Broken Free

It is time for me to depart this world and return home. You have shown me great things about you, both good and bad, but for the bad I see hope. You are learning how to break free from the stereotypes and the messages you face every day. Within this class, we were not taught about media, we were taught to think about media. We were shown what to look for in what the companies tell us and how not to be fooled by their tactics. We need to take these skills and use them to be smarter than most others. We are able to think about what we see. We now have the responsibility to make informed decisions and not follow the herd. I only hope that when I leave, through the same doors as you, that we all remain independent thinkers. Be smarter than those who think you are weak and gullible. Coming to this word was quite an experience and I have learned much. I am sure to take home with me, the stories and memories of my time here.














For the final time,
May the will of Corrilon be in you favor,


The Blade of Corrilon

The New Cool

May I ask why your people care so much about personal image, about what is "cool"? Every day, the meaning of cool changes. The names of the most popular musicians change. New fashion trends develop and become popular, while others are banished to the back of the closet. What does it mean to be "cool" and who decides it? And if something is "cool", does it make it more important than everything else?

I have seen on my journeys a type of people that are viewed with more importance then most others; they are more popular then the rest. They dawn the most expensive garbs, they possess the newest technology and are the most social among you. They can be seen where ever an area of social gathering exits. Your places of learning, the local indoor market; as well as the television, on billboards and all over the Internet. You crown them as the leaders of society and strive to be like them. You do as they say, buy what they tell you, all in hope of becoming like them. But here is where I wonder, do you need to be like them?

You empower those that think they are better then you; you allow them to lead and abuse you. What is the definition of "cool" anyways? I always thought it meant that something was frigid to the touch. You need not be the the slaves of the cool tyrant. Be an individual do, what you want to because what ever you do is the coolest thing around.

What do YOU Think?

What do you make of the many things you are told each day? Do you hear them, say "uh huh" and then tuck them away into the folds of your mind? Do you take it to heart and try to change your self based on what the recommendations are? Or do you just bush it off, thinking what you know is how its been, and it won't change? New information, facts and statistics are released almost every day. They tell us what we should and shouldn't do, how things work now and give us predictions of what the future will be and guesses of the past. They often contradict themselves, and replace previous knowledge.

What is released to us may not even be fair towards the truth. The results may be slanted to support a particular interest group, or so vague that the results lose their meaning. What are we supposed to believe when views change so frequently?

That is up to you.

Make your own decisions. based on what you learned, not what someone tells you. Research the topic instead of digesting whatever is put in front of you. You are allowed to think for yourself, don't be swayed by what others think. They are not the ones who make the decisions in your life. At the end of the day, the only opinion that really matters is your own.

The Death of Community

I was keen to visit this world at first, but I grow weary of it.

So much of it differs from my world. You are more possessive, less accepting and more protective, not to say that where I come from we do not have property and enemies. But you hide yourself from your own neighbors, that is where I am disturbed. There is little sense of community in the modern cities that I have visited. You rush from one point to another, from your home to work and back again, not taking the time to talk with the people that you meet. I for do not know the names of the people that live two doors down from me.

I do not blame you. Why speak to someone when a machine is easier to deal with. A paper tells exactly what you want at your own speed with waiting or trying to keep up with someone. The technology today has eliminated the need to interact with people directly. Even when we do want to talk to a person, why seek them out when we can leave them with an instant massage.

Back where I come from, a village grew stronger the closer its people were. We would defend our homes more fiercely if we had something to protect. I know that achieving this task would be difficult now that the cities have grown larger and more and more inhabitants move in every day, but I am not asking you to go out and learn the name of every person in town. I am simply asking you to get to know the people around you. Talk to someone new, do something out of the ordinary, create the unity.

This is my challenge to you,

The Blade of Corrilon

The sence assailant

I Have noticed during my travels across your world that you are losing a battle that I'm shure that many of you do not know you are fighting. You are losing the war against advertisements. Now don't feel like the reason you are losing is completely your fault, their techniques are hard to avoid. You are constantly bombarded by images, models, characters all convincing you to buy one thing or another or use this over that. My I am surprised how materialistic this world is. You all require the latest and best product, no mater how new the object that is going to be replaced is. Every where that you look, something is being pushed into your face saying that this is the right thing for you. I have to say that advertising companies have "crossed the last straw". Where I am from, the only form of advertising was the town crier, and he mainly spoke of what the king was doing, not of what to buy. You have been exposed to the constant battering for so long now that you have become desensitised and have grown accustomed to it all. After my first day here, I refused to look out side again for fear my eyes would burst if I saw another bill board. You all have forgotten what it is like to be able to walk down a street and not be exposed to advertisements. You are forbidden to have original thoughts. You must not be blinded by the bright lights any longer. Regect what the companies tell you and form your own oppinion. we must stop bombardment and free our eyes from the advertising abomination.

A world of Fantasy

Greetings,

As this is my first blog, how you say, "post", I will introduce myself. My name is The Blade of Corrilon. You may call me The Blade of Corrilon. I am "posting" on this blog to talk about my thoughts on the different elements of media. My first blog, though, will be about my history and the land of my birth. Some of you may have heard of the realm where I come from, for stories of the grand adventures that take place there are spoken of in small groups across the land. There are many books that contain different components of my home country, all of them published under the name of Dungeons and Dragons.

Now these tales are often told by a single individual or Dungeon Master (DM), to a small number of friends that add on to the story. Thus, my world is different each time the stories are told. How the DM chooses to portray the world during each telling of the story affects how the reality of the world is constructed. It may be like your world is today, however bland it is, or it may be similar to my old world, where monsters and knights clashed, good kings and evil tyrants ruled and damsels needed to be rescued from tall towers. It is told to be better than your current reality and allow you to imagine yourself as someone, or something, else. The reality is still constructed to appeal to you and your senses.

Now no matter how well the DM portrays a story, if the listeners do not enjoy it, it will fade from history. Many a brave venture has faded from the memories of bards and travelers, shame really, some of them were my own adventures. That is why it is you, the listener, that decides what will pass on to legend. If the tale does not pass your judgment, then it will not continue on to the next generation. It falls to the DM to make the story as interesting as possible so that those who hear it will pass it on to others. If the job is done correctly, both the DM and the listeners will enjoy themselves and the stories will live on for awhile longer.

My home is a wondrous land of fantasy that I long to visit again, however, my tasks here are yet to be completed. All I can do now is share my tails of old and perhaps a few new ones, and hope that my stories will be passed on by all.

May the will of Corrilon be in your favor,

The Blade of Corrilon