Observation 11: Field Trip to Lee Gallery

I don't remember the artist's name or what his pieces were called, but I remember being drawn to them. The art that I was interested in was the series of crow prints because we learned from our guide that the artist originally started with photographing roadkill and then noticed that birds of some sort (usually crows) were always present in his picture. I think it is really interesting that the artist started with an initial idea but was inspired by his observations and turned his concept to a whole new direction. The piece in particular that I focused on was one of a single, larger crow that was entwined in barbed wire. Our guide explained to us that the artist created this piece as an expression of his feelings about the current war in Iraq. When I looked at the piece, I thought about what the artist was trying to portray with his piece and formed my own message. I took the crow to represent Iraq, more specifically the innocent people in Iraq struggling against their corrupt Government. Their government is represented by the barbed wire which is trapping innocent people and the stars around the crow are a symbol of America who are trying to free them. The crow however, is so entangled in the barbed wire because the citizens are torn as to who they should side with during this war. The crow in general is a symbol of death; it is black and always present when something has died in nature and so it represents the gloom of the entire situation.

Observation 10: Personal Relationships

I think that the most useful topic of personal relationships is attachment. I learned in my communications class that people need to love and be loved and that it is in our nature to find people we have to have in our lives. I think that attachment is a positive thing because I feel that if you have at least one person in your life who you could absolutely not live without, then you are lucky. Having people who are special and dear in your heart just makes life more enjoyable and so I feel that attachment gives you that happiness. A con of attachment, however, is that it never remains as intense as it starts. While people get attached to one another and stay that way forever, the passion dies and it become a new sort of love. Although two people still love each other, I find sadness in the truth that your initial burning desire to be with someone eventually dies off or lessens. Changes are taking place in our culture everyday about relationships. Nearly half of all married couples fail and some of those people will never remarry again. Additionally, kids in high school and college are not dating as they did in the past. They are more about seeing many random people but not usually prone to settle down with one person. I think that is has to do with the way the media is portraying relationships. Many songs either influence going out, getting crazy, and just having a good time rather than songs about falling in love. Other songs include the sadder sides of failed relationships whether that be someone cheating on their significant other or about a bad breakup. I think that "perfect weddings" do not necessarily ensure strong marriages, rather they just influence the materialistic ways our culture is beginning to lean towards. My parents had a smaller wedding due to financial issues and because they are of different religions could not be married in a church. This could be seen as unconventional or nontraditional because they are 1) of different religious backgrounds and 2) did not include as heavily the religious aspects of marriage as apart of their ceremony. Despite them not following what is expected of a perfect wedding, they do have a happy marriage going on 25 years. I do not think it is the wedding itself that makes things perfect, rather it is who you are with. People often rush to quickly into marriages because they feel pressured to or just assume it is what they are supposed to do. A marriage will only work if those two people would die without the other, whether they are married in a cathedral in New York or a garbage dump.

Observation 9: Follow Through Ch. 9

I think that Mukherjee’s essay would persuade them. Throughout the article she remains completely neutral, relating herself to both sides of the argument, and then at the end comes up with a resolution. She emphasizes that although she was not born in America, she considers herself to be American while never forgetting who she is and where she came from. She describes how as a country, we are not the only ones who have the sort of tendency to appreciate only what is our culture and explains rather that every culture behaves the same way as she saw with her own family in India and husband in Canada. She also points out that everyone had to descend from somewhere other than America and we were all brought together to different regions as one and bringing with us our “desh”. I think that she can relax them about their positions by pointing out such facts. The fact that she herself came from a different country but can speak, live, and learn the American way of life make her just as American as the next person. She appreciates and takes pride in the American culture as much as she does in her Indian culture. She makes it clear that she appreciates and holds on to the American ways of life and expect people to want their country to remain in their own ways but points that we have a European influence and we influence others. I think further information that would bring both parties to a consensus would be more discussion on how cultures other than us feel about assimilating ways and how they few their own cultures compared to other. The instance in which she pointed out her time in Singapore about the American vandalizing a car provided some in sight, but further depth would help as well. Maybe opinions or interviews directly from citizens rather than broad opinions voiced by a government since those are usually spoken from one person and expected to be the voices of everyone in a country. It would give the reader a sense of what everyday people are thinking about other cultures and maybe give the authors of the other two essays some more knowledge about what other people like them are feeling. Overall, I feel that Mukherjee did a good job remaining in the middle of the argument. She related to both parties equally while still expressing her own opinion and ultimately coming to a resolution.

