away prizes and money to those in need. It comes from her fame and she genuinely wants to help people and make them laugh. Third reason is that she involves her audience in her show, which if it was just for the money, she wouldn't do. My argument here is that she is passionate about her work. There is no denying she has helped people embrace who they are and helped people come out of the closet. She was the start to a domino effect for many television series today. I think it is a great thing and people seriously can't help who they love so more power to those who dare to be themselves. You have my vote. To end this, I liked this quote I read on twitter. "Supporting gay rights doesn't make you gay! I support animal rights! Does that make me an alpaca?"

Coming out over the years

I guess I should put a sort of disclaimer of the fact that I didn't know much about being gay on television besides the shows I watched that happened to have a character on there. First, I found out about Ellen because she was on every form of media when she came out of the closet. She was the most well known lesbian at the time. Next thing I figure out, Friends had two girls get together but they were just on the sidelines. I didn't know it was a big deal. Then I watched a show called ER, which happened to deal with a gay character. Again, it wasn't a main storyline but it just happened. Then finally, the only real situation where I saw the process of what it was like was on Glee. They actually had a main character play a gay student and another girl play a lesbian. I believe Demi Lovato is now on there playing a lesbian. Soon after Glee, Pretty Little Liars has a girl, who is the main character, that deals with the struggle of coming out of the closet.

The point of this is to stress the fact that I didn't realize how much time it took to get to this point. I always saw stuff about being gay and lesbian but it was always on the sidelines. Being in an Indian family, my parents were a lot more conservative about us hearing about it. Then they realized it was becoming more mainstream so they didn't care if we heard about it after we reached our teens. I am simply emphasizing the fact that I don't see the big deal about having gay characters or people in life and television. To those who fall in love, you all know you cant help it. Demi Lovato is straight but she plays a gay character and I thought that was brave of her to support her homosexual fans like that. I am straight and I support gay rights because while I was growing up, I was exposed to the idea and I didn't see a problem with it. I think it's about time we have more shows like these so the people who are gay/lesbian feel supported and Ellen definitely helped them have more support. I think she is brave and so is anyone else who dares to fall in love.

A Life Without A Phone

Talk about awkward, here is a situation for you. You are sitting in a restaurant and everyone is taking out their phone to take a picture of their food and a "snap chat selfie" with their buddies and the delicious spread around you. Everyone is doing it except for you because you realize how ridiculous your friends look and how there seems to be no human interaction happening. Why is it that we do this? To impress people that we are having an awesome and busy life? To get validation from people that we barely talk to? To let everyone know you are Mr./Ms. popular? Well, I am not going to lie because I used to be a victim to all of this until last summer in California.

Trust me guys, I understand taking pictures because it really is important to remember these things. I understand taking a group picture at a restaurant to remember the occasion but I don't get the countless selfies or constant pictures of food. Last summer I went to San Jose to visit my uncle, cousin, and grandparents who were visiting from India. My uncle wanted to do something special for me, my brother, and cousin so he took us to the ever so famous In and Out burger joint. I was in the middle of a pretty amazing conversation with one of my best friends at the time and I couldn't keep my eyes off my phone. My brother was texting all his friends from college because he was missing them a ton. My cousin was texting her cross country buddies talking about how amazing practice was. Then there was my uncle who has a phone but didn't have it out. He put it on silent to remember his time with us. A little background on my uncle? He treats me more like a sister; always teasing and joking around with me but I am the apple of his eye, for sure. I know he cares because he taught me one of the most valuable lessons.

He took our phones out of our hands and stacked them in the middle but put them on full blast to let us know that we are missing out on the texts. He said we could have them back after eating and needless to say, he took what seemed like forever. I got the most amount of text rings and yea, it drove me insane. However, I look back at that day and I realized what me and my friend were talking about could've waited. I should just live in the moment. So now? My phone is not my priority when I am with my family or friends. Do I feel alone considering society around me? Of course! But I know I'm doing the right thing. Take this lesson, fine people of Comm 322, it will be awesome in the long run.