Annoying things in the hallway is a brilliant topic for this project because there is so much to be said about problems in the halls. The main problem is big groups of people blocking the hallways. You can never get through to where you need to go and many kids have been late to class because of it many times. The problem is, the kids in the hallways don't care about people trying to get through. They think its funny to taunt you and say bad things to you because they are in a big, unstoppable group. The hall monitors have tried to reduce the huge road blocks in the halls by trying to stand there and watch them, but the only result was the groups moved to a different hallway. PDA is the second worst problem in the hallways. No one should have to see two people going at it on their way to class. Can they really no wait until school is over? I think we need to get more hall monitors and more people clearing out the hallways instead of trying to catch us for violating the dress code.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Is the problem really the movies?
Monday, November 10, 2008
I love Tokio Hotel; brilliant band, brilliant band
When we finished watching the movies, Cool Hand Luke and One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest i realized how incredibly similar the charecters Luke and McMurphy were. They are basically the same charecter. Looking at both main characters Luke and McMurphy are both leaders. Luke's 'group' that he 'leads' are the prisoners and McMurphy's are the patients at the ard. In both the ward and the prison, the men look up to Luke and McMurhpy for help and leadership. They look up to them, almost as hero figures. McMurphy and Luke are constantly trying to fight against those with higher power and always trying to switch the rules to their liking. They are constantly acting rebellious and doing as they please, this also shows they're 'manly' side. Just like McMurphy, Luke tries to escape the place he was forced in. The difference between McMurphy and Luke is that McMurphy fights for the patients freedom and manhood and Luke does not really do that or show that in the movie. In the movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the Big Nurse is like the Boss in Cool Hand Luke. They both have significant power over the other man but the men still fight them and try to escape.
Yeah thats annoying
What's annoying in the hallways?
The doors that slam in your face while your walking by, being squished against the walls, trash spilled all over the floor, those odd smells, having to listen to who hooked up with who and who was the best kisser, not having the hall monitors where they need to be, the screaming and hollering, not having any space while walking through, witnessing all the tongue action...and other action while trying to walk by, seeing other people's 'junk', having to wish you had some oxygen and most of all, those groups of people who create a barrier between you and your destination that refuse to move and then have a huge fit when you push through. Yeah all of it is pretty annoying. Well, my group has decided to make 'annoying things in the hallway' our project, and i think its a great idea. Their are so many things that our school and students could help on improving. First of all it would be great to walk through the hallways and have a foot of space, it would also be great if people would pay attention to where they're going and not step on me, it would also be quite nice if i could walk by without having to cover my eyes to all the unnecessary action going on. I mean, that would be great, but we need everyone to try and fix all these problems, not just a couple people, the whole school needs to join in and try to improve our hallways. To have poeple listen to us though my group has to first listen to the people to see what they find annoying in the hallways and by that we will take surveys and such. Interviews will also be helpfull to get a more understanding of what Groves students think. For our presentation we will have lots of pictures to show- like trash, people making out, a crouded hallway and other specific things that bother people. To fix this issue we just really have to put all the problems out there and then work from there. Hopefully our project influences people to try and turn these things around.
Violence: From the Screen to the People
Media spures anger, hate, and imaginative violence. I feel most or even all blame should be out on the media for creating these violent games, television shows and movies. When people see things like this it distorts the mind into thinking that it is okay. In videogames like Grand Theft Auto IV you can virtually kill almost everyone with little consequence. On top of that the game includes prostitution, heavy usage of drugs and every other imaginable crime. This game greatly taintes the mind of the user making him forget of the real hostileness of those acts. They forget what it in the game and what is out of the game and so the violence begins. Movies like Saw, Hostile, The Strangers, and many other R rated works equally stimulate violence. It portrays violence through horrendous acts, but the viewers react to it differently, sometimes thinking its "sweet" or "cool" and so they lose their sense of good and bad. T.V. shows also have the same effect, depending on their violence level.
