Day 6: Project Pitch (Lok-See Lam)

Topic Pick: “What Are Words?” by Peter and Evynne Hollens and The Piano Guys

I am choosing this song as my first pick because I find that although I don’t strongly resonate with it, I find its lyrics bring about a truth and reflection that we rearly consider in the words that we say to the people we love. The main chorus of the song, “what are words when you don’t mean them when you say them,” essentially defines the whole song. The song is about how love should be unconditional, and that when we say we love someone, we stay by them regardless of what happens, staying with them forever. I believe the advantage of choosing this song is that it can relate to just about anyone because it doesn’t have to relate to just romantic love, but anything we love, a sport, craft, or family member; the same meaning of love applies to anything, loving it through the highs and lows. The disadvantage is that the song lyrics are minimal if it is relating to anything besides a love relationship.

“Rise Up” by Andra Day

“Rise Up” has become a major inspiration song in the past year and I believe it brings about very strong emotions. The song goes through singing about rising up, how when we fall in life, we must get back up stronger than before and keep going. As the song has been used for a vast number of events to encourage positive attitutes such as perseverance, persistance, and courage, it has also impacted many struggling through a difficult time, giving hope. These influencial moments prove that the song is a powerful one that is relatable to many listeners.

“O” by Coldplay

This song by Coldplay uses the imagery of birds to represent rising above troubles that we may face throughout our journey and to just keep flying on. The birds in the song can represent anything from opportunities, relationships, or physical objects, that come and go, but someday you may fly along with it. The advantage and disadvantage of this song is that the tune is very slow and seemingly a solemn tone, but the song is actually a song of hope so it is a different approach that may go either way. Also, there doesn’t seem to be a clear direction of what the artist was writing about in the song lyrics, therefore it is open for self interpretation.

Do we use a new lens to analyze the text with each paragraph, and how may we connect the different lenses?

Is there an ideal order of the usage of the lenses to analyze the song?

Writing as a Process (Lok-See Lam)

Dancing Around Objectification: In Victoria Merlino’s piece, two women from The Harlem Dancer and Invisible Man have the same role, dance and entertain the men. They are both shunned and dehumanized because of the work they do, but one key difference between the two women is their race. The Harlem Dancer is a black woman, while the Invisible Man woman is white. For the woman from The Harlem Dancer, everyone who sees her perform is only intrigued by the beauty of her body, rather than the talent of her voice. Meanwhile, the white dancer from Invisible Man is being surrounded by the males she is performing for, being touched by the men. Differentiated just by the color of their skin, the white woman is able to escape from her misery by defending herself from being touched by those “under” her based on the color of their skin.

Intersectionality 101: According to the reading, Intersectionality 101, the way a person is judged based on their gender, race, or class is often overlapped, or intersected, and happen simultaneously. When one is discriminated, it is often a combination of several traits and likely the most common ones, for gender, race, and class. In the reading, the imagery of a traffic intersection is made, and the example of a car accident was made to show that no matter who’s at fault for the accident, it happened none the less and every car at the intersection became involved.

The Urgency of Intersectionality: In Kimberle Crenshaw’s TED Talk, she shows how there is not frame extended to intersectionality, only frames for forms of individual social injustice. Because there is no frame for the discrimination of intersectionality, people can’t see the problem, and if the problem can’t be seen, it can’t be solved. When two or more forms of injustice overlap people can’t see the problem as a whole, they can only see the problem broken down and suddenly it’s not an issue anymore; but it’s not the same when the problem is one verse when its broken down. Just because an employer hires black males and white females it doesn’t mean that intersectionality does not exist in the problem because a black female has not been hired.

Bechdel Test: The Bechdel Test is a test conducted to evaluate the role or portrayal of women in fiction, writing or filmmaking. The requirements for the test are simple, two or more women with an identity and an interaction about a topic other than another man. The primary goal of the test is to increase female characters and their role in fiction, but most importantly bring light to gender inequality in fiction.

