Digital Media and the Ordinary

Digital media is a perfect way to observe the ordinary because of convenience, mobility, and expediency. The convenience of cell phone cameras, twitter, text, and other hand held communication devices allows for easy ways to observe and share our observations. Amazing events recorded by journalists is no longer they only observations that we can see because of the convenience of observations tools. The mobility of these tools allows for acces to the ordinary, but sometimes obscured, hidden, or personal, parts of our lives. The access of high speed cellular internet means that these tools can have short time periods between desiring to observe and sharing observations. The ordinary things of the past become extraordinary, hind sight adds clarity and understanding but can also increase the extraordinary qualities of the mundane. Another aspect of digital media is the universality of internet viewership. Because of the global widespread access of digital media the "lowest common denominator" is very large. A person being hit in the pants with a wiffle ball bat is funny in all languages and to people of varied cultures, ages, and gender. This allows ordinary things to spread wide if they are enjoyable to watch. The following clip is an observation of the normal. The normal thing is eating Gushers. The video is popular because it is funny. The person was able to tell this story because of the convenience, mobility, and expediency of digital media.

See more at CollegeHumor

My Ode is a proem: "93%, what have I missed? what have I lost?" Initiate protocols. Phone? Check. Sweatpants? Check. Water filled? Check. Lights off? Check. Remote? Check. I slump down. Sinking deep and being sucked forward and in. Like a moth to the flame, I bath in the white glow and I am contented. I journey through time. Life is a spaceship. TV is my escape pod.

Chasing Security

Chasing Security from Casey Deans on Vimeo.

10 Most Significant List

10 Most Significant List (in chronological order)

1. It Happened One Night is a film directed by Frank Capra in 1934 starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. I watched this film because I wanted to watch every film that was nominated for an Academy Award in Directing and Writing (both original and adapted). I had prejudice against old films which was shattered after watching this film. It was so funny that I laughed out loud numerous times (which I rarely do). I chose this film because it was the first of many films which would follow the pattern of two opposites growing close on a road trip i.e. Paper Moon, Tommy Boy, Plains, Trains, and Automobiles, Midnight Run, Bulletproof, Dutch, Romancing the Stone, Rain Man, Due Date, Flirting with Disaster, and many others.

2. The Lord of the Rings, is a novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1955. I read this book after experiencing Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001. I chose this novel for two reasons. The first is because this novel is the Alpha and Omega of fantasy-themed literature. Everything fantasy-themed is a derivative of this great work. The second reason is because the film adaptation was so brilliantly executed that it should be the standard of which all other adaptations are held to.

3. All the Comic Books I've ever read (Placed here because the oldest comic book I own was written after 1955), but if I have to choose one it is Marvel's Civil War series which took place in 2006-2007. This choice is difficult because I own a collection of over 3,000 books. My collection focuses on Marvel but I recently began subscribing to DC Comics due to their historic re-launch (comics starting at #1 for the first time since 1930's). Civil War was not about the American Civil War but rather a war between superheroes with one side fighting for a registration act (heroes as government agents) and one side fighting against. Marvel's Civil War pitted long time friends and allies against each other as well as addressing old superhero questions about secrecy, government collusions, and the responsibilities of power. Comics to me are elaborate storyboards which propel my imagination cinematically.

4. The Simpsons is a television show which has entertained us since its first appearance on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987. I remember always dedicating time (first Thursday at 7:00pm, then Sunday at 7:00pm) to watch The Simpsons. There is not a memory I have of not watching The Simpsons. I probably don't ever go a whole week without watching an episode and/or quoting a line from this American staple of entertainment.

5. She's Having a Baby is a film written and directed by John Hughes which was released in 1988. John Hughes is one of my favorite filmmakers and I grew up watching all of his movies, numerous times. My family has never gotten together without quoting lines from his movies. I chose She's Having a Baby specifically because of the way Hughes uses a narrator and shows us the inner imagination of that narrator.

6. Defending Your Life is a film written and directed by Albert Brooks which was released in 1991. I love all of Albert Brooks's movies and chose this one to go on my list because of the spiritual nature of the film. I often view the world in the same way Brooks does and enjoy the things he notices about human nature.

