There is No Plan

  In a class I once took on Communication and Culture, one of the readings we had said that people like to define themselves as what they are not in a way to give the impression of what they are to others.  Often, accomplishing things is harder but it is much easier to avoid doing something as there are many more alternatives.  This is at odds with Christianity which preaches that only evil is the absence of good while good must therefore be something to strive for in our lives.  Yet it seems our current political climate has only continued to drive the opposition to things instead of clarifying what it is people want to accomplish.
        People like to constantly complain about how allegedly divided our society is.  I personally have never liked this argument as it seems more like an opportunity to scapegoat.  How many people have complained about society in a way that could be defined as “People are too divided these days.  They need to shut up and support me instead!” despite the obvious divisiveness of those statements?  Yet it does not change the fact that there are real causes for divisions the public are overlooking.
The last several decades have seen the decline in social capital and community.  Church attendance among Catholics has declined from 75% in 1955 to 39% by 2018, involvement in fraternal organizations has declined, the percent of affiliated labor union members is down by 25% in the same timeframe, movie ticket sales are down as people go out less, and the list goes on of ways people are socializing less.  Meanwhile, the rise of social media, streaming services, and increased delivery from restaurants suggests that people are slowly becoming disconnected from society as they instead enjoy their alone time more than social hours.
People may not realize this but the lack of this connection is actually how we become divided.  Since we do not spend time with each other, do not do things together, and do not connect on the same private levels, we lack the same values, interests, and ability to understand each other.  This leads to social isolation and thus reduces empathy.  So real division is not the oversimplified “hate the other guy,” it is “be apathetic to the other guy to the point that you can no longer relate.”
Our politics therefore follow this division instead of causing.  The purpose of campaigns are coalition building so if you get multiple groups together that cannot connect with other groups, then they cannot connect with those outside of their circle.  This means that candidates who have something for those groups will not have something to offer other groups.  And why should one support a candidate at all if they have nothing to offer?
Well, once again, creating things is hard so when they cannot unite around shared interests that are gone, they create bogeymen to scare the groups to hate.  Since they cannot connect with those groups, they come to believe they are in competition with them and that leads to tribalism.  So this is exploited, not created, by politics.
In order to get those groups together, scapegoats are created and demonized.  However, since those scapegoats are likely registered voters, that incentivizes them to oppose the original group to protect their own interests.  With that comes the realization that there will always be division because the opposing party has nothing to offer besides assurance they will not consider you a bad person if you support them.
Take a look at campaign ads.  Ask yourself how often candidates talk about what they want to do if elected versus how much they oppose.  Look at social media and ask if people are discussing solutions or how much they think the other guy sucks.  Any of these are signs that the people running have no real plan, just assurance that they will not be what you hate.
Multiple political actions and platforms have been calling for the elimination of things instead of improving livelihood.  There were riots (which create nothing), there were calls to eliminate the police (with tepid promises of increased social workers which never got serious looking into), there was the full on demonization and attempted ruining of lives on social media through cancel culture (Gina Carano and Chris Pratt got attacked for not publicly virtue signaling), and the only response to complaints about the lockdowns, people losing their jobs, and long term mental health problems was the assurance that you were a selfish person if you did not support them and your concerns were unimportant.  There has been nothing positive in the current political system and no actual goals to accomplish.
This is the issue for those trying to convince themselves that getting rid of certain people will fix anything.  Already, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has called for blacklisting Trump supporters from politics while Rep. Cori Bush has called for expelling Republican members of congress while the New York Times has been attacking free speech.  This will only further alienate those groups as they are not focused on unifying anyone but merely blacklisting the people they do not like.  When those people do not have a way to engage in society, they will further isolate.
A class I took in grad school said that positions do not unite people but interests do.  I have used that in politics to mean our political positions do not, but the goals and values we want do.  What has always been the focus for all voters such as jobs, upward mobility, increased income, and freedom have been appealing to many different groups.
Until we the people actually start focusing on rebuilding that social capital, joining groups, getting along, and focusing on what we want to accomplish instead of merely what we oppose, our divisions will continue.  Our politics are a symptom of the problem, not the cause of our divisions.  If we keep trying to get rid of the “bad people” without changing ourselves and what we want to accomplish, there will never be a connection.

