Monthly Archives: February 2011

Transcendence


adj
1 exceeding or surpassing in degree or excellence.
2 a. beyond or before experience; a priori
b. (of a concept) falling outside a given set of categories
c. beyond consciousness or direct apprehension
3 theol (of God) having continuous existence outside the created world
4 free from the limitations inherent in matter.

We’re getting existential here. Well, not really. Sure this past week in a few of my lit classes we’ve talked about the transcendent power of love in medieval era, but I won’t go there. The kind of transcendence I mean is simple. We experience it almost every day as we participate in the escapist nature of sports, films, novels…you name it. It’s essentially jumping the cliff of reality with no hesitation into a life lived differently in a different universe. You meet up with your friends every week to watch Glee, and you leave this world and enter the musical one. Star Wars fans and Harry Potter fans get to experience a handful of different universes entirely. The rules that exist in this world fade they submerge into the fictional. The line of what reality really is blurs. When I think about sports, only that world exists while in the game: teammates, end lines, goalposts, essential objects that you cannot live without. There are no economic crises, deathly illnesses, or natural disasters; there are only loose balls, free throws and stolen bases. One can find a period of glory. One can learn what motivation is, and one can escape the mindset of every day life, even if it is only for a time bound on a running scoreboard. People change in games; they do things they wouldn’t do it real life. They take risks, and they sacrifice themselves, for the sake of what? Maybe it is to win, but maybe to just be satisfied: for their team, for themselves, for the game even. To play is to assume a new identity, or to intensify and tweak the one you have, or it provides an escape, depending on how you see it. You transcend reality and get to focus your mind for a given time on something that is not your immediate life. We get to exist outside ourselves.

Independent Millennials

First off, the “Fourth Turning” article was rather pessimistic, and yes maybe I’m just an optimistic millennial, what do I know?  I guess I’m relying too much on the opportunities that emerging technologies have, but I seem to think that their “fourth turn” approach and the ominous doom that our society seems to be running ourselves into may be held off for longer than they think. The last handful of turnings didn’t have what we do today simply put. And maybe that is naive to say, but as an optimistic ( contrary to their belief in “negative” America) millennial I think the possibilities stretch far greater than the patterns of history say.

As for Gilmore Girls, which I’ve never seen regrettably, I found kind of inspiring. Here we have two depictions of life, the Gen x single mother, and her daughter ( named after her mother “feminism took over!”) Rory, the Millennial. Yet, Rory certainly seems to be inspired by her mother as well, but careful to be her own independent woman at some point despite the frequent labels such as “ You’re me.” Adding another layer is Loreli’s mother, who seems to represent a much older generation of femininity, though much more conservative, you already anticipate  Loreli’s deviation before it is even stated. What we see are two young women that are ( or will soon be) in control of their own lives, and only dependant on eachother, which isn’t a bad thing! In fact it seems as if this comradery between mother and daughter is the more modern depiction. Rather than that of Loreli and her mother, which thrives on experience versus none. Her mother explicitly states, “ a child needs a mother and a father”, but we can disagree ( especially as millennials- we live in a world where divorce rate is 50%).  This show seems very much aware of the images and messages it portrays. The explicit witty bits about the lip gloss flavors and Loreli sleeping with the Principal hint at the kind of stereotyped feminism. What Gilmore Girls push is for a stronger approach. We are meant to sympathize with their angle. And Loreli serves as the example of a single, smart, working mother who made it out of teen pregnancy ok, and remained a good example for her daughter along the way. Independence is key, as the Inn she runs is titled. Loreli states “ She can do the things I never got to” while describing Rory’s chance at a prestigious education. It’s true, there are more opportunities for Millennials. For a first time Gilmore Girl watcher, I thought the dialogue was great- very witty! Though the equality between mother and daughter was kind of bizarre, I really liked it. Yes it’s a liberal approach, but it’s a way to grab the interest of both the Gen Xers and Millennials by addressing them both at the same time. Not too many shows call out to both groups explicitly like when Rory says “ That’s so Nick at Nite”.

As for this week’s Veronica Mars, wow technology everywhere! We have the video tribute to Lily’s death, the GPS and the wonderful display of Veronica’s expert computer displacement skills. Who knew she was such an expert? Oh right, she’s a Millennial and a private investigators daugter, her innate knowledge resembles Kyle XY in a way. Just her overall knowledge and impressive use of the resources around her and ability to work with anyone she comes in contact with is very representative of the Millennial generation that Strauss says many people are invested in.

