Alright, so here I sit, about to do a free write for the
opinion editorial for Writing 150. I need to write an opinion article on an
issue that I’m passionate about, with research to back me up. So what am I
passionate about? Do I even have passions? That’s getting a little bit too philosophical
for this assignment. So, what is an issue that I’m passionate about? I’m
passionate about the arts, but I don’t really have any formed opinions on what exactly
should be taught in school when it comes to the arts. Let’s just start by
listing some issues. Hot topics today are… gay rights, illegal immigration,
women and the priesthood, Obamacare, national debt, personal debt, technology in
schools, our generation being too “plugged in”, environmental preservation, “fad
diets” such as gluten free and Paleo diets, women working vs. being in the home,
racial discrimination, body image, and sensationalism of the antics of reality TV
actors and child stars. Ok, so of those issues what do I want to write about? The
media’s attention to the “crazy acts” of child stars, I know my opinion on that,
and there are lots of current examples (Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Lindsey Lohan,
etc.) I believe that the attention paid by the media to the crazy antics of
these personalities is ridiculous. These kids keep “pushing the envelope” in
order to stay in the public eye. Another thing in the same vein I could talk
about is the pressure to keep “pushing the envelope” in theater, television,
and music. There is a pressure and norm for writers to do things which haven’t
been done before, or which defy current societal norms. Increasingly, media
tends to be on the side of the crude or vulgar rather than the creative. Thinking
outside the box has led to an entirely new box being constructed; one that goes
in opposition to traditional values and to God’s commands. Examples: most
comedies, Saturday night live, most Rom Coms, the ever popular 50 shades of
grey. Possible Thesis: the pressure for writers to push the envelope and think
outside the box has created a popular entertainment culture that is vulgar and
crude and goes directly against traditional morality and God’s commandments.
I think that is absolutely true. I think one of the reasons everyone should go to college is so they can educate themselves on what is clever and what is not. Some things are creative and some things should never be said in public ever.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea a lot! So here's an idea based on some personal research I've done for papers: Haiku. This form of Japanese poetry (and a number of styles from other ethnicities) is considered creative because of its bounds. Another popular, maybe more contemporary style like this is the French group called the Oulipian writers - their style is fascinating! This might be a good premise for your argument to bring things back from crudity to creativity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea! There is a lot of creativity in the stricter forms. Take many of shakespear's plays or Dante's inferno. Both are extreamly highly formatted, but have a lot of variety and diverse story lines within that form.
DeleteI'm not trying to argue, but a good counter argument would be that morality is such a vague phrase and is different from person to person. Take for example the novel, A Brave New World. That pushed the envelope a lot, but it was a. Social critique on the lackadaisical attitude of drugs and sex. It may not be in line with traditional morality for some, but it will be for others. Just like what is moral for Judaism isn't exactly moral for Hinduism. Just some thoughts!
ReplyDeleteThank you, that was something that I had thought about a lot, because morality is a very vauge concept. My greatest fear about this subject is that people won't care, they just will think i'm being subjective. But I am writing for specifically a BYU audience, where most people have similar opinions about what is right and wrong, at least in theory
DeleteI definitely agree with you on the media pushing our society to the worse! I wish that the music, movies, books, etc that don't push into crude and nasty things could be recognized by society and be given as much (or more) credit than those that are receiving it right now. The artists that are writing their own music, putting a lot of creative effort into it and so much more are being overrun by those who happened upon fame and now are digital enhanced to sound good to music that someone else wrote and handed to them.
ReplyDelete