Lame-o

Society has too much of a negative influence on both men and women. The fact that society has the ability to alter the way an individual acts or thinks is totally whack. Men are taught to act tough, guarded, aggressive, strong, independent etc. When men feel that these characteristics are either threatened or misrepresented, they act violently in order to prove their status as being manly. If a guy isn't acting manly, he's called a multitude of names and told to "man-up" and "quit acting like a girl." Both men and women are sent subtle messages through cartoons, movies, action figures, dolls, etc starting at a very young age. For example, looking at the change between an older action figure vs. a present day one. It was brought to my attention while we were studying this, that this is definitely true and is displayed in more aspects of our lives than we think. While growing up I've noticed the act or mask that guys put on to act tough because that's what they've been told to do their whole lives. The same is true with girls, but in different ways. We've both learned how to conform. I think being a man is defined much differently than it is in society.

Subliminal Messages

The difference between the photoshopped pictures and the real models is astonishing. We've been talking about media and how it affects men and women differently but significantly. In class, while looking at the offensive ads about women that are plastered all over magazines, billboards, etc it brings my attention to how many of them that are out there. Girls are trained to think that they have to be absolutely flawless, feminine, and only do "what girls do". For example; Sal's daughter, it's so lame how society has slightly influenced her already by thinking that it'd be out of the ordinary to have a play date with this boy, Charlie. Men and women shouldn't be affected by media so much that it affects our day to day decisions, yet it does. I know that for girls in every age group, the media affects us all greatly but subliminally. The media impresses ideas and looks into our heads that we are supposed to conform to. We look at magazines and comment on how gorgeous and flawless the models are and that's one way the media entices us. We observe their perfections and we subconsciously aspire that beauty. We don't consciously think of how casually flipping through a magazine will affect our self-esteem or body image, but in reality that is how the ads seep into our subconscious mind and derail our judgement. I think companies like DOVE are promoting great ads that feature normal, average women in their ads and encourage women to be content with their unique body type. 

Nurture

We've been focusing on human nurture this past week and we watched a clip from Oprah about feral children. Human nurture and interaction is key in the developing stages of life. Without human and social interaction there are many negative side effects that can develop. It's extremely sad to think that there are people who would abandon their children and keep them locked up for years. I never thought about the difference between how our environment and human nature affect us. Also, the video from Nova about the girl who was locked up for 12 years is shocking, yet a great example of how human nurture and social interaction are necessities. We are fortunate to be able to do the simple things in life that one usually takes for granted, like speaking, hearing, seeing, etc. It's also interesting to see how much of an impact our parents have on us through manifest and latent lessons. I've been shaped by being raised in a middle-upper class area and attending a very prestigious high school. We are forced to be social and competitive to get any where in life.

In Tuesdays with Morrie, the main character is afraid of death as well as the majority of Americans. Americans are afraid of death because we want more than what we have, especially more time. Americans don't want to die because we have so many material items we don't want to leave. I know that for me personally I can definitely wait for death because I'm young and want a lot for my upcoming years. People also don't want to leave their loved ones and maybe even accomplishments behind. Death is a taboo topic in America because people avoid talking about it and its uncomfortable even though we all know we will have to face it one day. Americans also value youth and teenagers and adolescence believe they're invincible.

Values

America is a very unique and different place compared to others. We do everything differently I feel like. Whether it's how we think, what we eat, how we dress, or how we talk, it's all more or less different than other places. Kohl's "Values Americans Live By", is a great reading that explains American culture. In my own life, I can definitely see Competition vs. Cooperation, Action/work vs. “Being”, and Self-Help/initiative/freedom vs. Birthright/inheritance completely active today. Americans and students who attend SHS know that competition is always a factor. There's always somebody that you are sizing up to in order to get what they have and beyond it. Specifically with academics in SHS and applying for colleges. This competitiveness in America contrasts with cooperation which is common in other cultures. A lot of other cultures place emphasis on cooperation in place of competition because it creates a group-focused environment where everyone's aiming for the same goal. This goes along with the self-help and initiative idea in America. We are very independent people and try to get things done ASAP and think we have the right to just about anything. In other cultures theres's the birthright and inheritance idea that you have certain rights applied to you when you were born, and you can inherit others as you grow. Americans are also always on the move and have a hard time focusing on living in the moment, which relates to Action/work vs. "Being". This also ties with the assignment of "Nothing" we were assigned, I think it's going to be a great challenge and an interesting experience because it's so out of the norm to stop and literally do nothing.

Affluenza

In some ways, the direction in which America is going is not the best. We spend a large amount of our time working so that we can be successful. We don't spend as much time together as families, and our lives are consumed with technology. America is commonly known as being "materialistic, greedy, and self-absorbed" as stated in the Affluenza article we read for homework. Also stated in the article, these days there are "two times the amount of shopping centers as there are high schools", in America. We spend the majority of our time using technology and not involved in actual interaction. We now not only have malls, we have mega malls, online shopping, and the TV and computer ads as well. Affluenza is a growing "sickness" in America and I agree, I have definitely noticed how many kids are not outside on beautiful days, they're inside watching TV or playing video games or computer games instead. I have noticed the increasing desire for economic expansion and for the new latest items that one "must have". We need to go back to how things used to be, where family was an essential part of every day life and where we valued more substantial things.

Stereotypical

"The Cookie Thief" by Valerie Cox was a humorous poem because there have probably been times in everyone's lives where we've thought we were 100% right when in reality we were wrong. She thought the guy was taking her cookies so she jumped to all of these conclusions about him as a person, when really she was the one taking his cookies. Judging or categorizing people is a natural habit and an easy thing to do but we need to be more aware and conscious of it. I've been judged and/or stereotyped many times, all varying in different categories. The piece about Joshua Bell was very interesting, but I wasn't too surprised that people didn't stop and watch him because people are ignorant and don't like interruptions when they're focusing on getting somewhere. In contrast, a different video about a street performer who has a disability draws a large crowd. I think people stopped to watch him because he was outgoing, unique, and different. People think he is interesting because he has a disability but has a great talent along with it. Because people are interested in him, they're probably less likely to stereotype. Personally, while roaming the streets downtown while shopping, there are plenty of people with different talents trying to get noticed. I've seen some people perform with disabilities and I know that they'd probably draw my attention more than a classical musician. Although both are interesting, the person who's most unique draws more of a crowd because you're not sure when you'll get the same opportunity.