For this week's blog (which is finally on time) I too will list my current inspirations:
- My secret assignment I mentioned had to do with pro wrestling, so this wonderful promo (promotional speech in this case) by one of my favorite wrestlers, CM Punk, always gets me fired up and brings out the defiant side of me which I definitely need for at least one of my characters.
- This is weird, but I've been staring at people's hair while they're talking to me to notice texture, style, length, volume, etc. I also ask them about their hair or how they feel about hair in general, just so it's less creepy.
- Listening to more pop/dance/mainstream hip hop music of these past three years to make me feel 18 again, which is the age of my characters. I have lost some brain cells and patience in the process.
- Margaret and I had a chat about a lot of things, but in particular looking at hair in the world of pro wrestling. Men's hair is an entirely different animal, but for women it was easier since it's women and all they do is flip their hair, right? Here's the ring entrance of one of my favorite WWE Divas, Maryse. And here's the ring entrance of a newer Diva, Summer Rae (the blonde-haired one). Both are tall, platinum blonde-haired "white" women and are very narcissistic, evil geniuses in some sense, which is interesting to me because the villainous women in wrestling who are non-white have no relation to their hair in terms of it being a part of their identity. The most I've seen is black women getting upset when their tracks are ripped out, but no one has a real character that revolves around their hair. This raises the question: what does that say about non-white vs. white women?
- My mom's stories - she is Navajo and the inspiration for this entire thesis so I've been asking her about hair and what it means in her culture, in her family, and in her own life. I also am more mature at this point in my life, so I can politely ask her why I haven't ("can't") cut my hair and she was allowed to cut her own, despite telling me what her mother told her.
- My other stories - I'm always writing, so I have other stories I'm working on outside of schoolwork to keep me sane and keep me writing. Whenever I have to describe someone's hair, I always stop and see if I've done the same in this project, and if I haven't, how can I incorporate? How am I writing stories differently from each other to keep interest? Is this way working, or is it not working? How can I make it work?
Oh my goodness those WWE Divas are incredible. I had no idea this is what you were talking about when you said you loved wrestling. It's so great that you found a way to channel the inspiration you get from wrestling into the specific needs of your thesis project. Are any of your characters fighters? Because I would love to read your description of a diva's entrance that focused on that hairography. Thanks to you, I've been thinking a lot about hair, and about how it can tell you a lot about a person, how it's as distinctive and readable as body language. So neat.
ReplyDeleteI love that you are being a creepy person by checking out people's hair and questioning them about it. So funny, but also you are getting in sink with your characters since you are kind of writing a creepy-horror-movie style of story.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the fact that you are listening to a lot of pop music that is taking you back to your younger days. That is so funny because I have been watching Charmed on Netflix, which even though it is a 90's show-I've never seen it. But it is totally taking me back to those days with the way they speak, dress and tease each other. So weird. But it is definitely helping me with my story because the sisters on the show date men in masses and they have no idea what they are doing or what they are looking for, so its like doing field research on my story from my bed LOL.
WWE is so funny! I can't believe that is what you are hooked on. Guilty pleasures, right?! Who am I to talk, I have been watching Charmed! But the hair thing is so true. I feel like they probably oil up their hair and spray the crap out of it with hair spray to have that "I barely did anything to make my hair look like I haven't washed it in two weeks and have been working out the entire time" look. But they do it so well.
I think if white women on the show had their supposably "real" hair ripped out of their head--they would be pissed too, why hasn't that happened? When women are crazy fighting each other, in my experience at least, and they are fighting dirty--which is what they do on WWE, their hair gets ripped out! What does it say about the show that for some reason only white women are crazy enough--or fight dirty or tacky enough to try and rip a black woman's hair out..This show is totally saying that if you are a good girl fighter and not a villain--you are all worried about your appearance and being oh me oh my.
rich and crazy. i mean aren't' they fictional characters?
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