Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2

My all-time favorite movie is Kill Bill Vol.'s 1 and 2. There are many justice issues in this movie.  The issues dealing with the criminal justice system are the first that come to mind. This movie is centered around the lives and revenge of deadly assassins. While watching this film I was always asking myself, where are the police? why haven't these assassins been caught? There is a scene in the first movie where cops find the main character seemingly dead, among many others. The conclusion is that she died from a deadly massacre at the hands of professionals. But other than that scene, the characters actions are never apprehended by the law. This reflects the flaws and helplessness of the criminal justice system at times. However, this movie deals a lot with individual responsibility and agency. The main character, played by Uma Thurman, is a deadly assassin who seeks "bloody revenge" on a group of other deadly assassins. There is a lot of violence and murder which is obviously a breach on the justice system. However, this movie transforms the popular idea that people have to rely on a justice system to bring them justice, instead of doing it by themselves. Thurman deals with many justice issues on her own. She was victim of an attempted murder, which resulted in the fatality of her unborn child, her fiance, her friends, and her future family. There are also times when her credibility as a challenging contender is questioned only because she is an American woman. With all of its justice issues aside, I think this is a fantastically shot, creative and classic movie by Quintin Tarantino. You must see it if you haven't already!

Jewel: I'm sensitive

The song I am going to post is called "I'm Sensitive" by Jewel. I tried to post other blogs with more music but each time it wouldn't allow me to, so by the fourth time I gave up. the music I was also going to include were songs by N.W.A. and the Flobots. If you are interested in these songs just let me know, also, I love music so I know a lot of really good artists and a lot of subtle or explicit songs which protest injustice.

Jewel's song:

I was thinking that I might fly today
Just to disprove all the things you say
It doesn't take a talent to be mean
Your words can crush things that are unseen
So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive
And I'd like to stay that way.
You always tell me that is impossible
To be respected and be a girl
Why's it gotta be so complicated?
Why you gotta tell me if I'm hated?
So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive
And I'd like to stay that way.
I was thinking that it might do some good
If we robbed the cynics and took all their food
That way what they believe will have taken place
And we can give it to people who have some faith
So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive
And I'd like to stay that way.
I have this theory that if we're told we're bad
Then that's the only idea we'll ever have
But maybe if we are surrounded in beauty
Someday we will become what we see
'Cause anyone can start a conflict
it's harder yet to disregard it
I'd rather see the world from another angle
We are everyday angels
Be careful with me 'cause I'd like to stay that way

This song covers the topics of women's oppression and the responsibility of the public to bring more beauty in the world. I like how she expresses the need to maintain her sensitivity, because in so much of our everyday lives we are desensitized to a lot of injustice, such as racial oppression, women's oppression, classist oppression, and so on. She demands her right to stay sensitive because compassion and sensitivty are inherent in human beings, it can just be stifled by current society and even belittled to being "weak".

The Complexity of Human Emotion

The guest lecturer on suicide really made me think about the complexities of human emotion and how it can be interpreted. Many people I have talked to discussed suicide as a cowardly way to approach problems. The lecture (and my own ideas) made me find this completely wrong. The reason people end their life is because they think that is the only way to escape their misery. The lecture was eye opening because many people, I think, show certain signs of suicide, or of just depression. It happens so much among our age group, and it is preventable. The lecture taught me that even if I have a slight and unsure idea that someone could have suicidal tendencies, to just ask them and talk to them. I am now more aware of what it looks like and can actually be productive in helping them. Suicide is a strategy to find happiness, much like different types of substance abuse, or over eating, etc. These are all issues that can be prevented if those around the person conduct themselves in a caring and empathic way.

What are you for Halloween?

The media can affect our costumes. This weekend was very special in that there were tons of Halloween parties and everyone was adorned in costume. I saw, however, an increase in the amount of "sexiness" in the girl's costumes. Most of the girls I saw took the chance to dress up in more revealing costumes than they usually wear. I am not saying there is anyhting wrong with wanting to look sexy, I just noticed that the guys didn't seem to care very much. I saw many guys in funny costumes, or creative costumes. I saw many girls wearing practically nothing (and it was really cold this weekend). I am not trying to condemn anyone, its Halloween you can wear whatever you want, but, I couldn't help but notice this fact. So I started to think. I realized that the media plays a role in this. In much of what is on television and internet, there is this image of women as sexual beings, fitting a specific beauty ideal, which a very low percentage of the people on this planet can actually achieve. Halloween for young people seems to reflect that. The perpetuation of this beauty ideal and idea that women are suppoed to be beautiful, in very narrow standards, creates in young women, the need to achieve that. The halloween costumes I saw on girls were very revealing and not very creative. Just a thought...

