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.

Homecoming?

I attended the homecoming game on Saturday, one could say. However, I ended up getting kicked out right when I got there. I am twenty one years old and I was under the impression that one of the perks to being twenty one is that you can drink legally. The reader can take this however you want, I admit to have been drinking but I will also say that I was not rowdy, or causing hysteria, I just stupidly asked one of the people who work there where a certain seat section was because I couldn't find it.  Well, I found myself watching the game from the outside of the stadium, while all of my friends watched it inside. I have never exerienced such heightened security. I knew it was because of the Springfest riots, and the stupid and violent behavoir exhibited there, however, I couldn't help but feel like it was the media too. Had there not been international media coverage of the incident, which JMU is not proud of, then the fear which bred heightened security would be less. There were thousands of youtube videos, pictures on google image, and news coverage. I am simply saying that for someone who lacks the intention of "getting rowdy", and who simply smelled like alcohol, experienced getting kicked out of my senior year homecoming game. Not only was I kicked out but they were extremely rude to me and wouldn't even listen to what I had to say. Of course, youre thinking, I had some alcohol to drink, but when did that become a crime? to be twenty one and have had some to drink? Isn't it the violent behavoir that gives drinking a bad name? I was not being violent, I wasn't yelling, yet I was being treated like a menace of society.

Misinformation.

The biggest and most influential example I can think of where I experienced a cognitive bias was during these past presidential elections. I wanted to be involved because I was finally old enough to vote. I would turn on the news to try to catch on to what was going on. I had heard of Hillary Clinton, of course, and President Obama and John McCain, but I didn't know who I liked quite yet, although I was certain not John McCain, and what I found influenced me for a brief period of time. I saw how the news was portraying Hillary Clinton, and began to think about her as a crazy woman, trying to be a man. Well, my best friend at the time liked her, and told me this. She didn't tell me why and I didn't ask. So I looked her up and read about all of her stances and figured out for myself where she stands in the political spectrum. I ended up liking her the most. The media tried to discredit her because of her tought exterior, while leaving out her righteous goals and viewpoints. After this I never really rely on the news to give me valuable information. As for the department of information, that scares me more than what we have right now. I could say that  I trust the government and the media maybe equally. I may be a freak for that but I can't help it. The first thing I thought of was propaganda. How the government would steer its news in a way to make America look awesome, what we're doing nationally would of course look good, why would the government made well known it's international mistakes? And if it comes from the government most people wil trust it because they think it's official "government information". We all just have to search for the truth outselves and not depend on others to do it for us. There is no better way to understand something than to see it with our own eyes and then see others perspectives, which is where the news can come in. Then we can possibly shape a more well rounded point of view.

Media Monitoring

http://mediamatters.org/p/about_us/

This is very interesting. In class discussion and in our class readings, we delved ino the how the media, namely the news, can be bias towards a certain perspective. This organization called Media Matters is a non profit which extracts the conservatively bias news and sheds light on its bias. It goes a step further as well. This organization actually notifies activists, journalists and the general public when there is a misconception and then distributes articles and information which rebuts the primary argument. I think these types of organizations are very important. I was skeptical of them, and still am for I feel I have little knowledge on them, as I have recently stumbled across them. However, on their home page, I did read reactions of FOX news, as well as other news mediums like the New York Times. Their home page is scattered with a wide range of topics, like immigration, global warming and more specific news stories, where they came from and how they are bias. Organizations like these are necesary in my mind, to keep the media in check, however it does get hard when figuring out if they are just as bias as the news stories they are reporting against.

Drug Ring Bust, and it was next to a school!

       Earlier this morning at 11:19 AM in Rosenburg, Texas, nine people in one household were arrested for running a drug ring in their mutual home. They were then charged with countless offensives and fines, and sent to jail. There were 8 children in the house with ages ranging between 8 months and 9 years which were placed in child services. The home also happened to be located across from a junior high school.
       The article on the media and its effect on the criminal justice system can be closely related to, perhaps not the story, but the way it was potrayed. The media has a way with making one understand the story in perhaps a more dramatic way than necesarry. Mentioning that the location of the drug ring was beside a school is not what I am referring to, but how it was stated in the article title and how it was referred to simply made it seem as a ploy to gain viewers. In this way, the media is reconstructing the nuances of the story which can inturn inspire various emotions in the reader. Additionally, it listed the various charges that each of the household members recieved which were many:

Peggy Meza Cantu, 50. Bond set at $275,000.

• 4 indictments for manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance
• 1 indictment for engaging in organized criminal activity
• 1 charge of manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance in a drug-free zone
• 5 charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon
• 1 charge of child endangerment
• 3 charges of theft of a firearm
• 1 charge of possession of marijuana in a drug-free zone

Ashley Vasquez, 19. Bond set at $45,000.

