Blog #8 (15) Minutes By Choice?



In our society today, we thrive on watching television, especially things that appeal to us. Reality television is watched the most because people are willing to watch others make a fool out of themselves. This is a source of entertainment.  Everyone wants there 15 minutes of fame, and some people will do whatever it takes to get the little fame that they can get. This relates to Hunger Games, not in a sense that some people waning there 15 minutes of fame, but that they held the hunger games as a source of entertainment. The Capitol put children into a ring to fight to their death. The Capitol sees this as not only having authority, but as their entertainment as well. It reminds me of a football game, but the Super Bowl Game. There are sponsors for the advertisements during the super bowl and people bet on who they think are going to win. Just like Hunger Games, the children have sponsors and they bet on which child is going to win.  So even though people like the characters in Hunger Games do not ask for 15 minutes of fame, they received it without an option.



Blog #7 Nothing BUT Drama!!!

Basketball Wives LA

Imani, Draya, Laura, Gloria, Malaysia, Jackie

Drama=Excitement

I watch a lot of reality TV. Vh1 and MTV are just a few of my favorite television stations. On VH1 I watch a show called basketball wives. Now there is Basketball wives in Miami and there is one in Los Angeles. The season for Miami has currently ended and now I am watching Basketball Wives LA. This past episode was about the basketball wives going to Hawaii on a vacation. The women’s names our Laura, Gloria, Jackie, Malaysia, Imani, and Draya. There was a lot of drama in this episode and it seems to be all because of Jackie. She is always talking about someone and turns the girls against each other. Well in this episode Imani and Laura was not getting along because Imani heard from Jackie that Laura was talking about her. Well Imani and Laura had a conversation and realized that Jackie is the culprit behind all the drama. Jackie started to become obsessed with Imani and Laura conversation so she started discussing with Draya that Imani better not have said anything wrong about her. Now Gloria is Laura’s sister and she is just analyzing the situation and so is Malaysia. So in the next episode the truth will be revealed about all the drama that has been going on in this circle and so far the odds are against Jackie.

I enjoy watching this show, because it is entertaining. What seems to be luring about this show is the drama. There is always drama and it is interesting to watch and analyze drama that you are not a part of. You get to see all angles of the story and it is just funny. At the end of each episode it leave you with a cliff hanger because you always have to tune in for another week to get the unanswered questions you have about any episode.  I know I have a role as a review and there is no hiding it. I honestly tell people I love to watch reality TV, it may not be all shows, but a lot of them are really good. My role is to be the person outside looking in. I am giving the show ratings by watching or following them on twitter. So actually when I think about it; the viewers can be looked at as the entertainers as well. We are drawn into the shows and discuss them, so the more interaction and excitement we as viewers bring to the show, the better it becomes.

Video Clip:  Basketball Wives LA

Blog #6 Big Brother Who?

Big Brother Who? Big Brother is the government, authority, and party. They are the people that watch your every move to make sure you are conforming to their expectations.  Everything that you may have known that existed becomes obsolete. They make sure that you only know what they tell you. Psychological manipulation is used to control the society. They are so persuasive that they even have children turn in their parents if they have committed thoughtcrime. Big Brother exists today and it is still called our government. They are able to use satellites to tap into phone calls and can track your usage of the internet. They are always watching some way or another. It may not be directly, but they are watching. Just like people who owe the IRS money, Uncle Sam knows, because he is always watching.

I do think we have lost our right to privacy, but not all of it. For example, the government should not be able to tap into a phone call and hear your conversation, but they can, and they do it. Privacy is existing, but not much. The government and mostly anyone can access any personal information about people. However, it can be our own fault at times. For instances, people put a lot of their personal information on social networks. So we actually are giving up our privacy. They always have privacy agreements, but majority of people do not take the time to read them. They are time consuming and small print, so most likely you hit the word accept instead of decline so you can continue on with what you are doing.

 We think we have privacy because we make passwords and websites say they are protected, but whatever website you are own, the company has your information. Even going to Shippensburg University they probably have lots information about us that we do not even know.  So the more I think about privacy, we really do not have any because the information we feel out is always seen by someone else or is in someone else’s hands.

Blog #5 Are We the Tracks?

“If we do not get out sleepers, and forge rails, and devote days and nights to the work, but go to tinkering upon our lives to improve them, who will build railroads? And if railroads are not built, how shall we get to heaven in season? But if we stay at home and mind our business, who will want railroads? We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us,” said, Thoreau. This makes perfect sense. I did not live in the era where there were no railroads, but I can imagine how difficult it would be to travel without them.  We should mind our own business and that is half of society’s problem. We are so involved in the newest trends, technology, and other countries problems that if we actually just observed and mind our business this world might be a little different. As far as the railroad rides on us and we do not ride on it, yes! Very True! We let business corporations, the internet, and social media consume us. This reminds of the book Feed. In some aspect just like Titus and the rest of the crew, we are being processed certain information all the time.  We continue to let big business make trillions of dollars. We continue to let the internet pop-up advertisements. We continue to let twitter and Facebook distract us and consume valuable hours.

 So yes! The railroad rides all over our bodies because at the end of the day we do nothing but to continue to lay more tracks for business corporations to keep making money, for the internet to keep selling us products, and for social networks to advance and continue to steal time away from us.

Blog #4 The Dumbest?

