Media Reflections

[joreth]

I often hear or see things in popular media, such as television, radio, comic strips, etc., that provoke a long, complicated internal analyzation and I decided I should get these thoughts out of my head.  So I'm going to start posting quotes, youtube links, and images of things I hear and see that give me something to think about (and usually I have a strong opinion about, but not always).  I think I'm going to arrange it in a format such that the initial post is nothing but the quote, image, or video file, then give people a chance to comment if they'd like.  Then, in a comment, I will include my own thoughts on the subject unless the original post speaks for itself.

So, here's the first one.  I don't know how regular these will be, since I tend to be irregular myself when it comes to internet interactions, but we'll see how it goes.

Comments

[joreth]

While I agree with you about everything you said, what struck me about this particular strip was that I was put in Calvin's position very often growing up, so I feel sort of nostalgic about it. Everything I did or tried to do seemed obvious and natural to me, but it seemed to come across like hammering nails into a coffee table to my parents, accompanied by the typical emotional knee-jerk reaction and waves of disapproval.

And sometimes I just wanted to put nails in the coffee table, which has no purpose, other than to hammer nails into something, which now I can do with no one looking over my shoulder and complaining that I'll ruin the coffee table.

[leora.livejournal.com]

My upbringing was very different, so to me it strikes me as a cliche' thing to say that is part of the culture, but not something I'm actually used to encountering.

[joreth]

I discovered last week just how much distance I have put between myself and my family. I was raised strictly middle-class, Middle American. Everything about my upbringing was normal, even the bizarre parts. What made my life so strange and what made the bizarre parts actually bizarre ... was me.

I realized last week that I don't know anyone anymore who comes from a similiar background. For all the thousands of Americans who grew up in cultures just like mine, or who desire to attain the lofty heights of Middle Class, I managed to create a social circle comprised of absolutely no middle-class children. It's kind of strange.