Class Reflection

From a personal standpoint, I really enjoyed this class, one of the classes I actually enjoyed going to. Unlike other lit classes I had in high school this one focused less on what actually happened in the books, but used the books as a reference points to deal with issues that we may have never though of as an issue. When we were doing Culture Jam, I actually did think about how often I use technology and can honestly say I cut back, it made me realize that while there is nothing wrong with technology sometimes it is good to get away. Although there were some books that were either repetitive or just not fun to read what so ever the in class discussions were able to keep the class fresh and make it interesting, to put it in perspective this is the only class that I was present everyday, and i really enjoyed it.

Hunger Games on TV

When reading Hunger Games I could not help but constantly make connections to Survivor. These people are thrown onto an island many of them with little to no outdoors training fight for survival to win 1 million dollars. These characters are told to "outwit, outplay, outlast" their opponents in order to achieve the grand prize at the end, they form bonds with the other competitors, and form relationships, mainly for the sole purpose to turn around and turn on them the very moment they get the chance to. The viewers get the satisfaction of basically watching these people suffer through immense physical and mental torture all for a million dollars, which looking at it from an outsiders perspective after taxes in this day and age is a lot of money but not a mega life changing amount of money to where people should trade in their moral values just so they do not get voted off the island. So the question arises, how much money does it take for people to throw away their life values.

Reality Television

Reality television has been a staple of the American viewership since the Real World blasted onto the scene in 1992. The fascination with how these people act on a day to day basis is crazy, I understand why people do enjoy it though, it portrays almost every aspects of human life, except for the normalcy and plainness of day to day life. I believe that is the allure of  reality television many people watch these because they find interest in the ridiculousness of the situations these people get themselves into and see a brief action packed one hour of television because they find their own lives plain to a certain extent. Personally, I am not big into reality television so I decided I would watch an episode of the most rediculous reality show out there which is Basketball Wives, and it was just awesome it was just yelling and fighting for an hour, it was so entertaining. It's just like when people say it is like a trainwreck awful but you cannot look away, I knew what I was watching wasn't quality television but at the same time I was enamored at what would happen next.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCq3OxGT65c

This is a clip from the episode I watched, there is really no character depth in this show and although I will never watch another episode of Basketball Wives, it was really entertaining but there is no way I would watch another episode.

Orwellian Society

Obviously the society presented in 1984 is way more over the top then one presented today in America. I think the point this blog is trying to get at that technology is our version of "big brother" and that technology is always around and as much as we try to avoid it it still pops up. I forget where I read it but there was a guy working on his laptop and through the webcam at the top of his laptop his boss was able to watch him do his job to make sure he was using his time right and found out he was not, that man was fired from his job. Also there is no way of complete privacy with technology because all someone has to do is Google your name and they could find out a lot about you. Then again, its no where as extreme as the society the people in 1984 are faced with.

Living in Isolation

No,  there is zero chance I could live without technology for a week let alone a month, thinking about it broadly I thought it may have possible, but then I thought more about it and realized no way. I use technology more than I think, if I am reading a book I have Wikipedia sitting next to me so if i find a reference I am not familiar with I look it up so I can further my understanding of the book. When I exercise there is no way I can run without my Ipod. I could not go to the woods and live in isolation without technology, because quite frankly I would get bored, and being bored is awful, also I really don't like being isolated, I like having people to communicate with because one can only think of so much before they drive themselves insane. If I was left alone in the woods I would go nuts, not necessarily for the loss of technology, although that plays a strong part, but the loneliness would be far, far worse. I do not find myself "dependent" upon technology but at the same time its there so why not use it?

Dumbest Generation?

As the age of technology is in effect, as Americans we find the newer generations are experts at mastering a cell phone, laptop, etc. but at the same time don't know all the Presidents. I do not take exception to this fact, personally I could tell you who won the last ten World Series, but could not tell you who won the 1856 election (James Buchanan), but as a Communications major specializing in sports radio it honestly feels more important to me to learn things more important to my field. Do not get me wrong general educations classes are extremely important to being well rounded human beings because it gives us knowledge in many subjects and we need them to succeed, but calling us the dumbest generation because we go on Facebook or send a few texts in over the top. While the generation above us may think we are the dumbest generation the generation before them probably thought they were the dumbest, the older one gets the more knowledge they obtain, so they forget exactly what they knew at the age of 18 as to what they know now, I can look back and confidently say I know so much more now than I did five years ago, and most likely when we are all thirty a good majority of us will think the same as the generation below us, its just a cycle.

Face to Face?

The massively growing popularity of new social media such as texting and Facebook, leads to a generation of children who know this as the main staple of their conversations now. People feel more comfortable behind the screen of a computer, because they can say what they want and not have to worry about the consequences of it, but it may be overused. There is an overall fear that the upcoming generation will lose their social skills altogether, that they will just sit in a room and text each other or comment on one another's Facebook status, while the status is about them hanging out together they are making conversation and not actually talking to each other. The part of the video that baffled me is when the four guys were in the room playing World of Warcraft they all had their headsets on, but they were in the same room, how much work is it to turn around and speak to the other people in the room. When Lasn says were are in the age of "emoticons" I realized how many times have I started off with a "haha" or "lol" when in reality I did not even find that statement funny, I just want to give off the impression that I found it funny. The technological advances are making it difficult for children to get better at communication and it is a very sad sight to see.

Walmart Society

Day by day more and more Walmarts are appearing all over the country. This causes a major problem for all those "mom and pop" stores along the country, they make their money in their one area of expertise, where Walmart covers all of the aspects of any family's needs. The ability to buy anything from clothes to televisions makes Walmart a one stop shopping experience and leaves it unnecessary to go to these shops anymore basically putting them out of business. Americans will put this down and condemn it all they want but in the end they will still end up utilize the convenience of a Walmart, it is a very hypocritical stance and I for one am not immune to this. A community thrives among a bunch of people doing their own crafts and using that as their way to make an income but this becomes impossible as day by day more small, independent businesses see all their hard work go by the wayside just to watch more and more people make their way into a Walmart. There was an  episode of the TV show "South Park" in where a Walmart comes in drains the community dry to where they can no longer shop anywhere but Walmart, but due to the low prices they were almost magnetically attracted due to the low prices. As a society its our job to realize that shopping at Walmart is acceptable but at the same time it is good to get quality from small shops every once and awhile.