Reviewing my posts over the past semester, I’ve found three main themes: 1 – I love technology, especially the Internet, and seem to think people unfairly criticize it, 2 – I tend to apply what we learn in class to other pieces of art or pop culture I enjoy, and 3 – I tend to question the representation of marginalized groups in what we read/watched.
In “The Legitimacy of Online Relationships,” “Are parasocial relationships inherently inauthentic?,” and “A Love Letter to Technology?” (3/8 total posts), I took a definitive stance on technology, particularly as a tool for facilitating social connection. I admit I may be a little biased. I spend a lot of time in Internet communities, and they’ve allowed me to make friends who share the same identities or niche interests I do. I defended the validity of parasocial relationships and the potential for authentic celebrity Internet presences.
Because I feel online relationships and interactions are so frequently devalued, I came across as an unequivocal supporter of them. As a result (and it pains me to admit this), I think I ignored some of the nuance in the issue. In my opinion, technology is fantastic and people criticize it because a – it’s new, and people hate change and 2 – they want to feel superior to the mindless lemmings who dare to use Google. But right there, I’m making an incomplete and ungenerous generalization. As much as I love technology and the Internet and the opportunities it provides, my posts suggest that I may need to take a break from being so defensive and acknowledge that just as technological development isn’t all bad, it isn’t all good, either.
The other theme that appeared in my posts is that I love pop culture and like to bring it into these discussions. Whether it’s Rosemary’s Baby, zombie tropes, or bad video games, I can’t refrain from applying these concepts beyond the class. Sci-fi and horror are two of my favorite genres, so I really had a lot of fun learning about them and getting the opportunity to watch The Exorcist for class. I think my excitement about the subject is pretty evident in these posts.
A third and final theme I noticed was that I was often critical of the representation of women, mentally ill people, and minority groups in our assigned texts. I think this criticism is a lot fairer than my staunch defense of technology. I’m still not sure how I feel about Marjorie being characterized as violent as a result of mental illness, as I talk about in this post. I had plenty of criticisms of Dead Set’s treatment of its black, gay, and female characters. As I mentioned earlier, I consume a lot of sci-fi and horror, and I think I go into these pieces expecting the mentally ill to be vilified, women’s sexuality to be condemned, and black and gay characters to be seen as expendable. That being said, these representations are rarely black and white. I think particularly in reference to Marjorie, I was asking questions far more than making accusations. Nevertheless, I can’t set aside my critical lens when consuming media.
Overall, I don’t think I looked at what we read or watched for class from an apolitical, detached perspective. I definitely analyzed pieces with my own agenda. I don’t think that’s inherently wrong, but I think especially in the case of defending technology, I may want to be a bit more conscious of nuance and different perspectives.