The Meaning of Headlines: 'hot mess'

The Meaning of Headlines: 'hot mess' - entertainment

The USA Today published a video on January 10, 2016, in its ‘Our Picks’ section, with the headline: ‘The Golden Globes will be a hot mess, and that’s why we love them.’ What does ‘hot mess’ mean? And if it’s a mess, why are we going to love them?

The Urban Dictionary defines ‘hot mess’ as: ‘when ones thoughts or appearance are in a state of disarray but they maintain an undeniable attractiveness or beauty.’ The Oxford Dictionary defines it as an informal American term meaning ‘a person or thing that is spectacularly unsuccessful or disordered, especially one that is a source of peculiar fascination.’

Time magazine wrote an entire article on the term, with the headline ‘How the Meaning of ‘Hot Mess’ Has Changed Through History’ (April 2, 2014). Time said the phrase came to prominence as the slogan for Amy Schumer’s new Comedy Central show, but that it has been used since the 1800s when it meant ‘food for soldiers’ (hot food, but not very delicious or attractive). By the early 1900s Americans used ‘hot mess’ to mean a ‘confusing or unpleasant situation.’ The article states that ‘hot’ can be used to describe something ‘daring, flamboyant, uninhibited, wild, intense, lustful, sexy, or drunk.’ The article also states that ‘mess’ can describe an eccentric person, or a large quantity, or something that is both praiseworthy yet also confusing.

The USA Today video, uploaded before the 73^rd Golden Globes award night, has the sentence, below the headline, ‘The 2016 Golden Globes are sure to be full of jokes, duplicate dresses and drunken moments.’ The Golden Globe Award, referred to as Golden Globes, is an annual American award night bestowed by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign. It is hosted in January, before the Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, which are usually held in March (this year they will be held on February 28). Therefore the Golden Globes is an award presentation night with many film and television celebrities, lots of celebratory drinking, jokes, songs, dances, suits and evening dresses – as well as, of course, guessing which films and stars will win a coveted award.

The presenters of the short video were expecting ‘partying and heavy drinking’ with ‘jokes at the expense of celebrities.’ They were hoping that Amy Schumer and Jennifer Lawrence would wear the same dress, and they were looking forward to the potential for ‘a few drunk moments.’ It all sounds glamorous, and yet at every show there are unglamorous funny moments.

Scorecard for the USA Today headline is 100%. The video described moments of disarray amid undeniable attractiveness or beauty – which is why viewers watch the award presentation, why viewers are fascinated by the nominees, and why ‘we love them.’

http://www.usatoday.com

MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass...

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog