Bedtime Ritual
By Justin Favela
“We are all in this together.”
I lay in bed trying to go to sleep but my mind won’t stop racing. I wait patiently as YouTube plays another car commercial. I just want to zone out, escape, and rest.
My bedtime video starts playing, and I watch my favorite drag queen transform a vintage Dolly Parton wig from 1990s fashion mullet to a fun 1960s bubble bouffant. When she puts that hair on she is going to be serving you “administrative assistant a-gogo realn…”
“Now more than ever.”
I’ve seen this food delivery ad like a hundred times. SKIP AD. My wig tutorial queen, Jaymes Mansfield is back with the newly styled wig on her head, and she has made some major adjustments. We are ditching the sixties and going back to the future! She teases the bangs, gives the wig a shake, and starts styling the helmet of hair with her fingers to give it a more dramatic look. The result is a masterpiece! She is giving me “1980s Dynasty-rocker chick at a PTA meeting after having one too many dirty vodka mar…”
“In these uncertain times.”
Another ad for a meditation app fills my screen. I lay there and watch the entire eight-minute ad because I am too tired to move and hit “skip.” I start drifting away but my brain starts firing up again. “I can’t believe the casinos are open and they are making my mom work right now. Why doesn’t anyone care? I hope my grandma wore her mask at the store today. Are they seriously not canceling their wedding? Are they really pretending that we are not the middle of a pandemic and a racial justice uprising? I haven’t done enough. I gotta go check on my grandma tomorrow. I have to send that email. Don’t forget. I am so tired of this performative activism. We need to demand action! How do you say “conspiracy” in Spanish? I have to talk to my aunt about that racist post she made on Faceb…”
“Welcome back, shapeshifters!” Jaymes is back and this time she is armed with a big can of hairspray, and she is ready to set that wig in place for eternity. She fusses with the bangs a little, grabs a pick to fluff up the teasing to give it a little more volume. Then she finally picks up the big aerosol can. “Hairspray time! From a distance.” She gives the hair a good couple of sprays keeping the can a good 12 inches from her head. Applying the spray like that is best because having it to close soaks the hair with too much product and that can ruin the style. She looks good in her little orange zebra print outfit, but it’s not the right look. A costume change is in order, and she comes back on the screen wearing a red satin dress with short sleeves and shoulder ruffles. I like the look. It looks less “rocker” now and more “executive’s wife at the function.” She owns fifty-one percent of the comp...
Justin Favela is a Las Vegas-based artist known for large-scale installations and sculptures that manifest his interactions with American pop culture and the Latinx experience. He has exhibited his work both internationally and across the United States.
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