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Last night marked the 88th Academy Awards show. Nominated for an Oscar for the seventh time was Leonardo DiCaprio.  He finally took home the title of best actor in his role in “The Revenant.”

Time for Ellen to move over- the win became the most tweeted about moment in history, producing more than 440,000 tweets per minute. All across the internet memes surfaced of Leo holding his Oscar as characters in his movies.

His acceptance speech was nothing but humble and sweet.  Thank you’s went out to all his mentors, colleagues and, of course, a shout out about global warming.  He urged the audience that we must take action to protect Earth so that our children’s children will be able to enjoy the planet we live on the way that we do.

Other highlights include Spotlight winning best picture and Mad Max winning for sound mixing.  Sam Smith, The Weeknd, and Lady Gaga all gave astounding performances as well.  This year’s Oscars is certainly one for the books.

-Madeline, Tiersa, Sydney S., and Sydney W.

(All photos courtesy of Twitter)

We know that Leonardo DiCaprio is. And we know that Jada Pinkett-Smith is not. But are you prepared for Hollywood’s biggest night? On Sunday night, the 88th annual Oscars will arrive and provide a variety of opportunities for you to watch, be entertained, and play the guessing game of whether or not Leo will get his first Oscar.

If you’re one of the lucky few to be hosting an Oscars party, how are you going to make the most of the night?

First and foremost, you can follow along by playing this year’s version of Oscar Bingo. While there is an array of options to choose from, this Punchbowl.com version is your best bet to capturing the magic our inner-child finds synonymous with Bingo.

Photo courtesy of http://www.punchbowl.com/p/printable-oscar-bingo

With up 15 different cards, Punchbowl provides the opportunity for you to laugh, compete with your friends and make everyone jealous of how much you know about Hollywood’s finest.

For our 21 and older crowd, the Oscars provides a reason to toss back a couple and not feel guilty (responsibly, of course). Luckily, there are quite a few adult beverage games that can be found online, all of which provide ways to spice up the Academy Awards. For instance, this example from Cosmopolitan provides a few different opportunities for your guests to enjoy their beverages.

Photo courtesy of http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/movies/a54302/oscars-drinking-game/

These games can also be personalized by including your own Oscars concoction. Whether its by following the plethora of recipe options on the Internet, or getting risky by creating your own drink (responsibly, of course), you can ensure that this year’s Oscars party is a memorable one.

Lastly, there’s always the long-held tradition of casting your Oscar ballots and trying your luck at being the smartest person in the room. This can be done simply by looking at each category, and the category’s nominees, and guessing who you believe will be the winner. While it may not be as stirring to your memories as a child, nor as stirring as the possibility of drinking each time Donald Trump is mentioned, this friendly competition will undoubtedly still provide entertainment for you and your guests.

Now that the games are taken care of, its time to focus on the food! Hors d’oeuvres is always a good bet during an Oscars party. These small snacks provide a simple way to relate to the class and elegance of the Academy Awards. For hors d’oeuvres, myrecipes.com is your answer to providing your guests with delicious finger-foods to enjoy during the night.

http://www.myrecipes.com/holidays-and-occasions/christmas-recipes/gourmet-hors-doeuvres

In addition to hors-d’oeurves, nwitimes.com provides the chance for you to take advantage of movie puns while also serving delicious food. Whether its the “Bridge of Pies” or “Trumbo Gumbo”, nwitimes is your choice for making your Oscars into a series of dad jokes that everyone will enjoy.

http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/food-and-cooking/and-the-food-award-goes-to-oscar-party-favorites/article_85e9aa5a-ad8a-51e3-b744-72389c076b2d.html

Now that you have the blueprints, we hope you have no trouble in planning a memorable and fascinating Oscars party. No matter what you do, remember to be responsible, be safe, have fun, and guess well. Enjoy your Oscars party!

-Lane, Austin and Allen

The world, at least as many perceive it, is a tumultuous place. Our country has entered a new modern era and young people feel increasingly that the political system doesn’t help them. There are very few young people actively involved in the political process. They don’t know, don’t care, and feel that their lack of knowledge further dissociates them. At the same time there are a significant amount of young people disproportionately involved. Where does this gap come from?

Wealth inequality is at an all time high in America. Young people are having a harder and harder time finding jobs. The American political system is increasingly corrupt and news is saturated with violence. All things considered, it’s not surprising that young people tend to feel that politics can’t help them. Many feel as though the system of corruption is so deeply entrenched that there’s nothing they can do as an individual to change it. So in turn very few young people vote.