Composing As a Process (Lok-See Lam)

Introduction to Composing as a Process: Writing is a repeating cycle of exploring, planning, drafting, and revising, and it’s about the process of the writing piece, not the finished piece. In order to become a better writer and create better products, we must practice the skills necessary. According to research, it has been shown that writing “helps us discover and reach new ideas during the act of writing itself.”

Shitty First Drafts: When writing and formal writing piece, it is best, if not a must, to have three stages: the first draft of just getting everything down on paper, the second draft to edit what doesn’t belong or what needs to be added, and the third or final draft to touch up and make it the best writing piece it can be. Regardless of what the writing piece is, it is crucial to use the first draft to get every thought down first, whether it sounds good or not, important or not, just get it down. I absolutely love that I’m being told by writing individual that getting it all down first is very important. I’ve had so many experiences where I had a great idea pop into my head but didn’t write it down yet because it didn’t quite belong in the spot I was on, but then would forget the idea before I can get it on the paper.

Freewriting: Freewriting is a very helpful way to practice writing down anything and everything pertaining to the writing topic even remotely. It encourages muting and ignoring the voice of reason in your head that is trying to make the first draft the perfect draft. Over time, regular freewriting exercises will stop the writer from the bad habit of refraining to put down a thought just because it isn’t 100% perfect, whether because it’s not in the right spot, or sound the right way or conveying the right information. Don’t try to create and edit at the same time, create THEN edit. I’ve always been told that daily freewriting will make someone a better writer but was never explained how or why; now I completely understand.

Putting it all together, to become a better writer and to create the best writing pieces one can make the first draft a shitty one just to get every idea out there. Meanwhile, don’t let anything stop you from writing an idea down because that voice in your head that’s saying “no, don’t write that” comes in later on to edit the second draft. Don’t create and edit at the same time, create then edit, that’s what the second draft is for.

Metaphors We Live By (Lok-See Lam)

Summary of Metaphors We Live By:

In the reading Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, the authors demonstrate how metaphors are not only used in write, but also through our words and every action. According to the reading, “most of our ordinary conceptual system is metaphorical in nature,” so in a sense, conceptual metaphor had been something we’ve had in our subconscious long before we intentional try to apply metaphors to our writing. Two metaphorical examples were used to help us better understand the idea of metaphor in nature: Argument is War and Time is Money. Within these examples, the author gives us a bunch of phrases commonly used in reference to the ideas of argument or time. Metaphorically, we think of arguments as a verbal battle like in war, using terms such as attack, defend, winning, losing, advantage, or disadvantage. Likewise, we’ve considered time a limited resource and valuable commodity and thus have commonly used words describing physical items to describe our experience with time. For example, words like spent, wasted, budgeted, cost, running out, or barrow have been used to describe a person’s condition with time in each instance. Because our conceptual system is metaphorically structured, we often speak or act metaphorically without knowing it. While metaphors can be used to keep us focused on the situation at hand, it “can keep us on focusing on other aspects of the concept that are inconsistent with that metaphor.” For example, while Argument is War, we wouldn’t consider that our opposing size is giving us valuable time while arguing in an effort to reach an understanding because it isn’t consistent with the metaphor at hand.

Response:

I find it this idea that we live a life of metaphors every day very interesting. As said in the reading, because it is rooted in our conceptual system, we do it subconsciously, it amazes me that we speak, act, and communicate with metaphors constantly throughout the day. One question that is raised for me is if the use of metaphors and the frequency that it is used affects a person’s creativity and if creativity has a greater influence on the use of metaphors or the other way around.

Summary of The Egg and The Sperm:

In the reading “The Egg and The Sperm: How science has constructed a romance based on stereotypical male-female roles” by Emily Martin, a strong biased is formed with the male sperm as superior and stronger in many ways, while the female egg is weak and inferior. Throughout the text, positive words and metaphors are used to describe the sperm as a hero saving the egg which is described in connotative words. The female reproductive cycle is negatively described as wasteful and destructive while the male reproductive cycle is praised. It is believed that based on this biased stereotype, it affected science in human biology. I find the bases of the arguments in this reading very hypocritical considering males “waste” far more sperm than females do with eggs. In either case, I believe that the article and its ideas were unrealistic.

