02/14/2016
During
the past activity, I learned that a summary is an important step to help me
remember what I read. In my last essay, while I started to write one sentence or, at least, one word per paragraph while I
was reading the article, I think that could help me also with my summary. After
reading my peer reviews, I believe I am getting closer on improving my summary
writing, I did notice towards the end of summary I started to drift away from the main thesis of the article and I
think I caught myself just in time of expressing my own thoughts and feelings
about the author’s writing. Overall, I think I need to stay more focused on the
main idea and stop procrastinating the idea of trying to do more than
summarize.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Reading Journal 4
Reading Journal 4
1/26/2016
Unfortunately, we are judges of our society, until we actually know
the person, that is when we find out who they really are (subculture fanatic), just
because you are a punk rock or rap fan does not really one is associated when it
comes to drug use, bad habits, killings, robbery and act like a devil
worshipper or a gangster in society. Some people enjoy the music, they can
relate to the lyrics, enjoy the catchy explicit chorus and rhymes. I enjoy
listening to old “Hip-Hop” and “Rap”
music from the 80’s and 90’s, although I do agree there is plenty of violent
words in mostly every Rap song, but I could relate
to the stories they tell, I saw and heard
the same stories throughout out my family experiences and neighborhood. Being
slightly part of that subculture, I catch people judging by what I listen to or
what I use to wear. About 15 years ago I was in my car at a red light with my
windows jamming out to a rap song, I was so excited because it paid day and I had exciting weekend of ahead of
me, so I was explicitly signing along with the song and expressing myself with
my body movement when I turned my head I noticed an elder couple looking at me
in distress and even scared for their lives it seemed. If you could see their
faces of judgment, at the moment I never
felt so judge before, I was planning to kill or rob anybody, I was using the
song as some metaphors on how I can wait to go a vacation with friends and
family and have a good time. But now in present time, I now feel like that
elder couple, as the father of a sixteen-year-old boy he has asked me for permission to
go to a “Rave”, my initial reaction was of a loud chuckling “NO”, I immediately
judge him that he wants to drugs with his friends. Although that might not be
the case, I know through experiences in being to a couple of raves myself in my
younger days, thou I did not do drugs there, but the majority of the kids were
and drinking alcohol which was what I was doing, and knowing that I would not
want him to fall into that pure pressure that surrounds that environment.
I wonder why we do this, I catch myself judging people too,
my family does it too, and co-workers judge other co-workers because of their
race or culture. In the professional environment we know to keep our judgements
to ourselves, I learned to know not to judge anyone without knowing someone
personally, even thou society is trying kick this bad habit, it is still in our
back of our brains , I wonder if it could be stopped or do we just accept that
it is in our nature.I think it is in our nature to judge something or someone
right away, maybe it’s our old hunting instinct type of way, and you’re either
a hunter or the hunted.
Culture Jam #3 reading journal pages 28-50
Book Reading Journal pages/chapters: 28--50
What do you Know, or what is
important to you, about the book right now?
As time changes, families do not know how to act within
themselves. Leaving old family values behind, while trying to impress our
neighbors and friends that we fit in society. If families feel they’re not
fitting in, they become obsess by purchasing unnecessary products to get
classification of a certain social class. Example Barbie helped wives and young
women to become “conspicuous consumers”.
What do you want to know? Ask
a Question
Where did this change come from or who are responsible to
get this started?
Prediction: make a guess/answer your
question
Corporate business, Celebrities, idols, and the government I
believe is a great influencer.
While
reading: be sure to annotate, mark your text in the margins, recording what
you were paying attention to while reading.
After reading: What did you learn?
We do not have a say so against sponsors. We feel,
we have to have that Hollywood image.
Summary/Review of what you read:
During these times when technology and media is changing the
way we interact and consume, it is very difficult to fight against the
producers of influence. As most young
reporters come to learn, is that the big corporates have the final say so and
spend the big bucks to make sure of that. If society finds flaws with a company
or product that it is heavily being pushed by advertisements and commercials,
we tend to take it out on the middle man who are constantly promoting it on
their publications or airways. But, nothing is going to happen, the high lead
receptionist will write a note of the consumer’s complaint and as soon as they
walk away, the note will be tossed in trash. Also
if you are fortunate enough, advertisers could slapped you with the truth that,
“the sponsor is king” (pg.35). As we become a corporate culture, we tend to
lose our natural ways, from birth we start to get brainwashed by television and
repetitive ads on our way to school and work. Soon we are robotic humans
responding to colorful media commands by the push of corporate buttons.
Reflection on essay#1
Reflection on essay#1
01/16/16
During my first timed essay writing for English 1A class was
a head scratching experience. My topic for the assignment was choosing a living
American artifact and I chose the “Hamburger”.
It took me a while, to come up the topic as I wanted to sound different. Also,
it was hard to find something that people can describe an American culture
artifact. I stepped out of myself and imagined how other people outside of the
country see us or what popular item America is known for.
I learned little more about myself after completing my timed
essay and reading it afterwards. My biggest dilemma I would say is starting to
write, I constanly think too much and do not know where to begin. I think I
took about a third of my time allowed just thinking how and what to write
about. Once I started writing I felt better and ready to continue on. Altough,
I noticed I was going beyond topic for a moment and at one point I had to
delete a paragraph, because I got
controversial and critiquing. Reading over my essay, I came to notice missing
words to a couple of sentences, probably the reason was for the time limit
allowed. My goal is going to be learn new behaviors to improve my critical
thinking and writing.
