"Is Popular Culture Making us Smarter?"

From the video and the reading Johnson says that popular culture is making us smarter. He says there's a lot of cognitive engagement in today's popular culture that we thoroughly get a cognitive workout. He uses the example of 7 year old watching him play Sims City and then knowing and fully understanding what industrial taxes are just by watching, because he was learning without realizing. He never would've learned about that in school because it would have just been boring and wouldn't have kept his attention. In a lot of games there are many quests that you have to fulfill but there aren't any clear cut specific rules on how to complete these. So you have to figure it out for yourself by poking around and trial and error. The complexity, time, effort, and commitment/mind commitment that a person puts into popular culture these days has increased.

His purpose is to show how the internet is more interactive and that it impacts the way people experience television. To strengthen his argument he shows how interactive is doing something between two things, two-sided and you have to think on your feet. He also says that since the internet has become more complicated, TV has as well. But we want complicated shows and in order to understand people will really engage with TV shows and they go to the internet to catch up/understand. His argument is less strong when he talks about "probing" because at first I didn't really understand it until we talked about it in class. Also when in the video he talked about camp 1 thought and camp 2 thought, because he didn't really go into much detail about it and it was kind of confusing.

Critiquing The News- Truthful or Meaningless?

The news segments that we viewed in class can be taken in different ways. Some say that all news has meaning while others say that the news is just a waste of time. So where do you draw the line like Chuck did in determining what's truthful and has meaning and what's meaningless and is just there to fill space? Well to me, you look at what the content is.
So take the videos that we viewed in class:

• The first video was about a 91 year old DC socialite being murdered. This segment was mostly talking about how the husband was a suspect basically, so I see this as news that's important but not that meaningful to many people because a lot of people aren't really concerned about socialites or even know what they are/do. So it may be important news to some people but not very many.
• The second video was about the son with autism being mistreated in class and as a result becoming violent. I feel like this is a very important meaningful story because there are more families out there with children that have autism that should be aware of how their kids could be being treated. It's also important because it shows the public how these teachers are allowed to get away with this sort of thing. It's a really sad and frustrating story to hear about because the kid can't help that he has autism and he's basically being bullied for it and by a teacher no less. The father is purposefully trying to put this story out there to show just what can go on. 
• The third video was about strong winds making planes shake. This video was completely used just to fill space, there was no meaning what so ever. The video may have been cool the first time seen but for them to just go on and on about it and how landing a plane here vs. America is different, the guy even said "it's fun to watch." No it's a stupid video just to fill up space.
• The fourth video was about teens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk. I feel that this video was also very important and meaningful because hand sanitizer has really become so readily available that anyone can get it. I feel like it's just like drugs, one person does it and tells a friend and then it spreads and it's really nice to hear about the problem before it gets to big because it could always be your kid that's next. This issue I feel like should be more widely known about because it is a new dangerous thing so it's important to parents so that they are aware.
• The fifth video was Russell Brand gets (mostly) serious. This video to me didn't really make any sense but then again I'm not a big follower of Russell Brand so I guess that's why I didn't care all that much. So to me, anyway, this video wasn't very meaningful I feel like it was just there to fill space.
• The last video we watched was Partying with the President. To me this was kind of a cool story but I feel like it, in some way, ties into what Chuck says about "Celebrity Journalism is a New Kind of Meaningless." I feel like it connects to this because the girl didn't even talk to Obama and she said that she's always know that he was a nice charismatic guy, a wonderful dude and he just reinforced that by shaking people's hands, autographs, etc. But again she had no conversation with him so how can she really know this? So I feel like while the story may seem interesting at first, there's no real meaningful information to be gained and it's only being made a big deal from a picture that she posted online. So I feel it was her 15 minutes of fame just to fill up space.

Defining My Generation

I feel that any Harry Potter film could define my generation. The very first movie came out in 2001 and it's the first movie that I remember going to the theater for, I may have been to others but I just don't remember. Even though I was only 8 years old I was very excited to see this movie and so was my friend that went with me. After we saw the movie we wanted to see it again and to be honest we really thought that we were going to receive a letter to attend this school because we saw the movies, haha but we ended up being disappointed. But anyway, after we saw this movie we couldn't stop talking about it and we would even pick up sticks or pencils and pretend that they were wands and pretend to be wizards. Everyone in school wanted to see this movie and once they did we had a big pretend wizard act on the playground. I remember it being so much fun and though we didn't really read the books because at the time we thought they were really big we would try and guess what would happen in the movies to come.

I feel that this movie series could define my generation because a lot of people grew up with these movies and these books, and as the characters changed I feel that we did too. We went from "wand battles" to actually trying to figure things out like Harry had too. Everyone had their favorite characters and everyone tried to be a certain character. The characters were easy to relate to, for example Harry shows us that we need to be courageous and to face our fears head on. Hermione shows us that it's okay to be a little nerdy but mainly that being smart and studying helps you to know things in time of need. Ron shows that even though you have fears, you can try and put those aside and stand up to your enemies. But the main thing that I liked that these characters showed, and not just these three but mostly all of them, friendship is possible between anyone even if your in a different "house." This movie has changed a lot of lives and has shown a lot of people different messages. I just can't believe how many people around the world have fallen in love with this series, book and movie, and how crazy of a fanbase it actually has. I also feel like it defines our generation because of how many people were said when the series was over, I know I was. I've seen this picture all over and I thought that it really helps with why I think this movie could define our generation.

