Please view Hands of (HOW WE VIEW) the World (I will explain my choice later in the post).
Wow. It is already the end of school. It's funny how slowly and quickly this came up. I have really loved this American Studies class but I will admit blogging is not my favorite part. I like to describe my relationship with the blog as something that I appreciate. I appreciate the fact that it allows you to link to news articles, photos and videos and I appreciate how you can comment on other people's posts. But I do not like blogging. I think about potential blog posts often- reading the newspaper, watching movies and even in everyday discussions with my friends- the part that is the hardest part for me is putting it to paper, or rather to keyboard. It has been a problem consistent with the whole year. I believe that it is the reason my blogging is so scattered. I can come up with the ideas easy enough but I delay the process of writing them as long as I can get away with.
Even though my attitude towards blogging hasn't changed much, I feel that I have learned valuable lessons in order to make my posts better each time. My recent blog post Oxidado was where I learned the importance of blogging about "hot" issues. I blogged about something I had just seen on AOL news about 5 minutes earlier and ended up getting over 640 views in just two days. Also with my posts like The Greatest Movie Ever Sold and Oxidado I used videos for the first time. I really enjoyed linking to videos because personally I would rather watch a clip than read an article and I feel it can be a successful way to get information across that cannot just be seen through images and text.
I chose Hands of (HOW WE VIEW) the World as the blog post of choice because I feel that it is the post that best emulates the goals of the blog. In the post, I responded to Dani's earlier post but took a different spin on it, I incorporated an outside source and used photos and asked questions.
All in all, although blogging wasn't my favorite I really learned a lot (this is sounding cheesier by the second but its true, promise!) and I think if I am so motivated I might keep on blogging. You never know...
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Hands of (HOW WE VIEW) the World
This is a response to a post Dani made called: Uniquely American.
In Dani's blog post she showed AT&Ts ad campaign, where hands were painted to represent the different countries of the world. While Dani focused on what America's hands might look like, I am goin to choose a different approach of analysing the hands. I think how AT&T chose to define the other countries is very interesting as well. While the photos are not necessarily the most historical or monumental building or image that country would choose, they are representations of how America views those other countries.
For example Japan and China:
While there are many images that Japan or China might choose to represent their country (either through traditional buildings, and economic or technological advances), AT&T chose to represent Japan and China as how many american's view these countries, through a sort of distant and mystical tradition sense. This representation of Japan or China is not uncommon, it is very much seeing these countries through the lens of the disney movie Mulan, without regard for any current culture.
How do Americans commonly view other countries? In what ways does this campaign represent how American's percieve other countries? Is this a positive perception?
In Dani's blog post she showed AT&Ts ad campaign, where hands were painted to represent the different countries of the world. While Dani focused on what America's hands might look like, I am goin to choose a different approach of analysing the hands. I think how AT&T chose to define the other countries is very interesting as well. While the photos are not necessarily the most historical or monumental building or image that country would choose, they are representations of how America views those other countries.
For example Japan and China:
While there are many images that Japan or China might choose to represent their country (either through traditional buildings, and economic or technological advances), AT&T chose to represent Japan and China as how many american's view these countries, through a sort of distant and mystical tradition sense. This representation of Japan or China is not uncommon, it is very much seeing these countries through the lens of the disney movie Mulan, without regard for any current culture.
How do Americans commonly view other countries? In what ways does this campaign represent how American's percieve other countries? Is this a positive perception?
Oxidado
When I got home from school today my older brother immediately showed me this news clip. Following the epidemic of the drug Oxidado (originally in Brazil), the video highlights the dangers of the drug and why it has been brought into focus.
In both videos not only the horrible side effects of this drug are shown, but also its mass availability and why it is receiving attention now. In the first video (link) at 0:28 the drug is described as so deadly because of how easy it is to get a hold of. Costing only $1.00, this drug is so threatening because it allows all classes to get hooked and have the financial ability to stay hooked. But almost more shockingly is the 1st video's clip at 1:20. The drug Oxi has "been around for almost 2 decades" but is just gaining serious news attention now. The very deadly drug, most users die within the first year of starting (1:16), is only gaining news attention as it transfers into the upper class.
This reminded me on a much smaller scale of the "big ditch" in Winnetka that we discussed in class. Even after 30 citizen's deaths, the train tracks were not changed until a very powerful, wealthy man's wife was killed. After this accident the problem was taken into focus and fixed.
How does society respond differently to the same problem in different classes? Why do problems gain more media attention when they affect upper classes? How does the rate of change and correction differ between the upper and lower class issues?
In both videos not only the horrible side effects of this drug are shown, but also its mass availability and why it is receiving attention now. In the first video (link) at 0:28 the drug is described as so deadly because of how easy it is to get a hold of. Costing only $1.00, this drug is so threatening because it allows all classes to get hooked and have the financial ability to stay hooked. But almost more shockingly is the 1st video's clip at 1:20. The drug Oxi has "been around for almost 2 decades" but is just gaining serious news attention now. The very deadly drug, most users die within the first year of starting (1:16), is only gaining news attention as it transfers into the upper class.
