Crazed Americans

In the remainder of the Lasn text, several concepts and ideas were discussed. One in particular is the subject of product placement. Some people are not even aware that we are being bombarded with product placement in many of our favorite TV shows or movies. However in some defense of companies, some shows place a product without the company paying the TV show or movie. It is sad to think that while we watch our favorite TV show or movie how many “ads” are within that episode or film. I challenge you to keep a count next time you watch a show of how many name brands you come across just within that one episode. 

Last semester I took a class called Broadcast Advertising and Sales. A lot of what is discussed in the Lasn text and in Second Skin was incorporated in a really interesting documentary called Digital Nation. Digital Nation touched upon the online gaming addiction and craze, which directed links to Second Skin. I found Second Skin to be a harsh reality. In Second Skin it really emphasizes how people becoming addicted to virtual reality games. I have nothing against those who game—personally I have never even really played a video game. Those that I have played, I am terrible at! But when gaming becomes such an addiction that it interferes with your real life, there is some sort of line that is crossed. For instance, in the film some of the peoples gaming habits has negatively affected their lives (ie. losing their job, lose of sleep..etc). 

However, there are those who play the game to step out of their real lives and allows them to create a whole different life, one in which they are not judged by the exterior. The judgment aspect relates to the Lasn text. The one chapter in the book talks about the obsession of appearance. “Nine out of ten North American women feel bad about some aspect of their bodies, and men are not far behind" (Lasn, pg. 75). This is an absurdly high number of individuals. People are so crazed over how they appear to others. But in the virtual worlds, none of that matters. These virtual worlds also allow people to do things they cannot do in real life. I thought it was really cool how they showed those with disabilities and what the game means to them and allows them to feel “normal.” Another positive attribute of the gaming industry is it allows people to meet others. People are able to meet a bunch of people and some even find their significant other. Not only do they just play this game with one another, but they also develop relationships and are able to get to know one another. 

All in all, my feelings toward gaming are mixed. I think gaming in free time is absolutely fine, but once it starts to take over your life and you find yourself “gaming” for hours on end, there is some sort of addiction. This film really opened my eyes and the statistics really shocked me.

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Laura Matthews, but I prefer to be called Lori. It has been my nickname ever since I was a little girl. I am a Junior here at Shippensburg. I grew up in a small town right outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania. I really enjoy doing anything that is active, especially sports. I play soccer for our woman's program here at Ship. Even though I love being active, I also enjoy relaxing at the beach in the summer!

I started my college experience off at Towson University, where I attended for three semesters until I transferred to Shippensburg last spring. As of last semester, I changed my major to Business Management and my minor is Communications/Journalism. After this semester I will officially be done with my minor!

To be honest, I signed up for this class in order to fulfill my last gen ed. At first I was dreading the class, but as you all know, it isn't a traditional literature class, which I am thankful for. I don't really enjoy reading literature and find it quite boring. Once receiving the book list for the class, I was somewhat relieved! I also like that it is more of an interactive class, rather than just a straight lecture class.

The last book I read was for one of my classes last semester-- of course, it was required. I don't really enjoy reading. I am an extremely slow reader so I'm sure that has something to do with my lack of interest. I like many different types of popular culture-- movies, television, music, etc. I find it very interesting to see the advances in each genre. I am quite indecisive so it is difficult to pick anything in the category of favorites, but I will try. When it comes to movies I enjoy everything from comedy, drama, scary, thriller and so on. One of my favorite movies is The Holiday, I really enjoy Crash as well. Some of my favorite TV shows are CSI Miami, Desperate Housewives, Gossip Girl, and of course, Jersey Shore. Again, as for music, I enjoy most genres, except for heavy metal and the old school country.

As I mentioned earlier, my past experiences reading "literature" were a bore. I don't really enjoy classical literature and sometimes find it hard to follow. When I think of the word "literature," I automatically associate it with classical novels like I read in high school. My definition of the word itself is a literary work by an individual during different time periods. According to these time periods, the language of the text changes. The literary work encompasses novels, poetry, etc.