Reflection #2 Prep

This semester I have improved my writing skills in many ways.  To keep my writing clear and coherent I need to stay connected and keep my focus on the main argument of my essay throughout my writing. I learned to keep it simple and not get too complicated, or “wordy” when explaining something. I struggled to be coherent in my writing when I used a quote, sometimes I would go off explaining the wrong message presented in the quote. Compared to explaining the message that pertains to my topic of the paper. In my writing, a grammar issue I also struggled with is the use of commas. I would find myself being “comma happy”, and placing commas all over the place rather than having them where I needed. 

            Another issue I tend to still come across when writing is changing tenses in my writing. I may start the paper out in present tense but will throughout switch to past tense. This is bad because it confuses the reader and doesn’t help my message get through to the audience. In order to fix these issues, when writing I will keep an eye out for this mistake and try to correct myself. Along with reading my essays out loud. This helps a lot with correcting mistakes especially when I change tense because it is more noticeable when I read it out loud. I learned that the website Purdue Owl is a trustworthy website, it is easy to navigate and helps me cite any source in the correct format. For example, in the research paper I am confident in my works cited page, it even made me more willing to use more sources than necessary because it wasn’t a hassle to cite them.  It is important to gain proficiency in this area because I will be writing the rest of my life, whether in emails or for a future job. It is extremely important to have good grammar and proper skills, so I can stand out in a positive way in the future.

            After writing a research paper for this class, I have gained and learned many skills. For example, this research paper has made me realize how important it is to have trustworthy sources to back up your information. Scholarly research is not only trustworthy, but the amount of information provides a different advanced level of research compared to many online articles or personal blogs. For my research paper I found many sources, one large source was a documentary which was very beneficial. I saw a tutor along with re-reading my paper out loud a few times.  In order to find trustworthy sources and validate their position, I looked into the authors background. Many people had previous experience with SeaWorld, some were even former whale trainers and knew people who were harmed by Orca aggression. 

            The paper was a little difficult because I was not used to the length of it. I found it hard to make sure everything was coherent and flowed. I was nervous all the information I had was repetitive, but sometimes I just had to take a break from writing and come back to it. Social interactions in the tutoring process are huge. They make a large difference because it’s good to have a second or even third opinion. Other people point out issues you may have never noticed or even known about. For example, I never realized I constantly switched tenses until a peer told me. Ever since then I have been working on the issue and have been slowly improving.

Brainstorming

The issue I am writing about is Orca Whales in captivity and the methods and treatment used by the organizations. I believe Orcas should not be kept captive, organizations should not breed them in captivity and the remaining Orcas should be placed in ocean sanctuaries for the rest of their lives.

I care about this issue because Orcas are living beings and many signs show they are very similar to us. They are social, intelligent and emotional beings. When they are treated with cruel punishments and are kept in a pool sized tank, they resort to mental instability and unfortunately aggression, this puts many trainers at risk.

This my peers because organizations like SeaWorld that hold these whales, provide the public with lies and use propaganda. Many people are not able to think critically, and therefore they are not able to see through these lies. By not recognizing this they end up supporting this immoral behavior by buying tickets, or donating money. SeaWorld tries to say they are a relief and support group helping the animals, when frankly they captured these Orcas from the wild and treat them with little respect by using food deprivation techniques, having them live in pool sized tanks, taking them away from their family, and force breeding them in captivity. But through the commercials and ads, SeaWorld places themselves on a pedestal and are presented as the hero in the situation. As a person in society, they should not want to support such a corrupt organization.

Personally I can continue to educate people on the topic. I can educate others and inform more people so they know not to support groups like this. By spreading the information, then our communities will be more aware and we can try to stop buying tickets to the Orcas shows. By hurting the profit of SeaWorld and voicing our concerns, they may have to think out another solution on their part. As a state and nation we can join events such as protests and their is a 5k for one of the trainers that died. Also, we need to be a society that can think for itself and realize why this is wrong siuation and stand up for what is right.

