Blog #7 The Social Network

While watching "The Social Network" many critical approaches can be taken. In a Philosophical point of view we can learn a lesson from Mark and his many complications due to his strive for money, and want of being "cool". Looking at a Marxist point of view we can see that money plays a major role in each character's life.

When we look at Marks actions we pretend like no one acts that way, but in reality it is everywhere. Looking at this through a larger scale, we can say that money is the reason for people's greed, it makes them in a sense act the way they do. Once you have a little, you want more. People don't have any sense of control when it comes to money. Marks actions teach us that money can't always buy happiness. His actions also teach us that wanting more isn't a bad thing, but having too much can create a huge disaster.  For example, Mark already had a good business going with Eduardo, but he continued to push for more.  In the end he only thought about himself, and how much money his social network could potentially make.  Money complicated his life more than it made him happy.  Money doesn't always buy happiness, and that is the lesson being taught in the social network.

The Marxist lens can also be connected to money. Each character in this movie is driven by money. They are so driven by it that they go as far as risking their relationships with friends. Which we do see Mark lose Eduardos friendship.  Money wasn't the main reason to Facebook being created, but eventually that was what it was all about.  It wasn't about the socializing anymore, it became only about the money.  Money caused these characters to fall apart, socially.  For an example we can look at the Winklevoss twins.  They were bigshots at Harvard, and were known for their success.  Money was already a part of their life, but they always wanted more. They couldn't stand someone below them, being more successful then them.  Just because they were rich, and their names were big they thought they could have whatever they wanted.  Money has played a big role in their lives, and always will.

Into the Wild and Fantastic Mr. Fox #4

While reading and watching "Into the Wild" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox" we took many psychological approaches to both. Chris McCandless, a young man on the journey of a lifetime, discovering himself, and Mr. Fox in his older days, must change his style of life in order to protect his family. Chris and Ash(Mr. Fox's son) are both motivated by their fathers. While Chris resents his father, Ash praises his father.  Although for different reasons, it really drives them during their journies: Chris on his Alaskan  adventure, and Ash during his family's struggle for survival.

Although Mr. Fox and Chris McCandless may not be similar, Mr. Fox's son, Ash, is very relatable to Chris. Ash, much like Chris, has many troubles with his parents. They dont get along, and quite frankly, just dont understand eachother. Ash was always trying to make his father notice him more, by trying out for sports at school, making his own mask, and stealing back his fathers tale. Throughout the movie, we see Ash's character change, with the intention of gaining his fathers approval.

Chris McCandless's story is very different from Ash's. Chris was alone, on a journey where only he knew where to go. Chris never tried to gain approval from his father, he had no intent, nor want of gaining it. Chris was a very stubborn man, and although he got along with most people he met, he never held anyone close. It's like he was pushing people away, hiding himself behind a wall. Seen on page 63, Borah, a friend of Chris explains that he didnt seem to really get along with people, and that he obviously has troubles with his parents. McCandless was very hard to persuade, and in most cases it was an impossible task. Westerberg says on page 67, "once chris made his mind up about something, there was no changing it."

These two characters, similar and different, were both very strong willed. They didnt know what they wanted at first, but once they figured it out, they were men on a mission.

#6 House Pilot Episode

The lesson being taught here in this episode, is that you can always learn from your mistakes. The patient in this episode was severely sick, and the doctors had no idea what the diagnosis was. House although in some viewers eyes, is an unethical doctor, was very reasonable with his treatments. I dont think i would have done it the same way though. He had his assistants break into the patients house, and even though that proved helpful to solving the case, it was wrong of them. I dont believe that House thought it was wrong, and he probably wont learn from his mistakes, but i do believe that this episode was based on that.
     Another thing to think about is what could/would have happened had they made any serious wrong choices. House's assistants breaking into the house, had they gotten caught, would have gotten into serious trouble with the law, but the fact that they didnt, ended up being beneficial to the patient. The only bad thing about that, is they'll end up doing it again, and possibly get got. Since they didnt get caught, they cant learn from their mistakes, which is what the episode is based on.

#5 The lottery

I believe Jackson wrote this story, simply because it relates so much to society. People in society act a certain way, in most cases they dont even know why, but because society accepts it, it becomes acceptable to them. I think that this is what Jackson's story portrays, that even though this whole tradition called the lottery is completely unethical, it is socially acceptable to their society just because everyone does it. This relates to a tradition such as Halloween, we've turned one of the darkest days into a holiday, and everyone does it because everyone else does. Is there actually a reason to dress up once a year, and go door to door asking people for their candy?
   Characters in the story such as Tessie Hutchinson represent the minority in a society. She was one of the few, and unlucky in this case, to actually win the lottery. The rest of the townspeople are the majority of the population, and they represent what most of society does. Everyone tries to fit in, so everyone participated in the stoning of Tessie Hutchinson.

Into the Wild #3

My understanding of Chris McCandless has not changed thus far. To me, he is still a young man on a mission to find peace within himself. Chris was always a great student in school, having a high acheivment rate, which is seen on page 109, in the bottom paragraph. Chris being very talented though, he never accepted help. He was resistant to instruction, seen on page 111. I believe that Chris is completing this adventure, simply because no one wants him too. Every time someone asks him to stop, it just motivates him even more.

into the wild #2

Chris McCandless and John Mallan have many similarities, a big one is having issues with parents. John's dad left when he was younger, and it really changed him emotionally. John has certain hobbies, that im almost positive Chris would enjoy, rock climbing and going for walks. John was sort of an outdoorsman kind of guy, much like Chris was, or at least tried to be. Both are in a sense socially awkward, with a sense of humor of course. John and Chris have both attended college, so they are both pretty intelligent guys. I believe John may have influenced Chris just by being himself. John seems like a pretty successful guy, being the third youngest to climb Mt. McKinley, and first to reach the summit of Mt. Hunter. I believe that Chris realized John was at peace when climbing, and Chris wanted to be at peace as well. For Chris, living in the wild was his mountain climbing, his peace.

Into the Wild #1

The book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless decides to "live off the land" in Denali National park located in Alaska. Chris McCandless was a very stubborn man, he had a mission and wasn't going to let anyone stop him. A question people can't seem to answer is, Why did he do this? Seen on page 6, Chapter 1, Chris talks to Gallien about his family. He hasnt seen any of them in two years, which leads to beleive that he may have had family issues in the past. If that's the case, Chris is probably eager to be free of them, be his own man. In page 40, Chapter five, the McDonalds employee explains how Chris never wanted to wear socks. This has a huge psychological connection. Chris was asked by the employees to wear socks, and even shower. Chris clearly does not like to listen to people, so he of course worked at the McDonalds for a while, but later quit, and as soon as he quit he flung his socks off. I beleive this was his way of showing the employees that he was his own man, and that they didnt own him. As seen on page 65, Chapter seven, Chris hadnt had much success with women. A girl named Borah, whom he had danced with at a bar, said he was not very experienced. She said it was easy to tell he had not been with a girl before me. This i think shows that he is a very reserved person, which could and probably does relate back to his problem with his parents. Not having a healthy relationship with them, is affecting his social life. All of these examples show why he went looking for peace. He was not happy, and being alone was the only way he felt at peace.