Video Game Heroes: Changing the Game (Weekly Written Assignment 4)

What is a hero? The dictionary defines a hero as “a man or woman of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his or her brave deeds and noble qualities.”(Dictionary.com) So what does this mean to you? What if these noble and admired qualities come in conflict with ethical decisions? When many people in society think about a hero, they refer to the person as one whom in the face of danger and adversity; they display courage or the will for self-sacrifice for the greater good. These are going to be your Superman’s and Captain Americas or other literary people who fit this category. The hero story has been told many times through different forms of media and we associate different events with heroes all the time (Dunshster). When it comes to video games, the hero story is heavily used. So what happens when a game uses the concept of a hero and pushes them to their limit?

The upcoming Playstation 3 game “Heavy Rain” addresses the issues with being a hero but does so in a morally questionable way. Video games of today’s age gave become repetitive and boring. The graphics are breathtaking but the stories haven’t changed. Heavy Rain promises to be a game that challenges our emotions and changes how we look at heroes in society. The game focuses on normal people who are faced with different situations or placed in the face of advisory, but instead of making moral decisions that help the good of the world, they will instead weigh out options to protect themselves and loved one, even if society’s values are skipped. The developer of the game quotes "Heavy Rain is about normal people who have landed in extraordinary situations. I wanted a much more personal story. The first thing that came to my mind, as a father of two little boys, was that the main theme should simply be a father's love for his son. This is not just a game about saving the princess or the world. It’s instead about a father's love and how that creates conflict with societal morals. The main story will revolve around four different characters, and we're putting the spotlight on their perceptions. The question 'what is good and what is evil' is the key here, that will be just a matter of viewpoint. I believe heavily in moral choices, I'm going to use them a lot. They're not about being good or bad, but about finding the right balance" (David Cage). One of the most interesting things about the game is unlike most games, if one character dies, the game does not end but rather picks up with one of the other characters with an altered storyline as a result of the other characters death.

This is a unique game that challenges the way we look at the concept of heroism. What is a hero to you? Someone who saves an animal from peril, perhaps a soldier in the military? Or maybe it’s someone you idolize for destroying bad guys and restoring peace among a community. Whatever your perception of a hero is it is different for all of us. Does one version of a hero hold precedence over another? Here’s an example for you, a man sees another man raping a young girl, he goes over to help her out and he and the perpetrator have a quarrel. The man ends up killing the perpetrator and saving the girl. Is this man a hero? Even though he killed another person? These are the types of situations Heavy Rain promises to place us in and challenge our values and moral decisions. Obviously there is some dispute about the game putting people in life situations like that but maybe this is the breath of fresh air that the gaming industry needs.

Here is a link to some videos to watch. Heavy Rain

Hero. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved January 25, 2010, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hero

Dunshster, S. (2008). What Defines a hero and heroism in today's society. Associated Content, Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1029742/what_defines_a_hero_and_heroism_in.html?singlepage=true&cat=19

Dunham, J. (2009, June 07). Heavy rain interview with David Cage. Retrieved from http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/711/711613p3.html

The Big Game: And other rituals in Society that never change (Ritual Assignment)

Rituals are necessary for us to know anything about society. (Ken Kesey) This is a very good and true statement. In today's culture and in cultures of the past, rituals were preformed everyday as a means to maintain traditions or to show a different plateau of your life. When understanding the ritual, I believe it is a set of actions or a tradition often done that has a symbolic value that if not done, would result in the feeling of incompleteness or missing value. One ritual in society everyone sees that's practiced often is getting ready for the big game. Whether it be a game between rival teams, or a big bowl game, everyone has a similar ritual. We go to the store, get the beer and wings, set up an area in our house and shut out all outside distractions as we cheer for our team and yell obscenities at the other. Getting ready for a big game is something we have been doing for a long time and is probably never going to go away anytime soon. A couple more prevalent rituals of today are holiday meetings and potlucks. Holiday meetings usually involve people bringing food and games to family settings to spend time together and catch-up on past times or long patches of no communication. Potlucks are similar but you tend to see them more on a business level or with friends instead of families.

When it comes to my family rituals, it is unfortunate that they seem to be dwindling over the years. A couple that we used to do was going to grandmas on Christmas Eve and family reunions. Going to grandmas on Christmas Eve was a way for the intermediate family and extended family to get together and be with one another. Everyone would bring a dish and we would have a secret Santa party at the end. Now it seems everyone's personal lives are more important to keep up with other family members. (I have not seen or heard from my cousin since she was 11; she's 16 now) The family reunion is a big traditional ritual seen in many different societies as a way to bring families together once a year. We as a family use to be very big on family reunions but again, people's personal lives got the better of them. Now we rarely do them.

