Final Blog

As we come to a close and Intro to Lit is ending, I look back on the class and realize, wow the books we read and the discussions we've had, I have learned much more than I was anticipating.  I some of these books have opened my eyes to how our generation is evolving and how we really look today without realizing it from "Feed", "Culture Jam" and even from "Hunger Games", I see now that our generation is all about tecnology and watching reality television because we are entertained.  Throughout this class, ideas have come easier to me and opened my eyes to different themes in the book that we even face today in our culture. 

Our class and group discussions made me open my eyes to the reality of today.  We had a few great discussions on our dumbest generation that motivated me to really experience what life has to offer instead of watching tv all the time, sufing the internet constantly and most of all typing on my phone all the time.  After that article of the dumbest generation, "Culture Jam" and "Feed", I was motivated to go out and enjoy life, not focus on technology.  Then after reading "1984", well I was just like wow, ok I hope that doesn't become our future.  Like the theme of privacy, I need my privacy I could not dea with the government or "Big Brother" watching our every moves and being in control, not letting us think for ourselves.  That discussion kind of angered me a little, not letting us be ourselves and having no privacy.  Privacy and our thoughts are what makes us who we are. 

I feel like in a way, I find myself responding to literature in that I read the book then think about what I read.  I never really used to respond to literature, I just would read books and finish them.  I feel that after reading all the requried reading, which in most cases some of the books were very good, I am realizing that I have more opinions that what I say out loud.  The class discussions have really got me participating and speaking my own thoughts.  The discussions we talked about, privacy, our culture today, our dumbest generation and many others, I have spoke my mind and opened up to my group about my beliefs and opinions.  Overall, I fully enjoyed this class and had fun reading and discussing the themes of the books.  It really has opened my eyes to the world.

Blog #9 Censorship

I we lived in a world without books, well then there goes our education.  We would be bored out of our mind, books are there to keep us entertained, give us an imagination and educate us.  Our world today is evolving with new technology, the Kindle and all that other electronics used for books now, is what people are using instead of actually going out borrowing or buying the books.  If we didn't have any of that, the world would be a boring, uneducated and unimaginative world.  We use books on a daily basis.  If there were no books for us to read, we would be dumb in a way.  Honestly, I would say I would definitely miss books.  I love to read, I love to read about adventure about action.  I read all the time in my spare time.  I wouldn't be able to get lost in my own little world if I wasn't able to pick up a book.  If we were no longer allowed to read books, I don't know what I would do in my spare time. 

All the time at the beach I would go through like three books in a week because I love to sit in the sun and get lost for a few hours in a really good book.  I would be dumb if we didn't have book in school and keeping up with my verbal skills.  Reading is a great way to keep up with grammar and verbal skills.  I would definitely miss books, after all I love to read good action adventure books. 

I guess in a way we "burn books" by reusing them in a different way via movies or tv shows.  Or I guess also authors or publishers rewrite books that are exactly the same way as others.  Theres almost always that same plot or theme to certain books.  I don't know, I guess that is how we can kinda burn books, in a way.  I don't think books are that dangerous.  I mean, if a little kid read a gory violent sword fighting book, they might act in that same manner but books aren't really that dangerous.  I guess one more way is that they run out of their popularity and won't even be picked up to be read.  I feel books aren't that dangerous. 

Blog 8: Hunger Games

In addition to your "reaction," include a clip or link to a song, music video, movie clip, television segment, work of art, poem, blog entry, (etc, just one link), that you feel in some way "connects" to or further "illustrates" the events in this novel.

Once I started reading Hunger Games, I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but after finishing it, I really enjoyed the book.  I couldn't put it down half the time because I wanted to know what would happen and if Katniss survived.  I was on the edge of my seat half the time reading and reading to know how the ending played out.  After finishing Hunger Games, it makes me want to get the second book and read that just to know what happens with Katniss after winning the games.  Then there is also the fact of what will happen to her now between Peeta and Gale.  So in all, I found the book entertaining and very interesting.  It made me think about us as viewers  now and why we like to watch tv and certain reality shows.  As I was reading, I found myself responding to Katniss and Peeta.  I just kept asking myself why would Peeta join forces with the other tributes, did he really just go against Katniss or did he really fall in love with Katniss.  I kept reading to also know if they ended up together and if they had to kill one another.

