Escaping Your Fate, or Allowing Yourself to become Trapped....

This week in class we watched the film Saturday Night Fever. The film represented a type of cool escapism in the way the main character, Tony, played by John Travolta escaped his problems by living on the dance floor. Tony’s life was very boring throughout the week. He had a dead-end job, he had a stereotypical group of friends, and he still lived under the rules of his parents. To put it plainly throughout the week Tony was a nobody. However, every Saturday night when he hit the dance floor he became Mr. Big Shot. People revered Tony on the dance floor. This is seen when a woman he kisses at the club refers to him as Al Pacino. Tony was the boss at the disco, and he lived his life for every Saturday night. Cool escapism can still be largely seen in pop culture today.

One example of this is teenagers and music. I don’t know if I can strictly say this for everyone, but throughout the ages of 15, 16, and 17 I found my escape in music. I liked music loud, I liked music fun, I liked music all the time. I found myself always doing everything with music; homework, videogames, driving, cleaning, and pretty much any other time I could get away with wearing my headphones. I’m not sure what I found so particularly great about music. I liked everything ranging from Blink -182 to Linkin Park to AFI. Rock music set me in motion. It gave me motivation to do things. It made it easier to do things. It also gave me an excuse to ignore people, namely my parents. When my headphones were on I always had an excuse for why I didn’t answer, although many of the times I heard them just fine, but I always had an excuse. Again, I don’t strictly know if this is largely apparent in pop culture so much as it is in real life, but an example that I can specifically recall is Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. It’s really a very stereotypical adolescent love story that unites two kids through their love of music, but it’s a good example because music was so very significant to the two characters, Nick and Norah. Without their love for music they would have never been in the situation they were so as to meet.

Another example of cool escapism is far more depressing. It’s drugs!!! Drugs are always seen as a sort of escape. Although it’s far different from the two other types of escape because it begins to alter lives, it is still a good example of escape. People use drugs to forget about their problems. Drugs are just how they deal with life. When things get too heavy they can always just have an instant fix. An example of this sort of escape can be seen in the movie Knocked Up. Although the movie is not directly about the escapism drugs can embody, it is a sort of method to depict the main character, Ben Stone, and his arrival at becoming a mature adult. His girlfriend/baby’s mama, Allison Scott, helps Ben to realize that there is more to life than getting high. He sees that he now has a responsibility to take care of in his unborn child and willingly accepts the responsibility of adulthood in order to be a more well-suited father and boyfriend.

In Defence of.... Gaming? (He can't be Serious)

Gamers are stereotypically looked down upon as social outcasts who must look to something beyond the realm of human stimulation. They are people who are no longer relevant to the real world. Gamers always catch a bad reputation because their brain functions differently from those of other people. They get caught up in something that isn’t reality in the real world, but what’s so bad about that? Women love to shop. Are they ever given the reputation that gamers are as devoid human beings? What about people who are social butterflies, always looking for the next party to fuel their addiction to human socialization? The fact of the matter is that any type of person that excessively does one thing is unhealthy. Life takes balance and gamers should only be frowned upon when they no longer function in reality and are only a part of virtual reality.

People say games are addictive. Well, to be honest games are addictive. Some games are always on your mind, but only people who have no self-control can be sucked into a pit of no social interaction. People say games end relationships, but again it only occurs in the most extreme cases. Many people who play video games do not play it as if it is their life, but when they are seen playing it they are automatically stereotyped as “that” (please watch this) guy. However, these people are just different. They find something stimulating about video games and where the games they play take them. Ultimately, they find their escape in video games. Video games to gamers are like sports to athletes. Games can be a source of conversation, something to invest time into, and a reason to become the very best at something. It’s like dancing was to Tony. It gave him a reason to look to the future. He always had Saturday night, and no one could take away his time to shine. His investment in the sport was his motivation. Gaming can be viewed in the same way. Some people don’t have a lot to look forward to in life because they have already screwed up a lot, but to condemn them further for turning to the one place where they can escape the fate they know is inevitable is like punching a pregnant woman. It’s just wrong. Sure, you can encourage them to better themselves, but ultimately no one deserves unjust judgment.

Gaming is even thought to be good in some situations. RPGs are good sources of stories for children. If you have a child that is struggling to learn to read and despises books, give him or her a video game that has text. If you read them the story to begin with eventually they will want to be able to read the story by themselves, which will drive them to want to know how to read. Gaming also improves reflexes, as well as eyesight. It was determined in a study that people who play video games can see and react up to 43% faster than people who don’t. Gaming isn’t all bad, it only becomes a problem when excess is involved, much like many other habits.

A Minority of Cool

The film Shaft was an excellent example of Cool Minority. John Shaft played a hero of sorts. He was not the full-fledged hero that is generally depicted in movies that contain a hero, but he was a real hero. Shaft was the kind of person that stood up for what he knew was right. He was not afraid to bring justice, and he wasn’t going to tolerate injustice. Shaft was a man you could respect and would like to see as a hero because even though his values and morality aren’t exactly up to the highest standard, they still exist on a very real emotional level that the viewer can relate to. Hollywood has duplicated this kind of hero many times and in many ways.

