Final Blog

This class has given me the opportunity to really examine our culture from other perspectives. I really never used to question our pop culture, I just excepted it. Now I find myself looking at it though new eyes. Why are we so entranced by reality tv? Why do we like watching people beat each to a pulp on live tv? Are we really the dumbest generation? Do we still appreciate the items shown to us in "Because its good for you"? If not, why? I  find myself asking questions about our society and culture much more often. I don't just want to be another pre-wrapped piece of american cheese. I want to be something with a little more kick, maybe a wedge of swiss?

When I read I find myself thinking more instead of just absorbing the words on the page. Culture Jam was a real eye opener for me. It was the first time I read articles really attacking our culture and it forced me to analyze parts of it that we just excepted before. I never really noticed the "noise" around me before. Now, it seems a bit annoying, I guess ignorance can be bliss.

Recently we have been discussing freedom of speech. We examined the Westboro Baptist Church in Tuesdays class. Its weird to say this, but it made me proud to be an American. Our country not only allows that behavior but protects the rights of those horrible people even though they offend 99.9999 (maybe another few 9's) percent of our countries population. After saying that, we don't allow numerous books in public schools. Censorship should not be allowed in any form, in my opinion. If you do not want your child reading a book, don't try to have the school board ban it. It angers be that so many parents get these books banned for the language, and ignore the bigger picture. Books like, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, and A Color Purple have all been banned in schools. I find that offensive.

Censorship

What would a world without books be like? Its a hard question to answer since they have been around our entire life. I feel like it would be a world with less imagination, especially if books were replaced by movies. Movies are great, don't get me wrong, but they do not allow for the viewer to imagine what the scene, character or event looks like because its all on the screen. When you read a book, you only have the words, everything else takes place in your own imagination. That is the reason why I love books so much. Everyone reads the same words but the story is different in everyones heads.
I would honestly miss books I were no longer allowed to read them. I would miss Bukowski's raw humor and out-take on life the most. I feel I have learned more about the world from reading about how other people view it, if that makes sense. I remember reading "Raise High the roof Beam Carpenters and Seymour: an Introduction" by Salinger and how it showed the importance of normal, everyday situations and how beautiful, ordinary can be. My favorite quote from the book is, "I have scars on my hands from touching certain people."
I think we metaphorically burn books everyday by simply not reading them. Ignoring them and watching the movie instead of reading the book. Although, in some cases watching the movie is less painful then reading the book, for example, the Harry Potter books. Not a fan of the books, but I like the movies.

Hunger Games

I thought that the novel was really good. I like the way Suzanne Collins writes, I think she has great word choice and imagery. In times I felt like there was a vivid movie playing in my head. It really does parallel reality television  except in a more violent fashion. It exploits the people involved in the "Games" so that the viewer can get some entertainment. The whole love triangle with Katniss, Peeta, and Gale, added an interesting plot point. I feel like reality television today also uses the love triangle aspect to create drama for the viewers enjoyment.

Reality Tv

I would not consider myself a fan of reality television however, if it is ever on I always get sucked in. Neal Gabler's article on reality television really made me think about it. Why do we like it so much? Why does it suck us in? He tells us its because its socially expectable voyeurism and claims, "Watching these programs is a way of safely exercising mischievousness in a society that allows few opportunities to do so. They allow us to be moral outlaws." I am not sure if I agree with that of not. What I do agree with 100% is his second reason, we can relate to the people on the shows because they are people just like us, except they got on air.

The new season of, "The Real World", really sums up reality television. The episode I watched was the first of the season. They were all meeting each other and there was not much drama yet. But I feel like the producers put people together that they know are not compatible to create drama.

Blog #2

Second Skin was, well, disturbing. The fact that people spend 12-18 hours daily playing a game online is mind blowing. They do not even have time to work, sleep, or eat. Talk about an addiction. The one guy from Philadelphia lost everything so he could pretend to be something he is not in a virtual world.

I also found it astonishing that people use them almost as dating sites. One of the people said they had around 6 online relationships. How does that even work? I can only imagine. Gamer 1: "Oh hey want to go run around in this fake forest and kill fake things for a few real life hours?". Gamer 2: "Yeah sure, its a date". I mean really? Is that what its like? I guess the virtual world is more appealing to them because there are no real problems they have to deal with, there is no real responsibility. They can pretend to be great, when in fact they are just people, mostly with dead end jobs, sitting in a chair, eating hot pockets.


Don't get me wrong, I like gaming just as much as the next guy but I do not let it get in the way of my real life. The life style the people in that documentary describe sounds miserable.

Introduction

If you read the about me section on the side bar you will notice I am a psychology major. I am taking this course because it is required, and well multicultural literature did not strike my fancy. I usually am in reading a book, and the last one I read was Pulp by Charles Bukowski (I would consider him to be among my favorite authors, if not my favorite).


I am not sure how to go about describing my past experiences with literature. However, I will say I am not a fan of having it forced down my throat, so often done in high school. In fact I hated reading the assigned material in high school. On the other hand when I read in my free time I love it. What makes books so great is that everyone can imagine a character or an event differently. 


I am a fan of gaming, movies (my favorite is Snatch), the internet and television. When asked, "what is literature?" all i have to say is, literature is what you make it. I end quoting Salman Rushdie, "Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart.”