The Two Things I Hate Most in the World: Weak Main Characters and Blaming Technology for Your Own Failures

I hate Titus. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him. I hate everything he stands for too. He is a dumb, stereotypical frat boy, who turns a blind eye on anything and everything that could be important to him, and to the world. Titus doesn’t have an original bone in his body. He never makes a move that isn’t suggested by someone else. I don’t understand why Anderson would want to make HIM the main character. I would have loved to  see this whole travesty from Violet’s point of view.

I’m sure Anderson wanted to force the idea that we (Americans, specifically) are brainless and unaware of what is happening around us, but I have never been one to think that way. In fact, while I know a lot of people that really only look into the issues of American life instead of globally, but I have NEVER met someone that didn’t care about anything other than themselves. I live and grew up in the “technological age” and while the older generations wail that we don’t know how to have meaningful conversation and we have no idea of how to do things the old-fashioned way, I don’t believe that could possibly be true. If, for instance, we were all thrust into the 1920s I’m certain that - in a technological and social sense - we would all get along fine, ignoring possible slang barriers.

So what if I, as an adult, would prefer to buy my clothes or find christmas presents online instead of going into a store? Who cares if I would like to spend an evening Netflix-ing with my boyfriend and cheap take-out instead of going to the movies and dinner? Times are changing, yes but in no way are they changing for the worse. Parents like to argue that their kids just want to sit inside and play video games all day, but they have no right to blame technology for their inability to say no to their children. Yes, children want to do what is fun, not what is best for them, they are like dogs in some ways: If my dog wanted to eat a chocolate chip cookie, I wouldn’t give it to her just because she wants it. Chocolate could kill her, so I’ll give her dog food and be the responsible party. You can’t blame everything on technology, and I’m afraid that that was exactly what M.T. Anderson was trying to do.