Observation 8: Amelie

Cinematography:
Some cinematography I noticed in Amelie was that sometimes the director sped up parts of a scene or slowed things down. I think that this feature was used to show how fast time was moving according to Amelie’s mind during that particular moment.

Lighting:
I noticed that the lighting in the super's apartment was very dark. Whenever Amelie went in to make minor adjustments to his doorknobs, slippers, or speed dials, the lighting was always very dim. I think this lighting cast the mood that the apartment was very unfriendly and unwelcoming just like the super himself was.

Fantasy Sequence Scenes:
One scene that I remember very specifically was when Amelie was washing a dish in the sink and she felt like the man she loved was coming in through the door behind her. What she had hoped he was doing was in the upper left hand corner of the screen while she stood and imagined what was playing. I thought that this technique was helpful, especially in this case, because Amelie herself did not speak very much about what she thought; it helped portray the emotion she was feeling and what she wanted without her ever actually saying it.

Places, buildings, objects:
I think that the gnome Amelie uses and the buildings he travels to see represent her mother and father who never got to travel. The gnome symbolizes one of the many good gestures that she tries to do for other people and all of the buildings represent the places her parents could ever want to go. I also think that her pet fish symbolizes how lonely of a childhood she lived. Fish are pets that you cannot hold or play with, as her parents did not touch her and she had no friends to play with, and they are confined to their bowls by themselves, as she was confined to her home by herself.

Body language:
Although smiling does mean that people are happy, I found that throughout the entire movie Amelie had a soft smile. She kept her lips together and mouth closed so that she was smiling but never actually looked extremely happy. At the end of the film, however, when she has fallen in love and is with the guy she has been dreaming about, she is smiling and laughing and looks happier than she has throughout the entire movie. This type of smile symbolizes how she has finally done good for herself instead of only helping other people.

Dress/clothing:
The outfits typical of Amelie were darker colors, sweaters, and long floor length skirts. She dressed very conservatively which I think represents the way that she is a mystery and stays very much to herself. She is so quiet and confined as she was when she was a child that the way she dresses reveals her personality.

Art:
One of the examples of art I found in the movie was the Renoir painting that the old man was working on. The one part of the piece that he could perfect was the girl drinking the water. I think that this girl in the painting symbolized Amelie because no one could figure out what she wanted with life. She only did for others but never did for herself. One of the only people that old man let in his life was Amelie and he worked so hard to let her open up and be who she wanted. Ultimately, he realized he was too focused on perfecting the girl and accepted her for who she was.

In general, I found the movie to be fairly interesting. The visual effects I thought were a little hard to pay attention to because I was more focused on reading the subtitles than watching what was going on with lighting, camera effects, etc. What I did manage to notice, however, I found to be good examples of visual rhetoric but I do not know if other people saw the same things I did when watching the movie.

