You will earn 2 pts for commenting on this Student Response.

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Module6 Student Response, by Laura Christensen

What an interesting thought!  Though carnivals were initially designed to be a place for the poor-folk to express themselves and rant about the ruling class, what if the carnivals were not their own invention?  What if the higher powers, in this case the authorities, simply allowed the peasants to blow off steam through these merry events simply to let them believe that they were still in control of themselves?

This extends to most acts of rebellion.  What if anti war protests were kept under control by the authorities but allowed to carry on so that the public could feel as though they were doing something about the issue?  What if they preferred that the general public keep their freedom of speech so that it didn’t escalate into a freedom to fight?  This is such an interesting thought.  It flies in the face of what rebels want their rebellions to achieve, which is to essentially piss of “the man.”  If people who led such rebellions were aware of this possibility, i’d imagine it would cause them to take more drastic measures.  How interesting that the very thing that the lower class uses to act out against the upper class was, in fact, condoned and even encouraged by those in charge.

On the other side of this possibility, however, lies in how the actual rebellion makes those involved feel.  I’d argue that while allowing an anti-war rally may seem hypocritical on the part of the authorities, maybe keeping things civil is in the best interests for everyone.  Those involved in the rally can feel as though they are speaking their minds and can do so without breaking the law or endangering anyone.   Just like the peasants must feel relieved and satisfied after a night at the carnival, so may protesters after a long day on the picket line.

You will earn 2 pts for commenting on this Student Response.

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Module 5 Student Response, by James McDonald

I thought that the readings of Sherif Hetata, the self proclaimed “young militant on the left” were less than accurate. The writer speaks of the “North and South” and how those in the South are migrating North because of globalization, yet even he spoke of the disparity of wages between the two, those in the North can expect higher wages (because of unionization) and thus be able to afford to live a better life, those in the South live in mud huts according to Mr. Hetata, he blames this on the multinational corporations, advertising, and the World Bank.

What Mr. Hetata leaves out of his explanation of why those in the South have worse living conditions is that they have less education then those in the North, the more educated have higher earning potential then those who have little to no education, grated he stated he is a doctor, but those who studied medicine in more developed countries have tridionally offered the better medical care to their patients because of more advanced training within the Universities.

One problem I have with Mr. Hetata is that he thinks that advertising has diminished his culture in Egypt, this I do agree to a certain extent, but he went to far when he states that those “living in mud huts”, “without the basic necessities of life” are persuaded by TV advertising, how does one that cannot afford the basic necessities of life provide a TV for the dozen family members and animals living in one mud hut? Where I do agree is that media from mainly the United States but also other countries is corrupting cultures around the world. An example being Eastern Europe which has seen a wonderful culture that has been in exisitantice for century’s have been corrupted by rap music and the fashion that comes from it and Hollywood movies which glamorize a culture of drugs, violence, and sexuality that would have been unacceptable in these cultures only a couple decades ago.

The advertising that pushes one cultures materialistic ideas onto another is wrong, but with global media outlets, internet, and transportation that can move people around the world in hours instead of days or months is causing a the world to become a much smaller place, the blending of cultures seems inevitable.

You will earn 2 pts for commenting on this Student Response.

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Module 5 Student Response, by Whitney Jacobson

In this week’s reading, I really connected to the ideas present in Sherif Hetata’s “Dollarization, Fragmentation, and G-d.” I think this work shows the essence of post modern schizophrenia, or rather as Hetata frames it, bipolarity between North and South.

On page 282 of the selection, Hetata says, “ Processes of political unification are taking place…but this unification is taking place at the top. At the bottom, in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, there is increasing disunity…Eastern Europe is on its way to becoming a part of the South economically, politically, and culturally.” This quote really got to the heart of what Hetata’s argument on postmodernist bipolarity because it shows that those in the South have a distinctly opposing viewpoint to those in the North and also that this South/North division has clear lines in socioeconomic status. I think the same can also be said in the United States about the way our own postmodern culture is set up.

In my own experience, the United States presents a front of being welcoming to outsiders, however internally, a very different message is sent. To be part of the North, doesn’t just refer to residing in the United States. My maternal heritage is comprised of Greek, Mexican, and Native American roots and because these cultures place a great emphasis on family and traditional ways of life, I have always felt a bipolar aspect within my own psyche. I have been fortunate to “pass” for white because of my light skin color and be raised with white privilege because I am seen as being white, being part of the majority. The “otherness” of myself is something that for years has been covered up and not valued by the white, United States majority. Hetata spoke to me though the examples given in the reading about being a person of dual cultures and therefore occupying a position of needing to both balance and temper these identities.