Issue Exploration

List of Issues(1.)

-Animals in captivity: whales in seaworld

-sexual assaults on college campuses
-suicide
-child labor
-endangered wildlife
-stress of young students today

Expand on Issues(2.3.4.)
-Killer whales are extremely large, social, and intelligent animals. There is no record of violence between an orca whale and a human in the wild. Meanwhile, in captivity the whales resort to violence because they are treated horribly and are not provided the proper space, nutrition, and essentials in order to survive. This is an issue because it sways society into believing the animals love being a show animal, but realistically they are going mentally insane because stye are treated so wrong. Solutions to offer would be educating the public, so they can critically analyze seaworlds advertisements, and also trying to stop promoting this by not buying tickets to see them. http://www.blackfishmovie.com

• Example: Whale Tilikum, he was captured from his family as a baby and placed into captivity with other captive whales. He lived in captivity for many years and was a show whale, he resorted to violence and was aggressive toward many trainers, due to his depressing and sad lifestyle.

-Sexual Assault on campuses is an extremely relevant issue today and may people tend to get away with it. Many campuses do not want to handle the issue or draw attention to it, because they believe it will hurt their reputation/appearance therefore, they push it under the carpet. But what needs to happen is students need to feel safe and protected, especially in times where they are abused. Students will feel embarrassed, lose confidence, and feel alone when they could not control what happened to them. They need someone on their side who will support them. Solutions involve,  education to students and everyone on the topic. Along with better precautions for those affected, campuses should have people and a group that is there with them, who will help them if they were to go threw a traumatic experience like this. https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/preventing-sexual-assault/

• 2nd Observation: Many times campuses try to avoid the topic because some of their star athletes are the culprits. Many big name large colleges or even smaller ones, want their sports teams to do well and if a student athlete who plays an essential role on the team is accused of sexual assault, people decide not to believe it because they don't want that person to get in trouble. Therefore, they ask questions like "Were you drunk and asking for it?" "What type of clothes were you wearing?" These questions would just discourage the victim and make them embarrassed when they are not the ones at fault.

-Stress levels of many students today are going up. With more rigorous courses for students to take at young ages and the way social media is today. Students are being raised in a different environment, one that makes kids worry more and stress out.  Students need to have the proper environment and support in their life to get them through times when they stress out. Growing up especially in todays society with a lot fo influence from the media is hard, and kids facing change need to express their feelings rather then keep them in. In order to fix the issue, we need to support the kids and make sure they are provided the proper support, resources. If they have to see a therapist, possibly provide them with that. https://childmind.org/article/social-media-stress-mindfulness/

• Secondary Idea: I could tie social media into this, because social media has a huge affect on young kids. It often leads to them comparing themselves to others, which hurts their confidence. Also, the idea that kids at young ages are not able to think critically because they haven't prettied/do not understand do they are very susceptible to falling for the fake propaganda, etc. that is shown on social media.

Paragraph(5.)
             Orca Whales are amazing, intelligent, social animals that have never had any record of violence with humans in the wild. When they are held in captivity, they are malnourished, placed in swimming sized tanks, and ripped apart from their family. They resort to aggression toward each other and their trainers. Many animals today should not be held in captivity. I care about these whales because no person or animal deserves to be put through what they go through every day. Others should care about this issue because Seaworld is using fake propaganda to make people spend money and support this behavior. This large organization if making money off of the uneducated public and they are getting away with it. People today should not want to support this unethical behavior of keeping these incredibly intelligent animals captive. In order for us to stop this action. We need to educate others and try to stop purchasing tickets to Seaworld. If we can cut their profit down, then maybe they will take action and stop kidnapping whales from the wild and stop captive breeding whales.