Observation 7: Advertisements

I found an advertisement on Youtube.com featuring Paris Hilton. In the commercial, she is seemingly advertising a six dollar BBQ burger from Hardees, but other visual elements suggest that she may be selling otherwise. Paris Hilton is a sex symbol in Hollywood today and is admired by both male and females. The commercial starts with Paris entering some sort of garage; she is wearing a revealing bathing suit and an expensive fur wrap. It then shows her begin washing a very expensive car and you can see on her finger that she is wearing a large diamond ring. The actual sandwich Hardees is trying to sell does not appear in the commercial until seven seconds into it, where it only makes a brief two second appearance. The burger does not show up again until nine seconds later. She continues to wash the car and splash herself with water and soap in a very sexual manner. In between Paris washing the car and washing herself, the burger makes few appearances and only for brief seconds at a time. Throughout the commercial there is a song playing by Peter Cincotti called "I love Paris". The ending slogan for the burger flashes during one of the last frames of the commercial saying "That's Hot". I think that the commercial is not selling the sandwich as much, but more so selling Paris herself. The song is advertising her name and how people admire her and the slogan is a phrase that Hilton coined herself. The sexuality she is displaying appeals to men, obviously for the reason that the commercial is raunchy, but also towards women. I think it appeals towards women because Paris Hilton is (unfortunately) a sex symbol and girls often look to her as being the definition of "sexy" or "pretty". If a face, and body, as famous as Paris Hilton is eating a Hardees BBQ sandwich, it will give people who want to be like her or who admire her to go get the sandwich as well.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P82hABWq1To

Observation 6: Peer Review Process

I learned from my partner how to strengthen my argument by going further into detail about the opposing side and then refuting it. He also pointed out phrases that may have been clear to me as a writer, but were confusing as a reader.

I specifically need work with discussing both sides of my argument and then using stronger more sound evidence to prove why my side is right. My paper would be a lot stronger if I discussed both abstinence-only and safe-sex education and then elaborated on why abstinence-only is wrong and safe-sex is right.

I knew before the peer editing process that my paper needed a lot of work and that my major issue would be that my paper seemed only to discuss one side of the argument. Peer editing did help point out smaller flaws that I did not notice or looked over.

My partner did not help me see a different side to my paper. He agrees with my side 100% but we did discuss how I should incorporate the opposing side

I am willing to chance anything about my paper to make it better.

There were minor things pointed out that I disagreed with like how I word choice or punctuation. Sometimes his choice of wording did not agree with the point I was trying to get across. For the most part I thought the peer editing helped me see flaws in my paper that I had not noticed.

In Matt's paper, I saw that he did a great job thoroughly researching his topic and he made it very clear what side he was on which is something I feel I did well in my own paper. We both had the same problem sometimes with the way we worded things. I think this mutual problem is something that is very common; often times what you write makes sense to you because it is your own work but it is unclear to others.

I did not use the peer review sheet but if I had a hard time finding flaws in the paper myself I'm sure it would have been helpful in guiding my editing.

Now that I have read the sheet and edited someone else's paper, it is easier for me to find the mistakes that I have made in my own and what areas need work.

Observation 5: Martin's Big Words

Visual Elements:
One visual element that I noticed throughout the book is that every picture looks like a collage. All of the people, stores, and backgrounds of the pictures are all made up of small pieces but come together as one picture. I think that this technique is used to portray the message of togetherness that Dr. King was trying to express. Collages also remind me somewhat of stained glass windows that are seen in church. Dr. King was a preacher and he got much of his hope and inspiration from God. I think that by making the pictures look as though they are stained glass windows from a church represents the hope and faith people had in Martin Luther King Jr. and his movement. Another visual element that I noticed was the page that showed a little girl standing alone in front of an American flag. While we discussed the appearance of the American flag on every page as being significant, I find this page to especially stand out. The American flag is made up of all sorts of colors which is similar to the way that American is made up of people from all different cultures and races. The little girl standing in front of the flag has a somber look on her face and the colors of the American flag are reflected in her. She looks as if she is one with the flag which makes me think that she is representing the future generation; she is the future. A final element I noticed was the cover of the book. While we discussed in class that the title was on the back because his face is a statement in itself, I noticed his actual facial expression. While many of the pictures in the book show him looking very serious, his smile on the cover sends a brighter, more hopeful message that people in America ultimately heard his words and because of him we live in one unified society today.