• 4 indictments for manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance
• 1 indictment for engaging in organized criminal activity
• 1 charge of manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance, more than 4 grams
• 2 charges of child endangerment
• 1 charge of possession of a controlled substance, less than 28 grams, in a drug-free zone

Along with many others. The surplus of charges, whether rightfully or wrongfully attained, increases my awareness of the increasingly punitive nature of our criminal justice system, which is a major way this story coincides with the above mentioned article.
           This crime coverage could only be considered a form of entertainment if entertaining could be defined as anything that increases the dramatic appeal of the story. This case coverage could influence CJ policy by making people think we need to crack down more on school areas or monitor more the areas where there are many people in one house or some obscure reason, instead for say, attacking the reasons many people resort to selling drugs in the first place: their economic status. The system could instead, turn to more retributive justice ways, as opposed to a restorative justice route. This article was very straight forward and at first glance didn't seem to raise any question in my mind but if you analyze its fundemental value, the systemic influence of the media's perspective is abundant.
http://www.click2houston.com/news/25299851/detail.html

Afghanistan Helicopter Crash

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/21/afghanistan.chopper.crash/index.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38723377
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/09/22/nato-troops-die-chopper-crash-southern-afghanistan-reports-enemy/

I chose the helicopter crash in Afghanistan as my topic for this assignment. It appears that the three sources i looked at wanted to get across what happened in an accurate way. All three news sources seemed to describe what happened in the same sort of way, however with some differrences. FOX news spent a lot of time in the article describing the victims, and what the victim's families thought. It seemed that FOX focused on recognizing those dead, whereas CNN spent a lot of time describing when Obama is planning on withdawing troops, and what is to be done about it, which no other article did. It also seemed that CNN and MSNBC included the injuries of Afghan people, whereas the FOX news article did not. FOX news also included how the Taliban "often exaggerate their claims and sometimes take credit for accidents", which I thought was interesting because no other article included such an idea. I think this is an important story to know about, it was an accident which resulted in death and desctruction and it should be discussed. It is important to not discriminate between what seems important and unimportant when it comes to people's death. In war, there is death by combat, but there are also deaths in combat and accidents that happen which are all important facets of war, and should not be overlooked.

Election Sexism: Media Style

The media can be used as a tool during elections to inform the public on the views of the candidates and it can be used as a means to hear what a candidate has to say. It can also analyze and distort the perceptions of those watching, by placing a socially constructed subjective viewpoint in the world's eye. This is aparent when either women candidates, like Hillary Clinton, or the wives of the candidates, like Michelle Obama are seen on TV. Michelle Obama is portrayed as simply a fashion goddess in which there is hardly any mention of her law carreer. Not only is she the first lady, but man can she dress. I am not saying she can't, there is nothing wrong with fashion and the art of self expression, however, when it is all one focuses on, it can reinforce the stereotype of women being nonthreatening, passive, and not serious. The media is constantly talking about how great she looks, do they always talk about ho great Barack looks? Occasionally, yes, but he is overall taken more seriously than Michelle. In the midst of Hillary Clinton's presidential election, she was ridiculed for showing "cleavage" (which I think is a relative term because I saw what they were calling "cleavage" and let's just say it could have been way worse), she was made into this monster fingure, because she did not completely fit the stereotypical feminine norm, she was accused of  trying to be a man, instead of simply being a strong human being. The media plays such a large role in our perceptions of people. Before we form our opinions, we should take everything we see in the media with a grain of salt and a cynical eye.

I used the following articles as refrences:

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/89465/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-wakeman/on-sexist-media-coverage_b_98869.html

Serial Killas

http://www.aolnews.com/crime/article/expert-michigan-serial-killer-is-learning-how-to-kill/19584066
I found an article describing recent serial killings in Flint Michigan. The serial killer is suspected of committing thirteen murders. The article focuses both on the killer and the cases.  The cases are held with equal attention because race comes into play. All but one of the murder victims is African American, which caught the attention of Flint's NAACP Branch President. The investigators say that the murders should not be consered hate crimes because the murders were mostly committed on older, more vulnerable men, who happen to be black. I think the article gives equal weight to the victims and the serial killers stories. The article mainly says that the serial killer is still trying to improve therefore he is attacking older men. Investigators also discuss why he uses a knife. They say it is more personal and that he actually wants to see the mutilation he is causing. The FBI and other forces were not mentioned very much, except for the lead investigator and a couple of shout outs to the local police force along with one other FBI agent.. Other then the victims being older, and mostly African American, there wasn't much discussion on whether their families were okay, what exactly happened etc. The article did name the latest victim, but the other possible twelve were not named. Other than possible racist crimes, there wasn't much said about the victims, personally. Rearding the community, the only information given was that the leading investigator alluded to the fact that the areas where the "hunting" occurs could be mostly African American living communities. The leading investigator equates the serial killer to an animal like a lion, and calls what he is doing "hunting". I am not trying to stand up for this serial killer, but I can't help but notice that he is likening a human to a ravenous "flesh eating" monster. The level of emotion and fear increasingly plays a large role towards the end of the article. I thought it was also interesting that the victims, except for their race, was not mentioned when in my mind they should be given equal attention along with their living community and the upset these episodes have caused.

