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| Picture take from Perezhilton.com |
Thursday, January 27, 2011
A Shore Thing
Thought I would put this out there since we are always bringing up the Jersey Shore.
Apparently, Snooki deserves a place on bookstore shelves next to Edgar Allan Poe. Not only is she a reality genius she is also a literary icon. I don't know; I feel like there is just something kind of off about this.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Sh*t happens
"Watching tv makes you smarter" Steven Johnson
If you think really hard, I am sure you can conjure up your first memory (that one particular moment where it all begins). My first concrete memory took place when I was 3 years old. It might have been the severity of the incident that made the lasting impact. My mom was driving me to morning preschool in our minivan. And like other military children we would pass by the military bases landing strip. Seeing planes fly in and out was a normal thing, so to hear a military cargo jet coming from above was an ever day occurrence. But the sound this time was ear piercing. I remember looking out the window to see what was making the noise. Above us was a US AirForce Cargo plane on fire. Before I could look at my mom or even scream, the plane nose dived into the field directly on my right, causing the loudest sound I have ever heard. Pieces of plane flew everywhere, fire engulfed everything I saw. I sat there stunned and in tears.
My mom promptly turned around and rushed home to call the base police (we didn't have a cell phone, it was 1986). By the time we reached our house base sirens were sounding. I could not shake the visual from my mind. I sat and cried. I understood that something scary had just happened. But at three I didn't realize the severity of the crash. I couldn't wrap my head around what actually happened.
That night I somehow saw the news. They were reporting the crash and showing the people who were on board (in the military you can buy discounted plane tickets and ride in the jumper seats on cargo planes). I hadn't realized that there were even people on board until that moment. My thoughts went from just a plane on fire to people on fire in a plane on fire. I could not sleep for weeks, waking up in cold sweats, screaming at the top of my lungs. My mom finally took me to see a child therapist. The therapy helped me cope with the actual incident, but it never touched on the fear that I developed.
After the crash I developed a crippling fear of flying. I couldn't even look at a runway without shaking and getting goosebumps. At one point my parents had to sedate me so we could fly. I would have nervous breakdowns and panic attacks. Flying was terrifying and I did everything possible not to think about it.
Then in the 90's (when I started to go to the movie theater with friends) I began to encounter movies that really encompassed the storyline of plane crashes (Castaway, Con Air, Die Hard 2, Us Marshall's, Final Destination). At first I couldn't watch or even listen to the scenes where the plane goes down. But gradually, the scenes became easier to watch. And by the time I was a freshman in college the idea wasn't as scary. I started to develop a "Sh*t Happens" mentality. Planes crash and people die (it's a sad reality). When I finally came to terms with this, I took my first flight. Granted, turbulence scared me. But after my first flight I was able to fly again and again. Now it's not even a second thought. I LOVE flying. And I think that watching all those crazy 90's plane crash movies had something to do with it. I administered my own behavior modification therapy just by watching movies. And I watched these movies to feel included within my social circle.
Watching tv helped me overcome my fear. Proving to me that certain things happen that are beyond our control (sh*t happens). I think this ultimately made me smarter by allowing me to finally live my life to the fullest, by traveling and seeing things I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.
Just something I was thinking about after our class.
If you think really hard, I am sure you can conjure up your first memory (that one particular moment where it all begins). My first concrete memory took place when I was 3 years old. It might have been the severity of the incident that made the lasting impact. My mom was driving me to morning preschool in our minivan. And like other military children we would pass by the military bases landing strip. Seeing planes fly in and out was a normal thing, so to hear a military cargo jet coming from above was an ever day occurrence. But the sound this time was ear piercing. I remember looking out the window to see what was making the noise. Above us was a US AirForce Cargo plane on fire. Before I could look at my mom or even scream, the plane nose dived into the field directly on my right, causing the loudest sound I have ever heard. Pieces of plane flew everywhere, fire engulfed everything I saw. I sat there stunned and in tears.
My mom promptly turned around and rushed home to call the base police (we didn't have a cell phone, it was 1986). By the time we reached our house base sirens were sounding. I could not shake the visual from my mind. I sat and cried. I understood that something scary had just happened. But at three I didn't realize the severity of the crash. I couldn't wrap my head around what actually happened.
That night I somehow saw the news. They were reporting the crash and showing the people who were on board (in the military you can buy discounted plane tickets and ride in the jumper seats on cargo planes). I hadn't realized that there were even people on board until that moment. My thoughts went from just a plane on fire to people on fire in a plane on fire. I could not sleep for weeks, waking up in cold sweats, screaming at the top of my lungs. My mom finally took me to see a child therapist. The therapy helped me cope with the actual incident, but it never touched on the fear that I developed.