Seaholm vs. Groves
The difference between what Seaholm and Groves students wear is extremely different. I take the bus over at Seaholm for my 4th hour class and right when i step foot into the school, i notice a completely different atmosphere. In the halls, girls walk by with skirts that my eyes can barely see and the boys, which seem to have a bit more difficulty, walk by with pants dragging to the floor. Seaholm students don't seem to mind how much they expose, or maybe they don't even notice, but one thing is for sure; the school definitely does not enforce a dress code at all. When Halloween came around i couldn't believe the outfits the girls at Seaholm had put together! First i saw a girl with a nurse outfit walk by with a tiny t-shirt and a barely there skirt. The next one i saw was a pirates outfit with a tiny skirt and a miniature tank top with a bra peeking out. I mean why wear an outfit if your going to go to school dressed like that? Go out with some lingerie, it won't be that much different. At Groves however, i barely saw any skin or anything i didn't want to see. They were actual Halloween outfits, not tiny pieces of fabric sewn together and called an outfit. It's funny though that Seaholm doesn't seem to enforce a dress code of any kind at all, and Groves is way too strict with their dress code. Can't we find a middle? I just find it interesting how differently Seaholm students dress then the Groves students.
violence and the media
I think that violence and explicit images in the media does influence some people and does affect there behaviors, but for the most part i think that people are intrigued with games such as Grand Theft Auto and Gears of War and movies like Pulp Fiction and Saw becuase they know that in reality they cant behave in such violent ways. If you cant do something in reality then why not do it virtually. If someone who has know morals or never learned right from wrong were to play these games then maybe the violence could lead to something terrible. I probably wouldnt recommend that you let a five yeaar old play Grand Theft auto everyday or even at all. Its probably best to wait till a child has some good judgment before letting them view violent medians. When violence is all a child knows i would expect them to behave in a way familiar to them. Whether it be aggressive and violent or responsible and courtious its what they have been taught and know.
The "annoying" halls
The topic my group chose to do our documentary on was "annoying" things in the hallways. do get our point across that there is an excess amount of annoying things in the hall way we will take pictures of specific things we know bother people. We have pictures like things such as school ads, trash in the hallways and the vending machines that are never on. The most important thing we can do to convince people to take our side on the issue of annoying things in the hallway is to interview people and get there opinions. We will then go through the interviews and pick out only the ones that fit our documantary leaving out people who contradict our topic or are confusing. We will shape our documantary to help influence people and challenge people.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Violence Is Not the Answer, Allen Iverson Is
You can't go into a teenagers house these days without hearing gunshots, explosions and the sounds of people dying. Of course these are not real, there from a video game. Most likley Halo or Gears of War. With so many kids playing violent video games, are our streets soon going to be filled with 30 year old men, with real guns shooting people because they saw it in video game?
It's true that violence has been around forever, and it will continue to be. But the question that we need to ask is if the presence of violence in the video game world, has increased the presence of violence in the real world. In my opinion it can affect some but it does not affect most people. I think it is good that these games are generally restricted to older consumers because when you are younger you are more impressionable. By the time that most people are in high school they are either going to be violent or not. But how does one person become violent while another one is peaceful. I think a lot of it has to do with the environment that you grow up in. If you grow up in a rough neighborhood with violence all around, and parents who support this violence you are most likley going to be a violent person. However, if you grow up in a household that does not support violence and restricts the amount of violence that a children sees, that person is less likley to be violent. Games like Grand theft auto, and Twenty to Life I think are very damaging to the people that play it. Just recently there was a case when a teenager acted out his fantasies from grand theft auto and attacked women. I think that games that have you kill police officers should be banned.
To read about the Grand theft Auto attacker, click here.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1083649/Judge-blames-ultra-violent-video-game-Grand-Theft-Auto-teenage-thugs-sex-assaults.html
It's true that violence has been around forever, and it will continue to be. But the question that we need to ask is if the presence of violence in the video game world, has increased the presence of violence in the real world. In my opinion it can affect some but it does not affect most people. I think it is good that these games are generally restricted to older consumers because when you are younger you are more impressionable. By the time that most people are in high school they are either going to be violent or not. But how does one person become violent while another one is peaceful. I think a lot of it has to do with the environment that you grow up in. If you grow up in a rough neighborhood with violence all around, and parents who support this violence you are most likley going to be a violent person. However, if you grow up in a household that does not support violence and restricts the amount of violence that a children sees, that person is less likley to be violent. Games like Grand theft auto, and Twenty to Life I think are very damaging to the people that play it. Just recently there was a case when a teenager acted out his fantasies from grand theft auto and attacked women. I think that games that have you kill police officers should be banned.
