Starfish 2/21

I really enjoyed last Thursday’s class. Going over the exam and doing practice questions was most helpful and I must admit I feel that Braudrillard and Eco are my two favorite readings and discussions so far in this class.

“Was not the framing of the shot itself reminiscent of spectacular shots in catastrophe movies? 231
I look back to the day of 911. I remember where I was when I heard the news and how I felt. I was shocked and didn’t realize the reality of the situation. It was if I felt like it wasn’t really happening because you only see those kinds of things in the movies. I had a click moment in class on Thursday while discussing this idea. I remember one of my classmates in high school smiling and laughing when he had heard the news. I became angry and so did many of my classmates. Why was this is initial reaction to this catastrophic situation? When we discussed the quote, “America got what it fantasized about, and that was the biggest surprise” 233 his reaction began to make sense. This was the kind of thing he saw in the movies and catastrophe movies excite people and are thrilling. For him and many people that day, they got to see their favorite movie spectacles become reality, and I see why this could have been exciting for them. We never believed that something like this could happen to us.

I love the whole idea of how we as American’s tend to capture reality, box it up and make it better because it is s truthful. Dr. Rog’s volcano story was amazing and unbelievable. What are the odds of seeing that family twice in two different locations? It is almost as if it was fate that brought you to see them, because for you this was such a “click” moment. The story was a perfect example in class to describe how we as American’s tend to favor fake reality of real reality because of our impatience and our disappointment with certain aspects of reality. As much as I love Disney and the spectacles of Las Vegas, I feel a little uneasy and saddened about the volcano story. How can a fake volcano going off compare to the real thing? There is beauty, spectacle and wonder in the world around us that is natural and I am worried that we as a society are starting to forget this.