The Book vs. the Letter
The children's book has many similarities to King's letter in chapter 8. Some of the "big words" on each page are similar to phrases that he put in his actual letter. On one page his big words say, "Wait! For years I have heard the word 'Wait!' We have waited more than three hundred and forty years for our rights." In his letter to Birmingham, he talks about how he has heard the word "wait" for years and how it seems to mean "never". He also references in his letter past events that have occurred and people he has learned from as he mentions learning from Ghandi in the book. He mentions in his letter the unjustness of the colored only signs just as little Martin in the book points it out to his mother. In both texts he constantly references church and God and refers to whites and blacks as being brothers and sisters. The book does an excellent job in portraying the child's version of what his letter to Birmingham says; it is not exact but sends the same message.

The texts and today's audience
I think that the texts are still very relevant to today's audience. While race segregation is not as prominent or supported by the government, it is still alive today. This type of discrimination has spread from not only whites and blacks, but to all races, cultures, and religions. The texts still teach a valuable lesson about how we all need to come together and love one another for both our similarities and differences.

My thoughts:
While I was reading the letter, I found it to be at times confusing and sometimes lost the message King was trying to send out. I felt that the children's book was less informative than the letter, but still left a strong impact. The book made it easier and clearer with the pictures and text to understand King's reasoning behind his movement. I think that a kid would probably not notice the pictures as being anything more than illustration, however, when I look at them I see the messages that they send apart from the words that go with them. It made me think more in-depth about the sincerity of the issue and made me relate more about the battle African Americans fought for their rights. I think that the pictures did capture my attention more than the text because there are so many messages you can see within them while the text usually only sent one. The impression I received from the children's book left a little bit more of an impact on me because it is a book for kids. This book educating kids about the civil rights act made me realize how innocent kids. Kids cannot see hate in the world or differences in people because their childhood innocence prevents it. The impression the book left on me was that it was the way that kids needed to be educated about the hate in the world; they can only see it through pictures and brief summaries of what King actually stated. I think that both the letter and book were affective though, and the parallels between the two of them increased my understanding of Dr. King's journey.

Observation 4: MLK Letter from Birmingham

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham, he uses the appeal to reason. Some examples of him using this method are:

1) He states that he went to Birmingham because there was injustice there. He feels that although he went outside of his hometown to restore justice, he was considered an outsider. He claims that "anywhere who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds". His justification for going outside of Atlanta was because he should lawfully never be considered an outsider
2) The reason that the demonstrations are happening in Birmingham is because the power the whites hold over black people left them with no alternative option to fight for justice and the brutality has gone too far
3) King uses nonviolent direct action as his way of creating tension or crisis because it forces the white community to negotiate. It was the only type of action they would react to
4) King feels that there has never been a gain in civil rights that did not include nonviolent tension or pressure
5) He says he and others are impatience with the disrespect and belittlement that blacks are receiving; being called names like "boy" even if your old or not having "Ms." as part of your title
6) "Any law that degrades human personality is unjust"; the only laws that are just are ones that uplift a personality
7) Injustice has to be exposed fully and openly before it can be fixed; you cannot continue hiding or trying to cover up the unjust acts that have been going on
8) Oppressed people can't stay oppressed forever; eventually further frustration will break through and the acts against unjust laws will not be as nonviolent
9) Jesus was an extremist for love, he believed in loving your enemies

King is using the appeal to reason in all of the above statements. He is trying to justify the acts of African Americans during the civil rights era by giving these reasons

Observation 3: Community-based writing assignment

One possible topic for my community-based writing assignment is the controversy of sex education in schools. My claim is that abstinence should be encouraged in schools, however, some kids will engage in pre-marital sex and need to be taught how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies or disease. Some questions I would ask are:

Should schools give out free-condoms? YES, giving out condoms to students does not in anyway tell them they should be having pre-marital sex, but it will protect those who choose not to remain abstinent.

Should abstinence be promoted in schools? YES, students should know that the only way to be 100% safe from disease or pregnancy is by remaining abstinent, but alternative methods should be taught for those who choose to have sex.

When should teachers start education kids about sex? Middle school, when kids start their transition from middle school to high school. Kids that age do not usually feel completely comfortable asking their parents questions about sex; just because they don't ask does not mean they do not have questions.

