Bart Simpson: Prince of Irreverence
BY: Douglas Rushkoff
He begins his essays by stating that The Simpsons, “is the closest thing in America to a national media literacy program.” He talks about how the show is able to get away with a lot of things because the program is a cartoon. So they are putting forth that it is a family show and have been able to incorporate inappropriate material. The show began with a set of individuals who came up with the idea and was passed with not a second look at the material in the show or how the ideals of the show would affect the people watching it. He goes into how television programs are created, an author creates a story that the viewer can relate to and we watch the ups and downs of that character. He goes back in time to when televisions did not have remotes and people had to actually get up if they wanted to view a different program. Which many people didn’t do as often as someone who has a remote and has very easy access to change the channel with easy means. After the television controller the controller for video games came out and just made things easier to control at an individual’s fingertips. Now in the new the youth knows way more about the advanced technologies then even their parents. He then goes back into talking about The Simpsons, and the character Bart which is an anagram for “brat”. The media from the outside world is presented to Bart in this T.V. series where he can then interact with it and create comical stories that may or may not be true. He engages the fact that the author of this show can use the outside media and have it interact with his show. Like an episode about the super bowl, or a president election. This comes out to viewers that this show is feeding us media. The authors of this show create parody’s that resemble something real from our society and make a joke out of it. So the author can show the cruelness of the world and today and as long as it ends happy the viewers are happy.

Being Fat is OK

This essay talks about the propaganda behind dieting and obesity. The author himself is considered to be over weight because of the chart that judges every individual based on height. How exactly can this chart be true for each individual? The author talks about three major lies that the government and media has convinced people in believing. Lie #1
That fat people are less healthy than thin people. Lie #2 That fat people would be just as healthy as thin people if they lost the weight. Lie #3 Fat people can choose to be thinner. She then goes into how each of these lies are not full proof and some have no evidence of fact to them at all. She believes the market of the diet industry is milking off the media that is held up in every one should be thin. That in being thin a person can be healthy and live a well life. When there is no proof to back up these facts and an over weight person can be just as healthy. The truth of the matter can never be solved because there is just no real experiment that can prove the theory that thin is more healthier than fat.

Don't Blame the Eater

The author David Zinczenko talks about a news paper headline "Don't Blame the Eater". He refers to this because people are suing fast food companies for making them obese. He talks about why would it be there fault when people can make there own choices on what and how they eat. The author then goes into talking about his own child hood and how he was an obese teenager. He was a lucky one and made his way out by joining the navy reserves where he got into better shape and joined with a health magazine. David then goes into facts about the newer generation and the rising in diabetes due to obesity in children and young teens. Also the fact that reading calories and getting the right information on food can get really complicated. Food industry companies need to find an easier way to show its customers what they are actually in taking with their calories so this rise in obesity can come to a stop.

Deborah Rasegan

Kidnapped in Pakistan: The End of American Ideals?

The author begins the story about talking of a kidnapping that happened three months earlier. His friend and co-worker Ayesha who's brother was kidnapped met in 1999 at thief office in Washington D.C. They worked together on a project which gave help overseas after 9/11. They become close friends because they shared many of the same interests. Her brother and two nephews lived in Pakistan where she hoped to go and help build up the education there after going to Harvard in America. The author offered Ayesha help by going to the government and recieving help from them, she declined his offer. Her belief was they would nob be able to help her and save her brother. Later she found out her brother was killed the day after he was abducted. " Whos fault is it?" The author Hady Amor, asks himself. He blames everyone including himself and says America needs to change.

The first statements in this essay talk about the fundamentals that Americans have let go and a new face Obama has came to bring something back for America. He writes that the past eight years many things have been taken away and people have been blinded by the leaders on what was really going on. He quotes Obama " For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American sign saga: a belief that we are connected as one people." The author states that Obama has never got mad and has strived very hard to beat the odds against the other competitors. He talks of Obama giving new hope and spreading the word of change through the streets. That as a new leader can use his words to move people and start a movement. The author voted in Brooklyn where he waited two hours in line. The author brings about the thought of America and how it is always a progressing power. It always improves itself and needs to now just renew the respect of the
world and move forward to make the great changes as it always has.