The Cat-Meme Perspective

FELINE LOVERS BEWARE!

If cats were consciously aware of their current, excesive exploitation, I think its safe to say they would assume it sucks to be them. But why are there so many cats on the internet? And how have cats become the 'unintentional' pornstars of our modern generation? The viral trend sweeping the nation grants the artistic freedom for any person to take something ordinary (your lazy cat), and make it extraordinary (your lazy cat with bread around its head). As humans, it could be suggested that we have become so degraded and isolated that we must now look to the behavior of cats to entertain us, yet cats arn't aware of this large audience. The danger here is that an evolutionary shift could take place where cats suddenly develop the perception of self-awareness, thus creating an artificiality that is still amusing, but not artistically authentic. Similar to how some woman take advantage of certain "attributes" and "talents" by becoming pornstars, the universal declared opinion of not wanting to be a pornstar is secretly occuring within the framework of cats. Everyone loves to watch them, but soon their vicarious factor will diminish.

The Idiotic Teenager Perspective

In my Frontiers of Brain Science class, we are discussing what happens to our cognitive abilities through adolescence, specifically the radical teen years, and I found an interesting parallel in how teenagers perceive the world and themselves with the narcissistic theme of this blog and Avenue Q. My professor discussed how teens become less bound to concrete reality and attracted to more absract thoughts, while simultaneously increasing their focus of their physical self (PUBERTY!). Also, it was mentioned that by the age of eleven or twelve, humans develop the awareness that other people have thoughts of their own unattached to the individual. All these sophisticated, scientific facts combined,  has our society littered with people assuming that everyone around them is thinking of their physical flaws or attributes. Of course, this period of conceit is short-term, but it does result in a behavior that exhibits teens testing their invulnerability due to their hightened ego. In other terms, I will walk on this tall ledge because I'm special, unique, and different unlike anyone else who will fall from this ledge. The characters of Avenue Q all seem to be stuck in this trade of thought, or at least trying to get it back. Princeton takes the risk of having sex with Lucy the Slut because he is sweet, charming, and has B.A. in English... so that makes him less vulnerable to STDs to the sleaze-bags that are on Lucy's regular cycle. There is a glorious "personal fable" we all write for ourselves in adolescence, and the occupants of Avenue Q still seem to be in the process of writing theirs. A lot of this probably still doesn't make sense, so ask me questions!

The Dave Chappelle Perspective

Despite how hilarious this stand-up routine may be, Chappelle here brings into question a perspective that is uncensored and has been eroded by misfortunes of society. The manipulative tactics employed by most media organizations under the disguse of entertainment are highlighted here by Chappelle, but only from the perspective of an adult. How is this "wisdom" into these tactics obtained? Experience? Extreme cynicism? Spiritual trips to Africa? Or is it just the tragedy of growing up in America? Children are not immune to trauma or injustice, but perhaps Chappelle here is suggesting that we develop a risk-factor throw adolescene that pulls the wool from off our eyes.   

The Tony Soprano Perspective

The Sopranos are claimed to be a family that's "redefined". Well despite the obvious mob metaphors attached to the show's style and theme, it would seem that the Sopranos have as the same level of dysfunctions as the Bunkers or Huxables...except with guns. The selfish narcissm Tony relinquishes on a daily basis is a reflection of the emerging dependency on the introspective, medicating trend that was emerging in 1990's America. Primitive struggles like paying for food or finding shelter were non-existent for Tony since he majored in the study of 'whacking' at college, yet he still finds way of being unsatisfied. Even constant infidelity isn't enough to calm is unneccessary nagging about his 'job' and family. So why does it suck to be Tony Soprano? Perhaps it is because he realizes how trivial his grievances are and can only express his disappointment in himself by outwardly inflicting others around him, like Dr. Melfi. The infamous catchphrase "poor you" is frequent throughout the series, and Tony is routinely aggressive to hide the hatred he has for the urge to complain when he has no reason to...or does he? What do you think?

The Muppet Perspective

Does it suck to be Kenneth from NBC's "30 Rock"? His vision is blinded in this narrow, glorified perspective...yet his smile never breaks away from his face. What would your mind and opinions be like if everything were "muppet-fied"? This clip is not only hilarious (mostly due to Liz Lemon's cameo at the end), but it proposes a lifestyle that is arguably saught, but also feared. Kenneth is unaware of the suffering that thrives around him, but he isn't upset about it. Since he has a rather simplistic and passive approach to the dilemmas of life, he seems prone to be taken advantage of on a continuous basis. Does his extreme naive nature make his life suck? Would you want to see the world like Kenneth?