Life Without Internet

My house lost our internet connection two days ago. My hate for Comcast has increased exponentially as each hour without Netflix passes. We have an appointment to get it back tomorrow, but wow, have these past few days been boring. I have actually had to resort to watching TV on a real television. Today, I marathoned with SVU, Ted, A Walk to Remember, and one of my all-time favorite movies, 13 Going on 30. Anyway, while watching all this TV, I noticed that I was watching really critically. Not just the media content, but also the commercials. Two things really struck me while I vegged out on my bed on a beautiful day (I suck). First was a commercial for 1800 Silver tequila, which corresponded perfectly with our class discussion on alcohol and gender. The commercial featured two guys who were at a bar enjoying themselves while drinking cosmopolitans. Another guy walked up to the bar and ordered tequila on the rocks. When he received his drink, he looked at the cosmo guys and gave them a really judging look while sipping his own drink. The other guys noticed, and embarrassed, asked their waiter to take their drinks away and bring them tequila, as well. This kind of bugged me. Why does it matter what people drink? Why should someone be ashamed that they prefer a fruitier drink over straight tequila? (Tequila without salt and lime or in a mixed drink is really disgusting in my opinion.) It bothered me that alcohol companies are promoting this gendered-drink phenomenon that is so rampant in our culture.

The second thing I noticed was in 13 Going on 30. The movie is very similar to any other rom-com, but after our discussion on porn I really thought about my obsession with the movie. For me, 13 Going on 30 is that movie that I always watch when I see that it is on TV, no matter what. I love it. I love the idea of being able to redo your life and do things differently, and how every choice we make affects our future, and that being a good person and being good to people is incredibly influential on having a successful life. However, I realized that I may expect this of my own life- that if I make an effort to be nice and a good person, that I will find love and marry my best friend. This is my own personal form of porn- a media fantasy that I buy into and expect, but one that is realistic. Peter & Valkenburg found that sexually explicit media content has effects on peoples' perceptions of realism, but I believe that this carries over to romantic ideals in other kinds of media, including romantic comedies. I am so glad that I have gained more media literacy this semester, and am able to realize that even my favorite movies portray really unrealistic ideals.