The victim of hyperreality?...me

As a child, the media forced its way into my mind; shows that seemed childlike and harmless were only "fake" realities portrayed to confuse and manipulate our generation. I remember watching the animated movie "We're Back" where a kid decides to run away from home and join the circus. The idea of joining the circus was propagated and even enforced in the film as a way to escape the boring world of family life and the struggles that go along with it. This is the opposite of what should have been protrayed to children. The scenario in which a young boy ventures out into the dangerous world and becomes a hero and rescues dinosaurs is completely fiction. Another instance in which I was negatively influenced by hyperreality is in the series "Pokemon". The show with the catchy lyrics saying "I want to be the very best, the best that ever was..." was the one that caused me to feel better than everyone else. I became boastful and prideful. I also played endless hours of the videogame, trying to train all of my Pokemon to level 100 and catch all 151 of them. It was my own little world that I lived in from third to fifth grade. Everything related back to Pokemon and it caused me to look down on other people who I thought less of. This was not a good depiction of reality either though, because kids can't catch dangerous creatures, much less Pokemon. Although it caused me to be a bragging little brat, I had the time of my life in my own little world of Pallet Town and every other city in Kanto.

How does hyperreality effect the American perception of love and relationships?

Hyper-reality is a new term coined by postmoderns to describe the method by which us humans distinguish between reality and fiction. According to Wikipedia, it is most relevant in technologically advanced, postmodern cultures. It is becoming more prevalent in society as things become more and more real. I actually felt like I was in a movie in real life after seeing the film "Cloverfield" and it seemed as though I was looking through a camera lens. The English Oxford dictionary defines "reality" as having objective existence or a place in the domain or reality. These definitions are somewhat vague and do little to let us know what true reality is, making it easy for us to think some things are real when they are not. The American perception of love and relationships is changed by the media. TV shows such as Two and a Half Men and so called "reality tv shows" change the American perception of love and relationships. Everything is disconnected. There is no traditional family values, there are no traditional family relationships and even families are torn apart. One thing that we have to look out for is how our minds are being exposed to this non real world of media. It seems so real, so viable and tangible, but leaves us with nothing but lies and amusement. Love is not real, love becomes what the media portrays it: "a one night stand". Relationships are fragmented and the families who absorb this reality start to have these ideas engraved into their minds. It will eventually infiltrate every crevice of society as the media's ability to create things that seem more and more "real" arises. We must look at it realistically and through a Christian perspective to determine what is correct and incorrect.

How do we as Christians deal with a postmodern world?

In a worldview that celebrates disorder and holds to relativism, it is a challenging hurdle for Christians to take on. As Christians, we must first take on the challenge of relativism by showing people how absurd the level of subjectivity in society is. We believe in objective, concrete truth that is true for all people at all times. We must enforce this with solid evidence and combat the subjectivity with logic and examples of issues that they would call "morally wrong," no matter how postmodern they are. We need to show them that there is a right way to do things and that it is to glorify God. The advantage that Christians have against postmodernism is that it is a relatively indifferent mindset, meaning that it can be altered without too much provocation. If we make sense to them, they may be able to agree with our logic. Whatever they believe is true to them and vice-versa. If they are open to believing that whatever is true for others is ultimately thier reality, they still have the possibility of accepting it.

Why is Captain Jack Sparrow Postmodern?

In Pirates of the Caribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow, the infamous and illusive scallywag does whatever he wants without caring about other peoples opinions. He believes that whatever works for him is what is right and "good" and if it doesn't work for others, then so be it. He is so postmodern in his mindset that it sometimes gets him into trouble, not taking others advice and applying it in a most intelligent manner. Although his methods are extremely strange, he almost always gets the job done and that is good enough for him. He doesn't care if anybody else doesn't uphold his ideals and viewpoints, but he would like to see them go along with it anyways. He believes in no universal truths and is willing to compromise the official pirate "code" of parle.
He sees things differently than other people as well; whatever is beneficial to his cause is obviously nothing to be overlooked lightly. Nonetheless, he manages to get himself out of the strangest of circumstances even when it seems that there is no hope. His "reality" is ultimately somewhat patchy due to the excessive alchohol that he drinks, therefore he is postmodern because his line between reality and illusion are undoubtably blurred. And so concludes my blog on the postmodern pirate.

Why include a game about questions in a movie about existence?

Existence is populated with questions, Isn't it?
It we are to truly ponder our existence, it will be impossible to do so without questioning it.
Why are we here? What is our purpose? These are just some of the questions that undoubtably come about when thinking about humanity. A game about questions correctly classifies the film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead because it makes us think that there are questions that have to be answered. No one can continue forever asking questions, but must find purpose in obtaining the truth. Becasue Rosencrantz and Guildenstern only have a purpose that is assigned to them by authoritative figures, they have a temporary purpose. This purpose will be gone once thier task is complete and then they will realize that they truly have nothing to live for again. Purposelessness only asks questions, it can neither give or remember answers. Answers are for the enlightened, those full of purpose. It asks and does not seek, therefore it completely matches the charaters in which it portrays.

Said with approval?

Horatio tells Hamlet in line 56: "so Rosencrantz and Guildenstern go to it." In this line of text i gathered that he is neither saying it with approval or dissaproval. He is only stating it as a fact. There is no context that proves that his mood is either sorrow or recognition. He is stating it, neither defining whether it is a bad or good thing. It is as if he has lost all emotion within himself and disconnected from the dissolussioned world around him. It almost seems robot-like in the way he says it. It is mysteriously nonchalant. I think that he finally realized that everyone around him was all tied to Hamlet and that everything was inevitable, even the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. There was absolutely nothing that he could do to make the situation any better. Therefore, I feel that it is a much needed statement which clearly defines the indifferent attitude of Horatio.