Hurricane Katrina

I chose to examine articles pertaining to Hurricane Katrina. I chose this because I expected to find some articles with a skewed perspective, and some factual. If the perspectives were skewed, it was very subtle, except for one. One article I found described Hurricane Katrina as one of the deadliest natural disasters in American history, while the other two articles I looked at described other Hurricanes that imposed more damage to American soil, such as hurricane Andrew. One article I found was on how Bush did not include Hurricane Katrina in his State of the Union Address. It explicitly states how Bush is ashamed because people died as a result of his inaction, people suffered as a result of his inaction etc etc. This particular article is very swayed in one direction. It describes how he made major mistakes. The other two aricles stay on the more factual side including the details of the Hurricane, how the poor and the aged were specifically impacted and so on. I think that upon researching any specific incident, people can find varying forms of information. The ease of publishing information on the internet is so intense, that people can be free to speak their own mind, which is exactly what I am doing now.

Deviance

For this blog assignment I set my sights on websites which support and promote Anorexia. Out of the hundreds to choose from, http://www.nothinspiration.com/ana-mia/tips-for-anorexics/ this is the link to the website I will be referring to. It is an informational blog which contains tips on how to be anorexic, curve cravings, keep your mind off eating, etc. There was one tip on using Crest white strips beforee dinner so you have an excuse to not eat. There are links all over the page pertaining to subject matter like "top 5 reasons to be anorexic". Also, there is a "tag cloud" which I thought to be interesting. It is just a space where some words are bolded and others are very lightly written. Some of the bold words include "model, anorexia, skinny. Additionally, since it is a blog, there are also comments on these posts. There are countless comments of young girls displaying their love for anorexia. There was one girl who was 15 years old who said she started starving herself when she was 14. She said she was 140 lbs. but now she is 110 lbs. and still dropping! There are countless posts from young girls who are admitting to weighing below one hundred pounds and loving it. There are also the opposite types of posts. There are people who are against what the post is about and are expressing themselves in agressive ways. I would definitely consider websites like this deviant. Everyone with internet access can find this type of post. I know children under thei age of 8 who have laptops and go on the internet. I was able to easily find it. As I was reading it, although I felt sort of sick to my stomach with how self depricating it was, a part of my conscious and im sure subconscious mind was processing this information and now it is in my mind. These type of messages displayed in public are hard to avoid and can be extremely damaging to those whose minds are still developing. This type of website is 100% deviant.

Media Fast

I chose to do my media fast on Saturday because I really wanted to challenge myself. I did not want to have the excuses of class and work to skew my perspective on how much I need various types of media. I woke up that Saturday morning at 11:00 AM and all went well for about 2 hours. In my media log I realized how much I listen to music. I was really missing my music and I had the urge to check facebook. I sang to myself, and ran without music. What really made a difference was being in a band. I hung out with them for a while as well as some other friends and got my mind off of it. We then played our own music. I don't know if that would count as media, but we didn't play any covers, only originals. Having my friends with me really helped. I just left my phone, and my ipod at home and sang to myself while driving around. Fasting from media was harder than I expected it would be. I never thought of myself as media dependent, and I still think I'm not as bad as it gets, but it was very difficult to not listen to music or check facebook. The media fast has given me a new found respect and appreciation for listening to music and an awareness of how much the media has impacted my routines and day.

Media Log

I chose to log my media usage during a normally busy Thursday. I woke up at 9:30AM to my phone's alarm. I had a couple of texts to check, however they were mostly about plans during the day. 9:45AM- 10:30AM I listened to music in my apartment. 10:30AM- 11:05AM I ran and stretched while listening to music. 11:05AM- 11:30AM- I showered while listening to music. Finally, from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM I did homework while listening to music. During the homework/ music time I also spent about 10 minutes in my Gmail and about fifteen on Facebook. Then I had class and work all day in which case I surprisingly did not voluntarily use any form of media. However, as we all know our brains are constantly absorbing forms of media, such as the music playing at work, ads and labels stuck on everything that doesnt move and the plethera of televisions stuck in some of the buildings around campus. At 10:00 PM I got on Facebook for about twenty minutes and gmail for about ten. 11:00 PM- 1:00AM I listened to music until I fell asleep.