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Reflection

I love this class. Intro to Literature has been one of the few classes I really enjoy going to. The topics we discuss are thought provoking, relevant, debatable, and beneficial to us as we are growing up and earning more responsibilities. I've never been assigned so many books in a class, and enjoyed the majority of them. My favorite book I'd have to say was Culture Jam because it really had me thinking about our society, our society of plentitude and noise. We are constantly upping the anti with bigger TVs, faster internet connections, and hairdos (Snooki's hair bump) while we have our cell phones ringing all the time, cars honking, music blasting. When was the last time we really appreciated silence or simplicity? I do enjoy listening to music on my iPod, watching movies on a big screen and other luxuries we have today but when it come down to it I love a nice walk in the woods to get away from all the indulgences of today.

My friends and I at a nearby lake after hiking last Easter.

All the various types of literature we discussed all provoked different opinions and emotion. The one topic we discussed really hit home for me--The Dumbest Generation. We watched the Youtube video of an interview with Dr. Bauerlin, the author of a book The Dumbest Generation: Don't trust anyone under 30 years old. Who does he think he is to be able to call our generation 'the dumbest.' I do agree with Baurelin when he says our generation is very into social networking online, through cell phones and all other means, but it does not constitute 'stupidity.' Each generation has it's own interests that differ from the others. My grandparents generation did not understand the rock&roll era of our parents. Our parents might not understand our interests in Facebook or myspace. The lesson I have really learned is to think independently, and respect others independence. I am going to do what makes me happy and hope everyone else does whether their method to happiness is completely different than mine. Life is bland without independence. 

Burning Books...

I think life without books would be stagnant and boring. Books allow our imagination to flow and create our own unique movies in our minds. Watching  a movie on TV or in the theatre looks the same to everyone, same plot, same characters, and same setting--all we are doing when watching movies/TV is absorbing, no engaged thinking or thought process. There is so much information and creativity in books that our society benefits from whether we realize it or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for movies and such but I do appreciate and enjoy a good book here and there. Everyone ALWAYS says that the 'book is better than the movie.' I believe that is so true because when you read a book you create your own scene, characters, and every little detail and movies just don't cut it--it is how one person interprets the novel. Metaphorically we burn books everyday. When we read Sparknotes online instead of reading the book front cover to back cover, when we watch the movie and not the book, when we listen to Books-on-tape, this list goes on and on.

Blog #8 The Hunger Games

I really liked The Hunger Games. Not that I enjoyed reading about a society that forces kids to fight for their life as a method of punishment for the society, but the writing skills and can't-put-it-down factor really made this book cool to read. It astonishes me the way the society works in this book. I believe that The Hunger Games as well as 1984, Feed, and the other literature we have read, has shared a common theme of brainwashing. In this novels, the government and society has brainwashed its citizens into thinking in only one way, the way of the government. To explain, in 1984, the government told the citizens that previous wars never happened, and the citizens had no other option then to believe it. In The Hunger Games, this annual game never seemed out of the ordinary or cruel to the society because it had been going on for so long that it was normal. The society was emotionally brainwashed when it came to the games, this children were turned into inanimate games pieces.

The Hunger Games also reminded me of a song...

Dance with the Devil by Immortal Technique

This song is about a young boy who wants to be in a gang, and will do whatever it takes to be initiated. He will do whatever it takes until he realized what he is doing. You'll have to listen to the song to hear the whole story. This song reminds me of The Hunger Games because both raise the question 'how far will you hurt others to benefit yourself?' To explain,  the main characters had to hurt or kill others and prove they can survive, in either the games or drug dealing life, in order  to come out on top.

Blog #7 Reality TV

Personally, I don't enjoy watching the popular reality tv shows like Jersey Shore, Teenmom, or The Real Housewives of New York. I'd rather spend my time dealing with my reality not others. Of course it is interesting how other people live their lives and how different or alike they are in comparison to ours. But personally I think it's a waste of my time to get wrapped up into the drama-filled lives of others. The reason people today are so enthralled by realtiy TV I believe is becasue we want to see how our lives size up to what the popculture says is 'reality.' We want to see if we are living like everyone else when really the the program shows the 'reality' or one or two lives--it's not how the whole world lives.

When I say I don't like reality TV, I have watched it before with my friends or just in passing. The reality TV that I really do enjoy and think is really cool is the TV show 'The Buried Life." The Buried Life has 4 guys who check off something from their bucket list every episode, and with every thing they complete they help someone else with their bucket list. For example, I watched Episode 3 from season 2, "Get married in Vegas.' In this episode, Dave, one of the boys, wanted to get married in Vegas with a girl he would meet in Vegas. His mission was successful, he married the lifeguard from the resort they stayed at. After they did what they wanted to do in Vegas, the boys helped one man with something he wanted to do before he died. This man, once very successful, was homeless living in underground tunnels, day by day. The boys took him to see his daughter, who he hadn't seen in 10 years, and his new grand daughter. The only thing he wished for was to see his family and the boy form The Buried Life helped him accomplish that.

I really like this show because it is simple, no drama, and genuine. They do what they want to and not what a producer or the viewers tell them. Also with everything the boys do (sometimes a little crazy and wild), they help someone less fortunate or who needs help to accomplish something that means a lot to them. I think this show provides a good message to everyone--life is short, do what makes you happy, help others, we are all in this together.

Interview with The Buried Life

Uncle Sam

I would go crazy if I lived in the version of 1984 George Orwell created. I would not want to live a life where I was lied to, brainwashed, and stripped of every ounce of freedom. The thought of anyone being about to monitor my throughts creeps me out. Today we live in 2011 and there is no thoughtcrime and we learn about time when the earth was formed until present--amen. We have so much freedom and opportunity today I think people don't take advantage of it as much as they should.

America though it represents freedom and equal opportunity, we have slowly shown signs of Orwell's 1984 world. We have survallience cameras in every store and on every corner outside. The government can screen our calls. Our home address, family tree, gender, marital status and house value is open to the public on http://www.spokeo.com/. Everything is taxed and everyone must have an American Express card and Starbucks everyday. What kind of society are we going to turn into? Are we slowly being sucked away from freedom? The answers to those questions can be debated in the discussion whether we should give up our freedom for security. I believe we have the freedom to choose. Its your decison to have to government protect you from a bombing or whether you build yourself a bombshelter. That's a dramtic example but that's just I believe.