Add Life to Your Days, Not Days to Your Life

Here's the link to see Golkar's Parergon collection. It is made up frames that are only partial, or that have nothing in them except for a shape. He has literally, and figuratively, deconstructed the frame. The parergon is now broken and opens up to the rest of the gallery space, rejecting Kant's opinion that there is an 'in' or 'out', and that there is no distinction between frame and art. 

Just wanted to add that the show I mentioned in class is called 10 Years Younger, not 40 Years Younger. But you can see in the picture the basic idea. They put a contestant who hasn't really taken care of themself in a soundproof box and let people gawk and stare, then tell the camera how old they think the contestant is and point out their flaws. To top it all off, they later show the contestant what people said about them and tell them the average age people thought they were. But it's all okay because in the end they make the contestant look attractive again, put them back in the box, and record all the positive complements the contestant now received and how much better their life now is. And yes, I used to watch this show. 

This link lists 15 reality TV shows that are absolutely ridiculous, and one even resulted in a lawsuit. It includes My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance (which someone brought up in class) and a worse version of Bridalplasty (yes it's possible) called The Swan, where contestants went through a ton of medical procedures to become 'beautiful' and completely unrecognizable. These shows are so awful, yet many of them aired for several seasons which means that people actually watched them. Proof of the trainwreck phenomenon - these shows are so bad that we can't look away.  

I really really enjoyed this reading, perhaps the most out of all of the readings that have been assigned. I've known that reality TV shows have never actually been realistic, but I had no idea that it was this staged. They had completely manipulated almost everything, and I never thought about how they had to film everything early and even manipulate the season so that it would correlate with when it aired. It was very interesting to see the producers view, and how she weaved it into her own life. Once I read this I saw the episode of Chopped that I had watched from a completely different light, and I know that from now on I'll have this story in the back of my mind whenever I watch reality TV.

I kind of wanted to talk more about Lady Gaga during class, but we ran out of time before I got the chance. She's always kind of annoyed me from the start of her popularity, there's just something about her that I never liked. I appreciate how she's supposedly trying to support queers (my new LGBTQ word as of today) but it's as if she's trying way too hard to be different (I mean she's worn meat to draw even more attention to herself) and then make money off of what makes her different. It kind of all seems like a scam to me. I found this blog on Tumblr and it's pretty much perfect, and interesting to see their view of things. 

If you watch New Girl, you'll appreciate this. And if you don't, you should. 

So don't get me wrong, I love this show. It's pretty hilarious, especially the character of Schmidt. But it's kind of exactly what Adorno is talking about, and I didn't get the chance to bring it up in class as an example. I was actually disappointed a bit because now I see how terribly cliche it is. Of course Zooey Deschanel plays the adorably quirky cute character of Jess, who is unique and marches to her own drum yet still is relatable. Then there's the token black guy, Winston, and the somewhat OCD Jew, Schmidt. Schmidt used to be fat and a bit of a loser, but once he miraculously dropped all of his weight he became an attractive man every woman wants to be with. I could go on, but I think I've proved my point. Even though it's so cliche, I still enjoy this show and could kind of care less. Who cares, I find it entertaining and don't mind if it's somewhat predictable and unoriginal. It makes me laugh and that's all I'm looking for. 

It was interesting to see some people's thoughts on what I posted. I hadn't really given much thought about it and who's side I was necessarily on, I just posted it because it was so relevant to our discussions and gender roles. But seeing people's thoughts made me realize that there isn't necessarily a side or boys vs. girls. A lot of woman in fact disagreed with the parody. I definitely wouldn't have come to their conclusions on my own, and am realizing that there is more to being a 'feminist' than what I previously thought. 

What I found so interesting about this movie was it hinted that there is more to love than memory, it's something deeper between two souls. Even though Mary had her memory erased, she still loved Howard as much as before. And even though both Clementine and Joel had theirs erased, there was this strange connection between the two that ended up drawing them together. Clementine said this quote before she even knew Joel or their history. It follows the whole idea of a soul mate, a person you are destined to be with who is the perfect match for your soul. I don't know if I actually believe in this but it sure would be nice.