Part of the problem, as it turns out is that young people are caught in this feedback loop of apathy. They feel that since they are uninformed, it is not their place to participate, and in turn drift farther and farther away from the political process. Not only do they feel as though they shouldn’t participate, they feel that others who are not particularly informed should not participate either (1). Which is vastly different from the views of older voters, who tend to be of the opinion that everyone should vote regardless of circumstance.

While there is a large portion of young people who have no inclination to participate in the process, there is a loud minority that are heavily involved. More than half of people volunteering, canvassing, or phone banking this election cycle are under 30. This is true, surprisingly, on both sides of the aisle. So why is this small group of young people so engrossed in their political beliefs when so many of their peers couldn’t be bothered? I would argue that it’s because of the media landscape that they inhabit.

Yeah, it’s true that there are bad things in the world. But the world is safer and more prosperous than it’s ever been. And while politics are just as corrupt as always, the internet gives citizens the power to organize and fight back in a way never previously possible. Young people tend to be apathetic and uninvolved, but the reality they are perceiving is one that is curated and presented to them. One that tells them that the world is a terrible place and that an individual voice doesn’t matter. So this leaves us with two groups, those whose non-normal media landscapes have cultivated an idea of individualist efficacy, and those who have been beaten down by a depressive news cycle. We can only hope that more and more young people disassociate themselves with the normative idea that they are not capable, and join in in the process. Because if young people let the country steer itself, it will almost certainly steer itself down the wrong path.

(1) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/21/young-voters_n_6200852.html

In today’s schools systems, children are being taught how to use technology in the classroom as early as kindergarten. Along with being taught how to use iPods, iPads, computers, etc. comes the use of social media. Social media is nearly impossible to avoid and there are a multitude of applications that everyone in the world has access to if they have some sort of access to technology. Businesses and people use social media to advertise their companies, express themselves and publicize topics of interest. What sparks my interest, is that generations before us were able to thrive and lead successful lives and businesses without social media. While social media has its positive effects, there are also negative effects as well.

Positive Effects:

1. Business can connect with their target audience for free. Radio ads and commercials are increasingly becoming more and more expensive.
2. We are now able to communicate our thoughts and ideas with people all over the world. There is no barrier.
3. People are able to unite on a much larger platform for the attainment of a specific objective.

Negative Effects:

1. Many people become addicted to social media and it can lower the motivation of young adolescents.
2. Kids are being exposed to sex, violence, etc. at an age where they are still impressionable.
3. Users share too much personal information that anyone can have access to.

Unfortunately, in today society we are not able to escape social media outlets and technology. It is inevitable, and if businesses want to stay in competition then unfortunately they have to conform.

What do you think?

Sloane, Addison & Pauline

Resource:

Ali, I. (2015, June 25). Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media on Society. Retrieved from http://www.techbead.com/positive-and-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-society/

Do you remember the “Share A Coke” campaign? Well, according to an article in Ad Age,  this summer the emoji meets the soda can in a similar campaign titled “Say it With Pepsi.” In this campaign, 70 different emojis will be printed not only on the soda cans but on bottles and cups as well and available in over 100 markets across the globe.

We as consumers are accustomed to emojis in the digital realm, embedded in the day to day phone, tablet, and computer conversations. As Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi puts it, “…no one has put them in the world like Pepsi will in 2016.” Pepsi is even taking it a step further and creating “PepsiMoji inspired sunglasses” as one advertising strategy paired with their digital advertising which includes a soccer TV Ad with soccer star James Rodriguez.

Emojis are common for us now. They are often a way of expressing ourselves when words just cannot seem to do it. They are also used alongside words as a way to better get our point across. Either way, it seems like a pretty good strategy for Pepsi to take such an intricate part of our daily lives and apply it to their product.

You can read the article here

Now more than ever it is important for ad campaigns to stay on top of current trends.  By capitalizing on the emojis, Pepsi is sure to create a buzz.  Advertising is all about making the consumer feel a part of something and that they are connected.  What may look like some smileys on a bottle to an ordinary person is, in fact connecting them to the product and other users of the product as well.  Pepsi advertisers and other brands use this strategy constantly and it can be seen everywhere if you really pay attention the message of ads.

So what do you think about #pepsimoji? How do you think this Pepsi campaign will compare to “Share a Coke?”. Share your thoughts in the comment box.

-Tiersa, Madeline, Syndey S., Sydney W.