#GETREAL

The Sports Stuff

       I'm not super interested in sports, nor have I ever been super interested in sports. Sure, I like to play soccer and wallyball with my friends but outside of my own playing, I couldn't care less about what's happening in the sports world. With that being said, I found the video we watched in class to be super intriguing. I never thought about the politics of sports before... mainly because I don't pay attention to it in general but also because it never occurred to me that there could be more to sports than the sport if that makes sense.
       I guess what I'm trying to say is that he was absolutely right when he stated it's political. I'm not saying I believe that everything about sports is political. I'm more so thinking about it as athletics being political and the athletes being the pawns. What I mean by this is if you look at the Pat Tillman thing, would the media have been so into hiding the truth if Pat had just been your average American soldier? I don't think so. I think it was a chance for the media to have a story for a longer period of time. Yeah, Pat had his own views on everything but it was only a huge deal because of the scandalous story. If they had straight up told the truth from the beginning, would it be such a big deal? I think the issue was football and the military and the positive connection they supposedly have with each other.
       If you look at the Michael Jordan thing and how he did certain things to uphold his sponsors desires and things like that... he did them to cover his own butt and keep his sponsors happy. I'm not saying it's right or anything but it is what it is. Nike sponsors him and therefore it reflect poorly on both of them for him to be wearing Reebok or anything else. This doesn't make what he did right but he did what he had to to please the people giving him money. I guess my main point would be that I think the politics of everything use the athletes to get what they want.
        If athletes were doing all of these things for free and didn't have reputations to uphold or sponsors to impress and such, then things would be completely different. It's a little crazy to think about what some people would do for money and glory but everyone has to admit that they have done or would do something for the glory or money. So, based off of the little bit of exposure to this type of thing I experienced today I would say sports are political to a point for sure but I'm not positive *how* political.

(Real)ity TV

      So, I'm not a huge fan of shows like Duck Dynasty or Honey Boo Boo but I'll admit I've seen a little bit of them. I've just never been super impressed. Partially because it's all fake or a lot of it is fake. When you look at reality TV shows you always have to enter it with the thought that it isn't real in the back of your mind. The networks that host these shows have ratings to get, reputations to uphold and viewer count goals (I don't know what to call that) achieve. For me, I don't watch much TV but I never watch shows like this as my first choice when I do. They're always the, "there's nothing else on TV, I guess this will do" option. I'm not really too sure what makes other people want to keep watching them every week. They're sort of like the same thing different day kind of shows unlike dramas ad comedies that have a plot.
      If I had to formulate a possible reason it would be escapism. Shows like these are entertaining because they, like books and other distractions of the like, allow us to escape our realities and submerge ourselves in a warped reality that makes us feel better about our own lives. They are just like any other thing or hobby we use to get away from life. I think it just ultimately comes down to personal preference. Some people prefer to watch reality shows like Duck Dynasty and Honey Boo Boo and some prefer things like The Fosters and Pretty Little Liars.

Binge Watching

       We discussed binge watching in class and the only thing I could think about was Netlfix and watching American Horror Story with my roommate. I never binge watched anything before I had access to my roommate's Netflix account. We binge watched all kinds of things last year but the one that comes to mind specifically is American Horror Story. We watched both seasons that were available at the time during finals week. As an English major all of my course work was pretty much finished and all I had to do was go to class and turn in final papers. She was the same way so we just spent the entire week binge watching AHS. Then we got to the end and didn't know what to do with ourselves but it was the end of the week so we then moved out and moved on with our lives.
        I didn't really think too much of binge watching until we discussed it in class. It's something I do on rainy days or days where I feel like being a bum. However, I definitely don't lose sight of important things when I'm doing it. I still go to class and get all of my things done. It's something I like to do when nothing else sounds good, ya know?
       I think things like Netflix, CouchTuner, Project Free TV, etc just make it incredibly easy to watch multiple episodes in a row. A lot of the times things do repeat on TV in real time but they usually only show one middle of a random season episode and then a completely different show is on afterwards... unless they are running a marathon. So, Netflix and the like make it more convenient because you can pick a show you're in the mood for and watch as much as you want.
       The fact that you can watch whatever you want without the interruptions of annoying commercials that are never really that exciting or appealing is soooo nice. I've seen a million (maybe not, but it sure feels like it) Geico commercials, but I'm still not switching. I would say the no commercial thing is probably the best part about binge watching. I can watch what I want for as long as I want and I don't have to hear the Geico lizard speak one single time. It's a beautiful thing.

Princess Culture

I think and have always thought the real issue and driving force behind horrible children in general and these "princesses" we discussed in class today are the parents. I don't think cutting out a little girl’s princess exposure will stop her from being a spoiled little brat if her parents let her be one. You know what I mean? 
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Ariel, Jasmine, and Belle were some of my closest friends and I hung out with them on a regular basis.  Yes, I had toys from the movies, dressed up like Disney princesses, and reenacted with friends around the neighborhood but I didn’t associate being a princess with getting whatever I wanted. 
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I guess what I'm getting at is that I grew up with the Disney princesses and all kinds of pink toys and crowns and such and I turned out just fine. It wasn't because one morning my mother shut down my princess aspirations during breakfast either. My parents called me Princess when I was little but I never took it for more than a nickname type deal. Were my parents just better at letting me see what the real world was about at a younger age than most little girls? 
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At the time I know I was angry with my parents for not letting me have whatever I wanted and asked for but I can see now that one of the most important things my parents taught me was the meaning of the word "no." I learned that I didn’t need everything I asked for and that although I may have wanted whatever it was that I would live to see another day without it. 
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Princess culture isn't to blame for little girls growing into financially irresponsible, self-indulgent women. Parents who let their daughters do whatever they want and have everything they ask for are where the true problem lies.