Final Blog #10

I have learned alot more than I thought I would have in this class. To be honest, at first I thought it was just another reading and response class that we have done all of our lives. After the first couple of classes however, I have taken far more out of it than I would have ever imagined, especially during group discussions and the questions that Dr. Mortimore asked. There were alot of issues that were brought up in discussion during class that I have never thought about, and the books and literature that we have read helped bring up these particular arguments or ideas. A great example is that before I started reading Culture Jam and Feed, I didn't really understand how our society's technology is virtually taking over our generation and the generations to come. Everything we talked about in class during discussion made me infuriated to understand what the world is coming to in terms of socializing and learning. I'm glad I understand some of the topics I would have turned my shoulder to before I took this class. In terms of responding to literature, Dr. Mortimore and most importantly this class taught me to ask questions when I read. When I used to read books before I would never truly become engaged in what I was reading, I always just read words on a page. This class taught me to look deeper than the words on the page, ask questions, apply concepts, and expand my imagination. I never really understood literature in the same way I view it now, and its nice to have a completely different outlook on reading. If there is one thing that really caught my attention it was Thoreau and his wish to, "live deliberately." That really caught my eye and struck something inside of me, and I feel as though I honestly have a different opinion on living in general. I'm glad I took this class and I learned alot from it.

Blog #8- Hunger Games Connection

For this blog I wanted to discuss the theme we talked about in class referring to American societies, and the people in it, searching for their "15 min. of fame." I believe rewinding to last week's blog entry that we can see their are reality shows that portray those 15 min. of fame into multiple episodes of fame. I think that in some way everyone tries to find their 15 min. through some kind of hobby, interest, or mainly through an act of stupidity.
A couple examples of different ways of acting out ones fame in today's society is through t.v. shows, video/computer games, or mainly through technological advances. We see today through shows such as American Idol, The Biggest Loser, America's got Talent, ect..., that people do whatever they can to show-off a talent, or display their efforts to the world. American Idol and America's got Talent has had horrible singers/talents with absolutely no talent on their show. Don't think for a second that the majority of those people are out their to gain attention from the rest of the world through live t.v., and they know they suck! The show, The Biggest Loser, may be a little change from the stupidity of people; however, I feel some of those people, not all, want to show the world that they can lose the weight. I feel as though some of their reason for joining the show is that they need to fight their own insecurities and have their 15 min. of fame to help them push through their weight loss. So maybe these 15 min. of fame can have a positive aspect overall.
In all, the 15 min. of fame in our society is for the most part, portrayed through acts of stupidity, (YouTube, Tosh.O, Rob Dyrdek's- Ridiculousness), and makes people look flat out unbelievable.  I believe our society today is most definetly attention deprived, and for some reason we are all guilty at seeking the attention of others in our 15 min. of fame.

Reality t.v.'s #1 fans

"Watching these programs is a way of safely exercising mishievousness in a society that allows for few opportunities to do so." This quote was taken from Gabler's article, "Behind the curtain of TV voyeurism," and is by far the most interesting part of the article. At examining this quote I was able to distinguish the difference between just simply enjoying a reality show, between the feedback or response that the audience/viewer actually establishes. Basically, when I sit down and watch Jr. V. Senior american choppers on discovery channel, (the only reality t.v show I actually enjoyed), I noticed I wasn't just watching and entertaining my mind, it is much more than that. Referring to the quote I posted above and relating to Gabler's article, I realized that I was allowing myself to act as a spy. I was able to view the in's and out's of Paul Sr., Paul Jr., and Mikey's personal family battles, giving me that sense of personal mischievousness that Gabler mentions. If we look back before the 90's before reality t.v. even existed, one can see that people before our generation were unable to relate themselves to others on t.v. With reality t.v. you can actually relate your ideas with that person on the screen because they are not just simply actors, they are real people! I believe the biggest difference in reality t.v. and shows, or movies, is that we are able to relate our personal ideas/interests to a certain character because we feel as though they are one of us, not just a "movie star."

A video clip of Sr. vs. Jr. video clip : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFbL9pcHJz4

This is a clip from the reality t.v. show, Jr. vs. Sr. American choppers, on the discovery channel. As you can see just through the beginning of this segment, Paul Jr. (son), Mikey (the other son), and Paul Sr. (the father), used to work altogether building bikes in previous shows. This season has taken a turn and Paul Jr. has now created his own shop and the two battle every week to show off their bikes. They are also ending a lawsuit that Paul Sr. filed against Paul Jr. Throughout the series of shows the viewer is able to see how the tension is displayed, and also each son and the father are trying to regain and fix their relationships.

I really enjoy this show for some reason because I love motorcycles, and I also loved the relationship between all 3 of the guys and the other co-workers in previous episodes from past years. I have always watched it, and for some reason I will admit the insane fights that Pauly and Paul Sr. have allow me to fully engage and be 100% entertained. I think  my "role" as the viewer is that I am able to subconsciously place myself in the argument and choose sides over what the guys are arguing about. I can relate these fights over my family, not because my dad and I don't get along, hell he is my best friend! I can relate because I know when my dad gets pissed you better move and I am the same way. The blow ups between the two are something I can relate to.

