Stop Monkeying Around!

Sunwukong is the one of the major characters in the classic tale "Journey to the West", about the Tang Monk Tripitaka and his journey to the Western Heaven to gain Holy Scriptures from Buddha and bring them back to China. Monkey King (or Sunwukong) was born from a stone. He wanted to be like the immortals and be free from death. He was extremely smart and capable, and learned all the magic tricks from a master Taoist. He could transform himself into seventy-two different images such as a tree, a bird, a beast of prey, or a bug as small as a mosquito so as to sneak into an enemy's belly to fight him or her inside out.                                                            

 In fashion today, it’s common for celebrities to transform themselves and we can no longer recognize who they are. From make-up to clothing, anyone can transform themselves from a plain Jane to a fashionista. Just like the Monkey King, we are on a quest to transform ourselves and be the “best versions” of ourselves. Celebrities take pride in being a chameleon and the ability to quickly change to adapt to their environment. Take a look at Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj who are famous for changing their appearances until they are almost unrecognizable. People like supermodels and actors share the pressure to stay young because they have made their living in promotion of youth and beauty. Just like the Monkey King, we all want to be like the immortals because we want to maintain our youth forever. When we look at the global cosmetics industry, skincare being the largest one out of them all, accounting for 33.8 percent of the global market in 2012. The United States is the biggest cosmetic market in the world with an estimated total revenue of about 54.89 billion U.S. dollar.

The United States is the biggest cosmetic market in the world, with an estimated total revenue of about 54.89 billion U.S. dollars

As told in Journey to the West, Guan-Yin (Goddess of Compassion and Caring) enlisted the Monkey King as chief disciple of the young Buddhist monk, Tripitaka. Together with Sandy (a fish spirit) and Pigsey (a pig spirit) they must protected the monk on his quest to India, battling demons and righting wrongs along the way. The Monkey King’s trickery now had a holy purpose which he unleashed with much enthusiasm, and his uncontrollable ego was kept firmly in place by a little device of Guan- Yin's devising: a head-band made of gold. The unsuspecting Monkey King was not prepared for the terrible torture of the Headache Sutra! Whenever Monkey king misbehaved, Tripitaka recited the Sutra and the golden headband will squeezed until his very eyeballs felt like bursting. Try as he might, he could not remove it. There was no defense except submission, and pretty soon the Monkey King was the most humble disciple the world has ever known.

When looking at the Monkey King’s golden headband, it is obviously used to keep him in line. He knows that whenever he misbehaved, Tripitaka will punished him severely. The golden headband will always be on his head so there is no way for him to ever escape. In our society today, it is common to see celebrities wearing jewelry worth millions of dollars. The jewelry represents wealth, power and exclusivity when wore by celebrities on the red carpet. When you see an actress at the Academy Awards dripping in jewels, chances are good that they are on loan from Harry Winston.  Each year, the Rodeo Drive jeweler lends celebs over $200 million worth of glittering diamonds, rubies and other precious stones to wear to the Oscar ceremonies. He's been doing this since 1943. There is a negative hold that a piece of jewelry can have on people and how it connects to their social identity.

Carrie Underwood wearing up to 31 million dollars of jewelry at 2013 Grammys 

 In the article, The Modern Western Fashion, its Function and Relationship to Identity by Colin Campbell, he discusses the issue of fashion and identity and considers whether fashion has any connection with social identity. I believe that the style of the product that an individual wears ‘say something’ about who they are. Especially when we take into consideration what it takes to attain the precious stones that celebrities are wearing. Blood diamonds fuel conflict, civil wars and human rights abuses. They have been responsible for funding conflicts in Africa which resulted in the death and displacement of millions of people. During these conflicts, profits from the illegal trade in diamonds, worth billions of dollars, were used by warlords and rebels to buy arms. Just like the Monkey King, there is inexplicable hold that a piece of jewelry can have on us. Except for the Monkey King, it is used to maintain his uncontrollable ego. Unfortunately, it has a complete opposite effect on our society because wearing a multimillion dollar necklace will definitely increase anyone’s ego.