Assignment #2

Ben (http://spencerripps.blogspot.com/): I like the way you decided to approach this project. I don't think I would have ever thought of doing it this way. This video was pretty cool and it really shows how simple our (as in Americans) everyday lives are.

Russell (http://awolrussell.blogspot.com/): Good job Russell, the video really shows every important aspect of your life. While I was watching this, I was thinking, "this is definitely very American- tivo, football, baseball..."---not really sure if that's a good thing. But the slide show is good.

Ali Jo (http://alijojojo.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-way-of-life.html); I agree with you that most Americans take the things that we have for granted. Most people of those people do not even know that they're spoiled. Also I think your video (along with your analysis write-up) shows the viewers who you really are and what you believe in.

Maggie (http://historyawol.blogspot.com/): It is true that people have grown to rely on the internet. Playing video games and browsing the net has become a way of life. Sometimes you have to wonder how the people now would have lived in a time where internet still didn't exist. Your video doesn't show a whole lot about your life, but I think it represents a lot.

Esther (http://whatsthateclare.blogspot.com/):GO KINGDOM HEARTS
Alright serious now: I've been thinking about the same question you wrote for number 8. I don't really know if being labeled as a "typical American" is a good thing or bad thing. I guess it's a little of both since Americans are portrayed as being lazy, but we do have a very diverse groups of people with very different cultures.
_____________________________________________________________________________

- By watching these videos, I realized that there really isn't one American Way of Life. Every individual have their own way of life. Everyone treasures different things and have different aspects of life.

- When you think of the big picture, Americans do take many things for granted. For most of us we do not have to worry about our necessities. For example, rather than thinking about WHETHER or not we're going to have dinner, we worry about WHAT we're going to have for dinner. We, Americans complain a lot about our wants, whereas many other people in the world do not even know if they're going to get their needs. (This idea came to me mainly from Ali Jo's video).

- Many of us know exactly what our problems are, but we choose not to solve it. Some of us (including myself, kind of) know that our way of life is not the best way of life, but we decide to continue living the same way. Although the issues found in our way of life is very vivid, we still revolve our lives around those issues.

Mistaken Assignment

John (http://johnli1992.blogspot.com/): I'm pretty sure no one wouldn't like your video. It really shows what's important in life, which are your friends and family. I wouldn't have answered any differently if I were to do this project.

Gavin (http://whereintheworldisntcarmensandiego.blogspot.com/): Nice video Gavin. I like how your video was proving your point(if it was supposed to). Like how you're just skating all day for no reason at all.
GJ

Edit: I started off watching the Meaningless Class' videos first, and I didn't know that the second assignment had to be for the
video from the same class we have.

From 3 to 11

The Life of an ABC from Andy on Vimeo.

Description

1. What have you included in this video?

In my video, I have included mainly three parts: handball, my family, and game plays computer game named SF (Soldier Front). At this point in my life, those three things are most involved, besides school which I would not really say is a part of the way that I live my life, since school is a place for you to learn not to live.

2. Explain how different parts of the video relate to your way of life.

The whole point of video is that it shows my life when school is over. Everyday after school, I pretty much go to the park until 7 or 8 o’clock. Then I go home to my family and do my homework while playing video games. This was also my routine throughout the whole summer, along with watching the Olympics until 2 o’clock in the morning.

Handball has been a part of my life for about a year now. It’s pretty much the only sport (some people call it a hobby) that I have been playing for such a long period of time. I enjoy playing it because it tests my reflexes and it also gives me something to do when I’m trying to avoid playing games.

My mom and dad has been a big part of my life, not just as parents. I do not see them as only people who take care of me. To me, they are people who teach me about life and help me figure out who I am. They are a big part of me and shape me into the person I am now.

I’ve been playing shooting games since freshman year. Video games both help me and hurt me. When I’m bored and have nothing, I can always play games. But often times I do have something to do and it distracts me from doing what I have to do. At this point in my life, I’m trying to quit video games. So far I cannot completely avoid it but I am cutting back on the amount of time I spend playing video games.


3. What’s seems good about your way of life? What’s bad? What’s neutral?

A good aspect of my life is that I have many activities that can take me away from the stress of school and my duties as the only person in my household that speaks English. The bad aspect of my life would be the same thing. I have all these things entertaining me, therefore creating a field of distractions that prevent me from being the best I can be, academic wise. Another reason why my way of life is bad is that by doing all these things I’m not really heading anywhere. I do not even know what I want to become. All the things I enjoy doing (handball and playing FPS) cannot create a future for me. My whole way of life is pretty much neutral. There are almost always two sides to everything I do.

4. What would you have liked to have included, that is important to your way of life, but weren’t able to?

There isn’t really anything I would have liked to add. My video wraps up my daily life after school. If I had more time, I probably would have added more effects though, but besides that I would not anything.

Analysis

5. What’s going on with your way of life? What seems to be the general pattern or direction or point or situation?
It seems like I am trapped into this endless routine of playing. Most of the things I do are for my entertainment. And it seems like I am spending way too much time on doing things that I want to do and not enough time on the things I have to do.

6. How do the good, bad, and neutral in your way of life fit together?
Like, I said before everything I’m doing now is good, bad and neutral. For now, it is all fun and games but I feel like I’m not as prepared as I could be for the future. Although handball and video games are entertaining and acts as a test for my reflexes/hand-eye coordination, it is also my burden. My mind is drained into these two things and it consumes the time that I could be using to prepare for college or anything else that lays ahead for me.

7. Does your way of life seem like a “typical American Way of Life”? Why or why not?

In some ways, it is like the “typical American Way of Life” because like many other Americans I procrastinate. Rather than doing what I have to do first, I go out and play handball or stay in my room to play video games. Before last year, my life could have been the definition the “typical American Way of Life.” I was playing video games nonstop. I would go straight home just to play and I would also sacrifice my 8 hours of sleep for it too.

Recently I think I have been pulling away from the AWOL. I’m still doing things that are considered to be “American,” but now I do less of it. I like to think that I have become more focus and doing the things that are most important. Games have become less of a distraction. And now I am actually able to control myself from games.

8. What aspects of your way of life seem really interesting to you – you’d like to think about them more deeply, figure out how this sort of thing developed historically, what’s going to happen to this aspect of your way of life within your lifetime? What questions do you have about these really interesting aspects of your way of life?

After doing this video, I can see now that what I am doing now is really heading at the wrong direction. My everyday life after school is just playing. I’m not saying playing a sport and having a hobby is bad, it’s just that I do it too often. Here in America, we have the privilege of doing what we want and still able to pass by. But what if I were to live with my grandparents in China, where I have to physically work for my food (fishing, growing crops, etc.) and free time is to the minimal? Would I be able to be this carefree and still able to do what I want?