Is the internet a posionous apple or sweet treat?

The internet has affected me both good and bad just like it probably affects others. I started using the internet when I was about ten or twelve but that was really only for games and msn messenger. I only found it entertaining for a half hour or an hour. I had other things going on like playing outside or not around a computer. Since I lived in the middle of nowhere in Iowa then moved to the middle of nowhere in Minnesota, we had dial up…for those who haven’t used it…you’re lucky! Anyways, the internet exploded by time I was in high school. Just like any teenager I jumped on the bandwagon of facebook. It was nice to be able to share pictures and keep in touch with a bunch of people. Now there is too many social networks and no more direct contact of talking. Even if you do talk to someone they are always on their phone not giving you their full attention. The internet is good for certain things like new ideas, recipes, sharing photos and information with family, and education. I also think internet and education is not so good because there is inaccurate information and some people don’t have access to internet. And internet on cell phones….Don’t get me started. It’s a nice pleasure to have at first but now it’s a pain in the ass. I have it on my phone, it comes in handy for google or maps and pinterest J but texting, tweeting, and facebooking does not need to be at your fingertips everyday. Some things are meant for you to know only not the world.

ABC News

An important news clip is about hospital bills being out of control. People are paying more than they should or what it is worth in medical bills in the United States. According the lady in the news clip, for being in the hospital for 3 nights and getting her gallbladder out, her hospital bill was $40,000. Her insurance is only willing to pay half. A single blood pressure pill cost her $15 while the hospital buys it for 3 cents. She says she wants to pay her bill but does not want to overpay. The reason why medical bills in hospitals like Northside have high bills is because they lose millions of dollars from patients who don’t pay. So they have to raise the price for the patients that do pay to gain that money back. Medical bills account for 60% of bankruptcies. This clip is important to us people in the real world because it has to do with our health and money. It also is showing how hospitals are turning healthcare into a business for profit not just there to actually help the sick and injured.

            The news story that I would consider meaningless was the tour of Air Force One that carried JFK before and after he passed away. Since the anniversary of his death has approached, the news reporters went for a tour and was told about the plane ride back to Washington, D.C. with JFK’s casket. Not that this isn’t important because JFK was an important person, but it was not irrelevant to what is going on now in the country. There were more important issues brought up in the news story that this clip was on the memorable side. Chuck Klosterman would qualify this story as meaningless because it doesn’t affect us with money, health, or our livelihood. It would also qualify for this category of meaningless to Chuck because it take time to know a person or an event and then it only shows 5 minutes of highlights which only talked about a memory.

The Mellennials

In class this week we discussed different generations. The generations of the Millennials are people born from the 1980’s to 2000. I was born in 1992 so that makes me a “Millennial”. I believe that the rise in technology of the Internet and cell phones during those years define the generation of the Millennials. I think this rise in technology has a positive and negative aspect. The Internet is good for valuable information and for social networking. On the other hand, it has become an obsession when we could be doing other things. The rise in cell phones during this time made life easier to contact people when they were not home. Cell phones like the internet are becoming an obsession as well. The name Millennials is very fitting because it makes me think of the future and that generation is the future in technology and life.

Reality TV

Klosterman says that real people start to act like the archetypes they see on TV. The point of this is to be identifiable. Being interesting has been replaced with being identifiable. An example is there is always a jock, a jokster, a nerd, a black guy, a gay, and a pretty girl. I think this is a strong idea because it is happening everywhere not just on TV. Take social media for an example. People act how they think they should instead of how they really do just to either put on a show or make people like them. People are constantly categorizing themselves according to what pop culture tells them.  It controls how they talk, dress, and behave around others.

