Bringing It All Together

I want to start off by saying that I really enjoyed the things we've read and covered in this class. I almost dropped it when I found out we were going to be studying new age literature, and topics such as gaming. I thought it sounded weird, and I thought I wanted to read the classics. I also did not look forward to writing these blogs. I had thought only losers wrote blogs. I now see that they can be a useful way to share opinions. If I ever become a high school English teacher, like I want to be, I will use them in my class. I am very pleased that I stayed in this section. I read some things that I would have never read on my own; my eyes were opened to things I never would have realized.

One thing that this class made me do was look at reality television in a whole different light. I always thought it was just something put out there for me to enjoy, with no consequences for me or the stars of the shows. I now realize that watching these shows can hurt the stars, or actors. I never thought that the Jersey Shore cast could be different if they weren't thrown into stardom by a television program.

My favorite part of the class was reading The Hunger Games. I never would have picked up this novel on my own time, but I am very happy that I read it. Quite honestly, it is one of the best books I have ever read. Not only was it a good read, but it linked well to reality television. It made me think about how like our reality television shows this "game" was. Could a game like the one in the novel happen in real life? I think, maybe, it could. I think our culture would quickly wrapped up in the excitement that the game brings.

Another thing this class made me do is look at literature differently. Previously, I had read books for two reasons: because they were recommendations for class, and for pleasure. I had never read a book for pleasure and considered linking it to something else that I had read or seen on television. Now when I read, I consider other things that I have experience with that relate to what I am reading.

The last thing that I want to talk about is the class discussion we had on censorship and freedoms. I had never really thought about how giving up privacy at the airport took away some of our freedoms. I know see that this is so.

I really enjoyed this class. I now see the importance of books, and how drastic it would be if we lost them. I enjoyed this class, and blogging about what we read and learned. It's been fun!

To read or not to read; that is the question.

A world without books would be a strange one. It would make school a lot easier for the student, but a lot more difficult for the teacher. Instead of having children read books, teachers would have to tell their students about every story an example they are supposed to learn. Without textbooks, math lessons would be very difficult as well. I would be lost without books in two senses. The first is as a teacher, which I plan to be after graduating college. I think it would be very difficult to teacher without having books to give to my students. How would I teach my students how to read? Would reading be taught in schools? I suppose it would because people would still have to read signs and labels, but reading for pleasure and reading books for information would be an unnecessary task.

I would also miss books on a personal level. I enjoy reading when I have nothing else to do. I like just sitting in my room or outside and reading a good book, being taken away to another place or lifestyle. I find enjoyment in finding entertainment without technology every once in awhile.

People burn books by overlooking them. One example of this is just watching a movie instead of reading the book. It is just another example of how lazy our culture is today. We think the time it takes to read a book is inconvenient, when really the experience has a lot to offer.

I think people find books dangerous because they allow different views to be expressed by the author. Anyone can find anything in a book if they look for it, and this hinders government from having total control over us. I could see books being banned in our culture, with the way censorship is become more and more prevalent. If books ever get banned, I would definitely rebel. I would try and keep my books, and the memories and adventures that come with them.

Hunger Games and the hunger for more

I really, really enjoyed this book. I read it in two sittings. I just found it to be so exciting and interesting. I usually don't get into books like this, but I really got engulfed in the plot. I found myself thinking like I was a part of the game, and what my strategy would be. First of all, I don't think I would have survived very long. I'm not much of a runner, and due to my greediness, I probably would have went for supplies at the Cornucopia right away and been a quick victim. Nonetheless, I was always criticizing choices made by Katniss and the other tributes.

I found it disturbing that the Capitol put on games like this. I also found it disturbing that, while the people are against losing a child from their District, it was so accepted in society. I feel like I would speak out against a child from my town being put on an island where murder is the only way out. It just seemed strange to me how this went on without much disapproval from the citizens.

I liked how Katniss was all about showing up the Capitol. I found the scene where she covered Rue's dead body in flowers very emotional and moving. I feel like the people watching this scene would have had a doubt in their mind of the humanity of the games at that moment. No one could watch Katniss do that with such emotion and still believe that the games were humane.

While reading this book, a song kept continually popping into my head. The song is "'Til I Collapse" by Eminem. It is about not giving up and giving your all. I could just see any of the tributes listening to this song in their head while going for a kill or traveling during the games. One quote from the song that really fits in with the book is I really, really enjoyed this book. I read it in two sittings. I just found it to be so exciting and interesting. I usually don't get into books like this, but I really got engulfed in the plot. I found myself thinking like I was a part of the game, and what my strategy would be. First of all, I don't think I would have survived very long. I'm not much of a runner, and due to my greediness, I probably would have went for supplies at the Cornucopia right away and been a quick victim. Nonetheless, I was always criticizing choices made by Katniss and the other tributes.

I found it disturbing that the Capitol put on games like this. I also found it disturbing that, while the people are against losing a child from their District, it was so accepted in society. I feel like I would speak out against a child from my town being put on an island where murder is the only way out. It just seemed strange to me how this went on without much disapproval from the citizens.

I liked how Katniss was all about showing up the Capitol. I found the scene where she covered Rue's dead body in flowers very emotional and moving. I feel like the people watching this scene would have had a doubt in their mind of the humanity of the games at that moment. No one could watch Katniss do that with such emotion and still believe that the games were humane.

While reading this book, a song kept continually popping into my head. The song is "'Til I Collapse" by Eminem. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnslrTTXQSA It is about not giving up and giving your all. I could just see any of the tributes listening to this song in their head while going for a kill or traveling during the games. One quote from the song that really fits in with the book is, "Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out Till my legs give out, can't shut my mouth." I feel like this song goes really well with the story.

