The cultural spaces of Fairfield County differ greatly from the niches of what is right and wrong to what makes us better people. The cultural spaces of Fairfield county are revealed everywhere, from advertising to cartoons and the physical places we live in.
Overall major values that appeared throughout different types of media was the idea of being a better person. Cartoons are a major hub for influencing children to live morally and care for others and grow into a better adult. Uncle Grandpa taught kids to care for their friends and to help others. Advertisements such as one from the AAA insurance company persuade adults to purchase better insurance so that they can save money and enjoy better lives. This builds the connection between purchasing an item and being a better and smarter person. Many advertisements in Fairfield County do this. It seems that Fairfield county values good friendly people, raising children to be good people, and buying things in order to improve oneself.
Fairfield County however seems to undervalue the idea that we are still a very divided community. If you visit the towns of New Canaan and Darien 99.9% of people are white. If you go to another city like Bridgeport it has a much higher population of blacks and Hispanics. Why is there such a large rift between the population of two places in close proximity? Many Americans in Fairfield County neglect the fact that our community is very divided. Any visitor to the area would notice great differences in the physical places in Fairfield county, especially looking at the racial makeup of public schools throughout the county. observing the physical places in this county is the best way to observe the inequities of racial diversity throughout the county as a whole. As Americans who call ourselves a melting pot we have an obligation to diversify more of the public schools throughout the county that are majority of one race. We at least need to create more magnet schools to allow for more diversified education. We need to start hiring certain majorities of races who are working for minimum wage for higher paying jobs.
Now that I am aware of the values that our media plays in shaping who we are as a person I need to think back about how our county is very divided as a whole. How can this media be shaping or strengthening the rifts between the different cultures in our society today?
Monday, January 13, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
American Cartoons
Cartoons, a child's favorite pass time. Why are most children's shows cartoons anyway? Is it because of their amazing imaginations and ability to believe that which adults know is not possible? Could it be because they are made to deceive the mind of a child? Either way cartoons are very popular among the children of America. Just what could the real purpose of these cartoons truly be? It seems to be that the real purpose of cartoons is to instill values in the youth, while gaining many viewers.
From SpongeBob to Dora and Uncle Grandpa, the same universal values appear. One of these major values is friendship. For example in Uncle Grandpa, the main character; a man who has a weirdly shaped head and a voice like that of a mental person goes looking for his best friend the giant realistic flying tiger. The giant realistic flying tiger is finally found stuck in a tree in the pet cemetery and she comes to the rescue of Uncle Grandpa. The tiger fights off the zombie animals and brings Uncle Grandpa back home. This reflected the value that friendship is stronger than anything, and that helping others is reciprocal. When the tiger beat the zombie animals it portrayed the value that good always beats evil. This supports the idea that there is always a happy ending, which is not always true in real life.
In Dora the explorer, the main character Dora went on a journey to go visit her cousin Diego. She asked where the map is and as the audience you have to help her by pointing out where it is. Obviously to an adult it seems completely ridiculous to think that you can talk back to the TV, but for many kids it seems that she is actually listening to you. This showed the value of helping others, which the creators of the show want to instill in young American children. The most shocking thing is that by doing this cartoons like Dora the explorer gain many viewers because they are teaching children to be helpful. What parent doesn't want their children to be helpful? This enforces the idea of raising children to be good, moral people.
Watching American cartoons as a teenager makes me view cartoons as stupid, because they are made specifically for children. The fact that a short stubby fat cartoon man can save other people seems quite ridiculous and the fact that Uncle Grandpa's friend is a tiger named the giant realistic flying tiger is completely insane. This is providing a an image of the world to American children that is very much a lie about the real world. Who can possibly be friends with a real tiger and what sponge can speak? When will we start valuing to teach kids about the real world instead of an imaginary one?
