Houston Rockets Tragic Playoff End

     The Houston Rockets have been renowned as one of the best teams in the West. At the end of the season, it was measured that the Rockets were number 4 in the West behind the Spurs, Thunder, and the Clippers, with a guaranteed spot in the playoff with home court advantage. Although, judging by all of this, it seems as though the Houston Rockets were sitting pretty and hoping to advance fairly deep into the playoffs behind James Harden, Dwight Howard, Chandler Parsons, and the other individuals who all helped greatly support the successful 2013-2014 season. However this was not exactly the case as time went on.

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     The Rockets went head to head with the Portland Trailblazers in the first round of the playoffs. Things were looking relatively bleak for the Rockets when they were down 2-0 when the rookie Troy Daniels, top 3-point shooter from the D-league, hit the game winning shot in game 3 to help tip the scales back into their favor, giving them a ray of hope. The series was now 2-1 and the Rockets fought hard and lost game 4 as well making the series 3-1. The Rockets took the next game with relative ease and made the series 3-2 in the Blazer's favor. Game 6 was the most intense, action packed game of them all because the Rockets were once again facing elimination. However, it was not enough because the Rockets fell to the Blazers by one point when Blazer's shooting guard Damian Lillard, shot and hit the game winning 3-pointer, with 0.9 seconds left on the clock in regulation, knocking the Rockets out of the playoffs. Although this is unfortunate for the Rockets, it was a positive learning experience for them and they will go into the next season and playoffs with a chip on their shoulder, and a purpose in their mind to be more successful keeping their tragic loss in mind.

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Humorous Entertainment in Zombie Culture

     Although when people think of Zombie Culture such as in movies, television shows, video games, comic books, etc. it is commonly associated with a serious, thrilling connotation, more and more often in today’s society, that is beginning to change. As a result, zombie culture is beginning to undergo a transformation of a comedic association, as obviously observed in Zombie Land, among other films or mediums of entertainment such as Shaun of the Dead,  Dead Rising, Dawn of the Dead, and other various forms of entertainment that focus on Zombie Culture with a humorous or comedic standpoint. Within this film, there are many aspects of Zombie Culture that are prime examples of the rapidly changing way that society focuses on zombies and entertainment as a whole.

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     Among these aspects that are ever changing other than the perception of zombie culture is the search for a cure. In movies such as World War Z, the group is constantly looking for a cure or vaccine with a sense of urgency to reverse the effects of the apocalypse, whereas movies with a comedic association such as Zombie Land don’t really take a cure into consideration, and are more occupied with how many zombies they can kill in very unrealistic ways, and spend their time looking for things that are somewhat unnecessary in the post-apocalyptic world such as Twinkies being a reoccurring high priority without even the simple mention of a cure. 

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Serious Zombie Culture Entertainment

     The primary portrayal of a zombie movie is one that is associated with a horror or thrilling connotation. World War Z is a perfect example of this because of its action packed scenes that are filled with suspense and the audience being completely oblivious to what lies beyond the corner. This is a style of Zombie Culture that has been adopted most of all and happens to be the most common. There are numerous similar zombie culture movies and games that follow this example, such as The Walking Dead, and many popular video games such as Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead, Last of Us, and many more that portray a sense of seriousness or urgency. These are some of many examples that illustrate the significance that a realistic sense of thrill or horror has had on Zombie Culture in society and the industry of film as well because of their rising popularity.

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     This concept of the zombie was first adopted in the movie Night of the Living Dead by the director George Romero, who depicted zombies as being unintelligent, slow, and mindlessly hungry, but yet still extremely intimidating at the same time, especially in large groups. This concept has endured from the Night of the Living Dead, when Zombie movies were in their infancy to today as well, and although in World War Z, the zombies can move at a more fast pace, they are still dormant and mindless at the same time, except increasingly more intimidating in large groups due to their heightened speed, which is a twist on the typical zombie movie stereotype. When taking all of this into consideration, it is easy to see the effect that suspenseful zombie movies such as World War Z have had on the world of Zombie Culture illustrating that it has endured, and for the most part, has stayed intact all the way into today’s society, after being introduced several generations ago, and will continue to endure for even more if not infinite generations to come.

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Old Navy Zombies

     According to the author of the story on page 268 of the textbook "On Sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical Zombies", that people who shop at places such as this are zombies in his eyes. When people notice a sale, no matter if they need the product or not this has a huge influence on their decision whether or not they were originally intending to purchase that particular product or not. This illustrates their zombie like tendencies when shopping because people let the sales and discounts at certain stores such as the Old Navy dominate their decision to spend money, which as a result makes them spend more money if it was not originally intended and the decision was dominated purely by the fact that money could be saved when purchasing more products. This also demonstrates a paradox. It is apparent that people will sacrifice their time and money in order to make a couple sales that they feel are worth the effort on infamous occasions such as Black Friday, where people will be lining up for miles in order to safe a significant amount in time for the holidays.

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     Another way people are similar to zombies in an establishment such as the Old Navy is that popularity in fashion is always changing in the world of Pop Culture. As a result, people will always change their decision making styles in order to keep up with the times and what is considered to be "cool" by today's standards. Businesses such as Old Navy know this, and provide sales and discounts according to what is popular in the media and Pop Culture. This also illustrates a zombie like way of shopping because of conformity and being a slave to what is cool and doing whatever means necessary in order to have the hottest thing on the market at a low cost or not.
     In some cases however, discounts as well as sales can be used to benefit those who do not quite fit the zombie description because the sales can influence those who are actually dependent on the product rather than financial purposes or conformity. People who fit this description when shopping are those who are actually interested in the product regardless of the price but for their own non zombie like purposes rather than for conformity and to fit with which ever common rapidly changing fad is popular at the time.

