Final

Porn
When a child wants a candy from the candy store but their parents tell them no, the child wants that same candy twice as bad as they did before. Why is this? Because the child has now been forbidden from getting the candy, this scenario follows the exact same way with porn. Why do people enjoy porn so much? Is it because of the human body, is this what is so interesting to many people around the world? Not so much, it’s because it is something forbidden, in the United States it is very unaccepted. If people were openly allowed to admit that they had porn or have a night out with porn then I think that not as many people would be buying it. This is a part of the thrill as to why so many Americans want porn, because of its unacceptence from society. With books like “The Ticket that Exploded” and “Filth” they were harder to read because of the fact that these were dripping with some form of porn, leaving it hard to get to the main point.
With class room discussions their were not many voiced opinions on the “Ticket that Exploded” just because this left no room for anonymity. The whole class was their and able to see who said what, and when you admit to liking the book what would that mean? While trying to admit that you couldn’t stand the book with its pornographic literature could mean denial. While being able to plurk about these pesky issues was a lot simpler and a little more anonymous, no-one had to look anyone else in the eye when explaining something. Blogging about the issues was also easier because you could write what you had to say while leaving it up for anyone to see. Although now seeing that people in America really do enjoy porn makes Burroughs and Morrisons writing’s a little less fathomable.
Reading the article on how porn is purchased more in the red states as opposed to the blue just makes it seem more reasonable that this is because it is stricter, people know its seen as something unacceptable so, this makes it riskier to get, and probably better to enjoy knowing that it is not supposed to be done. This just goes to show that Morrison and Burroughs did understand their audience. They knew who they were shooting for and they knew that people would be able to understand the main point through the pornographic literature and images. If Americans do like their porn then these books were gladly accepted, porn and literature all in one, almost like the playboy magazines, both wrapped into one.
Pornography will work until the day that it is freely accepted everywhere. Maybe with this edge taken off of it, that it is wrong, people will feel less of a need to consume it. People want to consume something that is unacceptable, something they cant necessarily have freely, out in the open. Until then pornography is and will be a big seller.
Burroughs and Morrison did know what they were doing when they wrote their books, they had a target audience and they chose it well. For people to get over the shock of the pornography they are then able to read more into the book as a whole. Having anonymity with writing opinions on what one thinks about these books is good to get the weird feelings of unacceptance out. But after being able to discuss it in a class setting is the real test.
Other
If person A is in a relationship with person B, which is person A closer to B or C? C is just a stranger, someone who doesn’t know A , how could a stranger be closer to someone they don’t even know? Well, C doesn’t know about A but that could lead into something a lot more intimate because there are a lot of unanswered questions that either of them could have. Whereas B already knows everything about A, there are not many unanswered questions either of them have with each other. This is an example of the other, one of many. It can be forbidden, it can be unaccepted, it can be a stranger, a teenager, someone no-one wants to be, the other has many forms. Some of these forms were explored within plurk, blog, even within classroom discussions.
In class we delved into the other by sifting through many texts in which society’s way and teachings had no effect, the books brought out subjects in which it was improper to discuss, sex, fantasies, unreal realities and realms. We were getting into the other by diving into the unknown and unexpected. With the “Ticket That Exploded” it was a shock because no-one really knew how to handle the alien lizard sex fantasies. It had been programmed into many humans from society and the American culture that topics of such nature should not be talked about shared or discussed. But by reaching into this other the class was able to delve on into the rest of the books, “The Ticket that Exploded” was a necessary step into being able to go further towards the other.
Through plurking wherever at anytime, the class was reaching an alternative other with technology and being able to freely accept the chats and the texting with no consequences. By integrating this into the class, it was a whole other realm of starting to do many things via the internet rather then face to face or physically. Their were the discussions in class but many times people would not be so willing to answer in front of everyone. So plurking and blogging is what got most everyone together, it was an exceptence as well as a forcing of people to join and chat on the internet about class, or not. We were entering the realm of something different that wasn’t experienced before in any other class, and this difference is what completed the overall class experience and helped the class connect.