To read about the Grand theft Auto attacker, click here.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1083649/Judge-blames-ultra-violent-video-game-Grand-Theft-Auto-teenage-thugs-sex-assaults.html
Movie vs Book
Whenever a movie comes out and it is based on a book, the usual concensus among the viewers is that the book was better, and in my opinion the case of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is the same.
There were several differences in the movie and the book. Some of these differences include that in the book, Cheswick dies and in the movie he doesn't. Also in the book McMurphy finds out that he is commited by a lifeguard and in the movie it is by one of the aids. In the movie McMurphy steals a bus to get the patients to go fishing and in the book the doctor drives. Also, in the movie Chief plays basketball and in the book he does not.
Differences alone does not make the book better than the movie but I feel that the movie left out several important scenes that would have made it better. An example of this is McMurphy's return to badness. In the book he returns to harassing Ms. Ratched after Cheswick dies. But in the movie Cheswick doesn't die so part of his reason that he had to fight Ratched is gone. I also thought that the movie didn't portray Ms. Ratched as evilly as I percieved her to be when I read the book. The movie was still a good movie in my opinion but like others say, it was not as good as the book.
There were several differences in the movie and the book. Some of these differences include that in the book, Cheswick dies and in the movie he doesn't. Also in the book McMurphy finds out that he is commited by a lifeguard and in the movie it is by one of the aids. In the movie McMurphy steals a bus to get the patients to go fishing and in the book the doctor drives. Also, in the movie Chief plays basketball and in the book he does not.
Differences alone does not make the book better than the movie but I feel that the movie left out several important scenes that would have made it better. An example of this is McMurphy's return to badness. In the book he returns to harassing Ms. Ratched after Cheswick dies. But in the movie Cheswick doesn't die so part of his reason that he had to fight Ratched is gone. I also thought that the movie didn't portray Ms. Ratched as evilly as I percieved her to be when I read the book. The movie was still a good movie in my opinion but like others say, it was not as good as the book.
One Flew East, One Flew West, Travis is the Best
I fell behind reading this book at one point and was tempted to spark note it. But I decided that I could not really judge this book until I had read the whole thing, so that is exactly what I did. As I expressed in my last entry, when I was halfway through the book I thought that it was a "cuckoo" book. However, upon reading the book and some further reflection I actually kind of liked One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kessey. With only fifty pages to go I found myself unable to stop reading, mostly because I just wanted to finish, but partly because I wanted to know what would happen in the end. I think that Kessey did a good job at developing a protagonist that though unorthodox, you feel some emotional attachment to the character. After the reading the end of the book I realized that the point of view that the author wrote this novel at is very unique and creative. As the narrator, Chief Brombden, got better and the book became more clear I started to enjoy the book more. I thought that the book had a good ending and that McMurphy dying was the only way that the story could end. If McMurphy was to be used as an intimidation tool towards the others on the ward, it would have destroyed everything that he had worked towards in his few months on the ward. Also his martyrdom that helped to make add to his legend. When people the patients thought about him, they thought about how he died fighting the combine, and so they, in honor of McMurphy, checked out of the hospital a few days later. Though I think that this book is still somewhat racist and anti woman, it was still pretty well written.
Violence!!

In our current culture violence is very heavily portrayed in many things such as: video games, movies, ads, commercials, and many more things. There are also many violent people, is that a result of the many violent thing that we are viewing by choice or not? It is not for sure, there are many researches that i have heard that can prove both sides of the argument. Many times i agree with the side that says yes this rise in violence is a result of the increase in violent things that we are exposed to. This is because i, myself do not play video games, and i don't expose myself to violent movies. I am not a violent person, I feel like it could be because i don't expose myself to it, is that really the case? I have no idea. I do know of some people that do play these kind of games and watch violent movies and are more violent than any other person. Again, is this a result of the violence exposure? who knows.
Video Essay: Groves from a Students perspective

For this video assignment that we have been given, we must find something about Groves that we basically think sucks. When our group started to brainstorm, we came upon many rules and regulations that we didn't necessarily like or agree with. Those were things such as: dress code, the parking lot, the parking lot attendant, our schools rules vs. other school's rules (mainly Seaholm), cell phone and ipod policy, the hallways, and many more. What i found interesting was that we all didn't agree on many things for example when the dress code was brought up each person in our group had a different standing point on the topic; one person mentioned how different Seaholm's dress code was compared to ours and was talking about the Halloween costumes that they saw their students wearing compared to the costumes we were allowed to wear. Another person in the group mentioned how by the school pointing out what they don't want us to wear it makes both parties (students and staff) uncomfortable to know that they are looking at those certain pieces of clothing and that's why we are no longer allowed to wear them. This project is showing me that any given rule will be debated by many people, because no matter how large or small the rule someone will have issues with it.