When doing research I came across an article about the importance of rituals in family life. The author, Joyce Shriner, talks about the six stages of family life and the importance in the rituals of those stages. For example, in stage 3, the families with young children stage, she discusses how young children thrive on rituals and the importance of each ritual to their lives (Shriner). Story time, bath time and playtime are common rituals that reinforce the family bond in the early years of children.

Although we dismiss many rituals as useless tradition, we should maintain the ones that are symbolic to us. By doing so, we'll be able to pass them down these rituals to our children so that they may keep the tradition and rituals going.

Shriner, J. (2007). The Importance of rituals in family life. Ohio State University: Family and Consumer Sciences, Retrieved from http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/Rituals_Family.pdf

Technology: Changing the market again. (Weekly Written Assignment 3)

Technology is a perplexing part of culture that is always changing. An article about technology discusses how over time, the borders between private and public realms have come down and really changed our culture. (pg 339) Most of the chapter discusses how the different generations and the different age groups implement technology. In addition, it addresses the barrier issues faced by trying to make certain technology mainstream. The article about breaking down borders intrigued me the most. The questions at the end are excellent questions to ask yourself and look at from different perspectives and they are; "How do you think the technologies you regularly use have influenced the way you live your life?" Also, "What would your everyday life be like without these technologies?" As we look around in our lives, we see the blended environments of the public realm and the private realm. You can walk into Starbucks or any place that offers WIFI in a social setting and find people busy on their laptops and smart phones as if they were at home. The new LG projector phone is a great example of mixing a private "business" or personal environment to a public environment. The phone has a built in ability to project the images or videos on your phone to a bigger "screen" such as your wall (Segan). Before, people would have a stand-alone device to give presentations or watch movies in your living room. Now people will be able to be virtually anywhere they want to show off personal videos or presentations in a much more public atmosphere. One thing that really stood out to me was when Samuels discussed how people use these technologies to create their own personal culture (Samuels). The ability to take culture wherever you go is an ever-growing aspect of our society and the line between private and personal is becoming more and more unified. The other side is that people are trying to multitask so much that they lack the ability to do a single task (Samuels). So how do different generations look at it? As said before by other classmates, the older generations are having a difficult time melding the technologies of today with their own lives. However, these new smart phones like the projector phone have been designed to appeal to a broader audience and are used for more than just business (Nielsen Wire). So now I ask, how do you think technology has allowed the private atmosphere of people to meld with the public atmosphere of people? Do you think this is a good thing or is it a means for people to get lost within themselves?

Dr. Clip, Initials. (2009). Smartphone and iphone demographics. BitBriefs, Retrieved from http://bitbriefs.com/2009/09/20/smartphone-and-iphone-demographics-from-nielsen/

Samuels, R. (2007). Breaking Down Borders: How Technology Transforms the Private and Public Realms. Common Culture, 339-342. .

Segan, S. (2009, November 30). LG, AT&T Announce 1-Ghz Projector Phone. PC Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2356407,00.asp

Verizon's anti-iPhone commercial- Droid Does (Weekly Written Assignment 2)

Advertising plays a large role in our society and utilizes many social trends as well as other aspects of our culture to push its agenda. It would come as no surprise that Verizon Wirelesses recent commercial advertising the Motorola Droid by bashing the iPhone is an example of trends in society. As we have learned in the book, this type of advertising would be an example of Salespeak advertising. In an article about Verizon's latest marketing strategy, Dusan Belic discusses how Verizon focused on society's perception on the iPhone. The marketing of the iPhone really used the salespeak form of advertising to show how the iPhone is more than just a phone; it is a lifestyle. The attitudes of people nowadays are about how smart phones and other PDA's have become part of the norm. For the iPhone commercials, instead of attacking other phones, it instead gives the revolutionary aspect of how the iPhone combines all of the things you do in your everyday life into a device where its all at the tip of your fingers. The iPhone attempts to be different from the Blackberry devices by appealing to everyone instead of just business people. This is evident with all of the joyous life is good iPhone commercials. The commercials are not so much of an advertisement, but rather a persuasion on how to enhance your lifestyle with its catchy imagery and merry music.

