Newest Reading

During this week’s reading the author urges the reader to reconsider the concept of gender. The passage suggests that gender is more of a personal decision. Cultural decisions such as wardrobe and other basic actions are some items that determine each person’s “gender”. Stereotypes are also a large part of making gender decisions. For example, man are usually pictured as “rough and tough” while women are portrayed by “dainty and nurturing”. However, in today’s society most people would agree that man and women posses each of these qualities. The text argues that each person can construct their own definition of gender. This can be done by creating your life with a mixture of traits from males and females.
The book also gives an overview of what helps to define gender in today’s society. Stereotypes, cultural norms, and location were some of the most prevalent. I thought that location was the most interesting of all of these factors. After I thought about it, I became quite a bit clearer. For example, where I live there is little difference in the way different men or women act. On the other hand, large cities tend to have a greater variety of people and no solid definition of “gender”. The book also confronts the topic of feminism. It says that both men and women should support feminism. I also believe that the author gives away some of their personal beliefs during this part.
Overall this passage helped to open my mind to views I had not looked at before. The location example was the one that I found to be most interesting, and true. In general, I don’t agree with the author when he states that people create their own gender. Although men and women may decide to change their personal look/actions the definition of gender still stays the same.

Reading-Feb 15

Out of all the readings I have to say that this week had to be the most interesting for me. Not only could I relate to them, but I also agree with the majority of what was said. The first reading involved the recent film I, Robot. The first part of the reading deals with the film industry. They discuss the business side of things, and later what they wish you to think or see from the film. Often times movies can influence stlye and other parts of todays culture. Also, many seem to find political meanings in film. The most recent example of this that I can think of would have to be Avatar. After leaving the movie theatre I realized the amount of hidden political reference within that movie. After all, it centers around the natives being driven from there country for the purpose of American interest. Sound familiar.
The last piece of this passage is what I found to be most interesting. The author compared the movie with the book. Essentially he states that all of the themes that the author put in the book had been ousted by Will smith in the movie. Although I agree with this statement, there is also a sense of business that has to be present in each movie. For example, all of the action packed scenes that were in the movie attracted an audience, which turned into money. Although the themes may be butchered, the movie was still a success in my opinion.
Star Wars was the subject of the second passage. The author states that in a sense the movie has all the characteristics of a typical western. For example, the bad guys wear black, the good guys wear white. There is also a “us vs them” theme and ofcourse there is a love story. I found this comparison to be very true in my mind. When analyzed, the only true difference between Star Wars and a western is the outer space setting.

This Weeks Reading

This week’s readings were in my opinion we much more interesting than any of the previous passages. First, it looks at why people of the same race seem to bunch together and stick with one another. I noticed this almost immediately after I started my first semester in college. The book suggests that this is caused by interest in culture. It also states that most of the “grouping phase” seems to hit during adolescence when people are discovering themselves. However, I now realize that regardless of age, people do tend to associate themselves with members of their own race. This article then leads into the next passage, The Sports Taboo. This was by far my favorite of the readings so far this semester. It essentially compares race and sports. In the article, writers and researchers question why African Americans tend to excel in sports. One scientist suggests that a larger bone mass can support more muscle, which would give them the advantage. In short, the article looks for an explanation for African Americans excelling in sports. The last piece involved Arabs living in America. A sense of alienation is described due to the events that happened on September eleventh.
Out of all these articles, I found the article about sports to be most interesting. Although I don’t think there is any real difference between white and black athletes, the author did give decent evidence to support that there may be. Racial grouping also was somewhat interesting to me. I believe that this is very true, given the fact that I’ve been exposed to a lot more since I’ve been in college. In short, these articles to me were some of the most interesting that have been assigned.