Blog 6-1984

       In 1984, Big Brother watches over everyone making sure that their following the rules of their society; hense the reason such as the main character, Winston, gave up his freedoms for security. I am not too far into the book though, however I have noticed already from Part 1 that Winston has stepped out of his own boundaries in order to take control of himself in terms of self-expression and personal freedom by purchasing a diary to write in. On page 7 Winston quotes, "It was curious that he seemed not merely to have lost the power of expressing himself, but even to have forgotten what it was that he had originally intended to say." I like this quote due to the fact that he had alot bottled up for quite some time and knew what he wanted to express; however, when given the opportunity to let his thoughts pour out on paper, he couldn't seem to do it. Did he just blank out, or was it that his mind has been taught that freedom is basically not allowed and that he is going against Big Brother.
      In terms of our own personal privacy, I believe privacy does exist to some degree today, but their are definetly ways that we have let our society interfere. A couple examples that come to mind for me are things like facebook, government, and the entire use of technology as a whole. I think that facebook has taken over peoples personal issues without them realizing it. As we talked about in class, one can't really delete a facebook once it has been created. Those personal items, information, and contact info. could be anywhere on the entire world wide web. I'm not a huge fan of politics or government and I don't really know much about it, but one thing I do feel is that our government knows alot more about us then we do. The government and law agencies can pretty much spot someone whenever they want too, whether its tapping into internet chat, wire taps, and so on. Leading into technology, online chatting sites and any kind of site where you put in personal info. is probably going to be there forever. Whether you know it or like it, once something is on the Web is out there and technically there is no way to delete it.
     I would never give up my freedoms for security. The reason or country is recognized so greatly is the fact that it was found and based on freedom. I would never want security to interfere with what I do or what others do for that matter.
         

Fighting for whats real.

I believe I am the type of person that could live in a shack in the middle of the woods. I'm not saying I really want to or that it would be fun or exciting; however I think that it would be interesting to find out who you really are as a person and what it feels like as thoreau said, "to back life into a corner." I am the type of person that hates most of the technology that consumes our generation's lives. I don't play video games, don't watch much t.v. that often, and I have the most basic phone you can buy. So I wouldn't want to take a trip to the woods and be secluded from the world for a year to get away from technology, because it doesn't consume my life. I would want to take that trip to get away from the technology and materialistic items that affect my and everyone else's life in general. What would it be like without my ipod, phone, car, t.v? Most of these items people take for granted, even I take them for granted. To truly find the raw meaning of existence and find out whats real inside you is having nothing by your side. To be excluded from everything you once knew and to be placed by yourself in a remote area. The more I think about it, maybe there is a part in me or in all of us that we don't even really know. Maybe there is this real person or real meaning to life that we haven't even met, because we never had the opportunity to. So my question I guess is, if you were placed in a shack in a remote area with nothing but yourself, would you find the lost person you really are, the "real" you?

Dumbest Generation?

I believe there are many people today that believe we our generation is lazy, uneventful, and ignorant. Along with these characteristics most certainly comes the fact that other generations note us as DUMB or STUPID. I feel that they feel this way because most of our society is brought up around technology, and that younger kids only care about their social lives and the next facebook feed. Even though some of this may be true, I feel like it is a major generalization. There are many young people out their today that work their butts off, and barely have time in their day to get all of their school work done because of extra-curricular activities or jobs. Therefore, when it comes to being lazy and ignorant, some kids are, but many work extremely hard day in and day out to make themselves better. When it comes to be the dumbest generation, as Bauerlein suggests, it makes me really pissed. I don't think its right to blame the kids in our generation on our technology and the way we were brought up. I feel as though today kids are learning to build the future and not complete the past. Many classes today, (and I speak from a college student prespective), lack the history of what our country has accomplished in the past. Many kids don't know the answers to who was our 22nd president, or who was our ally in world war two, because some of us were never really taught any of these things in earlier years. We are taught today how to be productive with computers and other new technology and how to advance the future. I think because we choose to learn differently than past generations, we are considered "stupid or dumb," because we can't answer questions of the past. Let me ask you this Bauerlein, how many people over the age of 40 today can sit down at a computer and know the majority of the controls? They must be really dumb!

Real life or Virtual life, which shall I choose?

Our world today relies on technology pretty much for everything including driving, working, economy, power, eating, and yeah pretty much to survive. Now many people live their lives through technology through video games and the MMORPG, (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). Due to technology's advanced domains, people from young to old are taking advantage of it in ways that to some are unimaginable. In the documentary, "Second Skin" that we watched in class, we see how some people use technology, or the virtual world to control their lives. It was mind numbing for me to witness people killing themselves and engaging in relationships/marriage through a game! If we take a closer look though, the question is, is this a game or a virtual reality? I think for the 50 million people that engage in games such as World of Warcraft believe that they can live the life they have always wanted to through a video game. Maybe they grew up not having too many friends, or a bad family background enabling them to feel powerless or non-existant. Through one of these online games they can create that person they have always wanted to be. In Second Skin, one of the guys says that these people are able to release that person from within, or release their angel through their online character. With all of this said I personally believe that virtual worlds and reality cannot really compare. At some point, these people that are obviously addicted need to come to the realization that these games are not reality. They are going to have to tend to their job, family, or even the health of themselves at some point. The real world isn't a game, its REAL, so maybe these addicted virtual enthusiast's need a wake up call, and come back to something more meaningful!