Project Pitches (Shiv Kohli)

Topic 1: Kendrick Lamar DNA lyrics

This is my top pick. Kendrick Lamar’s DNA lyrics are dense and full of hidden messages and metaphors. It’s pro’s is that it can be related to many major issues in the present day and can many different lenses can be used. For instance, a fox news clip is played during this song. A con that comes with choosing this would probably be how I would structure my paper to get to at least six pages.

Topic 2: Get Out (movie)

This movie is famous for being the highest rated movie of its year. It’s full of commentary regarding race and religion that’s put in a horror genre film. It’s pro’s would be that it’s got plenty of metaphors and deeper messages that ties into our history as a nation and present-day events. For instance, there is a scene involving picking cotton which parallels slavery.

Topic 3: A Quiet Place (Movie):

This movie is a horror/thriller film that’s mainly focused on the noises made in the film. This causes the visuals in the movie to hold more importance and messages than a regular movie would necessarily. The main message of this movie is about family. This makes it easy to relate to many people and gives an extra lens to view this movie. A con is that there probably aren’t many lenses that can be used for this movie that I can think of.

Writing as a Process (Shiv Kohli)

Introduction to composing as a process:

No writing is truly a final piece. Anything written can always be improved or added on to. It is a constant cycle that we all follow. The term writing is defined as “all of the work that went into getting there.” And the “there” is called the product or end result.

Freewriting:

Freewriting is a method used to improve your writing. It requires you to write for at least 10 minutes without a break at least three times a week. Peter Elbow believes that the advantage of permitting more editing in writing when compared to speaking is also its downfall too. This method’s goal is to help get rid of the awkwardness and “general messiness” of our “natural verbal product.”

Shitty first drafts:

This writing is introduced with Anne Lamott’s personal story of writing a restaurant review. She mentions her process of getting to a final, well-written paper. She describes the how the first draft is always going to be horrible and to just push through it and that it can take days just to get your writing flow and “trust” yourself.

Response:

One thing I noticed that all these sections reference is the ability to trusting yourself or the process of getting things done by just sitting down and writing what’s in your head. Lamott’s strategy is very similar to the freewriting method in the sense that your first draft is never supposed to be considered amazing and to keep working on it until you feel it is your best work.

Intersectional Readings (Shiv Kohli)

Dancing around objectification:

Where The Harlem Dancer and Invisible Man are similar in dehumanizing women dancers through diction, they contrast on how the dancer’s race affects their own situations. Victoria Merlino highlights this by comparing the different description and audience reactions between the two women. For the white women, she is treated like an item that is both equally hated and wanted. For the black women, she is described as someone who has to go along with how the audience perceives her.

When examining the differences between how each dancer is described I think its imported to understand the concepts behind the books themselves. The Harlem Dancer is a poem reflecting on the life of an African American dancer and Invisible Man is a novel that addresses many issues that African Americans faced in 1952. I think both authors excel in dehumanizing the characters, especially when you compare how Ellison’s white dancer can escape but Mckay’s black dancer can’t, highlighting the racial differences.

Intersectionality:

Intersectionality is simply the attempt to explain how categories such as gender, race, and class interact in our systematic social inequality. There are two theories to intersectionality. One is the interlocking matrix of oppression. This basically states that all these categories are interconnected and overlap. For instance, a black woman like the Harlem dancer is discriminated by both her race and gender and it can be hard to separate the two. The second is called the standpoint theory. This is when the writer is influenced by their own personal experiences, limiting their social awareness to issues.

The urgency of intersectionality:

Kimberle Crenshaw starts her Ted talk by mentioning African Americans shot and killed by the police. She immediately points out that the difference between the names you don’t know and the names you do are because of gender. She claims that the media highlights more crimes on black men than black women. This was just one of her many examples that she gave when discussing intersectionality and the importance of acknowledging it.

I think one of her strongest points was the situation that the young African American lady had in which she couldn’t work in a factory because most people where men and most of the females were white. She was facing discrimination on both gender and racism and still lost the case. Her most powerful point was the end when she showed us footage of African American women getting abused and harassed by police officers.

Bechdel Test:

The Bechdel Test is a famous method that “evaluates the portrayal of women in a work of fiction.” There are three requirements to pass this test. Basically, the requirements are that there must be at least to women that talk to each other about a topic other than a man. It is said that only about half of all films meet these requirements. This test originates from a comic strip made by Alison Bechdel that was made in 1985 and is still relevant to this day.

I think most people are informed of this test or at least have heard some form of it because it’s so relevant in today’s society and entertainment industry. I also think the Bechdel test is proof that in our society we all demonstrate the standpoint theory (intersectionality) in the sense that some of us are so used to the way films are made we don’t even acknowledge the Bechdel test, to begin with.

Question:

Is it possible that the reason the Bechdel test is still relevant to in today’s society is because we all have a form of intersectionalities standpoint theory?

