Life in the "Dark Ages"

Over Christmas break, I moved back home to save money my last semester of college. I haven’t lived at home since the summer after my sophomore year, and I knew it would be a slight adjustment in some areas and quite adjustment in others to move back. One area that has been quite adjustment is going back to not having cable or internet at the house. All throughout my college years, I have had cable and internet in the dorms, anywhere on campus, and at my apartment. Because of that, I had let pop culture take a larger part of my life than ever before. With wireless internet, I could be on any of my favorite sites at any given time. And with cable, I could watch all the shows and sports I enjoy.

There are times when I feel like I have been cut off from the real world. I now do not keep up with any television shows, and I just can’t surf the web whenever I want. I have noticed that since I have moved back to living in the “Dark Ages” pop culture is taking a much smaller role in my life. And because of that my time and on campus is much more focused. When I do have the chance to use the internet on campus, I spend less time social networking or checking random websites because I know my time is limited and I need to use it for communication and research. When I am at home, I am more focused because I do not have the internet or television shows to distract me any more. Instead, I get my reading and homework done and have more time to spend with my family playing games or doing hobbies I enjoy like reading or scrapbooking.

I am not against pop culture by any means. I love sports and being able to watch them or being able to get on the internet when I feel like it. But I am starting to realize the place pop culture needs to have in my life and that is a much smaller part. How much of your life are you devoting to pop culture? Are you satisfied with how you spend your time?

My Secret Obsession

At a time like this when the weather is just terrible outside, and all I want to do is lay in bed, I find myself indulging in one of my secret pop culture obsessions: the television show Gossip Girl. I’m honestly not even sure as to why I love that show, but I find myself searching the Internet for full episodes when it isn’t on TV, or finding out when new episodes are on and setting my DVR accordingly.

Gossip Girl is a show about a group of upper class families and friends who live in New York. My favorite part about the show is that each new episode feeds off of the one before it and continues with the story line. The drama that happens between all of the characters has me wanting to know more every week. I always want to know the ending of the story but each episode ends on a cliffhanger, making me crazy for an entire week because I toss around scenarios in my head about what might be happening in the following episode.

We talked in class a little bit about the article, “Has a Pop-Culture Addiction Ever Taken Over Your Life,” and we discussed the fact that some pop-culture TV obsessions seem to make us feel lost or confused when the story finally comes to an end. The example that was brought up was the show Lost. I am anticipating the final episode of Gossip Girl to have me feeling extremely confused, but hopefully by then I will be able to analyze why I was so drawn to the show and what made it a “good” show.

Thoughts from "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"

The other night I was watching episodes of this Whose Line Is It Anyway? It is a show that puts stand-up comedy in a game show environment. It is hosted by Drew Carey . Each episode he has comedians participate in short-form improvisation games. Drew has four comedians on each episode and these comedians have to create characters, scenes, and/or songs on the spot. I have always been impressed how quickly the comedians come up with the scenes and how closely they are able to mimic the real pop culture.

In the particular episode that caused me to think about my communication and pop culture class, Wayne Brady, one of the show’s main comedians, was challenged to sing a show to a man from the audience like Britney Spears would sing. He imitated her dance moves, her pop style of singing, and even how she has trouble with her microphone. This particular skit caused me to think about how much these comedians have to know about our pop culture. They have to come up with their material on the spot. Drew Carey reads them the setting or scene and right away they start. Now, these skits they perform are only funny to the audience if we know what they are referring to and if they are able to mimic it closely. The show in and of itself is pop culture, but the comedians on it also have to have a broad base of knowledge of both current and past pop culture.

What are your thoughts? What are other areas where there is a need to have lots knowledge of the pop culture to be a part of the pop culture?

Is addiction the right word?

Our class discussion on Thursday revolved around pop culture addictions what we each are addicted to and how do these addictions shape our lives. We used this article as the basis for our discussion. We also defined addiction as physical and psychological dependence on psychoactive substances. Psychological dependence was defined as you feel emotionally connected to a substance, you allow the substance to get in the way of important things, you plan your schedule around your need for substance, you spend a lot of time talking about the substance. This discussion brought up several questions and thoughts, and I have been pondering over it for the last several days. How do these addictions shape our lives? What role do these addictions play in our society? What would be culture be like without these addictions? Are all relationships with pop culture harmful to the individual?

During the discussion, I was feeling slightly guilty for participating and enjoying some pop culture. Yes, I would agree there are people who take pop culture to the extreme and are addicted to it. But in general, I think addiction might not be the right word to use. In our society, the word addiction has such a negative connotation to it and is viewed as a problem that needs to be fixed. If I do not participate in consuming at least some of our society’s pop culture, it can cause a feel of being an outcast or being a part of an outgroup. I feel like the relationship I have with pop culture is not a problem that needs to be fixed. Pop culture provides me with entertainment and enjoyment and neutral topics to discuss with others. One of my biggest pop culture “addictions” is football especially college football and The Ohio State Buckeyes. Some may see this as a problem that needs to be fixed. My friends and I enjoy watching football together. In my life, it is building community. Maybe addiction isn’t always the right word to be used in association with large amounts of consumption for pop culture. Could obsession, consumption, or devotion be better words to use for this connection to pop culture?