Farewell, Reading Place

While it would be difficult to answer all of the questions asked in our game show in less than 700 words, I can state my basic ideas about humans’ relationship with nature.
I believe that humans have many, many, flaws, but one of the most important and tragic ones is that we do not treat nature with respect. The video that we watched in class about the one man destroying the world really struck me. I am totally guilty of mistreating the Earth, but I still think that we as humans can make many small, conscious efforts to improve our relationship with nature. Though I think it would be very hard, I think that humans should try to act as equals with nature and not dominate it without disregard. This would call for a large societal shift, with lots of educating and reflection.
Connecting to this, I believe that humans’ relationship with nature is much different from those of other creatures on Earth. Like all plants and animals, we rely on nature to survive, but in different ways. We are using the Earth’s resources carelessly and with disregard to any other species that needs the same resources to live. Humans also think of themselves as disconnected from nature; we feel that we should have complete control over it.
Looking at the questions presented in this project made me reflect on my own relationship with nature. I am proud that I am a vegetarian and don’t eat other creatures that live in nature, but there are many areas I could improve how I treat nature. First and foremost, I could distance myself from technology and appreciate my surroundings more. I am also interested in only using products that are not tested on animals and that are organic. I hope that as I grow older, I can make important and conscious decisions to improve how I treat the Earth.
While I don’t completely agree with any of the people/concepts mentioned in the product, I can relate to Christopher McCandless’ view on our relationship with nature. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I admire his dedication and appreciation of nature, but believe that many of his thoughts are too radical. If we take the time to appreciate nature, we will treat the earth better.
In the small group portion of this project, I helped organize who was going to research what. I like to make sure that everything is accounted for, so I also organized a whole group message on Facebook to discuss how the project was progressing. For my small group with Ann and Sela, I annotated both Into The Wild and a piece about Everett Ruess.
When we first decided to do a large group project for the final, I was very hesitant. It felt very hectic trying to plan what we were going to do. At sometimes, I wanted to just go into smaller groups and work more efficiently. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the group effort worked. I loved our game show concept and I feel that each group contributed a lot of insight and depth to the project. I think that it would have been very difficult to do a whole group spoken word of some type, so I am proud that we came up with an idea that could easily include everyone. If I could change anything about this project, I would make sure that everyone was more organized and on top of their work. I don't like to scramble at the last minute! I think that the concept of this final project was very open ended, which worked to our advantage. If I could, I would get rid of some of the annotations, because I think that it took time away from focusing on the project script and content.














 

McCandless got me feeling some type of way.

Before I delve into my Into the Wild prompt response, I have a confession to make:

I am pretty much obsessed with Chris McCandless and the mystery that surrounds his life. My fascination with McCandless started when I picked up Into The Wild this past summer and read it in one sitting on a glorious, summer day. I could not rip my eyes off the page; I felt this unexplainable attraction and curiosity towards McCandless' life.

Soon after I devoured the book, I moved on to the film adaptation of the novel, also titled Into The Wild. If it was possible, I fell in love with the movie even more than the book. Unlike so many movie adaptations, I felt that the movie Into The Wild justified Chris' life and portrayed his story just the way I hoped it to be. I also listened to the soundtrack nonstop and gabbed about the movie and book obsessively with my fellow Reading Place classmate, Sela Patterson.

Sorry, back to the prompt. When I searched "Chris McCandless" on YouTube, I was not surprised at the results. Around three fourths of the videos consisted of slideshow tributes to McCandless, using recognizable images that were previously shown on TV reports or magazines. None of these tribute videos seemed to be made out of spite and anger, but rather with immense respect and a bit of idolization. One YouTube user even composed an original acoustic song for the background music of the tribute. Another thing I noticed about these videos is they all had a lot of views: ranging from 1,000 to 1 million hits.

The other quarter of videos contained footage from different expeditions to Magic Bus. While some videos included foreign hikers and random people, the most striking videos featured Chris McCandless' loved ones.

