The show Criminal Minds Is a unique take on the structure of other “cop shows.” At first glance, the show appears to follow the same drawn out plot of every episode of every new crime series. The killer is introduced, the police conduct their investigation, and the killer is put away in some large dramatic fashion. In actuality, it relates greatly to the Present Shock book for this periodical following. In the novel, Rushkoff uses the terms, “scheduled world,” and, “programmed world,” to describe how the presentation of information has evolved. As Rushkoff describes, a scheduled world would give you, “…half an hour to peruse an exhibit at the museum,” while in a programmed world, “…you are strapped into the ride at Disneyland and conveyed through the experience at a predetermined pace”(Rushkoff 88). In the past, stories were told orally or through literature, where one was not confined visually to what was shown on the screen. In the scheduled society, these stories/information would have selectively more freedoms in their telling, contrasting drastically with the now present programmed world. The programmed society on the other hand, would alternatively set you visually on a strict path, which unlike the scheduled society, would allow you to only perceive what the programmer is showing. The concept of the programmed world is largely seen through modern television, specifically episodic series like Criminal Minds. Being a television show, Criminal Minds tells a story with each episode, however the story is seen through variables controlled by the programmer (i.e. the makers of the show), essentially, strapping you into a ride and letting you watch what unfolds like in Rushkoff’s example. The idea of programmed information being in such a way encompasses a good portion of all television out, so how does Criminal Minds stand 

out of the seemingly endless digital crowd of ones and zeros coming together to tell a story? Well, the way the show follows this structural path is quite different from those of it’s sub genre.

Other “cop shows,” look mostly into the chronology of finding the killer through the police and their point of view. However, Criminal Minds pushes these boundaries by telling the story partially from the investigators’ perspectives, but also the criminals (Hence the name-Criminal Minds!). The show seemingly places the point of view from intense and high pressure investigations with officers pulling together clues and evidence to the dark but intriguing view of the criminal. One scene may find the audience seeing the crew of investigators examining the scene of a crime to create a profile while the very next scene could show the antagonist of the episode going after sheepish victims. This idea of the story being told from two places at once is constantly seen throughout each episode of the series, and is shown, albeit in a different way in the novel. In Present Shock, Rushkoff describes what he calls “Digiphrenia,” or, “…the way our media and technologies encourage us to be in more than one place at the same time”(Rushkoff 12). Throughout the novel, Rushkoff describes how our online presence and our physical presence allow us to appear in multiple places. A person my text or tag or what have you in a certain location, but may physically appear to be in a whole different area. And because digital age technology has been so heavily engrained in society (even taking up our identities), the digital profile may in certain ways have more weight than its real life counterpart. Although this topic is touched on in a slightly different way in the book, Criminal Minds somewhat fits the definition of Digiphrenia. The show uses it’s digital being to give information from seemingly one source but at two different places at once. Not only is information being given from the point of view of the investigators, which could act as the real life person in this scenario, but also from the criminal, or in this case the digital identity. Although both entities make up the same being, in this circumstance the show itself, both project information to the audience from completely different areas. This point of view shift in simple terms is what drives the show to stand out be a long lasting hit show. Not only does it appeal to fans of the crime sub-genre, but it also portrays an important part of the sub-subgenre in a whole new light. 

Works Cited

Rushkoff, Douglas. Present Shock. N.p.: Penguin, 2013. 12-88. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

CBS, . CBS Shows: Criminal Minds. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. <http://www.cbs.com/shows/criminal_minds/>.

In writing celebrity Ernest Hemingway’s biographical novel, A Moveable Feast, Hemingway uses his profound writing experience to tell previous stories throughout bits of his life through journals and separate writings. Hemingway has a very unusual writing style which tends to play around with the traits of descriptive writing. What most stood out to me was how Ernest used descriptive writing to portray or hint at an event while still writing in a way which didn't tell the full story. One instance is seen in the novel around when he is writing about his affair during the winter with another woman, while still holding emotional ties to his wife. Ernest describes the event as a, “…happy and innocent winter in childhood compared to the next year, a nightmare winter disguised as the greatest fun of all…”(Hemingway 179). Hemingway doesn't specifically tell about the events of the winter or address them directly, but rather compares his emotions he attaches to the winter before and the winter of the affair. Ernest continues on with this trend through portions of the novel, continually avoiding details of events which are quite emotionally impactful, such as with his last meeting with Stein. Choosing to write in such a way about these events could likely be from them being taken from excerpts and journals, where Ernest may not have emotionally been able to write about such events in detail, or they could simply be a part of his “signature style,” which Hemingway himself explains. Hemingway describes his writing style as writing a truthful story and taking out bits and various portions to add more meaning to the overall work, which he may have done in the above examples. Although writing with this meaningful mindset is unusual in autobiographical works, because of Ernest being the fantastical writer he is, it is not surprising that it would be the case.

Along with his writing style, Hemingway’s work flows through several different time periods of his life, making the novel slightly more difficult to read, but all the more interesting. Being taken from excerpts and journals from his life, the novel doesn't follow any linear or clear structure, rather opting to highlight points in Hemingway’s earl adulthood career. For most of the novel, Hemingway writes from his early days of writing in Paris, where he describes how little money he made, but how cheap it was to live there. While living in Paris with his wife, Hemingway takes the time to record a variety of experiences with other up and coming writers, some of which such as Fitzgerald become legends engrained in the literary community. The combined factors of highlighting important events rather than minuet details, and writing in a nonlinear style give each event more emphasis and meaning in my eyes. Although the work doesn't necessarily have a chronological following of events, it doesn't need to in order to present a biographical and meaningful story. 

The novel was likely chosen for the class reading because of this unique style of writing, as well as for the ability to study a work from a literary great such as Hemingway. Ernest Hemingway is widely seen as a highly influential and powerful figure in the literary world, which contributed much to the 20th-century fiction. Being able to study how he wrote and see actually what he did when he was writing could allow students to gain more knowledge and skills for their own works. Ernest as well wrote in a very unique style using descriptive language while being vague, which could expose students to more complex forms of writing, as well as allow them to think more about the work.