Midterm Reflection

            Reflecting back on what I have learned in this class thus far, I am very happy with my newfound ability to dig deeper and analyze artifacts today. I can now pick up on certain societal, gender, or racial stereotypes presented. I have learned the effects these hidden fake realities, have on everyone today. Writing in my blog, I feel a sense of comfort knowing I can speak freely and express my opinion on any controversial topic. I have realized I love talking about and discussing these controversial issues. I have learned in order to be a successful and interesting writer I need to be decisive and pick a side when expressing my opinions.
            In my writing I have stretched my abilities by finding topics I enjoy, which allows me to easily research and go into depth in my writing. Also, talking about these controversial topics has made me step out of my comfort zone. I get to pick a side and defend it. I truly love to be educated on these topics so I can write with confidence. So far participation in class, I would say I have participates a decent amount. I enjoy discussing in groups and explaining my views with a partner or small group. I will speak up in class sometimes, and when I do I enjoy talking and hearing others speak up. I also feel my blogs have done a good job of showing that I am an active reader, and that I am interested in the subjects.
           Throughout the writing process, the tutoring sessions definitely were beneficial. They helped with sentence variety and small grammar issues. Also, I learned that I tend to switch tenses in my writing after the tutoring they helped fix that. I also enjoyed the conferencing, that gave me a good idea of where my writing was and what level I was at/what need to be fixed. Evidence to prove I went to a tutor could be all my essays printed out and marked up in my folders. Along with different copies saved onto my computer. The writing process was very beneficial and I thought it helped enhance and help my writing.
          I found the writing process to be a positive thing where I could invent and re-think/make edits to my paper all throughout the process. There were times where I would go through the last step by having a conference with my professor and following the conference I had to re-think and write more. I find writing to be a fun way to invent images and messages I want to express. Writing is a social and collaborative process because it takes more than just one brain to provide a full well-done essay. The help and input of others can't hurt therefore why not get others opinions on it. After the writing process, I learned that it is much easier and much more fun to write when it is about something I enjoy talking about. In this class, I was fortunate enough to enjoy the topics presented and even have a background talking about many of the prior. Therefore, I learned it is so much easier to write about topics I enjoy, it also makes my writing better.

Bowling For Columbine

• The issues addressed in the documentary are the circumstances that lead to the high school massacre at Columbine. He addresses the gun laws in the U.S. and how easy it is for really anyone to buy and own a gun. He also explores the idea of the high homicide rate in America compared to other countries and wants to figure out why.
• These issues continue to have meaning and relevance today because there are still high school shootings in the U.S. Unfortunately we are still facing these issues today and they are getting worse, more high school shootings have occurred and more children and students have dies due to the loose laws on gun control.
• Moore uses an example of Kmart and how they sold ammunition. They showed how easy it was to walk in and buy it. He also used the example by showing that you get a free gun by giving a bank your business. 
• Potential bias the filmmaker has is he ads in his side of the story every time, he doesn't seem to get other views involved. While he does talk to many pro gun individuals, the questions he asks can sometimes be hard for them to answer without them feeling judged, so they are hesitant in explaining their opinion. He asks one-sided questions where he sets up their answer basically for failure, so they do not know how to respond and don't fully get to explain their views.
• The example that persuaded me was him walking into Kmart and easily buying ammunition. Then he goes on to talk to other individuals living in Littleton and how easy it is for them to receive a gun. This then explains why an elementary student can perform the action he did by shooting a fellow student. This example, is terrifying to hear about and really scared and persuaded me that gun laws need to be stricter.
• Solutions offered by the film, are to create awareness and not sit back. Like they did to Kmart by talking to people with authority and getting press involved. Together we can make steps to improve gun laws and create a safer environment. Many people, much less children should not be able to get their hands on a gun and therefore to stop this we need to spread awareness and make an effort to eliminate massacres such as the one at Columbine.
• As a result of this film viewers should spread the knowledge and inform society, that what was going on in 2002 is getting worse today and we don't need to see more people, and children die in order to start making a change and a difference. We need to unite and work together to make people of authority pay attention and make a difference.