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     When taking all this into consideration, it is easy to see why the author came up with this zombie shopper hypothesis in his essay located in the textbook. More often than not, people use sales to completely influence their shopping whether to save money or conform to a new idea, making the author's hypothesis a plausible one. Although, has not and is not always been the case every time there is a sale at a particular store, even one such as Old Navy, because there will always be shoppers who are not completely and totally influenced by sales, but for interest in the product itself. As the media and Pop Culture continue to advance, the idea that the author presents about zombies in the stores will continue to be easier to observer and support as well.

 



 

Virtual Identities in Video Games

Today's generation of gamers have been altered a significant amount over the years. The advancement in video games has had a tremendous impact on popular culture as a result. Among these advancements have been the ability to play games with people online, or across the world. I remember a time when the only type of multiplayer games were local, which meant you had to sit around on the couch with your friends and play on the same television and console. It seems as though that this type of social interaction and competition among friends locally has and is continuing to become abandoned as games get more and more complex. However, achieving these advancements and reaching these plateaus has not had only a positive impact on gamers, because some gamers use different identities in games creating an socially awkward or dangerous atmosphere.

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Most people would believe that the creation of a character or avatar in a online multiplayer game should be a reflection of that person's real identity to a certain extent. However, Online multiplayer games have come to such an extreme point that this is no longer the case. For some reason, gamers in these worlds have felt the need to deviate their gaming character to an extent to which the comparison with that person in reality can not be recognized. Popular culture as well as the media have had something to do with this by labeling people that play these games as nerds or geeks associated with a negative connotation, to a degree where people that indulge themselves in these games take that to heart and feel the need to alter themselves in an alternate reality I suppose. With the advancements of technology, such as in videogames have had a huge impact on society in terms entertainment purposes, but is not entirely true in terms of social factors of society to the point where people can receive all the entertainment behind a screen and not have to interact face to face with a single person, thus creating a general decline of social skills in today's society and future generations to come if something is not to be done about the insecurities, people such as the gamers with virtual identities in pop culture.

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Tolkien's Literature in Pop Culture

Tolkien's works of literature such as the Hobbit, and the Lord of the Rings, and many other works based on his middle-earth universe have had a monumental impact on the world of literature and as a result have had an impact on pop culture as well. This has to do in part because of how complex this universe of his actually is. Not only did Tolkien create his own world and universe, but he also created his own languishes such as Elvish and Dwarvish, as well as his own geography of middle-earth, and other cultures of people in this universe. When taking all of these things into consideration, it is easy to see what distinguishes his works of literature apart from other authors at that time as well as today. It is almost as if he created another reality in terms of complexity rather than just another fantasy to be enjoyed. With all of this in mind, Tolkein is regarded as one of if not the most influential writer of adventures and fantasies, and will forever be reknowned for his works and contributions in pop culture to this day and for the rest of the forseeable future as well

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The works of Tolkien have been so influential on the fans and filmakers, that even today they are a primary source of entertainment to be enjoyed and can be seen as some of the most successful movies in the box office due to how high grossing they were when they were released. This would not have come to pass had it not been for the influnces his writing has had. Tolkein passed away September 2, 1972, and his movies are still being created at this time and will be continued to be made and enjoyed in the future for many generations to come. This goes to show how significant of an impact he has had in literature, because they are still being enjoyed and are advancing in popularity after all this time. Tolkien's works of literature have stood the test of time, not only for his epic tales and adventures, but for the more complex meanings and symbols behind his writings as well.

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Entertainment in Pop Culture

Growing up in the 1990's, reading comic books was not always considered the cool thing to do. More often than not, reading comics was more likely associated with a negative connotation, rather than it is perceived today in positivity. Beloved comics grasped the attention of the media and popular culture influencing film makers to recreate the vast universes captured in comic book fantasies. The way people perceive comics today rather than in the past has transformed dramatically and comic books have had a huge impact on popular culture as a result.

Movies that are made based on comic books have turned out to be some of the highest grossing movies of all time in the box offices, partly because of the action packed scenes as well as the intense plot lines in the movies, but for the most part, it has to do with the huge influence that the media has on the audience. The comic book industry has always been successful, but has never been as recognized as it is today. Among these industries are Marvel Comics and Detective Comics which are the most well known by fans, as well as the most sought after by the film makers as a source of entertainment. Marvel movies such as the Avengers and Captain America for example, are some of the more popular movies in the box offices and are widely appreciated by the fans.

Although comics have affected the film industry greatly, they have also influenced television shows such as the Big Bang Theory, the Simpsons, and many other TV shows depicting fans in a negative connotation. The media's influence on entertainment such as this is very significant. It is almost as if there is a new breed of comic book nerd today than in the past. In the past, before the media and popular culture got its hands on comics in the film industry, it was not always the way it is today. However, not only has the media had a huge influence on comics, drawing more movie fans to the actual comics out of interest, but comics have had a large impact on the world of entertainment in popular culture as well, creating sources of entertainment in film for a larger margin of an audience to enjoy than only the comics can provide. Had it not been for a film maker becoming intrigued with comic books as a kid perhaps, this may never have come to pass.


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