Want to Watch a Horror Movie? Watch the News Instead!

I chose the comic in What Matters In America, on Page 172 under Visual Connections; It's a Scary World . It is from the"Zits" comic strip by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman.  The first scene in the strip shows Jeremy's parents in bed, but not tired.  They decide to turn on a little TV and watch the news.  In the next scene the stories begin, all bad news! The next two scenes continue until they've heard about Drugs, AIDS, teenage alcoholism, gangs, murder, traffic fatalities, on and on and they are practically hiding under the sheets!  The final scene depicts Jeremy's parents in his room, on his bed, with Jeremy on their laps.  Jeremy says "This better have a really good explanation, ore be a reeeeally bad dream". 

I wish I could find this comic online. It was a humorous way to portray how the news that streams from the "tube" into our minds can create all kinds of negative thinking and paranoia.  It also takes a swing at the fact that much of the "news" that we watch on television is generally bad news. 


This next cartoon, "FREEDOM of DEPRESS"! (love it!) I initially found searching Google.  It came from the website www.tvneweslies.org.

It is basically sharing the same message as Zit's comicstrip as to what we can be sure to see and hear when we turn on the news.  Yikes! 

This one picture is showing a person being scared right out of their "easy chair" while watching a TV news program.  The anchor of the news program is a big scary mouth shouting out all of the horrid things that are going on in the world.  And based on the caption of this comic, you are free to be depressed before it's over.

This is exactly why I don't watch the news!

Individual Novel Review

I chose to read Balzac and the Little Chinese Princess, by Dai Sijie, translated from the French by Ina Rilke in 2001 and published in 2002 by Anchor Books.  This book had been lingering on my bookshelf for the last four years until just a few weeks ago.  I am grateful to have had this assignment because it forced me to read it sooner than I otherwise would have.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Princess is the tale of two precocious teenage boys during the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the early 1970’s.  The narrator is the youngest of the two boys (only by one year), but he is never called by his name nor is it mentioned in the book.  His best friend and the other main character, is named Luo.  In this story, the boys are considered by the standards of the then Communist leadership to be “intellectuals” and are sent to a remote mountainous area called Phoenix of the Sky for the purpose of being re-educated.  It is called Phoenix of the Sky because of its extreme elevation and any sign of modern civilization is a two day walk over “rugged mountain terrain” (page 11).  

The boys are forced to perform hard labor on a daily basis until the headman of their village realized their innate gift of storytelling and reenactment.  This gift, along with the discovery of a secret suitcase full of banned books offers them the opportunity to make the acquaintance of and build a relationship with the beautiful and very curious Little Chinese Seamstress. 

The author masterfully takes you on this journey through the eyes of an inexperienced teenage boy who has been removed from his family with no real hope to ever return.  Along with the main characters, I experienced the courage to make the best of dreadful circumstances, the angst of forbidden love, the loyalty of friendship and last but not least, the power of the written word.

The narrator explains his experience of escape through reading the banned literature of Balzac best with this quote; “Picture, if you will, a boy of nineteen, still slumbering in the limbo of adolescence, having heard nothing but revolutionary blather about patriotism, Communism, ideology and propaganda all his life, falling headlong into a story of awakening desire, passion, impulsive action, love, of all the subjects that had, until then, been hidden from me.” (page 57)

I was quite taken with the author’s poetic writing style and detail.  Although this is a work of fiction, the author himself was “reeducated” during the early 1970’s and therefore, for me, that offered some “reality” to the reading experience.  This story really drove home the importance of steadfastness, courage and just how significant literature is to us as human beings and was very powerful for me.   

It is an easy read at only 184 pages and I highly recommend it!  Be sure to let me know if you do (or you can borrow my book) so we can talk about the ending...

The Tribe "Vibe"

I tend to want to do things my way and in a timely manner.  Okay, so I’m a bit controlling.  That said, initially I was daunted at the prospect of working in a group on our first presentation for “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”.  I had thoughts about whether everyone would show up, do their part and do it right (my way).  As it turns out I was put in a group of people that were all willing to do all of that (with the exception of my way).  Everyone brought great ideas, talents and willingness to do their best.  It was easy to agree on times and places to meet because everyone was only interested in getting the best grade possible.  This experience put all of my (false) concerns to rest.  I am excited get started on the next presentation and am very grateful to be working with the same group!

That's a Personal Question!!

Does money equate to happiness?  In the essay “Measuring Success” by Renee Loth, she investigates her own thinking around success and happiness.  In her writing, it is clear that individual experience is the only determining factor needed to define personal success.  There are many different ideas as to what success or happiness is.  It is likely there are as many as there are people on the planet! 

We happen to live in a society that is materially driven and so we can get caught up in looking to what success or happiness is “supposed” to be rather than determining for ourselves through our own experience.   My favorite line in this article is “The drive to succeed keeps us focused on the future, to the detriment of life in the moment. And the moment is all we ever really have.” (page 273) Powerful!  If you believed that this moment is all there is, what will you spend your time doing?  Chasing money?  It is obvious that Ms. Loth has had enough life experience to recognize what is really important to her.  Perhaps that’s just it!  Live in the moment, get to know yourself and what you value.   Eventually, through your own experience you will know for yourself if money equals happiness.

Censorship or Self Management – YOU Decide!

Our reaction to the “you decide” online practice was mixed.  We found it difficult to determine where the line is in relation to violent video games and “real life” violence as a result.  The picture that was chosen to represent the webpage did not display violence beyond what you would have found in an old Batman cartoon.  Nor did it appear to be inappropriate or gross.   Working with a partner and coming to a decision regarding the image did not feel any harder than working alone.  However, the difficulty was trying to decide if violent video games are a real threat and how they may connect to violence in our culture.  

Ultimately, we decided that the image was acceptable and appropriate for the websites’ homepage.  We also came to the conclusion that censorship of an art form is not necessarily the answer.  Our real opinion is that it is up to the individual and/or parents to take responsibility for monitoring the level of violence that is viewed and to know its consequences, if any.  If you or your child(ren) are negatively affected by this type of material, then you will know what to do!

My Opinion:

 I believe that video games are most definitely a form of art.

The images that I viewed are not ones that I would want to view more than once, and found some offensive, for me.

 I did not find it too difficult to determine if the image belonged on the homepage.  It was more confusing because I don’t necessarily believe that specific image was representative of the type of graphic violent games that are in question. 

The quotes on the website intrigued me more than anything else, mainly because they were interesting perspectives, but that was it.  I am still unclear where I stand on this issue, and would need some actual statistics and facts to sway my opinion one way or the other.  Regardless, I will always rely on self management and what works for me personally.  And personally, I prefer not to focus on blood, guts and death, art or not.

In other words, I'll take this ...

Over This...

ALWAYS!

What about you?...