Response to "Brainwashed"

Find "Brainwashed" Here!

Acknowledging the Lizard
This "lizard" that is highlighted in the fourth lever refers to "the part of our brain that worries about safety and dishes out anger."  It is the part of our brain that obeys punishment by resorting back to following the norm and being nothing more than a cog in the machine, and for this reason it is also referred to as "the resistance."  What Godwin suggests is that as artists we must take the risk and go against what the resistance once, and it is risks that lead to rewards.  So rather than obey the lizard, acknowledge it so that we can deny it.

Connect
I chose to summarize this lever because what I have heard more than anything in all of the Media classes I have taken thus far is NETWORK.  Media is all about networking.  Godwin is trying to say the same thing by outlining "connect" as a lever.  He offers that our generation should embrace the availability of communication that we have in these times.  There is more ability than ever to connect and reach out to others because of the internet and social networking.  In the world of creative work this is advantageous because once creative work reaches out and connects with others, work will come to the artist.

Connections to the Blog
The "connect" lever is very directly related to the blog.  Blogging is one of the various new forms of social media that allows us to connect to others.  Not that I am going to use this blog to get my work out, but I see it as a trial run.  I am learning how to make a blog, so when I am more organized and start to create my own work I can use a blog to get my work out there and connect to people.  I think this is realistic because since I have started the blog I have thought of different blogs I could create to demonstrate my work in the future.
As far as "Acknowledging the Lizard" I guess it can kind of relate because instead of a professor being very strict about our assignment the blogs are very open, which could allow us to take risks if we want.  I guess it is kind of like the resistance isn't really there, and thats why we are enabled to use our creativity to the fullest.
I don't think that these assignments are a waste of time.  They allow us to explore different parts of our creativity, without really forcing in a certain direction.  There is a lot of room for us to take these projects in whatever direction we want and I think that is what is good about it.