Society, Change and Dr. Seuss
Before I start, I'd like to apologize for missing a couple days on writing for this blog. I'm really just apologizing to myself since nobody reads this anyways...But still, it's the respectful thing to do. Another thing is I want to point out that my blog is my personal opinion about things so please don't take offense to anything I may say. I try to keep this blog respectful of other cultures, people's opinions, etc. and to be real with you, and since nothing I say is guaranteed to be correct, who cares? Voicing personal opinions here, just saying.
Alright, well today I'd like to talk about a few matters that have been on my mind involving society and our media. I guess my mind is just mainly boggled about the way media has influenced our society in so many ways. You know, I hear a rap song every other day about drinking, going to 'the club', wasting your life away, having nonchalant attitudes, being rich and famous, and other things and I understand if the tune is catchy, it's cool to sing along to. And yes, as a young girl, I listened to that all the time and didn't think anything of the words until I was older. But I was exposed to the words. Yeah, of course everyone is going to be exposed to those things in life, but songs like that praise that kind of stuff. That's the difference. Of course not all rap songs are crude like that, but the majority I've listened to are. If the majority of rap songs talked about real life experiences that strengthened you in some kind of way, then I'd probably enjoy rap more. And speaking about clothes...girls that wear like an inch of clothing get praised for their rebellious personality, while those girls who dress modest are considered boring or out-of-date. Everything mainstream is praised, of course. Society looks to media now; that's the cold, hard truth. And it would be nice if society looked to media if what media was displaying was good, but sadly that's not how it works. And it's not media's fault because media isn't a person. It's our own faults. We let too many things pass by us these days like we don't even have a conscience anymore and then we justify something if it's not good and make it out to be something that is good. The first example I can think of is Miley Cyrus' performance at the VMA's. Many would argue that in the performance, she was just being herself but does that really make it okay? There's a fine line between wrong and right and it'd be a great idea if people knew the difference between the two. And I've always wondered why people waste their time pointing out each detail and flaws of celebrities like I just sorta did, but now I know why. I assume most people don't see these celebrities as real people, but idols. They look up to them because maybe they don't have anyone to look up to at their age or whatever the case. Celebrities ARE real people and they DO make mistakes. In my own personal opinion, I think that as soon as you know you are a celebrity and are in front of those cameras, know that you stand for something and represent yourself in a positive way. Be aware that your audience is watching you and looking up to you. But it's hard and I couldn't even begin to imagine the type of pressure celebrities have to deal with it! So I know that I shouldn't be saying anything towards these people and as much as I think their actions are wrong, I don't think they, as a person, are bad. In the words of John Mayer, "I know the heart of life is good." Mistakes are influenced by so much and it's our job to learn from our mistakes. If we don't, we can't expect life, or society for that matter, to get any better. I do have hope for our society and a strong urgency to see more important, positive influences shown via media. Sometimes it just takes one person to affect a whole society. And in the words of a man who knew what he was talking about, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."-Dr. Seuss. Signing off, peace!
-Ali
Alright, well today I'd like to talk about a few matters that have been on my mind involving society and our media. I guess my mind is just mainly boggled about the way media has influenced our society in so many ways. You know, I hear a rap song every other day about drinking, going to 'the club', wasting your life away, having nonchalant attitudes, being rich and famous, and other things and I understand if the tune is catchy, it's cool to sing along to. And yes, as a young girl, I listened to that all the time and didn't think anything of the words until I was older. But I was exposed to the words. Yeah, of course everyone is going to be exposed to those things in life, but songs like that praise that kind of stuff. That's the difference. Of course not all rap songs are crude like that, but the majority I've listened to are. If the majority of rap songs talked about real life experiences that strengthened you in some kind of way, then I'd probably enjoy rap more. And speaking about clothes...girls that wear like an inch of clothing get praised for their rebellious personality, while those girls who dress modest are considered boring or out-of-date. Everything mainstream is praised, of course. Society looks to media now; that's the cold, hard truth. And it would be nice if society looked to media if what media was displaying was good, but sadly that's not how it works. And it's not media's fault because media isn't a person. It's our own faults. We let too many things pass by us these days like we don't even have a conscience anymore and then we justify something if it's not good and make it out to be something that is good. The first example I can think of is Miley Cyrus' performance at the VMA's. Many would argue that in the performance, she was just being herself but does that really make it okay? There's a fine line between wrong and right and it'd be a great idea if people knew the difference between the two. And I've always wondered why people waste their time pointing out each detail and flaws of celebrities like I just sorta did, but now I know why. I assume most people don't see these celebrities as real people, but idols. They look up to them because maybe they don't have anyone to look up to at their age or whatever the case. Celebrities ARE real people and they DO make mistakes. In my own personal opinion, I think that as soon as you know you are a celebrity and are in front of those cameras, know that you stand for something and represent yourself in a positive way. Be aware that your audience is watching you and looking up to you. But it's hard and I couldn't even begin to imagine the type of pressure celebrities have to deal with it! So I know that I shouldn't be saying anything towards these people and as much as I think their actions are wrong, I don't think they, as a person, are bad. In the words of John Mayer, "I know the heart of life is good." Mistakes are influenced by so much and it's our job to learn from our mistakes. If we don't, we can't expect life, or society for that matter, to get any better. I do have hope for our society and a strong urgency to see more important, positive influences shown via media. Sometimes it just takes one person to affect a whole society. And in the words of a man who knew what he was talking about, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."-Dr. Seuss. Signing off, peace!
-Ali
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