Theories of Culture: The Network

Hilarious. Had to throw in the Ryan Gosling picture. I ran in the Salt Lake Half Marathon last weekend, so I thought it was fitting. Since being in this class it’s crazy that a network can be seen just about anywhere.  I would have never noticed this had I not taken this class. Running, especially in a marathon, is totally a network. The organization that goes into having a marathon. Place is being occupied and there are effects because of it.  Roads are completely shut down for hours so runners can run.  Spectators come out to watch.  The whole city of Salt Lake it involved and connected, without many people even realizing it.

In class we briefly discussed the idea that currently, everyone owns a digital SLR camera and thinks they are a professional photographer.  I know this to be absolutely true because I have several friends who simply purchased a camera, set up a blog, and took off with photography.  For all of them it is something they do as a “side job” and it pulls in a little extra money.  Thanks to the internet, photography is something just about anyone can pick up and do, without having any experience. Interesting to think how once upon a time someone most likely had a degree within photography.

The idea of authenticity made me think of this book, A Million Little Pieces. For those who dont’ know, it tells the story of a 23 year old alchoholic and drug abuser (the actual author) and how he copes in rehab. It received mixed reviews. Some thought it was great, others actually called in “inauthentic.”  It received great publication when it was picked as an Oprah’s Book Club selection.  People raved about it, claiming that it was so authentic. Several years after it was published great controversy came about.  It was found out that much of the memoir was fabricated.  So what really is authentic?  Is it something that differs based on different perspectives? Was the book authentic to the author? But then… not authentic to the readers? Authenticity seems relative, which is somewhat contradictory.  I dont’ know how to pinpoint the term.

Kony 2012

Has anyone seen this yet? This video was put on Youtube 3 days ago! Now, it’s the only thing I see on Facebook. All thanks to the network!

I’ve had a hard time coming up with an idea, but here goes! I like the idea of doing an experiment, it’s very hands on and makes the assignment more fun.  There have been a lot of creative ideas such as videos and such.  I think it would be fun to do a project in which you attempt to predict what the future will be like.  For example, I wrote my first paper on control, so it would be interesting to put something together regarding control, and what it will be like in… 50 years from now! How will it function? What will major differences be compared to now? What are the ways in which it changed over time? It would be fun and interesting to see what our classmates think our world and the network will be like in the years to come.

iPhone

I’m glad I haven’t been sucked into the iPhone hype. This is a great article that shows the iPhone evolution from 2007 to 2011. The differences are less than one would expect. It goes to show just how controlled our society really is.

World of Warcraft documentary

World of Warcraft came up a lot in our class today, so I figured this was appropriate. I think that the concept of place is interesting when it comes to the network.  Many people in class made comments which pointed out that a network, such as World of Warcraft, is not real. How do people get so caught up if it’s not real? This network is very real though. It’s somewhere to socialize, interact, spend money, etc… even in the short documentary I posted two people actually met through World of Warcraft first, and then took it to the next step and met in person! World of Warcraft is a place to some people. I’m pretty sure it was Professor Boyle who said in class, place is relative. And that’s so true. Watch the documentary! It’s quite creative and really interesting. 

Stanford Prison Experiment

Our class discussion today, specifically that of a prison and who actually has control reminded me of this: www.prisonexp.org/. Even though it was just an experiment, it’s interesting to see how one uses control under certain circumstances. And how easily influenced some are to control.

The Joy of Quiet

Postscript on the Societies of Control reminded me of an article I had to read for another class I’m currently in.  I specifically like this quote from our reading, and think it directly relates to the link I posted. “Everywhere surfing has already replaced the older sports.” How true that statement is, yet at the same time, are we as a society trying to loose the grips of control and find our way back to “the older sports?” All too often I feel that more than anything, technology, in terms of the internet, phones, video games, TV, etc… are at the root of many issues within our society. We are greatly controlled, which makes us even more vulnerable to other forms of control.

Jeff Rice’s article on what College English should be is a perfect question when applied to English studies at this specific point in our time.  English is something that many people in our society today do not fully understand, or think of as a necessary skill.  As someone else mentioned in their blog post, as an English major I am often questioned.  What does an English major even do? What does an English major study? How will I use my degree? What many people are not aware of is that English majors do much more than study Shakespeare and poetry and read and write.  There is such a broad expanse of learning when it comes to the department of English… Culture, Theory, Pyschology even.  Rice asks, “What should College English be?”  He says, “College English should be the intersection of the various areas of discourse that shape thought and produce knowledge… those connections that move from popular culture to the university, from geography to politics, from literature to film, from theory to theory, from celebrity to noncelebrity, from city to classroom, from the Web into our daily lives, from writing to writing.”  English is seen everywhere and it can be applied to everything.  Through being an English major I have developed many important skills that I know will aid me throughout my life, not just within a career, but with everything.  At this time of “total information delivery and connectivity” it is important to understand how English currently functions and identify its direct relationship to the network, which seems to be everything.