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Special Night, Special Town, Special...Hats???

Posted May 30th 2007 2:30PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

Recently Faron Greenfield, so inspired by the prom phenomenon in his home town of Racine, decided to launch a Prom themed clothing line. This flashy new clothing line can be enjoyed by prom go-ers nationwide. Check out the catchy "future prom queen" and "prom survivor" accessories at his site.



I find it truly amazing how this small town has come together to focus on this special event for their kids. When local residents are inspired to make clothing lines in honor of a high school event, you know that you have something special going on. This is beyond any high school bake sale or musical production. This is an event to be anticipated by every resident of Racine, particularly the students and parents involved. When I think about my home town, or most towns in America, I can't help but think that most of the main high school events featured just a small group of students, just the most athletic or the most musical or the most artistically inclined. But in Racine, the main event, the prom, is shared by one and all. Now babies can flaunt their special prom bibs and truckers can flash their prom hats. Everyone either went through the prom or is close to someone who has. Racine's Promsession is something to look up to...and wear!

Racine Prom 2007

Posted May 18th 2007 4:58PM by Sara Kiener

Hope you have your date and dresses ready...

Racine celebrates their 2007 prom tomorrow night (5.20)! You can watch live coverage online here.

I'll be highlighting stories, dresses, red carpet stunners and over the top vehicles over the next few days so check back soon!!!

And if you're in Racine, have a blast!

A Film Maker's take on The World's Best Prom

Posted May 1st 2007 11:43AM by Sara Kiener

Michael Mongillo has co-written and directed 2 feature length films and is working on his third. He is the co-founder of the New Haven Underground Film Festival and has written film, comic book, and music commentary for The Hartford Planet, Strictly Independent, and America Online's Rogue.

Michael deeply enjoyed The World's Best Prom and had the following things to say about the movie.


-Between school, festival submissions and leisure you've probably viewed
hundreds of documentary films. Does the World's Best Prom stand out?

Of the hundreds and hundreds of documentaries I've seen, "The World's Best
Prom" definitely stands out, as much for what it is as what it is not. At
their worst, documentaries tend to be more about the person making the film
than its subject matter. The next most usual offense is that the filmmaker
has a social or political agenda and their presentation of the "facts" are
so far from objective that their work becomes noting more than a propaganda
film. Even when I tend to agree with a particular filmmaker's point-of-view,
I can't abide the arrogance of not showing both sides or the tendency to
manipulate the viewer. The next most common flaw is when a doc filmmaker
exploits their subject matter, be it a person or an incident, either by
poking fun or taking advantage of a person's or an event's notoriety. Not
only is this opportunistic, it's just way too easy. I say all this because
"The World's Best Prom" avoids all of these common pitfalls. But it's not
just a great movie for what it doesn't do. It's inarguable that a doc
filmmaker cannot openly observe something without changing it; yet, even
though this need not be addressed directly in a film, I think the best
documentaries factor this in somehow and "The World's Best Prom" is in the
same league. Long answer longer: The movie is such a standout documentary
because it brings the viewer on a seemingly unfiltered journey of people's
lives during the most pivotal years for most young Americans. It is not the
prom but the lives of these people that the film is actually about, which is
why it is so incredibly effective and effecting.


-Did you relate to the Racine Prom experience?

No, I don't personally relate to the Racine prom experience. I didn't even
go to my junior prom. It just wasn't that important to me. In fact, the only
reason I went to senior prom was because I was dating one of the "in-crowd"
girls at the time. I remember having an okay time with my friends and my
date but it was nothing like the Racine prom experience. So, to me, the fact
that I don't necessarily relate to what happens in Racine, specifically,
speaks volumes of how engaging and universal the stories of the people you
follow throughout can be to anyone who watches the movie.


-How does the World's Best Prom compare to other representations of proms in
mainstream culture?

"The World's Best Prom" is only comparable to the representation of proms in
mainstream culture in so much as it deconstructs the representation of proms
in mainstream culture.


-Who was your favorite character in the World's Best Prom?

They're not characters, they're people. But seriously, I liked them all.


-How was your prom? Do you have a good prom story of your own?
See above.

Prom Season

Posted Apr 23rd 2007 11:17AM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

The clouds have parted, the snow has melted, the scarves, hats and mittens have been tucked away and the ice cream trucks have come out of hibernation. Yes, it's that time of year again. It's prom season. And with prom season - and all its' glorious sun and ice cream filled days - comes an overcast of gloomy prom headlines: parents concerned about underage drinking, school administrators concerned about explicit lyrics, students spending record amounts of money, teen pregnancies, segregated facilities and so on and so forth.

I'm not trying to say that these issues completely ignored through out the year. I guess I'm just concerned that when i google-search prom, what comes is mostly negative headlines focusing on the problems of prom.

