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theotherpress.ca

You can pry my PSL from my cold, dead hands

» Why I won't let fear-mongering bloggers tell me what treats to buy

Viv Steele
Contributor

tarbucks’ Pumpkin Spice

Latte (PSL, to its friends)
has just arrived and already
the backlash has begun. You
probably saw it on Facebook:
an article with a picture of
everyone's favourite fall coffee
beverage accompanied by text
describing the drink’s contents
as containing “ambiguous
natural flavours,” “Monsanto

milk,” and a “toxic dose of sugar.” !
: vaccine, anti-microwave, and

: completely anti-science.

The meme-like image
appears in the ominously titled
blogpost “You'll Never Guess
What’s In A Starbucks Pumpkin
Spice Latte (Hint: You Won't
Be Happy),” written by self-
proclaimed “Food Babe” Vani

Hari for her blog FoodBabe.com. :
: and letter-writing campaigns.
: People have a cultish adherence

Some backstory on Hari:

: this fear-mongering, credential-
: less food blogger is known for

: swaying opinion against big

: food corps; maybe you saw her

: blogpost earlier this year asking
: you to give up your Guinness

: because it contains high-

: fructose corn syrup. She has

: also been successful in getting

: Subway to remove the chemical
: azodicarbonamide from their

: bread, despite the fact that,

: according to NPR, “the [FDA]
: long ago set an allowable level of :
: 45 parts per million in dough’—

not very much at all. She’s anti-

Hari uses the technophobia

: of easily swayed consumers,

: combined with the Internet’s

: ability to disseminate

: information like a virus, to whip

people into a frenzy of boycotts

: to her views, despite the fact
: that she has zero credentials in
: health science or nutrition.

So how does the Food Babe

convince her followers—and in:
: turn their social networks—that :
: everything they love is going

: to kill them? She employs

: the “appeal to nature” fallacy,

: which is a rhetorical device that
: falsely infers that man-made,

: complicated-sounding things

: are bad for us, and that things

“from nature” are inherently

: good or better.

This is the type of fallacious

: “reasoning” that makes people
: think vaccines and genetically
: modified organisms are harmful, :
: when both of these innovations
: have been widely accepted by

: the scientific community to not
: only be safe, but beneficial for

: the world. Rhetorical appeals

: to nature stem from human

: essentialism, which is the

: idea that humans are special

: and separate from nature,

: and thus efforts by humans to

: modify nature necessarily must
: be dangerous (“dangerous”

being the term that the Food

: Babe most commonly labels
: chemicals).

Let’s get back to why

: Hari’s outlandish accusations

: shouldn't stop you from

: drinking the occasional PSL

: every fall (if you want to, that

: is). For starters, nobody can or
: should tell you what the hell to
: do with your own money. And

: further, nobody is expecting you :

: . } : would be found in a restaurant-
: to drink a Venti extra-sweet PSL :

with your oatmeal every single

: morning. Starbucks markets

: the drink like a premium,

: luxurious treat—everything,

: from the hype leading up to its
: arrival to the blown-up pictures :
: of the rich-looking beverage

: topped with a copious amount

Starbucks markets
[PSL] like a premium,
luxurious treat.

: of whipped cream, screams that
: the PSL is a sometimes-food.

Junk food is supposed to

: be junk food. We all know that
: it’s not a great idea to regularly
: consume the 49 grams of sugar
: contained ina full-sweet Grande
: PSL, but it’s no more sugar than

: serving of cheesecake or even

: half of a Big Gulp. Vani Hari

: uses bad science, bad logic, and
: bad rhetoric to police peoples’

: junk food choices and pollute

: the Internet with even more

: misinformation.

 

Don't tease me

» Why I prefer to not see trailers, previews, or

: Walking Dead, I don't need to

: know which characters’ lives are
: jeopardized in the next episode.
: I can naturally assume that they
: are all in danger. The same way I
: would not want someone telling :
: me the ending toa book, I don’t
: need someone highlighting

: aspects of the movie for me

: before I even grab the popcorn.

© Elliot Chan
=. Opinions Editor
= “opinions

2) @theotherpress.ca

  

that movie trailers and

television previews are
marketing tools, used to
create hype, excitement, and
anticipation. They're a hook
to get viewers like yourself to
engage with the entertainment,
to let it into your home, and
allow it to consume anywhere
from 30 minutes to three hours
of your life. Movie trailers are
essential to the industry, but I
don’t care for them.

