What I learned

The ideas we have discussed I feel all relate to consumerism and the media. I can see how the media is affecting our daily lives and how it is not always good for us. I think this class has really made me think about what I do in a given day and how people other than myself are affecting those things. Nothing really angered me in the discussions or in the class; however I feel that the video that asked teens questions relating to the Mark Bauerlien article was a little insulting because I feel it was controversial. I also feel that they asked a lot of questions that I knew and it was too generalized. I feel out of all the novels Feed was the most difficult to get through, but it put a lot of things in perspective and I realized that the government could do that in our society and it kind of scared me. I really enjoyed taking the Thoreau challenge and I learned that technology plays a bigger role in my life than I realized.

I realized through this class that a lot of the things in the world around us have more substance than we realize the media, technology, consumerism and even literature itself plays a part in our life that most of us don't even realize.

I have never been a person that liked to read, however I recently found myself ordering Mocking Jay and Catching Fire. I really look forward to reading them over Christmas break. I discovered that maybe I should look into more types of books within that genre because I really liked the book Hunger Games a lot. I also realize through this class that not every person interprets literature in the same way and one piece can contain several different meanings. I also realized that a lot of the quotes that I was writing down for the discussions were the same as some of the people within my group, which means I am not alone in my opinions and in the way I think about literature, which makes me feel more comfortable about sharing my opinions.

Blog 8 Hunger Games

Where do I even begin? The novel Hunger Games along with the attached readings quite frankly sicken me, but at the same time, make me oddly curious. I did not like what was going on in Hunger Games and I didn't agree with it, but for some reason, I couldn't stop my fingers from turning the pages. I wasn't really happy to read about people dying but I was excited to see who would win. I think this does not go along with the fact that every human has an innate nature to be savage but it goes along with the fact that humans are competitive. It is a game after all, a horrible savage game but a game. I think people get so caught up in the game that they forget about what is really going on. They get trapped in the story. I don't think the people within the novel the characters watching the games realize that the kids dying are actually dying, if you don't know the people within the games and you are not affected, it’s the same as reality or even non-reality TV. You can view it as real or as fake as you want to. If this was a TV show and no actual harm was happening to the people, you have to admit that it would probably be a very exciting series. I think that's what the citizens would have had to force themselves to think in order to get through watching it every year. They would have had to force themselves to not think about the contestants as real people, but people in a game, characters. I think what is worse is that every person is required to watch the Hunger Games and all to remind them that the capital is in charge and to remind/prevent them from rebelling. I had a hard time predicting what was going to happen in this book, usually it’s pretty easy in a novel to predict what is going to happen next, but I couldn't in this one. The book kept throwing me for a loop. I thought that that she would end up killing him but she doesn't. Then at the end I thought she was going to kill him since they said there could only be one tribute but am yet thrown for another twist when she pulls the stunt with the berries, I never could have predicted that in a million years. I really liked the novel as a whole, which really makes me feel guilty inside, that I would like a book that describes kids fighting each other to the death. I think it goes back to what Gabler said that we like to "peer through the keyhole," we are so caught up in the plot because these things don't happen to us. It is interesting to us to see how other governments operate, and these things actually to me make our government seem pretty nice right about now. Also as Americans like drama and competitiveness and this novel has both. Yes it could be that we like it because we are savage Americans but I don't think that, that is why I personally like the novel, I think it has to do with the thing that attract us to reality TV. The fact that no one knows what is going to happen next and we really want to watch and find out.

