"Monkey See, Monkey Do" & Assume

Most people believe that we imitate what we see, especially when it comes to violence shown in the media. George Gerbner--a WWII veteran, professor of communication, and the founder of cultivation theory--spent 4 decades trying to understand media and violence. What he discovered was completely opposite of what we all thought. In the video, Mean World Syndrome, 3 main issues associated with media and violence were discussed. 1) fear and insecurity 2) "happy violence" and 3) one-sided representation in the news.

When it comes to fear and insecurity, the violence we see makes us frightened by the world we live in. Ultimately, it's not the quantity of violence that influences this uneasiness, it's the quality and how the violence was done in a way that executes some sort of story that has meaning... a story that can possibly occur again but to us personally. Although we see a lot of gruesome, gory acts of violence in movies and TV shows, we see "happy violence" the most. This is humorous and entertaining violence that normally leads to a happy ending. This makes us believe that violence is okay because in the end everything will be fine. I believe this is what parents of young children are most worried about--their child thinking violence is perfectly okay and that it'll benefit their success in the world. And lastly, the one-sided representation of violence in the news. 2/3 of Americans watch the news and 63% of news stories are specifically about crimes. In the news, they show the most terrifying stories of felony--they make us believe that violent crimes are much worse than they really are. Crime rates are even dropping! But people think they're rising with the amount of violence they show. The news should display positive showings of good events to balance the bad.

Football High At Its Lowest

Two boys--Will and Tyler--were greatly affected by a sudden heat stroke. They both have a similar body type, damage to the liver, and were placed in a coma. The biggest and most prevalent connection between these two cases is that both incidents occurred during football practice. Will recovered after being hospitalized and Tyler unfortunately passed away slowly in his coma. One thing that should be stressed is the fact that heat stroke it completely preventable. The video mentions that many schools have "recommendations" when it comes to having practice in certain conditions BUT the coaches don't get penalized for not following these recommendations. The video also stated a possible solution--having an athletic health trainer on site during all practices and games to provide instant help. When it comes to heat stroke, the first 5-10 minutes after collapsing are the most important. Having someone there at all times should lower the chances of further hospitalization. Plus these trainers will never assume their collapse is due to just heat exhaustion--a common mistake.

Another major issue addressed in this video was concussions. High school football players are notably injured way more than college and professional players due to hits to the head--big and small. This can lead to major brain damage like CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Symptoms of this degenerative disease include memory loss, aggression, confusion, and depression. One solution that the video stated was the censored helmets. These helmets would calculate the hits that these players endure. Although they're only for research purposes, we can take the data to better understand that even little hits can damage the brain. This research can also help others create a real, longterm solution. Football is an extremely physical intimidation sport, so you can't take the physical aspect out without wiping the entire sport out with it. A solution can't be to stop this activity even though it would be beneficial for the brains of many football players. Football thrives from immense pressure and pain, it's how the sport works.    

This Is Seriously Emo

Chuck Klosterman, author of Sex, Drugs, & Cocoa Puffs, rambles on and on his thoughts about romance and how everyone is blinded with the notion of fake love. This is the fantasy version of romance--the cliché "forever & always", "happily ever after" love... the love that we all dream of. But it's a dream for a reason; it will never happen. We all believe that it's possible, and there might be a microscopic sliver of a chance, but this kind of love is not normal. 

Before reading the chapter "This is Emo" I fell for this fictitious amour and it sickens me a bit. I've learned that the mass media has been feeding our minds lies. They put a pretty picture in our head which manipulates our brain into thinking it's OUR fault for not reaching the heights of romance we see everywhere. They make it seem totally achievable and common, but the thing is... it's only common IN THE MEDIA, it's the only place we see it. But because the media is everywhere and they depict love in natural, seemingly realistic settings, we believe it's possible. Movies, TV shows, songs, books, ect. are setting us all up for failure. The media prompts us to need something deeper than what we want. We love entertainment and fake love shines high in the sky. We can't erase this form of amusement because it has been around for so long. Fake love will last forever. After this reading I realized that it takes a serious dose of life-questioning to recognize our world of deception.    

XXX

Sex is a huge topic and porn relies on it. A young female by the name of Lauren is a college student at Duke University and she does porn on the side to pay for it. After her story and identity was revealed to the public, people went crazy--either supporting her or attacking her. During a CNN video clip over this issue, they focused on control. Porn is Lauren's home, this is her love, it gives her hope. It is her happy place where she's in control of her sexuality. Later on in the clip, CNN added a guest, clinical psychologist Michelle Golland, to express her opinion of the issue. Michelle called Lauren "bad ass" and says "good for her" for totally owning her sexuality. The fact that Lauren does "own her sexuality" and is in complete control of it tends to make other women and even men uncomfortable. 

During The Young Turks video clip over this issue, they focused on the bullying. The Turks made Lauren out to be a very strong woman while the haters see her as a young, naive girl. The hosts mention that porn fulfills her and people are just jealous and bitter of that. They seem to really defend her but at the same time they lightly joke about it. People are accusing her of being a whore yet she actually IS the dictionary definition of "whore." It is obvious that everyone has different morals and opinions. Although America's culture is more open about sex and porn, it's still something that people cherish and are somewhat embarrassed to share to the public.