Facebook Bash

So about a week ago my brother and I got into a bit of a social media spat...I actually find this super immature of me and am embarrassed, especially considering that I am six years older than him....And I don't know that it can really qualify as a "spat" because, he is apparently the more mature one and DIDN'T respond to my posts....but to defend (?) myself, some back-story:

So my little brother is really sweet and great and has the best intentions of any eighteen year old man child I've ever met. However, he is always posting these ultra-opinionated, single-minded memes about religion and politics and they drive me crazy! Normally, I ignore them in the hopes that this is just a phase he is going through and he will find a different direction to apply his passion at some later time, but the other night I just couldn't let it go.

I had just returned home from taking my last mid-term in the testing center and felt like some form of zombie. 

In this numbed state of mind I went on to Facebook and the first thing I saw was this meme my brother posted comparing Hillary Clinton to Adolf Hitler:

I was immediately infuriated. 

Now, I am by no means a Hillary Clinton fan, but I am not a hater either. Honestly, I don't know enough about her political stance to have any sort of opinion about her. But, I also don't think she deserves to have her ideals compared to those of a man who committed heinous acts against humanity. It is also helpful to know that the midterm I had studied my brains out for was moral development, I had been sick most of the week, and I felt completely drained so my judgement was perhaps impaired? Here was my commentary: 

This is an unfair comparison. According to Kohlberg's theory of moral development they are both operating at a Level 2, Stage 4 moral reasoning which is actually where most of the world operates. Including you. It is called "Conventional, Social System Morality." Very few people reason above this level and even less act higher. Facts of life. It's the application of reasoning that is different. Please don't compare someone who is trying to do what she honestly feels is best for her country (aka her society) to a man who acted out of hatred and pride. I am in a moral development class this semester and find finger pointing like this quite disparaging. Who are you to judge someone else's moral standing? At least she is trying to do something to change the world on a grand scale. That's more than most. Whether or not you agree with her political stance, it isn't fair to compare her character to that of Hitler's.

Now, I stand by the content of my post, I just think a better thing to do would have been to call my brother up and explained my feelings to him rather than making it a public thing. My brother never responded to my posts, however, my sweet mother did in an attempt to smooth my "attack" over: 

Oh, politics! I made a Hitler comparison today to someone else. We are all imperfect in our views even when we are compassionate about our feelings and feel we have all the facts. I love that my kids are trying to educate themselves and form opinions. Luckily our views change and develop until the day we die. Then, we learn the real facts and know for sure how right and wrong we were in our judgements and views. Keep growing kids!

Isn't she great? :) 

Has anyone else ever been in a similar situation where you used the ambiguity of a screen or website/a lapse in judgment as an excuse or justification to post something out of character on social media? Like I said above, I stand by what I posted, just not that I posted it over social media allowing a difference in familial opinion to become public...but then again, if he wasn't my little brother, I don't know that I would feel so bad about posting it. I am actually really glad if as a result of my post or my sweet mother's someone else's world view or perspective was slightly expanded. 

C'est la vie!

Stake Conference

This weekend I had stake conference and probably because I am in this media class this semester, but I was surprised by how much media was used! At the Saturday evening session they played a clip about how to work more efficiently as councils from the LDS church website. It was super effective because instead of listening to someone talk at us about the council system, we got to see it in action.  In addition to this video clip, there were several musical numbers spread between the different sessions which I loved because, as one elder remarked on my mission, 

"Music creates a Celestial atmosphere."

And, for those of us who had seats in the overflow/gym area, there were screens lowered with a projection of the stand playing so we could see what was going on in front. This would have been so helpful as a kid to stay engaged in stake conference, but what cool that it is used now! I love church media and how effectively it can be used in conferences.I am grateful for the progressive ways in which media is used to enhance church conferences, it is a reminder that all things can be used to direct us back to Christ. 

Miranda Sings

Last weekend a friend introduced me to a YouTube channel that he follows called Miranda Sings. He played a few of her YouTube videos and I found her super annoying. However, this week I was watching a link to "Kids React to Scott Sterling" that a fellow media class blogger posted on her webpage and on the side bar was a link to "Kids React to Miranda Sings" which was followed by a link to "Miranda Reacts to Kids Reacting to Miranda Sings". This video was followed by links to more videos and as I clicked on one after another/before I realized what was happening, I was sucked in. Now, I don't like every video she posts and yes a lot of it is quite absurd, but I find her generally hilarious and I am all about laughing.

Side-note, watching some of her videos introduced me to a whole world/industry I have heard of but never really paid much attention to, the world/industry of YouTube stars. How bizarre is it that people will post vlogs (video blogs) about their life on the internet and others not only watch them, but follow them! And then, suddenly, posting vlogs about your life becomes your career! It's insane! But, hey, good for them I guess.

Have any of you heard of Miranda Sings? What do you think of her? Also, am I the only who finds herself easily sucked in my funny media...? Ellen does this to me too...

The End of an Era

One of my friends has never seen the last Harry Potter film. She doesn't want a finale to what she considers her childhood. However, this last weekend she decided she needed closure; therefore, yesterday a group of us gathered together to watch "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." When it finished, we asked her how she felt. She was feeling good, it had been a positive experience.

What I find fascinating though is how influential the Harry Potter saga has been in the lives of many of my generation. Granted, we all have grown up with him, but still how is it that one story has been linked to an entire generation's childhood association? I think it's fantastic, but curious none the less.

I think this just speaks to the "magic" of words...forgive the pun. But really, words are powerful!! They have the capacity to uplift, tear down, create, etc. Just look what J.K. Rowling has done with words, she has created childhoods, new worlds, magic, love, the list goes on!