There are probably a few things going on here:

-News, in general, likes to focus on disasters and mishaps. Let's be honest, people, for whatever reason, like to watch it more. More viewers means more ads. More ads means more money.

-Issues that exists year round come to the surface around prom: when parents, students and the administration all come together for one last harrah, 4 years of pent up denial and repression come back to haunt what should be the best night of a teenager's life.

What I love about the World's Best Prom is that it addresses a lot of issues without being dramatic. Take, for example, Tonya, who's prom experience is one mishap after another. But her story doesn't end there. Her story goes on to a personal level, to a place that headlines won't go because it's not breaking-news worthy. Also, the World's Best Prom doesn't go out of it's way to exploit "hot" topics like underage drinking, racism, classism and sex. Instead it shows you what's really going on, without exaggerating or passing judgment. WBP goes deeper than a headline and, in doing so, presents a wonderfully touching and moving side of prom without ignoring issues or exploiting them for shock value.

Committed to the Memories

Posted Apr 17th 2007 2:51PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

In a 2005 interview on NPR, Chris Talbott, who both attended the Racine, WI prom and co-directed The World's Best Prom, had this to say about his experience with prom:

The Students have their individual high school proms at all seven high schools but then they parade through town from each high school where they make red carpet, academy award style entrances through bleachers of screaming fans with live television coverage. And because it's such a big deal the kids come on fire engines, 18 wheeler trucks, somebody came on an elephant, somebody came on a tank. They get out of their cars and they preen and they yell and it's their moment to feel like a star.

For the full story, including audio clips from the film and behind the scene details from a Racine native and movie directors go to NPR.

Now, 2 years later, The World's Best Prom is still committed to documenting the over-the-top stories and memories of Racine prom-goers. A new feature on the WBP website allows Racine Prom Alums to share their photos and stories with eachother.

I found these pictures particularly striking. The first is of a bleacher lined entrance from a prom in the 60's. The second is of prom-news coverage 40 years later!


A Small City with a Big Voice

Posted Mar 29th 2007 9:56AM by Sara Kiener

Thanks to a magnificent team of devoted documentarians and a city full of once-in-a-life-time stories, the World's Best Prom Website has launched a project committed to documenting the voices, stories and memories of all Racine-Prom goers.

Here are some of my favorite stories and pictures:

brittany, southwest dekalb, 2006
My junior prom had to be the best and the worst day of my life......i will start with why it was so great. i got to get up put on make-up and a really expensive dress along with getting pampered all day i felt like a princess!!!!!.....now comes the worst i hated my date he was so rude he stayed on his cell phone the whole entire time and it's like he didn't even notice me on top of that my dad drove us how horrifying is that.......but anyway i am a senior now and it's senior prom so i have decided to go with a really cool guy friend we will probably hang out at prom for a minute and then leave (no one stays at prom the whole night anyway) lol!! i really want to go bowling or something after but until then chow!!!!!!

Daniella Suarez, North Shelby High, 2006
My prom sucked...but whatev...First of all my hair looked major sucky...I cried and cried because I spilled juice on my white dress and then everyone asked me if I was high because my eyes were puffy. Also, I rolled my ankle on my heels when walking down grand march. Then, to top it all off, I had sex for the first time ever and 9 months later out popped little Promenade. Well, top that. Thanks Tina!

nkechi, cherry, 2005
well i went to the prom last year and i met the boy of my dreams he was called elvis i love him so much we plan to get married the prom didnt just let me have fun it let me have love

Jim Smith, Washington Park H.S., Racine, WI, 1965
I had asked 13 girls and gotten 13 nos. On the morining of the day of the prom back in '65, I walked into a shoe store selling stuff door-to-door. There stood a tall, good looking Danish blond with a sexy accent who was buying low shoes so she could go to the prom with some guy who had always treated her poorly. Well that took about 30 minutes to change. We walked out of there together, cooked up a story to tell that guy, got tickets from the principal, borrowed money from an English teacher and made all the arrangements at the last minute. Three bands at the post prom, fooling around in the balcony, seeing that guy there with another date, the next day at Brown's lake. Wow, what memories. It was the start of a wonderful relationship. I wonder where she is now.


To read more stories and see more pictures, go to The World's Best Prom Website.

Prom Sites for You

Posted Feb 25th 2007 9:09PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

With prom season approaching, I thought I might highlight some of the many (many, many) websites and companies out there dedicated to helping out with your prom:

Chiff.com
These sites offer tips and advice on how to choose your prom location, decorations and themes, music, menus plus everything from promotion to final clean-up - along with great ideas for raising money to help feed any size committee budget.

Formalwear.org
Great resource for the prom planner newbie with a complete overview of how to pick a location, choosing your theme, picking a DJ vs. a live band, selecting a caterer and hiring a photographer.

