Entry #1: Not Understanding

Hi again!

                  It’s safe to say that I hate not understanding things. I won’t write you my life story, but in the past I’ve dealt with feeling- for lack of a better word- stupid. I have a hard time with accepting confusion and not knowing. I’ve really been feeling that lately, dealing with the unknowns of college life and having to be accountable for myself and all that.

                   So, today’s lecture was a bit of a hard pill to swallow. But, at the same time, I get it. I get how not understanding is all part of the fun when it comes to art. Prof. Leeper explained how he doesn’t trust pop culture because it fails to really be bold or challenge us to think. A perfect example of this, I think, is Illumination Entertainment’s 2012 film The Lorax.

                  The Lorax’s biggest flaw was telling us what we’ve seen in every other environmental film: trees good, big business bad. There was very little in between, but having the theme be so black and white makes it easier to understand, therefore people can shut off their brains and receive the same old song they’ve already heard. Because the Lorax is a nostalgic film on its own because of the 1971 book and 1972 TV special, it would- and did- rank in a lot of cash based on that fact. Apart from the pretty visuals, no one had to ty very hard to make something new because it was already a thing. I am in no way saying saving the environment is bad, far from it, but the 2012 Lorax lost its gravity and purpose the minute they introduced Thneedville and their villain. Now we can pin all the badness on them and not evaluate ourselves and how we might be contributing to the problem.

                  My old pastor once said that we live in a generation that doesn’t want to suffer. We’d rather be satisfied now than work for it. This is very present in our media. Romances in movies are never work and toil and development, they just happen. We want to define everything quickly, and if we can’t we toss it by the wayside. But, today Prof. Leeper explained that art may not always have easy meaning. Some art might make you feel bad about yourself or make you rethink a few things. Sometimes, a film has multiple meanings and it entirely subjective, and other times it has no meaning at all.

                  So, with the heavy thoughts that were chucked at us by today’s lecture in mind, I hope the other lectures are on the same level. I’m really looking to the next class! So, until then, here's the  Lorax Mazda ad:

                  God bless,

                  Shelby