Samsung Launches Galaxy S5 Smartphone

Today, in looking at my news online, I found that Samsung recently released the Galaxy S5. The very first thought that came into my head when I saw the article was, "Really? Another updated phone?" If you think about it, if the Apple and Samsung continue to release newer and updated versions of their cellphones, there will be a point where there there is no possibility for improvement.

It makes me sad that every couple of months a new phone comes out, the last one forgotten and now simply an older one, and not as cool as the newest and flashiest one. One of my brother's friends gets every new updated iPhone, and is always one of the first ones in line to receive it. Sure, the advancement of technology will continue to improve and make changes over time, but this is simply teaching Americans a bad lesson, that you always have to have the newest and best version of something, and you can never really be happy with what you have. You always need more and more, and there is really no end to it. It's a vicious cycle.

Overall, although it is merely an article about an updated cellphone, I found that it encompasses a wide range of issues concerning these technology companies. I feel like this represents American ideals in that people are never truly thankful for what they have, and once they obtain one thing they go right on to the next thing without second thought, never truly being thankful for what they have.

Picture of Perfection: Attainable Ideals?

We see it everywhere: slim models on the face of Vogue, girls looking into the camera with bright eyes and beautiful smiles; these images of perfection that surround our media.

I'm sure many of you have either seen or heard of this commercial by Dove. It's absolutely captivating that so much work goes into one advertisement that we see. So many effects are used on this picture to make the woman an image of utter perfection, of perfect symmetry. But obviously the woman in the advertisement in the end doesn't even exist. She is simply a product of the woman in the beginning of the video, a flawless version of herself. It's unfair that the representation of beauty today is inaccurate and ultimately unattainable, as the uses of Photoshop and other editing sites are prevalent in the process.

Imagine you are a young girl living in this time period. You would have become accustomed to the gorgeous models around you, suddenly expecting that of yourself when you grow up. Becoming beautiful is represented as a top priority, the magazines and commercials giving you the idea that your looks are the most important thing in life. This is detrimental to all girls the same, negatively affecting the way they view themselves.

The American ideal has altered over time, but currently it is simply a product of Photoshop and other photo enhancing sites. It's important to teach people, especially children, that you're beautiful in your own skin, without the rather false image of perfection that is shown all over media today.

Mizzou Football Team: Role Model for USA

Today, in an effort to catch up on news I had missed over the weekend and curious of the trending stories, I checked CNN. The first thing I saw was this:

At first, I was extremely pleased that he had the courage and bravery to release this information that could potentially cause backlash in the media. But then I thought: What's the big deal? Why is this news becoming the most televised and circulated story of the weekend? Why does such a small factor of this boy's life have to have such surprising reactions that could make another gay player feel as though this is unethical or wrong? 

Upon further research, I came across this article. Apparently, Michael Sam could become the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL, which is why there is such a hype around this particular story. He informed his team of his sexual orientation in August, and "Mizzou not only played the entire season without leaking Sam's preference to the media; It supported him, made him a team MVP and watched him sack the quarterback 11.5 times" (CBS). Even from the name of this article, "Mizzou Treats Michael Sam's Sexuality as Non-Story" is so highly respectable, I felt utter content when I read the piece. 

It is such a large contradiction: the reaction of the media resulting in the hype of Americans worldwide, and the silence from the team, showing they believed Michael's sexual orientation was irrelevant. The NFL should take note on how the team acted and realize that it shouldn't be a big deal. But the very fact that there was such a hype from the mere sexual orientation of a potential NFL player shows that this idea is not yet fully accepted in media and worldwide. 

Do you think that this story should have gone public, to account for the bravery that Sam showed and the responsibility of the Mizzou team? Or should it have been left as a "non-story", that the very fact that he is gay doesn't have anything to do with his skill on the field and that it truly is not a big deal?