In living in these dual cultures, I experience post modern schizophrenia because it is difficult to establish which cultures values are real and what I should be reflecting in my own life. Those who are white, tell me that my people, specifically Mexicans, need to learn English if they want to be a part of American culture. At the same time, Mexicans tell me to embrace my heritage because soon there may be a majority of people speaking Spanish in the United States. So what is real? Is reality the fact that I live in the United States am fluent in English and have assimilated into white culture? Or am I a fourth generation Mexican who is estadounidense and struggles to keep up my Spanish while living in an English-speaking cultural landscape? Some whites say that I am actually white and that I should forget my cultures of “otherness.” Some whites say that I am the “other.” Some Mexicans say I am a gringa, while others accept that American culture has torn me away from tradition. So what is real? Mexican? American? Some combination of both parts? It is a question that I myself have not been able to answer.

In relation to Hetata’s writing, this places me in the situation of figuring out what allegiances I have. Do I value the “South,” my Mexican, Greek, Native American heritage. Or, do I value the “North,” the American dream, the individualistic society, the monolinguistic culture. Why is it that those of my people, both Mexican and Native American, although they live in the North are not seen as being Northern unless they have attained at middle class socioeconomic status; are not seen until they have “real” jobs,  have learned English and have assimilated into a white culture that does not value their traditions or heritage? Our conceptions of what is North and what is South exist not only in the global sphere, but in the local sphere as well. It creates this bipolarity not just from country to country, social class to social class, but within each person who occupies the span of two or more cultures within one body.

By this point, you’re hopefully well on your way through your rough draft, and have maybe even finished your peer review already. Well, this exercise is for after you get your review back, and to help start your revision process. You won’t have to turn this in, and it’s not required in any way, but it’s one of exercises my previous students have said was the most helpful.

Usually you’ll do an outline before you start your paper, but a Reverse Outline comes once you’re done with writing your papers. It’s fairly simple, but can be very helpful.

1. Go down your paper and number each paragraph.

2. On a separate sheet of paper, write the number of each paragraph, and then describe the purpose of each. Don’t get cover what information is in the paragraph, but what that paragraph does for the paper overall. Is in the introduction? Does it bring up your second argument? Is it a counter-argument?

3. Now, review what you’ve written. You may find some paragraphs need to move, or you may see patterns in your argument which you’d never noticed before.

See, it’s pretty easy, right? I used this once on an essay for a grad class, and I ended up completely reorganizing the paper, but it didn’t require must actual rewriting. It’s one of the best papers I’ve ever written.

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No commenting this week, focus on your peer review!

To see your module question, go here.

Due: Friday August 6^th, 9:00am

If you’re missing a Question for Discussion Response, then this will allow you to make one up. It’s fairly straight-forward. Pick one of the modules, and compare it to a movie, cd, band, advertising campaign, or anything else you can think of, which hasn’t been mentioned in the modules or posted Student Responses, or used by yourself in a previous Response.

Also, please, no: Twilight, Avatar, or The Matrix. It’s just too easy.

Your response should be 500-800 words long (I’m looking for slightly longer than the normal responses, since this may be a topic you’ve already written on). Follow the usual procedure for emailing it to me.

In the final week of class, I will also be posting Student Responses, and all comments on them will be for extra credit. More on that later.

When I start researching, I usually begin with my working thesis, and then start looking for sources that will help my argument, or give me something to disagree with. By now you hopefully have a general topic in mind, and maybe even your working thesis. You probably already have some sources in mind from the weekly readings, but you don’t need to stop there.

I always begin my research with the PSU library website: http://library.pdx.edu/ There’s a general search right on that page, but there’s also a link to Databases & Articles (under the list of Resources), and I usually follow that link, select the list Title A-Z, and open up Academic Search Complete. This is just one way to go use the site though, and you should spend some time poking around—you never know what you might find!

If you’re having trouble finding books or articles from the library, I recommend a quick run to Powells. They have a few sections that might be of interest to you project. In the Pearl Room there’s a section on movies, animation, and similar stuff, and in I think the Purple Room there’s an area on popular culture. I quick browse through the Powells map should get you on your way. For my own writings on pop culture, I usually find my books at Powells.

This early in your writing process, I recommend assembling more sources than you need. Since three are required, I’d have at least five on hand. You may find that as you write your paper, some of them become unnecessary.

It’s very important to make sure you’re picking sources that actually help your argument, not simply citing them because it’s a requirement. You need to blend them into your essay. Quote when their words will do you the most good, and paraphrase otherwise (this keeps your essay from getting too clogged down with lengthy quotes). But remember, you’re not writing a paper on these articles, you’re entering the conversation with them. You’re using them as a means to make your own point. Don’t let them overpower your thesis.

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No comments this week, focus on your rough draft!

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Module 4 Student Response, by Huy Nguyen

This week’s topics are thought-provoking to me; especially the idea of fandom and the video Galaxy Quest also gave me a good laugh. After reading this week module, I was surprised how extreme fandom can be and so I went on to look up for more facts about Trekkies.  In 1986, William Shatner performed in a famous sketch on Saturday Night Live and he played himself at a Star Trek convention at which he told the Trekkies to “get a life”. He also cried out that “it was just a TV show!”  He asked Jon Lovitz’ Trekker character, whom Shatner assumed to be almost 30 years old, if he had ever kissed a girl, at which the character sadly hung his head. Not surprisingly, Trekkies has also been parodied in films and shows, notably Galaxy Quest which was included in our Module.