Metaphors We Live By (Shiv Kohli)

Metaphors We Live By Summary and Response:

Metaphors We Live By, by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, describe how metaphors exist beyond just a characteristic of language and how they can be found in everyday life. That said, they also mention how we are not normally aware of the fact that they are encased in the concept behind our arguments. When reading this text, I started to realize the potential truth of metaphorical concepts in our language. Perhaps, it isn’t that we can find these metaphors in everyday life, but that these “metaphors” have always existed and we fit them into concepts of how we define a metaphor. Similar to the famous quote from Oscar Wilde, “Life imitates art”. In the text, Strategies For Active Reading, by Maria Plochocki The first step for successful active reading is to understand the length, genre, and visual of the text you are reading. How you spend your time reading the text by knowing how to divide your time wisely and efficiently comes next. Understanding your learning style and being able to focus your thoughts on the text at hand. Undeniably, these steps don’t necessarily have an order but all are equally important. This text mentions the modern day and how it has changed our way to actively read. E-books, computers, and other technologies all influence our way of analyzing and I think it’s a key reason to why these strategies work. With these new technologies in our life, it is easy for our attention span to have shortened with all the excess amount of information thrown at us. These strategies help bridge our ability to comprehend the information from a text and develop it into an analysis.

The Egg and The Sperm Summary and Response:

The Egg and the Sperm, by Emily Martin, brings attention to the hidden gender stereotypes in biology and the potential harm it could have. This text starts by focusing on the wording and description of gender reproductive systems and the difference between them. Pointing out that the male reproductive system is often described as a phenomenon and the women’s as more of a failure. Initially, I was surprised when reading this text. Throughout all of my health education, I never saw the gender stereotypes on my own. Maybe perhaps it is because I’m a guy and I never thought of it that way before. I do agree with what Emily Martin said about how even though guys make a million “failed” sperm, it is always seen as something to be impressed by because of the huge number. With that said, I can understand where she is coming from with this hidden gender stereotyping.

Connection:

One connection between Metaphors We Live By and The Egg and the Sperm that I find really interesting is how Emily Martin’s relies on certain metaphorical concepts to make her argument. For instance, our culture sees men and women be equal in society. This is what holds Martin’s claim about gender stereotypes in biology. In other countries with different cultures, this may not necessarily be the same case. Emily Martin’s claim and argument are strong and honest, but the metaphorical concept behind it is what helps it relate to us.

Women in the met? (Shiv Kohli)

I first saw this advertisement in my art history class and it immediately got my attention. This advertisement was made by the Guerrilla Girls which is run by female artists and uses strong imagery to get the viewers attention. I choose this ad because the colors really stood out to me and brought up an important issue that I never thought about before. Although this ad focuses on paintings at the Met I think it can also relate to the other art museums around the world.

Tools for Analyzing Texts (Shiv Kohli)

Summary

The process of analyzing is personal and unique to the individual. When reading a piece of writing we all use lenses (theories) and rhetoric concepts to analyze it. Concepts such as who the audience is, what’s the purpose, and what is the genre all help understand the text as a whole. There are many different lenses that we as readers use to interpret a text. Not all lenses work the best for certain types of text. Often, some lenses work better for visual texts compared to fiction and nonfiction. The insight that you as a writer offer to your reader is just as important when it comes to analysis. In other words, it’s important to leave the audience with an idea that you want them to get out of your writing.

Response

I find it intriguing just how many tools there are when it comes to analyzing a piece of text. Factors such as the setting, timeline, ethnicity, intersectionality, just to name a few, all can completely change the way a text is interpreted and analyzed.

Question

With there being so many different ways to analyze a text, how can we truly know what a certain author from centuries ago really wanted us to take away from it?

Day 2: What is Rhetoric (Shiv Kohli)

Something New and What I Found Interesting:

One thing that I found interesting was Baruch’s student publications. In my high school, I was part of a literary magazine class similar to Baruch’s Encounters Magazine. What I learned that was new was the fact that Baruch doesn’t just have one magazine but two. I really liked the concept of Refract Magazine and wished there was something like that in my high school. I also really like the idea of one-to-one sessions and how any student writer can learn and benefit from that.

What is Rhetoric? Summary and Response:

Simply put, rhetoric is the how and why for a piece of writing. A successful rhetorical analysis disregards the opinions of a claim and instead focuses on how the author presents the claim and for what reason. In the present day, anyone can find rhetoric anywhere. It is merely the interpretation that we present to a writing or any other form of expression.

What makes this section of the reading so good is that it divides the definition into the parts for what is true rhetoric. Subheadings such as, “Artifacts and Texts” and “Using a Lens”, helps give the reader a clearer understanding of what rhetoric is while also becoming more specific with details. Also, by comparing rhetoric to the ‘buying a product that has a certain audience’ it helps establish and connect the term to a scenario that is easier to understand for the reader. I find the history of rhetoric interesting and how differently it can be defined.

A Little About Me (Shiv Kohli)

About Me

I am a hard worker, determined, and open-minded person. I look forward to getting to know my fellow classmates better and am excited for what this semester brings. Coming from Maryland I am slowly learning all of the quirks that come along with New York City. I wouldn’t say I am comfortable with expressing myself at first, but over time I do open up. I believe in having fun and learning new things.

About My Writing

I’d like to believe I’m somewhat of a proficient writer. With that said, whenever I try to write I find it difficult to focus on the subject at hand. Often, I get caught up in what I should write next before I even finish the very sentence I’m working on. While other students may be halfway done with a writing, I would have barely started. I believe this to be my biggest problem. Constantly when I’m writing I pause to rethink if there is a better way to present a claim and if my original way isn’t good enough. Although I have improved in this area over the years I know there is room for more.