The WaldenPonders Mission: Media Conversation and Conservation

We as individuals explore ourselves in search of the imprint we can leave
on the world. Maybe it's through having a family, altruism, teaching, an invention, a medical breakthrough, an archaeological discovery, a positive review from the New York Times, travel, or simply an Aristotelian "Good Life."

As a consumer of media my entire life, I have developed a passion for assimilating myself into the culture of pop culture.

Media is fascinating, informative, entertaining, powerful, and self-reflexive, among countless identifiers. I have often wondered about the worth of media consumption, considering most of the above comparisons seem to hinder the validity of entertainment endeavors.

Is media worth the study, the commitment, the conviction, the obsession, the breath, the very existential crisis it evokes?

The debate between media's intrinsic value and its superficiality will never disappear, but unarguably, the world of media shapes our everyday lives. 
Popular culture references have not only infiltrated but become ingrained, intertwined, and inextricably present within the vernacular and conscience of society. 

Whether you're above the line, below the line, drawing it, or unaware of it, our lives have changed and will continue to be changed by the great seducer that is media.

There are the performers who make us happy,  make us laugh, make us cry, make us react. There are the producers and businesspeople who make sure there's something on the horizon to garner our reactions. There are the writers who invent life, the directors who arrange and nurture the vision, and the background players who construct and color the world vibrant.

Then, there are the observers, the ones who, if they cannot or choose not to contribute directly to creation, appreciate the creativity before them. Some of those observers work towards honoring and preserving the art form so appreciation can be transcendent - the historians, the curators, the archivists, the examiners, the storytellers, and the lovers of media. It is in this group that I consider myself a member, a fellow observer dedicated to conservation and conversation as it relates to media.

It is my hope that WaldenPonders can be a contribution to these ideals and allow others to share in a passion and reverence for all things entertainment.
                                                                           - Courtney Walden{Ponders}