Challenging Our Minds

As Steven Johnson said in the reading, a lot has changed in the last 20 years. One of the biggest changes is the internet coming to prominence. He presents the idea of the sleeper curve which is the idea that everything we think is bad for us is actually good. In some ways the internet is good for us and in some ways it is also bad.

On the good side how we find information is completely different. We can just type into a search site, like Google or Yahoo, and typically find what we are looking for a lot easier than in the past. We are also constantly engaged by the interactive content of networked media.

On the other hand, the internet is also bad for us. The main thing is again how we find information. The bad thing however is how fast we are able to find information. This shortens our attention spans and makes it more difficult for us to take in information because we are constantly jumping around from place to place.

Real and Fluff

As Chuck Klosterman mentioned in the reading there are two types of news stories, real, hard hitting news and filler or fluff news. The example of a fluff story I chose was the tribute to the Air Force One that was used when JFK was assassinated. The example of a real news story I chose was the story about the staggering cost of health care

While JFK was important when he was alive, a tribute about the plane they flew in when he was assassinated is clearly a piece to fill time. I say this because it didn't happen recently but also because if we wanted to know more about Air Force One there is a plethora of documentaries about it and the assassination of JFK. On the other hand the story about health care is a real news story.

While the story about health care cost only features a handful of people, it still affects a lot of people. The reason the story about health care is a real story is because it is relevant to a lot of people. Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in America so it is a very big deal. Unlike the other story this is happening now and not 50 years ago.

Defining a Generation

Over the last 20 or so years a lot has changed. Technology has come from the Apple II to the iPod. We've elected a black president. Nowadays most people are a lot more accepting than they were 20 years ago

Now many states accept and have legalized LGBT marriage. From the days of Harvey Milk and even earlier even being openly gay was a horrible thing. Even being suspected of being gay was horrible in the eyes of people. Now seeing two guys or two girls holding hands or kissing isn't out of the ordinary anymore. While the equality has gotten a lot better, the hate of the LGBT group is still ever present. Shown a lot in the media members of the LGBT community are frequently bashed verbally but also physically.

I personally am glad to see the acceptance of the LGBT community and the legalization of marriage. Hopefully in the future people are more accepting of the members of LGBT community but unfortunately there will always be people who want to cling to the old ways.

The Really Real World

The MTV show Real World is causing a serious problem. It presents people with an archetype of what people are like. This creates two things in peoples minds. It makes people think that certain people are a certain way. The other thing is it makes people think they are supposed to act a certain way. The major problem with this is thinking a group of people is all the same. This builds onto the already prevalent stereotype which is never a good thing.

I may be generalizing but people who watch MTV are the type of people to believe these stereotypes. With that in mind it is my opinion that MTV wants to keep its viewers ignorant. Thanks to Dave Chappelle, who I love, and MTV white people really are the most ignorant group of folks in the world.

Accidental Racist

The big deal over the accidental racist controversy seemed to be a few choice words sang or rapped by LL Cool J and Brad Paisley. One phrase that caused a bit of a stir was "If you forgive my gold chains, I'll forgive your steel chains." This means that in exchange for being able to wear gold chains, LL Cool J will forgive the dark age of slavery. Another phrase that was under scrutiny was Brad Paisley remarking that he didn't mean to be racist, he's just a Skynyrd Fan. Lynyrd Skynyrd, while not racist themselves, have a lot of fans who are racist. Even Skynyrd themselves pointed out in a concert that they believe that the confederate flag is racist.

I believe that we don't need to constantly be thinking about it but at the same time it should never be forgotten so something like that never happens again. This may not have been such a horrible song if they actually recorded in the same room instead of across the country from each other. I don't care for the song but I can see what they were trying to do with it.

Intertextuality

Intertextuality is the often practiced art of referencing things in other things.

The first example I will use is this image from the Simpsons. This image is a reference to the Nirvana album cover, Nevermind. The original cover featured a baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a fishing line hook.

The second example I will use is also from the Simpsons. This image is a reference to famous surrealist artist, Salvador Dali. The piece of art it is referencing is The Persistence of Memory. In the original work, the artist portrayed clocks throughout the painting melting downwards.

Looking Back

Of all the topics we covered, I feel like the one I learned the most about was Happiness. Before hand I had no idea that there are people who study the science of happiness or even that there was a science of happiness. This topic introduced words like impact bias and free choice paradigm. It also introduced the concepts of synthetic and natural happiness. This topic also introduced us to Malcolm Gladwell who is a student of Howard Moskowitz's and Dan Gilbert's way of thinking.

