Written by John Edward Betancourt
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Fifteen of ‘Lopez vs Lopez’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
It is definitely safe to say, that envy is something that is hard to avoid in this day and age, thanks to social media. Because a few good minutes of scrolling, will present to us posts from people that really do seem to be living their best lives. After all, they’re traveling and looking glamorous while doing so. Or they’re on the red carpet or taking part in other unique life experiences… and they just seem so happy and so bold. Not to mention, they have to be making money so clearly, they’re doing great and well… how can we not envy them? Since we see those images in moments that serve as the anthesis to their experiences. Such as when we are eating lunch at work or on public transportation to and from that same job and all we can think in that moment… is how amazing would that life be. But what we often forget… is that social media… can be quite the construct. For such accounts are carefully crafted to show us what the influencer/poster wants to us to see, and there is likely a reality behind them that we don’t know about and don’t think of when we look at that magnificent picture from a beach in the South Pacific. Which is why we should always be skeptical of social media and keep in mind that our lives might have more merit than we think, so we don’t get lost chasing what is likely… a phantom moment designed to create envy for the user and an escape for the poster, since life and its hardships don’t stop because someone got a sponsorship to travel. If anything, the glaring truth about social media is top of mind today, simply because it served as the focus of the next episode of Lopez vs Lopez on NBC. For ‘Lopez vs Primos’ saw Mayan’s primos come into town to hang with Mayan and Quinten and well… Mayan was looking forward to this because her primos were living la vida grande. After all, Luna had that van life going on and was as carefree as can be. And Miguel was a widely respected scholar and even landed himself a TED Talk and Yesika was the model that everyone adored. And well, as parents they were genuinely looking forward to just hanging with people that let loose and lived free in this manner and for a time, it really seemed as though… their envy of such exciting lives was warranted through and through. But a house party with the primos, and some frustration on George’s part (since he was watching Chance nonstop and that was cutting into George time), led to the exploration regarding how… social media is often a mirage. One designed to entertain and isn’t always sustainable. Because eventually it was revealed that the van life… is a money strapped life, one that sometimes-pushed Luna to eat from dumpsters and money was tight for Miguel as well since there were no sponsors handing him cash. Plus, Yesika came to learn that sponsors come and go, and all of that spoke to the façade this trio put up and how… what Mayan and Quinten had was far more sustainable and worthwhile and fulfilling, and that was a fine lesson to feature here. One that was handled in a smooth and wonderful manner and this episode even managed to sneak in some fine commentary on the struggles that Latina/Latinx women deal with, in life. Since Rosie wasn’t seen as a trusted advisor by a machismo client, and it took an assist from Oscar to prove her worth. Informing us that in Latin/Latinx culture and the everyday world as well, there are still some men who cannot see a woman as an equal, which is dumb. But alas, here we are. But all that aside, this was just another intelligent and fun episode from a series that has mastered commentary and comedy, and now that we have finished this wondrous journey, hopefully we look at social media with a little less envy and find the good in our everyday lives. Because there is plenty to celebrate about where we are at, and truly, this is another story that leaves us curious as to what fascinating topic this series is going to tackle… when we return to the Lopez household, come next Friday. Until then.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
May 2024
|