If You'll Let Me Direct Your Attention... // Regular Show

Due to holidays, etc. I'm going to be cheating once again and posting one of my blog posts from this past semester, from my Television class. Enjoy!

Trade articles are one of the best ways to find out what is going on behind the scenes with various television channels and programs. Yet, the content in these articles is often focused on a specific aspect that the publisher or the network wanted to emphasize. For example, this article (entitled “Cartoon Network’s ‘Regular Show’ To Step Up Half-Hours”) spends about a fourth of the article focusing on Regular Show’s popularity and emphasis on friendship and fun, a point the creator J.G. Quintel feels is one of the reason it’s so well received by parents as well as kids. This confliction between the title’s focus and the actual content of the article helps to emphasis who’s being privileged in the publication of trade articles. Trade articles, while useful for finding information about a show from behind-the-scenes, should be read knowing that they tend to be biased toward the agendas of the network and the creators of a particular show, as well as the desires of the publication.

Regular Show is undeniably one of Cartoon Network’s most popular shows at present. It’s popular with not just younger kids, but also with their parents, older kids, and other adults and young adults. It does, as one can easily see in this clip, contain themes of friendship. However, it’s important to notice that the “friendship” in, at least in this specific clip, is a little warped in a way that might concern parents with younger kids. One prominent way is that Mordecai pushes Rigby at one particular instance, and this passes with no consequences (other than Rigby crying, which even that doesn't have any consequences). This reinforcement of physically violent interactions between friends may not be the kind of “friendship” that parents want to emphasize. This notion conflicts with Quintel’s statement that the show is popular with parents and kids due to its portrayal of friendships.

If the content of the show is at odds with the creator’s comments on the show in the trade journal, why is this still such a huge emphasis in the article that is supposed to be focused, according to the title, on the timeslot expansion of the show? The answer lies at the heart of trade journalism: the network’s agenda. Cartoon Network, while definitely pandering to young adult and adult audiences with its content (as discussed by many of the previous Cartoon Network blog posts), they still pride themselves on being a cartoon channel for kids and families. Therefore, the network wants to promote the concepts that appeal to parents, such as the emphasis on friendship in their shows, even if they aren't always completely accurate or ideal. In this way, this trade article, amongst other articles, effectively ignore the perspectives of audiences of television, choosing to emphasize the networks’ and creators’ agendas for a show or channel.

In this way, this trade article seems to reflect the efforts made on-screen in shows throughout Cartoon Network. That is, they choose to publicly emphasize the positive, family-friendly qualities that are included in their shows in attempts to win over parents. It’s the other content that attracts other audiences and forms such a wide following.

That being said, I really must say Regular Show is one of Cartoon Networks best shows right now, and I (being a twenty year old male) thoroughly enjoy the show. I'd recommend it to young adult audiences and whatnot, though I'd encourage parental discretion when it comes to younger audiences.

Until next time, when I'll hopefully have an original post for the first time in too long, 

I’m Michael, and this is my life.

Social Networking // The Head and the Heart

You all no doubt have some form of social networking, be it MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or any other number of social network accounts. In fact, you probably have accounts on a few (if not all) of these sites. Here’s a question for you, though: Why?

Don’t think I’m attacking you for having social networking. I have an account on many of the current leaders in social networking (my favorite of which is Google+). I just want to know why you have one, because while I do have them, I almost never create original posts. I go to post something and think to myself “Will anyone really care?” I psyche myself out of posting a lot of status updates and Tumblr posts and whatnot. I feel like they’re just too trivial, too insignificant to be a productive use of someone’s feed space. And yet, despite this feeling, I find myself returning frequently to these sites to read what others have posted. Even more shockingly, I find myself writing these posts on a weekly basis when not more than a handful of people really read it, if that. Honestly, not even many of my friends make the time to read these things. (Not because they don’t support me, but because they’re all busy people. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.)

Back on track, though. Why do people find it enjoyable to write a quick blurb on a site like Facebook or Twitter? Is it the social gratification of getting Likes or Retweets or whatnot? Or is it because they enjoy using it as an outlet for their thoughts and activities? Here’s my theory: I think almost everyone in the world just wants to tell someone about their life, about what they’re doing. I think most people want to express their interests to someone who may or may not care. I think humans are innately wired to want to share information about what’s happening to them. I don’t have any scientific evidence for this hypothesis, but I believe it’s the case for most people. While I don’t post to social networking often, I do find myself frequently telling one of my friends about something I did or saw or heard recently, even if they don’t express any interest at all in hearing about it. My flatmates probably hate me for this, but it’s just something I do.

This blog stems from the same desire. I want to share things I like, thoughts I’ve had, and opinions I hold. It’s just in my nature. So when I tell you, as I’m about to, that I love the band The Head and the Heart, and am going to a free concert of theirs tonight, I’m saying this mostly because I just want to tell someone. I want someone to know that I’m doing this, and that I enjoy this band.

The best part is of blogging about my life? I can just say these things that I want to, solely for the reason that I want to. Honestly, I’d be satisfied if even just one person read this blog and found it enjoyable. That being said, the more people who read this, enjoy it, subscribe to it, and even benefit from it, the happier I’ll become. This is going to be one of the few times I say this, but here it goes: if you enjoy this blog, if you find it entertaining at all, please share it with your friends or family. If you want to let me know you enjoy it and give me encouragement, I’d love to hear from you. You can message me on my Google+ account or hit me up on Twitter or Tumblr. Funny how I came back to social networking without even planning it. FULL CIRCLE!

Until next time,

I’m Michael, and this is my life.