In a way, I think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in a way relates to the Hunger Games beacuse in the movie, Harry and a bunch of chosen students play in these games against each other to win.  They have to win against each other, out play eachother to win the a cup.  In a way the movie is similar in that they are just teenagers playing for their lives and need to outplay to win.  They get interviewed and everything, become stars and the entire student body watches to see what happens.  They cheer them on and influence them.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtMj2wgN5UY ..... here's one video about the first task, they have to battle dragons.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIQPoRc5Pd0&feature=related ..........  heres the third task, they have to save friends of theirs and out swim, outsmart their opponents to win.  They create alliances and help each other.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK0DOZentoM&feature=related ....  and here was the last task they had to do, a life or death situation they had to beat their opponents.  So in a way it is similar to to The Hunger Games being chosen to play games against each other and be put in life or death situations.  And the entire school watching and wizard world knowing who is winning and who died.

I think that other novels we've read so far, Feed, Culture Jam and 1984, I guess in a way they are working "in conversation" with each other in that this is what our culture has come down too.  In Culture Jam is all about our culture aspects on life and the reality aspects of how our cutlure reacts in certain situations.  In Hunger Games, it's just a story about how people react towards television and how much satisfaction and joy we get from watching tv, especially reality shows.  We find it entertaining to watch people in real life on tv doing stupid stuff or participating in games for money.  In a way, these books relate in that it is about how our culture is acting and how we are losing our "nature of the world".  Some people sit at home night after night, week after week, watching reality television just for enjoyment and entertainment. 

Which just a little comment, I don't know if you know but in 2012, there will be a movie based on the book releasing.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2szX6ClpNrA   the trailer......

Reality TV; How we love to watch it

In our lives or culture today, we watch television constantly and what we view we find entertaining.  Whether it's a cruesome movie, we find it entertaining and cool.  When it comes to reality television, shows such as "Jersey Shore", Desperate Housewives of New Jersey" and even "Survivor", we find these shows entertaining because it's real people and real situations.  It is all drama that we as viewers feed off of.  We love to watch drama and the fights between the people.  We as the audience influence these shows, because we become huge fans of the reality shows.  With all the viewers ratings, there are more seasons of shows.  Survivor is in their like 20th season or something because we like seeing the drama and the challenges these people face.  In "Jersey Shore", we as viewers, fell in love with the people and made them famous.  We always want to snap a picture of them when we see them on the boardwalk.  The reality television stars know viewers want drama and action, so they make it entertaining. 

In "Jersey Shore", I like that show, I know it's dumb but the people in it make it very entertaining.  Ronnie and Sam are fighting about that guy at the club Karma.  Snooki and Dena make it funny with all the stupid dumb funny stuff they say and do.  These people face these situations day to day, they create drama and fight about girls and guys.  If you notice the stars have no TV's in the house or their rooms or cell phones, so they interact with each other and create drama and so they can put on a good show.  Vinny, Pauly and Mike "The Situation", go to the club and always bring back girls that are DTF.  Like honestly, I think these girls just go home with them just to say they were on the show.  But in last seasons episode, Jenni and Sam fought each other and didn't talk for the longest time, now they became friends again.  The other episode, Snooki gets arrested and created more drama and excitement because she was a drunk mess and made everyone laugh.  People on the boardwalk were taking photos and staring as she was excorted by cops.  "Jersey Shore" is on it's third well just ended their 3rd season, and it values the boys competition between bringing girls home, the "smarts" of Snooki and Deena" and how the boys bring home girls, debating whether they are grenades or not. 

