That hair. Those eyes. That smile. That look. That hair! Jennifer Aniston has burned herself on the collective conciousness of America's thirteenth generation, while appearing on the top rated series, Friends on NBC. Appearing seemingly from nowhere, Jennifer has jumped into the media spotlight, gracing the covers of publications such as TV Guide,Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, and US. A national obsession has erupted over her hair style, now called "The Rachel" after her character. Why have we embraced her so quick into our pop culture, when it takes others an eternity to even make a blip on the popularity radar?

If Looks Could Kill... Perhaps it is her drop dead gorgeous looks? Jennifer embodies that sort of "girl next door" look, witha twinge of exotica mixed in for good favor. It is no coincidence that the musical group that harkens back to Old American Values, Hootie and the Blowfish, was featured on Friends. Jennifer reminds us as well about that nostalgic feeling.

The Ross Factor All of us, male and female, have had that one person we just wish we could have, but it seems like they won't even give you the time of day. For most of the first year and a half of Friends, that was the situation Ross (David Schwimmer) was in. I think it's our ability to identify with Ross objectifying this decidedly attractive girl that makes us even more attracted to Jennifer. It's sort of an empowerment when we finally saw them get together, that said to us, "hey, I can get the girl!". The way they get all goo-goo eyes with each other, shows the innate love between them. Such affection is rare nowadays, and people have a habit of latching on to it wherever thay can find it.

The Hair Maybe it is the hair. Even though Jennifer has repeatedly denounced the way her hair has been objectified, it comes up as a major issue everytime her acting is mentioned. The essence of her hair is quite simplistic. A simple "flip" on either side of her head in a curvy-type thing. Yet, it has provoked the sort of response like, "why didn't I think of that?". The very simplicity of the hair is what has caused it's popularity. There is no need to pay exorbitant fees to get this hairstyle, and maintenance is quite simple. In this case, maybe the hair's the thing.

Are any of these elements what makes Jennifer a superstar? Or is it an amalgamation of them that does the trick? It doesn't really matter. What matter's is that she is the Queen of Thursday, and we will tune in every week and wonder, "what's she going to do with her hair next?".