So the Truman Show has really taken a toll in consuming my thoughts... Yes this is a super in depth thing to just casually stumble upon but luckily I am a long distance runner and have PLENTY of time to myself to think.
For starters I thought the movie was genius and I am so ashamed of myself for not seeing or even hearing of it sooner. The first day we watched it I walked to practice thinking about how weird living as Truman would be and what if that was my life right now. I realized if my life was a tv show it would be a terrible sitcom with a broken laugh track that would never take off so I know I'm definitely in the clear there.
In one of my other classes we discussed the whole "mapping your own reality" idea and we watched an episode from star trek where the lead guy (obviously not a fan I don't know the characters on a first name basis) was knocked out but his mind was in a different world where he was married and well known in a town. He knew it was fake but then felt as if he was there for decades so he had to rewire his idea of reality to this new world and start a family in this community. He had a kid and that kid grew up went to college blah blah. Then he was saved and realized only a few minutes really only passed and he was forced to remap his reality back but decided not to share his new world and just keep the memories.
We also went into detail with Plato's allegory of the cave and I thought it was so interesting and I have the PERFECT image of what this cave would look like, where the fire would be, and those stairs. I couldn't imagine trying to change my view of reality so dramatically but kind of wish I would wake up and realize I'm still 8 years old and that everything I've lived up until now was all a dream...
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Too Sarcastic To Grow Up
Finishing the documentary Tough Guise in class left me speechless feeling a lot of different emotions. I thoroughly enjoyed it and gained a lot of insight. My last post I said something that stuck with me but finishing the film something else truly stuck out to me and it was the video of the fraternity boys raping the passed out girl.
They made a HUGE joke about it calling her "dead as a doornail" and saying they raped her harder than the guy from Pulp Fiction. ALL of them were laughing and joking about it and I thought to myself how that would never happen with people that I know, It's too insane. But that's when I realized that some of the jokes they were saying I've heard before and get the same response. Although the people I know would never go through with such a disgusting act like that but the fact that they joke about it so casually is the universal downfall that I realized.
We live in a culture where everything is a joke and everyone does things to get a laugh. People put their lives on the lines just to be comedic. Our tv shows like family guy or south park take violence and abuse to the extreme to show that they are joking because they know it's wrong. I've heard people say "That test raped me" and they use rape in a context thats so extreme so people know it's a joke. That's the thing, we have become too okay with these terms and don't realize how serious they are.
People need to realize the severity of these words and what they actually mean. No, you can't be raped by a test but that word should strike fear and people should be conscious of its meaning. We use these words casually in our daily lives to make it less severe than it is. We need to remind people that our lives aren't a joke.
They made a HUGE joke about it calling her "dead as a doornail" and saying they raped her harder than the guy from Pulp Fiction. ALL of them were laughing and joking about it and I thought to myself how that would never happen with people that I know, It's too insane. But that's when I realized that some of the jokes they were saying I've heard before and get the same response. Although the people I know would never go through with such a disgusting act like that but the fact that they joke about it so casually is the universal downfall that I realized.
We live in a culture where everything is a joke and everyone does things to get a laugh. People put their lives on the lines just to be comedic. Our tv shows like family guy or south park take violence and abuse to the extreme to show that they are joking because they know it's wrong. I've heard people say "That test raped me" and they use rape in a context thats so extreme so people know it's a joke. That's the thing, we have become too okay with these terms and don't realize how serious they are.
People need to realize the severity of these words and what they actually mean. No, you can't be raped by a test but that word should strike fear and people should be conscious of its meaning. We use these words casually in our daily lives to make it less severe than it is. We need to remind people that our lives aren't a joke.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Tough Guise Tough Words
This is one of my favorite documentaries so far because of how much it is actually covering. Jackson Katz does a great job of showing that "boys will be boys" is not the case. I liked seeing how some classic movies can be interpreted into a violent mentor to boys. I always saw a lot of the factors mentioned effect boys growing up but what stuck out the most to me was how the media is so biased with their words.
There were multiple scenes of talk shows using a lot of sexist and stereotypical phrases when describing men. They would always make them seem like the victim rather than taking responsibility for their actions. This is hard to do considering they are 90% of the violence that goes on in our society. I was also astounded at the fact that these talk show hosts would address boys as a "wuss" or that schools were becoming too "feminine" as if it was a terrible thing.
The documentary addresses the problem very well by directing the attention to video games and movies like Fight Club where men have to prove themselves by being masculine and using violence. This is also a direct result of the older generations believing that this was really a way to live and that to be ashamed of being weak or not masculine. I'm glad we are becoming conscious of these decisions and are more accepting, but still have a lot of work to do.
