In a Relationship With--The Internet (Relationship Status: It's Complicated)

My relationship with the internet is about as rocky as the mountains that run from Canada to New Mexico. We've been in a serious relationship for quite some time now and after being together for so long, we are starting to hit some really intense rough patches. However, when I'm feeling down or just wanting to relax and hang out, the internet is always there for me. What can I say? I'm in love.

In class, we read an article about the internet by Steven Johnson that talked about people's relationship with the world wide web and what good things come from it and what bad thing come from it as well. For me, I'd have to say that I am about a 50/50 on a good day....well really any day and here's why. I'll go on the internet for school and homework which equals good, however I'll also go on the internet while doing homework and watch YouTube videos or go on Facebook which equals bad.

I have been messing around online before, just reading things on Facebook or catching up on the videos from my subscriptions from YouTube and I'll see a video that interests me so I'll click on it and watch it, then I'll do it again with another video and before I know it, it's three in the morning and I'm watching videos of naked men fighting snakes in the mud or creepy puppets murdering children. I have no idea how I got here, but I'm here and it's happening. Sometimes I'll just sit back and really evaluate my life and my time and question my decisions.

But, the internet may taketh away but the internet also giveth back. I am much more connected with my friends and people from all over the world thanks to the internet and specifically, Facebook. I'm on there daily checking my news feeds and seeing what my friends are up to. I also find internet articles or sites very helpful such as Dictionary.com, Wikipedia, Urban Dictionary, and several others. I like that I can go on to KCRG.com and read interesting news stories without waiting for the 6:00 or 10:00 news. I would say that to a certain extent, the internet has made me smarter or at least let me be smarter by giving me tools to further educate myself and I like that. I'm glad I'm of the generation that is so fully immersed in the internet, I just hope that it doesn't become a huge negative issue in the future.

News: Real or Fluff?

We watched several news stories from ABC World News in class and then we talked about how they are either real news stories that are important or fluff stories that are there to just fill up space. This was part of what Chuck Klosterman was talking about in his article.

When we watched the news stories, it was the day before the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, so the bigger news story was of that day when the president was killed. The story went into detail about the plane, Air Force One, that carried the president back from Dallas. They had to cut out seats and other parts of the plane to get his casket into the body of the plane because they didn't want to put him in the cargo hold. Then they talked about the days back and the ride back as well. The plane is now a memorial and is out of use, however I believe they said 7 more presidents used the plane after Kennedy before it was retired. Now this story is a big one. They gave detailed information about the situation and also unknown facts about the plane that some people, myself included, did not know about. It was one that many people would have liked to hear, especially the older population who were around when Kennedy was killed. It's important because the death of the leader of a country is huge, especially when he is assassinated. 

Now, there were several "fluff" stories that they stuck in there between the bigger more important stories, like one about same sex marriage that got about 30 seconds of attention. There was also a story about an American Korean War vet who was "captured" by North Korean officials while leaving after being there for some sort of remembrance event. This story might have been moderately important, but it got little air time and didn't have much information or detail. If they really truly cared about an 85 year old man being kept from returning to America by a country that we aren't very friendly with, it would have been as big as the Kennedy story and would have probably had guest speakers. But none of that happened and there wasn't much of detailed information. That is why I think it was just a filler story to take up time before the JFK story.

The Disney Generation

Millennials! Who are we? We are the generation born from 1990 to 2000. For awhile, we were known as Generation Y, because no one really knew what to call us. Nothing really defined us, but then, with the new millennium, they decided on the name Millennials. I, for one, think that name rocks! It's cool and different and no one else has ever been known as that before. I knew the 90's were awesome, but this just makes them better!

In past generations, there have been significant situations or moments in history to define those born in that time. The best known is pretty obvious, The Baby Boomers! They are a well known generation, however, the generation that came after them aren't so well known. They are simply called Generation X. It's pretty lame (no offense guys), but I mean, your parents were The Baby Boomers and your kids are the Millennials. Not having a defining title is pretty rough, I think. Anyway, like I said, most generations had something happen to define them, however Generation X really didn't have anything big and significant that was worth naming them after. 

Many people thought the same of the Millennials, that was why we were known as Generation Y for so long. However, the new millennium isn't much to be known for, but, in Chuck Klosterman's article, he tried to change that for Gen. X and tried to define Generation X with a pop culture phenomenon, which was the StarWars Trilogy. That is actually a pretty cool thing to be known for actually. Too bad that's not what they are actually called. So in keeping with the pop culture theme, what popular culture event has happened that could defined the Millennials?