From SpongeBob to Dora and Uncle Grandpa, the same universal values appear. One of these major values is friendship. For example in Uncle Grandpa, the main character; a man who has a weirdly shaped head and a voice like that of a mental person goes looking for his best friend the giant realistic flying tiger. The giant realistic flying tiger is finally found stuck in a tree in the pet cemetery and she comes to the rescue of Uncle Grandpa. The tiger fights off the zombie animals and brings Uncle Grandpa back home. This reflected the value that friendship is stronger than anything, and that helping others is reciprocal. When the tiger beat the zombie animals it portrayed the value that good always beats evil. This supports the idea that there is always a happy ending, which is not always true in real life.
In Dora the explorer, the main character Dora went on a journey to go visit her cousin Diego. She asked where the map is and as the audience you have to help her by pointing out where it is. Obviously to an adult it seems completely ridiculous to think that you can talk back to the TV, but for many kids it seems that she is actually listening to you. This showed the value of helping others, which the creators of the show want to instill in young American children. The most shocking thing is that by doing this cartoons like Dora the explorer gain many viewers because they are teaching children to be helpful. What parent doesn't want their children to be helpful? This enforces the idea of raising children to be good, moral people.
Watching American cartoons as a teenager makes me view cartoons as stupid, because they are made specifically for children. The fact that a short stubby fat cartoon man can save other people seems quite ridiculous and the fact that Uncle Grandpa's friend is a tiger named the giant realistic flying tiger is completely insane. This is providing a an image of the world to American children that is very much a lie about the real world. Who can possibly be friends with a real tiger and what sponge can speak? When will we start valuing to teach kids about the real world instead of an imaginary one?
Saturday, January 11, 2014
America; The broken mirror.
Physical places are the places we go to and live in. Our community, our home. A lot of the time we may view our home as the best place on Earth? But can that even be true? Could our home be a home to many or is it a nightmare to some. A lot of the time I think only from my own point of view which is a middle class white high school boy, yet what about looking at the physical places I see daily, how do they differ if I look at them from the point of view of a foreigner visiting the U.S.
The U.S., constantly called the "Melting Pot." On the outside the U.S. appears to be a place where people of different races come together and live and work happily together with each other. In reality though it is quite different. Once you actually see the real U.S. or at least the real Norwalk you notice that America is very segregated in a sense, even to this day. Instead of one melting pot it is more like a menu with different soups on it. None are the same and don't have much of a relation with each other. If you visit Norwalk you see how most whites live in certain neighborhoods, while most blacks and Hispanics live in their own specified neighborhoods that every Norwaukee knows about. This reveals how America is not as unified racially as many other foreigners may think. Maybe it is a fact of human nature that people like to live near people of the same race? It doesn't mean that they don't like other races, but they feel more comfortable with people of the same background.
Public schools in Norwalk are diverse however you still have much of a division between races especially in high school. At Brien McMahon high school I saw many people, yet most tables had people with the same race on them. There were a few tables with mixed races, yet majority were one race. There is also much of a division when it comes to classes. I visited AP and honors classes in which majority of the students were Caucasian. When I visited a regular class majority of the class was of Hispanic or African American background. Why was there such a division among classes as well if Brien McMahon high school is overall very diverse?
During my stay here in the U.S. I visited Yale University and toured the school, yet I saw many students running to classes, 95% of them were white. I wondered if I was visiting a school only for whites or is that the same with all Ivy Leagues? If so why is there such an image of white majority if the U.S. is a country of diversity? I visited McDonalds afterwards for lunch in which I finally saw a person of another race than white. This gave me the sense that in a way America, and more specifically Fairfield Country is like a broken mirror. Each piece is apart of the overall picture yet each has its own shape and is separate from the other pieces. I will return to home with a feeling of the U.S. as being not a "Melting pot," but a broken mirror. Even though segregation is said to have ended, there is a new form of separation. Maybe this is unapparent to Americans who are being raised in such a society that is very different from my home country, which is majority one race. After my experience the American dream is more of an American Nightmare.
The U.S., constantly called the "Melting Pot." On the outside the U.S. appears to be a place where people of different races come together and live and work happily together with each other. In reality though it is quite different. Once you actually see the real U.S. or at least the real Norwalk you notice that America is very segregated in a sense, even to this day. Instead of one melting pot it is more like a menu with different soups on it. None are the same and don't have much of a relation with each other. If you visit Norwalk you see how most whites live in certain neighborhoods, while most blacks and Hispanics live in their own specified neighborhoods that every Norwaukee knows about. This reveals how America is not as unified racially as many other foreigners may think. Maybe it is a fact of human nature that people like to live near people of the same race? It doesn't mean that they don't like other races, but they feel more comfortable with people of the same background.
