Like #40: Apple Products

"Plain and simple, white people don’t just like Apple, they love and need Apple to operate…Apple products tell the world that you are creative and unique. They are an exclusive product line only used by every white college student, designer, writer, English teacher, and hipster on the planet…White people also need iPods, iPhones, Apple TV…and anything else that Apple will produce. Because you need to express your uniqueness by purchasing everything that a publicly traded company produces…To take it to the pinnacle of whiteness, you need to put [an] Apple sticker in the rear window of your Prius, Jetta, BMW, Subaru, 4WD Station Wagon or Audi. You then need to drive to a local coffee shop (Starbucks will do in a pinch) and set up your Apple for the world to see. Thankfully, the Apple logo on the back will light up! So even in a dark place, people can see how unique and creative you (and the five other people doing the exact same thing) truly are!"

Apple products are another status symbol of the upper-middle class. As such, Lander focuses a great deal of his energy on mocking this trend in affluent consumerism. He points out the irony of purchasing an Apple product in order to be unique while, really, every other ‘white person’ is purchasing Apple goods for the same reason.

Recently, Zooey Deschanel was spotted by the paparazzi leaving the Apple Store in Hollywood with her then-fiancé, Ben Gibbard. She later admitted that she had been purchasing an iPod at the store.

Even Indie film and music star Zooey Deschanel buys into this mass-consumer trend. Perhaps her niche stardom and her image’s focus on individuality have led her to Apple—a product line for the unique and creative customer. Surely her vintage sense of style and personal quotes that speak about not caring for consumer trends illustrate her desire to be perceived as unique and different.

At the same time, her quest for individuality could be torn apart by Lander’s commentary. Her desire to be unique could be compared to the average ‘hipster’s’ focus on being unique. Many critics have pointed out that in order to be unique, all hipsters buy tight jeans, v-neck t-shirts, vintage clothes, and fedoras so that, rather than becoming an individual, they become one with every other member of their demographic. Zooey, who prides herself on her individuality, could be seen as the star representation of this cultural trend and population.

Her desire to be unique, while admirable, could, when perceived from Lander’s point of view, be seen as shallow and conformist. We do not mean to cast judgment on Ms. Deschanel, but rather, we would like to open up her star image for interpretation. As such, Deschanel’s purchase of an iPod could be seen as a form of seeking identity through conformity. Yes, her purchases are different from those of many Americans, but they are in line with indie/hipster/liberal, upper-middle class culture. Perhaps this focus on creativity and individuality is a means of turning one’s back on American culture at large and at focusing on one’s class identity. Zooey thus becomes an icon for the upper-middle class. She focuses on a personal sense of style just like her demographic constituents. She broadcasts her sense of creativity and uniqueness by buying Apple products just like every ‘white college student, English teacher, and hipster’ everywhere.

*Note: It might be difficult for Deschanel to enjoy her Apple product at a Starbucks because of her fame. For confirmation of her love for Starbucks, however, see Post #1.

Like #34: Architecture

"If you ask white people what they love about cities they don’t live in, they will say “restaurants,” “culture,” and “architecture.” They just can’t get enough of old buildings or ultramodern buildings next to old buildings... The reason white people love architecture so much is that deep down they believe that they could have been a great architect. They feel the same way about other professions including: professor, writer, and politician."

Zooey's character, Summer, in 500 Days of Summer is associated with architecture because of the scene that the still above is from. Joseph's character, Tom, works at a greeting card company, but wants to be an architect. During the pictured scene Tom shows Summer the city by drawing a skyline on her arm. Like Lander suggests, Tom ends up leaving his greeting card job to be an architect.

Like #33: Marijuana

Quotes Lander:
"People from many cultures like marijuana (South East Asian, Jamaica, India, Morrocco, Mexico, etc), but white people take it to an entirely new level. To simply purchase, roll and smoke marijuana is not enough for white people. They need to make sure they know all the different strains, cultivation techniques, and methods for smoking it. They even have an entire magazine (High Times) where they actually have centerfolds of plants that people have grown... they do it for medical/spiritual/social reasons, etc"

Zooey Deschanel's star image has an association with marijuana culture because of her character Kat in the Showtime Series, Weeds. This image is a still from the series, and a clip of this scene can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYq9Egmj5Fc&feature=related

The show Weeds, in itself, is an example of Lander’s claim that white people take smoking to a new level of obsession. The show focuses on the sale of marijuana in a white, middle class suburban community, and Deschanel plays the zany, deranged ex-girlfriend of the lead male character, Andy. The show is tied to a white use of marijuana as a whole, with most of the central characters being white, and almost every character that is shown actually smoking is white, through the series. The magazine, High Times, that Lander talks about is also associated with the show, as it has given the show and many of the actors on it awards, specifically ‘Stonys.’ The man Deschanel’s character has dated on the show won one of these awards, which helps to publicize her connection to white marijuana culture.

Not only does the series show Deschanel smoking and being involved with the dealing of marijuana, but it also presents her as a kind of oddball that one can imagine would smoke for spiritual and mystical reasons, which Lander argues is a white phenomenon. The show displays her in this light in many ways, but most notably in the story of when Kat had stabbed Andy with an icicle after he stepped on her spirit turtle.

