Update #2

So, I can tell that updates will be inconsistent... so I am going to refrain from weekly updates. Who knows when I will have internet, so I am going to update WHEN I GET THE CHANCE!

Anyway...

Day 8 - June 18:
My last post talked about most of this day, but to recap, I left Winchester, drove through TN, NC, and into GA. In Knoxville, I had a nice conversation and interview with a lady in the parking lot of McDonalds. Come Georgia, I had quite the experience!
I decided to go visit a friend who was serving an LDS mission in Cornelia, Georgia. I had made contact with some people in Cornelia, and they had invited them over around the time I was getting into town. I pulled in, and as I was hiding my car, he ([Elder] Kelton Gubler) pulled up. I ran around the house to avoid being seen, went inside and slipped into a back room. They came in and were visiting with the accomplices when I casually walked into the room.
"Oh, hey guys..."
Kelton does a double take... "PETER?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? Guys, this is my neighbor!"
The look on his face was PRICELESS. He was speechless for the entirety of our visit as well. He would just look over and stare... then shake his head with a big grin on his face. He asked silly questions like, "How did you get here?"
"Uh... my car."
I told him about The Vagabond Tour, took a picture with him, and then it was kind of strange awkwardness... So I asked if I could help them teach or something before I left. Luckily, they let me come!
After spending the rest of the evening teaching a guy named Bruce, we parted ways. It was SO SO SO GOOD to see Kelton again. He is a stellar missionary. A great example of what the Praise Project is all about as well.
So, I take off for Georgia, thinking I was running behind schedule (I was staying with someone from CouchSurfing.org), so I was booking it down the freeway. I get to Atlanta, and he let me know to take my time. Hmmm...! I am glad he did though because of what transpired next.
I figure I better get some gas, so I start aimlessly looking for a gas station. When I find one, I found a lot more than gas! I pull in, and when I get out of the car, I hear some loud rap music. I take a look around and I notice a little shop attached to the gas station called "Black Hollywood Media" in a nice community some would call "the hood" or "the ghetto." I fill up and was sitting in my car texting or something before driving off, when I get a knock on my window. "Whats the Vagabond Tour?"
I get out of the car and explain it to her, giving her a flyer and explaining Invisible Children and The Praise Project. She was impressed because she told me to get a stack of my flyers and follow her. We went to her store (Black Hollywood Media), swapped info, and she put my flyers on the counter to help advertise. SCHWEET! We talk for a while about a bunch of different things, I interview her, and I just hang out for a while in the middle of the hood. It actually felt pretty great - that is, being somewhere unexpected and seemingly "unsafe" but feeling completely comfortable and safe. Some people are completely misunderstood. That is all!
Anyway... When it was time to head out from there, I took of to find my CouchSurfing.com friend, who was finishing up at a party. I showed up, met some people, hung out there for a bit, and then headed to my temporary home. He was also hosting two people from Germany who were visiting the states for a few months. We had some good conversation, and then I dozed off from exhaustion.

Day 9 - June 19:
I slept in an hour or two, and took of to church. I roll in and there was only a car or two in the parking lot... Stake Conference. Luckily, one of the other cars knew where they were going! I was able to follow them far far away to another church building where, oddly enough, a gentleman spoke from my mission! The Stake President in Lexington, Kentucky was called to the Quorum of the 70 and was speaking at the spot I was visiting... SMALL WORLD.
Afterwards, I headed toward Centennial Olympic Park to meet up with an organization I had gotten in touch with online for a Free Hugs event. I showed up, walked around with my sign looking for them... no luck. I found a Marriott down the street and hopped online to see if they cancelled the event. I searched and searched for them online, but nothing. OK? So, I got back in the car and headed to my next destination. Montgomery, Alabama. I met some nice people on the state line who were headed down to help build houses for tornado victims. I would love to find something like that to do while down here.
Funny story: I took the "Mulberry Street" exit and just drove... I took a few turns and noticed a little plaque. I rolled right in front of Martin Luther King Jr.'s home. What are the odds of that?! It was definitely a nice little town and would love to return one day.
Fast forward a bit and I arrive in Chipley, Florida, home of the Nellums family. I was a missionary with Travis Nellums. It was a blast hanging out in that little country town with that crazy family. That night, Travis took me on a tour of Chipley. After 5 minutes,  we were headed home! To close off the night, I showed the Blue Roseline Bracelet DVD from Invisible Children to some of the family.

