Having the media looking over your shoulder

Today there was some huge news because the new Fall Out Boy album was released onto the internet. Why is this big news? Well a few years back, after the release of their 2008 album Fall Out Boy had gone on a permanent hiatus... or so we thought. About a month ago Fall Out Boy performed a brand new song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and released a music video for the song "My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light 'Em Up)" They announced that they had a new album coming out in the next month. This excited fans everywhere, there had been no news or hype on the release up until that point. Fall Out Boy had wanted to keep things under wraps so that they could make music their own way without interference from media and fans, along with the pressure to release the album. They tried very hard to keep it quiet, even with big guest artists like Elton John. Bassist Pete Wentz had gone to dinner with rapper 2 Chainz to discuss a collaboration on one of the songs and 2 Chainz had taken a photo and captioned it "Fall Out Boy Ft. 2 Chainz" which scared the members of Fall Out Boy because they thought the public would find out, but so many people thought that it was a joke that it was dismissed and Fall Out Boy could continue their work in secrecy. It is really cool that they were able to go under the radar to create an album that was made of music that they wanted to play and music that was able to be perfected due to the unlimited amount of time they had to work on it. Sadly Fall Out Boy has made plans for a new album in public so they will once again be in the public eye and won't be able to have the effect that they had with this last album. Fall Out Boy may have started something with this method though, maybe other bands that are supposedly retired will come back to release new albums the way that they want to release them outside of the media's sight.

Food Inc. Reflection

After watching Food Inc. in class this Thursday, I am overly tempted to go back to my vegetarian ways. The tactics that the film included to persuade watchers to eat more organic things and the situations that animals live in were extremely impacting. I'll be honest, I am guilty of purchasing food from McDonald's, Taco Bell....the list goes on.

While I am aware of the consequences of eating at these places, I still do it. But why? For me, it is the social aspect. My friends want to go out at 3 a.m. to get Taco Bell or grab a quick dinner because we do not have a better time to get food. It's exactly what we have discussed in class. We do not take the time to nourish our bodies in the best way possible. We do not take the time to sit down, cook a real meal and enjoy it slowly.

After this video and discussion in class, it definitely makes me want to change my habits. People glamorize the healthy lifestyle, but do they live it? I can recall many times when I have to tell people I am proud that I spent time making grilled chicken and vegetables (I know; it's kind of sad).  However, I do want to make a change in my eating habits. I do want to make it lifestyle, rather than something I do out of the blue. I do not want to encourage society's bad habits any longer. It is difficult because I can change this for myself, but what I would love is to help instill change in everyone around me. My dream would be to live a life like Italians or those in Spain who sit down and enjoy their meals. I would love to be like my next door neighbor who only eats organic food. If more documentaries like Food, Inc. were shown to a younger generation, maybe there would be hope for the future. While I'm trying to break the habits, it would be best if the habits didn't exist in the first place.

Things to think about...

Last week, when we discussed if women are humorous and the story of the woman runner that the media deemed to be a man, I believe several of my colleagues’ opinions were slightly misguided. Below are some points that should be considered.

1.     First, there is a difference between gender and sex. Gender is how someone identifies themself, and sex is what someone scientifically is. When Semenya allegedly had elevated testosterone levels, I believe it was okay for the Olympics committee to investigate the sex of the runner. When you enter the Olympics, you need to be comfortable with the harshest scrutiny from your peers and the Olympics committee. However, I believe the unfair scrutiny that the media put on Semenya is the true crime. The individual should be the one that decides his or her own gender – not other people.

2.     Second, when the children were being interviewed about Semenya on the Tonight Show, many people were shaming the children’s opinion. However, if you look at their comments in a developmental perspective, their opinions were rational for their age. From 3-12 years old, children are developing schemas that shape the world around them. Analytical thinking is minimal at these ages, and many children apply their schemas with a narrow mindset. Although parents partially help mold schemas, most gender-based schemas come from observations within their environment. Most women do not have muscles like Semenya, and it is quite possible that some of the children on the video had never seen a women built like Semenya.

3.     As I mentioned in class, when it comes to humor, I don’t believe women need to be masculine to be funny, but I would argue that they would need to be androgynous in this day and age. Androgyny is not a masculine or feminine trait, but is rather gender neutral. As proof, every female comedian discussed in class had androgynous traits.

    -Derek Miller

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