Free Free FreefeminismFree Free

For this media log, I would like to discuss how I think the image of feminism, through the use of the media, can be rectified. The stereo typical feminist is what the majority of this society thinks of when they hear the term. The stereotype of us being loud mouthed, man hating, hairy legged, hairy armed yadda yadda yadda is not at all based on fact, but the impression that few extreme feminists make on the public. I think that is President Barack Obama were to say, through the mediums of the news, and radio, that he were a feminist, and why he is one, then the negative connotation with the term "feminist" would decrease. Such powerful tools are the media, and you can communicate your thoughts and ideas to millions of people at a time. Coming from the president, the national and international community would see feminism as more legitimate. As we have seen through this class, the media can be used in many negative ways which further blinds society. However, I contest that there are some positive ways the media can be used. In this case, the usage of the media described above would bring support and legitimacy to the feminist movement.

The Falola Experience

            First a Summary:

             I was, for some unknown reason, able to hear one the most esteemed and advanced scholars in his field discuss an elaboration of what we consider ethnocentric, transnational globalization. In his lecture on the Globalization of African Culture, Falola refers to three specific, yet all encompassing  ways that African culture has been stretched, ignored, altered, and degraded.

Through the Nigerian, specifically Yoruba, knowledge of medicine, outsiders could gain more political and psychological stability through a more in depth analysis of plants and animals.  He explained that the Yoruba people of Nigeria have advanced and in depth knowledge of the workings of plants and animals to make medicines, poisons and so on. He alluded to Ceasar and how he attained his power through the use of medicine, and poison, therefore this type of knowledge can influence and systemically change the society we live in, for the definition of “power” will the have changed to a power of knowledge instead of the power of wealth and the western views of success. Through knowledge from the Yoruba, leaders from all economic and environmental sects of society can transcend their superficial separation and gain power.

The audience also saw how the adoption of African culture in American society, strips it of its authenticity, and in this way a new African American culture is born. African American culture is quite a different than African culture. We watched a film displaying how Africans living in America are stripped of their culture and are expected to alter themselves to fit better with the American identity.

Finally, Falola explained how the slave trade, slavery, and racism are globalized transnationally which reinforces new cultural meanings and can create an African identity, different than the authentic African form of being. Globalization has played a role in this in such a large way. We are more and more a global society connected virtually and physically. As alluded to by a reading in my Anthropology of Sub Saharn Africa class, Terence  Ranger in his article “The Invention of Tradition”, explains how there can exist societal changes with the introduction of differing forms of governance, power, and religion, all of which are three ways  globalization is exemplified. The spread of capitalism,  or the need to always be excelling in the allocation of the western idea of wealth, has also played a role in shaping the global society and stripping cultures, like African cultures, of its very fundemental form of understanding and being, which inhibits and disables society from evolving into an equal and just system. 

Now a reflection:

This lecture was absolutely enriching. It gave me a more indepth understanding of how, in a sense, we are all being colonized and we are all influenced and systemically supported in becoming a homogenous and uniform culture which strips other cultures of their importance and meaning. His lecture made me consider gender relations, patriarchy and how the media plays a large role in the hemogenization of culture. Through media such as the internet, hollywood, TV, and the news, we are constantly reminded of where the elite class places importance. Therefore, through these subconscious and sometimes explicit tools of reinforcement, we as a society are shaped and molded, and in many cases oppressed, by the perpetuation of patriarchy, ethnocentrism, racism, and the like.  I have so far come to the conclusion that the only way to gain clarity is to open your eyes and view EVERYTHING through a critical lens. Ask, why do I believe this? Why is society constructed like this, and who does it mostly reflect? Then we will be able to raise an awareness of these issues and can adopt our own ideas of what is means to share the world with billions of people. This was an awesome experience.  

my copy cat

When I was younger I was obsessed with the disney film, The Little Mermaid. This is the only example I could think of because I was pretty sheltered from the internet, common music and TV. But I thought, with my red hair, that i was Ariel. I had a bag that was like hers, I carried a fork in it, I was a freak for The Little Mermaid. It took a while for my family to convince me that mermaids are not real. To this day I still somewhat beleive that they are real. No one really copied this as much as I did, however, I do know of many people who were also obsessed with this film as a child.