COMM 322 Grop Project PSA - 'Facebook activism'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_-CYD8aM2U&feature=youtu.be

Video Games

I was really impressed with the TED talk and discussion about Video Games today. Honestly, my opinion on video games has changed drastically since my significant other and I got together five years ago. Before we started dating, he told me that he SOMETIMES played video games, and that they were a way for him to relax after work or school. Fearing the worst, that he would be spending most of his time playing them while we were supposed to be spending time together, I took a leap of faith. I honestly never saw him play games in front of me for three years, until we moved in together, and even then, he would always wait until I was asleep or at school/work to even turn on his system. Then he purchased a game called L.A. Noire, a game set in 1940's Los Angeles about detectives investigating crimes. Now I was hooked. Not only were the sets gorgeous, the graphics amazing, the music, even the FEEL of the game was amazing... I would sometimes ask him to just put on the title screen and let me listen to the music that plays there while I slept. ( the soundtrack is top notch.) This notion gave him an idea, and as he loves Film Noir best out of any genre, he felt like I should then see some of the films from that time period that inspired the game. This has opened up an entire world to me of crime, shadow tactics, and amazing dialogue associated with this era of film. Most recently, I have begun watching him play the Assassin's Creed franchise, mainly because, although a fictional game, most of the main characters are based on historical fact and historical places. ( also very beautiful to watch.) My feeling is that if a video game can interest people into some sort of historical facet of life and to remember where all this came from, then at the very least they can be all that bad.  

Hey yo! We talking about weed over here!

In recent months, the sports world has been aflame with the medicinal 
marijuana discussion, with everyone from the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League having opinions, thoughts and reservations on the matter. Today Blake Griffin, a power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers, came out with comments in Rolling Stone Magazine about his position on the subject. His position on the matter was that, although "seemingly not affected at all", he felt that any development into figuring out pain relieving methods for players was a good idea.  Pete Carroll, the coach of the Seattle Seahawks had this to say weeks before his team won the Super Bowl. "We have to explore and find ways to make our game a better game and take care of our players in any way possible." "Regardless of what other stigmas might be involved, we have to do this because the world of medicine is doing this." Players in the NBA play 82 games in a regular season, NFL 16 grueling weeks of knocking each other around, and the MLB stands around for 162 games, and that can be tiring... I say let them kick back, relax, and get high as they want to be. They are famous, correct? I mean why not give all the famous people all the weed they want and let them get stoned, and not let the normal person get high? I just don't get why it's okay to discuss it for players, yet not give it to everyone? I don't even smoke weed, I just want fair rights for everyone. If sports stars can do it, so should everyone be allowed.

Progress at a Halt

Twenty- something year old women have been increasingly pervasive in popular culture: from fashion to food, to men and slang. But for the most part, the sitcoms marketed towards this girl centered type of entertainment seem so superficial.  The New Girl, Two Broke Girls, and Girls are all just examples of this surface level silliness. The characters are contrived and while they positively portray women as sexy and comedic and edgy, that’s all I really see them being portrayed as.

 There are also sitcoms that portray women as driven, intelligent, successful, and just as complex as any other character on the show. Some of these consist of Parks and Recreation, Law and Order, and The Office. Although I would prefer the latter options over the former, there are still issues that need to be worked out; none of the successful female leads are mothers. It’s impossible to do both right? – For women anyway.

Women have made some headway in the media, and it has taken long enough. Lucy, from I Love Lucy, wasn’t allowed to say that she was pregnant during the show, only “expecting.” I Dream of Jeannie and Gilligan’s Island were the first shows that aired apparently scandalous navels, and Anne Marie from That Girl refused to make her season finale a wedding- to reinforce that is not every woman’s primary goal.

But where have we come since the 60’s and 70’s? The progressions of women on television and in film have not been very significant. The statistics for women in the top grossing films of 2013 are grim. Women make up 29% of major characters, 15% of protagonists, and 30% of all speaking characters. Cate Blanchett justifiably rips Hollywood in this article for treating women as a niche audience and for making little to no progress in casting women as major movie roles. http://www.thewrap.com/cate-blanchett-women-little-progress-landing-major-movie-roles-study .The article reveals that it is not looking good for women on Broadway either.

In Culmination, it would be nice if this girl power movement, the rise of women in comedy, and “2013: the year of women and TV”, would actually make some legitimate progression. If Hollywood and Broadway would give women more serious roles, if the serious women portrayed on TV actually had a life outside of work, or if the female leads in sitcoms weren't so superficial and bad for your health. 

Have It Their Way (with horse meat)

Last year, the horse meat found in Burger King's beef in the United Kingdom drew attention from the media worldwide. Though it may sound unbelievable, an article from the Guardian newspaper verified the horse meat scandal. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jan/31/burger-king-horsemeat. Authorities insisted that there are no dangers to consumers, but still dropped the supplier, Silvercrest Foods. The legal import of horse meat in Britain was 30 tons last year from all sources combined.

The horse meat scandal has become a reoccurrence with many suppliers and distributors. Horse meat is cheaper than beef after all. After the Burger King fiasco, Aldi became the first supermarket to withdraw its "beef" products, with beef products containing up to 100% horse meat. Aldi claimed to feel angry and let down by their supplier Tesco, after the DNA testing of their beef. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/09/aldi-100-percent-horsemeat-beef-products. 

Shortly after, Ikea joined the list of distributors involved in the sales of horse meat. In 2013, Ikea withdrew their signature Swedish meatballs from markets and cafeterias. While this horse meat epidemic has only been uncovered in Europe, they have still belonged to many big names and brands that people trust. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/world/europe/ikea-recalls-its-meatballs-horse-meat-is-detected.html?pagewanted=all

A few months after this horse meat surfacing, Obama moved to ban slaughter of horses for human consumption.  The plan was to prevent money from being spent on inspection of horse slaughtering facilities. Without inspection, these facilities cannot operate. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/11/business/obama-moves-to-block-slaughter-of-horses-for-meat.html. In conclusion, I wonder if the treatment of our animals in slaughterhouses, the process of our meat packaging, and the conditions of our factory workers were to become world wide news like the Burger King scandal, would something be done legally? 

Jess the Vampire Slayer

On Parasocial Relationships -  Buffy and I are just some misunderstood girls trying to make it in the real world.  In high school, we were trying to balance our life of crime fighting with a normal teenage lifestyle.

When I first watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer I was in elementary school. I then re-watched the series in high school. Buffy and I had a lot in common when I got older: the typical teenage outcast feeling, daddy issues, and homework problems. We both dreamt about older boys a lot. I looked up to her because it seemed that Buffy always tried her best to do the right thing, while remaining super cool and mysterious. For many instances in the show I would think to myself, “Come on Buffy, just tell your mom you’re the slayer,” or “Don’t hide your super strength, they deserve it.”

I would go to sleep dreaming about being in an all girl motorcycle gang or joke around and ask my friends if they wanted to take any tae kwon do classes (it was only a joke because none of them wanted to). I didn’t have any powers so I had to compensate. I wanted to be a sort of vigilante also. This probably had to do with too many superhero shows in general, but Buffy was the most influential in my youth.

Buffy and I aren’t as close as we were in high school but the show is still one of my favorites. For me, exposure time affected how strong the parasocial relationship was.  The more time I spent watching the shows and working my way through the seasons, the stronger the bond grew. I think parasocial realationships form because we all long for camaraderie and inclusion. Keeping up with healthy work, friend, and family relationships require a lot of effort. To keep up with a parasocial relationship all you have to do is turn on the TV.