Is this issue prevalent everywhere? YES, statistics say that roughly half of all kids have sex before entering high school. Different cultures have different ways of life but it is unrealistic to think that not even one kid will engage in premarital sex.

What specific areas will safe sex education be more of an issue? Urban areas have more kids that engage in pre-martial sex. When I went to a public high school in Atlanta, condoms were available in the nurses office. Being in a more rural city would make safe sex options less available.

How does family background make a difference? YES, a family's financial situation as well as there religious background would make a difference in views on pre-marital sex.

What are some of the main reasons people are against safe sex education? I think people feel that if you educate about safe sex, kids are going to ignore the option of remaining abstinent. Religion will also play a role in the debate. Some religions teach pre-marital sex to be a sin and do not want to introduce their kids to other ideas.

I think that the main issue that people will debate is that handing out condoms or informing kids about birth control seemingly gives the impression that premarital sex is acceptable. I feel like people will have a hard time distinguishing the true difference between promoting safe sex and educating people about safe sex. The community on my side would be kids who have already engaged in pre-marital sex and suffered the consequences of it or kids who do not plan on staying abstinent.

Observation 2: The Toulmin Method

• Main claim: Capital punishment is the best way to protect the public from criminals like Ted Bundy
  
• One specific reason she states to uphold her argument: "capital punishment carries with it the risk that an innocent person will be executed; however, it is more important to protect innocent, would-be victims of convicted murderers"
• What makes this reason relevant: Ted Bundy was imprisoned and escaped not once, but twice. During the time he escaped he managed to kill several other people. If he had been given a lethal injection the first time he was charged, the deaths of those other women and young girl could have been prevented.
  
• What makes this reason good: Although an innocent person may die, more criminals will be eliminated with no chance of escape as Ted Bundy did and the general public will be safer.
  
• What evidence supports this reason: The author uses the example that innocent people die in automobile accidents everyday but we do not eliminate the use of cars. "Society has decided that the need for automobiles outweighs their threat to innocent life, so capital punishment is necessary for the safety and well-being of the general populace".
  
• List the counterargument/objection to this specific reason:
  
• Innocent people could die
• "the chances of a guilty person going free in our system are many times greater than those of an innocent person being convicted"
• many criminals would rather die than go to jail so why give them a punishment they would prefer
• there has been no proof that capital punishment lowers the murder rate
• killing someone because they have killed someone else does not justify the crime that was committed. Instead it puts us on the same level as a murderer (two wrongs do not make a right)
• What is her rebuttal to this objection: The need for legalizing the death penalty is more important than the risk of an innocent person dying because they were wrongly accused.
  

Observation 1: Chapters 1-2 in Aims

I read the argument called "On Teenagers and Tattoos", which I found to be especially interesting because my parents have the same views on the issue of childhood body decorations. While I do not have any tattoos, I have four piercings: two in each ear, my cartilage, and my nose. They do not like any of my piercings expect for the traditional hole in each ear because they feel that society will view the other piercings as "classless" or "not tasteful", just as the author states in his biased argument. It is evident through the strong wording of his writing that he is against piercings or tattoos and sees them as "irreversible and permanent", which they are not. Tattoo removal is becoming increasingly more successful and piercings very rarely leave noticeable scarring. I do agree with the idea of your body being your own territory; as a minor, your body is one of the only things you truly have to yourself. I can understand how a teen would want to take advantage of this freedom through body decor. It was especially oppressing to me not only when my parents made me wait until I was 18 to pierce my cartilage, but I had to wait until I graduated to pierce my nose because it violated my high school dress code. It almost became an issue of rebellion rather than a fashion statement; because I was told I could not do it, I wanted to get my piercings even more. I feel that times have changed and piercings or tattoos are not viewed in this generation the same way previous generations view them. With time, I think that society will become more accepting of body decorations just as they have with the other issues such as more revealing clothing worn by girls.