Getting Started

What is your artifact: Pop star music videos, Pitbull music videos.

What do you want to say about it: Many music videos today sexualize and dehumanize women. It is degrading and creates a toxic environment for women growing up.

How would you describe the artifact: In the music videos you see women in little to no clothing, often bathing suits. They have a full face of makeup and their hair is perfectly curled, etc. The camera focuses in on a certain body part that makes these women look more desirable based on societal norms (breasts, butt, etc.). A lot of women act as mens counterparts, they surround men or fancy objects such as cars and boats. Also women are shown with alcoholic beverages.

Who is helping you say what you want to say: In her lecture about advertisements and social media today, Kilbourne emphasizes that "Just as it's difficult to be healthy in a toxic physical environment... So it’s difficult to be healthy in what I call a ‘toxic cultural environment,’ an environment that surrounds us with unhealthy images and constantly sacrifices our health and our sense of well being for the sake of profit"(Kilbourne). She exemplifies the idea that in todays society we are surrounded with images of false reality. This means models and images in advertisements are not real and not whom we should compare ourselves to. These advertisement influence our views and try to promote stereotypes and emphasize societal "norms", which in turn creates a toxic environment.

In her lecture about culture criticism to the audience, Kilbourne acknowledges “...The body language of girls is usually passive, vulnerable, and very different from the body language of boys and men.  Women are often shown in very silly poses, whereas men are generally afforded dignity and strength, even as children”(Kilbourne). She explains that women are presented in ways that influence other people actions. Sometimes when they are shown as passive men then are violent and overpowering because they believe that it is their role. As people today we need to think critically and understand that these objectified women do not represent women as a whole. Thinking critically is an important skill to master in todays society with all the false news and fake propaganda.

Jean Kilbourne. "Killing Us Softly 4 Advertising's Image of Women" Youtube, February 7th, 2018,      -                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnAY6S4_m5I October 19th, 2018.

How do I get this thing started: The presence of a flamboyant yacht overwhelms the computer screen as a young girl begins to watch the music video to her favorite song. A predominant, assumed to be wealthy man dressed in a white clean cut suit stands on the deck adjusting his designer watch. It is difficult to focus your eyes on this man as he stands acting like his position of wealth is a typical day for him, because he is surrounded by beautiful women. All the women have on sexy bathing suits and they all show off their perfect bodies. These women are standing and laying down to show off their smooth legs and large breasts. Also, they are all drinking pretty alcoholic beverages that look tasty. The young girl watches the music video Fun by Pitbull featuring Chris Brown, and takes it all in and whether she critically analyzes this video or not, she is influenced and is pulled into the toxic environment we live in today.

ICE Method

Introduce:
In her lecture about culture criticism to the audience, hook acknowledges "Thinking critically is at the heart of anybody transforming their life... (hooks)

Cite:
(hooks) Google how to cite a youtube video.

Explain:
She explains that children in this world are exposed to all forms of media early in their life. What these children view influences them when they do not think critically. Thinking critically is an important skill to master in todays society with all the false news and fake propaganda. When we think critically, we are able to see through the toxic environment presented by media today.

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Introduce:
In her lecture about advertisements and social media today, Kilbourne emphasizes that "Just as it's difficult to be healthy in a toxic physical environment... So it’s difficult to be healthy in what I call a ‘toxic cultural environment,’ an environment that surrounds us with unhealthy images and constantly sacrifices our health and our sense of well being for the sake of profit."

Cite:
(Kilbourne)

Explain:
She exemplifies the idea that in todays society we are surrounded with images of false reality. This means models and images in advertisements are not real and not whom we should compare ourselves to. These advertisement influence our views and try to promote stereotypes and emphasize societal "norms", which in turn creates a toxic environment.

Practice Citation

Gaunte Kyle. "10 Responses to the Phrase Man Up." A Love Song, A Death Rattle, Battle Cry.

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Introduce:

Cite:

Explain: