I know the class is essentially over,
but I wanted to make up my blog posts on principle; I just didn’t feel right
not doing them. So, I’ll just be summarizing the chapters I read and offering a
little commentary (I would like to still do a movie review, but it will
probably have to wait until after finals. We’ll see). Chapter 1 of the Watts
book reports on Walt’s early life: his fascination with his hometown and its
values, its impact on his creativity, and its popularity despite the decline of
small town America.
I can’t help but wonder what things
would have been like if Walt hadn’t grown up in such a small, idyllic,
idealistic community. I have similar feelings of where I grew up-I lived in the
neighborhood across from my elementary school, and it was small for us because
we lived in a tiny subdivision of the neighborhood. I could spend all day
running and walking and playing and I was safe, because there was nowhere to
go. Being in the absolute heart of Orlando, we could walk out into the middle
of our street and see all the fireworks from every theme park anytime there was
a celebration. We had annual passes and spent every Friday night at Disney, and
I spent every free day either playing in my room or vanishing outside for hours
on end. Everyone loved each other and it was great, and I know for sure it had
an effect on me. Some people I know think I’m too nice, and I contribute it to
my upbringing. I never needed to know how to “put up a fight” or be really assertive
because nothing bad or confrontational ever really happened there.
Furthermore, growing up this way
left me comfortable and happy enough to let my imagination and creativity do as
they pleased; I imagine that this would have impacted Walt as well, in addition
to the fact that his portrayal of the rural Midwest stems partially from the
fact that he spent very little time in it as a child. When one finds that
environment that provides the perfect conditions for this sort of dreaming,
it’s going to be painful every time one has to be pulled away from it, and this
happened to Walt quite frequently.
It makes a particular amount of
sense to me because I think my childhood had a big impact on my career choice-I
grew up in this wholesome little place and spent most of my time playing video
games, usually those made by Nintendo. Nintendo has always marketed themselves
as a family and children’s company and to me they always appeared more
optimistic and light about the future of gaming than any other company would. I
owe them for making the vast majority of my childhood into the bliss that I
remember it to be, so by deciding I would like to one day work for them I not
only return the favor they gave me but I also increase the odds that I may
capture some of that childhood idealism. It didn’t occur to me until now, but
it makes perfect sense to me that many of Walt’s career endeavors reflected
this same thought process-I don’t know why the Watts book carries so many
accounts if his friends and family finding this surprising, because now it
seems so obvious.
Overall, the kind of read that’s
better the second time around. The first time I read this chapter I was so
focused on looking for details that would be relevant to my presentation that
the real substance of it was lost on me, so I’m glad I did this post and forced
myself to revisit it.
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