Absolutely it's more than a game. It's America.

The documentary, 'It's more than a game' was a sure-fire, left-winged look into American sports culture.  I think the film did raise a few interesting points and yes, it did attempt to give an objective look toward recent professional sports but honestly I don't think the film had much of a focus.

People love sports and I'm one of millions that indeed do. Sports have a gigantic following and because of its massive popularity, money politics and imperfections will coincide with it. Sports have become transparent  with the competitive nature of the American people. Along with that, sports figures are celebrities. Celebrity athletes are wealthy and influential because that is the natural way of our capitalistic country. We cannot help but pay to watch these people perform physical talents in which we do not have ourselves.


Constantly on TV, the dominating element of universities and the premier linkage of people are sports. Mankind has seemingly always been fascinated with athletes and today is no different.

By the way, segregation of athletes has come a LONG way. No matter your race or ethnicity, if you can play you can play. A great athlete finds a spot somewhere and is accepted anymore. Look at Jeremy Lin. Also, pay attention to how many white people are in the stands cheering for black athletes at each and every sporting event. It's a wonderful truth. People like myself enjoy representing an athlete no matter his color. As a Colts fan, I've seen a black person wear a Peyton Manning jersey and a white person wear a Reggie Wayne jersey at the same game. It's incredible how far our country has come with this issue compared to the days of Jackie Robinson which were really not that long ago.

Best,

Ben

Gangsta Culture

In my life, I have taken part in a clear cultural juxtaposition. Growing up in a safe, east central Indiana community my whole life, I have identified some of my lifestyle with that of the hip/hop culture. I'm able to recite certain Lil' Wayne lyrics, I've danced behind the booties of women at parties to songs like "To the Window to the Wall" and have had friends throw their middle fingers at a camera for a profile shot. While I have taken part in this culture, I think about how I am the antithesis of what a consumer of hip/hop culture should be. But maybe I am the ideal consumer of hip/hop culture as it stands in our society today.

Money, women and earthly things are repeatedly ingrained into the lyrics of hip/hop songs that hit the mainstream. While I am the son of a Hamilton County school principal and person of Christian faith I STILL fall victim to the earthly and hollow lyrics of these songs. But maybe I find my male testosterone being channeled through hip/hop songs and maybe guys like Busta Rhymes know it. It's not the content of the music that they sell, it's the feeling of the music as it lets a person forget who he is and sends him on a trip down sin lane. I've fallen victim to the stupidity of such songs which lack depth and feast on the naive nature of our generation. Proudly though, I am becoming more aware of it.


Check out Reggie Watts' take on hip/hop. It's a parody that pokes fun at today's hip/hop:

WARNING: EXPLICIT CONTENT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJQU22Ttpwc


Peace and Love,

Ben

VLOG: Gender Defender

Hungry Hungry Hippo

-Ben Cronk-

Always be in the know. That is one lesson I have learned through my time spent at Ball State University. In my communication and journalism courses, there has existed one most notable common thread among faculty, being that the instructor expects the class to answer, "What is going on in the world?" This question can always, and must always be asked and answered by generation Y.

Otherwise known as Millennials, our generation was the first generation exposed to an array of digital media. We were the originals. Guniea pigs of digitalization, if you will, and it has not taken long for us to develop a second nature to the usage of an assortment of forms of digital media. We use this vast array for both our personal pleasure and to always be in the know.

Examples of the digitized array of media in which our generation has grown up on; Email, blogs, online chat rooms, online shopping, social media, cellular phones, smart phones, texting, Netflix, Google, video games, YouTube, iPods, and the ability to say "There's and App for that." Oh yeah, we also digest internet radio and on-demand TV. The pace at which we access ourselves in the know is accelerating at rate close to the speed of light.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we are to constantly in the know.  The digitized envelope is continually being pushed. With that, I compare our generation's gross gluttony of news with an analogy of a famous board game. That's right, we as generation Y have become hungry hungry hippos of news.

Concept of the board game analogy
The white marbles = Sources of Media
The Hippos of different color = Diversity of our nation 

My Dad always told me that it is best to take things in moderation. Yet I feel it is inevitably undoable for me to live up to dear old dad's adage. It is ingrained in me not to. I'm in college, studying integrated communications and I am fortunate to have an extensive social circle as well as amazing digital resources. With more tools to my disposal than Inspector Gadget,  I feel out-of-control while having all the control of digital media. The convenience of the current media has forced me into not taking things into moderation, not in the least bit. I simply cannot. Work, schoolwork, entertainment, maintaining family and friend relationships, creating new relationships and feeding myself news is part of the daily routine. It has transformed me into a hungry, hungry hippo. But instead of gobbling up white marbles, I'm gobbling up a buffet of media. I use myself as a standard example for our generation and its intimacy with media.

Here in America, we can be satisfied with whatever food we want, when we want it. The system is pretty amazing, really. Same can be said with news. We are more physically and mentally obese than ever before. We, as consumers of the 21st century, are eating knowledge at a never-ending pace. The Internet acts as a boundless, intangible universe for any and all possible data. The cyberspace is simplistic in nature, making it easy for one of us hippos to navigate through and chow down information. Additionally, with "the cloud,"our mobile smart phones can access the digital universe just about anywhere. Thus, allowing our appetites for entertainment, information and socializing to continue at a never-ending pace.

I will always be in the know. I cannot consume in moderation. The first step is admission, I guess.

God bless us,

#TeamHungryHungryHippo