ENG 2100 Writing KMWB Fall 2015

As several of you noted in your one-on-one conferences with me, you would like to expand your vocabulary–not only as an intellectual exercise unto itself, but as a way to develop a “treasure chest” of words to use in your essays and research papers: words that will help you out of the rabbit hole of repeating the same word; words that foreground more precisely the idea or point you are trying to convey, and so forth. I will list these words ~ and definitions ~ on the new page on this site, titled, “New Vocabulary.” However, since the only page you can type entries on is the Blog Page, I ask you to do the following on the Blog Page ~ as a “comment” to my post:

• List a word you have come across in your readings that is confusing or potentially intriguing.
• Offer a new word and one or two of its definitions (citing Merriam-Webster, OED, etc. as sources for the definition)

From your additions in the comments section on this post, I will add the vocabulary words to our growing 🙂  list. This list will be housed under the “New Vocabulary” page on our site.

The transformation of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner has really given the needed attention to the lifestyle of transgenders. We have seen a lot of celebrities change their gender but it wasn’t until bruce transformed that it really became big. Orange is the New Black also brought a lot of attention to it but the truth is that Laverne Cox wasn’t very popular. Bruce was extremely popular in the older community because of his athletic history but is also very popular to the younger generations because he is a part of the Kardashian family. Bruce has been able to impact that community in such positive way bring along the IamCait show and inspiring new shows like Transcendent on Fuse. Its an amazing thing really.

When viewing Brooke Shields ad about Calvin Klein Jeans in 1980, I noticed the perspective of the photographer when taking this photo. Since the product being sold was the jeans, the pose that the model has leads directly her leg towards the logo. The colors chosen for this ad: having a light background, and the jeans blue and the shirt red, makes the audience to focus their view towards the product being advertised. The target audience is woman, and the product being sold are the jeans for woman.

I found this to be such an amazing video. I have a history in dance but I never had an appreciation for it. Out of every dance i’ve tried, ballet was always my favorite. I am so familiar with all the stereotypes that come with Ballet and if it was my passion then I would try my best to break through those. Most of the stereotypes that come with the dance are physical expectations that suggest being white or to not be curvy. She has really broken through walls and admire how the color of her skin fuels her desire to pursue her dreams.

The Misty Copeland’s story was very intriguing and inspiring to the everyday girl. This ad attracted me the most because there have been sometimes where I’ve i couldn’t do something because i didn’t look like the person before me doing it. I remember when i was younger i was afraid to be on the swim team because i didn’t look like a typical swimming and i was afraid of the way my hair would be, and i was to tall but in the end i tried it out. Eventually i got better and started swimming competitively. Misty Copeland’s story can be applied to everyone because many that have been told they weren’t fit to do something have done it despite the criticism and have succeeded such as Oprah Winfrey. Oprah went from being told she wasn’t fit for TV to having millions of viewers and her very own network. We are all born differently and unique so why should one person’s image of how we should look set up our destiny in life. I will what I want was the perfect logo for this ad, showing that whatever you want to do or be in life you should!

This ad is very interesting. It is something different. Why you may ask. You most likely never see a man with a religious background displayed in a different way. The guy is wearing a turban, which is standing next to a white lady. His shirt is alittle bit open from the top. It pretty different. I feel this male model is adding a different taste to how modeling is suppose to “regularly” look like.

“Oh hey look, a Sikh man modeling for GAP.” Why is it that this was the first thing I noticed? Perhaps it’s because we’re taught to avoid mixtures of turbans and beards, perhaps it’s because of the aftermath of 9/11, perhaps it’s because he’s being held onto like a prized possession to show “comfort.” When I see ads such as this, I’m always skeptical; That’s because companies only ever feel the need to find ethnically “different” models when they want to seem “in the now.” Who’s to say that this man wasn’t chosen just because they want to seem welcoming to foreigners, or because they hadn’t had a Sikh model yet, so they figured, “we’ve done asian, black, hispanic, and white, let’s get a Muslim?” GAP is trying to make a statement with their choice of Sikh model to young Americans, yet he’s just as white -if not whiter-than his cohort. Why couldn’t GAP have chosen a significantly different looking female model to show diversity? Why is Waris split horizontally in two, showing signs of tradition on his head and showing Americanist behavior through his exposed chest? If GAP is going to “make a statement” they should do it right, less photoshop, more tradition, and MAKE IT REAL.