The video that struck me the most comes from the Back to the Wild website. Back to the Wild is the title of the collection of Chris McCandless' photographs and writings, compiled by his loved ones including his parents, Wayne Westerberg and Jan Burres. In the video, the group of Chris' loved ones bundles up and travels to Magic Bus to see where he passed away. Even with the grainy footage, you can see the sadness in the group's eyes when they enter the bus.

This image struck me the most.

I wanted to cry for Chris' parents. Seeing the aging couple sit on the bed where their son died a painful death was almost too much to handle. Even though many argue that McCandless was an ignorant rich kid, it is so important to remember that he came from a loving family. 

Even though I am suffering from an extreme case of senioritis, I spent an extensive time researching McCandless. Like the hundreds of YouTubers making tributes, I feel a connection with McCandless. I don't necessarily agree with his views and many of the actions he took, but I admire his determination and free spirit. As a class, we could argue about his decisions, ideas and personality all we want, but that wouldn't change one thing:

Chris McCandless was one heck of a dreamer.
And I find that pretty darn admirable. 

Is this Really the Gopher State?

When brainstorming ideas for this Vine project, I had trouble deciding what aspect of nature I wanted to show my interaction with. I am not one with the outdoors and I hate Minnesota weather, so I thought that this project would be a failure. I then remembered that I have a very strong relationship with one specific part of the natural world: animals.

I am a huge sports fan, and most of the teams I root for include mascots like "Goldy Gopher" "Willie the Wildcat" and Timberwolves I always picture these animals as animated mascots for sports teams and not legitimate members of nature. With this tryptich, I wanted to explore my relationship in relation to these animals-turned-mascot, specifically the gopher.

Gophers are the mascot and favorite animal of Minnesotans

 

For this first Vine, I wanted to show how gophers were represented on a national public level. The clip at the beginning of the Vine is from the NIT National Championships, when the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Basketball team defeated the SMU Mustangs for the title. There is an obvious difference between the gopher, a relatively small rodent and the huge college students dunking on the basketball court. I then decided to cut to me, decked out in Gopher gear, cheering for my beloved team. This was to show that for me, gophers were not rodents but heroes on the basketball court. 

 

In my second Vine, gophers are again viewed as a tool for entertainment. This time, the gopher featured is actually a gopher, but appreciated for its adorableness and cute factor, not for its contribution to the animal kingdom. It seems that if an animal is not used as a mascot, it is seen as something cute and an outlet for us humans to "ooh" and "ah" and laugh over. At the end, I say that I want a gopher, which shows that I obviously know nothing about the wild animal.

While the last Vine is the most embarrassing, holds the most significance. In the two Vines before, I seem to be the gopher's biggest fan and adore the animal. This last Vine shows that though my love for the gopher comes from good intention, I am very uneducated about gopher and many other animals. The facts in the Vine are true, some gophers are threatened species in Minnesota, yet this fact is unknown to so many "diehard" gopher fans. We are often so oblivious to the reality of nature and instead choose to care about an animal for their connection to a sports team or their cuteness factor. 

Takers can still find their own "Redemption"

It is the classic story told over and over: a good hearted, unusually good looking convict looks to outsmart the prison system and escape to freedom.

Frank Morris did it in  "Escape from Alcatraz" and Andy Dufresne did it in "Shawshank Redemption".

So why can’t us Takers escape our own prison? Ishmael will tell you why: we don’t want to.

In Ishmael, the novel’s namesake explains to the narrator that "The world of Takers is one vast prison, and except for a handful of Leavers scattered across the world, the entire human race is now inside that prison,” (Quinn 251). Takers are self-centered; focusing on their own success, not the status of the human species.

Takers are completely absorbed in the power and wealth distribution in their society, a commonly seen in real penitentiaries. Even while in the most dire conditions, most inmates only care about which gang is on top, how much money they have for commissary and what newbies that can turn into their pets. Not many take the time to reflect on their bad decisions, plan for their futures or try to save children on the outside from living the same lives as themselves. In the prison system, inmates are forced to be self-focused, or else they will pay the price. 

