Facebook Shmasebook

Facebook has hit the fan, recently. It is an overload of information. Although I care about my friends, I do not want to know what they write on someone else’s wall, or see what comment they made on someone else’s photo, or have a live feed of their every move. Although I have a definite addiction to social media, the main website that I was most addicted to has become my worst nightmare. Facebook is pushing me away.

The worst part about Facebook pushing me away is that I still feel obligated to check my notifications every day, multiple times a day. It makes me feel like I have to answer to it, or my friends will see that I never responded… and that isn’t nice not to respond to your friends on Facebook.

Apparently another thing that isn’t nice to do on Facebook, is deny their friend request. Instead of declining their request all together, you have to hit “Not Now”, as if to say, “we’re not friends right now, but maybe in the future we will be! J”. No, we probably won’t, especially if they are from some distant state and are 30 years older than me. People deny friend requests for a reason, and I feel like Facebook has taken that away. Are Facebook friend requests so serious that it makes us let people down easy? How does that help with rejection in real life?

It doesn’t.

But…

Facebook doesn’t really help with a lot of things in real life.

Music Military

Video games are not the only way our society is being introduced to a more militaristic culture. Music videos are looking more and more militaristic as this decade spans on. I wonder if the videos are reflecting the times, with America being at war, or if they are unknowingly desensitizing our society to the military as well.

One of the first videos I think of is Rihanna’s music video for “Hard”. This was the second time I had noticed a military theme to a music video. The first was Jay-Z’s “Run This”. I also noticed that it was a very stylized military, obviously, since music videos are supposed to be artistic (depending on who is talking about them), but it was as if they featured the same theme of being in a military controlled state. As if the military had taken over.

Here is Jay-Z’s as well.

Then I started noticing Lady Gaga doing it.

Beyonce has the same military take over feel in her video as well.

I think the thing that surprised me the most was the international response to this trend. In Korea, there seems to be a military theme as well.

In this video, The Brown Eyed Girls are facing a similar looking military style takeover.

There is also the other side of the military spectrum, where the military guns and gear are made to look playful.

Is it just that the big stars are focusing on a trend? Are they just trying to make their music videos reflect the times, as I mentioned before? By no means do I think they are promoting a military style takeover, I just thought it interesting to see such a trend with the major music artists in the industry. Regardless of the purpose, it is still military exposure, but these videos make it more of a style than anything else.

Maybe they were just paying homage to a classic?

Princesses

As I was saying in class, I was very interested in the Princess/Superhero discussion, because it did not directly correlate with my childhood. Growing up, I was a complete and total “tom boy”. I cut off all of my hair at the age of 5, started wearing boy clothes, and 95% of my friends were boys in and out of school. My parents were never threatened by my want to express who I was. I was me. I could still play with dolls and watch Disney movies, and I still got along with little girls… I just hated majority of little girl clothes and little girl toys. I thought they were stupid, and I would have much rather played with toys that were marketed towards boys. Eventually, I just became more “girly” on my own, probably around puberty.

I always feel thankful that my parents raised me the way they did. Never put pressure on me to be someone I wasn’t or someone they wanted me to be. It fascinates me that these extreme parents on Toddlers in Tiaras, My Super Sweet 16, etc. are so concerned with putting money and time into making their child so “perfect” and treating them like a princess, that they are basically making their daughter into the perfect representation of who they wish she would be.

Parents living vicariously through their children. That’s what I see. Kids being allowed to disrespect their parents and others at a young age. That is what I also see. There is nothing wrong with teaching someone they are special, because I believe everyone is special. The bad is when special becomes entitlement. Entitlement means monster.