Public schools in Norwalk are diverse however you still have much of a division between races especially in high school. At Brien McMahon high school I saw many people, yet most tables had people with the same race on them. There were a few tables with mixed races, yet majority were one race. There is also much of a division when it comes to classes. I visited AP and honors classes in which majority of the students were Caucasian. When I visited a regular class majority of the class was of Hispanic or African American background. Why was there such a division among classes as well if Brien McMahon high school is overall very diverse?
During my stay here in the U.S. I visited Yale University and toured the school, yet I saw many students running to classes, 95% of them were white. I wondered if I was visiting a school only for whites or is that the same with all Ivy Leagues? If so why is there such an image of white majority if the U.S. is a country of diversity? I visited McDonalds afterwards for lunch in which I finally saw a person of another race than white. This gave me the sense that in a way America, and more specifically Fairfield Country is like a broken mirror. Each piece is apart of the overall picture yet each has its own shape and is separate from the other pieces. I will return to home with a feeling of the U.S. as being not a "Melting pot," but a broken mirror. Even though segregation is said to have ended, there is a new form of separation. Maybe this is unapparent to Americans who are being raised in such a society that is very different from my home country, which is majority one race. After my experience the American dream is more of an American Nightmare.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Argument Essay Blog: "What does it mean to own something?"
As a human growing up in a world dominated by consumerism I constantly feel the desire to buy the things I want. However that is completely not possible for most people unless you are one of the top 10% in this country. I can't lie, though I always imagine how my life would be if I won the lottery, and just what I would buy, even though my chances are very slim. As a person though I think we sometimes focus too much on the belief that owning something means that it is a tangible object. Like the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, I think that knowing some skill or even your education means that you own it, and is the true thing in life that makes you self fulfilled and powerful.
In the sense that I say you own what you know and what you are skilled in, I don't mean that it's only you who owns it. Many people can own the same thing and it goes the same for tangible objects as well. While there is a desire to own tangible items, as humans we also have the desire to know things and have skills. Education is a way to empower, and education allows you to learn something and own it. It is something that no one can ever take from you. The main reason for why slaves were not educated in the United states during the late 1600's and early 1700's was because white slave owners knew that it would give them power, which is why many slaves desired an education. Although white slave owners could take away slaves families and hope they could never take away the things that they knew, which is why education was greatly desired.
The same goes for today, even though the world today is very different from the 1700's we still value the things we learn very greatly. Why do you think the U.S. wants to improve our rank in Education among countries throughout the world? The reason is because we want to feel proud and have the sense of feeling that our students own a greater knowledge and education than any child from any other country on Earth. This also applies to the Olympics in which we send our best athletes from across the world in order to compete and show off their skills in front of the global audience. As humans it is in our nature to enjoy competition because we want to appear as a better person than someone else, which gives us self fulfillment. These skills you have no one can take, because it is your own and it is very much apart of your spirit and drive that keeps you human. Without a sense of self fulfillment by the things you "own" you would feel more like a vegetable, rather than a human being.
I can't lie I feel the same way all the time when it comes to school. I constantly work hard in all of my classes and study so that I get good grades, because I know that education is what truly makes you a wealthy person, not the tangible objects that many people think does. I am in competition with all of the students across the U.S. every day of my life, and that will be evident when I apply to college. Even though this may seem like I am nervous, I feel a sense of fulfillment because even if I don't get into the best school in America, I will still have my education which I "own" and no one can ever take away. I will always feel the sense of being wealthy in the fact that I have received such a great education and knowledge, knowledge that 85% of America may know yet that extra 15% is what makes me unique.
Like the famous Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world." This is a completely true statement, that supports the fact that knowledge is something you own, and it is something that gives you power that can never be taken away from you. Some people may say that you can use money to change the world, but money is only tangible. It is the fact that owning knowledge and skills is what truly enables you to change the world.
