Gatsby, Facebook, and the Facade of Friends

           Facebook is a social network that was first invented by a Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg. Since Facebook was launched in 2004, the social-networking site has become the new fashion and obsession for teenagers. Users can create a profile with photos, share personal interests and information, and communicate with hundreds of “friends.” Facebook was only meant to be used as a student directory among Harvard students, but since Mark Zuckerberg expanded the social network site to other parts of the world, people have been using Facebook in order to create the identity that fits with society´s standards of fashion and social status. Facebook has also become a performance of popularity because people add an immense number of “friends” without even knowing the people they are adding. Similarly, F. Scott Fitzgerald shows in The Great Gatsby how Gatsby puts on a performance of popularity by throwing big parties with a large number of people, but without sharing any connection with them. In addition, Facebook users create identities the same way Gatsby creates an identity in which he is amazingly wealthy in order to gain society´s approval and to impress the woman he “loves.”

Facebook is a site in which people are able to have hundreds of friends, but in reality just a few of those contacts are truly called friends. Some Facebook users´ purpose in having a great number of contacts is so that people who visit their profile will think they are popular. Researchers at Western Illinois University studied Facebook habits of some students, and discovered a “socially disruptive” element of narcissism – exhibitionism. The study states that exhibitionism includes “self-absorption, vanity, superiority, and exhibitionistic tendencies and people who score high on this aspect of narcissism need to be constantly at the centre of attention. They often say shocking things and inappropriately self-disclose because they cannot stand to be ignored or waste a chance of self-promotion.” Another popular application on Facebook is the possibility of creating “Events.” This application allows people to invite hundreds of friends to important events or parties. The people who receive an invitation on Facebook tend to invite even more friends of their own without consulting the host. Hundreds of people end up attending these parties without caring if they know the host or not.  The same happens in “The Great Gatsby”. Gatsby is known for throwing big and luxurious parties in which people “[come] without [meeting] Gatsby at all, come for the party with simplicity of heart that is its own ticket of admission” (41). Thousands of people attend Gatsby´s parties but he is not really connected to his guests. Gatsby is usually seen “standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes” (50). The fact that he is staring at people with “approving eyes” is a signal that, like on Facebook, he is satisfied to see how popular his party is, without realizing that in reality, he is alone and empty inside. Also, the lack of attendance at Gatsby´s funeral in the end of the book is an example of how his popularity was a performance because he was always surrounded by hundreds of people but none of them came to the funeral. The only people interested in his death were newspaper men and photographers. If Gatsby were a Facebook user, the news of his death would appear on the “News Feed” and all of his “friends” would post comments offering condolences but none of them would attend his funeral.

            Facebook has also become the new way in which people can create an identity. People construct identities based on how they wish to be seen by others. Facebook users select with extreme care a profile picture and upload fashionable photos because they feel like their image has to look “cool” or pretty all the time in order to get the approval from the Facebook society. Users´ way of measuring other peoples´ approval is by getting “Likes.” Thanks to the need for “likes” to appear more popular, Facebook users create new identities through pictures. It is common among young girls to upload sexy pictures in order to get “likes” from popular and cute guys. Also, other people upload photos in which they appear to be wealthy in order to have a sense of belonging to a certain social status. In an effort to be popular, people post photos and personal information to represent their ideal selves instead of showing their true personality or identity.

 A young woman in a New York Times article said,

“When I choose my profile picture, I want people to ‘Like,’ it,” ... In fact, she and her friends are keenly aware of how to goose the numbers. “You get more ‘Likes’ if it’s a model shot and not a goofy picture with your friends,” she explained.

