 |
| Source: Nature Wallpaper |
Ever since I reconnected with my Asian identity, I've become addicted to their dramas. This was possible largely due to media channeled from the Asian countries. My first encounter with Chinese dramas were videotapes that my parents rented from the Chinese video rental shop. Unfortunately, the tapes would only arrive twice a week. It was hard to quench the thirst of a drama addict until the day I was introduced to Youtube. Then everything changed. I suddenly had access to shows not only from China, but also from Japan, HK, Taiwan, and Korea! I was like a frog at the bottom of well who suddenly jumped out of the well and discovered how big the world really is.
Media is not a very integral part of my life but it is very important. The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is check my gmail. Then I read news at yahoo. I don't check facebook though because I'm not much of a facebook fan. My phone can receive calls and it can make calls. And that's all it does. I'm not part of the texting clan. I watch dramas and tutorials on Youtube. I anonymously communicate with other math experts on the Internet for help with difficult math problems. Media and I are in a clouded relationship; I accept some of it, and reject some of it.
Sometimes I would get this feeling where I'd like to get away from media, the city, and just take a walk in a nice quiet place...
I can definitely relate in terms of my own media relationship. I could really care less for facebook and unlike everyone else I know, I only use texting if I can't find someone any other way. Even though I have a certain desire to rediscover my Indian roots much like you have with your Asian roots, I can never seem to get around to that for a number of reasons. If Chinese dramas have helped your reconnect, I can definetly say Indian media has done the opposite to me. I can't stand Indian television and cinema. Whoever controls them just rip off everything else in a really bad or awkward way rather than doing anything different. Not only that, every old Indian movie I can think of and even many new ones are all the same style and topic and fall to the same cliches. It's because of Indian movies that I absolutely despise love stories. I can also agree that the internet let me discover so much stuff I loved that I'd never even heard of. One discovery in particular was so many comedy sketches from many different countries. While I enjoy the Colbert Report or Daily Show, I also like to enjoy comedy from other countries like Jinnai Tomonori's sketches in Japan.
ReplyDeleteAt one time or another, I think most of us have felt the need to escape to a remote and rural place, where we can wake up to the crow of a rooster instead of a radio or cell alarm -- without the need to immediately check our e-mails by default. Like you, I also expressed having a love-hate relationship with the media sometimes, especially when I reflect on the previous years in which I did not depend on so much of it in order to function in concordance with the world if you know what I mean. Certainly, there are a lot of positive things that can emerge through the creation of media, and many positive things can be attained by being consumers of the media. I mean, how convenient is it that you can get math help and/or tutoring from the comfort of your own home -- right? This is a fitting example of a positive aspect of the media, particularly the internet. I was also intrigued by the way you stated that you communicated with these math experts anonymously, particularly because privacy is a major concern for many (including myself). You are probably familiar with internet safety practices, but just in case you want to refresh your memory, or confirm your knowledge regarding internet privacy protection, check out this link.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eff.org/wp/effs-top-12-ways-protect-your-online-privacy