There were multiple scenes of talk shows using a lot of sexist and stereotypical phrases when describing men. They would always make them seem like the victim rather than taking responsibility for their actions. This is hard to do considering they are 90% of the violence that goes on in our society. I was also astounded at the fact that these talk show hosts would address boys as a "wuss" or that schools were becoming too "feminine" as if it was a terrible thing.
The documentary addresses the problem very well by directing the attention to video games and movies like Fight Club where men have to prove themselves by being masculine and using violence. This is also a direct result of the older generations believing that this was really a way to live and that to be ashamed of being weak or not masculine. I'm glad we are becoming conscious of these decisions and are more accepting, but still have a lot of work to do.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
March Mayhem
Boy oh boy the time of year where boys are bummed about football ending so they rotate to the next sport! Yes, that was sexist AND opinionated of me but I'm just mad at myself that I never really got into watching basketball. I am quite athletic and am pretty fluent in sports talk with my guys friends since I actually understand the concept.
Basketball I can watch in person but for only a short time and this angers me. I can watch hours of football and not get bored and THAT is something to be proud of but basketball just doesn't cut it for me. I feel so out of loop with all the March Madness brackets and especially being in group chats with guys makes this an everyday isolation.
Two years ago I had a teacher who had us all make our own brackets and whoever won got a bacon egg and cheese from him. Now If you knew me personally, the word bacon egg and cheese makes my ears perk up immediately. It is on my list of probably top 10 favorite things ever, so within minutes I was asking around for help with my bracket. I ended up googling popular brackets and took something random. Since all those games usually happen around the same time I got out 2 laptops and watched 4 games at once trying to remember which team I was rooting for.
Long and boring story short, I lost and to this day I still have harsh feelings for this Madness de March. I guess it can be a positive time for people to bond or argue through? Mainly something to occupy guys and girls who enjoy the nothing but net basketball feeling that I never quite inherited.
Basketball I can watch in person but for only a short time and this angers me. I can watch hours of football and not get bored and THAT is something to be proud of but basketball just doesn't cut it for me. I feel so out of loop with all the March Madness brackets and especially being in group chats with guys makes this an everyday isolation.
Two years ago I had a teacher who had us all make our own brackets and whoever won got a bacon egg and cheese from him. Now If you knew me personally, the word bacon egg and cheese makes my ears perk up immediately. It is on my list of probably top 10 favorite things ever, so within minutes I was asking around for help with my bracket. I ended up googling popular brackets and took something random. Since all those games usually happen around the same time I got out 2 laptops and watched 4 games at once trying to remember which team I was rooting for.
Long and boring story short, I lost and to this day I still have harsh feelings for this Madness de March. I guess it can be a positive time for people to bond or argue through? Mainly something to occupy guys and girls who enjoy the nothing but net basketball feeling that I never quite inherited.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
A Snapchat Bond
I didn't have a smartphone all throughout high school and I was well aware at what I was missing out on. I knew there were group chats and apps that left me out of the loop but the main detachment I had was my lack of the app, Snapchat.
A simple app where you literally take a picture or video of anything and send it for 1-10 seconds. It really blew up in high school and I still think it is a simple yet genius idea for an app. It is a great way to share things, most are comical but is also a different approach and conversing. It does exactly what we complain that texting takes away from us. It shows us emotions in our responses and how we want to portray our message. Although it is condensed to few characters and seconds you really have to be creative.
It actually made users "bond" is the only word I can think to describe it. You don't just add ANYBODY as a snapchat friend, it has to be people you wouldn't mind sending your face or surroundings too. It let people become closer and share things you can't always do through text. That's why the second I got my iphone it was the first app I downloaded and still my most used one!
A simple app where you literally take a picture or video of anything and send it for 1-10 seconds. It really blew up in high school and I still think it is a simple yet genius idea for an app. It is a great way to share things, most are comical but is also a different approach and conversing. It does exactly what we complain that texting takes away from us. It shows us emotions in our responses and how we want to portray our message. Although it is condensed to few characters and seconds you really have to be creative.
It actually made users "bond" is the only word I can think to describe it. You don't just add ANYBODY as a snapchat friend, it has to be people you wouldn't mind sending your face or surroundings too. It let people become closer and share things you can't always do through text. That's why the second I got my iphone it was the first app I downloaded and still my most used one!
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Media Guilt?