              


                 Also, Facebook has brought a modern way of dating in which you can even post what your relationship status is. People are able to see each others´ interests and personal information so that they can search for their “perfect match.” It is common among some girls and boys to use the chat application to flirt and talk to people that they barely know in order to start a possible romantic relationship. The fact that some young people date online leads again to a performance of their identities, image, and interests because they are always trying to get the other person to like them back. Also, the relationship status is really important for users because posting a relationship status makes a relationship official. Young people are obsessed with announcing they are in a relationship because they want people to “like it” and they want to get approving comments from all of their “friends.” It is their way of showing they have succeeded in finding their perfect match. Gatsby parallels a Facebook user because he recreates his world and his identity in order to obtain the American Dream of being wealthy and possessing the woman of his dreams. When Gatsby first met Daisy, before becoming a powerful and successful man, Gatsby started dreaming about possessing this wealthy woman, and as a result, he “[took] Daisy under false pretenses. He let her believe that he was fully able to take care of her. As a matter of fact, he had no such facilities, he had no comfortable family standing behind him and he was liable at the whim of an impersonal government to be blown anywhere about the world” (149).  Since Gatsby is obsessed with possessing “the golden girl,” he is forced to leave his poor past behind in order to construct the identity of a glorious and wealthy man that would impress Daisy. Similar to the fact that Facebook allows people change their user name, Gatsby changes his legal name James Gatz to Jay Gatsby, “so he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent” (98). However, Gatsby´s love towards Daisy is just an idea because having a relationship with Daisy represents the last piece of his success; his goal is to get society to see them as the golden couple. In an effort to get the “likes” of other people, Gatsby creates a really powerful character because he believes that luxuries, popularity, and the possession of a woman determine his success and “happiness.”

  
Gatsby´s actions parallel those of Hollywood´s version of Mark Zuckerberg. The success and wealth of Gatsby and Mark do not come in a natural way because both committed some kind of crime to obtain it. While Gatsby committed the crime of bootlegging to start his new identity as a wealthy man, Mark stole the idea of Facebook from two other students in order to become famous and a billionaire. Similar to the fact that Gatsby dreams of possessing Daisy, Mark also is obsessed with getting his girlfriend´s love back, but in reality, they see these women as prizes. Even though Gatsby creates a really powerful and successful character, he is empty inside because his popularity is false and Daisy does not love him back. In a similar way to Gatsby, Mark also becomes famous and rich and as a result, he obtains thousands of “friends” on Facebook. Even though Mark is extremely popular on Facebook, he ends up empty and alone because he does not have any real friends. Aaron Sorkin depicts in the movie“The Social Network” how Mark Zuckerberg is a stand-in for all the other users. The same way Mark uses Facebook to perform an identity and popularity, Facebook users follow his example by creating ideal selves. Aaron Sorkin illustrates through this movie that even though Facebook´s goal is to be connected to people, users can end up having a lack of connection to real people.

Succesful man but alone in the end.

The Great Gatsby and The American Mobster

    Americans have long been intrigued by crime. especially organized crime. Criminals have a sense of glamor about them that make for exciting conversations and stories. Their illegality, immorality, and general difference from the average life make criminals semi-heroes to the American public. Films such as The Godfather and books like The Great Gatsby provide examples of this, both in the works’ stories and in their receptions. The Godfather, although it portrays a family immersed and consumed by crime, it is hailed as one of the best films of all time. The stories and actors’ portrayals won the acclaim of the American people, not to mention Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Gatsby, like Don Corleone in The Godfather, is a man of mystique to his peers. He is seen and gawked at, but the people who know him never fully understood him.

    The Godfather and The Great Gatsby contain larger-than-life characters. Don Corleone, his son Michael, and Gatsby affect audiences because of how they are not relatable. Most people can’t seem to understand crime, so it intrigues them

Snazzy, Menacing Mobsters

to see criminals in person. Mobsters and the Mafia add another level of interest because of their organization. To the average person, the Mafia represents a government turned bad. It has its own social hierarchy and organization, but it is still criminal. Such order and precision in something that is normally associated with chaos fascinates people. The mob treats murder, cruelty, and illegality with complete familiarity and acceptance. What makes these criminals so appealing to an audience is their stark difference to normal life. People are amazed and awed by contrasts to normality. The characters in The Godfather are different both in their crimes and their nationality. The Italian origin of the Corleones adds to their mystique, like Gatsby’s experience in Europe and Oxford adds to his.

