Media Effects on Culture

Last Monday my FHE family played a game called celebrity. In the game, players wrote down names of celebrities and other famous people and characters on three small pieces of paper. Then everyone divided into two teams and players took turns pulling names from the bowl of papers. In the first round they had to describe the famous person, in the second round they had to use one word to describe the person, and in the third round they had to act out the person. I was a little worried in the beginning that I would not know the people I had to describe, but I soon found that the actors, singers,  and movie/book characters were generally well-known to me and the rest of the people playing the game. This made me realize just how much media influences our American culture. Although each person comes from a unique background, everyone generally knows who Selena Gomez, Katniss Everdeen, and Harry Potter are. Because these types of media characters are well-known to us, we talk about them in hopes of building connections with other people. Additionally, popular merchandise often times contains celebrity content or strives to mimic what they use. We consume media, talk about media, and base our lives based on what it glorified in the media. Media definitely impacts our culture and can be a way to unify a country full of a variety of people. 

Education in Movies

This past week I learned how valuable the media can be in education. I had to create a presentation on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder for my psychology class. In order to make our project more interesting we decided to include some movie clips that demonstrate someone with symptoms of PTSD. Our most valuable clip came from the movie American Sniper, a true story about a man named Chris Kyle who was one of the best snipers in U.S. military history. As I watched the clip and various others that we found, I realized that through movies I am able to witness things that I would not normally see in my own life. I have never known someone with PTSD, nor have I ever seen the symptoms of it. Through movies I was able to see what someone with PTSD looks like and what it is that they actually go through. Of course movies tend to dramatize; however, they can still give more of a perspective on things. I am grateful that through movies I am able to see new places, new experiences, and get a closer look at what it's like to be someone completely different than who I am.

The Martian: Overcoming Trials

Last week I saw the movie The Martian. The movie is about an astronaut who is stranded on Mars after he is separated from his team during a massive storm. The team assumes that Mark Watney is dead, and they decide to leave the planet. Realizing that it would take years before others could save him, Watney takes action to survive and make contact with NASA to help bring him home. The majority of the movie follows Watney’s attempts to grow food and scavenge parts of previous missions to survive. I found this movie both entertaining and inspiring. What impressed me the most was Watney’s proactive and positive attitude toward his situation. It would have been easy to get discouraged and give up hope trying to survive, but he immediately took action and found ways to be productive with his time. On top of it all, he still managed to keep a positive attitude and even find the humor in his situation. I think we can all learn from Mark Watney’s example. We will all be faced with different challenges during our lives that are out of our control, but we do have control over how we react to those situations. We can choose to get discouraged and give up hope, or we can choose to be proactive and make the best of our situation. In the end, it was his proactive attitude that saved Watney’s life. I hope that I can face challenges in my life with the same determination to overcome and still be happy in the process.

Leslie and Ben

When I started watching Parks and Rec last November I was hooked. I fell in love with the characters and the unique and hilarious way they each react to the daily struggles of working for the local Parks Department. I became especially intrigued when Leslie Knope is introduced to Ben Wyatt, a visiting state auditor that later becomes a permanent character of the show. At first Leslie and Ben butt heads, but as they work together they eventually fall in love. That is not to say that the road to happiness for Leslie and Ben is easy. When Leslie decides to run for city council they break up because the scandal of dating a fellow employee could ruin her campaign. Ben resigns from his position at the Parks Department and they get back together during Leslie’s campaign, but after Leslie wins Ben accepts a job in Washington D.C. For a while they date long distance, which definitely takes its toll on their relationship. Leslie and Ben’s relationship is full of obstacles, but what I love about them is that they choose to make it work. Ben gets offered a job to run another campaign in Florida, but he declines the offer and goes back to Pawnee, Indiana to propose to Leslie. Ben realizes that his relationship with Leslie is more important to him than anything else. I will admit, I got a little emotional watching this touching scene. I think there is a lot we can learn from Ben and Leslie. As a college student, I have seen and personally experienced many obstacles related to marriage and dating relationships. What I have learned is that in order to have a successful relationship, I have to be flexible and willing to sacrifice. With any relationship there will be challenges, but it is up to me whether or not I will keep my relationship as a top priority. I hope that I can keep this perspective in my dating relationships and one day in my marriage as well.