The Verizon Droid commercial plays on the effective salespeak advertisement of apple to push its new phone. The commercial uses the catchy music made famous by Apple to point out the flaws of the iPhone. This commercial is unique in a few different ways. When the iPhone was released, it told society about all the things it can do to help them manage different things. This commercial takes that aspect and mocks the iPhone. The chief advertiser of Verizon said the main purpose of the commercial was to make people aware that the iPhone is not everything. Advertising is a very big part of our society and this commercial has really gave us an example of the different form of advertising and how they have influenced and impacted society.

So I'm curious, What are your thoughts on commercials like this? The ad can be found here.

Icon Analysis

Icons have a large impact on society and would be considered an important part of pop culture. Icons can define a person, they can be heroes, legends or heirlooms; it all depends on how the person looks at it. The icons I chose are the iPod, The BlackBerry, and emoticons.

These icons all share a relatively common trait; they revolutionized the way we look at things. The iPod was revolutionized the way we use mp3 players, the BlackBerry revolutionized the way business people intertwine business projects and pleasure on a single device and the wonderful emoticons revolutionized the way people text.

The reason why I chose these is because of what they did for society and what they mean to me. Each has their own uniqueness and although they have been around a decent amount of time, they each brought something to the table that has yet to really been toped.

The apple iPod first hit the market back in 2001 for an excessive price of $399. Look at all the hype that was created around it. I chose this icon because it really set the tone for mp3 players and challenged the existence of CD players. The concept was brilliant and the slogan was catchy "1,000 songs in your pocket". To me, the iPod symbolizes the change from old to new, from playing it safe to thinking outside the box, to push the envelope of competition to keep up with current trends. The iPod is still going strong today with the latest release of their iPod touch in 2007. It also still arguably the best mp3 player on the market and has become a part of our common everyday language.

The BlackBerry phones first came to the marketplace in 2002 and although it is not the first smart phone, it became the first to optimize wireless email use and other business related functions. It is the second most popular smart phone brand behind the Symbian. What this means to me is the change phones took to accommodate the users, instead of simply being a device to make calls. BlackBerry devices have become an everyday item and have become part of today's pop culture. For me the BlackBerry really allows me to be able to keep all my work projects and personal life together on one device.

Emoticons are great little key character combinations that changed the way we text and greet one another through electronic messages. Even though emoticons have been around since the early 80s, currently they have become second nature. An emoticon can represent an expression, a mood or just a quirky of being unique. I am a heavy texter so to me they have really changed the way I text people or end my messages. It is to the point now where you can sum an entire message up with just a few simple emoticons. They have become widely used across different devices and people are always creating more imaginative ways to express themselves with keyboard characters. They have become a large part of pop culture in the realm of messaging. :0 ;-) :-} :-D

-Chris-

The Destructive Nature of Homosexuality (Written Assignment 2)

So this week on the subject of myths, I chose to write about a rather controversial subject matter but a societal myth none the less. In a recent article I read about homosexuality and its effects on society, I’d have to say I disagreed with it. While I am not homosexual myself, I understand and have no complaints about people of that lifestyle. I believe that as a society we have been brought up on old mores and values that sometime cloud our opinion and judgment on people who live a lifestyle different from our own. Some common myths about homosexuality in society include:

· Homosexual marriages are destructive to the moral fabric of our society, nation and world.
· Homosexuality is genetic.
· Homosexuals have no choice about their sexual orientation.
· Homosexuals are constantly trying to convert straight people to homosexuality.
· Women become lesbians because they had bad or negative sexual experiences with men.
· Gay men tend to be pedophiles and molest children.

These are just a few common myths people have about homosexuality and none of them have any scientific validity and should be disregarded. To say homosexuals would destroy the moral fabric of our society is preposterous. They are not here to bring about the apocalypse or convert millions of people to their lifestyles, they are just here living their lives as any other person would.

I’m not a very religious person myself so I generally get frustrated that whenever I take part in arguments or overhear arguments about homosexuality, it always winds up being about how a religious sin it is. I agree with peoples religious views and the values that they have however when we begin to outcast groups of people based upon their sexual orientation, it becomes a problem. Other problems society had included interracial dating, immigration, woman working “men” jobs, women with political power and numerous others. The great thing is that we as a society overcame these problems and became stronger as a whole and now we see these things quite often. So why the spitefulness toward gays? Why do we as a society not allow same sex marriage? Because God says so? Because it will send society into chaos? Because we can’t change the meaning of marriage? These all seem like very absurd answers but unfortunately, I hear them a lot. We as a society seem to let myths cloud our logic and we base our biases on irrational thought processes.

With that being said I hope we as a society overlook these myths among others and become stronger as we have many times before.

