Better By Nightfall

Summer classes have been going well albeit with the burden of much to read and reproduce in the following weeks. I'm glad that I decided to stay in both of these classes, especially since it means that I'll be able to relax a lot more during my last semester of my undergraduate. I'm also ebullient about the fact that these classes are fun and highly pertinent, Mass Media and Democracy (MMD) more so than Film Styles and genres (FSG).

In MMD we've been learning about the rhetoric disseminated by both the President and the media and how it affected democracy and the American public. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the class is how similar rhetoric is emerging in light of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. While the direct conflict is different, the rhetoric behind it is shockingly similar. We've been taking note of certain patterns and actions taken by the United States and foreign nations while waiting for (and predicting) what will happen next.

As for FSG, it has been educational in delving into American values as expressed through the genre of baseball movies. I used to watch a lot of them as a kid, but that was purely for entertainment purposes. Watching them now has illuminated the fact that baseball movies do represent an idealized view of America and what America values. Inherent in each movie are cultural shifts as well, the most notable of such shifts being exposed during the urbanization of America. That's not to say that all of the movies are good though. One word: Hardball. That movie reaffirmed the notion that Keanu Reeves could be replaced by a board of wood or a mannequin in any movie he's in and you probably wouldn't know the difference. Honestly, do you think I'm wrong?

I suppose I should get back to reading so that I'll be prepared for my exams on Monday. I'm almost caught up to where I should be in my extensive multitude of readings, but not quite. Until then everything else is kind of on the backburner with a light boil. Hopefully nothing spills over.