Blog#7

I feel the what Gabler says is a generalization for example he says “Watching these programs is a way of safely exercising mischievousness in a society that allows few opportunities to do so.” In the show that I watched they did nothing mischievous but it is considered a reality TV show. I don’t think that in this show there is any one who is the hostage. The show I picked to watch was “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” It is a show in which a group of designers take a family that does things for the community in some way, has a rundown home and can’t afford to fix it and they tear it down and build a new one. At the beginning of the show they give you a sad sob story about the family and if it isn’t really that bad the people make things seem worse and prod the family until they cry. The show you the run down home and describe the horrible conditions they have to live in. You can’t help but keep watching to find out that things do get better. Yes I enjoyed watching the TV show. The fact that they take families who are average and build them an entire new house for free is what makes the show alluring. Also the fact that they turn nothing into something makes it alluring. What keeps you interested is that they give you hints of what is going on but you don’t get to see the rooms they created for each family member until the end of the show. In this episode it was a family who started a boxing arena to give underprivileged kids something to do, they even adopted one of them. However their house and their gym was rundown and was need of repair. They transformed both of them and gave the family a new start. The person in charge is TY Pennington. The family that is run down are the characters in the show. My part as the viewer is to be interested in the show and want to watch it again, it also is to feel sad for the family in the beginning and feel happy for the family in the end.

In this show you can determine what is going to happen next because, the set up is always the same and the things they film are usually the same the only thing that changes is the family. Since the show I picked to watch does not seem to match Gabler’s opinion I find what he says to be a generalization because if he is going to write about Reality TV and us being voyeurs personally I feel that it should be true of all Reality Programming and as I have figured out this is not always the case.

Blog #6

"Big Brother" stands for an idea rather than an actual person, the idea is that the government is always watching you.

In a sense yes I do believe that "Big Brother" is taking place in our society. It exists in the fact that we don't have as much freedom to do what we want anymore. People used to govern their own lives and nowadays everything we do is controlled by someone or something. In a capitalist society, mostly every action has a monetary value behind it in my opinion, therefore the people that control the money, control the people. The government controls the money, therefore they control the people. There is something that I just learned in Social Foundations that can be applied to this situation. In school districts they are constantly watching the productivity of the school by administering standardized tests. Teachers are constantly being observed to make sure they are doing things the way that other people want them to do based on standards set up by the government. Also the idea that "Big Brother is in our society, is that there are cameras everywhere nowadays, everywhere you go. The government looks at your grades to determine what money they will give you to pay for schooling, they watch your productivity. The government I believe can even monitor your phone calls.

I really don't think however we have lost our right to privacy nor do I think that we have lost our privacy in our current society. Yes I do believe that privacy still exists when you are in your house behind closed doors, I don't believe that the government is watching us in our homes like in the novel they do.
　
No I am not willing to give my basic freedoms to feel safe, I would rather live in a unsafe, crazy world than in what in my opinion is a "cult." That is what it reminded me of, a cult, because they didn't have any basic rights. They had to be told what to do constantly, you could not even go against the party or you would be put to death. What happened to your entitled to your opinions?

Thoreau Blog #3

FINALLY!!! I can have technology back! Honesty all morning I was anticipating getting technology back. I could not wait to read my texts and Facebook messages. Well let me describe Monday and Tuesday for you. I did not use any technology on Tuesday at all except for checking my email. However I really wanted to watch TV on Monday night. I was getting pretty ancious for Tuesday, I felt like I couldn't wait I had, had enough of this no technology thing. However I resisted the urge to use technology and did not use it. Today was probablly the worst day of all of them, I was waiting all day for 5 o'clock when I could use my phone again. I really needed to make some phone calls. Through this challenge I have realized that I CAN go without much of the technology I use, if I had to. However I realized that I don't want to and honestly I don't think 7 days is that long of a time, I could handle 7 days without technology. However, I don't think I could have lasted much longer, maybe I should have kept going to find out how long I could keep myself from using technology other than for school work. I know now in my opinion I can handle 7 days without technology pretty well, but how long could I have actually handled it, is what I wonder. I also realized that in order to participate in the college environment, it is virtually impossible to delete all technology from your life. We live in a world in which almost every way we communicate is through technology. I could not get rid of answering and checking e-mails. I had to use D2l. I had to use word to type up papers, because they had to be typed, I had no option. I had to make phone calls regarding club events. I had to use technology to set an alarm to get up in the morning, again something I could not avoid. I also had to use Google to look up chemistry work. There are some things that I did not really have an option as a college student to give up. Yes I would have like to have said I gave ALL technology, but some technology was unavoidable and had to be used for school work, unless I wanted to fail. I believe there are some things we have control over and other things that we don't. I think it is somewhat our fault that we are so obsessed with technology and we need to fix things like Lasn says in Culture Jam, but I think some things we can't really change if we have to live up to society's expectations. The only way one person can get rid of technology completely is if everyone gave up technology completely, in my opinion. I can't give up something that society requires me to use. I did notice that I read my Bible and did more productive things when I was trying to fill my free time, which was a plus. The key is to find a good balance between using technology and not using technology. I don't think we should be so obsessed with technology as we are but I don't believe that we should eliminate technology altogether; one because I find it impossible and two technology is not all bad. I am going to continue using technology, maybe I will try and limit the amount of time I spend using technology to socialize, but I can't and won't delete it from my life completely. I can't live the rest of my life the way I have been living these past 7 days. Yes I believe that I can limit myself from using things that I don't necessarily need in my life, but will it make me happy, probably not. I like to use technology, I like to socialize with my friends, I like to watch movies, I like to listen to music, etc........Simply put I like technology, life is going pretty good as it is, Why change it?