The first film that brings the same Cool Minority quality with it is The Pursuit of Happyness. The film represents the same sort of aspect as Shaft just with a completely different plot. In this story we meet Chris Gardner. Chris is a salesman that has unwisely put all his eggs in one basket by investing all his family’s savings money in a more expensive version of the x-ray machine. Consequently it is selling poorly and causing problems and distress in Chris’ household. His wife eventually leaves, leaving only Chris and his young son, Christopher. I know you’re probably wondering “when does this get cool like Shaft?” Well, it really doesn’t. Chris goes through heartache after heartache, loss after loss. He does, after much suffering get a coveted intern position a at a stock broker company, but he still has to deal with tons of shit in order to reach that position. Chris is Cool Minority because even though he was knocked down time after time, even going a stint of time being homeless, he still finds the will to fight, to do something better, to pursue his happyness. He remains a wonderful father throughout making sure he does everything he can for his son, Christopher. His values always remain intact. His always the same man despite the obstacles he must overcome.

Another film that demonstrates Cool Minority is Stand and Deliver. This movie is significant to me because Jaime Escalante, a high school mathematics teacher takes a nearly impossible task and completes it very successfully. He overcomes all odds in order to teach the children of the inner city mathematics. The students that he teaches also represent cool minority because in order to complete the rigorous math program, summer classes and serious dedication were necessary. Many other students from the inner city spend their summers either working or becoming pregnant. These, students, however are exemplary in that they are willing to make the sacrifices necessary in order to be the best students and people in general that they can be.

John Shaft > Chuck Norris

To me the film Shaft was one giant, COOL stereotype. From the way the main character, John Shaft, walked, talked, and dealt with his supposed fellow detectives to the way he laid down the law in the bedroom, it was clear that he was the embodiment of cool culture circa 1970. John Shaft was just interested in doing his jobs, and doing his jobs well. It seemed that no matter what it was, Shaft was good at it. From talking to his white detective friends and police without being a snitch to chatting up the local people, John Shaft made it look easy and made it seem cool. He also got Isaac Hayes to write him one of the most bad ass theme songs of all time.

Shaft is an interesting character because it seems as though he wants to be the good guy, but at the same time he wants to keep up a certain “I don’t give a damn” appeal. He pulls it off quite well, and that is probably one of the reasons the film was successful. It lends his character a certain duality because it allows him to be the private eye, detective John Shaft, while at the same time he is able to shove aside the stereotypical detective role and be just a really tough guy that you wouldn’t want to have pissed off at you.

Because of the middle ground shaft walks he is approached by Bumpy, a black gang leader that is looking to hire Shaft in order to retrieve his daughter from the Italian mob which has kidnapped her. He agrees to pay Shaft a significant amount of money and pay for Shaft’s hired men in order to get his daughter back. This is significant because as soon as Shaft takes on the job he has a passion to get her back. In my opinion this is his will to be good at everything taking over. Shaft transcends the abilities of normal private eyes because he is far enough into the culture that it is easy for him to maneuver around tight spots in such ways that other detectives could not. He is not afraid of the culture because to put it simply “he runs that bitch.” Shaft is the epitome is order. He controls situations and is willing to take risks. Sometimes, as seen in the movie, the risks can be painful, seeing as how Shaft did get shot. (which may have made his character even cooler) However this just proves to be further motivation for him to get back in there one more time and finish the job he started. John Shaft is a master of his own destiny. I’m pretty sure if there was a modern character Shaft could be compared to it’s Chuck Norris.

Rebels with a Cause

Throughout the film Easy Rider we were subjected to a barrage of the 1960’s counterculture lifestyle. The movie gave us insight as to how those championing the counterculture lived, as well as some of the values that they embraced during that era. More importantly though the film described the idea of rebellion. Rebellion is very significant throughout history. Many times the development of new nations are due to rebellion. Our existence as the United States of America is due to our rebellion. However, the film also showed the hate and discrimination that spawns because of rebellion in order to suppress what has come to rise against the accepted lifestyle of the moment.

One of my favorite movies that has to do with rebellion is 300. Although at first it doesn’t so much seem to be a movie about rebellion as much as a movie about conquer. The Spartans are standing against Xerxes and the Persians in order to secure their way of life, as opposed to becoming assimilated into the Persian culture as so many other groups of the time had accepted. They choose to rebel and not let their lives become controlled in spite of a magnitude of difference between their own militia of 300 Spartan warriors, as compared to a Persian army composed of well over 100,000 warriors. They demonstrated a defiance and attitude that had yet to be encountered by the others the Persians had set out to destroy. The resilience is significant because it ultimately led to a much larger army than the original 300 Spartan warriors who initiated the downfall of the Persians. By acting as a beacon to guide and magnify the intensity of their struggle the Spartans convinced others that the price of their freedom was far greater than the price of death. No matter what the cost the Spartans would not live a caged life, and it is apparent throughout the movie that with the right motivation a small group can become a large majority.