Cool Hand Luke Vs. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Overall, looking at both main characters Luke and Randall they are very similar in their ways of being a leader and displaying their masculinity. Both play a leader in their group, Luke's being the prisoners, and Randall's being the mental patients. In the same way they are both fighting against a higher authority figure for their manhood and freedom. Luke is trying to break free from the prison, because he thinks he deserves more manhood than digging ditches and being punished by sleeping in the box. Randall realizes that most of the men on the ward are not committed and wants to fight for them to gain back their manhood, because he feels like its the Big Nurse's fault that they don't feel confident enough to go back out into the real world. When both of them arrive at their place of punishment they both turn the place upside down (Randall more than Luke) by shaking up the place and bending rules and such. All of the other men in both places look to them for leadership, because they don't know how to, or aren't ready to take on the higher authority by themselves.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
"Reptilian Hot Button"

This Ad shows that American culture always is finding something that they wish they had that they don't or something they would like to change. In this ad, it shows a man that is pregnant while the woman gets to drink. This makes the public that see this ad wonder how they would feel in this "Absolute World." Wouldn't it be convenient if men could get pregnant? while the women could sit back and watch and drink, like some men actually do in reality. This ad mostly targets alcoholics or women who don't want to get pregnant because of reasons like they wouldn't be able to drink, or its hard to get their figure (like the women's figure in the picture) back afterwards. It appeals to alcoholics because if a women is an alcoholic, it can be hard for her to want to be pregnant if her husband and her want to have a baby because she would have to stop drinking for the baby's health. This might make someone buy their product because they like how they think, or the creativity put into this ad was enough for someone to want to buy the product. Maybe this could be some one's unconscious wish or fantasy, as strange as this might be someone may enjoy this product because of the thought that this could actually happen.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Swoosh!
Nikes swoosh sign to the advertisement industry is like the fish or the cross to christianity, thats how much meaning it holds! After reading Swoosh! by Read Mercer Schuchardt i realized that a small logo, that once cost $35 to create is much more powerful than most people could ever be. Nike's Swoosh logo is probably one of the most recongized logos in the world.
The logo never has to be transalated. like Schuchardt says "the Swoosh transcends language". The fact that i had to capitalize the word Swoosh in this blog just shows you how much Nike's logo controls. Even through the exploitation of people, the Nike Swoosh continues its advertisment legacy.
Big Mac Attack
The documentary Supersize Me that we watched by Morgan Spurlock was an interesting piece of film. I thought that it helped to shed light on the problem of obesity in our country and showed how eating too much fast food is very detrimental to your health..Food at McDonalds and other fast food restaurants is not healthy and even the healthy stuff, like salads, have dressing (with a large amount of fat) to accompany them. On friday after the football game I went to McDonalds and decided to try the Apple Dippers. This is just apples in a bag, but McDonalds cannot have just that, they have to add caramel on the side to dip the apples in.
While certainly a lot of the blame for the obesity crisis should be blamed on fast food establishments, I don't think all of it should. There comes a point when you look yourself in the mirror and realize that it is your decisions that effect your weight. We do not live in a dictatorship where you are forced to go to McDonalds or Burger King for meals. Instead, you have the choice to not eat foods that are bad for you, and you have the choice to exercise and be healthy. It's true that the bombardement of advertisements that we see throughout our lifetimes is very tempting, but it is time for Americans to have some self control and not eat as much fast food.