Day 10 - June 20
What a day! Travis and I drove to Fort Walton Beach, bowled a few games, played a game or two of pool, visited the beach, went to a Native American Temple Mound, and to a FHE potluck dinner. Woot!

Day 11 - June 21 (Today)
We had planned to sleep in, but as hard as I tried to sleep in, I was up before 9am... We drove down to Panama City Beach, walked around Pier Park - where I bought some flip flops (yeah, I cant believe it either...), walked on the algae infested beach (the gulf water is GREEN!), and walked along the main road to look at the attractions. Then we decided to go get something to eat... as we were pulling in to the parking lot of Little Ceasars, my car was acting really funny, and when we got back in the car, I noticed that the temperature gauge was to the top of the scale! We were right down the road from a car shop, so we headed straight there. Right as I was pulling in, the car died... :( Sitting half in the road, and half in the parking lot, I was able to get it started, and rolled up to the building... just as the car started to smoke. Turns out there was about $100 in repairs, but they were able to get it working again! Woot! I was NERVOUS that I was 3,000+ miles away from home without any transportation. Talk about one blessing after another blessing...
Now, I am sitting at a McDonalds. I was in my car, because I didnt want to get kicked out for loitering, but it got so hot that I couldnt stand it. Now it is late and I am outside basking in the warm summer night air. While sitting out here, I was visited by two homeless guys. They were probably in their mid 20s or 30s, and had mouths worse than sailors. We talked for a while, they told some stories of how they ended up on the streets (and how to get free coffee from McDonalds...), and they insisted on showing me youtube videos of heavy metal bands... I considered interviewing them, but I was worried about their language. That, and one of the guys was so baked that he was barely making any sense. The other guy volunteered himself to go to Africa and kill Joseph Kony and the Rebels when I told him about Invisible Children. Needless to say, I hope things work out for them and they are able to clean up their lives!
Well... I guess I better try to find out what I am going to do with my night... Where I am going to stay, and what I am going to do tomorrow! Keep it real! Keep praying! Keep doing good.

Peter.Moosman.

Mass Entertainment, Society, & My Self

Welcome to Part Two of Memoirs of a Latter-Day Rogue: Mass Entertainment, Society, & My Self

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Influence. Control. Authority.

Brainwash?

We are living in a world inescapable of media influence. It is everywhere at every moment: Online, on the sides of busses and billboards, on the radio and television, on the clothes we wear and the things we say. Everywhere you look, there are money-hungry giants trying to lure you in. Being everywhere you think they are not, they capture most - hook, line, and sinker. Though I can easily deny being the subject of Mass Media's influence, it would be an obvious fallacy. One cannot live in America and be free of its control. This memoir will take a look into the one of the facets of Mass Media in America: Mass Entertaiment.

PART I: MINIMIZING INFLUENCE, or, WHY I DONT PARTAKE

Just because you can't live without the prodding influence and control of Mass Entertainment doesn't mean we can't minimize it, right?

I don't watch TV or movies (other than an occasional documentary and/or spiritual journey). Many people are floored by this idea, seeing as "watching" is such a mainstream activity. My reasoning behind my abstinence has many motivations which will be explained. Right. Now.

Subliminal Messaging. As much as it sounds like a joke, subliminal messaging is real. Granted, it most likely is not in the form of a man in a monotone voice repeating pleas to purchase a product, being played at such a quiet tone that you can't notice it. Rather, it is the verbal references the actors make. The clothes and styles they are seen in. The products being used or seen - also known as product placement. Product placement is defined as: a practice in which manufactured goods or providers of a service gain exposure for their products by paying for them to be featured in movies and television programs (New Oxford American Dictionary). Corporations pay big bucks to be seen on the big screen. If the stars are seen with a certain product, you can guarantee that product will have a high purchase rates afterwards.

Going back to the verbal references being said by celebrities and the styles they are seen in: How often are those who refrain from such forms of Mass Entertainment referred to as "out of the loop?" Media tells us what is cool to say, do, wear, and have. Just look at the trends in 12-25 year olds to see point proven.

