Informal Essay

It seems these days we are losing our culture to mass media, conformity, and questionable Western values. Culture in the virtual town of Animal Crossing is preferable to our own town of Western influence. When exploring nature, arts, social ties, and the economy, we see that Animal Crossing comes out on top.
Enviornmental concrens and preserving natures is a hot topic these days. In Animal Crossing creatures do their best to have a prime enviornment. Everyone in the game uses public transportation. Each and every person is encouraged to keep the town looking nice by planting flowers, growing turnips, weeding, and respecting plant life. They preserve their trees, flowers, and fruit. Recycling and not littering is crucial; The town store owner will actually pay for garbage and recycling goes out every day. Citizens reuse items by selling or giving them to each other. Lastly, is their respect for animals. All species are treated equally and citizens are not disruptive to habitats. Everyone collects bugs and fish. All this keeps the town looking fresh.
In the real world, lately the enviornment has become important. Some people use public transportation, but most don't. We are encouraged to keep our town nice, mostly for the tourists. There are some lovely gardens in the core of our town, but we also use pesticides and insectsides, purposely harming living things. Animals are disrupted and mispaced and our river is in disgusting condition. Garbage is taken out weekly and recycing is taken out bi- weekly. If you live in a friendly neighbourhood you may reuse items with friends and neighbours, but often we trash useable items. There are more "Green Awareness" programs, mostly because of the damage we have created in our world. Overall, it seems that Animal Crossing cares more for nature.
Any important part of any culture is historical and art appreciation. Animal Crossing has a museum for bugs, fish, fossils, and art pieces. Overtop of the museum there is a conservatory to gaze at the stars and constellations. Every Saturday night at eight a musician travels to town. There is a theatre in the city that you can visit daily, and even act at. Fashion and interior designs can be created. The ability to express oneself is avaliable.
Our town may not have museums in it, but other towns have a variety of specialized museums (For specific time periods, types of art, science, etcetera). However,
our town has libraries, archives, etcetera. This town has multiple theatres and art exhibits. Many muscians are in town and you can often find a music show or lessons. Dance is avaliable here in many forms. There is interior and fashion design here, and many other kinds of crafts and arts, the real world has education and classes to teach you to expland your creative limits. In the real world there are many more resources and forms of history and art than in Animal Crossing.
Social interaction is a variable on which culture depends. When a person moves in Animal Crossing they are always greeted by their neighbours and an effort to get to know one another is made. Neighbours help one another, share, do favours, write to, and make deliveries for each other regardless of whether they are friends or not, creatures are at least congenial. If someone becomes ill than a neighbour will help out and get medicine, aid them until they are better. A few times a month a special event occurs and everyone who is able participates. This makes for a strong, stable and caring community.
Traditions seem to be fading in the real world. Neighbours might greet you to a new neighbourhood, or not. People seem to only make an effort of friendliness to their own cliques and in-groups, rather than the general population. They seem to have their own personal motives to market or get ahead when interacting with one another. Communication is no longer a personal face- to- face process. It is done through telephones, cell phones, emails, IM's, texting, etcetera. Generally, only your family will help you out when your sick. Community events do not seem to create enthusiastic participants. The real world may be a global village, but how many care for the lady upstairs, their grocer, the mailman... Connecting with real people? Unthinkable.
The economy is an issue that is on everybody's mind as of late. But if you travel to Animal Crossing the finacial network is a lot less complicated than in the real world. While there is credit, you cannot use it for things you do not need. Only using credit for the mortage is allowed, the rest of purchases must be payed for in cash (Or Bells actually). Making money is very easy, and people can make it from nature: selling bugs, fish, fruit, or turnips, or digging for gold. While creatures can't get great lump sums of Bells quickly in this way, the economy is always stable, and creatures can always make enough to get by on, and if people work enough they can live more than comfortably. However, people do without a lot if unneccessary junk and material wealth that the people of the real world seem to dictate their lives around at the expense of their finacial security.
The real world economy is in shambles at this point in time. Even when keeping in mind that there are times when the majority live in comfort and prosper, when the economy is rough thousands can just scrape by, and this is in the richer nations. Credits, stocks, funds, and bonds make for a fluctuating market. The race to get rich has caused instability in the past, and again in current times. People purchase with credit unsure of when they will be able to pay it off. Irresponsibility of major corporations, banks, and the general population is leaving people wondering which industry will collapse next, how they will put food on the table and afford the new Ipod touch. The neccessities of life. This is not a worry in Animal Crossing.
In conclusion, in Animal Crossing has proven superior. Animal Crossing folks care more for their enviornment. They are more social and interactive, though the real world has accomplished a global village. The economy of Animal Crossing creates a less grand lifestyle, but it is stable and everyone has enough. On the other hand the real world's people appreciate art and history more than Animal Crossing, but it is simply not enough to outweigh the surpassing other elements of Animal Crossing culture. Therefore I must conclude my counterpart's life, FancyBubbles, is better than my own.