Youtube Viewing History

Sometimes, do you ever just want to sneak into your crush's Youtube viewing history? I mean, it basically tells you everything you need to know about that person: their favorite music, movie quotes, and funny clips. But Youtube's expanse of influence is much bigger than that. You don't just learn about a person's interests, but about the means by which they procrastinate--and how long they need to rejuvenate themselves by watching cat videos before they're ready to dive into their research papers again. You might learn what their aspirations are, based upon the "How To" and "Do It Yourself" videos they watch. Heavens, you might even learn about their guilty little pleasures, such as a need to listen to Britney Spears when they're sad on a Friday night. And with the push to make the Church a more global organization through the utilization of technology, you can even see how often a person chooses to view inspirational videos. As I'm now reflecting on what I've watched on Youtube, I realize that I'd be mortified by the things others would learn about me! I never view anything that is truly unwholesome or shameful, but I worry that I waste my time on things that really don't edify and enlighten. 

I truly believe that we are what we view. I'm making a goal, starting now, to watch more uplifting media. Not because I worry about what others might find, but because I want to be more accountable for my actions. So much of what we view on the internet is done within the safety of our bedrooms, behind closed doors--beyond anyone else's supervision. I hope that I can become a person that "virtuous, lovely, and of good report" regardless of whether the door is open or shut. 

Fake Punches

We all know that TV viewers are prone to mimic what they see on television. Thanks to countless studies regarding TV content and aggressive behavior, we know that physical aggression on the screen is often mirrored in real life. 

I've never been too concerned about this correlation, since I'm a big fan of sappy romances and happy endings. I don't think I've ever been accused of watching too much bloody or violent content. However, I am a big fan of cheesy shows about justice, like Matlock, Walker Texas Ranger, and MacGyver. These shows aren't morbid--there's rarely any blood or macbre displays of physical beatings. The fake punishes and exaggerated groans and falling down after a "fatal" hit are incredibly entertaining. I never feel gloomy after these shows...I usually feel pretty perky. 

But I have to wonder--is TV violence still impactful even when it's obviously unrealistic? Even though these shows aren't gruesome, can they still have an effect on me? I'm too lazy to do the research, but I'm just curious. 

Why we love Hallmark

Hallmark movies are known for their cliche story lines full of unbelievable plot twists and impossibly closed-minded or naive characters. Within five minutes of the film it's obvious who the intended lovers are, and another twenty minutes into the movie can reveal how their love will be tested. And almost every one of these love-testing trials are easily resolved through an embarrassingly public proclamation of love--usually at an airport if at all possible. The characters on these movies often simultaneously possess the worst and best of luck I've ever seen. They usually are unusually attractive...or unusually weird looking (and possibly even deformed).
Needless to say, these films are low-quality. They're predictable. They are unrealistic.
But I think that's why I love them. I mean, who doesn't just relish an escape from reality? These films give me hope that one day I will waltz right into a predictably perfect love story...with an unusual looking man who simply can't act.

Balto: Based on a True Story

My friends insisted that I watch "Balto", a touching film about an ostracized half-dog-half-wolf-full-hero who--with the help of his trusty sidekick Boris the goose--exhibits selfless kindness to all creatures (including polar bears), harnesses his inner-wolf heritage as a means to lead his dog sled team back to safety, overcomes society's preconceived notions of his self-worth (even when they accused him of being a worthless and wild wolf), rises to his true potential as a phenomenal sled runner, rescues a small town from a diphtheria outbreak, and woos the foxiest dog in Nome, Alaska.
After watching the film, I felt totally pumped up. Man. I was going to resist peer pressure, I was going to find true love, and I most certainly was going to befriend polar bears (who according to the film are notorious for having speech impediments and low IQs). After such a life-changing experience with this animated children's film, I was only too pleased to learn that the movie was based on a TRUE story!

I eagerly hopped onto Wikipedia to learn the truth of Balto. He indeed led a dog sled team to carry the diptheria toxin to Nome, Alaska--but was one of 22 teams. He did save those sweet children from a diptheria outbreak--but did so along with the help of countless other dogs and sled drivers. He overcame peer pr--well, no. He actually didn't really do that. He befriended geese and polar bears--well technically, no he didn't do that, either. He accepted his wolf heritage--okay, again, no. He didn't actually have a drop of wolf in him.

Needless to say, I was a little bummed. I guess media has the ability to use the term "based on a true story" loosely.

Singing In the Rain--Lipception

Singing in the Rain is a classic 1952 film packed with glittered costumes, sappy love songs, and incessant dance numbers. I love it. It's a unique show to watch, because it honestly feels more like a collection of performances than an actual story! But, disregarding the numerous show-stopping dances, the film does have a pretty enjoyable plot. It takes place in Hollywood, 1928 after the introduction of "talking" movies. The main character is a handsome and successful actor who is worried that his career will now flop since the actress he's always been paired to act beside in silent films has a grating voice in real life. He fears that their films will fail since her voice is so terrible, so he gets another young lady to be the "voice" of the squeaky actress. The young lady ends up providing all of the vocals for the film. When the public realizes that the squeaky-sounding actress was lip syncing, they decide that though she was lovely and dignified, she lacked real talent because she couldn't provide dialogue and singing for her films. The lip-syncer ultimately ends up destroying the squeaker's career. It's a fun film, until you realize that IT WAS A HOAX!

My roommate let me know while we were watching the show last night that the girl who played the lip syncer was actually lip syncing the majority of the songs in the film. And the lovely voice that she provided for the squeaker--yeah, it wasn't the lip syncer's voice either. In fact, the actress who played the squeaker provides the lovely voice that she's supposed to be lip syncing. The squeaker is lip syncing to a voice that the lip syncer is lip syncing to, which is actually the squeaker's original voice. It's like inception, only more confusing. It's LIPCEPTION.

Once Upon a Time Season 1: Dreamy

"You can do anything as long as you can dream it!"

I'm always a little bit nervous when a television drama tries to teach its audience a moral. I don't know, it's rare for a TV show to remain loyal to its exciting storyline while also sharing a good message. In this episode's case, I found the if-you-can-believe-it-you-can-achieve-it message hard to swallow...because it really didn't seem too moral to me! At the end of the episode I didn't feel enlightened or inspired--I kinda felt motivated to rob a bank or something.

Basically, the episode was about a grumpy man (Grumpy the dwarf, if you must know) whose pessimistic attitude, according to the other characters, was to blame for his unsatisfactory life. The grouch was told that he could attain anything he hoped for--no dream was beyond his grasp. Well, in this case his dream was to impress a young woman by successfully selling 1,000 candles. Unfortunately, he had little success after pursuing multiple advertising routes. Determined to sell his candles--and ultimately attain his dream--the man, through vandalism, caused a city-wide power outage so that people were forced to buy his candles. The episode ended with Grumpy wooing the girl, and receiving approval from his friends. A true happy ending, teaching us that we can achieve anything we desire--as long as we stoop to criminal levels. 

Another Class Blog.

So. The last time I used this blog was almost two years ago. I made it for one reason: to get class credit.
It was a really touchy-feely class, where you documented memories, feelings, and impressions. With that being said, if by some chance one of you cute classmates from my Media class ends up on my blog--will you please NOT judge me? Because that'd be great.