blog # 10

I have learned to really open my mind and make cultural/ social connections. For an example if I had read Hunger Games before this class, I would have never consider  what other possible meaning the story was referring to. I would have just assumed that it was just another story. Now every time that I read a book, I am going to be more aware of potential other meanings. I have also learned more about our society that I wasn't aware of before. I didn't see the signs that our society is becoming more dumber, more dependent on technology and that we are loosing our individuality. By reading the novels and articles that we did, I am now more alert of this issues. This issues that we have discovered as a class has made me not wanting to just be another member of society who is a follower. I don't want to be associated with the "Dumbest Generation." I don't want to be apart of that stereotype. I also don't want to live in a country were we are getting closer and closer to "burning books" everywhere in the work. This class has made me more consciously aware of what society is becoming to. 

Blog # 9

The world would be a very boring and depressing. I love books. If I have some spare time, I read. Sometimes, I even make time to read. It is just one of my favorite past times. Whenever I am stress and decided to find a way to relax; I read. I love how its stimulates my imagination, which then helps me get away from the stress. I would definitely miss books without a doubt. I honestly don't understand why people wouldn't muss books. First off, I couldn't imagine that books would ever be banned. It would def be a nightmare for me if that is the case. I think that we "burn books" by judging a book but its cover. We tend to look at the book covers and then decided if we want to read the books or not. Another way we "burn books" is by not finishing reading a books. For an example if we start a book and decide half-way through that we don't want to read it anymore and we stop reading it then that technically burning a book. Also if you buy a book and never read it that also "burning books."

Blog #8

I really like the book. It was one of the best books that I have read in a long time. I am actually looking into buying the second and third book of the trilogy. I see this book joining in on the "conversation" of the other books by the theme of not following what you truly believe. In 1984, Winston felt that the Big Brother was a dictatorship and that he could not take it any longer. That is why Winston eventually rebelled by writing in his journal and meeting with O'Brien. However, when he got caught, he went back to his original state of being obedient and not having individuality. In Culture Jam and Feed, they talk about humans need to all be the same, which leads to the lack of individuality. In Hunger Games, people do not question the purpose of the Games. They just do what they are told without question. No one raises the question of why their teenagers are being slaughtered just for the fun of it. No one tries to halt the games, they just watch the Games which help create more violent games for the contestants. I feel that I responded to Katniss more than any other character in the book. I usually root for the underdog and obviously in the fight against the Careers she is definitely an underdog.

Harry Potter and the Third Task

When reading this book especially the parts during the actual game, I though of the book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In the book, Harry is chosen as a contestant in the tournament known as the Triwizard Tournament, unfortunately for Harry is not able to withdraw from the competition and is forced to compete. This tournament that Harry finds himself in, consists of three tasks that challenge his survival and wizard skills. Unlike, Hunger Games, the tasks that the contestants find themselves in do not require nor allow the killing of each other. The tasks require the contestants to fight on their own. However, in the last task of the tournament, all of the contestants are placed in a maze together. Being that Harry is a wizard, the maze is enchanted and has in the past caused many contestants to become bewitched; this occurs in the book. Harry is attacked by a fellow contestant that becomes bewitched. Harry does defend himself and another contestant but he does not kill the bewitched contestant. This story is definitely different than Hunger Games, but when I watch the Harry Potter movie the other day, I thought of Hunger Games.   

Blog #7

I think that reality TV is so darn entertaining because it gets us (viewers) something to compare our lives to. By watching reality TV we are able to make ourselves feel better about ourselves. For example, on Teen Mom, one of the moms is currently having medical problems with one of her daughters. Many people's hearts go out to this mom, but many people don't have to deal or handle with this issue; so many viewers are able to say that their current situation is better. Reality TV can also help us see that certain problems can occur no matter how rich and famous you are. An example of this would be the divorce of Camille and Kelsey Grammer. Camille is on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and on her show the final moments of her marriage were played out for viewers to see. Many people go through a divorce at least at some point in their lives, so this is something many people can relate to. As you can see through my examples, I love reality TV.  As I watch the show, I think to myself, "what are they doing? Are they seriously doing that?" To me, reality TV shows how really stupid people can really be. I am aware that majority of the shows have some type of scripting to it but not all of it is scripted. There is definitely somethings on the shows that happen without scripting and those are the moments when I'm glad that I'm not that dumb or stupid.