Reading #3

The two most recent readings offer a different view on television shows that we all watch. The first passage describes the cultural revolution of the “black Bart” from the Simpson’s. Essentially, once the Simpsons came out in the early 90’s, printed shirts with a black version of Bart began appearing throughout America. Some of the designs promote black pride sporting phrases such as “its cool being black”. Since Bart is in a way the stereotypical trouble making boy in America, representation among the black community was demanded. The shirts are said to promote “cockiness”, giving kids extra pride in who they are and what they stand for. This article proves the effect that television has on Americas youth. Bart Simpson, and cartoon icon, is used as a medium for expressing self pride culture and the past. Since he is widely known throughout the states, when portrayed as an African American it has a message to the public.
The second reading focus’ on the demoralization of women through reality TV shows. It suggests that shows like “next” and “the real world” promote people to view women as objects of society. The writer argues that feminism in America has to be dead, since girls openly watch and support the shows on television. According to the author, girls are introduced as objects, while guys have the right to “next” them at any point for no legitimate reason.
My personal belief on all of this is the television does have a lasting impact on society. The most obvious example of this would have to be the Bart Simpson situation that was previously mentioned. I believe that some of the reality TV opinions are true. However, I believe its works that same way for both sexes. For example, the show next uses guys and girls as the “nexters”. All in all, there seems to be a deeper meaning in even the most simple types of television that we watch.

Second Reading

The second reading (pages 119-124) offers a completely different take on the world compared to the first reading. First, instead of referring to symbols and signs, it shifts its focus on the effect that television has on households across America. It states that television is meant for passive viewing. The show is on whether we decide to watch it or not and stops for almost nothing. There is no text or paragraphs to analyze and no way we can “bookmark” a show half way through without the rest of the world viewing it. This offers many obvious differences between a novel and a typical sitcom. Also, it claims that these shows lack a distinct author (unlike books) and rely on a heavy genre present to help drive the plot. Often times when reading the themes have to be dissected out of the text. Without deep thought, the author’s key points and lesson can be easily passed by. TV on the other hand has a more obvious effect on its viewers. The genre (drama, western, action, romance) is often apparent within the first several minutes of viewing. The themes that follow are unmistakable and hard to pass by. The reading then shifts its focus to the content of the shows. For example, many shows such as Seinfeld contain almost an entirely all white cast. On the other hand, almost all of the shows produced by Tyler Perry focus on the typical African family. Although the diversity in standard television has increased over the years, some shows leave certain ethnicities out, detracting from the overall quality of the program.

All in all, I enjoyed this reading MUCH more the than first. The different matters brought up made me think twice about the television that I watch, how I watch it, and what I’ve come to expect from the programming industry. It also brought to light the unnecessarily large amount of money that I, along with other Americans, spend on television each year. In short, I tend to agree with just about every part of this reading and believe that it shared many truths with me that otherwise would have been undetected.

First Reading pages 1-21

Although the passage was slightly repetitive and drawn out, I found that the reading for this week had several key points that were mentioned. Like the title of the book suggests, the majority of the reading focus' on how your enrvironment and those you interact with have some symbolic meaning. Although sometimes subliminal, these symbols help to mold and shape the judgments and decisions. From semiotics to rhetoric, interpreting your environment and finally using the book, i believe that this first passage gives a good summary of the book, and how it will look at the world. First, semiotics (the study of signs) is discussed. This book overviews how signs give us signals through its shaped symbols and text. According to semiotics, everything is a sign. The book continues to prove its points by analyzing environment within a Starbucks. It notes the colors of the carpet, the ceiling and wall colors and the music present in the establishment. It shows how by analyzing these components of the store, we can find several ideas, themes, and symbols that are buried within the decorations. These themes and what not help to attract the kind of costumers that Starbucks wants to attract. Texts and fonts also help to appeal to different individuals. For example, the text notes how a french restaurant can set its theme with a font that will emphasize that kind of food that is offered.

In conclusion, I believe that this reading assignment has several good points. For example, the mention of all the signs is something that i can really relate to in real life. For example, the stop sign that was used as an example offers several key points. It shows that there are many elements of a sign that change the way i judge and interpreted it. the combonations of the bold text and the bright red color help to grab my attention. If a sign lacks one of these elements, then the stop sign becomes awkward and difficult to recognize.

My Name

My name is Lucas. At first my parents decided that they would name me Miles. This name originated from my grandfather. Both of my parents respecting my grandfather and thought that it would be fitting to name me after him. However, once i was born my parents both decided that i didnt look like a "Miles". So they went with there second favorite name, Lucas.