In addition to Deschanel’s character on Weeds, her association to marijuana is furthered by her character in the film, Mumford, who smokes cigarettes constantly and tells her therapist that she smokes dope, but her love interest wants her to stop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cobXlciIra4

Both of these parts have tied Deschanel’s star image to marijuana, though there is no evidence that she smokes personally. Her association to the drug, however, is perhaps productive in presenting Deschanel as a star for the upper middle class society because it has her shown, again, to be rebellious, in a way that is pretty well accepted in mainstream society. This helps to make Deschanel not dangerous, but still radical and separate from mass culture. Furthermore, because her involvements with marijuana are only within generally white placements, Deschanel’s whiteness and racialized star image are emphasized with this particular aspect of her representation.

Like #32: Vegan / Vegetarianism

"As with many white people activities, being vegan/vegetarian enables them to feel as though they are helping the environment AND it gives them a sweet way to feel superior to others. For further evidence, note how the vegetarian world has increasing levels of extemism (no meat, no dairy, no eggs, no fish, nothing that has been cooked, etc)...But wait, aren’t there white people who eat organice, grain fed, free range cattle and chicken? Yes, these white people are wracked with guilt knowing that they are eating a dead animal, contributing to rainforest deforestation, and global warming."

While Deschanel is actually no longer a vegan, she is very much associated with this life style for a few major reasons.  First of all, her sister, Emily Deschanel, and her have both been vegan at one point.  Her sister has been a vegan for about 15 years, and Zooey was also a vegan for a time period, including during her judging role on Top Chef Masters, where the contestants were asked to make her a vegan meal that is also free of soy and wheat.

Deschanel's appearance on an episode of Top Chef made information about the actress' dietary needs common knowledge to the American people. The clip from Top Chef, which appears above, features Deschanel and her friends judging the meals the chefs have prepared. Deschanel's allergies are portrayed as a great challenge to the chefs, perhaps even suggesting that her diet makes her a high maintenance individual of sorts whose lifestyle could only be supported by income and time that the upper middle class has.  This is probably part of the reason that upper middle class people can afford to be vegetarians or vegans, even with other food allergies.

In August 2009's Self Magazine article, Deschanel also shows this aspect of her image by giving the recipe for a vegan chocolate treat, and her other recipes are also vegan.  However, now that Deschanel is not a vegan, she also struggles with the guilt of that choice, as Lander postulates, saying in response to if she is still a vegan.  "Not anymore. My older sister, Bones star Emily Deschanel, has been a very, very committed vegan since high school. I wish I could be like that, but I’m not. I have a lot of food sensitivities—I can’t eat wheat or soy—and it was very difficult to eat and get enough calories. It was even impossible to eat at a vegan restaurant. "

Hipster Intellectual?

"The first album I ever got was 'Like a Virgin'. It was during the Iran Contra conflict-I thought she was saying, 'Like a Persian'."

Like #26: Manhattan

"...if you ask them about New York, white people will go nuts. They love the city universally and all either live there, have lived there, will live there or want to live there."

In an interview in 2006, Zooey was quoted as saying, "I love New York. I've worked there a lot and I feel really comfortable there. It's sort of like if I'm not going to be in LA, if it's going to be somewhere else, then New York is probably closest to feeling like I'm at home I could find."

It is not uncommon for stars to become associated with particular cities. Parker Posey, for instance, is often associated with New York City. Not only are many of her films shot there, but the image of sophisticated and affluent 'whiteness' that she represents is highly associated with that dense metropolis (Negra 80).

Quite similarly, Deschanel's image is torn between New York and Los Angeles. Deschanel, in fact, is often compared to Parker Posey because both are perceived as slightly off-beat Indie stars who enjoy upper-middle class pursuits and lifestyles. Deschanel's link to New York is, perhaps, not too surprising, for, as Lander points out in his blog, "white people like New York because it has artists, restaurants, a subway, history, diversity, plays, and other white people. It literally has everything white people need to thrive!"

This is not to say that Deschanel prefers New York to Los Angeles. In fact, most of her personal quotes point to the contrary. It is to say, however, that Deschanel enjoys New York City and prefers it to other cities. It is almost a second home to her, as is fitting. She identifies with that bastion of affluent ‘whiteness’ that Lander describes on his website.

Like #15: Yoga

"Participation in [yoga] requires large amounts of money and time, both of which white people have a lot of. Lastly like other stuff that white people like, yoga feels exotic and foreign."

This video clip comes from an episode of the Showtime series, Weeds. It does not seem inappropriate to see this character performing yoga in an affluent domestic setting. Neither does it seem inappropriate to see Zooey practicing yoga.

Although Deschanel does not practice yoga in her private life, it is curious that the characters she plays are usually associated with yoga. Perhaps the writers hope to play off her indie identity (or her "exoticness") by having her characters take part in this stereotypically liberal, upper-middle class pursuit.

For instance, in Yes Man, Zooey’s character is an aspiring singer/photographer/yoga instructor. Not only does this mixed career identity mirror Deschanel’s positioning between film and musical stardom, but it also ties in to the image of upper-middle class “whiteness.” As Lander states, the pursuit of yoga requires a great deal of time and money. Similarly, the ability to pursue the arts is often only open to those from affluent families. Coming from a comfortable Hollywood family, Deschanel was able to pursue a career in the arts because money was not an important object.

Thus, Zooey's affluent background plays an important role in developing her persona both on and off screen. Yoga becomes a part of her image (even though she does not practice yoga herself) simply because it is in accord with that image of liberal, upper-middle class "whiteness" with which she is associated.