Thoreau Challenge Blog #2

I am going to tell you about the weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday I did not use any technology other than for club/school related things, except for this one moment. I went over to a friends house to play games and eat dinner. We were sitting there and my friend uses his laptop to look up this commercial and turns the screen to us. I sit there and watch it for about and minute and then I realize what I am doing and totally freak out an get up and walk away. I didn't even realize I was watching it, which got me thinking. Can we really give up technology when we are so used to just seeing around us? The fact that you really have to force your self to give up technology is a little scary to me, because that is literally what is happening. I have to force myself not to use technology for things that are not required for class. Several times this weekend I realized that I kept thinking, " I really want to watch TV." I really would just love to text my friends back home but I have to resist the urge. On Saturday me and some friends went to Ardentsville so I did not really have an urge to use any technology, until I realize it is my little cousins birthday, so I had to break the challenge for a moment and call her, because not saying happy birthday would have been rude. However that was the only time I used technology that day, other than for work. Today I went to Kings Gap I had to make two phone calls to see if people were coming with or not, I couldn't avoid it, again I was faced with a situation in which I had no choice but to use technology. I have two days left and so far I think I am doing really good. I don't think that technology has that much hold on my life. Actually I feel like the more days I spend not using technology, the easier it is getting to not use it. However I can honestly say I can't want for Tuesday evening to get here so I can call my friends, I can get on Facebook, watch TV and answer my texts! Also I can't wait for Tuesday because I am sick of trying to find ways to get a hold of people without using technology, it is really hard to find people when they don't text you and tell you where they are. I can make it two more days.

Thoreau Challenge Blog #1

I am going to tell about how Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the Thoreau challenge were. Tuesday I was feeling great about taking the challenge. I called my family to let them know what I was doing, so they didn't worry. Then I went on facebook and let everyone on there know what I was doing. I wrote something like this "I am as of now giving up all technology, I will not be on facebook and I will not be answering my phone, If you need me send me a carrier pigeon or find me on the street, peace out." Then the next step is I sent a forward around letting everyone know that I would no be answering texts, as if they would not see it on facebook. I then felt I could finally log off facebook and turn off my phone, which I did. I did not turn it back on till I realized that I don't have a watch or an alarm clock so I needed it for the clock, I also needed to set an alarm to wake up to. I didn't use any technology that day except to do work for school and to check my email. Wednesday, I used no technology again except for what was needed for school. I however was finding it difficult to not use my phone when making dinner plans because my friends usually text me to tell me when they are going to dinner. Instead of them texting me, I have to get Janessa to come to my room and actually let me know when they are going. I got to class and still did not use any technology. I left class and realized that I needed to call my mom for medical reasons, I also felt I needed to let her know I would be traveling this weekend. Then I got an email from the President of Rotaract saying I was now in charge of the event this weekend. So I had to make a few phone calls for that. I felt on Thursday I was doing pretty good. I only used technology for what I had to. However I never realized how heavily I rely on technology just for the things I HAVE to do, not even counting the things that I CHOOSE to use technology for.