In the last episode of the Jersey Shore I saw, Ron got mad at Sammi for texting a friend to meet her at the club, Karma.  Mike creates drama by telling Ronni about what the guy said and Ronni flipped.  Sammi came out and yelled at Mike for getting into her business.  Mike called up the guy and asked if he and Sammi hooked up or anything, he said they made out but nothing happened and Ron flipped.  Earlier in the episode, Mike pulled on a prank on Deena and Snooki.  Those two crazy girls thought they were going to a bar/restuarant, but Mike calls them a cab and sends them to NYC, they don't realize till they see the city and realize they are not going and were pranked.  I'm sorry, I looked all over for a video of their drama, but none were good enough and if I gave a clip, it would be the whole episode. But here is a preview of what happened in their season three of all the stars in the Jersey Shore and you can see how much drama there is and how entertaining it is!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cwg00f7AbI


I watch this show almost every Thursday with my roommates or we watch the reruns.  We watch it cause of the drama and the funny stuff they do and what they pull on each other.  It just makes us laugh and feel like we are smarter.  As our role of the viewer, our role is to make this show popular and make the show famous.  We recite some of the lines that is said from the show and there are even T-shirts that have some sayings from the show.  We make the show popular and make the reality starts popular by just watching it. 

Big Brother Today

It's scary how everything is monitored in our world today.  Look at websites you go to and what you surf on the internet, when you go on another site there are advertisements that show up on what you were looking at.  It is how they try to sell to you but also it's weird how the ads just show up like they know what you like and dislike.  Facebook and MySpace does the exact same thing.  Everything you post on someone's wall or post as your statu, or even post about your likes and interests, favorite movies and information about yourself, the internet knows.  Ads will pop up like they know all about you.  If you post your status as going to Florida, an ad will pop up on the sides on facebook about resorts in Florida.  I guess what I am saying is Big Brother is everywhere through technology and online in our society today.   

I don't know if we lost our privacy today, I guess I feel that in a way we have.  It seems the government controls what we are allowed to know.  But also, almost everything on the internet we look at, is viewed by someone or thing. I don't know, I also feel that we do have our privacy.  We have privacy in our own homes, at school, we aren't monitored all them time.  I wouldn't like that, in 1984, if we were being monitored constantly, I would revolt.  I need and love my privacy.  I couldn't handle being watched all the time.  Yes I think privacy still exists, but little of it.  We really only have privacy in our own homes.  Online, in public places, forget it, everything we view or post, or whatever, someones watching and knowing.  If some people are willing to give up some freedoms for safety, good for them.  In my opinion, I think it depends on what freedoms they are for our safety.  Like, coming from a journalist perspective, if we gave up freedom of the press, and not write about a certain I don't know a terrorist story to keep us safe, then fine sure.  In hopes that terrorists don't read the story.  I know it may seem a little confusing, but again I think it depends what freedoms we have to keep us safe, maybe I could do that.  In 1984, how they pretty much give up everything they've ever known, lived through, how they can't think certain thoughts, I could never do that.  I like the life we live in now.  I don't think I could give anything that i've ever known up.       

Life without a Feed - Blog #5

To live life without the Feed, is a little different, I can't connect with people through the m-chat, so I don't know whether or not they are talking about me.  It is a little hard to get used to, but I am managing.  I like not getting those pop up commercials or advertisement type things.  I am saving money without using the feed.  I feel free to make my own choices and think for myself.  It seems that all the people around me with feeds, talk within themselves, they seem too caught up in it, they forget about the world outside.  Life is easier, if other people talk about me through their chats, well let them, I am smarter and a better person.  I enjoy life, speak up for myself, express my opinions in person and I know how to read and write.  I am homeschooled and learn a lot about the world and history.  Most kids my age, proabably don't care or know nothing of the world.   

I find the feed, useful but at the same time, a waste of life.  I don't know, I like experiencing life, nature and thinking for myself.  I like not being caught up in m-chatting.  It seems, every person who has one, focuses on just that, and just use that to talk to people.  They don't like confronting people in person if they have a problem to talk about.  They are too caught up in the Feed.        

Blog #4: To live deliberately........

