The Last Sickness

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Children of the Screen

I think that the majority of people in today’s society are children of the screen even if they would not openly admit so. It would seem as if we have unintentionally slipped into a less than ideal state of “relaxation” with technology at large, televisions in particular. Honestly, every once in a while I have caught myself spending a substantial amount of time looking at screens. Whether it is the screen of a television, computer, cell phone, or an mp3 player I am definitely inclined to spend my days and nights gazing at a screen.

While I thoroughly use technology I do spend the majority of my time outdoors and reading for fun. As a child we had television readily available in my home, but my mom and I did so many other activities that the television was far from the center of my childhood. Do not get me wrong, I enjoy watching movies and some television shows. However, I am able to get so much more satisfaction from my daily activities. This is why I spend more time with my family and animals than lounging in front of the television.

I definitely agree with Baylon that we will lose our true natures if we adjust our lifestyles to fit the “reality” created by television. While watching television you are not actively doing anything unless the show is somewhat educational. Even then, you are not really accomplishing much by sitting in front of the television. If I had to find an upside to the dominance of screens in our lives it would be that people are informed on daily occurrences in the world. Of course, this information is not just the truth, often times it is embellished and biased. Because of the huge amount of information available on the internet people are no longer left “out of the loop” when they do not have a television.

A large portion of America’s children have also joined the group of people obsessed with our screen technology. Because of parents’ often hectic schedules it seems that television is a good way to relax which demonstrates to children that watching television often is all right. Video games, movies, and television shows start to severely influence these kids. All of this time spent with the television is also a large contributor to childhood obesity. Eating and watching television just seem to go hand in hand because while you feel “occupied” you are not occupied to the point of being distracted from the bag of chips calling your name.

All in all, I think becoming a child of the screen is a conscious choice for all people with the exception of young children. While certain things are genetic, wanting to watch television incessantly is probably not. You can control your circumstances and each person chooses whether or not they will sit in front of a television for the majority of their life, or if they will get out and live their lives with a bigger purpose.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

While watching The Picture of Dorian Gray, several scenes appealed to me. The scene I chose occurs towards the beginning of the movie. I was really pulled into the conversation between Gladys, Lord Henry, and Dorian Gray. Basil Hallward had just finished painting the picture of Dorian. Gladys signed her initial on the canvas. Lord Henry proceeds to ask Gladys if she prefers Dorian’s portrait, or Dorian. Lord Henry then tells Gladys that Dorian, as a person, will get old, but his picture will be young forever. Next, Gladys talks to Dorian and says, “He’ll stay the same ‘til I’m grown, right Dorian?” Dorian says he will, of course. At this point, Gladys leaves the room and Dorian mentions that he would give everything to be young forever and how convenient it would be if his portrait could take on his age while he remained the same. Lord Henry is then astonished that Dorian would dare say such a thing in the presence of one of the seventy-five gods of Egypt (the cat statue).

What really interested me about this particular scene in the movie was the conversation about growing old. At first, Dorian seemed to be comfortable in his own skin, but soon after Lord Henry suggested Dorian aging, Dorian’s confidence quickly disappeared. In the very beginning of this scene I saw the high expectations that Dorian and Gladys had of youth that were crushed by Lord Henry’s ranting. Throughout the movie Lord Henry was repeatedly bitter towards people. Lord Henry discourages youthful pondering between Gladys and Dorian. This reminds me of how the young are assumed to have an heir of innocence that the aged have lost. I was caught off guard to hear that Dorian would give everything to stay young. Everybody has to age eventually, even if they don’t do it gracefully. To give up everything in order to avoid the rite of passage (aging) seemed astounding to me. However, consequences are sure to follow every action whether they are good, or bad. The segment I have chosen is the beginning of Dorian’s horrific life. His “wish” gets granted and his picture takes the shape of his aging soul. The scene I chose got the ball rolling on the series of events. It would seem that my scene is the one that people look back to at the end of the movie in order to understand the overall message. Most people remember their youth as some of the best years of their life; you have to live all those years to accumulate valuable life experiences. I have to think that if Dorian had been able to see how his soul was changing on his person, instead of his portrait; he would have quickly changed his ways because in the beginning of the movie he appears to be good at heart. Overall, it seems that the moral of the story is to age yourself, not in a portrait, therefore allowing you to experience life to its fullest and learn from your mistakes.

Who is that Person?

In picture four Gertrude is struggling to remember her life. She suffers from Alzheimer’s. Gertrude moved into an assisted living apartment immediately after being diagnosed with the disease at 73 years old. Only three years earlier she mourned the loss of Walter, her husband of fifty years. Their four children still visit Gertrude on a regular basis, but disappointment is all they find. Even with the best doctors, Gertrude’s treatment has produced little to no results.
Born in 1921, Gertrude lived on her parent’s southern cotton plantation. Relatively speaking, their family was incredibly wealthy which explains why she did not need to work as a teenager. Her parents arranged for Gertrude to marry a man from an equally wealthy family, Walter. Originally, she did not want to marry her childhood friend, but in the best interest of her family’s social status she went along for the ride. After one year of marriage, at the age of 21, Gertrude realized she was going to spend her life with her soul mate.
After being married for five years, Gertrude had four children to keep up with. Walter was a business man; this allowed Gertrude to stay at home and raise her children. The family picked up and moved to Oregon so that Walter could pursue a better job. When all four kids were enrolled in school full time, Gertrude started to work. She had a real passion to help others which is why she chose to work in an institution for the mentally retarded. There, she had an opportunity to work with people of all ages. The work was extremely rewarding for Gertrude because she got along with people so well. The patients really enjoyed her presence because of her humor and wit. Gertrude always found it so sad that the staff at the institution was family to the patients because their own kin could not take care of them. Parents would visit every so often, but would find it to difficult to hold a conversation with their child. Older patients often had no visitors, so during visiting hours Gertrude would spend extra time with them to make sure their every day was special. As her own children started to get married and have children of their own, she decided to stop working at the institution so she could spend time with her grandchildren.
Currently, at the age of 88, Gertrude spends a lot of her time frustrated. She is a great grandmother, grandmother, and mother, but cannot remember it. She knows that she really enjoyed life before she lived in her apartment, but now she cannot seem to find the point. Comfort is her ultimate goal, so she wears her robe almost constantly. Her slim glasses allow Gertrude to see the pictures from her life before Alzheimer’s. Viewing photos and reading about her achievements are integral parts of her treatment. On her face she wears a permanent frown and wrinkles in her forehead demonstrating that she is in constant distress searching her mind for a life she wishes she knew.