Patriotic Duty

After 9/11, the perceptions of the world were challenged. More specifically, religious beliefs became the prime way for many people to characterize others. In the USA, as much as the people tried to band together as Americans, underlying personal opinion and scrutiny of others seemed to overshadow the greater good. Suddenly it was suspicious to be connected in any way to Islam and the Western world took full advantage of people's mindset at that time to instigate these suspicions based on fear.
Remember the infamous Bush speech where he declared America's stance on terrorim? "You're either with us or against us." Seven words that instilled patriotism in the American population but in some way seemed to insult other nations against using war as a solution. Canada seemed to be undecided - of course we were against terrorism but could we possibly back up that belief with war? In the end, Canada decided to fight the good fight, taking up the responsibility of ensuring freedom in war torn areas (i.e. Afghanistan) for the greater good of all people, especially the locals.

As the years passed by and the war continued, momentum seemed to get easily displaced. Irked by the inability to find the most hunted man and the continuing attacks on American holdings, more had to be done. Enter the Patriot Act.
Although many people may think this is an imposition of freedom, I think the intention was to be safe rather than sorry. Yes, it's true that random security checks by authoritative figures can seem to be targeted, but what's the alternative by comparison? Not to take these precautions and regret it? I do not think that's an option. Yes, the world changed but again, we were told 'not to let fear control our lives' and 'live life like we normally would' but without these precautions being put into place, that would not be realistic after the attacks of 9/11.

I don’t believe that individual privacy should be compromised for behaviour that is mistaken for patriotic duty but in order to move ahead and abolish these threats, that fine line may at times be trampled upon for the greater good. Jeremy Bentham’s work famously refers to a Utopian lifestyle as beneficial to society as a whole even when in some cases it is not that way for some individuals. I think if we looked at acts like these from that perspective, it may be easier to see why they are in place today.

--Kelly Ragoobar

Use of YouTube to Promote Accurate Representations of Gay Culture

Founded in 2005, YouTube has become a Web leader as a resource for sharing and viewing original videos around the world. Aside from being a source of entertainment, individuals and groups can use YouTube’s reach to communicate their perspectives and ideals to anyone willing to listen.

This opportunity has provided a perhaps unexpected social benefit – underrepresented and sometimes stereotyped groups, such as the gay community, now have the opportunity to share their experiences with the general public. Anyone with internet access can learn about gay culture from members of its community, rather than simply forming opinions based on (sometimes false) media representations.

In the video below, a gay couple discusses their loving family environment.



YouTube may also be used as a resource for those who believe they might have LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgendered) tendencies to learn from others in the same position. Here, a gay teenage girl talks frankly about “coming out” to herself, her friends and her family.



YouTube has provided a resource to help the advancement of accurate representations of all cultures, and the ideological spectrums within them.

By: Lesley McLelland

Multiplayer Video Games in the 21st century

Video games have come a long way from their humble beginnings. Once upon a time multiplayer games were limited to two people and some joysticks. Today, video games servers house millions of avatars, all of which representing an individual somewhere in the world. In earlier days our characters were limited to a pixilated 2d version of the developers design. However, today our characters serve as a digital emissary to an online realm in which the dynamics appear to be endless. This is the digital age we find ourselves in at the present. All of this sounds very appealing and except one must look beyond the visage portrayed by these video games and attempt to penetrate their core. These video games are not all give and no take.

This fully immersive world serves as the breeding culture for a very prominent subculture known as massively multiplayer online (MMO) gamers. In my experience these have proven to be the most addictive games. These digital environments share some real world’s qualities and when mixed with fantasy along with lore a virtual world is created. Communities are then formed within these worlds such as you may find in any other locale. According to the economy, social interactions, and infrastructure, one may actually argue that MMOs are in fact communities.

Yet another advance in multiplayer video gaming is the rise of local area network groups or LAN parties. LAN parties combine face to face gaming with online gaming and have proven to be one hell of an experience. While watching the below video I read a comment which read “LAN parties are better than Club parties”. Personally I disagree but that is an interesting notion. Let’s see why:



By: Matt Alexander

Adbusters

Adbusters is an interesting organization that focuses on the flaws of multi-million dollar corporations that appear in the media because of the way they run their company. For example, Calvin Klein, several years ago released images that are a little racy and demonstrate that media as being a beast when it comes to women all over the world. Adbusters is a good way of demonstrating the many ways that the media can scare the public into thinking a specific concept. Adbusters uses those ads released by companies like McDonalds, and Tommy Hilfiger and morphs their ads to look like something else. Another example, similar to Calvin Klein, is the Absolute ads released by add busters that are located below. Using these ads they can influence the public that not everything these multi-million dollar corporations are true.