I NEED A DOUBLE CHEESEBURGER
Spurlocks Documentary Supersize Me accurately identifies the problem with the fast food industry and the effects it has on one's health. He also showed ways we can can solve the problems with unhealthy/harmful foods being offered, especially in schools. I do believe his experiment was valid but i think the rules were a little extreme and outrageous. Maybe I'm uneducated in this area, but its hard to believe someone would get fast food for all three meals for a month. The other possible problem with the experiment was the Spurlock had gone into the documentary and experiment attempting to reveal fast food's dirty secrets. so Hindsight bias probably occurred and you could almost tell there was hindsight bias when he was talking about his arms feeling heaving after eating the quarter pounder.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Fast Food Every Day?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Love,Peace and Insanity
I absolutely agree with those that believe One flew over the cuckoo's nest by Ken Kesey is filled with misogyny and racism, but so is reality. Banning a book because it brings up issues that people face in the real world everyday is insane. Its understanding if schools choose not to promote some of the themes of the book, but to deny students of a fascinating piece of literature, seems a little extreme. Besides Cuckoos nest bringing up issues like anti-feminism and racism, the book also brought up a little more uplifting issues that made the book a huge hit with the sixties counterculture. A huge part of the book as to do with rebelling against authority and non-conformity. throughout the book RP McMurphy refuses to conform and become like the rest of the guys in the insane asylum. RP McMurphy is also always questioning the nurses authority. Even chief Bromden at times may mentally question the authority in the hospital. the counterculture in the sixties probably found the book to be inpiring and gave them more of a reason to be "different" and rebel.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
So Easy A Caveman Could Do It
"Its so easy a caveman could do it."
That is the slogan of the popular series of commercials by Geico that first aired in 2004 and continues to air to this day. The Geico cavemen have appeared in 19 commercials that have run throughout the United States. The cavemen in each commercial are angry that Geico is degrading them in these advertisements.
These commercials have absolutely nothing to do with the car insurance company, Geico but they are funny and that is one of the critereum for a good commercial in today's market. When I read The Brand Expands by Natalie Klein these commercials came to mind. The acclaim of these commercials was so great that a television series, that lasted very shortly, was created. Klein in her essay worries that branding and advertising will become a dominant part of our culture. Ratings for the showed tanked and this proves that we are not quite to the culture where the brand is a star, but the very fact that it was able to become a television series proves that we are on our way.
Cuckoos Nest, Cuckoo Book
When I started reading the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I had an open mind about tried to have an open mind about it. As they say you can't judge a book by its cover, and in this case I am glad that I didn't. The cover is full of quotes praising the book saying things such as: "Brilliant," "Powerful," "A smashing achievement," and "Impressive." But soon after reading it I did not think that this book was "Brilliant," or "Powerful," I, in fact, thought that this book, titled rather appropriately, is cuckoo.
The novel is not just crazy, I agree that it has several misogynistic and racist qualities to it. Any mention in the book of a woman so far has been negative. One of the main characters Nurse Ratched is the vilain of the story and others in the ward have had negative experiences with females in their life. The book is also somewhat racist because it portrays African-Americans in a negative, and inferior position. These "Black boys" in the story are seen as evil minions of the nurse. Truly one cannot judge a book by its cover, when its cover is full of lies.
The novel is not just crazy, I agree that it has several misogynistic and racist qualities to it. Any mention in the book of a woman so far has been negative. One of the main characters Nurse Ratched is the vilain of the story and others in the ward have had negative experiences with females in their life. The book is also somewhat racist because it portrays African-Americans in a negative, and inferior position. These "Black boys" in the story are seen as evil minions of the nurse. Truly one cannot judge a book by its cover, when its cover is full of lies.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Rage Against the Machine: Kesey's Cuckoo's Nest

Although the book has received much criticism, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest shows the world through a man's eyes who is mentally ill and is on drugs. I don't feel like this book is bad in any way, and i don't think it should be looked down upon or banned. The man who is telling his story, Chief Bromden, is very much so separated from reality and says many things that are considered to be offensive. He refers to the African Americans that work in the ward as "Black Boys" and he is constantly using rude generalized gender slurs to refer to the Big Nurse and other women who work on the ward. There are people who look at this book as a bad, unethical piece of literature and I am not sure why, because from reading this book you can get that he is always talking about being in a "fog," obviously normal people who aren't ill don't walk around seeing everything in a "fog." In one part of the book, he has a dream that he thinks is reality where the floor opens up and the workers of the ward hang one of the patients by their foot and open him up. No one who isn't divorced from reality would ever dream this up and believe that it is reality. Why anyone would take his book and find it offensive in any way is beyond me.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Mean Girls