One of my favorite scriptures comes from Alma 31:5:

"And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just--yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them--therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God."

And there you have it, Alma verifying that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword. Seriously though, words have a great potential and we can all become masters of them.

Fear, Terror, and Unease...thanks Weird Al!

When I was young, my parents went through a Weird Al phase I suppose to have a few laughs over the parodies of popular songs they were familiar with. As I kid I thought it was so fun how Mom and Dad loved these silly songs; usually our silly kid music drove them crazy! I remember the exact moment I realized that Weird Al was a parodist. I was on a birthday date with my parents and we were in the car driving home. The song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" came on the radio and I flipped out:

"Mom! Dad! This song is a rip-off of Weird Al's 'Girls Just Wanna Eat Lunch'!"

They had a good laugh and kept talking to one another, not seeming to understand my distress.

"Mom! Dad! Don't you get it?! They stole his song, changed the words, and are now trying to get famous for his work?! It isn't right!!"

Apparently they didn't understand how serious I was until my second outburst. It was then that they told me that it was Weird Al, in fact, who "stole" other artists songs to make fun of them.

And just like that my world was turned upside down.

I have had a hard time trusting the media ever since.

Kidding, my mistrust of the media came later in life, however, this truly was a saddening/big moment in my life. Especially since one of my deepest rooted fears can be attributed to one of Weird Al Yankovic's songs, "Slime Creatures from Outer Space." You can laugh, but this song terrified me as a kid. That fear was compounded when I was fourteen and saw "Signs":

It took me a while to get over seeing that movie, and I really did think I was over it until last weekend when I saw "Interstellar." You can read more about my reaction to that here. Since reading "Tales from the Screen: Enduring Fright Reactions to Scary Media" (Harrison, K., & Cantor, J. (1999). Tales from the Screen: Enduring Fright Reactions to Scary Media. Media Psychology, 1(2), 97.) I feel like something inexplicable in my life has come full circle...

Anyways, does anyone else have a fear that is oddly connected to fond childhood memories like listening to Weird Al...? Understandable if you don't.

Eliminating Self-Limiting Beliefs.

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I saw the film "Interstellar" this weekend with a group of friends. On the drive home after the film, I baffled/mused over the mind/genius of Christopher Nolan in thinking to create this thought provoking film and thought to myself, "I would never think of something like that." As I thought this, I felt slightly inadequate. Upon later reflection, however, I have come to realize that this isn't really fair of me to think about myself. I never really gave myself the opportunity to think in that way and now, I don't need to, Christopher Nolan already has and I can devote my thoughts, creativity, and innovation to other ideas.

Last night I had a conversation with one of my roommates about how we as human beings often measure ourselves against the accomplishments of others and according to parameters established by our society. Although these measures and parameters can be useful guidelines, they can also become deterrents to other methods/modes of thinking or accomplishment. And when we begin to measure our self-worth accordingly, well, nonsensical feelings of inadequacy are consequent and possibly expected. What?! We expect to feel  inadequate? Is that true?

Perhaps it is because we can feel the divine nature and potential inherent within us that we decide the best way to measure ourselves is against others. Not because that actually is the best way, but because maybe it is the only measurement we understand or easily access. However, I think when we can attribute the feelings of greatness within us to the correct Source, it becomes easier to evade the worldly parameters we feel socialized to accept.

The trick is remembering to always attribute back to our Heavenly Father which is a tricky thing.

Thank goodness for the Sabbath and the opportunity we have each Sunday to partake of the sacrament and do just that; remember the Lord and attribute our existence to Him. The return promise we receive for doing this, to have the Spirit of the Lord with us, is cyclical; by having the Holy Spirit prominently present in our lives we are easily reminiscent of Heavenly Father and His Son and the potential and worth they see in us.

I am grateful for scriptural media that provides me with this perspective. Two particular sources I have found strengthening this week are the articles The sacrament--A renewal for the soul, Build on Strengthens to Overcome Weaknesses, and We are the Architects of Our Own Happiness. These articles are seriously great. I invite you to click on the links and read them :) And just to give you a taste of what they are about, here is a quote from Bishop Gerald Causse of the Presiding Bishopric (he is featured in two of the links):

“Each of you has been endowed with a remarkable set of gifts, talents, and abilities. As you build upon these strengths, humbly recognize your personal limitations, remain faithful to your covenants, and put your confidence in the Lord, you will see your weaknesses transformed into strengths through the power and grace of His Atonement. You will be able to meet the challenges you will face in your life.”

Emotions from Film

I love the dollar theater. It fits right into my budget. This afternoon a group of friends and I saw "Interstellar." I went in not knowing what it was about and felt a lot of confusion for a while because I didn't know what to expect. Mostly though, I felt a lot of anxiety because several things I don't like were key elements/themes of the film: outer space (it seriously scares me, just thinking/talking about it significantly freaks me out), being alone, never seeing my family again, and the "unknown" in general. Perhaps these fears are common to lots of people and Christopher Nolan's point in creating the film was to have his viewers experience anxiety, fear, and worry, I don't know. However, I do find it interesting that viewing something that is not real can have such an effect on my psyche. It's a good reminder that media does impact our lives, even in the most unanticipated ways. I have been on-edge all day since seeing this film and although a heightened sense of alert isn't always a bad thing, (it proved beneficial in a later game of lazer tag), I don't particularly enjoy feeling tense and nervous in my day-to-day doings...That said, I did enjoy the story-line and film in general, go figure.