As I said before, I really enjoyed this book. Over the summer, I plan on reading the second and third books of the series. I just need to know what happens next!

Reality Check

I read Neal Gabler's article and found it very interesting. I disagree with a lot of it, but I believe it does hold some weight, even though it is kind of outdated. I remember when Survivor first came out and how cool it was. I watched it every week with my parents, but not for the reasons Gabler states in his article. Not once did I think about the people on the show playing out life for me. Also, I feel like the people on the show did it for the chance to win money that they needed to make their lives better. Now, with the popularity the show has gained, I think people do it strictly for the chance to become "famous". I think it is sad when people who are already rich go on shows like that. What do they have to gain from that? Nothing, except cheap fame.

The show I watched for this blog was this weeks Jersey Shore episode. It was the third season finale. I hate to admit it, but I watch Jersey Shore every week. I find it amusing and funny. In the episode, Ron and Sammi fought again, which was becoming a very played out storyline. Also, Deena prevented Vinny from courting a female, JWoww got a boyfriend, and the group had to leave their house for the summer. (I wanted to provide a video of them all saying goodbye and leaving, but every video clip was taken off of Youtube for copyright infringement.)

Notice about how I wrote "storyline". I do not think that this show, or any reality show for that matter anymore, is actually reality. I believe that all of them are scripted. That is why I don't think that me watching them is anything like the Coliseum. These people are getting paid to do a television show. Today, reality television is no different than any other program. Specifically on Jersey Shore, I believe these people would be doing the same things whether they were being paid and filmed anyway.

I find the show entertaining not because it is "real people", but because the situations they are in are just down right funny. Every week, Snooki does something ridiculous that is funny, so I watch, and I laugh. There is no harm in that.

Big Brother Today

Big Brother definitely exists today. It's not as extreme as it is in 1984, but it's definitely there. It exists in the government being able to find out any information they want from us. It exists in their ability to tap our phones. We have definitely lost all rights to privacy. There are few places that we are in total privacy. A big thing that I think shows our invasion of privacy is Google Maps. We talked about that as a group in class on Thursday, and then I went on it today to look at it again. I can type in my address and see my house, my yard and my car. I can even see my dog. I think that right there shows that our privacy is basically gone. There are some roads near my house where they have a camera right on the side of the road that you can see. You can see cars, and even some people clear as day. I find this very odd. I don't see the necessity for this being on the internet, accessible to everyone.

Facebook is another example of how our privacy is given up. If you look at someone's Facebook at any given time, you can normally tell where they are, who they're with, and what they're doing. There are also pictures of them and all their friends. The saddest part of this is that we give this up voluntarily. I feel like if someone told me I had to give out that information, I would feel violated, but we do it on a daily basis without even thinking about it.

I think people are very willing to give up freedoms to feel safe. I am to a point. I'm okay with airport security, and video surveillance cameras at cash registers, but I think that's about where the line stops for me. Regarding a point brought up in class, I think I'd rather take my chances than have security cameras in bathrooms.

Unit, check out these meg ads.

The first advertisement that would show up on my Feed would probably be a Jordan ad. Michael Jordan is one of my all-time sports heroes, and I also love his clothing brand. I have everything from Jordan shirts, to shoes, to shorts. If I had more money, I would probably have at least 15 pairs of Jordan shoes. So I think a Jordan commercial would definitely make it onto my Feed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id14pmEm344.

As I believe I've talked about in my blog before, I love video games. My favorite type of game is baseball games. This year's game, MLB 11 The Show, comes out on March 8th. An ad for that would definitely be on my Feed because I'm pretty excited about buying the new game. I also find this year's ad to be hilarious, and anytime comedy is added to something, I am even more likely to enjoy it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKHp0qxSFxA.

Another ad that would make it onto my Feed would be for Dorito's Tortilla Chips. I like their advertisements because they are always funny, and I like Dorito's because they are always delicious. The ad I found to put on my blog is from last year's Super Bowl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rsEnwKrsvc.

As a student studying to be a teacher, I find education very important. I believe that all parents should help their students stay in school and get as good an education as possible. I also like rap music, specifically Lil Wayne. When I saw this public service announcement type advertisement, I found it very interesting, and I definitely think it would pop up on my Feed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05eXpHpY_jo.

Who Needs Technology??? This guy!

I wish I could say that, like Thoreau, I could give up all technology and still live a perfectly happy life. I probably could, except for the fact that my girlfriend is six and a half hours away in North Carolina for school. Technology, such as cell phones and computers, is the only form of communication we have when we are both at school. In the summer, I believe I could live without technology. I believe, if I had my girlfriend and other friends with me, I would have no trouble living in the woods in a cabin without technology. I do not, however, think I would be able to live alone. I would get way too bored all by myself without any way of communicating with anyone. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. My friends are what's important to me, so why should I have to live without talking to them?

I did want to touch on Feed a bit in this blog entry. I, surprisingly, really enjoyed the book. It took me awhile to get into it, but I ended up reading the last 160 pages in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down. I found it to be a really interesting story, because I could see our world getting to be like that eventually, with all the technology. One thing I found really interesting was the lesions, and how once the "celebrities" started getting them, that they were cool. I think this was the author showing how ridiculous it is that we let celebrities tell us what to wear and what products to use. I can honestly say I have never bought a product just because a certain celebrity endorsed. Okay, now that I think about it, I did buy a baseball glove once because a certain player I liked used it. That was when I was nine though. I feel like now I have a much more idea of what I find important in my life. I think for myself, unlike the characters in Feed. I would never let the "feed" (internet, media, etc.) tell me how to live my life.