After the crash I developed a crippling fear of flying. I couldn't even look at a runway without shaking and getting goosebumps. At one point my parents had to sedate me so we could fly. I would have nervous breakdowns and panic attacks. Flying was terrifying and I did everything possible not to think about it.
Then in the 90's (when I started to go to the movie theater with friends) I began to encounter movies that really encompassed the storyline of plane crashes (Castaway, Con Air, Die Hard 2, Us Marshall's, Final Destination). At first I couldn't watch or even listen to the scenes where the plane goes down. But gradually, the scenes became easier to watch. And by the time I was a freshman in college the idea wasn't as scary. I started to develop a "Sh*t Happens" mentality. Planes crash and people die (it's a sad reality). When I finally came to terms with this, I took my first flight. Granted, turbulence scared me. But after my first flight I was able to fly again and again. Now it's not even a second thought. I LOVE flying. And I think that watching all those crazy 90's plane crash movies had something to do with it. I administered my own behavior modification therapy just by watching movies. And I watched these movies to feel included within my social circle.
Watching tv helped me overcome my fear. Proving to me that certain things happen that are beyond our control (sh*t happens). I think this ultimately made me smarter by allowing me to finally live my life to the fullest, by traveling and seeing things I wouldn't have been able to otherwise.
Just something I was thinking about after our class.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Greek - Cross Examined Life
Exploratory Post 1
Content:
Greek - Cross Examined Life
Season 4 Episode 3 (viewed on regular cable television)
Characters:
Casey - The main character in the show. Former president of ZBZ, she just graduated from CRU and has come back after the summer to attend law school. Because of the lack money, Casey moves back into the ZBZ house and takes the position of house mother.
Rusty - Is the younger brother of Casey. Some say he's a scientific genius, enrolled in the honors engineering program and the inventor and grant winner of a self healing poli(something)wire. Rusty is a brother in KTG and current pledge chair.
Dale - Rusty's roommate and best-friend. Dale has been anti-Greek for the last three season, until recently where he has shown a great interest in rushing a fraternity. Dale is the token religious college student who has always been the voice of reason.
Cappie - The president of KTG and Rusty's big brother. Cappie is also Casey's exboyfriend, who she broke up with because he couldn't figure out his direction in life. He is still at CRU undergrad (year 5 now) without a major.
Spidey - The new KTG pledge.
Plot:
A dramedy focused on the social aspect of the Greek system. The characters in the show try to find a place to fit in at Cyprus-Rhodes University.
Dale is getting antsy because he really wants to find someone of marriage quality before he graduates. To find this perfect person, Dale has decided to give up on his values that are anti-greek and rush Omega Chi (KTG's rival fraternity). To convince Dale not to rush Omega Chi, Rusty comes up with a plan to allow him to rush KTG. To convince Dale of this Rusty throws a party to prove to Dale that there are other girls out there that aren't in sororities. To get Dale to attend the party, Rusty kidnaps him from a secret Omega Chi hazing event. Spidey assists Rusty in the kidnapping, but in the heat of the moment Rusty forgets to check and make sure Spidey made it out of the Omega Chi house. In the end Spidey is left behind and the Omega Chi's duck-tape him to the outside of a building on main campus. The party to convince Dale to date different girls backfires with Dale informing Rusty that the reason he is actually rushing is because he wants to be apart of something bigger and wants to be recognized for something other than a geek. Dale declines Rusty's offer to rush KTG and says he feels Omega Chi is a better fit.
Casey has just started law school and during her first class she finds out that her acceptance into the program has somehow become law school gossip. Because of the scandalous way she was accepted, nobody wants to add her into their study groups. Apparently the class has over 100 case studies to summarize and Casey is freaking out. To try to fix the situation she confronts her professor and he tells her to suck it up. While all this is happening Ashleigh shows up and tells Casey that she got fired from her NY designer internship. Casey finds out that Ashleigh actually left without notice because she wasn't promoted to a paid position, but a girl from the show The City received the job instead. In the heat of the moment and frustration with life, Casey and Ashleigh decide to run away from Cyprus Hills. As they are about to leave, Ashleigh gets a call from her NY boss. Casey convinces her to answer the phone and during the call Ashleigh gets fired. In that moment they both realize that they can't run away from their problems. Casey unpacks the car and spends the night writing her case summaries.
Intended Audience:
The intended audience would be teen (late high school) to early 20's (college level). This is determined by the content of the show including sex, drugs, and other more complex social issues.
Educational Possibilities:
There seems to be a several important social aspect to the series.
(1) The underlining theme to Greek is acceptance. The show does a great job at showing how all the characters (from the smartest of geeks to the closeted gays) needs a place to be accepted and people to feel safe with.
(2) Conflict resolution with those of different groups with conflicting ideas and values. As well as an idea of the outcome of relationships when conflict isn't resolved.
(3) Final educational aspect of the show is the bond between friends and siblings and how important it is to be a good base of support for those close to you.
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