Why We Play

     One motivation for why we play is for social contact. A large amount of the time kids are playing video games, it is with someone else. Whether they are physically together playing or just chatting through a headset, they are communicating and they feel good because they aren't alone. Jane McGonigal also talks about this during her Ted Talk. She talked about how video games create a social fabric and she even mentions how people like others more after playing games with them whether they are on the same team or not because it creates unity.
     Another motivation for playing games is there are goals and challenges in them. These keep us motivated because we want the best rewards possible and the challenges help us get there. McGonigal also hits on this point in her Ted Talk. She says that there's always something to be done when playing games and we get constant feedback when playing games. These are things that don't really happen as often in real life. McGonigal also says that people are always willing to work with you online which is another thing that isn't always true in the real world.

Football High

     There are some common themes that appear in both "A Variety of Religious Experience" and "Football High". Among them are religion, rules, transportation, social class, and more. I'm going to be focusing on religion and social class. Football can be associated with religion because much like religion, football generally has a specific day that it's played on which is on Sundays. Both football and religion satisfy our need for our psyche and our spirit. They both also make most people feel good and both teach lessons in different ways. This relates to "Football High" because in it, football and religion go hand in hand. The coach of the Shiloh football team is the son of the pastor of the church they all go to. Also, the church is the one that is paying for the team, essentially giving it the success it has.
     Social class also plays a role in this. In "A Variety of Religious Experience", it discusses how there really isn't any cultural background required to play team sports. This is a true statement for the most part, but in "Football High" it tells the story about how some families move around to different schools because their kid isn't getting enough playing time. This shows that in certain areas, you need money to become successful at team sports.

Mansome vs. Boys Will Be Boys

     In the article Boys Will Be Boys by Guy Garcia, he talks how companies try to advertise to "The Average Man". He goes on to explain that there really is no such thing as an average man because all men are so different and enjoy different things and have different styles. This is also shown in the Mansome documentary because they gave men different topics and many responded different ways. An example is shaving their body. Some said that they did and they liked it while others said they let it grow out because they don't care. 

     In the article, Garcia also talks about metro sexuality. This is when men are almost obsessed with grooming themselves and looking good, something that females are generally known for rather than males. The article talks about how this has become a sort of slur and has a negative connotation. In the video, this is sort of proven because many of the men in the video agreed that metrosexual has become a bad term and one of them said that he didn't know anyone who would be proud to be a metrosexual. 

     Boys Will Be Boys also mentioned how men's magazines are becoming more and more like women's magazines. It states that these magazines are, "serving up testosterone-ized versions of women's magazine staples on beauty, health, and relationships." Mansome also describes this concept and said that men's magazines are treating men how women's magazines treat women. They do this by placing strong expectations on them such as having good abs, big muscles, good hair, etc.