Accidental Racist

People are making a big deal out of the song, “Accidental Racist” by Brad Paisley featuring LL Cool J. In the song, Brad is a country artists who sings that his shirt and his ways are not racist that his generation has nothing to do with the Civil War. LL Cool J is a rapper that sings in response that they are both judging and that they shouldn’t do it anymore. In our readings from class, we learned that country music has a story that relates to your life. This could be love, death, or in this case…conflict. Country music loves to bring up issues and sing about them. Because this music is popular in culture it’s a good way to get the message across. We learned that Hip Hop music is about the lifestyle of power, money, and the lifestyle of gangs and ghettos. This relates to the Accidental Racist because all of these songs judge people by their cover. The controversy is that one side doesn’t want slavery and racism brought up and others think it’s a good idea to talk about it now after all these years. It bothers people because they don’t want conflict. Others like to talk about it because they want their world to be peaceful. My view on this is that it is a good message to get across but I don’t like how it was a song. The lyrics are somewhat meaningful but the beat and word choice was weird. I believe there is other ways to get this across besides a song. I believe that this song still won’t change things between people

Intertextuality in Pop Culture

Intertextuality is everywhere in pop culture these days. Every time there is a best selling book, a movie is made. If the movie gets popular then comes clothing, posters, and other miscellaneous items. One example is Duck Dynasty. It is reality TV show of the family that created duck calls. This show is very popular among my family and friends. After a good first season, it became popular all over the United States and around the world. You can buy Duck Dynasty koozies, t-shirts, rugs, blankets, posters, anything. Another example of this kind of intertextuallity is the Fifty Shades of Grey Fad. Fifty Shades of Grey is a book trilogy of a dominant man and his submissive that fall in love. It is a kinky, yet classy book. This book became popular in the last year or two. Now you can buy all the sex toys online and they are going to make a movie.

Popular Culture

I have learned that popular culture defines our country. It brings our country together because of a common interest. Whether it be about sports like football, celebrities, brand names, advertising, porn, and so on. I have learned that people of all different colors, religions, and backgrounds can all associate with popular culture. There is no written rules to popular culture because it is the opinion of a large group of people. Once something or someone becomes popular, sometimes for no apparent reason, then everyone wants to have the same feeling. This feeling makes people feel like they are not alone. I have also learned that popular culture is a negative aspect of our culture. It is negative because people don’t want to be themselves because they want to fit in with the crowd. Mass media on popular culture is also negative. Advertising pictures of skinny, flawless woman effect average women causing them to be depressed and have eating disorders.

What is violence?

Violence is one of those words that is hard to define. There are so many forms and options to define violence. To some people violence is physical and to others it’s mental. Violence could be a dangerous drug deal or it could look harmless like two children playing in a park. It has become harder to define violence because of all the TV shows demonstrating violence. TV makes violence seem more dramatic than what it is or make it seem like it is nothing since we see it all the time. Controlling what is on TV won’t stop people from becoming violent because they will get access from another source. Violence on TV also scares people from the real world not give them ideas to pursue.

When we are little, we are told from the very beginning that if we are a boy we must be tough, strong, and brave. If we aren’t those things we are not a “real man.” We are told to fight to protect loved ones, our people, and ourselves. This fighting is technically violent or could be. Boys are told to get laborious jobs and play sports. I see this as being both positive and negative. I believe telling your children to be tough, strong, and brave in order for them to have good self esteem and motivation. If it is pushed too strongly than negativity sets in. For example, if your boy doesn’t want to do a laborious job or play sports and you keep pushing him. He will fight back. I believe that causes them to become violent. Anyone can become violent though. The APA’s idea about good mental health relates to mine. We must keep our children with positive forces in order to succeed. The ACLU relates to my idea of controlling TV violence. The ACLU doesn’t want the government to crack down on controlling what we watch. 

Football High

 

        The video Football High brings up many important issues. One issue was football teams working their players too hard on very hot days. Two boys from two different schools in Arkansas ended up in the hospital with heat stroke. One recovered  and one passed away. This brings up the issue of coaches neglecting the health of their players. Another important issue is the pressure on players and coaches to win. This pressure comes from media, college scouts, coaches, and fans. This pressure takes away the passion and turns football into a factory. Football has turned into an elite game that the teams with more money and talent will win. They have specialized coaches and trained players from other districts. Another important issue that the movie brings up is players concussions. Not all players are diagnosed with concussions then they go out and play while they do. This further more injures their brain.

