This is an editorial or a think-piece without a particular designation, please think of it as you would a “Consider the Following” segment on Bill Nye the Science Guy. It is going to present some information and opinions and you can do with them what you will, should you choose to read it! I have a desire to talk about entertainment and the attitudes surrounding it, somewhere along the lines of a “what is art?” sort of conversation, but less lofty and more specific to a particular range of ideas and opinions. I also want to talk about binaries, our collective fascination with them here in America, and in particular the one concerning work and play. I want to talk about self-expression and catharsis and how we like to believe and enforce that …show more content…
Returning to the mention of binaries, our focus on outward presentation calls upon our idea of what is considered professional or socially acceptable and what is considered flighty and eccentric. By and large, there exists a notion that the more reserved somebody presents themselves, the more professional they are. Conversely, the more emotional or open their outward presentation, the more eccentric and less well-adjusted they are considered. Personal matters are considered private, though attitudes about this are changing with the onset of social networking, but that’s something I don’t think I want to try and unpack here. Back to entertainment! If we, as a society, struggle to find healthy and socially accepted avenues to figure out who we are by means of self expression, we need some sort of convenient conduit or vessel to do so. This comes gift-wrapped in the form of entertainment, which gives us digestable presentations of familiar, relatable content. We see characters behave poorly or hurt others and it reinforces how we ourselves seek to act, for instance. We see a pair of romantic partners overcome obstacles to make their relationship work and it causes us to consider what we place value on in our own …show more content…
This is why it’s been so pervasive throughout human history, for about as long as we have existed we’ve had entertainment. Delving deep, we can readily say stories have informed and characterized how we explain our surroundings and identities from almost as far back as we can uncover. There are values and teachings written into myths, but they primarily serve as narratives, complete with colorful characters, unexpected twists, and in many cases elaborate performances. Often, the more ancient these sources the more the evidence for their enjoyment of entertainment is discredited. We have a tendency to assume that all ancient texts and narratives are religious in nature and thusly strict, rigid, and not intended for enjoyment or leisure. The presence of humor in many of these stories would seem to contradict this sentiment, so perhaps it’s the same bias against entertainment’s value that colors how these discoveries are considered, interpreted, and presented. This bias comes from that work-play binary I mentioned prior. Leisure activities like entertainment are classed as play, something frivolous or shallow. But in reality, entertainment is an important part of how we come to terms with our understanding of who we are and how we behave in important situations. So then, is it really just mindless
“If the Earth gets hit by an asteroid, it's game over. It's Control-Alt-Delete for civilization.”-Bill Nye. This is only one of the problems that former engineer Bill Nye has tried to solve. “Bill Nye the Science Guy” is a phrase you probably hear a lot thanks to his super catchy theme song, but don't just give him credit for that. He is also a modern day Renaissance man! His show however is only one of his many talents.
Bill Nye believes that people began from evolution which is accepted universally among mainstreamed scientists. Evolution is the thought of humans starting from germs and then animals and later on to how we are today. Also that we all have descended from common ancestors and natural selection. Bill Nye is arguing against the Genesis creation, which is believed life originates from acts of “divine creation” taking from the bible. One argument that Bill Nye offers is that there would not be enough time, for the four thousand years creationists believe earth was created, for Noah's ark to be built and earth to create. For example, there are trees that are over five
In Neal Gabler’s 1998 book Life the Movie, he raises an important point about the values of entertainment. Intellectuals of the twentieth century and the cultural aristocrats of the nineteenth century criticize the entertainment we use in today’s twenty-first century. Scholars claim that entertainment ruins family life undermine community and people’s sense of right and wrong. However, how does the intellectuals of the twentieth century and the cultural aristocrats of the nineteenth century define entertainment? In the nineteenth century, people used reading as a form of entertainment. Certainly, this form of entertainment is more persuasive than ever that not all forms of escape are harmful. The examples of television, online gaming, and social
With more plants, animals, minerals, and places named after him than any other person it’s a wonder that so few have actually heard of him. Alexander Von Humboldt, born on September 14th, 1769 in Berlin, was one of the most well known scientist in his day. Humboldt’s work contributed to almost every single field of natural science including biology, ecology, and geology. He published many books and changed everything about science. Despite all of this he has been almost entirely forgotten today due to German book burnings throughout World Wars I and II.
A challenge that Rod Serling faced from advertisers and censors was that they didn't want people to get offended by things put on film. In the article, "Happy Birthday, Rod Serling, Creator of the Twilight Zone," Serling was intent on making sure his stories made their way to the screen, no matter how controversial they were. He decided to create his own shows, guaranteeing the last word when it came to content. He used fiction and suspense to create "The Twilight Zone." Rod Serling decided to create his own television show and write science fiction because he wanted to express his feelings of anger and confusion, as well as steering clear of censoring and advertisers.
In early February of this year there was a much publicized debate between Bill Nye of early 90’s “Bill Nye the Science Guy” television fame and the CEO of Answers in Genesis, Ken Ham. The topic of debate was whether or not a creationists model of origins is viable given the modern scientific era. This topic was one of great interest to many people as evidenced by the nearly eight hundred thousand individuals who viewed the debate online by way of an internet live stream, not to mention the fact that the video of the debate has been viewed on YouTube over three and a half million times. Its exposure alone makes it of great interest and should cause our ears to perk up. The content of this debate has been widely accessed and like it or not, many people were influenced by either of these two men, if not both. Given the influence of the celebrity status of Mr. Nye among the secular community and the widely popular evangelical Mr. Ham, both the church and the secular community were tuning in for this debate. So depending on the results and the methodology used, this could have either been very beneficial for the church or very detrimental, which is all the more reason for us to be paying attention. Can you believe in the Big Bang Theory and still be a Christian?