Jetty Ad(Lok-See Lam)

This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative. I saw this ad on the Manhattan-bound 7 subway train and chose it because it was the most comical. The particular train car that I was on was only advertising one company, Jetty, a company for renter’s insurance. I found this advertisement for the company was best because it was the most relatable, comical, and interesting. Today, almost everyone owns a phone, therefore this would be relatable to everyone who owns a phone, that there is always a possibility of losing it. It is comical because it seems obvious to what the speaker’s voice and tone would sound like, annoyance and acute sarcasm. Finally, it is interesting because I did not know that “subway grates are just a little bit wider than phones” and it made me wonder if that “fact” was really true, drawing more attention to the ad.

Tools for Analyzing Texts (Lok-See Lam)

Summary:

Text analysis, or “meta-thinking”, is going beyond the words or ideas in front of us and figuring out how it works. For example, certain texts trigger strong emotion within us, and thus we must find out how that is. In order to analyze the text, we must break it down into simplistic pieces, then put it back together. By breaking it down, we can evaluate each element of the whole picture. The lens is the point of view from which we analyze from, and things we consider include the intended audience, purpose of the text, the genre, and the media or platform it is placed in. Additionally, the timing of the text, the limitations due to the audience’s beliefs, and the cause that led to the text being composed. Finally, theoretical lenses are used to account for the role of characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, ableism

Response:

I think it’s amazing to learn that there is so much the reader can know without the author explicitly stating it in the text. Just as it is said that humans only use 10% of their brain, when we read the text without analysis, we are missing the whole story. If we analyzed most of the elements of any given artifact, a whole new picture would form.

What is Rhetoric? (Lok-See Lam)

What’s one new thing you’ve learned about this course or resources at Baruch for writers that you found interesting?

I learned the five key foundational goals I should have for all English reading or writing classes that would be critical in the improvement of my writing and reading comprehension skills. Additionally, I learned about all the resources the Writing Center here at Baruch College offers to help all the students become better writers.

“What is Rhetoric?” (summary)

From the perspective of the writer, rhetoric is the use of language, strategy, and other symbols to persuade the reader of the author’s intentions and thoughts. Accounting for all the differences among their audience, the author finds the best way to communicate the objective of their text. Keeping in mind who the audience is, the author considers how to appeal to different readers in the most effect way, such as using a combination of logic and reason, emotion, and character. The writer’s ultimate goal is to leave signs for the reader throughout the text so that the reader may understand the author’s thoughts and ideas as well as the purpose and importance of these concepts.

As the audience, rhetoric is the readers’ understanding and interpret of the text they have read. The goal is not to have the readers’ understanding and the author’s intention to be parallel, but that both positions be independent of the other. After analyzing the writing, it is the readers’ task to interpret the use of language along with other symbols and make sense of what they believe to be the meaning behind the text and why. Essentially, the readers are creating a theory as to what they believe the author may have possibly been trying to express.

Lok-See Lam

About Me

I am a humble, shy, introversive individual who does not like to be in the spotlight when in large group settings. However, around people I know and am comfortable with, I speak very loud and freely as well as take a leadership position. I am honest with a very rigid mindset believing rules should always be followed, honesty is unconditional, and bad actions should have consequences. I am a hands on and visual learner, and completely lack any hand-eye coordination. I am very independent, while I enjoy spending time with friends, I don’t mind being by myself or doing things alone.

About My Writing

I very much enjoying writing so long as I can understand and relate to the topic I’m writing about. I prefer writing about information or non-fiction because I’ve realized, after being told many times to write something fictional, that I lack any and all sense of imagination. My favorite tool in writing is the Thesaurus as it expands my use of synonyms and other vocabulary. Whenever I write anything that is to be submitted, I must type out what I’m writing because I tend to be all over the place with my ideas, and I just write whatever comes in mind at the moment. With typing, I can easily add in ideas, move sentences, or temporary omit sections until a clear picture forms as to where I’m going with my writing piece.