As much as the older generations complain about kids being to into their devices, we'd probably be much worse without it. These complaints are usually just because they don't understand what our devices are capable of. Yes, there are times in which we can be completely consumed by it all but I'd rather that than complain about the ignorance in our generation.
Most of what people see is from behind the screen. They see us staring and scrolling but with everything open to us through our fingertips we could actually be looking at ANYTHING. I know some people who will get yelled to "stop texting" when actually they are reading a book online. There is a point where people can get too consumed but it's nothing to be guilted out off.
Through twitter I can get information about what's trending worldwide and see how people are discussing it. It gives me the information to grasp my attention and where to go to read more on topics. Adults shouldn't degrade us from our form of communication, it helps us keep up in the news and to keep advancing with the generations.
We should learn how to promote the exploration of media but also have a healthy amount of time with contact to device while also picking our head up to realize the world around us. I also think the older generations should learn that things will never go back to dial telephones and fireside chats and to just accept it.
Most of what people see is from behind the screen. They see us staring and scrolling but with everything open to us through our fingertips we could actually be looking at ANYTHING. I know some people who will get yelled to "stop texting" when actually they are reading a book online. There is a point where people can get too consumed but it's nothing to be guilted out off.
Through twitter I can get information about what's trending worldwide and see how people are discussing it. It gives me the information to grasp my attention and where to go to read more on topics. Adults shouldn't degrade us from our form of communication, it helps us keep up in the news and to keep advancing with the generations.
We should learn how to promote the exploration of media but also have a healthy amount of time with contact to device while also picking our head up to realize the world around us. I also think the older generations should learn that things will never go back to dial telephones and fireside chats and to just accept it.
Friday, February 20, 2015
How I Waste Time.. I Mean Explore Social Media
My ratio of work to play time is not something I should be proud about but at least I'm conscious of it! I realize that a majority of my days are spent making up reasons as to WHY the essay will get done after just 2 more episodes. I obviously know that it's just a waste of time... so I know the first step admitting I have a problem... but what are the other steps?
My greatest addiction definitely comes from Tumblr, which as popularly talked about isn't actually used by many. It's known as a blogging website but I just use it to go through the pictures and it can be very comedic. As unappetizing and vague as I've made that sound, it is VERY time consuming and I could spend days on it without getting bored.
Twitter is obviously known by everyone and I spend a great deal of time on it as well. I do make a lot of tweets myself but mine aren't your usual girl posts that are commonly seen. I'll tweet the first thing that comes to mind and get a lot of mixed responses of confusion because most of the time they only make sense to me. So basically another waste of social media on me.
Instagram I only made over the summer because that's when I bought a smartphone for the first time. I was hesitant to get it but I do a lot of hiking, running and exploring in my free time and loved the idea of showing my pictures off to my lazy peers. It is definitely on my list of most enjoyable apps, but it will take me a good 2 days to decide if the picture is even worthy enough to broadcast to the world.
Facebook has definitely slipped down on everyones scale of media to check, but because it has been around for so long I can't picture it actually ever dying. It is how I made my first impression of my roommates and portrays you as a person in the simplest way. Just by clicking on someones facebook you can see where they live, their schooling, their idea of a good profile picture and if they are in a relationship. That's how serious we take our social media, because if you aren't facebook official with your significant other are you ACTUALLY official at all??
My greatest addiction definitely comes from Tumblr, which as popularly talked about isn't actually used by many. It's known as a blogging website but I just use it to go through the pictures and it can be very comedic. As unappetizing and vague as I've made that sound, it is VERY time consuming and I could spend days on it without getting bored.
Twitter is obviously known by everyone and I spend a great deal of time on it as well. I do make a lot of tweets myself but mine aren't your usual girl posts that are commonly seen. I'll tweet the first thing that comes to mind and get a lot of mixed responses of confusion because most of the time they only make sense to me. So basically another waste of social media on me.
Instagram I only made over the summer because that's when I bought a smartphone for the first time. I was hesitant to get it but I do a lot of hiking, running and exploring in my free time and loved the idea of showing my pictures off to my lazy peers. It is definitely on my list of most enjoyable apps, but it will take me a good 2 days to decide if the picture is even worthy enough to broadcast to the world.
Facebook has definitely slipped down on everyones scale of media to check, but because it has been around for so long I can't picture it actually ever dying. It is how I made my first impression of my roommates and portrays you as a person in the simplest way. Just by clicking on someones facebook you can see where they live, their schooling, their idea of a good profile picture and if they are in a relationship. That's how serious we take our social media, because if you aren't facebook official with your significant other are you ACTUALLY official at all??
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