Gin, Television, & the Cognitive Surplus

Clay Shirky discusses how much time and effort goes into things and how some people have time to do these things. Shirky begins the article by describing how drinking gin was the original time waster of the twenties century. He goes on to discuss the modern version, which is television. The main argument of this article is that people will find time to do things they want, but wont for things they don't like.  The cognitive surplus all the time spent on time wasters which could have been used for something constructive. This article defines literacy not as the capacity to see the deeper meaning of a text, rather literacy is defined as simply knowing and being productive with information given. The article is an argument that we should use our time more wisely and matters because we should learn from it. The article repeats the phrase “transform society” at multiple points throughout the writing.  A strand of similarity is the phrase “taking advantage of the surplus.”  “Information society knows without really knowing it” is a binary in the writing.  A great anomaly stands out in the writing, “millions of trillions of hours spent with free time, one percent doing something productive that affects the person.”

Google Corrupting the MInd

The article tells how Google is making us less intellectually sound or less of intellectual thinkers.  According to the article, the internet is making our thought processes more and more robotic and machine-like. Technology is making us lazy as a species.  The article points out that we, as humans, no longer take the high road, rather we opt to take the low roads or easy way out.  Carr talks about how the search engines, like Google, are making our first instinct and thought to gather information as fast as possible instead of taking time to analyze given information. Carr’s thinking is similar to Socrates, although writing is to Socrates as technology is to Carr. Carr uses a multiple notable studies to support his points, including studies conducted by Harvard University. Carr also cites various books providing more insight about the change in human behavior.  Finally, Carr provides personal experience to support his argument.  All three sources back Carr’s argument and strengthen the overall writing, therefore they are effective. Carr’s “so what” is his point that there is an inverse relationship and direct correlation between increases in technology and decreases in human literacy.

Lupe

For my social media project, I have chosen to analyze the Twitter page of Lupe Fiasco.  I follow Lupe on twitter and I feel that he puts a lot of things up that are deeper than the average tweet. Lupe Fiasco posts pictures, retweets fans, and often quotes others or his own personal thoughts. He also uses the page to advertise.  Lupe seems to refrain from profanity, but is not afraid to show emotion in a tweet. Lupe comes across as very mature, philosophical, wise, and in some cases light-hearted from the content of his tweets. Lots of his stuff evokes deep thought.  Lupe enjoys off beat subjects and bringing them to light. Lupe has a broad fan base and uses his Twitter to educate, advertise, and entertain those following him.

The Internet Tattoo

My life went public five years ago.  Five years ago I became a facebook member and since then my life has been recorded online. I feel I represent myself well.  Although I keep my account private, I still try torepresent myself in a positive image. The pictures on my page are rarely updated and include appropriate pictures of myself attending school events, athletic activities, and vacations. I do not try to hide my true personality on facebbok or create a superficial look. I want people to see me when browsing my page. I feel I provide an accurate reflection. I don't feel I'm responsible to add to or update my profile.   I do feel the need to maintain a good image though. I edit my profile minimally.  I do not think I have set a status in a year.  I filter pictures and other posts on my page because I do not want some things engrained in my internet tattoo forever.  I am currently aiming to become a car designer.  I feel designers in general are a little out there, so I feel that my page is mild in comparison to others.  I would feel comfortable with an interviewer browsing my page.

Making the Interpretive Leap, All Along the Watchtower

After shuffling songs a few times, I have landed my final choice.  I will be analyzing the song “All Along the Watchtower”.  Originally preformed by Bob Dylan the song has since been covered by numerous musicians.  One of the most prominent covers being Jimi Hendrix’s version which Bob Dylan is alleged to have preferred over his original version.  

The song is unique in the fact that it very literally tells a story. The story is specific yet vague enough to be interpreted in multiple contexts. "There must be some way out of here" said the joker to the thief, "There's too much confusion", I can't get no relief. Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth. None of them along the line know what any of it is worth. "No reason to get excited", the thief he kindly spoke, "There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke, but you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate. So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late". All along the watchtower, princes kept the view, while all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too. Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl. Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.”  The brief story clearly depicts two characters in a predicament.  The lyrics and characters have been taken into multiple contexts and seen as everything from their literal positions to the roles of biblical characters.

The song was recently used in a movie trailer.  The 2013 movie 2 Guns used the song in its trailer.  The trailer did not use the original Dylan song, nor the famous Hendrix cover.  The trailer uses a recent cover by Ed Sheeran and up-and-coming English rapper Devlin.  The song and movie find similar parallels in the fact that each tells a story of a duo in a tight situation.  I feel the song was a perfect match for the movie in its interesting lyricism.

Gatsby Soundtrack Analysis

I found the article very interesting, although there was not much shared in it that I did not already know.  I am a huge music fan and I constantly read music news.  I was very excited when watching the Great Gatsby just to hear the music.  I own the soundtrack and I feel that the music chosen was interesting.

I feel that Jay Z was a great producer for this soundtrack because of the lavish lifestyle he lives now.  Jay Z did not always live in such style however.  Jay Z grew up with a rough life in lower class living.  I feel that his story could easily compare to the life of Gatsby.  Because of this connection, I feel Jay Z simply had to make a soundtrack to his life with a 20s flare, which is an effortless task for him.

I was very interested in the music on the soundtrack for the Great Gatsby.  I feel Jay Z picked the perfect artists for the task.  Including The xx on the soundtrack on the album was a great choice.  The xx make great music that I personally find to make good background music.  I often study and work with their music in the background.  Second, the use of Lana Del Rey was quite fitting.  She is a mellow yet rebellious singer with edgy music.  She could relate to the character of Daisy.  Other artists used could be associated with the lavish life style such as Beyonce, Andre 3000, and will.i.am..  The artists correlate to movie great.

I found personal disappointment in some of the music although I feel this was simply because the artist were recording music in a genre other than their own which was unexpected.  I guess the disappointment was caused by the unexpected factor.  With that being said, I feel the 20s music was definitely incorporated well.

As far as the perfect song for the movie, I think “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” encompasses the movie theme extremely well.  The song embodies the party theme of the 20s perfectly.  The song is used in the movie during a party scene, perfectly fitting.  The mood of the Lana Del Rey song also fit the opposite mood of the movie.  “Young and Beautiful” shows the innocence of youth and the mistakes made by youth.  It fits the movie. 

Many lyrics in all the songs embody the story of the Great Gatsby.  The rhetorical style was flawless.  If one were to listen to the entire soundtrack and the words of the songs all the way through, I feel that one could and should imagine a story with a story line similar to that of the Great Gatsby. 

The music in the sound track was an overall plus for the movie.  The mood of the music fit the movie.  The artists embodied the characters in some cases and had the skills to embody them in their music.  The lyrics fit the story line to a tee.  An overall great sound track to the Great Gatsby.

Process and Product

I am a natural procrastinator. The first step in my writing process was choosing a commercial.  I chose one the stuck out in my memory and revisited the ad and began analyzing all form of appeal in the commercial. Once I had analyzed the commercial the outline practically fell together itself.  In my writing, I usually start by writing my body and important content, then the introduction, and finally the conclusion. I think that this process of using the outline made it easier to develop my body. I was confident in my writing because of all the analyzing I had done before outlining. I feel that multiple drafts are beneficial because I can take more time to step back and analyze my personal writing. I also feel the feedback from my peers was helpful. I feel the overall writing process we follow is beneficial to my writing whether it be analyzing, outlining, drafting, or the peer reviews.