Stereotypes and Rituals

There are stereotypes and rituals associated with the going green or the Eco-friendly movement.  Identifying what each mean to this movement could help boost it onto a platform to help educate others.  We all have rituals and stereotypes we associate with everyday life.  I will express my evaluation of each.

                Rituals are stereotypes and or icons performing actions.  Rituals are segments of our patterns of behavior which we have inherited and practice to pass on to the next generation.  A well-known ritual is Earth Day; many people participate in a variety of activities to help make the Earth greener.  On Earth Day, people will plant trees, pick up litter and introduce new greener products.  In many neighborhoods around the country, there is a truck that will come by and pick up any items which can be recycled, this is their recycling day.  I take my recycling into the local station every Sunday and most often see the same people.  This shows me, that not only my family has a ritual of recycling every week, but others in my town have the same ritual.

                Stereotypes concern people or people’s behavior.  I find there are stereotypes associated with being Eco-friendly.  Some people think just because a person is Eco-friendly or conscious of their footprint on the Earth that they are weird or different.  I have been stereotyped as a tree lover because of my concern for reducing my consumption waste.  They commented that I was weird and obsessed with the nonsense to be Eco-friendly, of which the media creates.  There are other stereotypes, such as, if someone is conscious of their effects on the Earth that they must be hippies or live off the land. 

 I feel as if the going green movement is one of the most important pop culture subjects to face our society today.  We need to make rituals within our own families to help support reducing our waste and become a greener country/world.  Also, if we all take part in the movement to go green, we can change the stereotypes some people have.  Instead of being weird for recycling, maybe one day it will become the norm and even be cool to recycle.

Heroes and Celebrities

Heroes are created by and used to fill the needs of individuals and society.  I feel as if there are many people who act heroic in regards to “going green” or Eco-friendly.  There are also celebrities who lend their persona or personal help to catapult this movement to the forefront of public attention. 

The real heroes in this movement are the people who are involved every day in their households.  These are the people who take the time to recycle items and learn which items can be recycled.  This takes time from one’s own life to help reduce waste from daily consumption.  We all need to be a hero and put others first when we consume items.  Less waste, more recycling and becoming more sustainable will make everyone involved heroes and putting others first in the fight to make the earth a cleaner, healthier place in the future.

There are a few people which have celebrity status who are into the Eco-friendly movement.  One is Woody Harrelson, he and his wife started an online community called Voiceyourself.  This website was dedicated to educate and give the option for people all over the world to provide information about sustainable living, tips on how to become involved with the environment and creating a place for people to talk about different issues facing the world today.  Sally Fox, inventor of Foxfire, is a celebrity of colored cotton.  In the textile world, she is the top dog.  This woman has introduced a way to mass produce natural colored cotton, no need for dye.  This is an important discovery for the textile business.  .  Another celebrity status forum is the media.   In today’s market and media efforts to advertise, we see a lot of companies like Toyota, Kohl’s and Glad trash bags stating they are energy efficient or use less materials.

                Celebrities and heroes fill our media outlets more than any other time in history.  We are a society who loves to watch what’s going on in other people’s lives.  Celebrities set trends and have followers who will try or wear just about anything their favorite celebrity does.  In many cases, these are the people who can set in motion important ideas.  Heroes are important to society because they provide the notion that good people are still out there and breathes life into the idea that good wins over evil.

Icons

The three icons I chose are Tim Tebow, Apple (Steve Jobs), and Elmo.  Tim Tebow has been a name which keeps evolving throughout his career as a football player.  Steve Jobs was the founder of Apple and an incredible inventor.  Elmo is a loveable red character from Sesame Street that children love.  I chose these icons for different reason as I will explain.

Tim Tebow has overcome many different critics that said he wouldn't make it as a pro-football player.  He has proven them all wrong this year with a winning record and is in the NFL playoffs.  Tim hasn't been afraid to show his doubters how much talent he possesses , he has tried harder to be the best athlete he can be.  I enjoy watching Tim praise the good Lord for his success.  It is so uplifting to see a celebrity openly be thankful, show his Christianity to the world and acknowledge his faith.

 

Steve Jobs was an amazingly futuristic human being.  He created the way we communicate in modern society.  Who would have thought we would have such items like the iphone, ipad or ipods, downloading music and apps from the internet?  He created an era of modern technology.  Apple is a revolutionary company, which has more inventions to come without their incredible inventor.  Steve has shown us all that a disease can't stop the passion of a determined person.


 


Elmo is a character I remember as a child and now my son loves to watch him on Sesame Street.  Elmo hasn't lost his luster over the years, he only seems to get better with age.  He is educational and fun to watch.  I love to watch my ten month old son Kingston's eyes light up when Elmo is on the T.V. or when they are playing together.