Another movie that involves a far different type of rebellion is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This is definitely the more common type of rebellion. The high school cool guy decides to skip a day of school, and from there all hell breaks lose. However, at the end of the day everything turns out just fine. The reason Ferris is cool is because he embodies an emotion that every person has encountered at one point or another during their life. It is just inevitable that school will not always be your top priority or your favorite thing to do. Consequently, every person identifies and roots for the kid who defies the natural boundaries put forward by our daily lives in order to be free for a day, even though it’s only something as insignificant as skipping class. Although this type of cool is far less substantial than the previous example of cool because it lacks meaning and purpose, it is still significant because it’s the same sort of “damn the man” attitude just enacted on a much smaller scale.

Are You Hippie?

This week we watched the film Easy Rider. The film is significant because it places emphasis upon the idea of freedom and living your own life. In the film the two main characters are played by Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, a couple of stoners living in the 1960’s during the hippie movement. Throughout the movie we are shown the many types of freedom that come with the lifestyle that these particular wayfarers and their counterparts have come to embrace. But more importantly we see the significance of the counterculture and what was happening to it at the time.

The biggest downfall of the counterculture was due to the fact that many of the people who claimed the word counterculture were based on the archetype of the Dennis Hopper character. The people who fell under this particular mold were into the movement because it was freedom from the norm through drug use and general good times. By becoming a separate entity from conventional life they could embrace all the good times the counterculture had come to represent. The problem with this is that it left behind the ideas that the counterculture was supposed to idealize. Issues such as the state of the environment, the segregation of blacks in the south, and self expression, which were pushed to the back of the mind by drugs, sex, and rock and roll. The biggest proponent of the downfall of the movement was LSD. As demonstrated in the movie, LSD was not a good time. It led to a bad trip where not a whole lot made sense. However, it maintained popularity among the hippies ultimately frying many brains and destroying any significant chance of change the counterculture may have been able to produce.

The counterculture did have some partial positives. It taught people that it was alright to live differently. Not everyone is meant to be bound into a world that constantly repeats itself day after day. The people who represented this type of lifestyle were truly groundbreaking because they could force themselves to forego the comforts that life could offer in order to obtain something far simpler for their simple lifestyle. One of these reasons we said that the two main characters from the movie failed was because they were trying to use money from a drug deal to begin their new life. They weren’t going for the simple ideals that the culture seemed to embrace. Had they done so they would have stayed at the developing commune they encountered in the beginning of the film. However, to put in a good word for Peter Fonda’s character it looked as though he was content in that position. He knew the lifestyle that he wanted, but he let Dennis Hopper steer them away from what was right. Ultimately the two were killed because of the lifestyle that they embraced. Although the hatred was exaggerated it makes the prejudice that was placed on the group as a whole grossly apparent and disgusting.

Although I don’t embrace the idea of the counterculture, I think that if you can use drugs and still be a functional member of society then why not do it? It’s something that is fun, it’s different, and altogether it’s generally a good time, however I know from experience that no drug leaves you completely functional. Therefore when I try to sympathize with their way of thinking I find nothing but opposition.

Stuff You Really Couldn't Do Without

Last week in class we watched the film Blowin’ Up. It was significant because of the culture that was displayed throughout the film. We got a keen insight to the London culture that was occurring around this time. There are many significant examples of cool culture displayed throughout pop culture.

The first is one of my favorite movies depicting the culture of the world at one point in time, The Decline of Western Civilizations Pt. II: The Metal Years. The first is significant because it gives a deeper look into the culture of Glam Metal during the ‘80s. Touching not only on the thoughts that the fans of the music have, but also revealing the thoughts of the musicians that made the ‘80s glam metal scene what it was. One of the most revealing interviews of the film was with W.A.S.P. guitarist, Chris Holmes. During the interview Holmes describes the lifestyle he lives: Constant partying, sex and drugs whenever the he wants, and all the excess the glam metal scene had to offer. He finishes the scene by guzzling a bottle of vodka, while dumping another on his head. The interview is intense to say the least. It is the culmination of what the ‘80s metal scene had become. There was no substance to it anymore. The songs were put out only for their commercial success, not what the musicians felt. It was time for the glam movement to end because by that time there wasn’t much left. This is significant to the idea of cool culture because it documented the final breaths of the glam scene on sunset strip. For the large part after the movie was released people who previously identified with the music shied away from it in order to find something more substantial and real. Many say The Decline of Western Civilizations Pt. II: The Metal Years was the cause of the downfall. When people saw the reality behind what they supported they could no longer indulge without being disgusted by themselves.

Another example of cool culture is the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. This film is representative of cool culture because it describes the American culture from a different perspective. Although many find the film horrendous and offensive, it is meant to be depicted that way. We see our culture everyday in the same light, however when Borat is able to pick apart our daily activities in a comical manner we should be able to laugh about it and see it differently. The final scene in Borat depicts his return home with his new bride, a prostitute named Luenell, and all the Americanization that had undergone in the village: i.e. Christianity (the Kazakh version of which includes crucifixion of Jews) and the introduction of computer-based technology, such as iPods, laptop computers and a high-definition, LCD television.