Blog Entry #7

I found that article to be absolutely disturbing.  I had no idea such videos even existed.  I shudder to think about how many young girls are being affected by the image these videos portray.  I do not see anorexia as a lifestyle; I see it as an illness.  I know several young girls as I was growing up that stayed miserable and unhealthy because what they thought they had to do to themselves in order to meet social standards.  A lot of these girls were absolutely beautiful before they became self conscious of their bodies and the expectations society placed on them. 

I believe in being healthy and couldn’t imagine being overweight not because of appearance, but because of the simple fact of how hard it would be to do the things I enjoy doing in my life.  It seems to me that every part of my everyday life would be harder and less enjoyable.  I do not diet because of this; I just eat somewhat healthy and exercise on a regular basis.  It is equally hard for me to imagine being anorexic as it is for me to imagine being overweight.  Either way I would find it next to impossible to continue enjoying the active lifestyle I find to be at the core of my own happiness.

As for the government controlling the thinspo genre of media it is my belief that everyone deserves freedom of speech.  I also believe that the government should step up and do something to make these forms of media less accessible to the youth of our country.

                                                                                 Thank You, Jeremy

Our Children

We should, definitely protect our children from subjects featuring adult content.  So many things these days are not just full of adult content but absolutely saturated with extreme versions of adult content.  A lot of media while determined to be for mature audiences only are still marketed to children.  Once a child wants something they seem pretty capable of convincing adults to buy it for them whether or not it has been determined for adults only. I think that reading is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to screening our children from media featuring adult content.  There are several different forms of media that could be harmful to children.           

Movies, video games, TV shows, books, magazines and social media are just some of the many forms of media out there for our children to absorb.  Some forms of media such as pornography are obviously not for children.  Other forms of media do not automatically presents themselves as bad for our children.  Video games are one of the worst things for our children when not properly monitored.  A lot of adults feel that because video games are animated that they are okay for children.  While majority of video games are not just violent but also pornographic in nature.

When it comes to less extreme versions of such media some kids will be just fine.  Such as well adjusted children that have had the differences between fiction and reality explained to them.  It is the kids that that are left for their own imaginations to determine what is right or wrong after being influenced by such extreme forms of media that we have to worry about.

                                                                     Thanks Jeremy Irvin

Hemmingway's Code

I had never read any of Hemmingway’s writing’s before this week.  A lot of the reading I did this week really felt like work to me, but not while I was reading “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macromber” by Ernest Hemmingway.  I found myself really enjoying reading the story.

                I did not realize it until I read the instructions for this assignment, that I believe my enjoying this story was due to Hemmingway’s code. The way Hemmingway manages to keep me unsure of how I feel about each of the characters grabs my attention and keeps me reading to find out who the hero is and who the villain is.  When I figure out who is who in a story I quickly lose interest.  Hemmingway seems to be very good at keeping me guessing throughout the story.

                                Hemmingway’s code reminds me a lot of Aristotle’s definition of the ideal man.  Aristotle expresses his opinion of what an ideal man consist of in his thesis on ethics.  Hemmingway’s code also makes me think of legendary actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood.   The movies you see these actors in usually reflect a similar code.  They usually start their movies out in a place of dishonor and spend the rest of the movie restoring there honor no matter what the cost.

                I feel that I have been introduced to a very interesting writer and plan to read more of Hemmingway’s writing in the near future.  Just as soon as I can find some spare time.

                                                                                                                Thank You Jeremy