Thoughts on the Met Gala

Sure, I like fun and I like fashion, even though if Miranda Priestly’s eyes happen to land on me, which would be unlikely, and not because she’s a fictional character, it’s certain I’d get her notorious pursed lips. (On a side note, Meryl Streep did not attend last night’s Met Gala.) That said, as in the past, there’s something about the Met Gala that rubs me the wrong way. However, this year’s gala not only rubbed me the wrong way, it chafed my very soul. One reason is how Jeff Bezos and his new wife, the same couple who paid forty million for the Melania “documentary,” paid ten million to co-host this ostentatious occasion while the world is falling apart; well, maybe not for them.

There’s always been people who struggled to pay the rent, to wonder where their next meal was coming from, but this gala year it is becoming more apparent that there is an “us” and there is a “them.” Much of it thanks to the criminal administration that seems to think the Constitution doesn’t have any part in their world while their bank statements are growing larger and larger with no repercussions. To them being a millionaire doesn’t quite cut it. They hunger for more while most Americans hunger for the ability to stretch their dollar to live comfortably in a safe environment.

I am part of the “us” without a smidgen of regret since I can do most of the things I want and have most of the things I need. But even if I wanted to, I couldn’t afford the exorbitantly-priced costumes, although some were eye-catching in a good way while others were eye-catching in a way that makes one ask, “Why?” (See Cardi B.) Cosmopolitan has a different point of view, calling her look “iconic.” Guess I’m missing something and I know that it is supposed to be art but why does it require a gazillion dollars to be so?

As for “them,” I wonder who these people were before fame and money worked their way into their lives. Granted, some were born into that lifestyle. (See Blue Ivy and Sunday Rose.) But at what point did the now famous think it was okay to be a part of this scene? When did Katy Perry, who had been raised in a family that relied on food stamps and food banks, suddenly feel comfortable being a part of this affair? Maybe she wasn’t since part of her outfit was with some sort of mask hiding her face. But similarly, A$AP Rocky had lived in poverty and lived in homeless shelters. The paparazzi is helping support the glam world he’s now a part of. I’m sure they weren’t the only ones as each guest took those mincing steps to get to the top of the stairs and pose this way and that attempting to look bored by the whole thing while cameras repeatedly click, lights flashed and reviewers oohed and ahhed.

Granted, I watched some of the Met Gala, feeling like one who was witnessing an accident. I just couldn’t turn my head away while rolling my eyes. True, the Met Gala is a fund-raiser, but if the attendees quietly donated some of their funds to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute without the need for such attention in the process, would that mean it didn’t honor art? Like I said, I like fun and I like fashion, and I am sure many will disagree with my take, but not when it can make those of us feel that the “us” and the “them” are from different planets, (See Ananya Birla.) especially since the country feels divided enough.