A Thing About Beauty // Facetune (and Why I Dislike It)

            Recently I stumbled across an app in the Google Play Store called Facetune. This $3 app is basically designed as a selfie editor, allowing users to tweak their face in app to look “beautiful”. Now, I use quotations here because the app defines beauty in the same way that mass media does: flawless and altered. It not only advertises the ability to smooth skin and remove blemishes, but it also boasts the ability to reshape one’s face. This warped sense of beauty has permeated western culture, and many people (myself included) find it to be a horrible and sickening thing.

            I’m a long-time sufferer of acne, myself, so it’s not like I don’t understand where they’re coming from. Back in middle school and early high school I used to alter my photos before posting them, especially back when I used webpages like the now-dead Dailybooth. I had bought into the warped sense of beauty that the media was perpetuating. However, sometime in high school I came to the realization that I didn’t need to alter how I looked. The truth is, true beauty is far from this warped sense of beauty.

            You see, here’s a thing about acne that even I didn’t fully understand until late in my high school career: a person’s level of acne is never their fault. Acne is incredibly difficult to get and keep under control. At least, it is for those of us with extremely oily skin. In high school, I’d look around and see people with really clear skin and wonder what product they were using to wash their faces, because it must work, right? If they could keep their acne under control, why couldn’t I? What I didn’t understand was that people’s skin has a wide range of oiliness. Mine just happened to be in the higher section of that range, which necessitated that I get stronger face wash.

            Generalizations of these concepts can be applied to many other things that the warped western sense of beauty considers “ugly”, be it a person’s weight, facial structure, breast size, nose shape, or any other feature.

            Things like weight can be put with acne in the category of “extremely hard to control”. There are a variety of factors that affect a person’s weight aside from simply their diet and exercise routines. Genetics, for example, plays a large role in a person’s ability to gain or lose weight. So while some people may find it relatively easy to stay in shape, there are people who struggle every day to maintain a healthy weight (be it because they are too heavy or too light).

            The other group of features, including facial structure, breast size, etc., compose the category of “virtually impossible to control”. Sure, there are things such as surgery that can alter these things, but those surgeries are popularized under the concept that there is a certain “ideal aesthetic” that everyone should strive for. What used to be a corrective procedure has become desirable, and it’s sickening.

            I’ll stop myself before I ramble much longer. I just wanted to get it out there that I greatly dislike things like Facetune that perpetuate and feed off of this warped sense of beauty that has be created. Here’s the truth: you are handsome; you are beautiful; you are looking really good today, and every day. So go out into your day and your life knowing that you look fantastic.

Wishing you a happy week, and telling you your hair looks nice today,

I’m Michael, and this is my life.

The Separation of Parent and Child // BBC Shows

            So, it’s been awhile since my last update. Reason being I moved into an apartment just off campus for the school year that, until recently, was without internet. But we’re online, now, and everything is going smoothly.

            Interesting thing, moving out. Moving out is like purgatory with regards to your parents. You want, and on some level need, to be independent from them, but at the same time they want, and on some level need, you to still be mildly dependent on them. Don’t get me wrong, they’re probably super happy to get you out of the house, but at the same time, they probably despise the fact that they have to let go.

            For example, shortly after I moved out I went camping with some friends a couple hours north of campus. Despite the fact that I should have probably told my parents where I was going just in case something happened, I did not on the basis that I felt it was none of their business. (This was, admittedly, rather immature of me.) Whilst I was gone with my friends camping, my parents tried to contact me, because my loft bed frame had finally arrived. Not being able to contact me, they decided it was a good idea to swing by my apartment and drop it off. Now, it is my fault that I did not tell them where I was, but I still wonder what drove them to think that stopping by unannounced at my apartment, which is shared with three other tenants, was a good idea. They could have arrived at any number of inconvenient and/or awkward times for the other tenants. So, through a lot of failed communication and irrational thought processes, my parents and I created a wonderful example of the different positions held by the parents and the child upon the child moving out.

            The worst section of time, though, is the part just before a child moves out. Like, when the child is about 18 years old and wants so badly to cut his or her parents loose and run around free in the world. The child desires independence (morally, religiously, physically, monetarily, etc.), but at the same time he or she cannot have it.

            Too many parents think that they have failed as parents if their kid(s) don’t believe exactly what they believe. This, however, isn’t a failure in parenting, but rather a failure in their ideology. For example, many religious parents feel that they have failed in raising their child properly if he/she “strays” from his/her parents’ religious views. Examine this closely and you will see that this is not a failure in parenting. Instead, it is a failure in spreading the religious views further, which is innately what all religious views (as well as all other ideologies) wish to do.

If I were to raise my kid to believe that, say, The Vampire Diaries (a show I, personally, find to be utter garbage) is the best show that ever was and will be, would it really be correct of me to feel that I failed as a parent if my child grows up and realizes that BBC television shows such as are far superior shows to The Vampire Diaries? No. Rather, I should be proud that my child has grown to the point where he/she can judge what is good, even if it were to disagree with my own views.

Personally, I feel that a parent’s job is to raise a child to a level of intellect and maturity such that he or she can go out into the world and independently make rational and informed political, religious, academic, vocational, and moral decisions. Too many parents take this and add “that agree with my views” to the end of it, and that, in this blogger’s opinion, is wrong.

Well, that’s about it for this update.

I’m Michael, and this is my life.

*Update/Disclaimer*: I realized that this may seem like I want all parents to be super loose and not try and teach or guide their kids. This is not accurate. This post is talking exclusively about the time in a child’s life when he/she begins to separate both physically (moving out) and ideologically from his/her parents. It is at this point in life that I believe parents should take a step back and let their kid decide more for him/herself, even if they disagree with him/her. The parents can (and arguably should) still be there as a guide, but they shouldn’t force it.