my views on odyssey

The past two days have been a cultural blur for me. Of course, every student likes Odyssey more than their everyday classes but sometimes i can't help but feel like some of the classes are just so ridiculous. Last odyssey i got stuck in dancing wheelchairs. Now i have nothing against the disabled, but it wasn't even people dancing in wheelchairs. It was one handicapped lady and two normal dancers. What is the point of that? There are always those certain classes that everyone fights over to get into, for example this year it was cake decorating. I feel like the only classes that end up being beneficial are those that dip into arts that we haven't been exposed to as well as the ones that we actually all really want to take. It's hard to sit through an hour of something your just really not into. It just ends up making me want to fall asleep the whole time. On the other hand, there are some classes that sound really lame but end up being pretty interesting. For example, this year i somehow ended up in The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, now i know that's random as hell, that's what i said when i first looked at it, but going into the class it was really interesting to hear how much more there really was behind his movies. I had no idea the amount of planning and thought were behind his movies. He spends up to a year just planning one movie, he sits down with (i dont remember the name of the job) but the person who draws the story board and they figure out EVERY shot. That's crazy. He had an idea of how he wanted everything to be done in his films, and if someone didn't agree, it was his way or the highway. I've never even seen an Alfred Hitchcock movie and i was able to appreciate this. Odyssey is a good way to expose people to different things you would never even think twice about, but half the time you get stuck in so many bs classes that its kind of pointless.

survival of the fittest

It is human nature to strive for survival, even under the most extreme conditions. So who are we to judge people who resorted to cannibalism in order to survive? Sure, at first reaction everyone says, "I would never do that, i'd rather die" but when it comes down to it, i have never heard of anyone who actually chose to die over survival. Take the Donner party ( it might be not be Donner, i don't really know, i'm guessin though) for example, during the pioneer era they got lost on the oregon trail and had to resort to cannibalism. This type of survival skill is ageless. But is there some sick enjoyment out of cannibalism? In the article we read, it started to sound like the survivors were almost enjoying the devouring of other people by the end, they were talking about the flavor of the marrow.... that's pushing it. Even in horror films such as Texas chainsaw massacre, the idea of enjoyment of cannibalism is present. Sure, hollywood always blows things out of proportion to make us cringe, but i feel like there might really be some psychological thing behind it. After all, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is based off a true story. It's one of those things that you sit back and think, "who the hell would do that..." As middle to upclass students living in a wealthy area, sheltered by our parents as well as most of the older generation in the area, there is a 99.9% chance that none of us will never have to be in any situation. but given the .1% chance, i think people's opinion of cannibalism would change. Personally, if it really came down to it, i think i would go ahead and resort to cannibalism. When there is no choice but to take extreme measures, then survival of the fittest comes into play.