The End of My Second Semester.

This semester is coming to a close (boy, that was fast...) and things are getting really, really hectic. So hectic, in fact, that I've forgotten to blog two Fridays in a row! So this entry is simply me getting my tenth blog post out of the way.

The presentations in class have been really, really cool. It's great to hear people's findings when they examine specific parts of our culture/media. I like the exploration of a few particular parts of our media environment, from Cosmopolitan to Friends, it's all really interesting stuff. I sometimes wish I had a chance to read other people's response papers, but I have a feeling I'd see myself as a lot less smart after reading all of those. Plus, as a said in my last blog, I'm not sure I have the time for something so... fun. Fun gets put on the back burner when the situation is this desperate. As much as I'd like to say yes to my girlfriend's requests to watch "Casablanca" and "Gone with the Wind," I have too much to do, like writing my final paper for this class!

The list of non-school related things I want to do but can't is way too long. I need a free day to work on my computer build, a day to apply for internships, some time to work out, some time to fix my phone's SD card, some time to catch up on sleep, some time to spend with my girlfriend and friends, and maybe even some time to play video games. There's no end in sight, I want some free time here at Brockport before the semester is over! It feels like I can't enjoy any of the great aspects of the college lifestyle because I have so much work to do. This lifestyle feels crazy, but I'm sure everyone else is going through the same thing as me. Its just life I guess.

Now that I've vented a little bit, I'd like to mention a few things about the response paper we got back today. Reading through it again, I was reminded of its imperfections and poorly explained areas. The thing I wish I could change the most would be shifting the focus of the paper to include discussion of both males and females. The paper was mostly describing my (often narrow and ignorant) view of girls over the years, my observations and then my coming to understand the reasons behind what I observed. I talked about all of the patterns and trends I saw in the girls I grew up around, but I failed to mention the guys. There are a few reasons for this, the first being that I saw so much more diversity in the guys at my school than in the girls. I felt that the boys in my high school were far more individualistic than the girls. Another reason is that I simply didn't pay as much attention to guys as I did girls. Guys made more sense to me and I wasn't as interested in them. I wrote the paper before I had really given much thought to the stereotypes and trends among guys. Tough guise 2 really opened my eyes to the how comparable the problems faced by men are to those faced by women, and if I remember correctly, we hadn't watched Katz's film before writing the response paper. After watching Tough guise 2 I was significantly more aware of the issues faced by males, but before seeing the film, I had barely given it any thought because, in my experience, I wasn't expected to be anything other than myself. I have always felt pretty accepted just being me, and for that I am extremely grateful.

Internet Cravings

I have a handful of mental disorders, and among them is a pretty strong case of ADHD. My ADHD loves the internet, it loves instant gratification, and it loves thinking of the most interesting things in the world to Google while I'm trying to do homework. Even when I'm medicated and not super influenced by my ADHD, I've realized that I constantly have cravings to Google things. Throughout an average day, there are tons of things I want to look up. Sometimes it's answers to questions, sometimes it's historical facts, sometimes it's just that I really really really want to look at some cool sound system setups, and sometimes I need to prove to someone that I'm right. Whatever the case, if I don't have my phone with me and my itch can't be scratched, it's really irritating. Not day-ruining, but probably more of an issue than it should be. On the one hand, I'm addicted to my phone, but on the other hand, at least I'm fully appreciating the technology I have that many others never had access too. I have learned so much from the internet, and although it has it's downsides, I'm grateful for it.

Tough Guise 2

A number of thoughts/ideas went through my head whilst viewing "Tough Guise 2," but one of concepts that stuck out the most to me is the way that the film made me feel bad for men in a similar way that "killing us softly" made me feel awful for women. I guess what "Tough Guise" demonstrated is that society and culture are negatively effecting both men and women alike. Personally, I've never had a problem with just being myself and doing whatever I want. I almost never have a problem with the fact that I don't play any sports. I am a little ashamed that I don't know anything about hardly any of them; I find most sports pretty confusing. I understand the mechanics of football, but when things get real technical I'm useless. It's nice that I don't feel hardly any pressure from society to change, to go out of my way to learn all that stuff just to fit in. I can't know for sure, but I feel like girls face larger consequences for deviating from the norm. 

Back from Break

Over break I spent 90% of my time applying for jobs and working on my computer build, so not a whole lot of media was consumed, save for some PC building YouTube tutorials. Once I got back from break, however, I had the privilege of watching a couple movies and play some video games. The movies I mentioned are/were Zoolander (a timeless masterpiece) and Jurassic Park. It was my girlfriend's first time seeing Zoolander, so I was honored to be the one to take her on that journey. I, unfortunately, have never seen Jurassic Park before (I'm ashamed) and I'm currently watching Jeff Goldblum flirt with Laura Dern. I'm only a little way into this movie and it's already amazing! I'm on edge waiting for something to go wrong, I know something is going to go awry. There's something refreshing about watching an early 1990's movie, it's been awhile since I've watched something from the late 1980's-early 1990's.

Video Games are media, right?