7. The Spanish Prisoner is a film written and directed by David Mamet which was released in 1997. I love the dialogue in all of David Mamet's films but chose this one because he manages to deliver the same intensity and suspense without vulgarity. The way the people talk is unrealistic but so enjoyable that you don't care.

8. The Truman Show is a film directed by Peter Weir which was released in 1998. I chose this film for two reasons. The first reason is the acting performance of Jim Carrey which was comedic and refreshingly dramatic when necessary. The second was the way in which the camera played a part in the film. I love watching how Peter Weir transitions from the world's camera, the documentary about the show, and the TV program of "The Truman Show".

9. Best in Show is a film directed by Christopher Guest and written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy which was released in 2000. Guest's entire set of "mockumentary" films that Christopher Guest has done are fantastic and have been imitated by many i.e. The Office (BBC) and Drop Dead Gorgeous. I chose Best in Show because it is very funny and uses a specific trait, pet adoration, to connect many different types of people each with unique and interesting personalities.

10. The War is a seven-hour documentary about WWII which was aired on PBS in 2007. I enjoy learning about World War II and feel that it is an amazing event in human history. Before watching The War I felt disconnected from the people and the way they were affected during the war. Ken Burns's use of personal story and rare photos/video puts this important period in your mind and in your heart.

English Class Research Paper

Casey Deans

ENG 311 Largey

Research Paper

12 Dec 2011

The Abysmal Monster

or

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Appreciate War

           

            America has been at war for 69 of the 235 years it has been a country.  This is 29.4 % spent engaged in active warfare as a nation. 100% of the movies on the "Top 100 Worldwide Box Office Gross" (Box Office Mojo) list are movies made in America. America is a nation that seeks worldwide peace. This peace is being pursued with warfare. Whether or not you are a part of the war or not you are affected by it. The War on Terror has been and will continue to be lengthy and arduous. This war will likely span generations and be a war where victory seems perpetually distant. Careful analysis of the impact of warfare's effects on humanity is important for us and our children.

            "And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (James) Isaiah prophesies from the Holy Bible that a time will come when mankind will be at peace and mankind will convert tools of warfare into agricultural tools. A band called The Youngbloods released a song entitled "Get Together" in 1967 and re-released it in 1969 where it sold over a million copies and climbed to #5 on the Top 40. "Know the dove is on the wing and you need not know why c'mon people now, smile on your brother ev'rybody get together try and love one another right now." (Stlyrics.com) "In 1967, when "Get Together", a paean to universal brotherhood first appeared, it did not sell very well, reaching only #62 on the chart. But two years later – after Dan Ingram had recorded a brotherhood promotion for WABC-AM in which the song was used as a bed for the promotion and after the National Council of Christians and Jews subsequently used the song as their theme song on television and radio commercials – the track was re-released and cracked the Top 5. This disc sold over one million copies, and received a gold record, awarded by the R.I.A.A. on 7 October 1969." (Wikepedia)39,361 Americans died in Vietnam between 1967 and 1969. (Wikepedia) Warfare is horrible and something to be avoided at all costs; injury, pain, and death are its flagship products. WWII caused over 70 million deaths. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were entire cities that were vaporized by a wall of atomic fire in seconds. The darkest murk of mankind is seen in war. People are forced to commit horrible travesties against their fellow man or be subjected to the travesties themselves. Friedrich Nietzsche commented on the concept of fighting fire with fire when he said, "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." (Nietzsche)

            Human essence is an intangible entity. Some people believe that it is a myriad of different things which constantly changes. This thought vapor cannot be bottled and analyzed, labeled and sold, or easily defined. Billions of people inhabit the planet and each of them is an individual. How could all of these people have the same essence? Even when one agrees that humans have an essence, they disagree that that essence is creativity. Human beings are in a constant state of decay. Humanity is constantly destroying themselves and the planet they inhabit. Warfare is a prime example of destruction. Opponents believe that dilution of humanity occurs during warfare. They believe that warfare spreads out the complexity of mankind and causes a reversion of people into a primal, simple state. Wars result in a re-neanderthalization of our species. Albert Einstein referred to this process when he said, "I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones." (Calaprice)

