When I first finished the documentary I was quite stunned. I thought about how they said that in order to get people’s attention they have to use shock and realized that this was so depressingly true. I thought about how the political candidates use fear to manipulate citizens to vote for them, and to counter this extreme emotion of fear, one has to use another extreme emotion like horror. While I’d like to think that racism in America has improved drastically over the decades, this documentary really opened my eyes upon my ignorance. While in my past courses I have learned about slavery, racial segregation, and even mass incarceration, it wasn’t as effective as watching this documentary and seeing how the effects of this racism has harmed millions of Americans. At the same time I think it really relates to the current events that are going on in the country. I feel that despite our best efforts at eliminating racism in the world, there always seems to be someone who is ignorant or maybe just misinformed about racism that contributes to the problem. We live in an era where there’s so much information that’s accessible to everyone, no matter good or bad, and I often find it frustrating when others are misinformed. Therefore I think I will keep this documentary in mind and perhaps recommend it to those who are not very informed about the issues that are happening around them.

When I first walked into the collection for Kai Althoff I thought that it was very strange. The general mood was creepy, and frankly very eerie. I found most of the artworks to be very depressing. The background sound effect/music in the corner had a woman mumbling incomprehensible words, or perhaps it was in another language that I didn’t understand, she occasionally yelled and screamed, I found it increasingly more scary as I listened more.

The artworks in the collection was a huge mixture of different mediums and artistic styles. I thought it was kind of interesting to see a visible change in style as I walked around the exhibition, as if the artist was showing his artistic journey from his childhood to the present. I think that a lot of the artworks inside the collection is like bits and pieces from his life, a lot of them isn’t very clear as to what is going on. I think that they mostly convey the emotions of the artist and so they’re very abstract. This ties back to the negative capability of these artworks, the abstractness of the artworks tests the viewer’s negative capability to see and enjoy the art as it is and not have to reach to a conclusion as to who, what, where the artwork is referring to.

As for the piece that I liked the most, I would say the painting/print (it was untitled) of what looks like a birthday party. It had a group of kids playing, there was a puppet show, some kind of play/performance in the back and it was quite colorful. It was one of the few that made me feel happy and reminiscent of my own childhood. It reminded me of the times where I would go to my friend’s parties and eat cakes, play games, and have fun. I think that all the pieces in the exhibition is quite unique and interesting, I definitely enjoyed the trip!

Why does the woman think her daughter is going to become a slut? She repeats “the slut you are so bent on becoming” multiple times in the story.

Why does the author, Clarice Lispector, write the story in Rodrigo’s perspective and not the girl’s own perspective?

Baldwin talked mostly about his father, what role does the mother play? Why did he not care for his mother who had just gave birth to his baby sister and instead went drinking and partying for his birthday?

How would Freud explain children who are attracted to the same sex? Or both sex? It seems like Freud’s idea of father and mothers are very gender binary, would a gender neutral family or same sex marriage bring up a different “family romance”?

Why did Clarissa end up marrying Richard Dalloway? It doesn’t seem like there’s much love between them?

Ana headed off to school early today. As she walked to the bus stop the sun shined down on her and almost blinded her. After she regained her sight, she saw an old lady waiting at the stop as well. It was Mrs. Sawyer, her neighbor from across the street. Ana is early today, thought Mrs. Sawyer, usually she’s not around in the morning. “Good morning dear” she said. Ana smiled and nodded. Such a quiet girl!

The light turned green and the bus pulled to the side, letting them both on. On the bus the driver drove quickly over the bumpy roads. As she struggled for balance, Ana remembered the bus ride to New York a few years ago. It was very rough and she got really car sick. As time pasted by she got a little bit more used to it. Soon the bus arrived at the station and she got off. What a relief!

Throughout the poem the narrator seems very conflicted, he says multiples times “Do I dare?” and “How should I presume?”. What exactly is he trying to say?

Pt 1: Why did Gregor turned into a huge bug? How did he turn into a bug? Why does Gregor become a bug out of no where?

Pt 2: What happens to Grete in the end? The family’s sudden turn of interest on her seems very disturbing.