Sample Essay - parsed with labels - and video lecture
Title ->
Identification -> Hook -> Thesis Statement -> Body with Subtopics first subtopic -> quotes to support second subtopic -> third subtopic -> Concluding paragraph Restatement/ Conclusion -> |
Quit Mourning Karl Lagerfeld: A Poster-Boy For Not Separating Art From Artist
By Avantika Mehta, February 20, 2019 (lightly edited for EFL learners) The sartorial world’s King is dead, and I am not sad. Karl Lagerfeld’s death is no loss to the world — or even the fashion industry. Over his 84 years, Karl proved himself to be a misogynist and (a racist). My desire to not speak ill of the dead is overshadowed by the many harmful statements and trends Karl Lagerfeld passed on before passing on. Misogynist Karl “If you don’t want your pants pulled down, don’t be a model. Join a nunnery!” said Lagerfeld in defence of high-profile stylist Karl Templer. Will his work be considered art for years to come? Yes. Does that forgive his problematic influence over the fashion industry, and women across the world No. Famous for his fashion as much for his problematic opinions, Karl was a Type-A jerk. “I’m so fed up of #MeToo“ (a sexual abuse awareness campaign) " It would have been difficult to have an ugly daughter“ "Curvy women should not walk the runway.” On body shape of models: “I want (them to be) a chic coat hanger”; In a 2007 interview with Focus magazine, he proclaimed that only “fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television” say “thin models are ugly”. An anti-feminist to the core, Lagerfeld took shots at male models as well. Calling them 'sticks with crooked teeth', he dismissed the #MeToo ( sexual abuse hashtag) stories of men as well. “They certainly don’t run the risk of that,” he said. Racism and Commercialism Lagerfeld didn’t just save his bites for models, magazines, or the fashion world. When Germany was taking in refugees from Syria, he blasted its Chancellor, Angela Merkel, by saying, “You cannot kill millions of Jews and then take in millions of their worst enemies afterwards, even if there are decades [between the two events]”. He blamed the rise of Neo-Nazism on Merkel’s decision to let in refugees, and drew a cartoon of Hitler thanking Merkel for allowing his descendants in Parliament. Let's not forget, Chanel’s longtime director also defended using fur in 2015 and called PETA childish. Maybe I'm cynical, but I think all his revolutionary decisions were commercial, not ethical. He reversed his principles many times to suit his monetary ambition. For example, he had no interest in male clothing until Chanel launched its male collection last year; doubling their market overnight. Anorexia Glorifying The man’s ideal model was a coat-hanger. Keep in mind that as the creative director of the world’s biggest fashion house, Lagerfeld worked with teenage girls over whom he exerted an incredible amount of control, besides the billions whom he affected by perpetuating 'skinny' as the only respectable body type. Through so many ways, he influenced how generations of women thought and felt about themselves. He denied that anorexia and the fashion industry have anything to do with each other, yet he made billions off the very insecurities he fuelled. His massive (and continuing) control, over an industry that directly affects women, means we cannot separate the art from the artist. If Karl Lagerfeld had his way, women would be on 15-year long diets; hate their curves; thinking sexual harassment was a price they pay for going out to work - every toxic idea feminists have fought against for years. So, no, I will not mourn Karl Lagerfeld. In his own words, he “had no heart.” |
Worksheet for Lagerfeld Essay
1. What are some new vocabulary words you encountered in this reading?
Choose 4 - 6 of them , look up and record their definition here:
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2. Find the 'hook', thesis statement, and conclusion in this essay. Simplify them into one sentence for each and write them below.
Hook: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thesis: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Paraphrase/restate the main idea of this essay. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Skim the essay for one quote of Lagerfeld's that supports his misogyny. ________________________________________________________________________
5. Scan the essay and find how old Lagerfeld was when he died. ________ years old
6. The 'ask' at the end of the essay is implied (implicit) rather than stated outright (explicit). What do you think Mehta wants us to think, feel, or do?
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