By now you are fully aware that Zooey Deschanel prides herself on her individuality and creative sense of style and identity, which sets her apart from commercial and popular culture. Accentuating this counter-cultural association, Deschanel is also an independent musician.
Outside of Hollywood, Deschanel has been successful as the lead singer of indie band She & Him. In true Indie style, Deschanel insisted on paying for her first album herself rather than turning to a production studio. This do-it-yourself attitude is extremely important in the Independent music community because it represents a nonconforming attitude as well as a desire for artistic control that is respected by listeners. This legitimacy and credibility among indie music lovers has contributed to the band's growth in popularity in recent years.
Zooey’s music career has also gained notoriety thanks to the actress' on-screen singing performances. In Elf, Deschanel originally gained much renown for her forties-style singing voice. She also sings on screen in Yes Man as the lead singer of fictional band Munchausen By Proxy (an unpopular and artistic Indie band). Most recently, She & Him songs were included in the soundtrack for 500 Days of Summer. Zooey sings karaoke in the film, and she and 500 Days co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt later produced a companion music video to the film. The video (the “Bank Dance” posted below) features the She & Him song “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here.”
Deschanel has an extremely unique situation with her band and her star image, which is part of the reason that she can be seen as an upper middle class icon. She is not like other actresses that record albums (like Jennifer Lopez or Scarlett Johanssen who have albums of their own) for a few reasons that we will attempt to understand here. First of all, Deschanel is extremely talented and has the ability to really deliver on her album, unlike many other actresses. Other talented actors and actresses who record music successfully tend to be much more associated with pop music and pop culture than Deschanel is. In part, we can imagine this is the case because she is viewed as an Independent actress, so her star image is already rebelling against the confines of consumer and mass culture, and her characters, while not belonging to popular bands, are often musicians or at least, musical (See The New Guy or Yes Man). In addition, Indie music lovers can respect the band's attitude because She & Him does not exploit Deschanel's popularity as many other actresses do for their music. The band is not called Zooey & Him, which is significant in understanding why their music is still viewed as Independent and not a part of generic pop culture.
In a way, Deschanel's association with Indie music validates her as an Independent actress and a white, upper middle class icon. Similarly, actor Mos Def and his band Black Star are associated with Independent music, and Lander mentions Mos Def in his list, saying:
"(Mos Def) has done an amazing job of being in big budget movies (The Italian Job) and having one of his songs become a white person wedding staple (Ms. Fat Booty) while still retaining authenticity and credibility."
Deschanel has an extremely unique situation with her band and her star image, which is part of the reason that she can be seen as an upper middle class icon. She is not like other actresses that record albums (like Jennifer Lopez or Scarlett Johanssen who have albums of their own) for a few reasons that we will attempt to understand here. First of all, Deschanel is extremely talented and has the ability to really deliver on her album, unlike many other actresses. Other talented actors and actresses who record music successfully tend to be much more associated with pop music and pop culture than Deschanel is. In part, we can imagine this is the case because she is viewed as an Independent actress, so her star image is already rebelling against the confines of consumer and mass culture, and her characters, while not belonging to popular bands, are often musicians or at least, musical (See The New Guy or Yes Man). In addition, Indie music lovers can respect the band's attitude because She & Him does not exploit Deschanel's popularity as many other actresses do for their music. The band is not called Zooey & Him, which is significant in understanding why their music is still viewed as Independent and not a part of generic pop culture.
In a way, Deschanel's association with Indie music validates her as an Independent actress and a white, upper middle class icon. Similarly, actor Mos Def and his band Black Star are associated with Independent music, and Lander mentions Mos Def in his list, saying:
"(Mos Def) has done an amazing job of being in big budget movies (The Italian Job) and having one of his songs become a white person wedding staple (Ms. Fat Booty) while still retaining authenticity and credibility."
We can imagine that white, upper middle class people see Deschanel and her band in the same light, helping to highlight the aspects of her star image (like her rebellious and individual attitude) that endear her to this culture. Again, upper middle class people can see the values that they hold dear visible in Deschanel's star image, and they can imagine that if they were as popular as Deschanel is, that they would also choose to remain a part of the Indie music counter-culture rather than selling out to the masses.
In addition, Deschanel's recent marriage to Death Cab for Cutie's lead singer, Ben Gibbard, has shown her involvement and prominence in the Independent music scene with Ben's band being one of its most important and known figures.
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