So with the plurk and the blogging strangers were closer because their was more to discuss and to find out. It was more free and honest because people could choose their anonymity. The other was something that was being reached throughout the class, getting close to the unknown, unexpected, and unaccepted. We delved into what society had trained us not to go into, took it apart and asked many questions to find answers, and to discover why society was so unaccepting of the improper teachings and books.
By doing this the overall class setting was a form of the other, we entered the unknown and asked many questions with many books, by the end of the class we had created something that was known a little better. We may not have fully understood why we had certain feelings about certain topics, but we got closer to the answer with the questions. The other was present in the overall class setting and experiences, this helped us delve into our unknown world and allowed us to get closer to it.
To the Point
What if you were superhuman? A superhuman who is all powerful, and limitless. It would be fun for a couple of days but what about after the fun when you realize there are no boundaries, no goals because everything is achievable. Humans are limited, with these limits we create goals, to try and get as close as we can to the limits that are put on us. When 140 character limits are placed on writing assignments, it could be looked at as an easy assignment, but its usually harder because how can you say everything you need to say in about two sentences? Thinking in terms of the small helps represent the overall big picture, it helps us apply the small to the big. A lot of the times this is often reversed and society is taught to think about the big picture, instead of taking it back in terms of the small.
In writing to be precise and to the point is necessary in order to engage your audience right from the beginning. If the point needed to be made is convoluted within the sentences it is harder to recognize and the audience may be unwilling to search for it. With the plurk assignments their was a constriction on how many letters were allowed to be used, with this restraint we were forced to find the important information, what was needed to say and toss out what wasn’t. Many times what was written didn’t make enough sense because their was no punctuation marks, the words were cluttered together, but the main point was what needed to be written down. Within my writing I am now a little bit closer to being able to write meaningfully, by starting at the small and keeping clear, concise points.
Within the American culture the words that are the most meaningful that are used in the English language constantly are the small ones; the, a, and, but, is, these are the ones that are a big part of the culture. The other words are descriptive words, or names. To be smarter one must use a bigger vocabulary, more descriptive words. When this should be measured through how one portrays their point and if it is sent across the way it was meant to be sent. By using simpler words the message is conveyed to the audience because these are the basics of the English language and everyone starts with the basics.
The small brings limits with it, and with these limits comes clear concise ideas, and this brings out a meaningful use of the language. In society people are trained to think “big”, look at the “big” picture, “bigger” is better, with all of this the small gets lost, many of us just look over it. By including the small it’s taken into account, and this can then be applied to the big. By taking everything our culture practices back a step it can all be re-examined, technology would decrease to a steadier pace, and our country would probably be better. By thinking in terms of the small its not just skipped over, and everthing is taken into account, because this will lead to the “big” picture, their would be a well rounded thought process.
Thinking in terms of these limits helps writing because when there are limits imposed people try to apply more limits while giving the same meaning. Within our society the small is disregarded, meaningless, but when taken into account it can provide the proper advancements needed. By placing assignments on plurk where only 140 characters were allowed, this made people work to find the small, while being precise and to the point, anything else was just tossed out because their was no room. Writing with the small in mind makes the writer meaningful, clear, and to the point, helping direct their audience into using the small to find the big.
Plurkers of the World
How do you say what you want to say in 140 characters? In texting there is 160 characters yet, I still find myself erasing half my texts because there was too much written. To be precise and to the point is to be talented, to learn this is to plurk. With technology growing faster then it ever has we need to adjust with it to understand our society and our culture. By trying to move against technology, it turns in to a lost battle. By plurking the teacher and students have a safe identity and are able to go along with the advancements in technology as well as adding different ways to contribute to the overall discussions, inside and outside of class.
Plurking adds to the new era of instant messaging, it is a safe zone that people can chat in, they can choose to be anonymous or let everyone know who they are, or are posing to be. So, by having it be a part of a literature class where students can plurk any time, including class time, everyone is going with the technologies of our time instead of against them. By trying to avoid these advancements people will just try to find ways to do them that much more, but by going along with them people will take in only as much as needed.
