Her

Her Film Reaction

One of the technological ideas presented in Her that stuck out to me throughout the movie was the relationship between communication and intimacy. The characters in the movie were constantly accessible to technology, even when sleeping, yet they struggled to build personal relationships with each other. For me personally, technology has improved my relationships with my friends because we can keep in touch all the time without having to line up our schedules but it seemed like technology in the movie had the opposite effect.  

Throughout the entire film there was no mention of Theodore ever communicating with a sibling or a parent even though he is going through a trying time with his divorce. There was also no indication that his parents had died so I was surprised that he did not communicate with them at all.

I think technology, especially texting, has made communication between parents and children way more frequent, and I expected that trend to continue into the future portrayed in the film but it did not. I can’t post a single thing on Facebook without relatives coming out of the woodwork and commenting on my “Senior Year!” album instead of the actual picture,

so I was really surprised that there were no similar examples in Her. Throughout the entire movie I can’t pinpoint any mentions of family, which was unexpected since Theodore went on a first date and I feel like that’s something people normally ask about.

It is shown in the movie how communicating in person is becoming more difficult because of technology and partners expect less of each other because of the amount of technology available, which has actually increased divorce rates. Theodore writes really intimate and heartfelt letters for other people digitally but is unable to work out problems in his marriage. This was also shown in the Amy Adams character that ended up getting divorced over a small fight.

The depiction of Theodore’s divorce because him and his ex-wife were unable to communicate their emotions to each other reinforced the idea that increased technology does not mean increased meaningful communication. I did not understand how Theodore and Samantha had such an intimate relationship exclusively through technology when prior to that Theodore was unable to maintain a relationship with his wife who he lived with.

I found the idea of communication in such an interconnected digital world interesting because Theodore was unable to master in-person communication but utilized digital communication almost constantly.

Andrew P Cohn Reaction Blog

Guest Speaker Andrew P Cohn Reaction Blog

The main part of Andrew’s talk that resonated with me was when he talked about how his path has zigzagged since college. I’m currently in job search mode and having to make peace with the fact that my first job won’t be my dream job and that I can’t control my future 100% no matter how much I plan. When he talked about thinking he wanted to go one direction with music but changing his mind after being a part of that world. I’ve heard too many times that I have to wait for a job to fall into my lap after applying and that I might have to take a job I don’t love.

Also the part when Andrew was talking about how you just have to get one movie made then things become easier resonated with my current transition phase. While I was googling his work, I found his first documentary which shows that everyone starts somewhere, even making documentaries about senior citizen playboys.
I relate to this because the first job I get won’t be the one I work for the next 40 years, I just need to start somewhere and make moves from there out. Just like how Andrew’s first movie won’t be the one gets an Emmy for, I won’t be stagnant if I hire into a job that isn’t where I want to stay. Once I have a post-grad job other companies will start to be more interested in me, I just need to get that first real job on my resume. Searching “entry level marketing jobs” on LinkedIn and weeding out the door-to-door scams might not be as daunting as moving to somewhere in the middle of nowhere and filming 600 hours of footage, but to each his own.

Another part of Andrew’s talk that relates to something I think about a lot is figuring out whether it’s more important to get paid or to do something you enjoy. I don’t think any job I work will be so important to me that I’d be willing to do it for free until there are physical results of all of my work but it’s something to think about if I do end up getting job offers. If I’m deciding between a job I’m not completely sold on and another position that pays a lot less but I like the environment and work more then it might be better to take the job I think I’ll enjoy more.

I don't think my life will end up anywhere like Andrew's, but I feel like any unsure college student could benefit from sitting down for a cup of coffee and a life chat with him.

BEAN BOOZLED CHALLENGE: Albion College

BEAN BOOZLED CHALLENGE: Albion College

Our idea for the video project is to have a taste test of the popular Jelly Belly Bean Boozled jellybean challenge flavors. The idea of Bean Boozled is that there are a lot of tasty flavors but some really nasty ones unassumingly mixed in. There's even an exciting new fourth edition that was unveiled just in time for our video!