Living in nature with only yourself and the resources around you would definitely be a challenge.  Look at our world today, we surround ourselves playing games, texting, using the computer and watching tv.  Thoreau did have a good idea, "I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach."  Living in a cabin by yourself in the woods, I think is a good way to learn about yourself and how live life slowly to its fullest.  I think it's very important to live in the now and take every chance and experience you can get.  I know when I go camping, I forget about home and wish to  just stay there because it is fun.  I love staying in tents, having campfires, wandering through the woods.  I love just taking in that world and enjoying every minute of it, sometimes I just want to go back home.  I couldn't live out in the woods for a long time though, only because I can't live without certain things in my life.  Such things including my phone, the computer, and tv. 

If I had to make the choice of living in a cabin with no technological devices, only me and nature, I don't know if i could do it.  On the surface, I feel like I could do it, but deep down, I feel like there would have to be at least one day I would have to look at my phone or go on the internet. 

Although, I do know what is like, living withough a cell phone not being able to talk to anyone.  I know most people need thier phones to talk to people or text.  I forgot my charger at home and when I was here at school, my phone died.  I couldn't use my phone for like a week, it was so tough.  It was definitely an eye opener, I was more social with my friends when I wasn't texting.  It was tough yes, but living without a phone for a week definitely turned things upside down.  I did a lot more social things, and it felt good to not carry my phone at my hip all the time.  That is what Thoreau is trying to say, I feel like.  That try something new and different, live without your luxury, "mechanical aid" he said, and live without your necessities of life, see how different and fulfulling your world will be. 

That is what we should all experience, a life full of experience and slow it down a little.  Take everything in.  "why should we live with such hurry and wast of life." Thoreau said.  It seems like everytime some new game or iPad type thing, or new phone comes out, it seems like people need to have it; so they go out and buy it right away.  They hurry to try the new fad or trend.  Why not take it one day at a time, who cares about hurrying to get the new iPhone, or get the new technology out for people to use.  We waste our lives away playing with our new toys.  Why not go outside make the day last longer, go camping, skydiving, or rockclimbing.  Go live in a cabin for a few weeks with only your friends.  I think it would be a blast and you could say you've done that when no one else has.  It would definitely be an eye opener. 

Emerson in a somewhat confusing way, in his own way, is saying almost the same thing as Thoreau.  In that we need to experience our natural world, "ablsove you to yourself."  I also feel that he does have a good point in that "I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think."  Do what you want to do, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.  If you want to go bungee jumping off a bridge, go do it, experience it for yourself, don't let your peers tell you it's too dangerous.  I live like that sometimes, as bad as that sounds.  I go do crazy stuff with people and when I tell that story to people, they look at me like i'm nuts.

The Dumbest Generation!!

It has occurred to me that this generation we live in today, well, is the "the dumb generation" in a way.  Growing up now, we rely on the growing technology and digital world.  We watch television how many hours in the day, while my grandparents growing up had none to watch.  They had to make their own entertainment.  Facebook, MySpace and Twitter is now the new "fad" to check gossip or know what people are doing in their lives.  That what this generation has come down too, instead of learning about history or culture, it is all about the latest tv shows, what someone's status is or who has the best phone.  In Mark Bauerlein's articles, "The Dumbest Generation", he stated, "The problem is that instead of using the web to learn about the wide world, your people instead mostly use it to gossip about each other and follow pop culture, relentlessly keeping up with the ever shifting lingua franca of being cool in school."  Which is what I just said above.  That's kinda true I feel like, I mean most people don't have a facebook or twitter, but most of the teenage population spend their lives online.  I only have a facebook and with school and stuff, I am barely on it, I'll go on it everyonce in  a while just to see whats going on, but I don't spend my life on it. 
    
