Okay, that’s it! I’m a soap fan. I know, I know, I could do so much more with my life and time but I do like my soaps (I don’t just sit there and watch but they are on in the background while I work). But there is one I just refuse to watch anymore. In fact I’ve sent them several disgruntled letters over this issue:
And most of you will just groan but this really bothers me. The fur. The FUCKING FUR! I was livid to see a character on Days of our Lives wearing a Russian Broad Tail coat and then I see character after character wear REAL (not faux) fur. Trim or full coats it’s defiantly (yes, that’s the right word) making a comeback in the fashion world and I just know these death-peddlers are lending their wares out to promote this “look” on the soaps.
Sure, you can say they are just fictional but a lot of young women watch these shows and get fashion cues from them. This fur wearing echos that fur is okay. It’s not. Do you know how Russian Broad Tail is made?! Do YOU know where it comes from?! I do. And I’m not pleased to see a fictional character (who makes less than 30K a year) wear a coat that EASILY cost over 300K! And it came from killing young, in some cases, fetal lambs!
Okay, wait, I’m getting too mad to make my point.
It’s one thing if a rich character wears fur since that is something the “rich” have always done but they had EVERYONE decked out in fur; even some of the men! Even characters that earn almost nothing… that’s just fucking weird and OBVIOUSLY a way to echo to women that fur is okay and that they “should” be able to buy it… They are trying to make fur “okay” again and get women to “buy” into it.
DON’T! Most of those coats you saw are way beyond your ability to buy; not only that but you could buy a much warmer coat for far less that was just as attractive…
Aw, shit! I don’t mean to play all fur people as evil but my Goddess! What they did was just really sick. I guess you have to be a Day’s fan to understand that it was just over the top, excessive Maddison Avenue hype. I don’t expect my soaps to be realistic but this… this was just so obviously a plant by the fur industry that it really, really, REALLY irked me. And turned me right off this soap that I’ve watched for years.
It made me mad. And disgruntled. And I won’t watch anymore until they stop. Frankly? I had the same problem with the pearl thing so just shoot me.
You sick fuck! But trust me, if you were (really) into that and some industry were trying to make that “okay” you’d see it on this soap. Their line of okay and not is only blurred by advertisers or those willing to supply the wares. The fuckers. Sorry, but they are, nothing but Maddison Avenue fuckers.
If I was (really) into that, my entire wardrobe would be worth more than the $70 that it is now
It’s stereotyping. “Glamorous people wear glamorous clothes… glamorous clothes are things which used to be alive.” What, did you expect something more than brainless writing for this tripe?
Well, frankly, I expected people (the folks that people this soap) to be dressed in clothing for one they could afford. For the main part, the folks dressed up in furs were the folks most unlikely to afford them. That is point number one. They had folks at less than 30K wearing furs there is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH THEY COULD AFFORD.
Not only that they had EVERY CHARACTER ON THE SHOW wearing fur with no regard as to wether or not this character could afford the fur worn. That, to me, right there, says this wasn’t about fashion, or cost this was just three hours of my soap show to SHOW OFF FURS. And promote the FUR INDUSTRY in a very subtle, sly way.
You may not see it this way if you don’t watch the soaps but I’m really looking forward to the input of other soap watchers. I’m sure they have noticed or WILL notice what I have. It’s fucking blatant. It’s so over the top that there is no FUCKING WAY THEY WON’T NOTICE THIS SHIT!!!
You, SPOOFE, can sit here and politely debate this with me all day but only another soap watcher can really DEBATE this issue with me. I’m sorry, I appreciate your input and all but you can’t KNOW unless you SEE what I’m so ANGRY about. K? I mean really, hon, I appreciate your postings but you just don’t fucking SEE this, k?!
Don’t be too sure that it’s real fur. There’s a lady here that makes faux furs and she does a lot of business with Hollywood. I’ve seen pictures and you truly can’t tell the difference between the real fur and the fake.
I think her store is “Fabulous Faux” or something like that.
But to address your main concern, the comeback of fur, I’ve noticed it, too. I went to a posh Xmas party a few weeks ago and there were several ladies that came in wearing what I assumed to be real fur.
