Satisfaction.

In my last blog post, i talked about Kony 2012, and how we are interested in it because it is a problem that is somewhere else in the world, relating to a quote in the book White Noise. I also stated how it went so viral because of technology, and how easy it is for you hundreds of facebook friends to see your one shared link, and then for them to share it with all of their facebook friends, and it just keeps going and going. Technology has really helped make things viral, from Kony videos to songs put up on youtube.

What i found interesting about Kony, is how people want to take action after watching a 30 minute video, when they really know nothing more about the subject, except what is displayed in the video. Yes, it makes you want to help make a change, but is buying a bracelet really doing a significant amount? Probably not. In 7th grade in my social studies class, we all bought invisible children bracelets, because we were learning about it in class. Everyone felt like they were making a huge difference by buying one bracelet, and people wore them around for about a month of two at most. Afterwards though, the topic was completely dropped.  No one did anything else to help the cause afterwards, because we all thought that by purchasing one bracelet wehad made a difference, and were satisfied by making a minimal contribution.

We all thought we had helped change Africa, and this bracelet was proof we contributed, because we all wanted a satisfied feeling. We would all most likely feel guilty by not buying one, and it is something Americans are known for. We like to be the "peace makers" of everything, though it doesn't always turn out that way.

Kony 2012

As many of you have probably seen on facebook, twitter, tumblr, and many other websites, Kony 2012 has been a huge topic. Seeing the video tuesday night, I was inspired, as many other people were as well. However, what i found interesting was how viral it went in such a short period of time. Wednesday when i came home from school, the numbers kept increasing of how many people shared the link on facebook. My cousin in Germany had even shared the link.

With technology as advanced as it is today, spreading news has become so much easier. Sharing a simple link on facebook or twitter can do so much, and Kony 2012 has gained so much support through this. This reminded me of in White Noise, when Alfonse said "For most people there are only two places in the world. Where they live and their TV set. If a thing happens on television, we have every right to find it fascinating, whatever it is" (66). This quote is basically saying that we are always interested in learning about catastrophes that are happening other places in the world, as long as they aren't happening to us. We want to take action to help these people in Africa, similarly to when we see videos on the news, etc like in White Noise.

Technology, which is a major theme in the book, as well as it being very prevelent in our everyday lives really helps make people aware of what is going across the world. For videos to spread from country to country in just a few hours, it really has a huge impact on our society, and i think will continue to in years to come.

TV Tokenism: Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation:

Leslie Knope, the main character, is the most developed character.

Ann, Chris, Ben, April, Andy, and Ron are supporting roles in the show, but they are also fairly developed, and you learn about their lives outside of the office.

Donna is the only African American, and is least developed of all of them. She receives very little screen time, and you don't know much about her.

Tom is used as the well-dressed "funny man" in the show, who you also don't know a ton about.