According to Dan Gilbert, who is somewhat of an authority on happiness, synthetic happiness is what we get when we get what we wanted but natural happiness is what we get when we don't get what we wanted. Near the end of the topic we listened to Malcolm Gladwell talk about Howard Moskowitz who was an American market researcher and psycho physicist. Moskowitz had a very different approach to his research. He came up with the idea to have not just one pepsi, but multiple; and the idea to create multiple pickle flavors including one to satisfy the need for a zesty pickle. He was always improving and never satisfied with what he had already done. He believed that the philosophy of reaching for a higher mustard was wrong. He believed that there should be multiple kinds of different people due to the fact that people don't really know what they want.

Only You Can Silence Yourself

In response to this ad, Jean Killborne would have a lot to say. First thing you will notice is that the woman in this ad is only show partially. Second, you will notice that she is crying and her hair is a mess. This portrays her as being weak. Lastly, her mouth is covered with a restraint mask, which is featured in Hannibal, not allowing her to speak. I somewhat understand what this ad is trying to say but it seems very bizarre that this is the way they wanted to portray it. I don't really fully understand why she is crying in this ad. If there was a man in this ad I seriously doubt he would be crying.

The Portrayal of Sexiness in Media

Sexiness has a ridiculous importance in our culture. Often women are portrayed as sexy in TV shows. For example in the TV show Big Bang Theory, the character Penny is portrayed as sexy and often as a bit stupid. In advertising, mostly magazine and TV ads, women are almost always portrayed as a sex symbol. In video games, a ridiculous amount of female characters are insignificant, often seen as in the way, and just there to have something to look at. While many video games portray female characters poorly, many games have decent to good portrayals of women. For example in the game Half Life 2, Alex Vance, who is still a non playable character, she is a strong character who often helps you throughout the game. Another example of a good portrayal of females in video games is from Beyond Good & Evil, which stars the female character Jade. She is not portrayed as sexy but instead rather competent and in the game smarter than her male companions. The industry could use more games like this. On the other hand, we have games like Bayonetta and Lolipop Chainsaw. It makes me sick.

Connections between Pop Culture and Happiness

Whether its TV, comics, movies, or many other varieties of popular culture we are affected every day by the media we engulf. Many people become so attached to the TV shows they watch or the books they read they become emotional due to traumatic or happy things happen. For example when someones favorite TV show ends they might be very sad because a part of their life is gone.

Many people think that this is ridiculous because its just a TV show. That point of view is very ignorant. I think the reason people become so attached to these shows is because when someone is sad they want to think about something else that they think will make them happy. This can, but not necessarily, result in a dependence of this media to the point of the sensation of feeling addicted.

Are you ready for some...FOOOOTBALLL???!!!!

On the special Frontline had called Football High, they talked about the brutal conditions of Football in one state in particular, Arkansas. Arkansas features extreme heat getting up to 108 degrees. Playing football in that kind of heat is rough and one athlete suffered a heat stroke. I think the coaches should pay more attention to the players personally.

I have nothing against Football. It's just when you play in insane conditions, for example in 108 degree heat, you should be more careful. Not just the heat gets to you, all that gear you are carrying gets very heavy and you start to get very tired. They don't say "Football isn't for the weak" for nothing. 

Say Anything, Twilight, Oh Myyy

In the reading Chuck brings up the girl from his past being obsessed with John Cusack's character in Say Anything. She wants her perfect man to be just like John Cusack. This is an example of fake love. This is unrealistic mainly for the reason that its a fictional character. He isn't real. Secondly, besides the fact that he isn't real, his character is loosely similar to John Cusack which fantasizes a semi famous (who still likes John Cusack?) actor.

I've never seen or read Twilight so I am extremely qualified to psychoanalyze these masterpieces of media. Throughout these books fake love is demonstrated. One of the vampires, who the main character is involved with, follows her and protects her to an almost creepy level. This puts in a lot of girls minds that this is how men should be. This starts to steer into dangerous territory. The implications of this are you want someone to stalk you. Also this implies that you aren't capable to fending for yourself, you need someone, specifically a vampire to do it for you. By the way, since when do vampires sparkle. Last time I checked vampires sucked blood and were evil. Also, due to him being a vampire this requires every single scene of them being outside being at night time. That makes me feel like the entire movie would've been more immersive in black and white. The other romantic relationship the girl has in the Twilight movies is a werewolf who remarkably looks very human and never wears a shirt. Seriously, I'm convinced his skin repels fabric. The implications of never wearing a shirt are you are so obsessed with your own image that you constantly feel the need to show it off. Its fine to be confident with your own image but no one looks good enough to never wear a shirt. This also implies in these movies that young women should be attracted to both of these two examples.