How many times have I

: been suckered into watching

: a movie strictly based on the

: appeal of the movie trailer? I’m
: looking at you, Cloverfield, and
: every Superman movie ever.

: You got me! And how many
FF things first: !understand : times have I disregarded a
: movie based on its uneventful,
: lacklustre trailer—or one that

: essentially gave away the whole

: story.

: the story is if I don’t watch the
: trailer or see the preview? My
: answer: a movie or television

: show should unravel as you

: watch it—you don’t need

: snippets here and there to :
: propel the plot forward. The plot :
: can do that all by itself. If you

: are engaged ina show, say, The

But how will I know what

teasers

I get it. Your time is

: valuable and you want to be in

: control of your entertainment.

: Fine. But know this: some

: of the best movie/television

: experiences of my life began

: with absolute unfamiliarity—no
: hype involved, just brilliant

storytelling. Trailers are

: misleading. They sell celebrities,
: special effects, and dramatic

: performances, but they don't
: prove the worth of the movie,
: the same way a commercial

: does not prove the worth of a
: product.

For comedies, trailers ruin

: the jokes. For romance, trailers

: cram the key relationship into

: two minutes. For action flicks,

: trailers showcase spurts of

: explosions, car chases, and fight
: scenes that only someone with

: severe attention deficit disorder
: would find alluring. For dramas,
: trailers present a potential

: Oscar nominee crying out of

: context over a soft melancholy

: soundtrack. Gee, I wonder what
: to expect. Commonly the trailers :
: tell you how to feel before

? you even buy the ticket. And

: I believe it’s that no-surprise
: marketing philosophy that is
: hindering the movie experience.

The fewer trailers you see,

: the less likely your perception

: will be altered when you watch
: the movie or show. You'll be

: surprised to see a familiar actor
: appear on the screen. You'll

: be surprised by the plot twists
: as the story unfolds before

: you. You wouldn’t want a

: magician describing the result
: of their magic trick before it’s

: performed, right? So don't

: be angry because the theatre

: experience lacks the movie

: Magic you expected. It might

be impossible to avoid trailers

: altogether, but don’t get too
: hyped or disenchanted by them.

 

Would you rob a small child?

» Surprisingly, some mothers actually do

Margaret Matthews
Senior Columnist

he TV Show Toddlers and

Tiaras and other similar
shows that have been aired
in North America and Britain

mothers push their small kids
into adulthood, putting the
pressure on them to participate
in child beauty pageants and
consequently robbing them of
their carefree childhood.
Revealed ina set of

: think that they are proud of their:
: little daughters. A psychologist
: and child development expert,

: Dr. Linda Papadopoulos,

: however, analyzes the situation :
: ina negative manner: she states :
: that dressing a younger girl in
: elaborate outfits (padded bra,
provoke me. It seems that some : tutu, bikini, etc.), specially-
made high-heeled shoes, wigs,
: false eyelashes, fake teeth,

: bright red lipstick, heavy eye-

: makeup, and bright-red nail

: polish on fingers and toes puts
: emphasis ona psyche that

: condones objectifying a woman's:

interviews, the mothers seem to : bo dy, presenting it as the most

important aspect of a person and :
: to be desired by the opposite sex. :

To dress one little girl

for a beauty pageant costs
: approximately $2,500, but the

mothers are willing to splurge,

on the stage like peacocks, to

: charm the audience (whom

they do not know) by waving,
blowing kisses, pouting their

: lips as if wanting to be kissed

: passionately, posing, preening,

: twirling, and shaking their little
: bottoms to entice men.

: in hopes that their little darlings :
: will win. The focus is on the

: body image, and not on her

: intelligence or personality,

: which is a pathetic way of

: viewing a child. These small

: kids ranging in age from 20

: months to five years are taught
: how to be seductive, to strut

They are put under so much

: pressure to win the contest,

: and losing would be terribly

: disappointing. Is winning the
: child beauty contest all that
important? Hardly.

These images are

: subsequently posted on the

: Internet for the world to see,

: while the mothers don’t even
: realize the harm done to their

; daughters. The little girls
: are exposed to perverts who
sexualize their bodies.

Just as much as society

: frowns onan adult behaving like
: a child (don't be so childish, it’s
: time you grew up!), when a little
: child tries to copy and emulate

: the behaviour of an adult, it

: shouldn't be acceptable either.

: Childhood is short enough

: already. I'ma firm believer that

: one should act their age, and

: let children enjoy their carefree

: childhood days for as long as
possible.