As I was watching I couldn’t help but wonder….what  kind of role do smartphones play in all this? I know they hadn’t hit when Veronica Mars came out, but just in general?

Affliction

Affliction

noun

1. a condition of great distress, pain, or suffering
2. something responsible for physical or mental suffering, such as a disease, grief, etc

They’re here. We’ve been back from Feb break for about 2 weeks now together. And what does that mean? The germs, viruses and bacteria we brought back from tropical vacations or hometowns have made their fullest circulation across campus. You hear it in class, as your professor is about to say the most important point of the lecture: COUGH. And you miss it. Great. But you can’t lean to your left because the girl to your left is sniffling and nursing a batch of tissues and the kid to your right clearly isn’t taking notes.  When the choruses of coughs and symphonies of sniffles seem to ring through lecture halls you know we’re in the heart of winter.  I admit I am a victim, or perhaps even one of the coughing assailants. But one thing is for sure, displacement is sure to exist simultaneously with illness.  Your sense of self seems to drown in a fit of unrest ( and mucous), and you watch the others going around you as if immortal. And there you are powerless, and stuck in slow-motion while the rest of the world operates at hyper-speed. There is nothing I dislike more than being ill honestly. Sure its kind of amazing how your symptoms are your body’s natural way of fighting, but you cant help but be spiteful as your grab another tissue feebly, or take another shot of cough medicine. The doctor says “ rest up, you’ll feel better soon”, but honestly, who has the time?

But then again, as Valentine’s Day recently passed, and as I take a class titled  “Love Stories”, perhaps what I’m describing is a different type of affliction. All of those age old poets from the Middle Ages allude to love as an illness, or an affliction. So what do we say about our beloved 2/14..a day where people are overcome with illness? Stuck by cupid’s arrow  ( the pain) equals a trip to Hallmark to find the cure for the affliction? In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 147 he writes “ My love is as a fever, longing still/ For that which longer nurseth the disease/ Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill/ he uncertain sickly appetite to please.”  Well you won’t find that in Hallmark, because people don’t talk that way anymore, or even think it.

Regardless of sickness or not, I’d like to think of Valentine’s day as a chance for everyone ( not just couples) to celebrate their “afflictions” whether that be romantic or not. A chance for love to exist in the world a little more than normal may not be harmful after all.

Millennials XY

” A new generation is rising”  states William Struass. And no doubt, he’s not making it up. Just turn on the TV and watch Kyle XY or Degrassi. What do you see? Technology technology technology. Even if its not outright used, or discussed right in your face, its everywhere on TV by young people. Kyle XY seems to evoke this new age ( aside from the Eden-like beginning with the snake etc.), even in the opening scene…ITS A YOUNG TEEN EMERGING FROM THE WILD INTO THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE CITY, and what is it he’s an expert at? You guessed it: technology. It’s a subtle strategy, some of us perhaps just enjoying the interesting plot of the outsider, but really it’s just your average millennial doing what we do best: learning technology from day 1, ( learning in general actually), befriending diversity, believing in teamwork, the list goes on. In fact Kyle’s ” host mom” outright tells him, ” You’re a special boy”, a general compliment that millennials tend to get. Not to mention the Mom is the seeming breadwinner, the Dad stays home, the kids and adults have liberal discussions and the whole family just seems loved- the kind of household Millennials tend to come from according to Strauss.   The most obvious millennial moment: when Kyle instantly knows how to fix the computer that Stephen ( the dad, who is it seems…a computer repair man?) has spilled coffee on. Ironic? Yes. It appears that the “New Generation” is here, and is eager to face the world with more knowledge than the previous generation. I’d also like to point out the social aspects where unlike most tv shows with an outsider, the two Trager children seem very open to Kyle after the first episode ( note ending scene at dinner table). Usually it takes a lot for that outsider to get accepted, but not with Milennials, give them a 42 minute episode and then you’re family.

