The Labyrinth that is Popular Culture

In the video we watched about the cultivation theory, the theory is described as the phenomenon where people who watch TV begin to align the plots of the shows with the reality of their lives. For example, when someone watches a lot of violent shows or movies they expect that crime rates in the real world are going up. John Oliver begins to slightly touch on this when he discusses the use of torture in shows. These shows make torture seem effective which in turn makes the general public believe that torture tactics are, in fact, effective when it's been proven that they're not. People are majorly influenced by television programs, whether they'd like to admit it or not, and in turn it effects the way they make decisions and live their lives. That is the cultivation theory.

People are drawn to sports. Some like to play them, and others simply like to watch them. We often see spectators develop relationships with specific teams that they consider to be superior to the rest. There have even been a couple terms coined about these people who enjoy watching sports. The first is BIRGing. BIRGing stands for 'basking in reflected glory.' This is when people associate themselves with the success of a team to make themselves seem or feel more successful or accomplished. They do this by doing things like wearing shirts and hats with team logos on them or celebrating and bragging to people about the 'big win.' We sort of see this in Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central clip where he talks about the bet between the governor of California and the governor of New York. While they are betting on their team, a considered part of 'BIRGing,' what they're betting makes it seem like they don't have too much faith in them, but still enough to ma

After watching the video of Jane Mcgonigal's ted talk, "Gaming Can Make a Better World," and reading the article "Why We Play," it's clear that there is deeper meanings to games, specifically video games. In both the video and the article a subject that is a major factor in game playing is that it makes people feel good. Life is sort of like a game where there's is many obstacles you have to endure before you feel the satisfaction of reward. But unlike life, games are capable of giving these rewards quicker and more frequently thus making people feel good. Everyone likes to be rewarded especially people who feel they haven't been rewarded enough in everday life. Another factor is that it causes people to persist and not give up, a tendency a lot of people suffer with in the real world. When someone's playing a game they're more likely to stick with it to the end no matter the obstacles they face. They do this because they want the reward of f