First movie watched in the theater

I don't exactly remember my first movie I saw in the theater, but the one I can recall was Matrix back in 2000.  It was a night that the family would spend dinner together and then watch a movie at the theater near my home.  I remember my dad was more excited to see it than the rest of the family.  But since I am my father's daughter, I was pretty excited to see it as well.  We never were into watching new releases right when they came out, so we didn't have to buy tickets in advance.  As we walked into the theater, we took our seats in the middle of the room.  I remember always wondering where the projection of the movie was coming from.  My dad showed me the window of the backroom.  I was fascinated with how the room setup would look like and what I would find on the inside.

Of course, no one was allowed in there.  Still intrigued by the mysterious room, I would constantly check back to look at the room.  Since the movie hadn't started, I decided to take a small peek into the room because curiosity got the best of me.  To my surprise, I found a middle-aged man standing next to the projector.  I knew someone had to work the projector, but he startled me enough to send me back to my seat.  The movie started to play and I was immersed into the storyline.  With the crisp sound from the giant speakers and the movie projected on a humungous screen, all I could do was glue my eyes to the movie.

Over the years, I've realized I no longer crave that same experience.  I'll watch movies in the comfort of my own home even though there are other things to easily distract me from fully experiencing the movie.  Every now and then, I'll go to the movies with friends, but it's no longer the same. Maybe it's the busy lifestyle or the stress of money consumption, but overall it is a feeling I miss.

Essay 3 Idea

Should video games be played in schools?  Some people believe video games are a waste of time, especially a concern for parents.  Parents worry that their children are devoting too much time to their video games, instead of going outside to play sports or with neighborhood kids.  However, Jane McGonigal believes video games help children and that they should actually be playing more.  She thought if time was devoted to the right type of games, it would work in the children's favor.  She researches the affects of video games on society.  She discovered that video games bring out the passion, drive, positive emotions, bring about social relationships with others.  She also brought up that there was an emergence of cooperative games instead of competitive games, teaching children to work together and overcome the same goals.

Jane's research led to the discovery of eustress, positive stress that people tap into as a psychological state.When society can control their own outcomes, they tend to do better and feel more positive.  She believes that people tend to be more motivated, energized, positive, and willing to ask help.  She gave an example about a golf game.  In reality, if someone was frustrated with getting the ball in the hole, they would pick it up and put it in the hole.  However, in a game, they have to find a way to put it in the hole, supporting creativity and perseverance.  This leads to practicing something that you haven't done before.

Even callers are agreeing with Jane Mcgonigal's claim.  One teacher expressed her concern of technology interfering with children's capability of critical thinking and problem solving.  When she gave those types of problems on a piece of paper, they showed little interest.  But when it was computerized,  they went right to work and worked together as a team and developed more skills.

Jane McGonigal does talk about some bad aspects.  She promoted playing video games more often than parents would like them to.  But after about 23 hours per week, she says her research shows that is when benefits start to decrease.