ISP Blog Post #6

     JPod by Douglas Coupland is a novel that focuses primarily on 6 individuals working together in a video game design company in Vancouver, Canada. The group consists of 4 males and 2 females. Everyone in the group has their own specific characteristics, but it the females in particular that have somewhat negative personality traits. Both the females have stereotypical characteristics. Bree is known to be very promiscuous, she gains a large amount of her self worth from the validation of men. She actively looks to impress men rather than look inward to impress herself and find her won self worth. Kaitlyn on the other hand holds a spot on the other end of the spectrum. She is snide and sarcastic, and she is referred as a "bitch" several times throughout the text.

     The books also deals heavily with feminism in itself. There is a strong female character, of whom is a feminist. But every time it is mentioned, a satirical and mocking tone is used. This leads to a point in the plot where she has been swayed to no longer be a strong female character, this degrades feminism and more or less treats it like a joke.

     Thesis: Although Coupland does portray women in JPod, he does so in a way the perpetrates the stereotypical characteristics of women as well as makes an active effort to marginalize feminism and portray it as a joke.  

ISP Blog Post #5

     For this post I will be viewing Douglas Coupland's JPod through the lens of the reader response theory. In order to grasp a clear concept of what is going on the book, I had to learn about certain aspects of the video game industry. I learned some while I read and through additional research I found information to help my understanding.

     The video game industry is a rapid paced environment filled with excitement and deadlines. Many diverse people with different backgrounds, skills, and personality traits work together to reach a common goal. In JPod, Coupland showcases 6 individuals working together to make a video game. They are all very different and unique. In fact, they should not even be working together. But Coupland puts them together through words to showcase the idealism of working together. When I was first reading I was concerned because the book appeared to have no concrete plot or any kind of chronological events. There were times when the book was focused on the game they were designing, then the book would move to the protagonist's mother suddenly having homosexual tendencies. At the time it was a big deal, but the very next page we're back to the game, as if it never happened. The group known as "JPod" also play games in the book. One in particular was them looking for a certain number in the first ten thousand digits of pie. Coupland included all ten thousand digits in the book, taking up over 50 pages. Although this seems completely random at first, it is clear the Coupland is doing this to make a reference to the ever changing and adaptive game industry. Just like the industry, the employees have to be just as malleable, and the constant change of plot and topic reflects this.

     JPod in many ways, reflects life. Life is not plotted out. Life does not have a predetermined beginning middle and end. Life changes, life can change at the drop of hat, much like how JPod does. When something major happens and people act like it never happened, is accurately representing how humans move on from changes in their life. Whether it is death or other significant changes, we persevere. This is exactly what JPod is depicting. From the view of reader response, I believe that having a basic understanding of the human life you are currently living is enough to understant the ever changing and adaptive environment that JPod so relentlessly depicts.

Blog Post #4

ISP Blog Post #4: Feminism

            Jpod is a book the analyzes and exposes the employees and people involved in the ever growing video game industry. Although Coupland does not create a story that necessarily moves in chronological order, he does use his writing to develop characters in an intimate and thorough way that many writers may not have the ability to do. With that said, Coupland does show uniqueness among characters, but also creates a hierarchy of people. From a feminist perspective, it is clear that women are not represented in the same way that men are. For starters, the amount of male characters highly exceeds the amount of female characters. However, it should be noted that the video game industry contains mostly male employees. So I believe that Coupland is making an accurate representation of the industry in his novel.

            JPod, although it has frantic descriptions and off beat storylines, has a clear message when it comes to discussing women. The two women in the actual “JPod” crew are Kaitlyn and Bree. Both are very unique in their own way, but share a similar personality characteristic. They both are presumed to be promiscuous and sexual beings who use femininity to perhaps obtain certain goals. Bree is known as being one who is constantly trying to impress men. Coupland wrote this character in a way that exhibits her need of an opposite sex partner for emotional validation. “My co-worker Bree was trying to impress this snobby French guy, and she wore a stinky Parisian floral fart perfume to work.” (Coupland, 286) This characteristic portrayed by Bee suggests that it is the responsibility of women to seek out mates. It also suggests that women must have to change certain aspects of themselves solely for the admiration and validation of the opposite sex.