Returning to Jellystone for Christmas

  Growing up, my grandparents had satellite which meant that they had access to Boomerang.  Now, after pestering my parents, my family has the Boomerang streaming service with a variety of different content that I would have seen either growing up or on Netflix DVDs they used to rent for long car rides.  So needing to catch up on Christmas specials, I decided to watch Yogi Bear’s First Christmas, a 1980 film I saw from time to time on the network around the season.
As stated, the film follows noted forgotten cartoon icon Yogi Bear as he celebrates Christmas for the first time.  Normally, he and Boo Boo are asleep this time of year due to hibernation, but since the rest of his usual friends were hosting an extremely loud Christmas party, he was woken up and decides to stay up long enough to enjoy the holiday.  Thus, the special follows his antics of experiencing Christmas traditions like skiing, ice skating, Santa Claus, and others while trying to save the Jellystone Lodge by pleasing the owner, her spoiled brat nephew, and stopping an anti-Christmas hermit from ruining the holiday.
Rewatching this so many years later, there’s something nice about watching an innocent character get to experience the season of joy for the first time.  Everything is new to him so he gets to experience everything in the same way a child would.  Though hardly original, it is a well suited plot for a character that emulates that kind of childlike innocence while being completely devoid of cynicism.
From watching him save the lodge owner multiple times to stopping either her nephew or the hermit from ruining everyone else’s joy to just trying to enjoying Christmas traditions like avoiding mistletoe all the while trying to save a lodge.  Really, it does capture the feeling of the holiday while still making you actually care about the place he’s saving.  It’s still cheesy and simple, but there’s a lot to appreciate if you’re in the mood for simple holiday cheer.
I guess this still resonates because the special celebrates life during Christmas.  There’s still basic celebrations, still people understanding the “real meaning” of giving, and more importantly it’s not the 3000th ripoff of A Christmas Carol.  If you don’t immediately hate Yogi Bear like the rest of my family, it’s probably worth a laid back watch.
So, as I get ready for Christmas, I look back fondly on my own childhood and the optimism of what is yet to come.  For that reason, I’ll probably keep watching older cartoons that can promote that.  So Merry Christmas everyone, enjoy the time you have with your loved ones.

Taking a Break from Blogging

         I'm working on some personal projects going forward so I'll be walking away from Blogging for a while.  Hope to return but will see what happens next.

Go Read Booker T. Washington

  During some finals week of a year I no longer remember, I was passing through the bookstore at the Indiana Memorial Union and found the autobiography of one of my heroes, Booker T. Washington, on discount.  Booker T. had always been a hero of mine due to the strength of his ideals and the fact that he was underappreciated as a civil rights leader, so I got it.  It took a couple years, but recent events finally made me get around to reading it.
Booker T. was a prominent civil rights leader in the 1800s who had been born into slavery and eventually went on to lead the Tuskegee Institute.  He was a believer in the concept of black excellence, that African Americans should constantly better themselves and learn the skills required to go into and potentially create the industries that would better society.  From this, equality would eventually be achieved through self-improvement and education.
His autobiography starts about the feelings of what it was like to be freed from slavery when he was a boy.  The feelings of jubilation and the knowledge that the worst of their lives was over is well documented in the book as well as what it would mean going forward.  This inevitably led to opportunities, but hardships as well.
From there, he travelled with the support of his family to look for work before he ended up teaching at the Tuskegee Institute.  From there, he impressed people to the point that he was made the head of the Institute.  The rest of the book chronicles his work from going to conferences to getting talent to work at the institute to his personal life to fundraisers to working with various Presidents and more.
The book is an excellent chronicle of his beliefs in how to uplift African Americans during the worst of segregation and a chronicle of what he was up against.  From lynchings to white supremacy to southern politics, his autobiography gives an overview of life during this time and the struggle for civil rights.  It is a time period not as often talked about during the discussions of racism in the United States so it is good to have a primary source on it.
Booker himself gives a good overview of how to face challenges when there is little support from the establishment.  Often one cannot overwhelmingly defeat the system alone, but they can improve themselves and give the best impression of what they believe.  It is something important that anyone should consider.
The book is both a good look into the views and issues of the time as well as his philosophy.  I highly recommend it as his values are still applicable and have the potential to improve the lives of those interested.  Without any hindrance of a doubt, go give it a read.