Bill Nye is a scientist. His full name is William Stanford Nye. He was born on November 27, 1955. He is currently 62 years old. His parents are Jacqueline Jenkins-Nye and Edwin Darby Nye. He was on a TV show called, Bill Nye The Science Guy. Bill Nye The Science Guy was on from 1993-1998. He is also on a show called, Bill Nye Saves The World. Bill Nye Saves The World is a Netflix show, and it is on from 2017-present.
Throughout the 1980’s and 90’s, a significant amount of events and tragedies constantly arose among these 20-23 years. We know the stories of the events through internet research or by our history classes, but what we don’t know is the stories and the reactions of the people who were living through these years. Sitting down with my father and grandfather outside on a warm weekend, I got to know their reactions to these events. Most of the events that they remembered were the tragedies that happened during these 20 years, the government scandals or operations, but what they most fondly remembered was the new forms of entertainment that arose among the
Those against the inclusion of games or technology in education will continue to refute with flawed evidence and research tactics hoping to mislead others in their crusade. Naturally bingeing on games and technology will not help in the educational fields however thanks to currently trends we are able to monitor and stay goal oriented when using entertainment for scholarly purposes. Those in support of these educational endeavors continue to find ways to improve upon the system. At one point in time the ESRB was founded to please those against video games however some organizations have gone the extra step to improve the ESRB one step further. Common Sense Media (CSM) was founded in order to expand upon the seven existing categories of the ESRB in order to offer a more beneficial view for parents and educational institutions (Common Sense Media [CSM], 2014). Computer entertainment is a multibillion-dollar industry generating 30.4 billion dollars in 2016 and shows excessive gains each year especially after the explosion of the mobile market (ESA, 2012). The sooner we recognize the positive capabilities of this technology and learn how to correctly apply it to our educational system the sooner our society and future will
The individual self is made up of different roles which actors enact; these may be one’s family roles, community roles, and professional roles and so on. Communication of these roles, so that others begin to understand what part of the individual self is being enacted, occurs either non-verbally or verbally (Goffman 1959). The way in which an actor dresses and accessorizes helps the actor communicate the role they are playing. Goffman (1959) refers to this as “standardized expressive equipment”. For instance, seeing a woman wearing a crown and sash communicates that she is a beauty pageant contestant. Hearing someone address her as “Miss___” also helps to explicate her role as beauty pageant contestant.
Individuals have a series of identities in which they exhibit depending on social cues and what is expected from an individual’s context. During Ellen Wilkinsons lecture, ‘From Blade Runner to Facebook: Exploring Identity’, Erving Goffmans’ concept of a ‘backstage’ and a ‘front stage’ identity in terms of private and public identity was introduced. His novel, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, establishes the idea that an individual’s identity is a performance for their present audience. Goffman states ‘the back region tends to be defined as all places where the camera is not focused at the moment’ , providing theatric imagery as to what the private identity is. When an individual enters the public eye, their character shifts displaying
George Washington Carver is easily one of the most iconic scientists of all time. George was born on January 1864 in Diamond, Missouri, no one knows his exact birthday but his death date is January 5, 1943. Carver came home one day at the age of 78, and fell down the stairs causing his death. Carver went to Birmingham City Schools for high school and for college he went to Simpson College. George is well known for his over THREE HUNDRED peanut products. I chose George because he is an iconic figure in the science community and a person I have prior knowledge on due to previous essays. George was a Christian man and so was his family and he believed every man was equal.
Erving Goffman, a modern theorist, is notorious for his idea of the presentation of self in everyday life. Similar to Du Bois, Goffman used a pragmatic approach to his theories. However, his basic principle was that action, not consciousness is the basis of knowledge. He noted that if social forces are true, they should be observable to solidify that truth. To study this, Goffman employed his idea of “dramaturgy” which is depicted through his metaphor of the theater and the theatrical performance of life. The only self that humans have is situational and it varies in every social setting, so therefore we are always putting on a front. This front is an expression of a certain self-identity at a certain time and place that is formed by the individual actor using appearance and manner and is then read by the audience (Dollar). If the actor portrays a successful performance, then the audience will view the actor of they want to be viewed in that particular moment and setting. Take bullying for instance, the bully is putting on a front and acting as if they are tough individuals, however, when they are backstage and not performing, they could have low self-esteem caused by abusive relationships or even many personal issues. Goffman’s theory of the presentation of self in everyday life is different depending on the time, location and audience. Performances of self are also enactments with a dual purpose.
Video Games. Children spend countless hours each day playing games such as mortal Kombat and Call of Duty. Whether you agree with them or not, it's hard to deny that they have become part of our daily life's. This all started back with SNES with games such as Super Mario Bros and Donkey Kong. I have to add that these are not the first but are the most recognisable games. However, since they’ve been around they have also been the subject of scrutiny in the media due to violence, adult themes and racial slurs. Today, I will discussing both sides of the argument.
Goffman introduces us to the concept of dramaturgy in regards to the development of the social Self (and therefore to Gender Identity). For Goffman, dramaturgy is how the individual becomes a performer in public/quasi-public settings, and their surrounding environment by default become an audience. He focuses on the dynamic between the two, especially on how the performer must manage their impression to win audience approval. To fail at garnishing such approval means risking the entire social setting. (This builds upon, or at least references, Cooley’s Mirror Self in that one turns to others to understand one’s self in a social situation).