Essay#1
1/15/2016
American Artifact
In my time as a little kid, my most memorable family moments
was seating down for dinner. My friends and I would play in our apartment's
parking lot until we hear our mother's yell out our name. It felt like 5 pm was
the normal feasting time for my family and all of our neighbors. In the
apartment of thirty six filled household building, I could smell the different
culture types of dinner plates waiting to be eating by every growling stomach.
Growing up in a multi-culture complex,
was an experience i will never forget, each race had their own ways of living.
However, the one thing that all of the kids agreed on which food they liked to
eat, was the "hamburger" typically from Mcdonald's. The hamburger was
the kids valuable American artifact, which they enjoy eating. It seemed as
America became a busier country with jobs being created, the national burger
would change how we lived.
The most common hamburger that kids love, comes from the famous restaurant McDonald's . In 1954 Ray Roc was about to change the way we eat in the future. He
founded a Mcdonald system in 1954, a year after a visit to San Bernadino
Califonia restaurant owned by Dick and Mac, the McDonalds brothers. Within three he got the rights to the Mcdonald's name
and sold a hundred million burgers. The way Americans ate food was changing,
one can now drive up to a window an order food. This now became the fast food
time, it change our habits, slowing installing ideas that we want food now and
it has to be yummy. I wonder now , when was the disease called ADD
created? In
addition, the restaurant became franchising out and quickly coming to
every major city.
Although we Americans love the food, we had no ideas of the
effects it would have on families. When i was a kid, it felt like a reward to
have a burger or to go get a "Happy Meal" from Mcdonald's. But now it
has several health issues and affecting families from lower income communities.
It is sad to say it has affected us how we eat,
when to eat and now being part of some families budget. As pop culture changes
from time to time, one American Culture piece of food has not, that juicy
"Hamburger" is here to stay and i believe it has been eaten in every American
household at least once. It has become part of our society in some sort,
whether its going to a restaurant on a date, grabbing a quick meal, cooking it
at home or have it as the main course during the 4th of July BBQ, the
"hamburger" has been there and its part of the American culture. But
eating too many burgers can have some consequences, like obesity, heart issues
and some people believe it could also cause cancer. During the 80's and the
90's, as the economy started to boom, many meat companies "allegedly"
started to use artificial ingredients and chemicals in the burger meat, for
fast and mass production. As America was growing along with our bellies, so was
the popularity of the famous "Hamburger".
Unfortunately, issues with the ingredients did not get in
the way of worldwide admiration of the hamburger. McDonald's can be to blame,
for it successfully franchising out to various countries. But another factor to
this is the media seen here and over seas. As I come to agree that, "The
media and other pop culture components are part of the fund of ideas and images
that inform our daily activities, sometimes exerting a more compelling
influence than family or friends, school or work" (Petracca,Sorapure,
pg5).People across the world loved to experience going thru those doors under
the golden arch and trying a burger for the first time. Driving through U.S.
highways, you can now see a billboard sign promoting a special burger from
various restaurants mostly on every
other exit and you can find a fast food chain restaurant selling it every two
miles in the city. Our American kids are being influence to feel happy, once
they have gotten a meal from there. By the way
media makes us react, with low price burgers, convenient meals, fancy burgers,
now organic burgers, constant advertisements, and social pleasure eating
Americans will continue to eat "Hamburgers".Reading Culture Jam pt2
In the Introduction, Kalle Lasn expresses what most families are going through in America. Big Corporations are constantly telling us what to do and think. Even though the book was published in 1999 it is still true in this time and this sad story is moving at rapid speed. The most people affected by this change is our youth and young adults trying to fit in a cool social class. I remember the saying “Be cool. Stay in school.” But now big brand companies have influence and ads that make it seem to say “You better look cool. To go to school”. As a father of four boys this is an issue I am experiencing with my two older sons, all they want is Jordan shoes, new video games, new cell phones, etc... I will not give into purchasing that for them if they want those items they could buy it with their own money (allowance, yard work, gift cards). Unfortunately, their thoughts of what to wear and buy are inspired by their friends and schoolmates who are being trained by the mass media.
I love nature and my father used to take me to different spots when I was young. Now it is my turn to pass that on to my kids, this the area that I am proud of my kids, as they enjoy our family nature activities. They still get on their phones and tablets on the road, but at least, once we are out the of the car, there are no electronics. I do agree when Lasn states, “When you cut the flow of nature into people’s lives, their spirit dies. It’s simple as that.”Most individuals in their late 30’s and older, I think they like nature and a few love it. That is hard to say about the new generation of families and young adults, they are taking nature for granted and at times destroy it. The millennial generation cannot a take step into the wild without posting a picture or status in their phones, social media and bringing along ten other gadgets.
I do agree that major corporations and brand labels have done damage to our minds by influencing the society on how to shop, dress, and act. Sometimes I look at America as a shiny plastic product, people are becoming faker and they like to hide behind a shiny cover like a fresh Apple item. If you could stand by a tree and look at a busy street of people and cars, you could slowly see a nature-culture disappearing. Now everybody is seemed to be acting like robots with ADD.
CULTURE JAM
I do agree that major corporations and brand labels have done damage to our minds by influencing the society on how to shop, dress, and act. Sometimes I look at America as a shiny plastic product, people are becoming faker and they like to hide behind a shiny cover like a fresh Apple item. If you could stand by a tree and look at a busy street of people and cars, you could slowly see a nature-culture disappearing. Now everybody is seemed to be acting like robots with ADD.
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