http://jezebel.com/5012768/legendary-super-sweet-16-ingrate-revisited

Reality Tv Junkie

I love reality television. I watch shows like big brother and survivor, which happen to be two of my favorite shows. I think that what I love about reality television is that I can depend on certain people to act a certain way. I can depend on the drama, and the high emotion that you see on the show. Like when I watch keeping up with the Kardashians I can depend on Kim to always have a problem, and her mom to always get involved. Or when I watch the jersey shore I can depend on snooki to get really drunk. I like that these elements will always be there for me. It’s because of those that I watch the show. I know that it can be called trash television but I really don’t care because sometimes I just want to be entertained. So I know that reality TV does a great job at keeping me interested and entertained. I don’t know what I would do if the Jersey Shore did not have snooki anymore. There would be absolutely no point in watching the show. So I think that what makes the reality show so popular is the common factor they all have. They have that one person or person’s that makes people want to come back and watch more

Princess and Superheroes cont'd

Personally, I think that parents have a right to raise their kids how they want to. If they want to let their children dress themselves like in the Adam Sandler film Big Daddy or put their daughters in pageants, that is one parents' right. Do I think that parents always have the best interest for their child or themselves; I’ll let you be the judge of that.

I see nothing wrong with putting a little boy in a decked out Batman suit because he looks handsome or masculine. I have no problem buying Disney products for a little girl to dress in. Disney may not appeal to all and are stereotypical with their gender roles, but I feel like Walt Disney backed the company with a mindset of family. What else are parents supposed to do put their child in all white or black clothing to be neutral, that’s no fun.

Superheroes and princesses give children something to believe in when they are little. It allows their mind to run wild with endless possibilities. I know I am a little hypocritical because I wrote a previous blog about princess culture and the show toddlers and tiaras. Even though the show personally disgusts me, I do not have a right to tell mothers and fathers how to raise their children. I grew up watching Disney and not once did I question the gender roles or really think about how the females were being portrayed. To me those films were all about the music. My twin sister and I used to dress up in costumes for all different characters male and female and sing along to the songs. I agree now being older, I cannot believe some of the content in these movies but as a child I never understood, this is why I believe that Disney movies are harmless to children. Therefore, I say yes to free spirits and movies that challenge gender roles and I say yes to movies that portray gender roles. Currently both can exist and the world will still function with praises and haters.

Military in Sports

In the video we watched in class last week, the narrator was really worked up about soldiers being showcased at national sporting events, particularly a few Marines being sworn in on home plate during a baseball game. He seemed to be trying to persuade the audience to think it's wrong to do something, anything really, involving the military and sports. I wholeheartedly disagree. Unlike him, I don't believe that those Marines were being sworn in at that baseball game to make some kind of statement or employ propaganda. I think that Major League Baseball just wanted to honor those who fight to protect our country so that we can do things like play baseball.

My brother-in-law Jeff fought in Iraq for 16 months. On days where he didn't have to go on missions, he and his buddies would throw a football around, shoot baskets, play a game of baseball, etc. Sports are a huge part of military life. It keeps the men sane. It gives them something to look forward to when they go out on missions. To turn on a baseball game and see your fellow soldiers being honored at a game is like being honored yourself. Plus, as I brought up in class, why shouldn't acts like this happen at sporting events? A lot of these sports were created during times of war. I just think in the case of those Marines, the film's narrator was looking into it a little too deeply.

Flash Mobs

I know it's been a while since we talked about flash mobs, but something is still bugging me about the readings. I know flash mobs have been going on for the better part of a decade now, but I just really started hearing about them maybe two to three years ago. From what I gathered, flash mobs are exciting acts of complete randomness. I also gathered that the participants of the flash mob are the only ones who know about it ahead of time.

However, in the readings all three authors explain how flash mobs have taken a dangerous turn, where innocent bystanders are getting shot or mugged. But what I'm questioning is, why are these violent acts considered to be by flash mobs? Isn't this just organized crime? How is these acts any different from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929? The seven men who were shot didn't know it was going to happen and the men who did the shooting organized it well beforehand. As Urban Dictionary puts it (and I know it's not the greatest source, but bear with me), a flash mob is "a group of people who appear from out of nowhere, to perfom predetermined actions, designed to amuse and confuse surrounding people. The group performs these actions for a short amount of time before quickly dispersing." I agree with all of the above, especially that they are designed to amuse. Obviously nothing is amusing about getting beat up, having your wallet stolen, or worse, getting killed.