Blog #10

In the beginning of this course I was angered because I believed everything that we studied was generalized and made our generation seem like it was worthless and uneducated.  After further review I realized that this class and the material within it are meant to make us analyze and rethink the way we handle our daily lives.  We were also meant to rethink the way we think about literature.  We were taught to think critically about the material we were presented, although it was controversial among the class the materials made us take a step back and rethink if maybe the generalizations weren’t really generalizations.  After I rethought about the subjects presented, such as are we too involved with our technology, or are we too involved in ourselves, I began to realize that maybe we are a very selfish generation.  After reading Feed I thought that the teenagers in the novel were selfish and uneducated.  But after analytical review I realized that maybe that is where we are headed if we do not start to think of others or take ourselves away from our cell phones and computers.  I can say that I am very attached to my cell phone and laptop, but I do not think that I will ever be as bad as the kids in Feed. I think that if our generation analyzes what was presented in Culture Jam then maybe we can put a stop to being considered lazy, uneducated, and self absorbed like we portray.

I learned to rethink the way that I think about situations.  Before this class I would just blurt out bluntly what was on my mind, but then I realized that I was living up the generalization placed upon our generation.  Now I take a step back and rethink what I want to say before I let it just fall out of my mouth.  I know that this is not fully credited to this class but also to my maturation level, but I do think that this class played a large part in helping me think before I act/speak.

Although in the beginning of the course I was extremely against learning something new that I was unfamiliar with, but in the end I believe I learned a lot more than I thought I would.  A useless class in my mind (in the beginning) turned out to be one of the most educational (gen eds- because of my major) in my educational career thus far.

p.s. my favorite book that we read this semester was The Hunger Games and I advise you to tell your students from here on out not to read the second Hunger Games before the exam on the first one.  I advise this because I confused myself on the exam and almost wrote the wrong answers.

Blog #8

 To extend the discussion that took place in class on Thursday comparing American Idol to “The Hunger Games”…

Our society puts an extremely strong emphasis on competition.  Competition is seen in sports, education, and in reality tv.  One example of reality tv that emphasizes competition that is most similar to “The Hunger Games” is American Idol.  American Idol has been airing for as long as I can remember.  The contestants are picked from all around the United States.  The producers of American Idol air the most horrendous contestants, the most talented contestants, and the contestants that have the most touching story of how they became singers to gain empathy from the viewers.  The ones who perform the best, are the most attractive, or the ones that have a story to attach the viewers with gain votes from the viewers.  This is similar to “The Hunger Games” when the tributes would receive gifts that were needed for their survival.  The contestants of American Idol and the tributes of the Games are treated the same way; they are dressed up and made a spectacle of, they are eliminated, and their future depends on their likability.  Once the winner is the last one in the competition, they are made into a hero.  People look to them as an idol, and they receive an incredible amount of money.  The tribute that wins the Games receives food for the rest of their lives.  They no longer have to worry about getting by. The only difference, the most important difference, is that American Idol is by choice, unlike the Games which are mandatory.

Blog #7

I feel that the viewers of reality television see the shows as entertaining, because they see their own lives as boring or average.  The most dramatic scenes that are caught amongst the reality stars are the only scenes that are played for the viewer.  In essence, reality shows are lying to us. They hide the moments that we can relate to the most, the most real scenes, because let’s face it… Who wants to watch what we can do ourselves?  That would not bring in the best ratings, which is the only thing that the producers are interested in.  They do not care that these “stars” are looked at as role models by the young adolescents that are watching their shows.  All they care about is getting the adolescents to watch the show.  When the “stars” act like fools on their show it creates higher ratings because viewers find what the “stars” do funny. The way the viewer influences the reality shows is through viewing.  As long as the ratings are high, the shows will still be produced.  One example would be Jersey Shore.  Jersey Shore was only supposed to air for one season with the cast that it is known for.  However, because the ratings were so high, they kept on the original cast for 4 seasons (a 5^th one on the way).  Another example would be Real World.  Real World has been airing for as long as I can remember.  It will keep airing until people become bored and stop viewing.  But because viewers need that drama to make their lives more interesting, they will continue to view the reality shows. 
I think that everything in the reality show business is tweaked to show what really happen in the most dramatic way possible.  The clip that I chose depicts how obscene reality television can become.

Don’t get me wrong, I watch some reality television, and I am not bashing it… I just think that we should take a step back and really look at who we are letting the future generations look up to as role models.