Well, I think there are a few obvious options that could define the current generation pretty well. However, there is one that is near and dear to my heart. Cue the African music! In 1994 Walt Disney Animated Studios released the now Disney classic, The Lion King. This movie was basically my whole world growing up. I watched it probably 5 to 10 times a day! My mom would stick it into the VCR (remember those?!) and I'd sit there mesmerized by the films wonder and amazing animation. Then when it was over, she'd rewind it and I'd watch it again. I can quote this movie beginning to end perfectly. The Lion King earned $987,483,777 worldwide at the box office. It is the 18th highest grossing film, the 2nd highest grossing animated film of all time worldwide and the highest grossing film of the Walt Disney Animated Studios [The Lion King: Wikipedia]. 

Now, the reason I believe this movie should define a whole generation is simple. It is one of the best known Disney movies ever and it was part of a time known as the Disney Renaissance, which was a period when Disney animated films brought back Disney's credibility using well-known stories. The movies in the Disney Renaissance were, The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan. However, if singling The Lion King out isn't really something you are comfortable with, then we can just call it The Disney Generation. Because many Disney classics and masterpieces were created in this time period [Disney Renaissance: Wikipedia].

So, here we are, with vision of Scar killing his brother and saying those famous words, "Long live the King!", Arial leaving her home to find true love, Mulan defying her "place" to save her father and in the end her country, and several other classic characters shinning in their respective movies. I am now in the biggest Disney movie mood, it's crazy! Go Disney Generation!

Reality TV Changes People

In class we read and learned about reality television shows and what they do to the people on them. We learned that the people on the show eventually start to slip into archetypes which are pattern or behavioral set that people fall into. Chuck Klosterman is the one who mentioned this in his article about reality television shows.

Basically, Klosterman said that people were becoming archetypes because of the situations they were put into with the shows. He also said that the producers of the shows try to have visible cultural differences so that it's very easy for people to pick out the differences about the group of people in the shows. So if a gay man was on the show, he would always be seen talking about being gay or if a black man was on the show, he'd always be seen talking about racism or being black and the difficulties or something like that. And come on, in real "real life" people like that don't always talk about those things. They are real everyday people who talk about class, grades, jobs, t.v., friends, family, sports, food and everything else. It's actually quite annoying when you think about it.

I do think this is a really good point Klosterman brings up, which usually I'm a bit against his thoughts because it seems like he just likes to rant and yell about everything. But I mean, at least with this idea, he's pretty on point; whether he agrees with it or disagrees with it is another story. In my own opinion though, I don't like that shows do this. I mean, I've been pulled in by reality television more than once and I was even on the "Jersey Shore" bandwagon, but only for like half a season and then it ended. But still, I got caught up in it and this isn't even the first nor the last time. I agree that the people on the shows fall into these types but I guess I don't understand why this has to be. I'm sure I'd watch a reality show about ACTUAL people instead of scripted or people just being stereotypical.

Accidentally Racist

This is a very touchy subject to talk about. I've had many conversations that turned ugly when the word "racist" comes in. In class we listened to the song "Accidental Racist" by Brad Paisley and LL Cool J and then watched news reports about the song. One was of a circle of people yelling and complaining about it and the other was the View ladies squawking about the song and eating chips.

The song is basically about the Brad saying that he just wants to put all the past racism and hate behind him and move on and try to be friends but also not come off as racist to the black people that he meets. LL's part is about not being sure if he can trust what Brad is saying, but also that he'd like to put it behind him too and move on and try not to live in the past. There were a few lines about forgiving the iron chains and forgetting the gold chains, that a black anchor or spokesperson didn't like in the CNN clip. He sort of freaked out about it and in my opinion kind of played the race card and didn't really take the real message from the song. The ladies from the View, however, agreed with the song and said it was a good mix of both sides and a way to try and mend the tough strands of the situation of racism. This is where I stand on the matter.

I can understand how people might get up in arms about the song, but I mean hey at least Brad and LL are trying! They aren't just sitting by and letting all the issues and touchy topics engulf them. They embraced their situation and tried to at least get the message out that to put it behind them. I totally agree. I honestly feel that both sides play the race card WAY too much anymore. History is a powerful tool and something everyone should learn from, but that's just it. We need to learn from it and fix it for the future and if all we do is dwell on it and cherry pick out situations to further our thoughts and sides on the matter then we'll never get anywhere and there will always be hate. I for one do not need anymore hate in my heart. And the world certainly doesn't need it either.

