Change the World "I want to save my family but I think in order to do that, I have to change the world," said Elizabeth Glaser. Elizabeth Glaser encountered AIDS through blood transfusion in 1981. She transmitted it to her children Jake and Ariel. Ariel died from AIDS when she was seven years old from breastfeeding (Glaser). Jake is still alive at 30 years old and had been battling AIDS since he was born (pedaids.com). Her husband took over the foundation while living with AIDS. Paul Michael
The Analysis of Steven Johnson’s Watching TV Makes You Smarter “The best compositions establish a sense of momentum and direction by making explicit connections among their different parts, so that what is said in one sentence (or paragraph) both sets up what is to come and is clearly informed by what has already been said.” This piece of advice that is mentioned in the book “They Say, I say with Readings” is very useful when constructing an elaborate string of ideas and the writer intends to make
Everyone has their personal opinions and arguments on whether television can be beneficial for the mind or is just another screen for us to mindlessly stare at for hours. Watching TV Makes You Smarter by Steven Johnson, and Thinking Outside the Idiot Box written by Dana Stevens, both authors take on opposing arguments in their articles. Both articles have weak and strong points. From Johnson's obvious title, readers clearly know what his standpoint is, watching TV can make you smarter. Steven Johnson’s
excerpt from Everything Bad Is Good for You that was posted in the New York Times Magazines in 2005. In this article, by glancing at the historical development of the television narratives, Johnson indicates the older TV shows such as Dragnet or Starsky and Hutch have only one or two main characters, just follow a single thread narrative; in contrast, the more recent shows such as Hill Street, The Sopranos are far more different with the earlier shows, most of them are with a number of primary characters
Johnson refers to this statement as, “cognitive demands that televised narratives place on their viewers” (pg. 280). It is astonishing how one television show can make the mind follow whatever is says or does on the show. Shows such as Starsky and Hutch, in the 80s, were made with a beginning introduction, a main plot, and always had a conclusion that ended with them catching their bad guy. In the shows today such as 24 it jumps from plot, to the climax, then back to what happened last week
cognitive work from the audience in order to truly understand the plot of what is being watching. He support his idea by making a strong connection of the increasing in narrative complexity with the number of threads that earlier shows such as “Starsky and Hutch”,”Hill Street Blues” and “The Sopranos” display on the charts over the curse of the episodes on air. Nevertheless, former slate’s movie critic Dana Stevens does not conceives her fellows’ argument as a valid one. In her direct response “Thinking
their innocence in TV shows and movies. Paula a 34-year-old said, “SpongeBob is the coolest show,” she also enjoys watching Pee Wee Playhouse. Dave, a 31-year-old visited an East Village vintage store where he found a rack of t-shirts indorsing Starsky and Hutch, and other old TV shows. Middle-aged men avoid responsibilities and chose rational behavior. This all about making comfort in troubles times. Recently people have been bringing back old brands, and wearing vintage clothing. Childhood and adulthood
the example of the television show “24”. “24” is known for being the first show which its plot occurs in “real-time”, it is also known for not censuring the violence of its topics. It is a drastic change from what Johnson states as an example “Starsky and Hutch” where basically each episodes was only a repetition of the last one. Johnson also believes that there is a misconception of the mass culture nowadays where people think the television viewer wants dumb shows which in response makes them dumber
Fan Fiction in a Literary Context For most people, John F. Kennedy Jr was a character in a play, a character in a story, just the way Sherlock Holmes was. When he's lost, then people react very emotionally. Constantly rehearsing the details of somebody's life and death shows that people are trying to continue the story. We always try to do that when the story ends before we're prepared for the ending. - Neil Postman, chairman of the department of culture and communication at New York University[1]
American pop culture has come a long way in the last few decades: from the rock 'n’ roll boom of the fifties, to the hippie aesthetic of the seventies, to the electronic age of the nineties. Pop culture clearly fluctuates at a rapid pace and even though fads have come and gone, one thing has remained viable even in more contemporary times: the TV set. On top of that, never has the world seen a greater peak in technology than it has in recent years, and the television is no exception. Unfortunately