CONNECT

Ok, so here’s what I’ve got:

Peep culture: unscripted entertainment that we use to consume other peoples’ real lives

Pop culture: scripted entertainment from actors.

People in this day in age spend their lives looking in on other people’s lives, whether it’s through facebook, twitter, myspace, or tumblr. We go to seek new connections, find lost friends, or look at pictures of cats with funny sayings underneath. What Dr. Fletcher asked was are we really connecting? Or are we simply glorified peeping Toms (just as bad as Degas).

In some ways, I believe facebook and the like can help foster better relationships with people. A person can find out up to the minute what someone’s day is out. Something interesting on facebook or twitter is a fantastic conversation starter and often more original than “Doesn’t Ohio weather suck?!”

Think a boy is cute? Pop over to his facebook profile and see if he’s single before you make the move. You can double check to see if he’s dating that girl he’s constantly with, or if he’s really interested in super cute dancer boy in your INST class.

Granted, in some ways this is kindof creepy. Starting a conversation with “I saw on your facebook…” can often come off as a bit stalker like. This connotation is slowly starting to fade though. We are broadcasting our lives and we must be prepared to respond to the audience.

There is a famous acting teacher, Jerzy Grotowski. He believed that theatre should be stripped of all the costumes, lights, scenery, and general glamour and be about one thing: the relationship between actor and spectator. He encouraged his pupils to reach out to the spectators and make the theatre they perform make the audience think about their own lives. (note: I’ve spent the past 20 minutes trying to reword that phrase…I just cant).

In a way, I believe that is what we are doing when we scroll through our facebook newsfeed. We are reaching out and trying our damndest to connect with people. Isn’t that what this is supposed to be about? Connecting?