In the fist few lines of Technopoly Neil Postman quotes Karl Marx as saying “as individuals express their life, so they are”, HA yeah right, you wonder if Marx would say the same thing if he ever got to use the internet. For this assignment I watched the Music Video for “So much cooler Online” though I found this video very entertaining especially with the cameos by such famous classic film and TV stars. But it also pointed out a very good point when it comes to meeting people online and how we portray ourselves from what we are to what we want to be.
What can I say about the lead character; well he is the stereotypical nerd. You know the one I’m talking about, the Dungeons and Dragons fan who lives in his parents basement and drinks Mountain Dew all day, that is exactly who the main character is, but he puts this persona of himself on the internet where he is highly successful and handsome. He yearns for the girl next door who was played by Marcia Brady which I though was funny cause my dad can remember having the biggest crush on her when he was younger. But there is a scene in the video that really caught my attention and that’s the scene referring to the three way chat where the main character is chatting with two beautiful women and then they change into who they really are much like the camera maneuver where Jason Alexander changed into Brad Paisley. I also enjoyed how is dad used the computer for the same thing explaining to his wife that he was “making new friends” allowing his wife to retort “why are all your friends so chesty”
There are many conclusions that we can draw from this music video to how the internet is used in everyday life. First the obvious is that not everyone is who they say they are on the internet, especially now when it’s so easy to have as little contact with another human being. Though I don’t say every person on the internet changes who they are many do and it makes us wonder why people can’t be themselves. My second conclusion is that Hollywood is very good at stereotyping especially when it comes to the nerd but I wish the video would have done a little research as to what nerds actually do many of them don’t sit in the basement and swing a sword around. Overall the video is a good glimpse at what our society does to exploit the mystery of the internet, whichi is why people are so suspicious now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
.jpg)
I think you came to the exact conclusions I did about how people are not who they say they are online. I thought about your question why people can't just be themselves online and wonder if maybe the internet gives people who are shy or lack self-confidence (like the "nerd" portrayed in the video) an outlet to act the way they wish they could in public, but just don't know what the reaction may be. Maybe in some ways, having an internet personality could be a positive outlet for those unable to express themselves with words...
ReplyDeleteI think the general appeal of creating an illusory version of oneself online isn't too difficult to understand, at least for me. By the time you get to being a teenager, it seems we already have an identity, and rarely one we've chosen for ourselves. The nerd, the clown, the jock, the cheerleader, etc., we would often like to escape the prison of what is expected of us and the shield of the internet provides that opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI think all three of your comments on this video are completely correct and I totally agree with them. Our identitiies and who other's view us as are completely developed by high school. Classmates have formed opinions and assigned labels that have "appropriate" and "expected" behavior that goes along with them. Unfortunately, once these opinions and labels are in place, teasing and taunting can occur...making the "nerd", for example, feel that he/she can't be themselves in public, but rather can act out the way they would like to in public, online, because it's a safe wall. This also creates a dangerous atmosphere where predators can take advantage of the Internet wall and trust and "prey" on naive, unsuspecting Internet/chat users.
ReplyDelete