There is a connection that Plurk allows people to have through the internet, rather then a physical connection. In “The Invention of Morel” the main character went on an island with multiple projection images, that represented the embodiment of their former self’s. He had a connection with these projections even though they were not real people, this is similar to plurk, although the people on the internet are real when the message is seen that is all that is seen, not the person. With plurk one is putting a mind onto the “plurk room,” a part of their ‘soul’ is going into the 140 characters that is being written on a daily basis.
With Ribofunk everything was technologically advanced, and with all of these advancements the readers and maybe even some of the characters expected their human issues or problems to go away yet, they never did. In the second story the master thought that his life would be easier with little worker but in the end it cost him his wife’s life, and it might have turned out differently if he were to deal with his problems on his own. The advancements with our technologies gives false hope that by not seeing the person physically their won’t be the same problems people encounter when face to face. Yet, by experiencing plurk their still are the same issues, they just have to be dealt or are introduced in a new way.
So, plurk allows everyone to have a safe identity so that they are able to say whatever they want, however they want, truthfully or not. With the advancements society follows them, and hopefully in the process learns that our issues do not automatically go away, they are just revived in a new light. By embodying ourselves into our phones, chat rooms, plurks, blogs we are adding feelings and realness to these electronic devices and leaving a little bit of ourselves everywhere for many to see. Will this help us be remembered more when we are gone? Or are we just experiencing everything society has to offer before we die? Personally, I think it is the latter, experiencing every part of our culture before we move on to another place.
Groups
“The Diamond Age” was a very interesting book in which the technological advancements of one society falls into the hands of a little girl, and this “primer” changes her life and who she becomes. Within our book group we were able to discuss many aspects of the book in pieces; everyone who decided to participate in the group was able to join the online discussion at least once a week. In book group discussions people are able to write how they feel on the book, they are able to get all their thoughts out in one foul swoop, but when questions arise they are left unanswered until later on that day or week.
In class questions and parts of the books were brought up and the people who were brave enough to speak up in class were able to. This left the people who weren’t brave enough or didn’t really know what to say left to merely listen, they were unable to participate. There was no real anonymity in these class discussions, so when something was brought up people may have not been able to speak their whole thought. Within the book groups the members knew when postings were and they were able to decide what they wanted to write before they did it. Whereas in class you just have that minute to answer or that hour to answer, there is no real chance to ponder before you answer. There is anonymity in the book group discussions to some extent, so people are able to write out their whole thought process.
The book groups had the class atmosphere without actually being in class, there was a certain date that everyone decided on when we were to post, what we were to read. There was structure in the book groups but without the physical contact, yet it was more opinion based then actual discussion. If the people in the group read what the other members wrote then there was a lead off, discussion-like. But the members could have just written their thoughts instead of participating in a discussion, in class it is more discussion based, physical communication. So, there was both pros and cons with the online discussions, there is anonymity but people were also able to not participate in a discussion, the group had to create their own discussion and decide whether to follow it or not, or even whether or not to participate.
In plurk people choose whether or not to have their own anonymity, they can post their own pictures and the students are able to recognize who these “plurkers” really are therefore there is some contact. In the group setting everyone knows everyone’s name yet there is no physical connection, or face to face recognition. There is anonymity, no real choice as to whether one has this or not. People are able to say what they want how they want; there is a somewhat honest feel to the book group discussions.
Whenever anyone had a question on the book, it was usually answered if people read what they wrote but it wasn’t answered immediately. The book group discussion was more like our blogs, if people chose they could write a comment on what was written or answer what was written. It was less like plurk because everyone wrote a couple times a week, rather than close to everyday, and there was a set discussion that we had to write about.
The discussions were as a whole very intriguing, people were able to say what they wanted about the book with some anonymity. Questions were unable to get discussed as quickly as in a class discussion or plurk yet the discussion was still present. The book group discussions did differ from plurk or the class discussion but it was ultimately a successful discussion.