I would never own a fur coat - have felt that way since I was a little girl and the “Save the Seals” campaign was underway. In fact, I was a member of PETA in their infancy, before they evolved into psycho freaks. However, I also recognize that it’s a bit hypocritical of me to have this position since I ate chicken last night and fully intend of eating a nice, juicy steak tonight for dinner.
I don’t really watch soaps, but I know what you mean. Is it just DOOL? Or is it all of them? Maybe DOOL has a producer’s brother-in-law who’s in the fur trade.
Soaps go through trends the same way as the entire pop culture. For a while there, it was nothing but abortion storylines, then it was AIDS, then it was Caribbean murder mysteries…Maybe it’s just fur’s 15 minutes.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s real fur or faux–the message is still the same. “Important people wear fur. If you wear fur, you will be important, too.”
BTW, I love the mixed metaphor in your thread title. Still trying to picture that–Fur, like Medusa, having its head cut off and then growing a new one (“it’s back! it’s back!”), snarling at Byz, and Byz putting her pretty little foot down in no uncertain way (for some reason I picture you in stiletto heels. Would that be accurate? )
Aside from the ethical questions about fur itself, this is really no different from the glamourous, multi-thousand-dollar lofts rented in the middle of Manhattan by the unemployed characters on Friends.
Well matt, Monica could afford the apartment because she is illegally subletting it from her grandmother.
Chandler is not unemployed, he actually has a very good job, so he can afford his.
Ross used to work in the museum, and now he is professor. I’m sure he’s not raking in the dough, but I bet he can afford an apartment.
Phoebe also got her’s from her grandmother.
Joey works menial jobs too, to pay for his half of the rent. THough I get the feeling that Chandler isn’t too uptight about it. Though now, Joey and Rachel are living together, and she has a very good job at Ralph Loren, so she can probably afford it easily too.
SOrry about the hijack. =)
Soap operas are the equivalent of soft core pornography for women. Just as Playboy gives guys such unrealistic expectations, soap operas allow women to lead a totally vicarious existence without the benefit of having a real life. These overdramatized serials promote similarly unrealistic expectations about life content for women. Is there anything intellectually or emotionally uplifting about the content of the soaps? Are any of us able to pretend that the producers of these programs intend to uplift their audience?
The overemphasis of glamor and conspicuous consumption by the soap operas is reason enough alone for their easy dismissal. I’m not trying to rain on your parade so much as make sure that none of us have any pretenses or high literary hopes for this large and weirdly popular segment of daytime broadcasting.
I weened myself away from those gawd awful soaps years ago.
Trust me, it’s like an addiction. Same with my mom. For YEARS we watched Guiding Light together, since I was in diapers. I’m sooo glad to be away!
Isn’t Days of Our Lives shot in L.A.? I would think they’d be too politically correct to show off so many furs. Go fig.
Don’t discount the possibility of faux furs. I hear they can look pretty realistic.
I also have to take note of PunditLisa’s observation. How self-righteous should you be about furs if you still eat meat? I do think there are degrees though, furs being on the end of the spectrum of totally wasteful and needless. I don’t want to get this into some veggie debate, though. But I guess (as a veggie) I do see this sort of thing from a little different perspective.
P.S. I used to watch soaps, LOTS of soaps! My favorites were “The Edge Of Night” and “Santa Barbara”. When they went belly-up, it was easier to get away from soaps. But it wasn’t easy. They are addictive! I don’t judge people who still enjoy them, but I personally am glad to be away from them. Just way too addictive!!!
Days of Our Lives is indeed shot in LA. In fact, one of the guys from that show shops at the grocery store I used to work at. I’ve met him a few times, and he tipped me $15 to bring his groceries to his car for him.
Can I get a clarification?
Are you ranting on the use of fur in any form, or just the unbelievable OVER use of fur? Would you be pissed if they showed everyone wearing diamonds?
I own, and I bought myself, a fox coat. Ranch bred, no leg hold traps, no wild suffering animals. I admit, the life of a fur bearing critter ain’t great, but I refuse to eat veal because of how that’s raised!
So you’re okay with the story lines that have people coming back to life, clones, mistaken identity, demonic posession and everyone except the priest suffering from either MPD or schitzophrenia, but you’ve got issues with the writing that puts all the beautiful people in fur? You have interesting artistic priorities.