There are quite a few videos of the Bean Boozled challenge on Youtube, like this one, that were our inspiration. The video will be either people going through one by one and eating the jellybeans from the little pack –or- we might splurge on the Bean Boozled option with a flavor roulette built in. TBD, there's too many options to choose yet. Even though Bean Boozled hasn't been an internet fad in the past year or so, we think it's a simple and entertaining idea that people will remember and want to watch. 

The content we think will be the most successful is choosing people who will have genuine and entertaining reactions when they pull out a gross jellybean flavor. BuzzFeed has tons of these types of reaction videos that all of our group members find entertaining so we think an Albion-specific version of one of them will be popular. Reaction videos aren’t funny if the people reacting aren’t charismatic or outspoken, so we are hopeful that our participants will be.

We're choosing participants who will appeal to many audiences, including two faculty members from a few departments, two prominent female students, a pair of male students, and lastly bringing in two people from the Albion community. We think choosing a variety of participants will help us gain views because we will have interest and shares from the sorority/fraternity groups, athletics, and from the Albion College official accounts and organizations in the community. 

We're excited to see everyone's reactions to Stinky Socks jellybeans... and grateful that we don't have to eat them ourselves. 

Why Text When You Can Just Make A Status?

Social media has changed our culture by making face-to-face communication more shallow and making it okay for people to post things about their lives that would never have come up in regular conversations. Rather than having individually targeted conversations with people, a lot of social media users throw personal information out there until somebody bites. I love social media as much as the next millennial, but it’s getting out of hand.

I use each of my social media channels in different ways; Facebook is for my family and friends, Twitter is where I complain about things, Instagram is to show off, Tumblr is for memes and shitposts, and Snapchat is for people on campus I know but not closely enough to text. I run a tight ship so all of my accounts are private and I evaluate every follower request I get. Every time Facebook notifies me that it’s someone’s birthday and I don’t know them well enough to say “Happy Birthday!,” I delete them. It’s so easy when Facebook gives me one of these updates every day: 

I like Jess so I sent her a quick HBD message and logged out. But tomorrow, who knows?

Purging my accounts relates to one of my January resolutions, which was to have less screen time, but I still spend most of my downtime on social media or other apps like Pinterest. I use Facebook the most because people link to articles I want to read and type much longer posts than a quick snap or tweet. I have to be ready when one of our well-meaning family friends posts a comment like

on my recent post before my friends start trolling me because of it.

I think the biggest impact social media has had on how I communicate with my peers is that people over-share so much online. Knowing intimate details about other people’s lives through posts about mental illness, sexual assault, or other experiences they've had. It’s people I’ve never even talked to and because of social media I know things about them that would have never come up in regular conversations. I don't know how to react when I see them in person and I know such personal information about their lives but don't even know their major. 

Our culture has shifted from your audience being the lunch table you sit at to anyone you could think of to friend online, from people you knew in elementary school but haven’t contacted in years to someone you met once at a mutual friend’s birthday party. Everyone thinks that other people want to know what’s happening in their life and it's not .

Conversely, I think social media has negatively affected one-on-one communication. When I go out to dinner or hang out with my friends we all check our social media multiple times during the outing and it doesn’t phase us anymore. Excluding my immediate circle, I find out more about my acquaintances’ lives online than from when I spend time with them.

Something I would be interested in learning about in relation to this would be how many people the average person calls and texts prior to posting news on social media. As my life changes and I get a full-time job or engaged or start a family I wonder who I would reach out to other than my mom/dad, sister, grandma, and the two group chats I have with my home friends and my Albion friends. I can’t imagine finding out a relative or close friend is engaged through a changed Facebook status instead of a phone call but I anticipate that it will happen multiple times throughout my life.