Time Waster. The ultimate time waster is Mass Entertainment. TV, Movies, Video Games, Internet. They suck you in and before you know it, hours of your life are gone - never coming back. Wasted. What is even worse is when people get together to watch movies, thinking that it is building relationships. Since when did sitting in the same room in the dark staring at a box constitute as building relationships. It is shocking when people go on dates to movies. I just don't get it. That is time that could be spent on actually building relationships, getting things done, improving society, etc. But I guess people could say that about blogging... Hmmm...

Money Waster. Any form of Mass Entertainment is expensive.

A ticket to see a movie in theaters: $5 - 10

A purchased DVD: $20 - 30

A purchased video game: $30 - 60

This, to me, isn't even the biggest problem. Yeah, it is shocking that people would spend that much to see a movie on the big screen, but the problem I see is the money that goes into making such media. The money spent on the entertainment industry in one year could solve most of our nation's financial problems. Imagine the lives saved if that money went into prevention and research efforts. Woah. Yet, every time we pay for one of those things, we support the industry - regardless of their motive. 

Creativity Sucker. The more we rely on Mass Media for entertainment, the less we are able to accomplish creatively. When we don't know what to do on a weekend, instead of creating something or working our brain, we sit down in front of the TV, or go to a movie with friends. Instead of having heartfelt and intellectual conversation, how often do we find ourselves just talking about and quoting movies and shows? 

False Sense of Reality / Breeds Hate, Ignorance, and Stereotypes. Many people watch TV and movies to escape the world they live in. They create a new reality based off what they see. Fulfilled stereotypes, obscure views of love and friendship, the commonality of violence, murder, and obscenity. This reality is brought to the real world and perpetuated. If we had no media, I honestly feel that a lot of our struggles would dissipate after the passing of a few generations.

The next problem with this false sense of reality is that people escape to it instead of trying to fix the reality they actually exist in. Matters get worse when they are ignored, which may be one reason why our society is failing - we are avoiding the problem by watching a world that lives "happily ever after."

For the movies that don't end "happily ever after," they are most likely full of violence, greed, deceit, and obscenity. Why is it that we will frown upon the the killing of others, but turn around and pay money to watch the violence and brutality on the screen? Why is it that we frown upon promiscuity and immodesty, but will pay money to watch it on the screen? Why is it that we frown upon racism, profanity, and other forms of obscenity, but will pay money to watch it on the screen? 

Many of these points can cross mediums, from film to music to video games. It takes work to filter through everything to find what you REALLY want, as opposed to what is simply enjoyable. But when has filtering ever been a bad thing? And of course, not every point mentioned applies to all movies and all forms of Mass Media / Entertainment. One can use  their best judgement, make their own boundaries, and use their own filters. This is just my opinion, after all.

[check me out too!]

PART II: FLAWS IN THE SYSTEM

In America, there is an organization called the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). This organization is in charge of the rating system for movies. While there are some major benefits to this rating system, there are also severe flaws. A couple that writes for the Deseret News wrote an article dealing with the rating system and its flaws. Instead of re-writing everything, please read the article HERE or HERE. For those who do not desire to read it (though it  is VERY worth your time), here is an excerpt:

"What we hate about the rating system is that it does not take into account the purpose or message or the moral of a movie. Thus wonderful movies with powerful moral messages and true heroes like "Schindler's List" or "The Shawshank Redemption" ... get rated R, while amoral and deeply offensive movies that "call evil good" or that ignore moral questions altogether (or make fun of them), such as the current "Little Fockers," get rated PG-13."

(shout out to Ashlee for showing me this article)

Some content in R rated movies is the same content of hit TV shows like CSI, Bones, Burn Notice, etc., which make me wonder what the justification is to watch it on the TV and not on the Big Screen. I feel that we leave too much of our decision making up to others (MPAA, critics), and not to our personal rating systems (beliefs, values). So the next time you decide on a movie based on its rating, I hope you will rethink and research.

PART III: CONCLUSION

This memoir is not a call to repentance for anyone. It was brought about by the many inquiries of my views on Mass Entertainment, and why I don't watch movies or TV. This is a condensed version of my viewpoints. 

I hope you may find something that rings true within this memoir that will help you shape your own views on Mass Entertainment and in bettering your self. If you have any questions regarding anything mentioned above, feel free to ask.

Thank you and happy Presidents Day.