 In class, when we were watching that video, "Jaywalking", when Jay Leno was asking those people questions, I was thinking to myself, like are you serious?? I knew most of those questions, "Who was Moby Dick?" ok that was an easy question.  Another question he asked, "the boy who cried.....", the lady said woof!!!!! That should have been a no brainer.  The other one that schocked me, "The tourtise and the hare".  That other girl didn't know what a hare was!!!! I was shocked that most of those people didn't know the answers to those questions.  I guess that just proves to me right there that this generation does focus mainly on the world today, the culture today and being social with friends.  It seems that with this new digital age, we just have everything handed to us.  We have high tech calculators that do everything for us, or smart phones that make our lives easier.  It's almost like we've become lazy, I feel like. 

In Bauerlein's one article, he sees it "as something new and disastrous has happened to America's youth with the arrival of the instant gratification go-go-go digital age.  The result is, essentially a collective loss of context and history, a neglect of enduring ideas and conflicts" and that our youth today know nothing about history and politics.  Which I can see is somewhat true, but not 100% true.  I feel like, most of the history we learn about is somewhat boring, you have to be interested in it to fully obtain it.  Our generation now is mostly interested in regular, fun leisure reading books.  Most history books are boring, not gonna lie.  So, I feel like we are the "dumb generation" only because it is just something we are not that interested in, we hate being bored.  It's not that we don't want to learn it, we just have different interests.  I know I love to learn about the Civil War, I could sit for hours and learn more and more about it.  It all depends on who you are and what your interests are to learn about history, culture and politics.  The world is growing, who knows, maybe the next generations are gonna become the "dumber generations".   

Blog #2; The world vs Virtual World

When I started out reading Culture Jam, I was in a state of shock because the stories and topics are so true.  The author is telling the truth about the world that no one wants to admit and actually face the reality of it all.  In Culture Jam, "Mood Disorders, it was stated that "most of us spend the majority of our time in some ethereal place created from fantasy and want." Most people do go to a world they live in that is fantasy and hide behind it.  They can express themselves more freely and not worry what others will think about them.  They have their own fantasys and a way to go to that world is through electronic media, video games.  I feel that is always happening, most people do play video games to go to their own place to get away and hide behind real life.  They don't want to face life and don't experience the nature of life.  In "Second Skin", the D2L videos, they enhance the facts stated in Culture Jam.  People create a place of fantasy and live in it through games, spending hours upon hours in it.  The people of the D2L videos, admitted that they "always go back to the game because they don't want to deal with life."  Sometimes real life is better then virtual world, they can't hide forever.  In "Posthuman", the passage is just stating more facts that game addicts start up a virtual world and then lose sight of the natural world.  Our world is growing fast with the new mass media technology and consuming people's lives. They lose the sight of the nature around them and become an "alien or outsider" in the real world.  Gamers feel like they have the power to say what they want and do what they want in their virtual world.  It maybe easy for gamers to live in their virtual world, but its not easy to get out of their virtual world.
I don't play video games so I wouldn't know how addictive these games are.  Most of my guy friends are the ones that spend some of their time playing games like World of Warcraft or Black Ops.  They play yes, to get away from life and relax, freeing their minds.  Although, they also play just to play and make time pass by.  It's crazy to think that these people play ALL the time, for hour on end.

Intro of Me, Allie

Hi!! My name is Allie, it is not short for Alison, it is just Allie.  I am a Junior here at Ship, majoring in Communications/Journalism with a Minor in Business.  I am a member of PRSSA and I have written a few stories for the Slate.  I love to ski when I have the time, I swim for exercise as well as run.  Over the summer was the only time I was able to read for fun.  I love to read mysteries, thrillers and fiction books.  I think the last book I read was Change of Heart by Jodi Picult and before that I read the Charleine Harris book series based on the HBO show True Blood.  I took this class to fill in a Gen Ed. elective, but I chose this class because I like to read and talk about what happened in the books.  Throughout my high school career I took Lit classes as well as my freshman year in college.  I am always into and interested in popular culture such as television, movies and music.  I am a big movie buff, I love to watch movies.  I love to listen to music, new and old.  In my opinion, I feel literature is about reading, writing and bringing ideas of books, poems, song lyrics or anything together.  I feel literature is to get a better understanding of certain things and ideas.