As Ever #3 As If

[PrettyFlyforaMaiTai]

Another thread to discuss the rebranding of ARO and the merchandising of With Love, Meghan

Part 2: www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_royal_family/5278062-as-ever-2-whatever

The real question is why was Di wearing that sweatshirt.

It’s really not.

I don’t think it’s put Netflix in a good light either, it’s like they couldn’t be bothered to put any effort into Meghan’s show and just thought they would cut and paste Pamela’s, even down to the high tens, so I’m not sure if it’s the fact Netflix couldn’t be bothered to produce something original and different or that Meghan saw Pammy’s trailer and thought she would just do a carbon copy, and let’s face it she has a lot of form for copying, maybe a mixture of both?

@mathanxiety I agree with you about Diana. I find the idea of wearing a sweatshirt for a college you didn't go to strange but my teenage daughter thinks this is a weird opinion! However while I agree that those are northwestern colours, there are dozens of designs for college sweatshirts. I went to an American university and we had a superstore just for the clothing on campus. I think some of the comments about M cosplaying Diana a bit far fetched but not this.

Eyeroll...

Northwestern has an acclaimed theater program, which is incredibly hard to get into. It's right up there with NYU and Juilliard.

6.5 out of 10 for effort.

I think my view is coloured by whether it is a vintage shirt from her time at Northwestern (graduating 2003) or the slightly earlier period when Diana wore it. It certainly looks identical to the one she did and a great deal of Press seem to have picked up on it, with accompanying photos.

It is hard to believe that she or Harry are unaware of the Diana photo, it's being used to flog copies on Etsy.

Northwestern has an acclaimed theater program

Which seems have been completely wasted on Meghan. Or am I missing all her Tony Award nominations and gushing write ups about her immense actorly talents? Forgive me, I assumed her dubious success was down to her ability to wear tight clothes, rather than her finely honed understanding of the Stanislavski technique. My mistake, no doubt.

I live in the general area of Northwestern U and that is an extremely popular merch item, worn by a lot of students and families. In fact I own one myself and the colour is flattering to practically all skin tones and hair. It's reasonably priced (for genuine merch) and exactly the kind of T you would wear out in the yard at the weekend.

I think (dredging this up from the depths of my memory here!) that Diana did a charity trip to Chicago for something. She was probably given this as a freebie and, like most of us who get freebie branded clothes we wouldn't be seen dead in normally, thought it about fit to wear to the gym! And look how big a deal is being made of it now 😂

Only toddlers lay on the floor and cry in my experience, and not always even then - I can only remember one of my four ever doing that.

I wouldn't be suprised if Meghan did lay on the floor and sob though. Sometimes I wonder how much being on the set of her dad's soap opera after school everyday affected her and how she grew up perceiving that adults behave. A grown woman lying on the floor sobbing does sound like something you might see on a soap opera. I wonder if she sees her life in 'scenes'. She seems to rewrite everything in her mind for dramatic effect, eg. the car chase, the fire etc.
I imagine she dreams of a film being made of her life one day 😆

<Ahem>

ETA weird, there's supposed to be a photo there. Hope it pops up!

Link if not

@mathanxiety

" Diana received her sweatshirt as a gift in 1995, after she visited the campus to raise money for the University’s Robert H. Lurie Cancer Centre. "

From Harpers Bazaar website today. I've jut cut and paste that bit because the rest just reiterating the "sweet nod" and that Meghan had been to that university , and brand , instagram etc.

Guy is risen! Guy has come again! He lives among us! (This is not true. I am misbehaving. It's Meghan's fault 🤣)

There is a new girl beagle, Mamma Mia. When I saw a beagle in the As Ever launch post, I thought that she must have made up the tear-jerking tale about his death. Now I feel bad for having thought that. There is a depth to which Meghan would not sink, and this is it. Interestingly, though, the post about Guy nolonger features the story of his death. Meghan's voice has been replaced by musical backing.

@Onlyonekenobe - sorry - cross posted

Only when the gin has ran out

IIRC, her Dad was lighting director on Married with Children when he was taking her to the studio. Watched it, comedy show about a rather dysfunctional family (erm) bit like Roseanne.

I didn't realise until checking this that he oversaw the lighting for the 1984 Olympics.

Great post. Jamie Oliver has other virtues too. He's relatable - bloke brought up in a pub, a bit cheeky chappie; he campaigns convincingly and isn't afraid of controversy - turkey twizzlers; he isn't precious about his kids - we see them, it's no big deal. Meghan is not relatable - too much conspicuous wealth. Her causes seem superficial - turning up to be photographed with women who are not white fiddling with food - is about Meghan. She's very precious about her kids - we see bits of them, occasionally.

Are you disputing the ranking of the theatre programme?

You shouldn't.

It's offered by the School of Communication, with a wide variety of majors, minors, and dual degree options possible, with a lot of potential career tracks.

You can sniff all you like about her acting ability, but criticism that relies on costumes and publicity shoots is distasteful, and can equally be flung at pretty much every actress out there - if you want to scrape the bottom of the barrel, that is. Stay up and watch the Oscars in a couple of weeks and take notes.

I noticed in Tesco today that Jamie Oliver has a new Air Fryer cookbook out!
He knows his audience.
And he's an actual chef.

I think he uses his own home for his shows, or he did?

He's had a lot of flak from various quarters in the past too, as some failures but he doesn't do whinging which means people forgive and forget over time.

I always assumed it was mostly her wording. But perhaps I'm wrong.

She may have good quality degree in theatre but she hasn't done any high quality acting roles. Has she done theatre?
She doesn't seem interested in pursuing her craft. She'd prefer to sell tat.

Harry's relationship with his dead mother is very troubled. His wife dresses like her and he aids and abuts. He puts mummy's Elizabeth Arden face cream on his todger. Meghan wears mummy's perfume for their first date.

A lot of it looks like she accidentally left her mobile phone camera on while strolling about her garden.

Who wants to see shots of grass or trees which could be pretty much anywhere? There's no human element to this.

This.

It's worth a reread of this a few years on.
https://www.thecut.com/article/meghan-markle-profile-interview.html

It's very clever writing and captures the authors perception of M very well. You can tell she feels that M is totally performative but still sort of likes her because she's trying so hard.

I reread it as I was looking for a quote from M about her children where she said something along the lines of 'my children are amazing because I'm developing their creativity' or something which basically said 'my children are amazing because I am amazing'. It was such a red flag narcissist parent quote to me and has always surprised mt that it wasn't commented on more. The idea that her children have to be amazing reflectionsof her. But it wasn't this article so I'm not sure where it was?

The irony re acting is that had she wanted to retain her career after marriage, she would have surely been offered a chance at starring parts and a chance to show any acting ability she has. I would imagine she would have been able to pick and choose, at least initially and there would have been a chance of something really good and interesting, had she been truly bothered about acting.

Bit different to the (already Oscar winning) Grace Kelly who had no chance of continuing after marriage.