    Organized crime has a flair for the dramatic; petty larceny never interests people, but rigging the World Series or running a bootleg business can. Gatsby is a criminal, but he gives the people at his parties something to talk about, which elevates him above any simple thief. Because few people know Gatsby well, yet everyone knows who he is, no one at his parties can stop gossiping about what they think they know about him. His silence about his past only adds to this mystique. Indeed, the reader’s first glimpse of Gatsby is on a dark night a distance away, after which he vanishes inexplicably. At the first party Nick attends, a girl says of Gatsby, “You look at him sometimes when he thinks nobody’s looking at him. I’ll bet he killed a man” (44). Gatsby inspires awe in his admirers; no one knows exactly how he got his money, so they all assume that it had been obtained illegally. The people admire Gatsby for making his own money, for being a “self-made man,” but by making it in a way that is mostly taboo and by being secretive about it, Gatsby has inspired wonder in them. The main cause of this wonder is the secret-but-not-quite nature of it. Everyone suspects that Gatsby is a criminal, but no one has anything quite near proof of it. However, when faced with proof, when Gatsby is accused up front of his bootlegging successes, he falters, and Tom shames him into realizing that Daisy is out of his reach. From the beginning to 0:35 in the video shows Daisy and Gatsby running from Tom's accusations.

    When crime is out in the open and overt, criminals lose their “star status.” People see criminals who are caught as nothing but trouble and deserving of their prison sentences. Americans don’t like to be confronted with the criminal underbelly of their society; they are entertained by quick glimpses of it that keep the mystery, but when it is completely revealed, they are quick to distance themselves from it. After Tom reveals Gatsby’s bootlegging and gambling schemes, Daisy and Nick lose their

Crime Isn't All Glamor

respect for him. He becomes a broken man and relinquishes all claim on Daisy. Nick says, “Then I turned back to Gatsby- and was startled at his expression. He looked -and this is said in all contempt for the babbled slander of his garden- as if he had ‘killed a man.’ For a moment the set of his face could be described in just that fantastic way” (134). Nick has no respect for the people who gossip about Gatsby’s glamorous past; when confronted with the truth of the matter, the idea of “killing a man” becomes horrific rather than exciting. Gatsby's crimes, though not as severe as murder, are a badge of shame on an otherwise proper man.  By being unmasked as a criminal, Gatsby loses all respect and admiration he once had. He is a now just a man fleeing from his accuser, and if he had not been killed, he would certainly have been put to trial and been subject to the derision and shaming of his peers..

The reaction to a criminal depends on the crime and the person. Were Gatsby and the Corleones simple shoplifters or murderers, they would not have received the positive reactions from their crowds of adoring fans. Gatsby had a perfect life set up: he had money, a future wife, and a great house to throw parties in. Any whisper of his criminal past only served to further his reputation and mystique. A good criminal leaves an aura of mystery around the crimes, leaving people to wonder if it actually were committed. Society punishes bad criminals, both with legal action and with ostracizing. An unmasked criminal is only someone to be ashamed of and to be abandoned. Americans are fascinated with illegal action, but when confronted with it directly, they revile the same people they used to gossip about.


Patrick O'Hare

The Legacy of the "Roaring Twenties" in VH1's Mob Wives

"...The Twenties was not a ten-year binge during which everybody got rich and danced the Charleston in speakeasies while drinking bootleg hooch. Certainly the reaction to America's participation in World War I- which ended on 11 November 1918- triggered disillusionment, moral reevaluation, social experiment, and hedonism. Although Fitzgerald joined the parties and chronicled them, he wrote in judgment. The Twenties were primarily an era of possibilities and aspiration- a dominant Fitzgerald theme...'"

                

Matthew J. Brocculi, the preface of The Great Gatsby, 1992

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby undoubtedly portrays that the 1920's was an era for accomplishing that which was previously nearly impossible; it was not longer necessary that one be born into an upper class family to eventually end up with a very high socioeconomic status. The existence of self-made men, those who did not inherit their wealth, but earned it, was becoming increasingly common. Fitzgerald's character, Jay Gatsby, is a perfect example of this. He went from living in the Mid West with a considerable lack of money to living in an imposing, old European-style mansion in East Egg of Long Island. However, the American Dream, starting with rags and ending up with riches, and doing so fair and square, is not the only major aspect of the twenties that Fitzgerald demonstrates in The Great Gatsby.  "Hedonism" and "moral reevaluation" are terms that many people today would use to characterize the 1920's; these concepts go together and help form the themes of the novel that have undermined the relevance and the positive notions of the American Dream from Fitzgerald's time to present. Fitzgerald implies that Gatsby may have obtained his fortune in a less-than- conventional way. The rumors of Gatsby's bootlegging and other possible infractions against legal and/or social regulations make his rags to riches story seem slightly less inspiring, and a whole-lot more interesting.