            Coupland does make observations about the lack of women in the video game industry in Jpod. However, I believe he does this in a way that is somewhat biased. “"So this is where you work." She glowered at the pod. "I see just one woman here. What's your name?" "Kaitlin." "Kaitlin, how can you possibly work in a space where there's not even one other woman and the possibility of synchronizing ovulation cycles?" "Legally,” (Coupland, 288) In this quote, John Doe’s mother is making a remark in regards to the lack of females working in the game company. But in the sentence where she makes the remark of syncing ovulation cycles, I believe she is inferring that it be necessary for women to be around other women. It takes away from Kaitlin’s independence as a woman, and makes it seem as though she cannot handle working with primarily men.

            This book also briefly examines the need for masculinity in a man’s life. This does not exactly resonate with feminism, but should be mentioned because it is a subtle examination of gender roles in our society. “I said, "John never told us his family called him crow." "It is his name. But I respect his right and need as a male to generate a name that supports his masculinity in the cheerless environment of technology." (Coupland, 290) In essence, this quote is making a commentary of how as men, we are born somewhat neutral in how masculinity affects us as individuals. But as the quote explains, society pressures us by social norms that force certain aspects of psyche onto us.

            It was interesting dissecting feminism within JPod. Although it is not a key theme within the book, Coupland does use his book to make subtle observations of gender roles in our society.

           

            

Issues in JPod and the Video Game Industry- Addiction

     Video games, something that has dominated the kid and teen culture for decades, and is a key part of today's entertainment industry. The largest demographic of people who access this form of entertainment are teens and young adults. Most are able to balance video games along with school, work, family, and friends. However, some are not able to do so. If teens are spending too much time playing video games, or downplaying/lying about how long they are in front of a screen, chances are they may be addicted.
     But what is an addiction? When we play video games, certain parts of our brain are being exercised. Obviously hand-eye coordination is present, but it can go deeper than that. Something as simple as beating a high score can access the reward centers of our brain and release a chemical called dopamine, this is the same chemical that makes humans feel high when they consume drugs. This is a good feeling for humans as a species. The work of psychologists such as Sigmund Freud show that humans have a drive to feel pleasure and avoid pain. Because of this, some individuals may become obsessed with the mental reward that comes with beating a high score or beating the game in whole.
     Another key aspect of video game addiction is the role play. We make these characters unique, we use them as an extension or mirror of ourselves in a made up, fictional world. For a young person who has an anti-social personality, or has unstable relationships with peers or parents may turn to their online lives as an escape from reality. The relationships they form on the internet are as real to them as the ones in real life. But unlike reality, they offer positive reinforcement that keeps the gamer invested in a virtual world. The notion of exploring a virtual world for the first time also offers a thrill to the player, again rewarding the pleasure centers of the brain, providing additional positive reinforcement to continue playing games.
     Because of its sporadic nature and heavily marginalized demographic, video game addiction has been relatively hard to study and document. It is not a mental disorder recognized by the American Medical Association, but the World Health Organization has concluded that video game addiction can have similar cognitive effects on the development of young people. As troubling as this is, video games are here to stay. It is our job to stay educated, and stay aware of how much of our lives we are using to escape reality. Stepping outside and breathing some fresh air is always a good place to start.

ISP Blog Post #2

ISP Blog Post #2

            As I continue to read Jpod, I still find that there is a lack of concrete plot. Because of this, there is no catalyst to push character development to it’s full potential. Without this, it can be difficult for a reader to distinguish a specific and individual specific meaning from the book. The “plot” does focus primarily on a video came design firm. My previous knowledge of a post industrial society leads me to believe that one must be unique and adaptable to be successful in a modern workplace. Jpod focuses heavily on the quirks and individualistic characteristics of each member of the company’s staff. One example would be the games that Jpod plays. An example would be where they all wrote descriptions of themselves as if they were being sold on craigslist. The winner would receive a prize. All of the descriptions were very precise and really contrast and compare each character of the book. I feel as though the author did this purposefully to show to extremes that one must go in order to stay effective. I think that is the meaning that Jpod is trying to convey. Individually, quirks and personality traits make a person truly unique. But together, unique individuals come together to make a dynamic and productive team. With my knowledge of the information age, I feel as though Jpod is trying to parallel the word that we live, and will potentially work in. 