There were a lot of generalizations made in the song and people didn't really agree with them because they said not many "real" people wear chains around their neck and such. And I can understand that, but I mean, that is just basically taking the song at face value and not really understanding the deeper meaning to the song. I mean, it's country music, so they can't have deep unknown metaphors about racism in their songs, they have to give clear examples so the listeners can understand what's going on. I just think that people are basically being racist about the song when it's trying to say that they shouldn't be. 

We need to learn from our mistakes, realize all that has gone on in the generations since and get past it all so that we can work towards a peace filled world. This calls for a line from my favorite movie, The Lion King, "Hakuna Matata."

Intertextuality

Intertextuality doesn't look like a real word, but trust me it is. It basically means taking one form of text, (book, movie, idea) and mixing it together with something else to create something new and creative. You might not think of a lot of things as being intertextual, but it can actually be quite surprising. In the article we read in class called "Bootleg Culture" intertextuality was part of what the author talked about with taking to works and mixing them together. The article also talked about plagiarizing works, but mostly about taking music and mixing it with more music to make a new song and how Copy Rights are tough to work with, but usual lead to creative new products that are better than what they would have been the first time.

For example, in class our professor showed us images of pez that looked like The Simpsons, Chubaka as a lego, and Harry Potter with a theme park. At first we may just think these things are nothing more then fun places to go or cool advertising ideas, and while they are, they are also a completely new product that is a mix of two things we as consumers have already grown to love. Now that there is a name to all the interesting mix of products out there, I am happily surprised at how much of popular culture is intertextual. I myself have several products of One Direction that are intertextual. I've got bracelets, magnets, stickers and a few more things that are very interesting, but that isn't all. I have seen a show I watch do it many times, but one particular set of episodes really stands out to me. Family Guy is a cartoon show and it's quite clear from the effort and time put into the episodes it shows that the creators love Star Wars.

I have actually seen this episodes and it is quite good. Anyway, I think this is a really clear depiction of intertextuality. It's basically a big sore thumb sticking out to fans of the show and the movies. The episodes follow the basic structure of the movies, but with the shows characters playing the roles in the movie and a few typical Family Guy scenes thrown in.

I like intertextuality and I'm actually really interested in finding more mix ups with popular culture, especially since pop culture is everywhere and part of every day life. I'll be keeping my eyes open from now on.

What I've Learned So Far

Well, it's been an interesting journey so far. I have learned a lot, even though I usually have no idea how. That's how class is for me. I sit there and follow along with everything but never real feel like I'm learning. Then one day I'm with friends and I just spew knowledge and fact at them and we all sit back in shock. That's when I realize that I learned a lot from my past and present classes and it really makes me feel good. I'm sort of glad that I'm learning without knowing it. It feels less like work and more just like life. Which, isn't that what life is all about? Learning while you go along?

We have covered many topics in my Popular Culture class this semester and I have learned a lot, despite not really knowing it. But I recently had a discussion with my mother about violence in the world right now. I asked her what she thought of the world and how much violence she thought was in Iowa and our city alone. She watches a lot of Law and Order and murder investigation shows, so I wasn't surprised when she told me that she thought the outside world was really dangerous. That was when I remembered the topic we discussed in class about violence and "Mean World Syndrome". My mom TOTALLY has this. She's so paranoid and afraid that whenever I leave the house, even during the day time that I'm going to get hurt or killed or something. Even when I'm just going right up the street.

I told her about the things I learned in class. How media and television shows dramatize reality to sell a story or show. How crime has actually gone down in the last several years, yet gun purchases have gone up. I told her that people are actually much safer now for many reasons, and I was met with two reactions. She first started off by trying to say that I wasn't entirely right and that there was still violence outside of the walls of our house and then when I tried again to just ease her worries, she got angry and stopped listening.

This actually scared me a little. If my mother, whom I think is a fairly reasonable person (depending on the subject), won't listen to me when I give her facts done in studies, than who's to say that the majority of the world or even just the U.S. won't turn a blind eye to the facts after awhile. If it's not what they want to hear then it's not worth listening to. Now I could be wrong here, but it seems like my mother and perhaps a percentage of the world, want to be afraid. It feels like they want to think that it's dangerous out in the real world. And whether this is just used as an excuse to stay inside or if they really feel this way, it seems sad and rather lonely. 

I for one am rather happy that the world isn't as cruel and evil as I may have thought. I was raised to look for the good in people and if there is evidence supporting this, that's even better. However, that's not to say that I will be leaving my house without even thinking of protection or looking out for myself. But I will be leaving with an eased mind. If I can get rid of any form of stress on my person and my brain, then I'll take it right away.