As I've stated before, I don't have a whole lot of time for media this semester other than my Pink Floyd while write papers. Recently, I've found myself craving little ten minute gaming sessions, and I've turned to prop hunt to satisfy my needs. Prop hunt is a hide-and-seek video game that you play online with other people, and most importantly, each round is only about 5 minutes, so it's a great little video game "snack." Players are either on the team "hunter" or "props." The goal of the players on the prop team is to hide in the environment as an inanimate object, like a chair or a soda can. The hunters try to determine which objects are normal, and which objects are secretly players. It might not sound too great, but it curbs my cravings for video games and allows me to get back to work quickly. Lately, thats been the most significant piece of media in my life.

My roommate's TV addiction.

My roommate pretty much just watches TV all day every day. He has classes two days a week, and the other five are spent soaking in sitcoms and cop shows, with two, sometimes even three, meals a day. He usually goes to sleep around 2:00 am and wakes up around 12:00-2:00 pm. He needs all that sleep so he can be awake for Netflix.

Why am I telling you this? Well, the sad truth is that he is providing a good 50% of the media I consume. Second-hand media consumption. I hear so much television through my headphones on an average day, I realized recently that it's a huge part of my regular media consumption. It's not voluntary, I don't want it, but it's always, always there. He recently configured the room in a way such that it's pretty much impossible for him to use headphones for his Netflix. His TV sits on the very top of his desk and gets Netflix from his laptop down below on the actually work-station area of the desk, while he lies in his bed, eyes glued to the screen, for hours on end. The closest headphone jack is probably on the TV, a good 10-12 feet from his head. Not that it matters anyway, he forgot his headphones at home in New York City. So here I am, writing this right in front of him, but he doesn't notice because he's watching some New York City cop drama. This blog is about media consumption, so I was pretty much required to write about him, he's one of the most heavily weighted aspects of my media diet. 

This week was also pretty media-free. Well, lots of YouTube as usual, I'm a bit of an addict. I get super invested peoples projects/ life stories, and I can't wait to hear a new development in the tale. It sounds creepy, but it’s fun to see what these people can accomplish! I can say with confidence that I would not be the person I am today without YouTube. I've learned a ton of skills, and some of my biggest accomplishments have been inspired by YouTube. 

 Besides YouTube, I did some light Facebook browsing, and shared the Christmas episode of Black Mirror with my friends, which was well received thank goodness. Unfortunately, a couple people had to leave about ten minutes before the end of the episode. I still feel bad because everything was peaking and it was all about to be explained. Unfortunately they won't get to see the end until tomorrow, but being as busy as we are, I'm impressed we were able to knock out majority of the episode all at once.

My media consumption this week, or lack therof.

So my understanding of this whole blog thing is that we're supposed to write once a week about our interactions with media that week. It's Friday, so I'm trying to reflect back on any media I might have consumed over the past few days. If we're being honest, this semester has been extremely difficult for me so far, and because of the massive workload, I haven't been able to justify spending much time consuming media when there's homework to be done. That being said, I did grant myself time to watch the Will Ferrell classic "Kicking and Screaming" earlier this week. I'm combing my memory for any other media I gave my time to this week. There was the occasional Facebook notification I would investigate, and a couple of YouTube videos each day, but I don't go out of my way to keep up on any news or current events, partially because I'm lazy and partially because, especially after seeing the documentary, I'm not super trusting of mainstream news media.

A day without media... or not...

Today was supposed to be a day without media... things didn't exactly go as planned for me because I didn't remember that today was supposed to be media-free until about an hour into my day! I still gave the "no media day" a shot, but as one might expect, it didn't go too well. I didn't remember that I wasn't supposed to be exposed to media when I first woke up, so I did listen to music in the shower and kept track of the time while I brushed my teeth. Those are two things I wouldn't have been able to do without my phone, or "life companion" as Samsung calls it. Going to breakfast and my first class without using my phone was pretty annoying. I realized how much I'm addicted to Google and quick information. I found myself wondering about all kinds of things throughout my morning, and my initial instinct is to plunge my hand into my pocket and consult Google. But I wasn't allowed to today... and it sucked... I just had to wonder and not know the answers to my completely trivial questions. It's more torturous than you might think! I had a very difficult time sitting through class with this itch I couldn't scratch... I just had to know what year Ghostbusters came out! Not having that desire satisfied instantly was surprisingly annoying. 

As my day stretched on, not being able to use my phone became an issue of convenience and efficiency. Coordinating trips to the dining hall with my friends suddenly required a ton of walking! I couldn't just text someone "Brockway at 12:05?" I had to walk all the way to their room (and hope that they're there, cause if they're not I can't reach them) and then ask them if they would care to dine with me. On an average day, I would use my phone to double check what day it is and that I'm headed to the correct class. Without using my phone, I just had to trust my gut. Or interact with strangers, but that's a last resort!

Overall, it was not super fun. I learned a lot about how much my phone really helps me get through the day, which is why I honestly only lasted a couple hours. My lifestyle requires technology! I can honestly say I didn't end up craving any Facebook, Twitter, news, or anything like that. I did miss YouTube a couple times, but that's about it.