Our culture today definitely has developed a keen fascination with crime. Audiences are all the more entertained when a story has a little taboo, or a little danger, or even a lot of straight-up illegal activity. Considering the success of entertainment classics like The Sopranos and The Godfather, and the frenzy of excited media around any slightly sketchy situation, the numerous criminal investigation shows on network television proves society's interest in all things improper has only been flourishing since the revolution against social standards and boundaries of the twenties. The characters of The Great Gatsby are much less reserved than the generation before them, and openly discussing secrets and drama is a new and invigorating part of socializing. The fact that Gatsby, starting from scratch, earned an immense fortune is not nearly as interesting the fact that he did so in such a scandalous way. Similarly, the women of VH1's reality television show, Mob Wives, have one-upped all of the other shows about the controversies among groups of wealthy women. Mob Wives  follows the lives or four women whose fathers and/or husbands have been incarcerated for Mafia related felonies. The women live extravagantly and publicly. They buy nice clothes and attend countless parties, where they start fights that include shouting intimate details of each other's lives. The most interesting aspect is what sets it apart from other reality shows about disillusioned rich women: they are all related to criminals. Unfortunately for Fitzgerald, his era of possibilities and aspirations was contaminated by the widespread self-indulgence and loss of propriety by the American people after WWI that he resented so much. This scary spin-off of Real Housewives undoubtedly portrays that the very things Fitzgerald critiqued about the twenties are the things that have remained a part of American Society. 

Besides the show corresponding with Fitzgerald's  representation of society's fascination with crime, Mob Wives demonstrates the idea that being wealthy means one is constantly performing for others as though acting wealthy is as important as being wealthy, a significant theme in The Great Gatsby. The West Egg's lavish displays of wealth are unsettling to those from East Egg. Daisy Buchanan, and East Egg resident of a historically wealthy family, is "offended" by the extravagance of one of Gatsby's parties. For Daisy, and others considered as having "old money" find the nouveau rich's flashiness to be a type of mockery, as though they are making a farce of their lifestyle, of their ancestors' lifestyle. Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, like Daisy, is distressed by the over the top behavior, or "performance" by the women of Mob Wives. He calls it "disgraceful". He feels as though it is portraying Italian Americans and Staten Islanders in a bad light. Victoria Gotti is also horrified by the show and claims that it is scripted. The women have responded by saying they are not attempting to represent anyone but themselves and that the show is definitely not scripted. The show has been given positive reviews from non-New Yorkers and non-Italian Americans. Nick Carraway would probably respect the women and their show, as he found a way to respect Gatsby despite all of the superficial, gaudy partying Gatsby participated in that Nick wholeheartedly resented. Similarly to the way Nick appreciated Gatsby's authentic earnestness to be successful, many critics don't interpret the women's openness to sharing their stories, but respect it.

In both The Great Gatsby and Mob Wives, the performance involved for being rich and famous required that people abandon certain, very real, parts of their lives. When Jay Gatsby, born James Gatz, decided it was time for him to create a new life or himself, he left his past behind completely. He wanted to be able to start his life over completely, without any details of his past affecting his future. He changed his name and estranged himself from his family.
Gatsby abandoned family Gatz to Gatsby. Renee Graziano of Mob Wives also had to chose to not have her father, Anthony Graziano, be a part of her life anymore because she chose to do the show. Mafia activity is supposed to be top secret, and all of these women have been criticized by their loved ones for "being snitches" or "selling out". Renee wants to use this show as a way for her to start rebuilding a life separate from the mob, so she sacrificed her relationship with her father to be a Mob Wife. An issue affecting all of the women is Karen Gravano's decision to write a tell-all book, in which she plans to include detailed information about her family's conflict with Renee's family and Drita's husband, Lee, whom she dated many years ago. The women found it hard to support their friend when they had no idea what was going to be published about them or their families in Karen's book. Before anyone could even confront Karen about it, she made it clear that she does not care what they think about what she has to say. Karen has prioritized her celebrity status to please, momentarily, her curious fans, and she has sacrificed the trust of the other women. Karen is taking an approach just like that of Gatsby to accomplish her goal. She is forcing out reality, and in the end, she may be disappointed.