Reality Television

The idea of post modernity is that we are constantly developing new technology which is a good thing but developing these technologies doesn't mean that it is making us better. This concept comes from modernism which is the idea of we are improving and progressing forward. The present is better than the past and the future will be better than both. Modernism was a good concept up until war, but ever since then we haven't been actually getting better so this has led to post modernity. With post modernity more of a grey area is formed in a lot of aspects of life but especially in reality television. Reality television calls itself real but it's the complete opposite and people even know that it's not real but still parts of us still believe or get emotionally invested/attached. So to put it shortly, we accept fake and real at the same time which we do all of the time in a post modern world. So for example, Teen Mom may look real but it's scripted and you only see what they want you too or one aspect of a person. We know that being a teen mom isn't really how it is as it's portrayed in the show but yet we watch and see if Farrah, for example, gets a boyfriend or if other couples work out their issues. We get emotionally attached and we feel sorry for them when we know their lives aren't as they are portrayed on screen. I mean come on they're on TV, they have nice phones, but yet they don't have any money. I mean when you look at it like that it's hard to believe that you are a fan of the show, but you just can't help accepting both the fake and the reality.

Hip Hop and Country...Then vs Now

I feel like hip hop used to talk about everything and anything while now there's a lot of gang talk, race, money, drugs, and sex. I'm not saying hip hop is bad because I personally like hip hop music, certain songs anyway. But in terms of where it is today, I feel like standards and expectations for songs have been lowered because they're not really talking about anything and everything anymore it only focuses on a couple of aspects. To me this makes listeners think that these aspects are okay and supposed to be in your everyday life a lot. I do like the quote that Staples used that said that people think murder and shootings are normal and that spending life in prison is normal too. But as for this music making people violent, I don't believe that to be true necessarily. People choose to listen to this for entertainment, behaviors (sagging of pants, etc) and styles may be replicated but every person who listens isn't running out to join a gang or going out and shooting up places. The video below definitely shows the differences between 80's, 90's and current hip hop music.(ignore the comments made by the maker of the video, I don't agree with what they say)

I feel like country music used to focus a lot on love, which it still does, and about anything. Now a days country has progressed and become more popular and it talks about incorporating romance into any type of situation. It also talks about people having affairs. I think the likable that country incorporates is that it's easy on the ears and that the artists can basically sing about anything and be able to relate to many different types of people. So from the past to now, the same basic aspects are talked about with the same messages, but as it's evolved artists have incorporated more diverse things that people can relate to. The lyrics, as Chuck says, are simple which makes it easier for the listeners to hear and understand the words and get the message that's coming across. Even if you can't relate to the whole song there are bits and pieces that you can. The video below shows how country music songs have evolved. I feel like in every song there's a sense of emotion always present. You can hear the different styles, and if you were to listen to each song in full you could probably relate in some way or another. I'm a fan of country music as well so I know that I'm able to relate to some of these.

Playfulness

In "Bootleg Culture" the issue of play is addressed by the different mash ups that are frequently made these days. This involves taking someones instrumental music and adding someones vocals to it usually completely opposite genres; ex. the Rick Astley vs. Nirvana Never Gonna Give/Smells Like Teen Spirit we saw in class. It's not always a song but it can also be a video with different audio. Play is also addressed when artists use pastiche and kitsch. Pastiche being an imitation of work previously done by a different artist mixed with other factors and made into something new. Kitsch being a low quality work thrown together. The power of bootleg comes about when people begin to use recordings of audio or video that hasn't been legally released by artists or any other authority. So the power of play here is a threat to the legal and economic side of the world because if enough people steal music there's no need to buy it and the artists don't make money. Also people violate copyright when they use people's music/products in mash ups with out permission.

In "Billy Sim" the issue of play is addressed when Chuck talks about how the Sims is a game where you can do what you do in everyday life. Kids play this and while it makes them grow up faster and educates them, it also makes them think like a computer. Computers and video games are limited in the way they operate, they have fixed rules so what is, is and we accept it as that. The power of the Sims shows that buying stuff for the character makes them happy, they're materialistic and say that's how it is in life too. It was said in the Jane Mcgonigal video that humans are happier working hard then relaxing which is what happens in video games with all of the various journeys, etc. Power in video games has a heavy influence on people these days and sometimes people even lose touch with reality.

"Tough Guise"

Masculinity is so closely linked to toughness and violence in our society because we basically view violent masculinity as a culture norm. Guys make up a projection or a disguise or a mask however you want to put it, it's basically a front that guys put up through violence for admiration. They want to be a "real man" but that's such a narrow definition it's hard to place. When guys were asked to define what a "real man" is, most said tough, strong, etc. Then when asked what happens when you aren't a "real man" most said you're a wimp, fag, etc. Insults like these are used to keep boys boxed into this narrow definition.

There's a growing connection between being a man and being violent. Statistics from the video revealed that 85% of murders are committed by men, 90% of assaults are committed by men, 95% of domestic violence incidents are committed by men, 95% of dating violence is committed by men, 80-90% of child sexual violence is committed by men, victims of male homocides: 76% men and 24% women. It is also said that 81% of abused boys grow up to be abusers themselves. Manhood is linked to dominance and control, we see this all around. While women, overtime, are getting smaller and thinner guys are getting bigger and stronger. We see this in movies, shows, but even children's toys like G.I. Joe and Barbie for example. In the movies we see how men and their guns were small but

now they've gotten bigger and we can see this in the Terminator. There's nothing natural about what is being shown, there's mostly always men in charge, this reflects men's anxieties on the screen and makes them feel better about themselves. It's all a response to a threat of masculinity.

This whole concept of "Tough Guise" argues that masculinity is not natural or you aren't born with it, that you have to put on this disguise to hide who you really are just to be accepted as a "real man" and get made fun of. Correct me if I'm wrong but my view of a "real man" is a gentleman who would never lay a violent hand on a  woman. A "real man" is a respectable one that isn't afraid to be who he is. But that's even hard because even if there isn't a "tough guise" put on around you, you can bet he has it on around his friends.