Welcome...and initial guidelines...

This blog will be used in the spring of 2008 by 80+ students at Drexel University to investigate the effects of Iraq on culture and the reverse. Our goal will be to better understand why the US is in Iraq, and to question whether literature can help us on this journey.

Weekly plans and other materials will always be posted in Vista, not this blog. So go to Bb Vista to get the discussion prompts and other instructions.

I intend this blog to manage our discussions and track our collective investigation.

You should have received an email from me inviting you to become a contributor to this blog. The email was sent Monday afternoon to your official Drexel email address.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Real World Lives On

As the war in Iraq has trudged on, young people have clearly been exposed to the horrors of war. As most of the men and women who are in the military over in Iraq are in there twenties, it is clear that their experience have had a direct effect on pop culture. One connection I find most intriguing is the effect the war in Iraq has had on the MTV show Real World.

Real World has been an MTV cornerstone show for over a decade now. In today’s reality show infatuated era, it is odd to have the same reality show, different seasons and casts obviously, running on air for such a long period of time.

I deem that the show has seen such great success because the effects young soldiers have faced in Iraq. The media’s daily reports show young people dying overseas everyday. Because of this people are eager to tune in to MTV’s Real World show and watch people getting drunk and having fun with no cares in the world. It allows viewers to believe, just for a half hour a week, that somewhere in the world, a place exists where young people can kick back and half fun with not a care in the world.

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