Narcocorridos New Rich in Mexico (bootlegging)

                         

      Narcocorridos is a Mexican style of music that originated in the north of Mexico. Before Narcocorridos, the term used to be known as "corridos," which is traditional folk music played with an accordion accompanied by other instruments. The main rhythmic sound comes from the accordion. But after the drug dealing business increased the style of corridos developed into the new style called Narcocorridos. Narco means smugglers.Nowadays both styles are still played. Narcocorridos has gained popularity but mostly comes from the smugglers. The smugglers like to hear Narcocorridos because the songs are made for them to promote them and to help them show their lives.

                                               "A La Moda" by Gerardo Ortiz

A la moda y en buenos carros                  

y mis plebes bien armados
bien vestidos y de trajes
y por fuera empecherados
lestes Prada y sus rosarios              Translation ----->
brillantes por todos lados


Asi se navega el jefe
a la moda trabajando
ya lo conoce la gente
y tambien a sus muchachos
lanza granda y bazuca
devolada arremangamos


Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabanna
y en su cara lentes Prada
con un Rolex de diamantes
y la Chayenne blindada
entrando al hotel de lujo
junto con sus guarda espaldas


Hay miraron al muchacho
en un ferrari del año
hiban camionetas duras
y varios encapuchados
y la moda ke no falla
andavan edhardysados


Los miraron en un antro
por cierto muy alterados
con botellas en exceso
y las plebes por un lado
con ese porte elegante
protegiendo akel muchacho

                                             "A la Moda" Filmed in San Antonio, Texas


The Narcocorridos is a really similar genre to Ganster Rap music. The difference is that Narcocorridos are from Mexico. And like any other rapper they talk about their personal materialism to shock people and show off money. This is also known as "conspicuous consumption."  "A la Moda" starts talking about how his helpers or "plebes" are dressed luxuriously. Showing off that his helpers have great clothes reflects his wealth in that not only does The Boss/ El Jefe buy luxurious items for himself but also the helpers get luxurious items. The 2nd stanza is when he introduces himself, saying that he works dressed in high fashion and that everyone knows him. Then he describes that he uses Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabanna, Prada and Rolex with diamonds just as rap music describes too. He mentions going to a luxurious hotel with his body guards following him with a bullet proof car. The fact that he is being escorted by two bodyguards increases the gaudiness but of course he has to do that because he is a smuggler and enemies might harm him. His conspicuous consumption shows that he got his money by bootlegging. At the end he says that his "plebes"  are protecting the boss with class.

The song reminded me of when Gatsby used to work for Dan Cody, the wealthy man. Gatsby, a "plebe" in this case, help this man Dan Cody because only the really wealthy like him would help a poor man like Gatsby. Similar to "A la Moda," the guy shows the big amount of money he has by spending money not only on himself but also on the helpers. Dan Cody left Gatsby with some money just like "A la Moda" talks about the money spent on the boss's servants. Cody hires Gatsby so he could be taken care of by Gatsby. Gatsby "was in turn steward, mate, skipper, secretary, and even jailor, for Dan Cody," just how the body guards are with the boss in the "A la Moda" song/video (100). In the last stanza the song describes the scene in a night club drinking and being taken care of by the servants, similarly to the Dan Cody and Gatsby relationship.

In the song "A la Moda" the word "plebes" is being used a couple times. In the song the word means servants/plebeians. The boss states that his "plebes" take care of him similarly to the Feudal period. During the Feudal period the low class would work for the nobles because the "plebes" depended on the money that the royal family owned. In "The Great Gatsby", the first owner of Gatsby's house had a story that he  would pay for five years the tax of everyone in the neighborhood just so their houses could have straw made roofs. The houses around his house would look low class and poor. His idea were similar to the ideology from Feudalism era. The old owner of the house wanted to be seen as the royal family of the neighborhood. In the song "A la Moda" the boss purpose is to be seen as the royal lord with his "plebes" around making him look glorious.