            In order to establish that warfare fosters creativity by distilling the human essence we must first define warfare, creativity, and the distillation of human essence. Warfare for our purposes will be righteous and noble warfare, or warfare committed by The United States of America and her allies. Warfare will only be active war. Even though the victory of the Cold War benefited America tremendously, it must not be included because to include a war that was fought economically, theologically, and covertly would mean that other wars fought in that manner would have to be included. In other words, including the Cold War would mean including the wars for civil rights, woman's liberation, animal rights, and many other political wars. Warfare will only include American wars because the morality of war is not the point that we are debating. To sour the issue of warfare's effect on creativity by including heinous and/or ancient wars would cause us to lose concentration of our topic. "Warfare" is all the conflicts that America has been in that involved active, "hot", and open war against an enemy.

            "Where do I come from?", or "Where do babies come from?", are questions all of us ask. The short answer is: procreation.  This is the ultimate form of creation: to create a baby. All other forms of creation, when held in high regard by their creator, are referred to as babies. A film director will call a film he has worked on or is working on "my baby." This is the ultimate form of creation but not the only form of creation. Those humans who never have children still create something every moment they live and even after they die. The mere act of being a human being, pun intended, is an act of creation. The series of decisions ranging from large decisions like choice of spouse, career, and religion to small decisions like left or right, Coco Puffs or Lucky Charms, all change the world around us. Creativity is the level of creation we exhibit. Because we are not able to measure the impact of a person's life due to the infinite variables and outcomes we cannot ever truly measure someone's creativity. The definition of creativity for this paper's purposes will be in artistic pursuits. Creativity of thought and its manifestations in artistic pursuits is the creativity we are concerned with. Because "art" can be defined through performance art that may be one person nailing himself to a Volkswagen or defined so abstractly that a blank canvas is considered art we must narrow what "art" is for our purposes. Art will be conventional art, or in other words, books, poetry, journalism, movies, television, plays, paintings, sculptures, and music.

            Human essence, or the core trait of humanity, is defined as creativity. To be human is to create art. A certain person may not write fiction, sing a sonnet to a loved one, paint a picture, or even form his sentences in a non-robotic fashion. This certain person, let's call him Arnold the Automaton, exhibits a "right sided" brain which is simple, organized, analytical, and conformist. Arnold lives his life without exhibiting much artistic creativity. Arnold is plain. Arnold is a follower. Arnold is boring. The Arnolds of the world hide within themselves a glimmer of what it is to truly be human. Throughout the minutia that is their existence they still exhibit some artistic creativity. They may spread their butter on their white bread a certain way, or arrange their socks into a certain pattern. Even within this clay shell a vapor of human ingenuity and artistic creativity exists. Human essence is not an item which is most apparent in the majority or the most common trait among all people. Artistic creativity is the human essence that all people should strive for, it is the goal. To be the ultimate person one must be the ultimate artist. This artistic creativity must be purified and concentrated. Distillation is defined by Webster's Dictionary as "the process of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation" (Webster)