This is not to say that people in the prison system are especially narcissistic. This is a trait engrained in the Takers since the beginning of civilization. Ishmael explained that “you're captives of a civilization system that more or less compels you to go on destroying the world in order to live,” (25). Takers are raised with a pressure to focus on themselves. Takers make every decision, whether it is killing other species or harming the environment because they believe this is the only way for them to survive. A viscous cycle like this is hard to escape. 

According to Ishmael, “It should be noted that what is crucial to your survival as a race is not the redistribution of power and wealth within the prison but rather the destruction of the prison itself,” (252). Takers need to focus their energy on erasing the culture of consumerism and domination rather than competing against each other for power. 

While this seems almost impossible in this day and age, I do believe there is hope for Takers.

This reminds me of one of my favorite scenes in one of my favorite movies, "Shawshank Redemption". In the final scenes (watch from 0:42-1:16) Red, says “I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”

Red is like the Takers. He waited a long time for his prison release, only imagining what freedom felt like beyond those bars. I feel that in the near future, Takers can also be like Red, making their way to ocean of vast opportunity and beauty. It will take patience, passion and a well-planned escape route. 

You can't help but get emotional when Red gets to the ocean. This could be the Takers if we really want.

Tech Talk

A Wish of Amish

Ice Ice...Amish?
This was my first thought when I saw the headline: "Vanilla Ice to 'Goes Amish' in new reality TV Series". So many things were wrong with this headline. A) I thought we left Vanilla in the 90's! B) What is with all of the Amish? C) Why does the public need to watch this?

In today's age, we use technology to exploit the mysterious and unknown. Computers, televisions and phones give us access to all of the information we could ever wish for; there are very few aspects of life and culture that you can't just google or find a hashtag for on Twitter.

It looks like the Amish communities are the newest trend to hit pop culture and its technology. "Vanilla Ice Goes Amish" joined ridiculous reality programs such as "Breaking Amish", "Breaking Amish: LA" and "Amish Mafia" that give the average American an all access pass to the lives of the elusive Amish.
Many of these programs, including "Breaking Amish", surround a group of Amish young adults entering the "English" world and experimenting with different clothing, technologies and cuisines. Entertaining moments include the Amish cast on their first plane rides, watching television and using computers.

 I think that these shows are so popular and fascinating because they provide a perspective of our society that we could never imagine. From infancy, we are exposed to so many forms of technology: televisions, computers, phones, iPods, iPads, video games. They are tools for communicating, learning and entertainment.

Most Americans, including myself, could not fathom living without our daily dose of technology. Life without iEverything seems so old fashioned, outdated and un-cool.

 In pop culture, the Amish are both intriguing and appalling because it makes us ask an important question: can you be considered a member of society if you don’t comply to the use of technology?

The whole topic of Amish in pop culture reminded me of the video we watched for class, “They’re Made Out Of Meat”. While re-watching this video, I could imagine how the Amish community would think of the “English” people as the meat, and vice versa. There seemed to be an obvious distaste of the word “meat”, making it seem like it was associated with animals, something subhuman. To the main characters in the video, it was beyond revolting and inappropriate for the “meat” people not to live like them. 

With the recent exposure of the Amish community, it seems like the public is stating how unbelievable it is that the Amish don’t live like everyone else. The television shows don’t seem to respect the traditions of the community, but rather create unnecessary drama and increased distance from their culture and ours. 

On the other hand, it does not seem that that the Amish portrayed on these shows show the same disrespect. In this outtake from the television show “Amish Mafia”, Merlin, one of the main cast members, shows how he can balance technology and his culture. He uses a cell phone for work but once he leaves his job, he turns it off “because if not, it’s gonna distract you from your family, its going to distract you from things that are really really important in life,”. 

Well said, Merlin. Well said. 

Coincidentally, the clip ends with the necessary hashtags to further explore the Amish Mafia, (are you #teammerlin, #teamlevi or #teamesther?) and a link to www.discovery.com/buggyrace . 

In conclusion, I think that everyone in our society needs to stop, collaborate and listen. Are the Amish the extreme ones for not using technology, or are we insane for our reliance on it? Will there ever be a time where those who don’t wish to use technology can coexist with those who do?

I have no idea. But maybe Vanilla Ice can let us know.