Rare Picture Taken on 9/11

Just found this picture. It's hear-breaking and terrifying how confused and weak they all look, just looking for someplace safe to go to.

Fake Truth/Real Lie

It's either true or it's false. This is what we've been taught since forever. "Are you lying? No? Oh, OK then you're telling the truth." And what about all those tests where the instructions go something like "For each question circle T for True or F for False. If False, explain why." These never add anything like "No question can be both true and false." Why? Because we believe it's implicit: Nothing can be true and false. But no! Things can be real and fake. And this is what creates the paradox of reality.

"This sentences is a lie," says Shields. (398) Well if it is a lie, as the sentence reads, then it is telling the truth. But if it is telling the truth, then it isn't a lie, so the sentence is a lie. So it is telling the truth then... and the paradox goes on and on. Is it true or a lie? It is neither and both at the same time: The combination of a truth and a lie (Luth? Trie?) and simultaneously neither something real nor something fake.

To further prove his point, Shields says "Why bother conducting an experiment at all if you know what results it will yield?" He actually believes the experiment is worth it, but with this antithesis he is able to have his audience's opinion sway with his own. In the end the audience knows that it is worth it. Why? Because we don't know anything for sure, we actually don't know what the experiment will yield.

What puzzled me the most was this short but effective quote: "How can I tell what I think until I think what I say?" (426) It's easier to understand what can't be understood by breaking this sentence in two. The first fragment points out that he must first think and then tell, but the second one implies that he must speak and then think. Then he makes it even more complicated and says that the only way to accomplish the former is by doing the latter. Get it? Yeah, neither do I. It's impossible, a lie! But is it really? Or are our minds so mixed up that this could actually make sense in an odd and intangible way?

In Ten

Imagine being able to invent your life, or only tell the portions you like best, or at least be able to lie in order to show how you actually feel. It's not that hard, though, and it can all be done through art, both visual and written. Frey actually did this - through fake jail time he was able to "point across a plausible situation in which to frame his suffering" (395) - and it's actually pretty easy.

 With all the importance contemporary society gives reality shows, the mere idea of someone never having watched a single episode is basically implausible. The first reality show ever, The Real World, started out completely faithful to the name of its genre, but soon it gave up after realizing fake truths actually appeal to larger audiences, so other reality shows followed suit, and soon it became a rule followed by the entire genre: Fake reality (But shh, it works especially well if the audience is oblivious to this).

Memoirs are similar, not because they lie, but because they narrate only what the author wishes to reveal. This actually clearly resembles Michael Kimball's life postcards, which tell people's life stories after people narrate these to him. But just remember, if you're the one speaking you'll say only what you wish to reveal, so these postcards are just like memoirs: Their primary goal is to satisfy the author.

It's omission, after all, and "omission is a form of creation," (377) since it prevents a piece from being wordy. "It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what everyone else says in a whole book," writes Shields, quoting what was originally said by Nietzsche.

And I hope I was able to do just this with what I wrote above.

Plot Perfections

Reantasy

Reality is something that, as Reality Hunger cleverly explains, we never cease to crave. However, we never actually stop and ask ourselves what "reality" actually means. Sure, according to Dictionary.com it is "the state or quality of being real, "resemblance to what is real,"or "a real thing or fact."But then, what is "real"? Dictionary.com defines it as "true." But once more, what does this actually mean? And the questions go on and on.

There is actually a blurry line (if there even is one) between reality and fantasy. Shields is able to get this idea through to his audience by titling Chapter G "Blur."It is in this section that he says "Try to make it real - compared to what?" (222) With this aphorism he is able to basically summarize the entire chapter: is anything actually completely real? In fact, I agree with him: nothing is.

We all see things and events with different points of view. When we describe these, our retellings will be "real" to us, but maybe fictitious to others. For example, when fights occur between two people, both stories usually don't match. It's not that they're lying necessarily. It's more likely that they're each telling the events from their own point of view, their own reality. What might have been a harsh response to one person, could have been an ordinary comment to the other. This is where the blur between reality and fantasy appears.

In addition, there's also the common use of omission. By doing so, people aren't lying, they are simply skipping certain details. But then, it's not the absolute truth either, right? Thus, reality and fiction are blurred once again.

Yet, nowadays, as Shields points out, people love reality. However, he puts it like this: "Our culture is obsessed with real events because we experience hardly any." (241) I agree: We are so used to our daily lives that they cease to be real to us and instead become monotonous. As a result, we become obsessed with anything that reflects reality. This is where the media usually comes in.

People love the news and reality shows because it gives them a glimpse of what "the real life" is like. The daily news tells real, shocking stories, and that's one of the reasons why a lot of people enjoy it every day. There's also reality shows, which are actually pretty much lies. Produces film their stars (many times giving them orders on what to do or say) and afterwards they even trim out essential details, recurring to the art of omission.

"And as you're studying that reality (judiciously as you will), we'll act again, creating other realities, which you can study, too, and that's how things will sort out,"(253) says Shields in Chapter I. It is absolutely true. Now everything changes so quickly, that what could previously be considered reality ceases being so. It's all the puzzle of "reality," a word created by man that still means nothing.

Commenting on Comments

I completely agree with you. The fact that it is a written analysis emphasizes the "gif/jif" conflict, since while reading it, people might not be sure of how to pronounce it and realize that it actually is pretty confusing.

As for the "predominantly female audience," on the paper it was an assumption. But after researching, I found that it is true: around 60% of Tumblr users are females.

You are absolutely right about the struggles for power. I initially considered it more like a friendly creation of terms, but power is definitely a much better explanation. After all, different "ships" fight for power, just like different sides want a certain pronunciation of "gif" to be established as the right one. Meanwhile, "thinspo" and "fitspo" supporters fight against those who dissaprove of these practices. So it really is all just a struggle for power among groups.

I really appreciate your comments and your appraisal for a completely unfamiliar topic. Thank you for both, your initial comments in person and your final ones through Turnitin.