Some other common myths we see in society consist of:
· Prisons are comprised largely of blacks
· Mexicans are taking all of our jobs
· The rich pay lower taxes or get tax breaks
· Men always make more than women

The Nexus One, and Other Google Backed Phones.

In an article on smart phones, people seemed to be talking a lot about the new phone Google brought to the market. The article spoke about mainly about the unveiling of the Nexus One and the reception of it. I’ll tell you right now, I’m on Apple guy and I like the iPhone a lot. I’m all for new technology and competing products, however when the product directly bashes a competitor and doesn’t live up to what it claims; I laugh. The iPhone is a huge pop culture icon and had the competition in a rush to keep up or at least match it. Just recently Google teamed up with Verizon to release the Droid Does which was coined as the iPhone killer. The commercial was catchy and pointed out all the problems the iPhone has (which were not necessarily true). For all the boasting it had, the Droid Does doesn’t really do anything special that other smart phones on the market don’t already do. The Droid is a nice phone and I compliment its design and features, however it is no iPhone killer. Now comes to the Nexus One. I’ll be honest; this is quite an impressive phone. But it’s not revolutionary. It has lots of really well thought out features and has a sleek design to it that rivals the iPhone. Outside of that though, the Nexus One is quite similar to the other phones that operate on the Droid platform.

Google is such an iconic pop culture phenomena that I expected more out of them. Google, who started off by being nothing more than a site that returns inquires, now has their hands in the shopping market with Google checkout, the browser market with Google Chrome and the operating system market with Google Chrome. So being the geniuses that they are I expected more out of them with the Nexus One. The biggest thing about this phone was that Google got a chance to show people that they can make stand alone products instead of being just a partner to others. While the Nexus One is a very impressive phone, it’s evolutionary not revolutionary.

What Popular Culture Means To Me

Popular Culture (pop culture) is an ever-changing aspect of our society and many others that will change they will people shop, watch TV, view certain products and whatever else it is that is affected by pop culture. Pop culture is something that changes with the times and rightfully so. According to the fantastic Wikipedia, the definition of pop culture is “the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture.” However this sounds like a mouthful and I don’t feel that it sums it up in a very easily understandable way so I like what the book has to say as to what it is. First you take the term popular which simply means well liked by the masses (people) and culture which simply means a set of practices, artifacts, customs and values of a social group. When put together you get a rather simple definition of the events, fads and trends that are well liked by the masses and stand the test of time. These things usually capture the public’s imagination and leave thirsting for the next best thing. So to me pop culture is all the things that have come and gone and have people rushing to be part of it. Remember when beanie babies were the thing to have? Or perhaps when tickle me Elmo was something people were willing to kill for to obtain. When speaking about events, how about the Columbine shootings or the Clinton scandal; both were examples of pop culture events that held its weight for quite some time. Although pop culture is everywhere, you tend to see the younger audiences creating the buzz and maintaining it for a long time.

Now that we have an understanding of what pop culture is, how is it relevant to businesses or our future careers? Depending on your career choice, having an understanding of pop culture could mean a more intimate understanding of consumers or industry which could translate to a higher profit margin. Not to confuse pop culture with high culture, understanding pop culture would keep you up with current trends or what’s “in”. Nobody really saw social networking sites being all that important but look at them now, a huge success and widely used as a means of keeping up with friends to looking at future employee candidates. Learning about popular culture makes us more connected to what’s in society and how they shape our lives. Just look at some pop culture icons like Michael Jackson or Tiger Woods. These people have set the tone for much of what society talks about and accepts. Michael Jackson, an American pop culture entertainer, is a world phenomenon and even in his death will be remembered as such. Tiger woods’, an American golfer, has his own video game and is recognized as the world’s greatest athlete. In careers such as marketing, advertising, television success or really any job that involves interacting with people on a personal basis, understanding pop culture and how society reacts to certain trends and events could really mean the success or failure of a campaign or business project.

When it comes to pop culture artifacts, the revolutionary Apple iPod would have to top my list. The iPod is what I would call a revolutionary device that really set the tone for many future products. During the time of its release, people still thought compact disks were cool but the idea that a device could hold three times as many songs and keep portable was something that astonished many people. The first iPod hit the market in late October of 2001 at a whopping $399. The surprising thing is that in the mere two months it was on the market, it sold just over 125,000 units. That is an average of 2,100 units a day or 87 units an hour! That is quite impressive for such an expensive device. What makes the iPod such a pop culture item, is that it has become such a household name. At this point in time, it is pretty difficult to name a person who does not have an iPod or at least have considered one.

Pop culture is a vital part of our society and is a very interesting subject matter.