This reminded me on a much smaller scale of the "big ditch" in Winnetka that we discussed in class. Even after 30 citizen's deaths, the train tracks were not changed until a very powerful, wealthy man's wife was killed. After this accident the problem was taken into focus and fixed.
How does society respond differently to the same problem in different classes? Why do problems gain more media attention when they affect upper classes? How does the rate of change and correction differ between the upper and lower class issues?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Modern Role Models
A while ago I was having a conversation at dinner with my family and my parents asked us who our role models were. My brother and sisters and I had a difficult time coming up with any one specific example. My parents were shocked. They brought up that when they were younger they could name specific people who they wanted to be. My dad mentioned that his role models had included Bruce Springsteen and the president while my mom mentioned singers and movie stars. After hearing that it was my turn to be surprised. It was hard for me to imagine wanting to be like a celebrity and I tried to figure out why.
I came to the conclusion that because of our intimate view into the lives of all different types of celebrities we are less likely to want to emulate the individual. Where as my mom was able to look up to movie stars because she mainly saw them only in the best light- mainly through the films- we are constantly exposed to the most dramatic and worst aspects of the star's lives.
Also my dad says that when he was younger it was very taboo to directly question the current president. While there was a focus on debating the issues, it was rare to contradict the president and to not see him as something more than the average citizen.
How has the use and perception of role models changed? Is this a positive change? Who, if there are any, are examples of model role models?
Sunday, May 1, 2011
OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD
According to CNN world news, Osama bin Laden has died. I will update this blog post soon, but I wanted to let people who haven't heard know.
Great Gatsby, Tennis and the Use of the Color White
This week we started reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. We have been focusing on class indicators in relation to this book including: income, wealth, location, occupation and exclusivity. Another focus of our discussion has been the importance of the color white in the book. The use of this color in the book so far is to emphasize the upper class, exclusivity and social status. This discussion reminded me of country club tennis.
Country clubs are commonly associated with upper class. They are very exclusive, some requiring months of work in order to get accepted. Tennis is also a sport associated with high social status. Country club tennis makes an interesting link to our discussions. At many country clubs "tennis whites" are required in order to play. It is a dress code of all white necessary in order to be able to be on the tennis court. White is strictly associated with the upper class and exclusivity represented in club tennis.
In what ways is white a tangible representation of exclusivity? Is white always associated with the upper class? What are the problems with associating white to the upper class?
Country clubs are commonly associated with upper class. They are very exclusive, some requiring months of work in order to get accepted. Tennis is also a sport associated with high social status. Country club tennis makes an interesting link to our discussions. At many country clubs "tennis whites" are required in order to play. It is a dress code of all white necessary in order to be able to be on the tennis court. White is strictly associated with the upper class and exclusivity represented in club tennis.
In what ways is white a tangible representation of exclusivity? Is white always associated with the upper class? What are the problems with associating white to the upper class?
Junior Theme Expanded
The week after Junior Theme was turned in! Congratulations everyone- we did it! But even though my Junior Theme is turned in I still am thinking about my topic outside of class.
This past week I was on my favorite website, PostSecret. It is a blog to which people anonymously send in their secrets on postcards and they are shared. The secrets are all different, some are very serious and others are quirky or funny, but the secrets told are all important to the person in a different way. The secrets posted on the blog are rotated out weekly, but last week I found this very interesting secret that got me thinking about my Junior Theme:
This past week I was on my favorite website, PostSecret. It is a blog to which people anonymously send in their secrets on postcards and they are shared. The secrets are all different, some are very serious and others are quirky or funny, but the secrets told are all important to the person in a different way. The secrets posted on the blog are rotated out weekly, but last week I found this very interesting secret that got me thinking about my Junior Theme:
Because I focused my Junior Theme on: Why are eating disorder on the rise, this secret showed me a different focus on my topic. This secret illustrates a link between eating disorders and feminism. While my paper did not highlight this link, except slightly in the conclusion, it is an interesting expansion of my topic.
This secret reminded me of the interview I did with eating disorder therapist, Suzanne Gazzolo. When I asked about the future of eating disorders she said, "I believe that we still live in a patriarchy that often when things begin to affect men and boys in negative ways than it begins to be taken seriously... I think when it was only a girl problem it just could be ignored in a lot of ways, but it is going to be hard to ignore now". This is a quote that also looks at eating disorders in terms of feminism and patriarchies.
These two expanded links to my Junior Theme are really fascinating to me because they are representations that the Junior Theme wasn't just some random paper I wrote, but it allows me to look at a bigger picture idea and link it to my everyday life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)