In the sense that I say you own what you know and what you are skilled in, I don't mean that it's only you who owns it. Many people can own the same thing and it goes the same for tangible objects as well. While there is a desire to own tangible items, as humans we also have the desire to know things and have skills. Education is a way to empower, and education allows you to learn something and own it. It is something that no one can ever take from you. The main reason for why slaves were not educated in the United states during the late 1600's and early 1700's was because white slave owners knew that it would give them power, which is why many slaves desired an education. Although white slave owners could take away slaves families and hope they could never take away the things that they knew, which is why education was greatly desired.
The same goes for today, even though the world today is very different from the 1700's we still value the things we learn very greatly. Why do you think the U.S. wants to improve our rank in Education among countries throughout the world? The reason is because we want to feel proud and have the sense of feeling that our students own a greater knowledge and education than any child from any other country on Earth. This also applies to the Olympics in which we send our best athletes from across the world in order to compete and show off their skills in front of the global audience. As humans it is in our nature to enjoy competition because we want to appear as a better person than someone else, which gives us self fulfillment. These skills you have no one can take, because it is your own and it is very much apart of your spirit and drive that keeps you human. Without a sense of self fulfillment by the things you "own" you would feel more like a vegetable, rather than a human being.
I can't lie I feel the same way all the time when it comes to school. I constantly work hard in all of my classes and study so that I get good grades, because I know that education is what truly makes you a wealthy person, not the tangible objects that many people think does. I am in competition with all of the students across the U.S. every day of my life, and that will be evident when I apply to college. Even though this may seem like I am nervous, I feel a sense of fulfillment because even if I don't get into the best school in America, I will still have my education which I "own" and no one can ever take away. I will always feel the sense of being wealthy in the fact that I have received such a great education and knowledge, knowledge that 85% of America may know yet that extra 15% is what makes me unique.
Like the famous Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world." This is a completely true statement, that supports the fact that knowledge is something you own, and it is something that gives you power that can never be taken away from you. Some people may say that you can use money to change the world, but money is only tangible. It is the fact that owning knowledge and skills is what truly enables you to change the world.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Advertising
Advertisements show up everywhere from newspapers to television and signs. We see them everyday and usually tend to not even notice advertisements. Even though the range of advertisements differs greatly there are common ideals that are portrayed in order to get a consumer to purchase something. The constant ideal is of having a better life, an example of this is the AAA insurance advertisement that depicts a happy family and states "15% extra savings=extra fun." This portrays the idea that it is good to save money and that saving money makes life better. Yes that is somewhat true, but can't we still enjoy our lives without saving the extra 15%? What connection is there even between an insurance company and having fun? That is like connecting apples with being smart, it just doesn't make any logical sense.
What about the ideal of how buying something makes you an important person. Advertisements do this all of the time, especially with actors and actresses. Take for example the Coca Cola Santa advertisements that portray Santa as a Coke drinking man who can't get enough. If Santa, the most important man in the world who is giving out free presents is drinking Coke so should I! That is the common way to draw in consumers and to me that seems unfair and a complete lie because we all know that opening a bottle of coke is not gonna make you an important or famous person like Santa Claus.
We are also constantly promised to have a life of fortunes and live lavishly if we buy certain products. This is very common in clothing and jewelry advertisements that portray people with high end fashion as living lavishly and having perfect skin and appearance. We know for sure that by buying these things we aren't going to become one of the top 10% but we still allow these kinds of advertisements to dominate the market today. An example of this is from the L.L. Bean magazine in which a man is portrayed who is modeling a red jacket yet he appears to be in very good shape. He is carrying firewood in the advertisement which also ties into the classical ideas of male roles which is providing for the family, he is being strong and carrying the firewood to keep his family warm. It is so ridiculous that this ad is basically hinting that buying this jacket will make you a better man, because it is not true. It is just a jacket!
As a society we need to start relying less on the ideas of living better lives, looking better, and being a better person just because you buy a product. When is buying a product just going to be about the product itself and not the person or people being used to manipulate the consumer audience?
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