Author Archives: NEVONTAE MCDOWELL

A major takeaway that I have watching the election and its aftermath entirely is that American democracy is something that is not as stable as I thought. There always seem to be a political situation that tests one of the government powers. Something that surprised me and angered me was having the realization that Trump is trying his best to stay in power and as a president. You can see through social media the different affects that all this commotion has. I definitely believe that majority of the stuff that happened from the 2020elections will be remembered. From the mail-in ballots to even the endless laughter and headaches of the presidential debates.

Interviewer: Nevontae McDowell

Questions asked: How do you feel about the name “Generation Z”?

Do you believe that there are some underlying “rules” or motives that Generation Z hold in comparison to previous generations?

Would you say that this generation is more active towards activism? (No pun intended haha)

How would you say our generation view politics? Furthermore, how do you think we confront unjust things as a generation?

Interviewee: Asha I. She/Her. 17 years of age.

“Honestly the name “Gen Z” for our generation has really taken on a bold new meaning and I feel like you really can’t say that for other generations like Gen Y (Millennials) because when someone says “Gen Z this…” everyone knows who the person is talking about because the majority of our generation is so outspoken and socially involved. We are kind of like the Beyoncé of the generations.

“I think one unanimous thing about us is that we will always fight for what’s right. I think an unspoken rule is holding people accountable for their actions. [This includes] friends, elders, whoever because even when we see a bystander to injustice it’s like we see them as just as wrong as the person doing the actual injustice. But, on a more lighthearted note, I feel like a hilarious unspoken rule is not telling people outside of our generation certain trends and being able to do undercover that it makes the news.”

“(Laughs) um I definitely would say that with some exceptions of course. But, I do think that that we’re more prone to activism because we were so silenced for so long. Some of us are still being silenced more than others. We are tired of not being respected, not being heard, and not being taken seriously. So, we try our best to do anything to be heard by any means necessary.”

“I think our generation is more on the liberal side of things. We accept people for who they are and not try to judge those for who they choose to be. But, obviously there are tons of exceptions to those kinds of people in our generation sadly. The majority of us confront injustice through social media, protest, and complete and utter bluntness.”

Interviewee: Shamar R. He/Him/She/Her/They/Them. 17 years of age.

“I’m sort of indifferent towards it honestly. It makes sense though”

“I do actually. Looking at the way Generation Z is promoted on the internet as the “progressive” generation, there are many who are motivated to breaking social issues and stigmas that previous generations have accepted as normal.”

“Yes, it is. I think being raised on the notion that we will be the ones to change the world and make it better has pushed a lot of us towards activism.”

“If I’m being completely honest, our generation is really divided on where we stand politically. You can easily find people in our generation who fall on either side of the political spectrum and aren’t afraid to voice their political opinions. Our generation also has a very unorthodox approach from utilizing the internet [all the way] to an active protest.”

Interviewee: Melyanet E. They/ Them. 18 years of age.

“I think its ironic in the worse way. Kind of like we’re the last generation before global warming completely eradicates humans in a few years.”

“In my experience, Generation Z prides itself on being the most unproblematic generation. Certain views or opinions are very scrutinized meaning someone can get cancelled simply for listening to an artist that is considered problematic. There’s so much more of an expectation to be an activist in one way or another within this generation.”

“Yes, definitely! Most of the activist influencers these days are part of Generation Z or really late Millennials.”

“I feel as though our generation, as they should, views politics as something we have control of. This is one of the first years Generation Z can vote and its turning out to be a very big election. We confront things head on and are really just trying to get the older generations to listen to us and take us seriously as young adults.”

Interviewee: Chelsea R. 18 years of age.

“Honestly, I feel like Generation Z is such a unique and different name used for a generation and I am proud to be apart of it. I feel like we have such a uniqueness to all of our futures to live up to.”

“I do believe that there are some rules that our generation have in order to be considered to be in our generation. But, I also believe that every other generation has them as well.”

“Yes! I would definitely say that Generation Z is more active towards being activists. Especially in this year 2020 where there is so much injustice and many problems within the world.”

“I believe our generation definitely view politics as a very important aspect in how we live our lives here in the US. This is not limited to our generation, but also the past and future ones as well. There are many examples online and in the new on how we confront unjust things like marching and protesting. I do still believe that we need to figure out what to do after the protest. It does not just stops at that.

I was surprised to see that Gen Z republicans are most likely to admit that black people are treated unfair than their other generational counter parts. Furthermore, I am surprised to see that a large amount of Gen Zers are motivated and are moved to make a difference politically. I never focused on the diversity of the generation but to see that it is definitely different than the others is very surprising. I believe that everything I listed previously portraits what Gen Z is and even more. Gen Z is very unorthodox when it comes to life overall. While being direct and upfront with politics and how people aren’t treated equal, the way we can act in general is more outrageous and laid back. Gen Z has a more individualist approach to things and gives more area of freedom and growth for people to do exactly what they want to. We’re ambitious and can be stubborn when we are passionate in what we want and know. If I were to interview these stories I wouldn’t have added or removed anything because the originality and authenticity of how things are perceived would change. I have a overall feeling of reassurance and overall feeling related to. This does not bring out any other strong emotions.

