Blog #8

At first i did not know what to expect from Hunger Games. I honestly had no idea what the book was about or that it could be so good. As i read on i made many connections with the book and what i see every day in present day America. To me reading the hunger games was very much like a reality TV show, in the aspect of us knowing every detail, thought, and emotion of Katniss (Which is exactly what we get from Reality TV). I really like how Collins used the influence of Reality TV along with Roman culture. As i read along i began to see connections between roman colosseum entertainment and Reality TV, this was somewhat humorous to me. I soon realized that Collins is almost making fun of people on Reality TV, in Roman times the entertainers were slaves or prisoners forced to fight to the death, their desperation led to an exciting show, not to mention a bloody one. This is exactly what TV producers do! they bribe the contestants with a reward to entertain and audience! (i.e money, happiness, love, etc.) In the Hungers Games the participants were rewarded with fame and life.

Then, in a eureka moment it was clear to me that Collins was trying to show that we throw ourselves into these "survival" simulations for other peoples pleasure. The pure irony of the situation is ridiculous. TV producers took an age old form of entertainment and threw a spin on it to draw in viewers. The worst part is that it works, people still watch, and networks keep producing these shows. Why is it that we need something to seem "real" to be entertained? People are so fixated on the reality of other peoples lives they forget to live their own.

Blog #7

I have to first start off by saying this weeks blog prompt annoyed me. I do not enjoy watching reality TV and hate when i have to. I woke up this morning and put on the Jersey Shore, so i could evaluate the show. At the end of the show i found myself asking why the hell people even watch the damn program. Being a New Jersey resident my whole life it disturbs me to think that people actually think people from NJ act like that. In the episode I watched Ronnie, Jenny, Sam, Mike, Nicole, Deena and Vinny spend their entire time at the Seaside boardwalk or drinking their bodies away at the clubs. In watching i saw the episode where Ronnie drinks too much and begins to bleed from his "ass" (the term they used in the show). How can someone enjoy watching these New Yorker Guido's drinking themselves to anal bleeding? In the end i didn't feel as if i gained a damn thing from watching Jersey Shore, except I now know that Deena ( Who is from my hometown) is a complete slut who has no regard for morals. I cannot fathom how anyone enjoys watching this show, my disgust is probably because im a NJ native who knows that people in my state dont act like this. As far as my role as a viewer i believe my role was to lose brain cells, because the Jersey Shore just does not do it for me.