            As stated above, Friedrich Nietzsche aptly describes the effects of warfare on the human soul when he says, "...And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." (Nietzsche) At first glance this is a scary image. A black, evil, inky abyss penetrates the person gazing upon it, engulfing all that the person was and snuffing out the light of their soul. Upon careful deconstruction this quote is actually more hopeful than initial judgment may deem it. The person must first make the choice to "gaze". To gaze is "to fix the eyes in a steady intent look often with eagerness or studious attention." The person has a purpose, has a goal of not only seeing something but understanding it. To gaze is to explore, to feast upon the word with one's eyes. This quote teaches us that only the brave gaze upon something that is abysmal. Looking your enemy in the eye is the epitome of bravery. The battle cry anonymously made famous during the Battle of Bunker Hill, "Don't shoot 'til you see the whites of their eyes," may have been reworded to say, "Don't shoot until they stare back at you." All acts of creativity require bravery. A person must be brave to write a poem or paint a picture because they are expressing themselves. This expression is a symbolic entering of the arena of war. Critics can cut down an artist as fast as a hand grenade cuts down an infantryman. The perfect man is a man of God because a man of God believes in something better than his self and consciously or subconsciously pursues achieving that status for himself. Atheists are constricted to the empirical world around them and can only strive to become as good as the men that are around them. This belief in God is brought about or strengthened in combat. "No atheists in foxholes," is a common saying and a very true one. Even if a person is an atheist they still fight for their fellow soldier, their brothers in arms. This sentiment is expressed in the movie The Four Feathers, "You may be lost, but you are not forgotten. For those who have travelled far, to fight in foreign lands, know that the soldier's greatest comfort is to have his friends close at hand. In the heat of battle it ceases to be an idea for which we fight. Or a flag. Rather we fight for the man on our left, and we fight for the man on our right. And when armies are scattered and the empires fall away, all that remains is the memory of those precious moments that we spent sided by side." (IMDB.com) The reason warriors are able to fight for the man next to them on the battle line is not because of the wonderful things the man has done but because of the wonderful things he might do. The freedom that will be given to your co-patriot is the freedom to grow, to live, and to create. There is reciprocity to this freedom you fight to give him that lets you know that your mutual survival will result in future accomplishments and future productive pursuits.

            "The final stage of gold production -- refining -- involves removing impurities that remain after the smelting process. Refining companies receive doré bars, as well as scrap gold, and reliquefy the metal in a furnace. Workers add borax and soda ash to the molten metal, which separates the pure gold from other precious and less precious metals. A sample is then taken to a lab for tests, or assays, that measure the gold content. In most cases, the gold is 99.9 percent pure. Workers cast the gold produced during refining into bars." (Harris) The process of purifying our gold is similar to the process of refining our essence, or our souls. The re-liquefaction process requires burning heat. The addition of borax and soda ash, vile toxic elements, further refines, or distills the scrap gold into pure gold. In combat a person is placed into a raging furnace of extreme stress, intense adrenaline, and dire circumstances. The body and mind is forced to purge itself of impurities like weakness, worry, self-doubt, and fear. People who do not overcome these imperfections die. The soda ash and borax of war is the exposure to gore, violence, hate, and suffering. By experiencing these things a person's mettle is tested. The limit a person has placed on the capacity of man's evil is stretched. The enlarging of their moral constraints has the benefit of increasing their belief in man's ability to do good. The person's ability to grasp the gravity of action is a balloon which has good actions like charity on top and bad actions like murder on the bottom. Assorted middling activities compose the rest of the balloon. By seeing a dismembered body or a person using a child as a human shield the balloon is increased in size. This increases the imaginative abilities of the person and enlarges their personality. Unlike refining metals and distilling liquids the process of gathering a person's artistic ability is increased exponentially, like the blowing up of a balloon.

            "Latin: Cogito ergo sum; French: "Je pense donc je suis"; English: "I think, therefore I am," (Wikepedia)is a philosophical statement proposed by René Descartes. To think is the process of creating thought. A human creates thought and a perfect human creates thought which is artistically intelligent. While unoriginal thought might be common so is the pursuit of failure, or imperfection. As a human race we must always be innovative. Evolution is the perfection of the unusual. The plants and animals use critical elimination of non-inventive species and label it "survival of the fittest". The fittest are always those species that do things in a different way, a way which is superior, or fitter than the way of their competition. As humans we are because we create thought. Art is the manifestation of our thoughts on paper, film, in song, or other mediums. The term medium is "a means of conveying ideas or information." (Webster) In order to survive a person must be always increasing their resourcefulness beyond the levels of their competitors. By securing their mortality they have more opportunity to create thought which further secures their ability to live. This cycle of creation is also represented in the circle of life. We are all the result of the creative pursuit of our parents, or procreative pursuits. Procreation is a way in which part of ourselves can live forever. By creating art we can also influence the world after we leave it. Artistic creativity is a way in which a person can perfect themselves both while they live and after they die.