PerfectProms.com
his site has plenty of prom advice and the section for prom coordinators and committees is extremely helpful. Check out the popular themes. You might find one you like - or find inspiration to come up with one of your own.

Stumps Prom and Party
With 78 years in the prom planning market, this company has plenty of experience to share - and lots of prom items to sell. But the prom how to's and tips are excellent and they offer free personal assistance...

April Smith's High School Memories

Posted Feb 9th 2007 12:01PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

Singer-songwrite April Smith's song "High School Memory" is featured on the World's Best Prom's website. To hear more check out her Myspace page. Here is a list of her upcoming shows. She's wonderful live. Hope you enjoy!

Feb 16 2007 8:00P
Ramapo College Mahwah, New Jersey
Feb 19 2007 10:00P
Mercury Lounge New York, New York
Feb 24 2007 8:00P
Dogfish Head Rehoboth, Delaware
Mar 31 2007 9:00P
Hey Cole Anniversary Show at The Court Tavern! New Brunswick, New Jersey

The Big Screen on Prom; How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Prom

Posted Jan 22nd 2007 3:29PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

Last night I watched Stephen King's Carrie for the first time. For those of you who don't know, the movie is about Carrie, a social outcast, who is asked to prom by one of the in-crowders only to find this dream-come-true is not at all what she had anticipated. Her disappointment manifests itself in Satanic powers and, in the end, Carrie has her revenge on all her taunting peers and her oppressive mother.




Stephen King and Brian De Palma were commenting (in their twisted and gruesome way) on the hype and intensity that lead up to prom and the disappointment which many feel when the night isn't the prom they'd hoped for. Nowadays films seem to be the exact opposite: while watching the movie I couldn't help but be reminded of 1999's She's all That
in which loser-girl-turned-prom-queen actually turns out to be the cutest, most interesting and, ultimately, most popular girl around. In the end of She's All That the audience is reminded, as it usually is, that prom night is magical and amazing.

It should be clear by now to everyone that there are people out there who really love the prom and all it represents, who cherish every moment from the planning committee to the drunken-aftermath. And then there are those out there who think it's an utterly ridiculous social construct worthy of blood drenched exploitation and a serious reexamination of significance. I think that Carrie and She's All That are exemplar of these two ways of thinking about prom.

Where does the World's Best Prom fit in in this prom-spectrum? If you ask me, WBP captures the more beautiful moments that a prom can foster, the interpersonal bonding, familial pride and, most significantly, the sense of community that a prom creates. Sorry Stephen King, but add WBP to the list of movies that prove that prom isn't all that bad. Sure we, as a culture, may spend an obscene amount of time thinking about it and an even more obscene amount of money paying for it, but at the end of the night there are happy endings out there, and does that really call for a blood bath? Really? Probs not, Stephen, probs not. (For the record, I really liked the movie, a lot. Also kind of liked She's All That. What can I say? I just love movies about prom. A lot.)

The Anti-Prom

Posted Jan 4th 2007 4:13PM by Sara Kiener

In an effort to find my next blog topic, I checked out what wickipedia had to offer on the subject of Prom. More interesting than the dry "prom is a social event where dates dress up and dance..." was the link to an entry on "anti-prom" which conveniently led me to the official anti-prom website. Here's the scoop: there are kids out there, organizing, and quite well, i might add, against the prom. What I can't decide is if this idea appeals to me or not. On the one hand, I really admire students for questioning the principles and norms of prom. Why is it, after all, that there's so much hype and so much money over something that's nothing more than a social construct? It's important for people, especially students, to challenge things lest everything stay the same boring way forever and ever. On the other hand, it seems like these students are going to extremes to make the prom seem wicked or evil.

I'm on the fence.

There is something about prom, something at it's core, about getting together with everyone you've just endured the last four years of your life with and celebrating the end, that I like.

But there are some things about prom that really tick me off, the biggest being the endless struggle for perfection, and not just any perfection, but normal perfection. If you've been reading my blog all along than it should come as no shock to you that I have problems with the necessity to fit into a certain mold in order to be a successful prom attendant. After all, everyone's different and high school is indicative of difference: preps, jocks, freaks, ditzes, geeks, goth, stoners, bad-guys, sweethearts, political, shy, acne, purple hair...high school has all of that and much more! Don't believe me? Then I recommend you disregard your high school experience and watch any number of movies and tv shows set in high school in which all of those characters are present.

Anyway, I feel strongly that purple hair girl should be at prom, with everyone else, having as much fun as the jocks and the preps and the stoners. If, for whatever reason, purple hair isn't welcome at a prom, well, then, consider me anti-prom.

Prom Disasters

Posted Dec 19th 2006 11:42AM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

Here are some of the best prom-disaster stories I've come across lately:

My girlfriends and me were at the prom together because of the shortage of guys at my school. We all had oysters to start and they made us ill and Sarah was sick on herself, and I puked down the side off the table and it ran onto the dance floor. The prom was abandoned because everyone was so sick and we never got to do the final dance. Beware shellfish!

