Comments on: Of Red Carpets, Pop Culture, and Plastic

By: claire

claire — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:52:27 +0000

wow, I just noticed I spelled my own name wrong! oops! (and probably did it more than once because the comment form remembered my info)

yes, that’s the show, they are very rude but it’s endearing in a way. mostly I like watching it to see the terrible clothes they get rid of, which are often clothes I would wear myself. they once made someone get rid of a capri sun pouch purse which I was totally enamored with. I’ve never seen project runway, I’ll have to check it out.

you’re probably right about weeds, I’m a big fan of clothing and I often find myself wanting to go buy fancy colorful dresses after watching it, so I can see how seeing a fancy cappucino drink on the show would have the same effect on coffee drinkers.

By: Beth Terry

Beth Terry — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:57:33 +0000

Hey Clare, I love Weeds too! But I don't think the general viewing public is going to get that the plastic cup is social commentary. I think it will just subliminally make them want a frappucino. Isn't What Not To Wear that show where they're really snarky to people? If so, I saw it once and turned it off. Hate haters. But I love Project Runway. And I even had lunch with Tim Gunn last year!

By: clare

clare — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:09:04 +0000

I want to stick up for weeds here and say that the plastic cup (along with the prius) is just another way of making a social commentary on consumerism in suburban culture, but that could just be my love for the show talking. something I can’t stand is the garbage can on “What Not To Wear” (http://www.poptower.com/pic-16130/what-not-to-wear.jpg). they actually donate the clothing, but throwing the clothes in a “symbolic” (according to wikipedia) garbage can on the show is only encouraging people to actually throw their clothes in a garbage can… why not use a small donate bin in an effort to raise awareness of donating to charity as an alternative to throwing perfectly good items in the trash? it doesn’t make any sense to me. (I thought the donate bin could say something like “donations for the unfortunate” to be ironic, but that would be making fun of poor people and that’s just rude.)

By: Carnival Of The Green #217 | Fake Plastic Fish

Carnival Of The Green #217 | Fake Plastic Fish — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:41:21 +0000

[...] forgive me. Some of my friends think this is the stupidest thing ever. But like I said on Monday, I’m a Philistine. On a [...]

By: Clif

Clif — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:44:36 +0000

My approach is to make it better. Yesterday I was biking home from the grocery store and noticed the usual litter on the street. I decided that since I have plenty of time I would stop my bike and pick up every aluminum can I spotted. After three blocks and thirty cans I decided to save the remainder for my next trip. I was only picking up aluminum, not plastic, of which there was plenty and I was only covering one side of the street.

Compared with the amount of stuff and the number of people dropping things, my effort seems puny, but compared to the number of people picking things up on their own, my effort is astounding – incredible – amazing! For all of our sense of superiority over other life, human beings are as predictable as any other animal for 99% of our lives and as often on auto-pilot as any instinct-driven creature.

When my time comes, I will gently close my eyes with my last thought being of huge imaginary warehouses full of all the things I’ve picked up over my lifetime – a giant gift to Mother Earth. Why, it brings a smile to my face even now. : )

By: Katy

Katy — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:57:35 +0000

I agree with most people that in the case of plastic, pop culture is just going along with what has become the norm of our society. Speaking of ... How insane would it be to have a star who was nominated for tons of awards (ie Sandra Bullock/Meryle Streep) wear the same dress all award season long. Thank about it. Between the Golden Globes and the Oscars there are a slew of smaller awards banquits that people attend. What if, for kicks the didn't have to have a different dress every time they went to dinner? .-= Katy´s last blog ..Art as Prayer =-.

By: Debbie B

Debbie B — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:55:44 +0000

I thought I was doing pretty well with my canvas bags, reusable coffee mug, reusable water bottle and such and then I came to your blog and I see that I’m barely scratching the surface of what I could be doing. Now I look at everything around me and there’s so much plastic. Much of it is food based but it doesn’t stop there. I think there is a lot that is out of convenience/safety (if I drop that peanut butter jar it’s plastic and won’t shatter; the IV bags in the hospital replaced larger bottles and are safer and store more easily). I think we live in a ‘convenience’ society rather than a ‘thoughtful’ society of the past. Like anything else though, awareness is the first (and likely the easier) step. Then comes the act of changing.

Excellent stuff here even for the newbie getting started on the de-plasticizing journey.

By: coralorchid

coralorchid — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:04:59 +0000

I agree whole-heartedly, the unrestricted manufacturing and mindless use of plastic is overwhelming and madening. I personally see to it that my family is on the “green” path at all possible times. We minimize the purchasing of beverages of any kind in plastic bottles or cups. There’s nothing wrong with taking your own drink in your own, reusable travel mug from home on any trip, short or long. I’ve seen to it that nearly all of my groceries are packed into my own shopping/tote bags. As soon as I started seeing these bags in places like Walmart, drug and grocery stores for as little as .50 cents to $2.00 each, I started buying them. One, sometimes two at a time, each week until I had enough, about 10. The cashiers and baggers have come to expect my bags and me each week. However, I do still prefer putting raw meat products into plastic bags. I don’t like contamination from leaking meat juices. I save and reuse every glass, aluminum, or plastic container with a good lid that I get from food products, even some things from fast food and take-out resteraunts can be reused many times. This way I almost never have to buy any other kind of storage containers. Going green can help you cut back on daily expenses if you think about it, you’ll become quite thrifty in a very good way. I’m a crafter also, I crochet and sew. These hobbies help the green movement, too, by allowing you to repurpose old clothes and fabrics as well as creating new ones. The ideas are limitless and it’s time for more of us to put these ideas into practice, habitual practice. Lead by example, rather than preaching, or at least practice what we preach.
Thank you for your insight into our “plastic culture”, you would think Hollywood and the Entertainment industry would take note of these things and be more proactive in the “Green” age.

By: curlymonkey

curlymonkey — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:34:34 +0000

I think that a lot of people have no idea of the impact plastic consumption has on the environment ( just like meat consumption). Or they still don't care... .-= curlymonkey´s last blog ..Save the mermaids! =-.

By: Allie

Allie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:31:08 +0000

Oh my gosh! The plastic cups on Weeds drive me CRAZY! Especially since she drives a Prius. How hard would it be for the prop guy to find her a reusable cup. I know Starbucks made a glass version of their plastic cup for the holidays. .-= Allie´s last blog ..Get Green at the Green Depot =-.