Are we the Dumbest Generation? Hmmmmm…well, I can honestly say after reading Bauerlein’s article and watching the interview, he has a point. People may dislike my opinion, but I agree with him, to a certain extent. As part of the generation where we use the most technology, in the long it makes us smart in some aspects, but for the most part it does not require us to think much. Technology such as cell phones, computers, IPods, and other devices are great inventions, but if something were to happen and they all were destroyed we would go back to using paper, pencil, and face-to-face communication. When it comes to our generation I understand that we may think that Bauerlein is stereotyping us because he calls us dumb. However, I do think countless people in this generation are lazy and ignorant. We all sit in some classes and wonder why we take this class because it will not help us in the long run. Yet, we never know where we may end up life where you might have learned something useful in an anthropology class that can help you. Yes, our generation is different from the generation before us, but it will always be that way. History helps make the future. How will we know what to do differently or try different approaches if we do not learn from our past?

In the video with the Miss North Carolina, I consider her dumb.  She had no clue what she was talking about when it came to geography. She made herself personal look like a complete fool. Either way I think Bauerlein is just trying to get us to notice that education and the lack of commitment to our education is a problem. He blames his colleagues and society for not helping, and I agree. In class someone made a statement saying it is not their fault if they were not taught it either. I agree it is not their fault, but that does not mean that they cannot take the initiative to learn and pass it on. So the dumbest generation? Maybe! I would ultimately change the word dumb to just simply DIFFERENT.

Blog #3 Real or Virtual?

In Culture Jams, Lasn says, “life has become an alien landscape." It actually has. The natural world does not seem as real to society as it used to be. People are so caught up in the virtual and unrealistic things in life that they cannot even enjoy the beauty of real life. Going hiking and socializing seems unreal because people are more interested in technology and not things that will continue to help stimulate their mind. Frankly, it seems like the real world seems rather foreign to us, which is ridiculous. We are like aliens to our own planet. It seems as though society operates better in virtual world rather than reality. 

When it comes to the documentary Second Skin, the question arises if virtual relationships operate in the real world? From Lasn’s point of view about the world being an alien landscape, it would seem as though it is possible. However, I strongly disagree that they can operate in the real world. Now if you are speaking in terms of online dating then yes it is a possibility, but overall it does not. Anyone can have a virtual relationship, but would you consider it an actual relationship. Things such as games are virtually made because they cannot be real. That is the whole point. If virtual became the real world, there would be no need for anything to be virtual and imaginative. When things are not real, it provides people to think so they can have an imagination. A virtual relationship is also an imaginative relationship; it only became real again when the people first met in person. Now people may ask what is the difference between this in Facebook? We’ll most of the time, people know some of their friends before they branch out and start accepting people they do not know. In this virtual relationship in the game World of Warcraft, they did not even know each other, they started liking each other based off of what they may have had in common in the game and flirting. So back to the question about virtual relationships operating in the real world, I still say no.

The person on the virtual game is not exactly the same person in real life. They create themselves as a beautiful person and better looking. Now I’m not saying they are not attractive in real life, but in the game they make themselves look like an image of perfection, because you are able to do so, rather you’re a man or a woman. No one is perfect, so they may be giving the person they are flirting with the false assumption that they are more gorgeous than there character on their game. They may have a beautiful heart, but there physical appearance may not be what they think it is. So yes we live in an alien landscape and try to put ourselves into a virtual world where we can be anyone we want, but at the end of the day we return to reality and away from the virtual world. So no, virtual relationships will not operate in the real world.

Blog #2 McDonald’s or Christian Cross?

In the documentary Fast Food Nation by Eric Scholsser, it was shocking to see how more children can identify the McDonald's arch sign rather than a church cross. I ask myself is it because Church is not publicized more? Advertisements and values seem to have a lot to do with this situation. McDonald’s have countless commercials on television, on the side of buses, coupons in the paper, and broadcast on the radio. Whereas church is only heard on the radio, on television when most people are asleep, and when people actually attended church. So would children be able to identify more crosses if church was on during the day for kids to watch? That’s a possibility, but I doubt children would still be able to identify the cross, especially depending upon the age of the child. They might not even understand the concept of church. Either way you look at this problem it is still sad.

As I think about the video and when the children were shown a picture of Ronald McDonald, they were able to identify him. However, when shown a picture of Jesus they had no clue of who he was. Yet, it is not the children’s fault about whom or what they identify.  McDonald’s is simply part of their surroundings. Not saying church is not either, but it seems if you look at certain areas all over the United States, there are probably more McDonald’s on a corner than churches. So what does that say about our society? Obviously we value food more than religion. Of course food is a wonderful thing; who does not like to eat greasy, fat food, which clogs your arteries and makes you gain weight?

I guess people do not think about that until after they gain the weight. Anyway, I wonder if there is any way for children to identify the cross more than the McDonald’s arch sign. The solution could be to tell them about Jesus, the bible, and take them to church. Or do we have to take rationally measures and advertise everywhere, just like McDonald’s, giving out coupons in the newspaper to have a free dinner plate after church service. That just does not seem right! We as a society have to not give into the value of food so much, that it overshadows religion. So if your child is identifying McDonald’s arch signs more than the church cross, what do you plan to do? Stop at the church and explain the cross or drive by the church and go across the street to McDonald’s because you want a big mac?