As for Degrassi, its a little more obvious. In the opening scene we see a computer screen and Emma and Manny ( 7th graders!) are discussing Emma’s online relationship. How risque of you Emma, do you know who Jordan really is? But thats beside the point, because what we see is the early stages of social networking online! The internet was still in its infancy when the show came out, especially when Emma walks by the classroom of computers that ” all have the internet!” on them. But nontheless we have a plan on “the new generation” even in the title. The kids seem enthusiastic and full of ideas.  It also helps that the pilot is about old vs new, and that these new kids beginning their Degrassi experience have what their parents didn’t: technology. Even Emma’s mom states, ” I couldn’t hack myself out of a paper bag”, let alone read Emma’s email. It’s the kind of ” foreignness ” with technology that these Degrassi kids, or millennials have never seemed to experience.  We’ve grown up with it. One thing that really struck me was a short moment as Emma was sitting at her computer in the dark ( perhaps evoking the old image of the child under the bed-sheets reading comic books with a flashlight) and the camera is close to her hand. We see a blurry outline that looks like pencils, but then the camera focuses and we see her hand on the mouse. Coincidence? I think not. The mouse seems to be the tool that Milennials will use to change their future. Another point evoked by these two shows is that even our TV watching experience is different than our parents. Now we can connect with other fans of Kyle XY and speculate for days about where he came from and what certain subtle hints mean in the show. We’re connected online by our watching experience and the medium to communicate with the hundreds of other fans. TV shows never had websites back in the day. Now they do, and some ( like Kyle XY) seem to take advantage of that fact, and our willingness to interact with the show OUTSIDE of the watching experience. I guess that makes us go-getters right?

Aftermath

Granted this one is no vocab word…

Aftermath:

noun

1. something that results or follows from an event, especially one of a disastrous or unfortunate nature ; consequence: the aftermath of war; the aftermath of the flood.

2. a new growth of grass following one or more mowings,which may be grazed, mowed, or plowed under. (courtesy dictionary.com)

As much as I’d wish for grass to be relevant… definition number two doesn’t apply. What I’m talking about are the things that result from a kind of even of “disastrous or unfortunate” nature. Yep, in a broader sense I’m talking about Sunday mornings on a college campus. Luckily I had the pleasure of NOT being one of those victims this morning, but an observer of those poor souls. There they go wandering into the dining hall with their hair sticking on end and an uncomfortable feeling in their stomachs and in their minds, ” what happened?” they wonder. They gather and discuss the aftermath of the night before.  Yet, my real focus is even deeper. I recently witnessed a friend and her boyfriend in the aftermath of a fight ( there are 2 fights in this anecdote). Specifics aren’t important, but the gist is that she and one of his friends got into public verbal argument.   To “clear the air” the boyfriend sent a text to that guy the next day saying ” Sorry man, she was kinda crazy. Don’t worry about it.” And thats why my friend and her boyfriend fought. Because here arises the double-standard. Why is it that the boy she was fighting with gets off easy? He was fighting back, and yet he is excused, while my friend’s dignity is at stake for speaking up for herself. I’m not trying evoke serious feminist sentiments here, just the prominence of this kind of male one-sided victory, and the fact its still only half-heartedly questioned and almost never won.  And so I wonder how it is we can better cope with the aftermath…



The “Accessible” Generation and Veronica Mars’ Smarts

First off, I’m new to this blogging experience. I’m kind of excited to write in a new “medium”. In response to the Eric Hoover article, and especially the point at the end made by a college student, yes history tends to repeat itself, but new things also accumulate. However, just as almost every big advance we’ve had in technology has always had an opposing sentiment, the millennial generation will grow up and find problems with the next generation. It’s inevitable. The way we grow and learn to value our ideals makes us weary of accepting new ones. It’s just human nature at work. I was actually suprised to hear the vast ammount of “negativity” towards our generation, in particular Mr. Bauerlein’s book The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future. Now I haven’t read the book, but as the title assumes, it catches the eye. So we’re dumb huh? I guess I’m a little offended. In watching my grandmother attempt to send an email, and watch youtube, I respectivley say, I think we’re actually kind of lucky. We’re all on the same page. 50 years ago, could you know what the President’s thoughts were on x,y and z in a second? Of course not. But now it’s all connected, and its all accessible. I can watch digital shorts from the Lumiere brothers studio from early film history on DVD…my grandmother can’t say that. We have access to so much history, we’re rich with it. I guess the counter-arguement is that most of us aren’t seeking it. Then I guess we’re lucky at Middlebury.

Yet Veronica would disagree. In fact she would probably have her dog try and bite. Why? Because she’s our teen hero. The kind of girl with the wit, AND BRAINS, I’d like to think I had in high school ( I wish). And the kind of girl that the network wants American girls to aspire to be: independent, and strong.  The female sleuth is certainly a unique spin in this regard. Her ability to whip resources out of thin air is quite something. And her maturity is truly inspiring; the fact that she’s able to tackle and uncover huge issues, such as rape, psychological problems, marital problems, and drugs even for a high schooler is a step in the smart direction.  As far as Veronica Mars is concerned, she has my vote.  She inspires me to get out and do something. Not too many serial narratives can do that.