Pop Culture: Games, TV, etc…

So after reading Steven Johnson’s “Everything Bad Is Good For You” I have a different opinion on the impact of games, television, and other technically advanced media outlets.  I was in the same boat as the people Johnson described in his book.  I always saw the negative aspects of gaming and felt that it was too violent and had no real benefits.  After reading his book, I’m convinced that gaming has many benefits.  Yet, I’m concerned that many people are becoming obsessed with the gaming world and forgetting all the other opportunities the world has to offer.  I definitely see less children playing outside.  Instead, most kids are at home on their computers or playing the newest games.  Whatever happened to a good old game of hide and seek?  It’s great that the younger generation is becoming smarter, sharper, quicker, but shouldn’t they also be working on building their social skills? 

 I definitely agree with Johnson that the content of television shows are an indication of how we have evolved into a smarter generation.  Movies and tv shows are becoming more complicated forcing you to actually think about the main plot and subplots. 

 Technology has also allowed us to have easier access to various things, but it has also created a wider gap in class divisions.  Those with more financial resources have easier access to this technology, which helps them to maintain their status and acquire access to other things that may help them attain a higher status, while those in a lower class status are continually fighting to play catch-up. 

Johnson’s book brings up many great points about pop culture and all the different ways we have benefited from it, but it also makes me wonder what we have lost in the process.  I can feel the shift that has occurred in society.  People have so many different ways they can connect to others through cellphones, email, videos, etc…, but at the same time I feel like people are less connected.  Neighborhoods aren’t what they used to be.  I feel like people don’t connect the way they used to. 

Reenactments

So I’m taking a course right now that’s about examining reenactments.  On the first day of this course we were asked to think about what reenactments are and the first thing I thought of was my high school history teacher, because he does reenactments of the American Revolution.  Outside of historical reenactments, I couldn’t really think of anything else that would constitute being a reenactment.  So my professor tells the class to look up words like sensorium and senses and to think “outside the box” when thinking about reenactments. 

Now I’m beginning to slowly grasp how broadly the term reenactment can be applied to the world around us.  I’ve been visiting numerous model homes lately because my family is in the market to buy a new home and it’s interesting how all of these homes are decorated.  The different ways these model homes have been decorated and set up are representative of how traditional family life is perceived in America. 

Another way I examined reenactments is by visiting the Hall of Mammals at the Smithsonian.  As soon as you walk in you’re bombarded with displays of “exotic” animals.  There are markers that tell you the three requirements of being a mammal: hair; ability to lactate; and the existence of certain earbones.  All of the different mammals on display have markers that explain what they are and other tidbits of interesting information.  The displays play on your sense of sight by not only providing physical reproductions of these animals, but by positioning them in ways that are at times welcoming, funny, dangerous, and voyeuristic.  They also play on your sense of hearing by providing stations where you can hear a lion hunting and capturing its prey.  Some displays also allowed you to touch specific items to connect with the texture.  I also had an opportunity to watch the short film they were showing on evolution and where humans fit in.  It was interesting to see how the film presented evolution and it was even more interesting how they never mentioned the word evolution, even though it was the subject of the film. 

 These are just some of the ways I have been encountering reenactments.  Hopefully, as the semester rolls on I will have a better understanding of what reenactments are and what role they play in the way people are educated, especially within schools.