I live in a small town, and my friend and her date decided to get a limo with her dates friends. Well they decided to go to the nearest city for dinner, and the nearest one is 50 miles away. Well needless to say on their way back, they got a flat tire and the driver couldn't change it. They had to call home for a school bus to come get them, they sat in the limo for and 1 1/2, missing most of prom. When they finally got back, they were just in time for the "walk" and the announcement of court and still had to leave on a bus.


My friend ordered us a party bus instead of a limo. We were all looking forward to the big white bus's arrival (it was supposed to be bringing all of us girls balloon bouquets). To start things off, the bus did not arrive until 45 minutes later than it was supposed to and to our surprise, this little navy blue
painted school bus pulled up. It was falling apart!! The door had to be shout with a rope, and it would fly open during our ride. What a disaster!

Me and a friend went to Victoria's Secret to buy corsets and while we were getting dressed the padding in her bra flew under the door and out into public!! We were in the same dressing room so we both were trying to reach for it from under the door! We got our corsets, and while the lady was putting them in the bag she leaned and whispered, "Next time just ask for help.


Better luck next time! Oh, wait, there is no next time. Better luck at your wedding!!!



A Unique Dress, Indeed

Posted Dec 15th 2006 12:26PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

In the World's Best Prom, Tonya talked about going out of her way to find a dress that no one else had. Sadly, there was a duplicate. We're all familiar with US Magazine's "Who Wore it Best?" and the last thing any prom goer needs to worry about is being compared to someone else in the same dress. Worry not, unique dress-wearers, I've found fun and interesting solution.

Duck Tape offers a annual competition for outfits made out of (can you guess?) Duck Tape! For archives of all the contestants and the rules check out their site.

In the mean time, here are a few of the most unique dresses around:


You won't see any of these couples on "Who Wore it Best?"!!!!

Prom Should be Fun!!

Posted Dec 13th 2006 11:35AM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

While skimming through the World's Best Prom extra features, I was taken aback by Susan Sarandon's response to the first person who asked her to prom: "I said yeah...it's just one of those things you have to do. Like getting a flu shot." I couldn't help but think, "Wow! How much of prom is something we have to do like a flu shot?" It seems like there are a lot of have to's out there when it comes to proms: I have to have a nice date, I have to have my nails done, I have to spend X amount of money. But the biggest have to of all really ought to be I have to have fun! If you're having fun, you forget about all the flu-shot-have-to's. Why do you think doctors give out lolly-pops when it's all said and done? Prom night should be one giant lolly-pop at the end of the flu-shot-have-to's!

So while everyone was off taking professional photos (a flu-shot-have-to, if you ask me), my friends and I took pictures by the "do not feed the ducks" sign. Add this to the prom albums!


Prom$

Posted Dec 12th 2006 1:52PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

Prom-dresses.com seems to have quite a few things to say about how much your prom bill should cost. Let's see if I spent the right amount, shall we?

The dress:
Prom-dresses.com says, "Prom dresses today are not cheap, especially when you are looking for a dress of quality." $75-$400

I say: I spent 80$ on a strapless knee length dress from Arden B. It was the first dress I tried on, I never wore it again and only one other girl wore the same thing. I'd say that makes it a relative success.

Continue reading Prom$


Your Stories

Posted Dec 11th 2006 12:12PM by Sara Kiener
Filed under: The World's Best Prom

During the months leading up to the DVD release, we wanted to incorporate as many stories about prom as we could. Whether they were from Racine or Miami or San Francisco or anywhere in between, we opened up the Website for people to reflect on, at least for a moment, that night full of corsages and tuxes and bright lights.

Here are some of my favorites:
#1 Chris Werner, 1974
"My boyfriend had been bragging for weeks about the great suit he bought for prom instead of a tuxedo. I didn't see it until he picked me up that night, and I just about fell through the floor when I realized his suit was CHECKED! He even had tri-color shoes to match! I tried not to show my feelings about his suit, and when we slow danced, I closed my eyes and imagined he was wearing a tux like EVERYONE ELSE! I just loved him too much to take away his enjoyment of the evening. While our school's portion of the parade waited until our turn to merge (the police closed the roads for us), we had time for some romance in the car. The big band at Memorial Hall that year was Looking Glass (Brandy - You're a Fine Girl), and it was great. We got really tired, but didn't want to leave, so we snuck up to the balcony and fell asleep in the chairs until we were allowed to leave at 6:00 a.m. We're still together, 32 years later, with 2 grown daughters, but I have never forgiven him for wearing that suit!"




More at www.worldsbestprom.com/media_prom.html

My other favorites "after the jump"

Continue reading Your Stories


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