If you look at what sells and what is popular you'll notice a consistent similarity, accessibility. What is hard to pinpoint is the chicken, or egg. Are most popular novels, films and [yes] videogames accessible because of their designed ease of use? Or have we as a society with varied taste, agreed to trim the fat and subconsciously conclude that this is close to what we'd generally find appealing?
Are we a culture that is growing more acclimated to wiki-pages, status updates and news feeds of our filtered choice?
New media has helped me a great deal in, well, reaching you. I know exactly when and where to post an article like this. I can kinda manipulate this situation to get you to click on it and [hopefully] read what I've written.
But what if its the other way around?
What if we aren't the cat?
What if we're the hand?
What if our hands are being held to the bitter end? Leading us to witnessing a goal achieved. A goal we didn't play a part in or invested heavily into. Whoa bro, gettin' a little heavy for a post featuring a cat clip aren't we?
We see this in games all the time, Normal mode is the new Easy. But every blockbuster movie [sorry Avengers fans], every popular novel [I actually kinda like Katniss] features a story, or characters battling very surmountable odds.
Is this because we live in an age of instant gratification? Maybe.
Sidenote: I see more able-bodied people use that little ramp indentation in sidewalks, more than I see the wheelchair-bound. True, there are more people on two legs than there are people in wheelchairs, but I've seen people form a line in order to use this newly adapted piece of street architecture. The engineer in me thinks that a good invention helps all. The poverty-stricken, and once wheelchair-addled Isaiah thinks "Wow, you people are getting lazier!"
Digressions aside, I think you should know that I wanted to write about a lot of things. Actually, I have, I just don't know how to present it to you, in a manner in which you'd read it. In all honesty, I'm kinda in a hurry*. So I put a cat in my post, which is guaranteed about ten thousand clicks before the start of the new week.
I'm holding your hand. I'm not challenging you, because you aren't interested in that. You're interested in the facade of obstacle. I'm basing this off the games you play, the movies you watch, and the books you read. You are not interested in being challenged. You want to see this link on Twitter, Facebook and a number of other sites that have made your life slightly less cumbersome.
So look at the cat struggle with getting food out. Geez, why he so adorable!? Then look at the human interaction, or lack there of. Recognize that this is clearly a scenario that has played out several times, hence a camera recording the desired outcome. Then come to your own conclusion. I know what my personal summation is...
Please let us be the cat, and not the hand.
*Going to Cleveland to visit Mom, eat her food, listen to her advice. Hopefully, I'll get to dance at a local bboy/bgirl event and take some photos as well. This little life of mine, I've worked hard at keeping it equal-parts unique and routine.