Final Project: Life360 & Find My Friends

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Video game skills

In a recent class discussion we talked about video games and the vast number of those who play them religiously. We discussed that if there was a way to harness these skills learned it could potentially be very beneficial. As someone who doesn’t play them I don’t I’ve decided to personally dissect my roommates as they play halo and list the skills they show. These were my findings..

My first observation was the level alertness they had while playing was extremely high. Neither of them could sit back in their seats. Next was their problem solving abilities? I watched at their eyes moved lightning fast and they adapted to any sort of situation that was being shown in front of them. Finally their communication skills seemed to heighten. They talked to each other so fast and specific that I could barely understand them but they had no issues.

If we can find jobs for people like this the sky is the limit.

Gender and super heroes

Before this class I had never paid much attention to how gender was treated when it came to super heroes and comic books. There is no doubt a gender bias when it comes to these characters.  I think often times if people see that there is one strong female character out there they can forget about the rest of the gender equality.  For example if a movie features wonder women or another female super hero the audience could lose sight that every other female in the movie is seen as “weak” or incapable of  doing things.

Like we discussed in class, sometimes even if there is a female featured as a strong character to the storyline she is also seen as the sexy one of the group. There never seems to be any variation in the characteristics in their demeanor or personality.

 

Standing for causes in sports

In today’s portion of the film a lot was discussed about athletes that stand up for causes as opposed to athletes that take the “corporate way out”.  It compared basketballs Michael Jordan to Muhammad Ali  in terms of political stances and their given endorsements. It seemed to show Michael in a bad light because he chose to take care of his endorsement obligations before any political causes. I think in some cases there can be an argument made that athletes could have done more. When it comes to Michael Jordan however, I don’t personally think that the fact that he chose to protect his Nike contract was means for criticism.

 The Jordan brand through Nike has become an icon in sports today. It’s a brand that represents Jordan and his hard work and success. By him putting the spotlight on a controversial issue that could potentially harm the brands image would undo all the hard work he had put in up till then.  People may call him selfish for not supporting the African American Democratic candidate in the film. What the film didn’t mention was Jordan’s family. He has three children and a wife who could potentially feel the backlash of his political opinions as well.

All in all I enjoyed the film, but I defiantly thought this portion was a little biased.

 

Geeks of all kinds

 

In the class discussion we had we briefly talked about the fact that people could be geeks about things that aren’t typically associated with geek culture. When most of us think of the typical geek we usually associate it with comic book, movies and other stereotypical geek interests. Being a geek isn’t about likening a certain type of entertainment but more about being comfortable surrounding yourself entirely with an interest.

 I’m a firm believer that a given person could be a geek about nearly anything. For example I classify myself as a “racing geek”. I have my own favorite styles much like others have in comics. I strongly prefer open wheel racing to stock cars.  I follow Indycar and formula one like a religion. I read news, blogs and follow drivers through their lives outside of racing. Although racing isn’t something that is normally thought of in the same “geek” categories as other things I still consider myself one.

Sports and Politics

The video we watched in class today brought up a very good point about the attraction pro football has to war. As a fan of the NFL I had always looked at he honoring of the military as something patriotic and not at all political. I noticed that almost all of the examples used for this segment were from fox sports. Fox is a network that is constantly being criticized for their overly republican, pro war bias. I never thought that something as pure and American as football could be used to draw attention to political movement. I immediately started thinking of other sports that could be used to push a particular movement or way of thinking.  I want to try looking critically at these similar situations I see from now on in sports and other things to try and find the deeper meanings, if they exist.