Blog #6

I do not think that our society is anywhere close to the society created in the novel 1984. Our government may seem as though it is 100% controlling, but the fact is, we do not have a dictatorship.  We do have our freedom and we do have privacy.  In the novel 1984 every second of every day is monitored.  This lack of privacy is illustrated through Winston's actions.  Even when he was able to escape the visual eye of "Big Brother", his sounds were still being monitored.  This, in my opinion, is way too much governmental involvement. 
In our society we are able to do what we wish behind closed doors.  We have freedom of speech, and we have freedom of our writing.  In 1984, they are unable to voice their opinions because the fear of death is a consequence.  We are able to say what we want about the government with zero consequences. 

When I read this novel I have a new appreciation for our freedom.  I realize that a lot of us take our freedom for granted and we would rather complain about things, such as the government, than relish in the fact that we are 100% free.

Blog #5

These blogs are all about being honest, so that's what I'm going to do.  I can 100% say that I would not be able to live in a shack in the woods, by myself, for a year.  Because of my personality and the way I am, it would not be possible.  I am not dependent on people, but I do not like to be by myself.  Don't get me wrong, I CAN be by myself, but I do not enjoy it.  I like to be able to hold conversations or just have the presence of someone with me, we don't even have to talk.  I don't like the feeling of being alone.  And I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I'm sure if I did try this year long challenge I would find out a lot about myself.  I would be able to see that we do not need technology to function.  Or, it could result in a completely different way.  I might realize, Hey! I do love technology and I can't live without it!  And if that's who I am, oh well. 

I hope that the consequences of technology and corporations in the real world do not end up like they did in "Feed".  That would be a shame, because everything was ruined and the people were a waste.  However, there were a lot of similarities between the characters and the characters' lifestyles that are parallel to the way of American's lifestyles of today.  Such as; lesions vs tattoos, m-chatting vs texting, and the feed vs a cell phone. 

Post #4: Dumbest Generation

In response to the articles we read and the videos that we viewed I would have to say that I somewhat agree, yet there is a large part of me that disagrees.  The part of me that agrees uses the argument that there are a lot of people in our generation that can be categorized as dumb.  They spend all their time on facebook, socializing or they are just plain ignorant to the world around them and make embarrassing remarks as the Miss. Teen contestant made.  It is comments like these that older generations use to base their opinion on the whole generation.  This is unfair.  My counterargument would be that there is a large majority of people in our generation that are intellegent, hard-working human beings that do not get the credit they deserve because of the technology that we were and are being brough up with.  I believe that all generations will judge the generations that come after them no matter what generation is being considered.  I'm sure when our generation is old enough, we will be calling the generation after us dumb as well.

This generation may seem dumb to people like Bauerlein because we can adequately use the technology that is thrust upon us.  Our generation is extremely technologically savy, where generations before us never had to be, because they did not have the technology that the competitive world has today.  If our generation does not keep up with the new developments in technology, then we will fall behind. 

Lee Drutman's article "The Dumbest Generation' by mark Bauerlein" was quoted "...the new digital world really is changing the way young people engage.." I'm not entirely sure that this is a bad thing.  We can communicate with people throughout the world and gain perspectives and knowledge that we would not be able to obtain without technology.  Sure like Bauerlein said, we use the internet for socializing, but we also use the internet for education.  It is hard to have a class now-a-days that doesn't have any integration with the internet.

Blog #3

While reading Culture Jam and watching Second Skin you can quickly realize how swept up into technology one can truely be.  Second Skin demonstrates how you can truely be yourself, or the person you wish you were, inside the virtual world. Culture Jam goes to show how many people actually like being able to hide behind the facade that they put up when online.  Many people who are gamers choose to let who they really are shine, as opposed to being afraid they are being judged by who they really are.  In the film many of the people were quoted saying something along the lines ".. that we can be who we really are in the virtual world and make lasting friendships.." I think that this is true because the gamers that become friends online know that they have common interests with the other gamers.  I do not believe that the online world is real, however the friendships made can be real.  Gamers do take a chance when they become friends with people that they haven't met, but they are willing to take the chance because they believe it is worth the risk to find someone, whether for love or friendship, that has the same interests as they have.  Although it is a common stererotype, gamers are not the only ones who are obsessed with technology.  Culture Jam  goes on to say that everyone is obsessed with technology, and I believe this to be true.  If we would all just take a second to step back and re-evaluate our lives, we will see that technology rules our lives, no matter who we are.  I think that cyberspace will always be a place for people to get away, but I also believe that it can sweep you up and never spit you back out.  Dan from the film is an exception, he was able to escape cyberspace, but not all are that lucky.