Dr. Kyburz
College Writing 1
August 28, 2014
"This is Water" Response
The excerpt of the speech by Doctor David Foster Wallace featured in the video entitled "This is Water" initially struck me as just another lecture from a higher educated person about how important something as overlooked as water is. However, after watching just half of the video, I realized that that message was not based on water or it's physical properties as defined by chemistry, or even about how important something like water is. Instead, the author used the water as a simile to portray the true message of his excerpt, that we as human beings tend to overlook some of the most essential things in life because we are too focused on the stress and problems only in our lives instead of looking at the world around us. It was the use of that simile that I liked most about this excerpt. I found his use of the comparison to be effective because. unfortunately, most people do not realize that water is the essence of life and perhaps the most important compound that can be composed by the elements.
In the video, Doctor Foster uses the reference of the two young fish as nearly graduating college students about to embark on their journey we call life, and the adult fish as someone who is experiencing the life that the two young fish are embracing for. The context meaning behind that brief moment of personification is that the water in the bowl is the life the fish share, just as the world in which we inhabit is shared and does not revolve around ourselves. The message conveyed by the simple use of goldfish in a bowl is what I liked best about the video, and the message itself as well.
What I found to be quite clever about the video excerpt was the use of the text and video that was directed and integrated into the speech by Doctor Foster. The scenarios illustrated in the video were matched so perfectly with the words of Doctor Foster and it really helped enhance the permanence and understanding of the purpose of the video, to look at life through more than just my "default setting", as Doctor Foster had phrased it. The use of so many scenarios in doctor's speech created an awful lot of images in the listeners mind, thus bringing the attention of the listeners away from the main point and too focused on trying to imagine themselves as that programmed adult living their depressing, routinized life. The illustrations provided help to eliminate that problem by providing a demonstration of that programmed adult and enhanced the audience's understanding by providing the text coupled with the illustrations and the facial expressions of the adults in their times of frustration. The compare and contrast effect between the male and female shopper in the scenes of the check-out line also helped me understand how much more beneficial it is to look at my surroundings with more than just me "default setting." The creative ways the directors used to enhance the understanding of the message of the film is what I found most clever and insightful.
In short, the film did not fail in reaching my utmost consciousnesses by making me see in a different lite, so to speak. I too, like so many others, spend my days on a routine constructed by myself and concentrate my concerns on only myself. After hearing and seeing this message, I now realize that yes, I do have options, and yes, I can choose to make the best of my routine by seeing things in a different manor. To open up more to the world around me and to be more considerate to the people around me, for I am unaware of how severe their situations may be or may have been. I can honestly say that I was touched by this video and I will now think twice before I loose my temper because of life's everyday inconveniences.