      This documentary makes a person think critically about these issues. Think about your son playing football. How do you want coaches to treat him; meaning his overall health, mental being, and his physical talent? Viewers should also think about the toll pressure puts on players and coaches. Pressure and stress lead to unhealthy lifestyles like eating disorders, injuries, bad grades, and possibly death. The last thing I want a viewer to think about is the importance of winning while having a serious injury like a concussion. Would you risk putting a player back in the game with a concussion just to win state? Or would you sit them out to keep their brain injury free and make your other players work hard to pull through for the team? There is technically no right answer or a rule about this. Lets think on that one.

You Give Love A Bad Name

One of Klosterman’s ideas is that fake love gives an unrealistic picture of how life should be. Couples in movies give unrealistic ideas of how people should act and be like. John Cusack is an example of fake love. He is young, attractive, and has a perfect relationship with a girl one summer. They end up running away together and live “happily ever after.” The concept of happily ever after is another idea of fake love.

Another example of unrealistic love is the characters in Fifty Shades of Grey. Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele have an intimate relationship strictly based on sex then they fall into a romantic affair. This is unrealistic because they are both attractive, successful people who end up getting what they want in the end which is each other.

Cory and Topanga from Boy Meets World are another example. They are the perfect couple. They were best friends then dated throughout high school and college. Then they got married and lived happily ever after.

This fantasy of perfect is another idea of Klostermans. Our fantasy is having the “one” and that person will change our lives for the better. Klosterman talks about marrying for love but in reality it’s not necessarily easier or makes you happier. Marriage takes work. You will fight, argue, love, cry, and laugh.

            Another idea of Klosterman’s is that both partners will never be satisfied due to high expectation of love. These expectations set us up to fail. We are all about showing off and caring what people think of us. With all that stress, people are not happy which causes conflict with love. In reality, if people stopped listening to others and went with their own heart things would be better.

Magazine Advertising Degrades Women

This picture advertising of Dolce and Gabbana illustrates Jean Kilbourne’s video because of the degrading of women. This picture demonstrates a sexual gaze. The man and woman are greased up, tan, and in a sexual position. The girl is blonde, skinny, and has her mouth open making her look weak and taken upon by the guy. Kilbourne describes this look to degrade women because sex sells.

Sexiness

When you think of sexiness, what or who comes to mind? Do you see a skinny, blonde model or curvy, luscious Latino? Or do you see a rich, powerful person or a shy, intelligent librarian?  Anyway you look at it, humans have their own definition of sexiness because of our unique desires. Sexiness is important today in popular culture because it is a craving and natural instinct. Sexiness is constantly in the media whether it be on television, radio, or internet. Sexiness is very “in” right now in books such as Fifty Shades of Grey. Movies and television shows are becoming steamer and sexy. Celebrities also bring sexiness to attention. Women like Pamela Anderson and Marilyn Monroe are talked about nonstop. Sexiness is also important to popular culture because the meaning of sexiness is constantly changing as the years go by. What is sexy about one person is not sexy about another.

            I would like to point out the difference between sexy and trashy though. Some people misinterpret sexy as trashy these days. Sexy is classy as in a woman or man would have a certain charm and upheld look that takes your breath away, making you want more. But trashy on the other hand, shows you don’t care much about your self-respect and that you try to hard. Trashy people seem to give off the air of being “easy.” Take Miley Cyrus for example. She is not sexy, but trashy especially after her performance at the VMA’s. What was sexy about that? Nothing.

Popular Culture and Happiness

Happiness is entwined with Popular Culture. While reading a magazine about fashion or celebrities, it brings happiness to people because it takes them to a place where they can fantasize a better life than their own. Humans constantly desire what they cannot have. Happiness is temporary and always changing just like pop culture is always changing. An example would be the clothing style of leggings. Back in the 1980’s leggings were the “cool” things to wear. Like all fads that bring change, leggings went away. In the last year or so, leggings have come back in style. Change happens when people are no longer happy with something that is not new anymore. Take cell phones for an example. Every year cell phone companies make a new model to replace the old. Having something brand new makes people happy these days because it shows that you are on top or better than others.