Why are Fridays so hard?

For some reason I find it difficult to get motivated on Fridays. It's like my brain gets into weekend mode as soon as I wake up. I managed to drag myself up to the office today, even though I'm later that usual. I'm in the midst of working through some chapter revisions which have been taking forever it seems and I just need to get it done and submitted so I can move on to the rest of the thesis. But speaking of thesis-related things...

The other night I watched this doc that aired on CBC awhile ago (trying to get through the pvr list!) called Game of Death. It was pretty interesting but had a few flaws. The filmmakers adapted Stanley Milgram's early experiments for the TV age, but in France for French audiences. The basic idea was that people were selected to participate in a game 'test' so they weren't actually competing for money. One person went into this little dome-like room where they were attached to electrodes (this person was an actor) and the contestant asked them questions. Each time he answered incorrectly the questioner had to give them an electric shock. This kept escalating as part of the experiment was to see how far people would be willing to go despite the guy's growing pleas to stop. Most people went all the way to the end (even after he stopped yelling at one point) while a minority actually quit along the way because they felt empathy for their co-player, and stopped despite warnings and coercion from the game show host. The filmmakers and group of psychologists came to the conclusion that the media, especially TV hold an authoritative role in our lives and are capable of convincing us to push our moral boundaries; in short, TV is able to manipulate us quite easily, and to resist its power is quite difficult. Needless to say, I was rather disappointed that they framed it in this way and I felt that they were sensationalizing the issue a bit. The idea that the media/TV have this hold over us is not at all a new position. However some points of note: they found that more people submitted to the demands of the game structure than they did in Milgram's experiment. However, I am not sure that direct correlations can be made between the two experiments given that the settings were quite different and not exactly replicated; the game show took place in front of a live studio audience with cameras and a game host whereas in the Milgram experiment the scientist/researcher stood in as the authority figure and the research subjects were placed in closed off rooms.

Moreover, the sociocultural context has changed considerably since that time and I think the filmmakers glossed over some of these external factors. Yes, media have certainly come to hold more prominence in our everyday lives, and yes, we could argue that TV content has changed dramatically especially with the rise of ever more spectacular and boundary pushing shows that seek a share of the niche audience pie. In turn, our relationship to media has similarly changed. Consumers and audiences are far more savvy and knowledgeable about the media than in previous generations which explains why some of the contestants made comments that they 'knew it was fake' and therefore kept going. I found these comments interesting as they illustrate how we are still invested in the media as a cultural power even as we are willing to question its claims to truth and authenticity. I also wished that they broke down for us whose empathy empowered them to end their participation in the game. It seemed like a lot of women and racialized contestants were shown questioning the game structure while two of the most ardent critics of the game's authenticity were Caucasian males. However, this wasn't addressed and therefore the doc raised many more questions than it was able to answer.

Getting back into blogging mode...

It's been a long time since I posted anything...I guess life just got in the way. Although, I admit that part of the motivation was receiving an email from Google about my blog account...I guess I don't want to let it go.

However, I have been feeling the urge to start up again with the blogging, especially as I am in the writing phase of my dissertation. I think it would be a good idea to have another writing outlet, if nothing more than to just keep me writing especially on those days when it feels so impossible. My intent with this blog was to mainly comment on pop culture stuff but I think from here on in the blog will be about anything I feel the need to write about: dissertation, writing, teaching, politics, life, and yes pop culture.

The weather has been great in Vancouver lately, and a fun little visit to the beach yesterday reminded me how beautiful this city is - I mean, I wasn't anywhere close to wearing sandals and shorts this time last year! I have to find a way to harness the spring energy into habitual writing. I know some people are able to do this with little provocation but this has not been my experience over the years. It's funny, when I'm in the mode, things are great but then I hit a roadblock or the self-doubt creeps up and I'm struggling again. And I know rationally, that the only way to get better at writing is to just keep doing it - and maybe it's not even about getting better at this point, but just getting consistent in output. I mean, I really do like the work that I'm doing and have received encouraging comments along the way. I think some of the writing problems stem from fear - that once I finish this work it will no longer belong to me but will be out there, to be critiqued and maybe laughed at, not to mention I will face a panel of (potential) peers who will question me about my work, who will expect me to defend this work and its so-called importance. Ugh even this seems so self-indulgent...but it's working because now I've guilt-tripped myself into working. ha!  

oh crap, just heard on the radio that the temp is going to reach 28 degrees today. I forgot sunscreen!