No Blog Post This Week

    Sorry to admit that there will be no blogpost this week.  I have been rather busy with professional and personal projects so I have not had time to give one the time it deserves.  Rest assured, a new one should be back up on Tuesday.

Profiles in Heroism: Charlie Brown

 

(Spoilers for Various Charlie Brown Specials and Films)

Though unusual for this series, today’s profile will be focusing on a fictional character.  After all, plenty of fictional characters have served as inspiration for many people.  So today, the post will focus on someone who is known for his boundless struggle in the face of certain failure and still getting through it.  That character is Charlie Brown.

One of the Pixar Rules of storytelling (and my own second key rule) is “You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.”  Struggle remains the heart of any story and a character’s ability to face that struggle is what defines them as the hero more than where they end up when the story ends.  Often, their prudence in that regard is what inspires us when we find ourselves facing our own struggles and demons.

More than anyone, Charlie Brown faces struggles throughout his day to day life.  He is extremely unpopular among his fellow classmates, he struggles to fit in wherever he is, he often makes blunders that put him at odds with accomplishing his goals, and sometimes the universe seems stacked against him.  Be it failing to win the spelling bee, receiving no cards on St. Valentines Day, getting nothing but rocks on Halloween, the overwhelming disinterest he receives from his actors while directing a Christmas pageant, or his never ending attempt to gain the favor of the Little Red Haired Girl, often Charlie faces more failures than triumphs, even if he does not succeed at the end.

Yet, he never gives up nor ever loses hope.  Whenever a new opportunity or adventure arises, he still goes headfirst into it as though success is still possible and he will see it to the end.  Charlie Brown is amazingly resilient.

Throughout “The Peanuts Movie,” he continues to pursue goals that will win the affection of the Little Red Haired Girl across the street.  He enters a talent show but dumps his act in order to help save his sister’s act, he writes an entire paper analyzing “War and Peace” before it is torn to pieces by the Red Baron, he bombs at the dance competition despite this being his best chance to dance with his crush, and he admits that there was a mistake made grading his test despite the fact that he became a local celebrity due to the incorrect high rating.  In the process, he fails to win at any of the smaller goals he is set forward to do.

Yet, despite not being the best at any of these, Charlie Brown gains from each interaction.  From the talent show he realizes how important his relationship with his sister is, from the paper he proves he can actually write that and is smarter than he gives himself credit, the same is true for the dance competition, and from admitting that he did not get a perfect score on the standardized test he proved his honesty.  This is what wins the affection of his crush as he proves that he may not be the most capable, but he is the best person.

Charlie Brown’s struggles and mistakes remain what we learn from each story.  His picking a Christmas tree that was unpopular led to his friends coming together to discover the true meaning of Christmas, realizing they had forgotten to give him a valentine lead to them realizing he deserved one after St. Valentine’s Day, and failing at the spelling bee reminded him that the world does not end just because we do not always succeed.  Each time, his struggle reminds us of what is good in the world and the audience learns from.

There are probably many reasons why the Peanuts endure, but that simple truth remains a big reason why Charlie Brown endures.  The fact that he tries and never gives up until he loses is why we are endeared to him and what makes him a hero.  So never forget, even in our darkest moments, seeing to the end is better than not showing up.