ISP Blog 1

Jpod ISP Blog 1

            I would just like to start off by saying that this book is absolute hilarity, I just breezed through it and very much look forward to reading the rest.

Right from the get go, people look for some sort of plot in a book. This is okay because that’s what is expected from them as a reader. I found this to be somewhat difficult because I cannot distinguish a cohesive plot in this novel. The book is centred around 6 people working in a video game company. Because they all have a last name starting with J, they were nicknamed “Jpod”. I find in the first fifth, there has been no inciting incidences to move the plot along. Yes there have been events in the book that impact the protagonist, but do not seem to have an impact on the actual storyline as a whole. Ethan, the protagonist, is a near thirty game developer who understands what it’s like to work hard to get where he needs to be. The most interesting and question raising aspect of Ethan’s personality is his trait to not be phased by anything. *SPOILER* Just in the first fifth of the book, he helped his mom hide a dead body, caught his dad cheating on his mom, and helped his brother harbour 20 or so illegal immigrants. Even though all of those things are completley ludacris, Ethan shakes it off like it’s something a little weird that happened to him. Because of this lack of plot so far, I have several questions as to how stories will unfold. Copeland does not use any kind of foreshadowing that I can tell, so the book is an almost huge grey area. Hovever, Copeland does give a very interesting view of the post-industrial society. He potrays his chacters as cunning and adaptable, two key characteristics of the post-industrial workforce. Considering they are working in a video game company, these characteristics have to be present to show the “Nerdyness” of the characters. With that said, the lack of plot does make this boom seem like the almost existential crisis that people seem to not realise it is. As I read, I have yet to figure out what the universal truth behind this book is, and that is troubleing to me. As enjoyable as it is, the book is sometimes a chore to analyze simply because nothing really happens. As a become more comfortable with the book, I find it a tad easier to analyze this text. Maybe as the book progresses, a more clear ideology will become clear. Beside the parallel to today’s society, I can’t find any other views. Maybe this one track book is making it hard for a reader to become intimate with the text. I feel as though there is a distance between me and this book because there isn’t really that much that appelas to human emotion. It’s not non-fiction, but it certainly has that flavour sometimes. As a reader that can be refreshing, or it can be annoying. I am still on the fence about this. Hopefully I can become more involved as a read further. 

Essay Writing

     As a student who has written several essays over my years in school, I have come to notice many characteristics that are prominent within my writing. First off, I feel as though I have a keen knowledge of language and flow that allows a reader to be directly successfully through a text. After writing several essays in courses heavily rooted from social sciences, I have developed a voice that reflects professionalism, objectiveness, and poise. Having written such essays, I have become quite practiced in terms of using statements backed up by facts. Although some essays are formed around the author's opinion, I feel as though solid evidence is needed to back up every point in the author's writing. I do this to avoid biases in my essays.
     I also am quite proficient at crafting a essay question/thesis that is broad enough to allow at least 3 points, but also precise enough to not be a generalization. This allows for a paper with a meaty body that doesn't trail off  or ramble on.

     Something that I need to improve on is organization. I feel that even though I have good ideas, I have a difficult time organizing them on paper. With better organization, writing a persuasive paper would be much easier. Perhaps the use of more proof reads and edits would help solve this issue. I also have some problems with correctly citing information. I want to be academically honest with my writing, but sometimes a substantial amount of information can be hard to keep track of.

     A goal for this course would be to take the appropriate amount of time to craft a proper essay. In the past, I have procrastinated on papers. Unfortunately, this caused me to miss several key aspects of  a good essay that I could have corrected if I gave myself more time.