Reality TV: Good or bad?

     I am not a fan of reality TV. I mean don't get me wrong, I do watch it. But I rarely enjoy it. I used to watch American Idol, The Voice, So you think you can dance, etc. etc. But I can proudly say I have never seen a full episode of shows like Jersey Shore. I have seen bits and pieces of it, and that is enough for me! So what is it that draws us to these types of shows?
     Well, what is a better way to make yourself feel better than to see how idiotic and messed up other people are? After all, almost all the people on MTV shows are not people we aim to be. Who's goal is to be Snooki? Lets be real here. Maybe these shows allow us to see that our lives aren't as bad as we sometimes think. Maybe we realize how much we take for granted. Or maybe we just watch purely for entertainment. Who knows, really?
     It is possible that we watch reality shows in a positive light too. American Idol, for instance. At least for me, when I watched it, I didn't look at those people the same way as I do Jersey Shore or 16 and Pregnant. I guess it is important to have a good balance of role models and idiots in reality shows...
     I thought it was interesting that The Hunger Games related to reality TV. There is almost no difference, really. They watched a bunch of kids fighting to their death on TV. We watch a bunch of people talking, living together, singing, etc. on TV. Although the subject matter is different (thank god), it is pretty much the same thing.
     I also found it interesting that we think the Hunger Games was so immoral and wrong, yet we enjoyed the book. Collins put us in the same position of the Capitol. They enjoyed it just as much as we did reading it. Although this is a bit different, we enjoy watching reality shows on TV, but should we? Why do we feed into all that nonsense? Why isn't there a show called 16 and Successful instead of 16 and pregnant? Are we just as bad as the Capitol for allowing these things to be so publicly announced and sometimes even encouraged?
     Reality shows are purely for enjoyment and fun, in my opinion. But, I think there should be a better balance between the types of reality shows. They shouldn't all be about how bad others lives are, or how stupid people are. But isn't that what we like to watch? And, after all, its all about how the media can make money. I guess I am having an internal debate on whether I like reality TV or not. I definitely am a culprit for watching it, but I can't decide if I should feel guilty or not. I feel like we need more positive things in our media instead of all poking fun at people less fortunate. All in all, I don't think we will ever stop watching reality TV. Its funny, enjoyable, and takes your mind off of life for awhile. Although it has its flaws, I have to admit I enjoy it.

Marc Baird comes to Fredonia

     Before his visit to Fredonia, I had never heard of Marc Baird. The first thing that grabbed my attention during his speech was his passion for his job. He must have said 10 times how much he enjoys his job and doesn't even consider it to be "work". Not many people can say that with such honestly as he did! He is so passionate about his work and it definitely shines through. I was impressed with how much goes into making movies. I honestly did not even know that this job existed. Now I see why it is so important in the formation of movies and videos. I found it interesting that story boarders do not use actual pen and paper, like I first imagined. Instead, they use a tablet with 16 million colors! I found it funny that he says he has all these colors to use but only uses black and white, with an occasional splash of red. He also stressed the importance of using arrows when making story boards, which I would have never thought of. I also found the connection between comic books and story boarding interesting, since you can pretty much read a story board like a comic book. Going back to using a tablet instead of pen and paper, I found it interesting that this allows the artist to "copy and paste" old images into the new drawing. For example, he said he has drawn so many pictures of a foot on a gas pedal, so now all he needs to do is just copy and paste that image when he needs it for a new movie. Also, he mentioned how in earlier movies, they had to redraw the background image with every story board picture. Now, they can just copy and paste in the entire set that is used in the movie! Talk about a time saver. I think the thing that intrigued me the most about this entire job, is that I never realized how important it is. I thought that a director just simply had an idea of what they wanted the scene to look like, then just filmed it. It is amazing to me to see all of the behind the scenes processes that occur. Also, during his speech, I saw a student drawing. I thought this was funny and cool that Marc's speech inspired that student to draw. Even though they weren't the best artist, it was nice to see that they were encouraged by Marc to draw. Overall I really enjoyed Marc's visit to Fredonia, and I am glad I got the chance to hear him talk and share his experiences with all of us.