Even though this movie was not meant to be a serious movie that teaches you a lesson, or provides a commentary on the social interactions between teenagers, it succeeded in both. The movie showed how being popular and trying to strive to be liked makes you a bad person in the end. Cady, in the movie, originally was trying to sabotage the "Plastics", a group of the three most popular girls in the school. But in her pursuit of this goal she forgot who she was and why she was trying to break up this group in the first place. By the end of the movie she had become plastic and was not any better, if worse than the other superficial members of the plastics group. At the end, in the climax of the movie Cady apologized and realized the lesson that screenwriter Tina Fey wanted this movie to portray.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Mean Girls

After watching mean girls with a new look on gender i have found that the movie is a good representation of how girls and boys act in high school and how different they are. i found it so ridiculous that Cady thought she had to act like she didn't know how to do math so that Aaron would like her. It also shows clearly the difference between girls and guys because never in the movie did any guys (except for maybe Damion) betray any other guys. On the other hand many girls are always striving to be the prettiest or the most popular in school . It also made it seem that guys only want sex from a girl, this was the scene in the lunch room when that guy came up to Cady and asked her a question and Regina cut in and asked if Cady wanted to have sex with him and she said no, so Regina told him he could go shave his back. That also made men look like they take advantage of girls who are innocent and in a new environment, because Cady was still new to the school and extremely oblivious of what was going on. Although this movie is made up and the gender stereotypes are stretched out a bit, it still shows how high school creates many gender stereotypes as well as stereotypes in general of groups of people.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Yum! Gender
Gender roles have been around for a long, long, time and the media has definitely been one of the biggest influences. We constantly see the woman at home cooking their husband a nice meal, cleaning the house and taking care of the children on the telly. But the man however is not usually seen cooking, or cleaning or taking care of the child, he is usually out of the house, like at work. Men are seen as the providers and protectors of the family. Where as woman are seen as the ones who care for the child, clean the house and please the husband with a nice hot meal on the table right after he comes home from a hard day of work. All that we have seen time and time again on the t.v.(especially in old shows and movies) but gradually though i feel these gender roles are changing. We see more women out working then we used too and we see more men cooking, cleaning and taking more care of the children then we used to. Slowly gender roles are starting to bend but i don't think they will ever completely snap and change.
Gender ID

Gender roles didnt just appear in the 21st century, but instead have been around since people first walked the earth so gender.I admit the media does play a huge part in gender roles,peoples identity's. Its pretty easy to see where these gender "stereotypes" come from. For example, women are the ones who have the babies so wouldnt it makes sense that the women stays home with the child. People are always talking about the media putting pressure on gender identity and the roles we must play, but what about feminist putting pressure on women to meet mens gender identity. yeah and i hope these dont expect to get anywhere when they voluntarily degrade themselves,(escpecially in the media). I think that the media influencing gender identity is the least of the media's problems.

P.S i'm not actually sure where i stand on the media's involvement in gender identity
and yes i know this blog is unorganized and makes little sense.
Gender Roles
The gender issue becomes more important every year. Times have dramatically changed from the 1920's and some people still haven't gotten over it all. Then, they didn't have certain media's like television and the Internet that have a big influence on our culture. Their knowledge of gender roles was based on what their parents taught them. It wasn't until much later when women started to break out and become their own people. Men were always the head of the house and the women ran it. Today, men and women get their ideas about gender roles from sources like the Internet, magazines, and t.v. the media today tells girls to be thin and independent and for the boys to be strong and intimidating. Women can have jobs and be independent just like any other man. Some people think that things should go back to the way they once were where the men made the money and the women took care of the kids. Today, women are stronger then ever.
Gender Fender Lender Bender, Back to Sender
Theres nothing I can write that would be better than that title, but I'll try.
I think that gender identity does not need harsh rebuke as authors such as Jackson Katz and Sut Jahlly. There are inherent differences between men and women and this is a good thing. If men and women were the same just like if every person looked the same it would be boring. Gender identity should be something that deserves funny mocking. It is not a big deal if a man wants to appear tough and a woman appear womanly. Like anything else, something at the extremes is always going to be be a little crazy. For example politicians at the extreme ends of the political spectrum are seen as crazy. To be succesful in a business environment you have to be tough, you cannot let other walk all over you. However bad it may seem it is a simple fact that will never change. Let boys be boys and girls be girls.
the end.