As viewers we definitely encourage and support these shows. Most of these shows have some sort of script. This script depends on what the viewer wants to see. For example if they (viewers) want someone to hate, the producers will "hire" or "create" a villain. An example of this is Danielle Staub of the Real Housewives of New Jersey and Angelina Pivarnick of Jersey Shore.   

I know this is not a clip of an episode, but it is the trailer for the season 2 of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. In this clip, its a mesh of clips from the season.  A lot of the mini clips in this clip did not show too much reality. I think that a lot of what was showed was staged. I have seen this season and an example where the scene was staged was when Dina and Danielle got into an altercation at a restaurant. Normally, when two women are fighting in a restaurant, the by-standers are not going to just sit there like nothing is going on. People are going to stare and in this episode the by-standers were just sitting there continuing with their meals.

The women in the video are from the state of New Jersey and have some considerable amount of money. On the show there is Caroline Manzo, who is the matriarch of the group; Dina Manzo, the younger sister of Caroline; Teresa Giudice, a long time friend of Caroline and Dina; Jacqueline Laurita, the sister-in-law to Caroline and Dina; and Danielle Staub, the controversial one of the group. I guess that the character/ person that I respond most to would be Danielle Staub; but not in a good way. I think that Danielle is one of the most stupidest women on the show and I definitely question everything that Danielle does on the show. One reason that attracts me to the show is Danielle's craziness; you never know what she is going to do next.

I think that my role as the viewer is that I continue to support Danielle's craziness because that is the reason why I watch it. But as a result the eagerness of people to watch her craziness, it is only going to cause Danielle to become more crazier on the show.

Blog # 6

I think that "Big Brother" does exist in today's world but not to the extreme as it was portrayed in 1984. We obviously don't have signs with a face that has a caption that says "Big Brother is watching". But I think that there is some presence of the government that surrounds us. I think that after 9/11, the presence of the government increased. I know that at one point there was the threat of the government phone tapping and to me that is an invasion of privacy. I am not sure if that is still practiced to this day, but at one time I know it was something to be concerned about. I am not sure if anyone is willing to give up their basic freedoms in order to feel safe. I really think that it depends on what we would have to give up in order to feel safe.

Blog # 5

I am picking choice #3, here are my four advertisements.

First one, Sports Authority. I played softball since I was 5 years old. I played on a regular minor league team, until the age of 9, which I then began playing on a travel team. The travel team that I played for was Warrington Blue Thunder, I was with the team for at least 6 years. This advertisement would come up for me because I was definitely a power hitter on my team. I also love to look at and possible buy new bats. They are one of many items of softball equipment that I enjoy to look at.

The second advertisement would be Payless Shoes. I love shoes. There is not ifs,ands, or buts about it. I have so many that its not even funny. Every time that I go into a store such as Target or Walmart, no matter at what, I always look in the shoe section. Even if I shop online or look at something online, I need to look at the shoe section. I would definitely say that shoes are my weakness.

My third advertisement would be Facebook. I need to go on Facebook at least once every day. Its so addicting. I think that my advertisement wouldn't be about joining Facebook, it probably be about updating my status or adding new pictures. I could also see, it asking me "do I know these people" and try to get me add new people.

My fourth advertisement would be Glee. Just like in Feed, there was a TV show that would come up on their feeds, and advertise the new shows they were airing. Well, this would be my show. I am a Gleek 100%. I love this show. So it would definitely come up on my Feed.

Blog # 3

I personally do not believe that our generation is the dumbest. I don't think that we meaning our generation has had the opportunity to prove ourselves. So if we haven't had the chance to prove ourselves than how can you automatically say that we are the dumbest generation. I do agree that there is some information that everyone should know such as who the vice president is. But if several people do not know certain information, then that does not mean that you can generalize and say that an entire generation is dumb. I think that with the creation of the internet, it has allowed many people to look up information that they do not know, without having to go to the library. Speaking for myself, when I am reading a book or studying for a class and I come across something that I don't know then I go on the internet and look it up. I realize that not everyone does this, but there are some people that do. Just having the internet around, has helped me learn more things than I would without it. Like I said before, I do not think that our generation is the dumbest, I think that if we get the chance to prove ourselves, then we might possible be one of the smartest.