Max+C's+OpEd+Article

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 * I've Learned Everything I Need to Know From Movies, Video Games, Music, and Life Experiences (More or less)**

by Max "AstroMax" Castro

Everyone has asked it at least once in their life. Teachers cringe when it's asked. It's the ultimate question that we all think about on a daily basis, but for the most part don't ask it out loud.

The question I'm talking about is the one-and-only,

"When will this help me in real life?"

This question branches off into several other questions such as,

"Why do I need to know what a square root is?" "Will learning about tariffs and bills get me laid?" and "George Washington is dead so who cares?"

For me, my personal little banes of educational existence are intermediate algebra and chemistry. Fourth period I schlep to Gaspard's and listen to her ramble about numbers and how important they are. One fateful day however, she told us something unusual. She said that if we were to ever compute trajectory for missiles, we would need to pay attention to the lesson.

I didn't listen.

Tuesday through Friday I have seventh period chemistry with Mrs. Hunt and a gaggle of sophomores. Not only does nothing make sense in that class, but it's all useless, and those kids are more rambunctious than a coked-up transvestite from east LA. The only thing that's keeping me from pressing a stapler to my neck and pressing down until I'm gargling my own blood is the promise that things will get better as soon as I leave that Geib-forsaken room. I believe that other classes such as English, History, and Spanish will probably come in handy. Everything else however, just seems like I'm wasting my time for the most part. Let's get hypothetical; if I drop all my classes excluding the ones that I just mentioned, what knowledge would replace it? What would I spend my day doing? It's an easy question with an even easier answer. I'd spend my day listening to music, playing video games, watching movies, and getting out. My view is that we as a human race learn much more efficiently through various mediums of art, story telling, and personal experience. //Being stuck inside a classroom an hour and a half is not an experience worth remembering or cherishing.//



One of my favorite movies of all time is The Big Lebowski. Which at face-value seems basically like a slacker adventure comedy. But coming from a deep philosophical standpoint, The Big Lebowski is a way of life. And watching this movie has certainly changed my life. It taught me the ways of 'taking it easy', why I shouldn't be out of my element, and how to just say "Fuck it" and leave. For me, a good movie is about something I can relate to, and The Big Lebowski definitely is something relatable for not just me, but all of us. In this hustle and bustle world of traffic, homework, relationships, and insane parents; sometimes you just have to slow down and take a breather. The Dude abides, and so should you.



For those of you who don't know; I'm a nerd. I love wasting countless hours and getting carpal tunnel via video games. Critics like Roger Ebert claims that video games "can never be art", but I strongly disagree. Most video games are narratives, filled with unique characters in fantastic surroundings. However in some cases, video games can include much more heavy elements. My favorite example of this is 2007's BioShock. From the image above, one can tell that it is violent and chock full of horrible things. Well... It is. BioShock //is// a shooter, with blood, gore, and a range of colorful expletives. Aside from that though, BioShock is one of the most well developed and best stories ever told. It's a story of urban and moral decay. It's a story of greed and corruption in the heart's of man. It's the story of how utopia can lead to dystopia. And all of this and more is in a video game. Throughout high school we as a class have been subjected to read various novels and accounts. Most of which have left many depressed and/or frustrated. BioShock does almost the same thing, except instead of reading, you're involved with the action -- and the frustration usually stems from dying repeatedly on a harder difficulty. So, what's the point of reading __Things Fall Apart__ when I could just play BioShock? Think about that, Wantz.



Kids will listen to anything these days, and in my opinion, it's all a bunch of superficial-copy-and-pasted bullcrap. Take for example recent internet superstar Rebecca Black and her hit single "Friday". Her song explains how it is Friday and how she has to go to school, go home, and go to a party. It's arguable that this is relatable, and that's what is appealing to it... but for the most part, how many kids actually party //every// Friday like her? Even then, it's not exactly that original. Who hasn't sung about going to a party on Friday night? Geib have mercy on her soul. This brings me to one of my favorite artists ever: Jay Reatard. His music is provoking, original, loud, obnoxious, crunchy, pus-filled, sweaty, and pissed off. All of those things are something I can relate to. The first single off of "Watch Me Fall" (pictured above) is titled "It Ain't Gonna Save Me". A song about, well, Jay feeling crappy. Something we can all relate to. It states "in this bedroom is where I sit/ cause I don't really give a shit". We've all been there before. The rest of the album contains songs about self loathing, trying to change one's wicked ways, and being a stalker. So where am I going with this? I'm trying to say that Jay's music is by itself a lesson on life and death. He's telling his story, hoping that you'll get something out of it. And that's exactly what music in general does. Like movies, novels, or video games, music tells a story. From that story we can decide what knowledge is useful and its apply it in the 'real world'. I think this info is way more invaluable than textbook gibberish that causes information overload for so many students.



My last point in this article is the topic of personal experiences. Every once in a while, something great will happen to us. It can be something small as finding a dollar bill in your back pocket, to big as becoming a world famous blimp pilot. I think that these little-to-big occurrences is what shapes us as individuals. Classroom activity can range from mundane to off-the-walls excitement. 'Fun' classrooms, can be great at first. However with repetition, it gets old, stale, and starts to reek of a rotten educational cheese. The photo above was taken almost two years ago, and on that day, I realized how valuable true friendship is. Now that's something that can't be taught in a classroom. My friends from Santa Clarita came down to Ventucky and we had a beach day. A day that I won't forget. A day filled with laughter, In-and-Out, and awkward photos. High school seems like a good way to make friends, get out there, and write a story. However, I think that for the most part, it's a breeding ground for festering rumors, a resentment for deep thinking, and all-in-all -- really sucky stories. Life can do that too, but at least if you're out and about and not in a confined area, you have more breathing room.

I'm still young and don't really know //that much//, but in the end, I think that my self-education with media and life-living is more important than forced-academia. I don't think we should have to learn something that won't personally benefit us. That's why it's up to us teach ourselves through different mediums of art and personal experience.