The below is another image created by Adbusters that critisizes Calvin Klein

Adbusters, Initials. (n.d.). Spoof ads. Retrieved from https://www.adbusters.org/gallery/spoofads

The Media and Homosexuality

The media has begun to demonstrate on several levels its acceptance of gay and lesbian people in many industries. Several TV shows have created story lines focusing on the relationships between gay and lesbian men and women, and interacting with their family and friends. For example, Will & Grace, was a very successful TV show, and it focused on the relationship of a gay man and his straight friend Grace. The media has helped encourage viewers to open their eyes and be more accepting to gay and lesbian people, and show them that they are no different than anyone else.

USA: Villain, Hero or both

This week’s reading is entitled Villains, Victims and Hero: Melodrama, Media and September 11. The USA is no doubt the most powerful and wealthy nation on the planet and their influence reaches every country throughout the world. The hundreds of billions of dollars the country spends to help nations around the world has given the belief that the US is helping to keep the world safe and at peace, making them a global hero. But is this belief true? Is the US actually helping or are they hurting the world? Just like Superman and Spiderman, many of the people around the world are asking if the hero is doing more harm than good.

In Spiderman 2 Peter Parker finds himself in a situation where the people no longer believe that he is a hero. Despite all the good things he has done for the people, Spiderman is now seen as a villain in the eyes of the public. Today we are seeing the same problem facing the USA as they try to police the world and make it a safer place for everyone. But like many things the way you view the US depends on your personal perspective. A woman who is saved by Spiderman is more likely to view him as a hero and not a villain. The same goes with the US, people who are saved by the good things they do by policing the world are more likely to see them as hero’s.

Places like Afghanistan and Iraq are seen as being saved by the US government. They have taken a terrible dictator out of power and have been seen as bringing peace to Iraq. But with seven years of war, are they really making Iraq a more peaceful place? Throughout the Iraq war it is said that just over 4,000 US military soldiers were killed in action. But how many innocent Iraqi citizens died in the invasion? These are questions that many people are now asking themselves as they look at the US as a hero or a villain. Just like Spiderman the good things done by the US cannot go overlook, but many of the USA’s good intentions sometimes turn into bad situations.
The article discusses how the world felt bad for the USA on 9/11. There is no doubt that the events that occurred on that day were terrible. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives for no reason and no cause. Some will say the US got what they deserved. Conspiracy theorists will say the US did it to themselves. Others will say it was a terrible tragedy and those responsible need to be brought to justice. Whatever you believe is your personal choice, but there is no doubt those events changed the world forever.

Whether you think the US is a superhero or a villain you must believe their actions on the world stage have changed the world forever and have touched the lives of billions of people, whether it is in a good or bad way.

-Curtis Thompson

Media: Main Cause of Globalization

Prior to the introduction to mass media and satellite, cultures from around the world were impacted only by individuals migrating from one region to another bringing with them parts of their own culture from home. As mass media and social wealth have been introduced throughout the world, media has played a key role in transforming, modifying and creating culture globally.

From the early days of Globalization with the introduction of Coca Cola (the most recognized brand name in the world) to the end of communism (introduction of McDonald’s in Russia) and finally the development of the internet and satellite streaming images and information throughout the globe. Media has been responsible for bringing cultural changes from being regional to worldwide. Globalization throughout the world has greatly impacted perceptions, style, democratic views as well as social acceptance among other cultures beyond one’s one. Society can now relate and understand other cultures because of the amount of media through outlets such as internet, television, radio, and newspapers including worldly issues. This bombardment of media allows people to view aspects of the world unlike their own and gain a greater understanding of other cultures thereby removing humanity’s innate fear of the unknown allowing aspects of that culture to be intertwined with their own.

An example of globalization would be the export of hockey from North America to be throughout the world including climates that are traditionally warmer and regions that would not house cold weather sports. This shows the influence that media has within regions to make changes based on knowledge and interest from places other than their own.

As we continue to move forward and cultures adapt and amalgamate within each other, it is fair to argue that there will be a general reduction in nationalism and a greater global community where regional traditions are lost and global customs are formed.

By Carolyn Gregory