            "Dead men tell no tales," is a popular idiom that's origins are unknown. The lack of authorship to this statement does not detract from the truthfulness of it. Those that die during battle are unable to pursue their creative activities. With that in mind warfare only increases a person's artistic creativity if they survive the war. The dead are poor painters. By surviving a war you continue to live. To live is to create. The experience of war draws you close to death. When a person has a near-death experience they appreciate life more. Because they have come so close to losing life they gain a deeper appreciation for it. Their appreciation is manifested by their artistic creativity because by creating art they are able to multiply and enhance their life. Also when a person has escaped the clutches of death they often ask themselves the question, "What if I had died?" This question is gnawing and leads to an exploration of the soul. This soul exploration leads to revelations about themselves and the world around them. These revelations are infectious and it is enjoyable to spread them around. An easy way to spread this disease of self-discovery is through self-expression, or artistic creativity. Survivor's guilt is another way in which combatants and observers of warfare deal with making it out of a war alive. This guilt is a driving force of creation. The survivor feels that they owe it to the dead to live a fruitful, happy, and expressive life. This debt is ever increasing which forces the artist to always pursue innovative ways to live their life.

            "Clausewitz was a professional soldier who was involved in numerous military campaigns, but he is famous primarily as a military theorist interested in the examination of war." He said, “Our knowledge of circumstances has increased, but our uncertainty, instead of having diminished, has only increased. The reason of this is, that we do not gain all our experience at once, but by degrees; so our determinations continue to be assailed incessantly by fresh experience; and the mind, if we may use the expression, must always be under arms.” (Wikepedia)Americans has been innovators in war since the beginning of their existence. The Revolutionary War was a huge success because the Americans used ingenious ways of defeating the British including, but not limited to guerrilla warfare. Victory in war is often granted to the cleverest side. Covert and clandestine activities are the results of creative minds that are excellent at creating fiction. Showing ingenuity and creativity in warfare increases the chances of victory. While victory is the primary reward other secondary rewards exist from being creative in wartime. The following rewards, or inventions, were a result of war: Aerosol cans,Twinkies, Slinkies, Silly Putty, Jeep, orange juice, penicillin, plastics, radar, satellite, rockets, feminine pads and tampons, Twinkies, novelty flying discs, Tabasco sauce, and nylon stockings. (A&E Television Networks, LLC) The science of medicine has benefited tremendously from warfare. Everything that came about from the study and building of atomic weapons owes its existence, good or bad, to war. War, not necessity, is the true mother of all inventions because nothing is more necessary than winning a war. The acts of a good soldier are bettered when the soldier thinks creatively and the inventions invented as a result of war are numerous.

            Warfare is a despicable fact of life. We are doomed to always have it with us as a constant companion. By engaging in battle we are often turned into the thing that we first sought to destroy. We must constantly examine war and the way in which it affects our country. Through this examination we must not be hasty in declaring that only bad things come out of war. The participants and the observers of war are affected by it. Peace is loved by the warriors the most. Peace is something that must be diligently pursued but sadly might never fully come without divine intervention. The very nature of humankind is a creative nature. One of our first creations was murder and war. This creation has multiplied along with us and has an exponential effect on our numbers and ability to be arty. America will likely continue to be actively pursuing peace through war because of the ever increasing number of our enemy. We will likely lead the world in two things: war and movies. These pursuits are directly correlated. Art is a desire to express one's self. Conventional art is the easiest to identify as being increased through warfare. As robotics become more widespread throughout all facets of life, including warfare we must realize the danger of becoming Arnold Automatons. Joy in life is found through imaginative expression, in conventional and unconventional ways. The goal of always increasing our ability to create is a righteous goal. The achievement of that goal will increase the brightness of our future and the future of our children. The imperfect clay we all start out life as is purified and enhanced through adversity. The difficulty of combat treats us and boosts us to a state that is an improvement. Like gold or liquor our human essence, creativity, is filtered and molded into artists. Humanity like a whole is also strained of imperfections each time we engage in war. The result is a more evolved people who are able to survive in increasingly creative ways. The process of eliminating the "uncreatives" during war increases the percentages of our artistic attributes. The byproducts of war are pioneering fabrications that better the lives of everyone. Warfare fosters the creativity of those who participate and observe it because it distills the human essence.