I think that gender identity does not need harsh rebuke as authors such as Jackson Katz and Sut Jahlly. There are inherent differences between men and women and this is a good thing. If men and women were the same just like if every person looked the same it would be boring. Gender identity should be something that deserves funny mocking. It is not a big deal if a man wants to appear tough and a woman appear womanly. Like anything else, something at the extremes is always going to be be a little crazy. For example politicians at the extreme ends of the political spectrum are seen as crazy. To be succesful in a business environment you have to be tough, you cannot let other walk all over you. However bad it may seem it is a simple fact that will never change. Let boys be boys and girls be girls.
the end.
After watching Fahrenheit 9/11 I was shocked by all that Moore had to say about the Bush administration, and all the corruption in our government. Even though I do believe some of what Moore has to say. I think he came off way too opinionated and scornful. The movie was throwing information at you way to fast and like Hitchens says in his article, Moore’s evidence contradicts itself. Because of the information overload, the audience isn’t sure what to believe. Which in fact may be Moore’s intentions. I believe Moore’s motives behind producing this movie were all very good, even though he was harsh. It’s safe to say that Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 may have been even more successful if he hadn’t been so blunt.
Gender Bender

Personally I think that gender identity is what you make of it, if you think that a woman should be a stay at home mom and do house work and cleaning all her life, that is all your own opinion and your entitled to it. I also think that media and our culture has a large impact on our perceptions of gender. If all the movies that you watch and all the music you hear is about women who should are trying to please men and are not the bread winners of the family and such, then that will soon be your perception of gender also. I think it is strange that some men are intimidated by smart women, personally i think smart men are much more intimidating but women still are attracted by them. It is even weirder that men are supposed to be "macho" and they feel like they cant even like smart women, or so they say.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Moore Racism
The movie farenheight 911 was not only full of deceit and half thruths, it also had a racist undertone at parts.
When Moore was making fun of the coalition of countrys that were to fight with the United States in Iraq at several parts he showed overt racism and stereotyping. He also failed to mention the rest of the countries in the coaltion that were strong countries, including: Spain, Italy, Poland and Great Brittain. When describing Palau, Moore, sterotypically, uses a video of native Palaun dancers, inplying that this is the way that all Palauns act and live.
Another racist part of the movie is when Moore taps into the fears of Americans by portraying Saudi leaders that members of the Bush adminsitration meet with as evil. By doing this, he is using video of American leaders meeting with Middle Eastern people, to try to prey on the fear of some Americans that Middle Eastern people are evil.
When Moore was making fun of the coalition of countrys that were to fight with the United States in Iraq at several parts he showed overt racism and stereotyping. He also failed to mention the rest of the countries in the coaltion that were strong countries, including: Spain, Italy, Poland and Great Brittain. When describing Palau, Moore, sterotypically, uses a video of native Palaun dancers, inplying that this is the way that all Palauns act and live.
Another racist part of the movie is when Moore taps into the fears of Americans by portraying Saudi leaders that members of the Bush adminsitration meet with as evil. By doing this, he is using video of American leaders meeting with Middle Eastern people, to try to prey on the fear of some Americans that Middle Eastern people are evil.
Moore Lies
In history class we learn about the propaganda of the past. How during World War II, Americans would see movies and printed advertisements about how bad the German's were. During the Red Scare there was propaganda about how bad communists were. Propaganda has a long history in our country and unfortunately pieces of propaganda are still out there like Michael Moore's documentary Farenheight 9-11.
His distortion of facts and his supposing of what President Bush is thinking, or doing, is a blatant attempt to conceal the facts in order to create a more compelling case. An example of his distortion of facts is when he says that Fox News implys that Fox News was the first news outlet to change its decision about whether Florida went to Bush or Gore. They were not. Moore says "Then something called the Fox News Channel called the election in favor of the other guy..." Moore implys that soon after Goore was declared the winner in Florida, Fox News changed everyones minds. When in fact the events happened several hours apart.
This kind of propaganda is dangerous and if Moore can make people believe in his ideals through lies, it shows that our country is not past the days of anti-German propaganda of WWII.
His distortion of facts and his supposing of what President Bush is thinking, or doing, is a blatant attempt to conceal the facts in order to create a more compelling case. An example of his distortion of facts is when he says that Fox News implys that Fox News was the first news outlet to change its decision about whether Florida went to Bush or Gore. They were not. Moore says "Then something called the Fox News Channel called the election in favor of the other guy..." Moore implys that soon after Goore was declared the winner in Florida, Fox News changed everyones minds. When in fact the events happened several hours apart.
