“Entourage,” represents how famous people with money get sucked into the consumption of materialistic items. Vince Chase holds a lot of power being that he is the new “it guy” in the movie industry. The power he holds is also shown by his three friends who are also apart of his entourage. His entourage goes everywhere with him for entertainment and security purposes. Even though Vince’s manager clearly holds power over Vince’s entourage, his manager tells them to do whatever they need to do to keep Vince happy. The entourage also belongs to the upper class which is shown by the nice cars they drive and the expensive pets they own.
The clip I have chosen is from an episode where Vince decides that it is time to buy a new car. His first instinct is to purchase a Benz. After receiving a negative movie review, Vince and his entourage go car shopping. As they are walking to the dealership, his friend says to him, “Forget the Benz, what are you a soccer mom? I know what to get you.” While at the dealership, his friend convince him to look at the Rolls Royce. In order to persuade Vince to buy the Rolls-Royce, the car dealer claims that all the huge stars own one, Jay- Z, Queen Latifa, and Whitney Houston. This unintentionally suggests the negative stereotype that all African American music artists spend their money on expensive cars. The car dealer proceeds to say, “When you drive a Rolls-Royce, you are making a statement.” This implies that driving a Rolls-Royce will prove to everyone around him that he is very well off. Our society views people who drive expensive cars as being rich. For example, when a person is driving down the street in a Rolls- Royce, the first thought that usually comes to my mind is that the person must be loaded! As Vince and his entourage drive away in a new Rolls-Royce, Jay-Z’s “I got 99 problems, but a b*tch ain’t one” is blasting in the background. As they approach a red light, a car full of beautiful women pulls up next to them. Of course, the ladies compliment the car, and the boys invite them back to Vince’s house. The purpose of Jay-Z’s song is to show the audience (perhaps working class who dream of becoming big, or the middle or upper class) that Vince, while driving an extremely expensive car has no problem attracting women. The beautiful, skinny women in the car are just another example of how women are portrayed in the media. These wealthy men are shown to only be attracted to skinny, gorgeous girls. I don’t exactly find this offensive because I am aware that it is just used for entertainment purposes and is not always realistic.
The American Cultural Mythologies that this clip shows is the “Macho Manhood” and the “Player” representations. Vince acts as a macho man when he acts like he doesn’t care about the negative comments the movie critics say about him. The player representations are shown through out this clip. Vince and his entourage make it their priority to get as many women as they can. They do this by winking, smiling and flirting with any girl in their presence. In my opinion, the message of this clip is that money can buy materialistic things, such as cars and mansions, but it can’t buy happiness or success which refers to the movie critics’ negative comments about Vince’s acting.
1 comment:
Good blog. I’m not too sure how to view the clip but I didn’t need it to picture the scene they were playing. I like your take on the portrayal of women. There just would not be the same effect if they were ugly and gross. The only way to except it is for its comical content. Good job!
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