Post #4!!

My Brother made a video one day, out of the blue, about what it means to be an American. He posted it on youtube. It was nothing more than a compilation video featuring clips from various John Wayne movies, showing muscle cars and playing “Born in the USA” from Bruce Springsteen. I could not help but think of that video when I read the blog prompt for today. His perception (as well as mine) of what America is has been shaped by media more than anything else. It’s funny, because if you talk to someone from another country about a foreign film you saw from that country, many times they will tell you, “That’s not really what it’s like.” I would say that same thing to someone asking me if America is like the movies they’ve seen. However, when I start thinking about what it means to be an American, I’m thinking of Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazard, John Wayne, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Clancy and Audrey Hepburn. Of course, many other people, places and events come to mind as well, but I don’t think we American’s give media its due credit. It has shaped our society more than we even realize ourselves.

The passage “Homeplace” from our readings shows the Millers commitment to a specific place. In it, the author asks a very important question: “How can you value other places if you do not have one of your own?” It is important to have pride in your place. From this, an understanding and an appreciation of other places can come forward. Not everyone has that. I don’t. I have lived in 6 different places in my life. That is why I identify myself with the Mormon culture over any other. It is the one thing that has been consistent in my life. Inside the walls of a Mormon church, no matter what city I am in, I get the same feeling of place.

V Now I will do my reviews for the project on Thursday V

Nick Adams: Fantastic job on your presentation! Everything flowed nicely from when you were young until you were old. One thing I found very interesting in the presentation was the Animorphs. Animorphs was one of the first things you started reading, but then you “grew out” of it. However, when you were older, you realized that it was an important part of your identity, so it was reincorporated. The diversity of your media consumption was startling, to me. You were in to some older things that I mostly ignored until I was much older. I also identified with your taste in music developing around the same time that you started liking girls. It was the exact same with me! Other things I wrote in my notes for your presentation were as follows: “Sweet. Awesome. Haha. Very effective.” Very effective, Nick.

Spencer Humphrey: Dude, you had a SICK amount of variety in your presentation. It’s funny, because my media intake as a child has been relatively different from the other presentations, but I related to your stuff more than anybody else’s! Video games, man. That’s where it’s at. Also, I was way into anime. They kinda go together. Every new picture that came up I saw and thought, “I actually know what this is!” I couldn’t do that with everybody quite as much. Here are some other things I wrote down on my notepad: “Epic. Awesome. Animation. Dude, awesome.” This one resonated, Spencer. Great taste!