This kind of propaganda is dangerous and if Moore can make people believe in his ideals through lies, it shows that our country is not past the days of anti-German propaganda of WWII.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Fahrenheit 9/11: Persuasion or Propaganda?

As i watch Fahrenheit 9/11 it only makes me hate Michael Moore even more than i did before. I don't agree with some of the things that Bush has done, but i am still a Bush supporter. I think that Michael Moore should keep his comments to himself. He has taken advantage of the movie by putting words to Bush on tape and is trying to persuade everyone to agree with him by this. It makes me angry that all he does is point fingers, if he is so concerned about the country he should run for president.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Native Soil
Its been seven years since September 11th. When 9/11 happened I was only in fifth grade and knew very little about the incidents that occurred that day. I realized something tragic had happened and that America now felt extremely threatened. As years past and we continued to "remember" and discuss September 11th, i was able to learn more about what had happened. It wasn't until i saw On Native Soil, seven years later, that i was able to see and understand the view points of both, the public and the governments. When watching the video I began to realize how much power our government has and how much they had know about terrorism prior to the attacks. The plane crashes were seen by the public and couldn't be hidden by our government and because the public had witnessed this act of terror it was almost like all that prior knowledge the United States government had been hiding, was now revealed for everyone to see and question. It makes you wonder, what else isn't our government telling us? As for now September 11th has made me more patriotic and have greater apprecation for my "native soil".
September 11th
After watching On Native Soil i was completely blown away. I had no idea that our government had been notified several times that there could be possible attacks on America and they chose to ignore. If they were doing their jobs and paying attention to the little things those thousands of people that died that day could have been safe. If the government wasn't so ignorant they could have prevented so much from happening. It's absolutely ridiculous that the hijackers were allowed to come into the country without even filling out the papers correctly and better yet, on the plane. While watching the film, On Native Soil, i was traumatized when i saw people jump out of the buildings to their death so they wouldn't have to die burning. Having to choose whether to die burning or die jumping off a building is something i could never imagine doing and watching people doing that was horrifying. I have been flying all my life, back and forth to Italy, and I'm glad that now finally, security in the airport has been heightened. The government should make sure this is kept up and that the security doesn't start feeling too comfortable and starts to slip, we can't face another attack like September 11.
September 11th
The video On Native Soil, showed me a entire different side of the 9/11/01 attacks. I didn't realize how many things could have been prevented. It makes really angry that people in the buildings and in the planes could still be alive today if people did their jobs. The highjackers shouldn't have even been allowed in the country let alone get on an airplane. I don't know if i feel as safe as I did flying on airplanes now. I knew about people having to jump out the windows but actually seeing makes it so much worse. Seeing the faces of the people that caused our country so much pain was really hard to see. It really made me think about the things that are really important like family and friends. The sad thing is that whole entire day of events could have been prevented if people were doing their jobs.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
September 11, 2001
After watching most of the movie On Native Soil I feel that some of the blame for September 11th should be placed on the government. However, I do not think that as much blame should be placed on the government as many people call for. We can't forget that it was not the government who hijacked the airplanes, and it was not the government who crashed planes into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. Most of the blame should be placed on the terrorists who want to hurt America at all costs. Since 9-11 there have been several terrorist attacks that have been stopped by American officials. I think that this horrible tragedy gave the United States a wake up call, that there are people out there who want to hurt us.
September 11th, 2001
After viewing On Native Soil, my views of September 11th, 2001 have changed pretty drastically. After seeing all of the friends and relatives who were so determined to find who was behind the attacks of September 11th talk about how they feel about the tragedy that occurred, it filled me with passion to know the answer as well. I found it very disappointing to listen to all of the people who could have stopped or put a damper on these attacks just talk about how they didn't know it was a big deal or that they didn't think it was necessary to inform a higher person to deal with it. This makes me question many people who work in airports and even in people riding in airplanes. Now I question them as to if they are really doing their job to the fullest ability and are they keeping me safe as i use their services? I feel like these things should not have to be questioned because people should be doing their jobs to keep America as safe as possible to prevent this from happening again.
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