The Inconsistent World of Dead Island

  When constructing any story, the one important goal is to immerse the audience into the world that is created.  Everything must flow in a way that makes it feel natural to the story, characters, and the world that they exhibit.  One example of something that failed to accomplish exactly that would be the video game Dead Island.  Despite large locations, beautiful visuals, and fascinating subtext, they largely fail to mesh together in a coherent fashion.  This gives the game the impression that Dead Island is less a properly planned out location and more collage of different elements that were thrown together during the writing process.
The game takes place on the fictional resort island of Banoi, which is off the coast of Papua New Guinea.  The levels on the island themselves are broken down into four key regions of the resort, the city, the jungle, and the prison.  Throughout the game, the protagonists go through all four regions in a search for a way to get off the island, mostly being motivated by “The Voice” on the radio, while helping survivors by getting them aid or supplies.  Overall, this is a very simple setting for a sandbox style zombie that provides opportunities for exploration and fighting the undead.
One of the more interesting points of the game actually is the location.  Although zombies have been overused in culture and in different stories, the concept of doing them in a tropical resort is not as overdone so there is more merit in the location.  In addition, it provides an interesting contrast between the resort and the inevitable death zombies represent.
As was noted by author J.P. Beaubien, zombies represent the slow, inevitable march of death that we all fear.  They are literal walking corpses, people who were once alive but no longer, coming to takes us with them to the after life.  Even if we do manage to outlast them, one day we will join them as none of us can escape death’s embrace.
The resort area is an excellent representation of this.  Most of the zombies were actually people that had just come to have a good time and enjoy a vacation, only to become the vile undead that all people fear.  In a way, it represents the harsh reality that even in the best of places, the most beautiful of locations, none of us can escape the hard reality of pain and suffering.
After that though, the next regions go to a run down city, the jungle, a lab in the jungle, and a prison.  The theme of that as well as the uniqueness of the setting disappears as we go to regions unrelated to a resort and are seen far more regularly in other games.  The uniqueness of the original setting is lost as the game progresses to more familiar locations.
To an extent, it is also worth asking what the regions have to do with each other.  It makes sense that there is a city on the island as it is unlikely a place could exist without a working population, but a jungle loaded with natives (who randomly appear out of nowhere with no foreshadowing), a government lab, and a high security prison surrounded by mines with the world’s foremost criminals seems odd to put next to a resort.  One would wonder why someone would build a resort next to potential lawsuits waiting to happen.

Well, fortunately, a coworker of mine who has family in Jamaica did actually have an explanation of how a region like that could theoretically exist.  The resort could have an airstrip which would allow guests to avoid the other parts of the island, the city would provide workers and potential shops for interested patrons, the jungle could provide camping and hiking opportunities and be ignored if it was particularly remote, and in game the island was originally a penal colony.  All these explanations do provide a sense of connection.
However, the game itself did not properly give a feel of how it is all related.  Instead of naturally continuing from one region to the next, everything is largely separated as different zones when continuing through the game.  As a result, the coherence is weakened when there could be a narrative fit.
Overall, there is a sense that the game was largely a mishmash of different elements that don’t always fit, as though the writers were trying to weave a story or location together instead of actually making a coherent story around the setting.  The best description would be they came up with the idea for zombies at a resort and then just added whatever they felt like to actually have a purpose for the game to exist.  Not helped by this is the fact that none of the main characters have an arc or the fact that a third of the game is spent at the resort while the other regions get progressively less screen time.
In the end, that becomes the problem with world building in a story.  Everything should have a flow around the main setting.  If we are skipping from place to place, we should be actually going to different locations far away from each other instead of feeling like there are a bunch of unnecessary locations next to each other.  Otherwise, this can break the immersion.
There are plenty of examples of proper coherency, but the best would be a comparison to another zombie game such as Resident Evil.  It is weird that the Umbrella Corporation would build a mansion to hide a lab, but if you can accept that as a possibility, then the layout of the mansion is coherent.  The mansion disguises the lab from unwanted travelers while the lab is specifically out in the middle of nowhere to hide it from large populations should something leak.  This narrative is cohesive and makes sense.
This becomes an issue with over focus on one element and not the rest.  Every story that progresses should feel like the regions are connected properly and not hastily thrown together.  Connecting it can give a sense of world building, while adding it for the sake of adding it will make it feel forced and disconnected.  Remember that when crafting a location.