It’s been about a week or so since the worst presidential debate to date (ha that rhymes). It’s been a week since Trump commented on Biden wearing a mask everywhere he goes to protect himself from Covid-19. It’s quite ironic because Trump has been diagnosed with Covid-19, the very own illness that he claimed to be far less harmful than anticipated. I actually feel very bad and almost at a loss of words as I constantly see videos of him wincing in pain as he breathes. I’m completely floored at this concept because it’s almost like his words came around to bite him. Moral of the story…I now wholeheartedly believe in karma.

I don’t believe that there is a targeted audience with this campaign ad. There reason behind me knowing is that majority of the people shown was Biden and his relations. This is mostly a presentation of Biden as a person and what he will fight for if he is a president. He presents arguments of advancing America in many beneficial ways and at a rapid pace that it’s citizens would not even be able to keep up. This will bring strong feelings of excitement and overall joy because of the future with a subtle gleam of hope as well. It plays on the emotions of people currently going through the difficult times of today. Furthermore, this is more of a positive ad because it does speak on what society has  problems with now. Such as the current COVID spread and how to actually handle it and how to bounce back from the setbacks because of it. The visual elements on this ad plays heavily on the emotions and gives the viewer more of a emotional push towards Biden. Despite the actual message of the campaign, even the camera shots tell and show many emotions too. For example, there are many still, black and white, and even vintage videos were exhibited in the ads. The still and B&W shots were probably to show the more serious nature of Biden as they were taken when he was in debate or some type of meeting. The vintage videos were more of a flashback to Biden when he was much younger. Also, not to leave out the different cameos of other political members such as Trump. There is also a shot of the American flag panning out with the text “We the people” slowly appearing and disappearing with militia members coming shortly after the text. One thing that does not lack when it comes to this campaign ad’s visuals are the protests and big groups of people speaking for what is right. This campaign ad could of been more focus on pep rallies and revolving more around Biden but it does the exact opposite. It shows more of the people and their endless motivation for change. There are is only two real persuasive technique that were used dominantly in this campaign ad. They consist of the emotional persuasive technique Pathos and the credibility persuasive technique Ethos. I believe that my ad is successful to a certain degree. Those who are more emotionally active and trust Biden more than the opposing side would give him their entire support and focus. This would have made the campaign ad more trust worthy only because it plays on the emotions. Furthermore, Biden has been more credible than his counterpart which means ultimately people would give him more support.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3UsWMbUpF4&ab_channel=JoeBiden

When I read ” Shitty First Drafts” by Anne Lamott and “Rethinking the Shitty First Draft.” by George Dila’s I initially thought. When do these two authors know exactly when a draft is THEE one? Also, how many attempts did it take for them to realize that the draft was nothing more than a draft? Nonetheless, I believe that I have more of a connection to Anne Lamott when it comes to writing drafts. I never really try to have a direct reason or meaning behind what exactly I am writing about until it is done. If I have a certain amount of errors or moments where I ask myself what exactly am I going on about? Then it’s probably a great time to go back to what objectives I was suppose to hit during my drafts. But, I also agree with George Dila’s. I am so used to critiqued with my writing that I don’t really continue the process of an essay until I know exactly that I got approval from a instructor. This is similar to writers striving for perfection in their craft or projects right off the back. No one wants to write something that is really bad in the beginning. We all want that high quality paper that gets shown off to whomever. But, what I fail to realize and probably what others fail to realize too. Is that that type of quality in work comes from revising and going over numerous drafts so that it can reach that perfection and quality that it really should be.

I am writing about Trevor Noah’s “Born a crime”. This autobiography goes through him living in South Africa during a time where he was not recognized by his people simply because he looked different. Central ideas raised in this text is proving to others your worth and fighting for your belonging. Trevor had a mother who was black and a father who was white. This was viewed as very strange and basically looked down upon during that time in Apartheid South Africa. The people in Noah’s tribe or even land was much darker from him. Even despite speaking their native tongue, Noah faced many obstacles  just to be viewed as them. This is connected to modern day society as well. Many people constantly fight and protest and have to prove themselves as worthy just to have a stabilized life. This can range from different skin tones and speaking a certain language to practicing a religion or even sexuality. “They were ready to do me violent harm, until they felt we were part of the same tribe, and then we were cool” (56). Noah almost got robbed because of his complexion and if he haven’t proven to the kids that he was one of them just lighter, it would of amounted to a different result for him at the end. I chose this text because I live the same life style of constantly having to prove to people or just in general that certain things regarding my practice, skin tone, sexuality, and overall worth can’t define my goals or success. It is important for everyone to not judge or view people so broadly and to further investigate the person character.