TV and Consumption

We were given the Un-TV Experiment. I was really interested in what I was going to learn from this experiences. After I finished this experience I realized that TV is so pointless.  We are so caught with thinking that watching TV helps us to connect to society.  Most children are already being introduced to all the advertisements.  Children are the gate to consumption and advertisements.  TV makes us lose track in time.  In Today's society we really don't notice how much we sit in front of the TV and do nothing. I realized that there are numerous advertisements on not only TV, but on billboards, and the radio. TV and technology have consumed our society. We are so wrapped up in all the advertisements and are always wanting the new thing. Our society uses TV and technology to socialize and engage with society. We are so wound up in it. I remember when I was Young I would get so caught up in TV and I wouldn't realize how late it was and it be like hours later.  I was always so caught up with the shows and I would act like they are apart of society. As I would talk to friends about the shows and people in them as if they were real people in our society.

Tuesday's With Morrie and Fearing Death?

I think that as Americans we do fear death. We always see death as something negative. Death is often connected with pain and loss. The way we view death has been built upon by our culture and society. People fear death because of not knowing what to expect. Death is feared for their is a sense that control over time or even over yourself is lost. When it comes down to it death tends to be mainly from illness and oldness. We lose a big value of our and we are no longer able to self-help ourselves. Death has become awkward for most to talk about because that's what we have learned from society. In the movie Morrie views death in a positive way. I love how he is so optimistic and looks at as him having known how to live. When he would talk to Mitch he would express that relationships and love never die and will always be there. I have seen many people mourn in pain that have suffered a loss. One of my really close family friends lost someone unexpectedly. I really liked their perspective on it. Yes, of course, they were very sad at their loss, but they saw it as him having lived his life here and completing everything he needed to. When they put together his funeral they said that he had a mission to fulfill not here on the earth, but in heaven. I really liked this because it created a positive outlook on life.

Doing Absoulutely Nothing

We were given a homework assignment in sociology to do absolutely nothing. I decided to go to the mall to do this. As I stood there trying to do the assignment I found it very hard. New and random things were popping in to my head as everyone around me was in motion. I personally had a really hard time clearing my mind of all thoughts. After completing the task I reflected back thinking about all those around me. Everyone was constantly moving and trying to keep busy. We are so focused on always getting something done; that we have a hard time knowing how not to do something. A value we have is having a purpose. We consistently are doing stuff even without thinking about it because even the idea of doing nothing is odd for us. In our society and world doing nothing is seen as a negative, but depending on your view it could easily be just a way of relaxation or meditation and clearing our own minds. It was really interesting to watch people's reactions to me not doing anything. Everyone was giving me weird looks and trying to figure out what it was that I was doing. In class we talked about an experience of a student where they were approached by a police officer. I thought it was very interesting that he asked him to keep moving because doing nothing is not really accepted in our society. We discussed that if you are resting or if you are waiting for someone and stranding around it is okay then to stand; just as long as your doing something. Our society does not really know or accept the concept of doing nothing.

Subculture

We as individuals are all involved in our own subcultures.  There are many subcultures: such as race, ethnicity, sports, religion, and hobbies. At my high school there are so many different subcultures. Sometimes we are part of a subculture and we don't even realize it.  One huge sub-culture that plays a large role in my life is religion. I am a Mormon as most people know us. Most people though don't know that our religion is a branch off of Christianity. Something that people don't know about us is that we don't swear, drink even after age of 21, we don't believe in pre-marital sex. There are many values we have that are important to me and shape me. There are many folkways, symbols, tabboos, language, and values each individual has although they are not always easily spotted or recognized.. A more that is in my life is family is the most important thing in my life and nothing comes between. I  go to church every Sunday and also every morning before school for an hour. A highly valued thing for me is my family. We are very family oriented and are very close even with my extended family.

Traffic Jam or Not?

At first when I was watching the video of how they get through their intersections in India I was shocked. I was watching for a while when Sal pointed out that there weren't any accidents. This is one custom that is very different from ours. If this went on in America there would be numerous car accidents. It shows that because of how we are raised we all learn our own ways and styles of life depending on our culture. Different societies all have their own and unique ways of operating. What looked chaotic to me was something completely different  to them. They have their own system that works. After watching the video Sal gave a great example of how my peers and I are like the vehicles from India where we slowly fit through the cracks of the hallways to get by other people in order to get to our next class. I really liked this example because it was helpful to me to be able to see how their society At first when I was watching the video of how they get through their intersections in India I was shocked. I was watching for a while when Sal pointed out that there weren't any accidents. This is one custom that is very different from ours. If this went on in America there would be numberous car accidents. It shows that because of how we are raised we all learn our own ways and styles of life depending on our culture. Different societies all have their own and unique ways of operating. What looked chaotic to me was something completely different  to them. They have their own system that works. After watching the video Sal gave a great example of how my peers and I are like the vehichles from India where we slowly fit through the cracks of the hallways to get by other people in order to get to our next class. I really liked this example because it was helpful to me to be able to see how their society on the road functions without getting in accidents. What seems like the norm for us is foreign to others. Many times I have seen people cross the street when they are not suppose to. This creates a chaos to those who are use to the norm and causes a interruption in society.