One example was in one episode of Futurama called “Where No Fan Has Gone Before” was to parody Trekkies. It included a history when the fandom had grown into a religion. And eventually, the Church of Star Trek had grown extreme that it needed to be abolished from the Galaxy and the words “Star Trek” were even needed to be outlawed.

Another particular is in the film Free Enterprise (in 1999) in which it chronicled the lives of two men who grew up worshipping Star Trek and emulating Captain Kirk.

The notion of fandom immediately made me to think of the social norm that exists in several Asian countries.  I have seen many Asian men who act, wear and behave extremely feminine.  This wave is not extreme in any other Asian countries than South Korea.  I was shock when walking down the street and observed many men who made up, wore pick suit, high heel shoes, and many other things that I couldn’t believe in my eyes.  At first I was quite surprised where this social norm came from but I was more surprised when I knew that there is nothing wrong with these men’s sexuality, it is just the social norm that is spreading widely due to many well-known South Korean drama movies or television shows.   In these movies or shows, the male characters strongly emphasize the feminine facts and behaviors.  In a movie, I could not even recognize that is a guy because he looks way feminine than the female character!  He isn’t feminine by natural but I could tell that he is using a lot of makeup (and even plastic surgery!).  I was curious enough to try to watch some Korean advertising shows and the male actors act the same way.  The more feminine and childlike actors are trying to act and look, the more the audience enjoy it.  The way how the audience view this is that they just find it normal and even sexy for a man to act femininely.  There are many other examples that could illustrate this fandom a lot better but I’m not going to list them all since I found this topic might be offensive.

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Module 4 Student Response, by Christina Howard

My topic for this week is advertising. As an American born in 1988, I have been around advertising all my life, but it is something my parents have always encouraged me to pay close attention to from a critical perspective. As I have grown up, I have witness advertising come a long way, especially with the advent of the internet. But let’s back up a bit. In Horkheimer and Adorno’s The Culture Industry, the authors open up by comparing and contrasting advertising of today with that of days past.  Specifically;

“In a competitive society, advertising performed the social service of informing the buyer about the market; it made choice easier and helped the unknown but more efficient supplier to dispose of his goods. Far from costing time, it saved it.”

I tried to think back and see if I could think of any ads I have ever seen which do simply this. The answer was yes, in ancient issues of National Geographic that my Grandma has in her closet. Some of these date back to the fifties, and in them the ads are to the point, have a picture or illustration, and even draw comparisons to other similar products. That’s it. This is in sharp contrast to the advertising I have grown up with.

The market today is flooded with advertising. The dry weight of the Sunday Oregonian is at least half ads (more since the print news industry is rasping its death rattle), and I can’t go anywhere that isn’t saturated with ads. The ads in the sidebar of my gmail market things to me which are based on words IN MY EMAIL, for pete’s sake. Additionally, the motive of the advertising has changed from informing, to duping and misinforming. Advertising nowadays is all about trickery and one-upmanship. Horkheimer and Adorno have this to say;

“Advertising today is a negative principle, a blocking device: everything that does not bear its stamp is economically suspect.”

How true. Even I, with my deep suspicion of advertising, fall victim to this claim in the grocery store regularly. I notice that I tend to shy away from brands that I have never eaten before , for example. The colloquial term for this type of brand is telling; such store brands or unknown brands are often lumped into the “off brand” category. I couldn’t even tell you where I learned that term. It has just always been that peas or corn which are not Del Monte are “off brand.”

Most interestingly, whereas advertising used to be about honest competition (like in an actually free market, see first quote), it is now so fraught with deception and torturous connections between advertisements, brands, companies, etc, that intertextuality now exists in advertising. A prime example is when generic brands refer to name brands on the bottle of the product which is intended to emulate or replace the name brand one for a better price; compare to _______, for instance. Another form of advertising intertextuality is the use of pop culture memes and references within advertising to “acclimatize” the viewer to the ad. I believe the goal of such advertising is to make the viewer feel that the authors of the ad, the makers of the product are “their kind of people.” This brings me to the point of neoracism in so-called ethnic advertising.

Depending on what you watch, and what TV companies know about the viewer demographic of certain shows, appropriate advertising will be included. What I find most interesting (and perhaps offensive) is that for some companies, two ads exist; one for the white demographic and one which they disparagingly term “urban” (read; people of color). On shows white folks enjoying products while living the American dream, the other tends to contain un-genuine fabricated hip hop soundtracks and shots of people of color playing street basketball.

Switch the channel from ABC to BET and you will see this kind of advertising. I find It interesting and a little disturbing that a network like BET which has its roots in creating content by people of color, for people of color, would allow inherently neoracist advertising to compromise the integrity of their network. On the other hand, they are a corporate subsidiary of VIACOM, so the principle was probably lost long ago.