Watching Misty Copeland’s Under Armour ad made it clear to me that she not only represents commitment, but strength as well. In the ad you heard a little girls voice which was suppose to be conveyed as Misty when she was younger. The voice read off a letter that declined her from a ballot academy because she didn’t have the “right” body for it. Throughout the ad her body and her abilities in ballot are beautifully shown. The contradiction was clear and I feel like situations where one gets declined an opportunity because of the way one looks, is relatable to many people. Misty Copeland was interviewed in CBS This Morning and throughout the interview she talked about wanting to “set an example of what the future of dance holds.” She wanted to send a message that no matter what you look like, you can still dream big. I feel as if Misty represents more than just ballot dancer but represents those who ever got declined the opportunity to do something they love.

Misty Copeland is an extremely brave person for doing what she love. Even though she had many difficulties, she still kept her head up and kept doing what she love. She is really persistent and knew it would be difficult to overcome that hardship. She knew people would doubt her, and she took that to consideration as her motivation. In some ways, I can really connect to her and I know how it feels to be doubted on. She did what she love and at the end it paid off. She was consider the most popular and recognizable ballerina that is African-American, which is hard to overcome by because the society’s perception on ballerina back then. People back then thought ballerinas were white and they would start at a really young age. Misty Copeland overcame all those assumptions in Ballerina’s and became famous for her hard work and dedication to that activity. The underarmour video inspired me and had a relevant theme to many people such as myself. I felt like I had a connection with the video, which seems a little weird because I’m not a ballerina, but with basketball I can relate to what the general idea of the video is trying to show.

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I just finished watching both part of the “You Can Touch My Hair” short film. I found it really interesting because I’ve heard and seen many people ask black women if they can touch their hair. My friend would get asked that question a lot and I remember her talking about how people just come up to her and ask. She would get tired of it at times because it was her hair. Her hair wasn’t crazy or insanely different. Now, I feel like I get where she was coming from and that just because someone’s hair isn’t like yours, doesn’t mean we should treat them like they’re at the petting zoo. I never knew the actual history behind it and about Sarah Baartman. I thought it was so crazy that she was pretty much used as a display for Europeans that have never seen someone that looked like her. I think it is a very similar situation and black women are completely entitled to feel offended by the question or embrace it. Some people are simply just curious and I agree with one of the women who said it’s okay to be “honestly ignorant” and learn about the culture, hair and history.

“The Story of My Body,” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, is a story about Judith’s experience when arriving to Paterson, New Jersey from Puerto Rico. In Paterson, New Jersey, her body and her own self was seen and treated differently. My questions are: have you had a similar experience? What was your reaction?

I actually really liked this video. Misty Copleland proved such a strong point of how society pin points out people. She did it more generally in ballet, however this happens anywhere. Its a sad thing of how people need to be a specific size, skin color ect to just fit in. In the end when she mention ” And at thirteen, you are too old to be considered.” How would a thirteen year old even take that in if one was ever told that. This is why such young girls start having self conscious about their body. It would even suck more if somebody was so passionate about it . It does reinforce sterotypes, Misty Copleland is the only African American. It is also focused on body size. She has made it. I wonder if people still her different, due to her differences.

Why is 13 too old? Why is there a stereotypical “cookie mold” that all Ballerinas must fill? These are just some of the questions that filled my mind after watching the I Will What I Want ad Ft. Misty Copeland. At first, I thought, “what type of egotistical racists would have the nerve to point out a girl’s breast size and her tendons?!?!” but I guess I shouldn’t be talking, for I too mentally pointed out the parts on Misty’s body that looked “out of the ordinary.” For instance, I instantly noticed her cup size, her skin color, and her facial features, but why? Perhaps, it’s because of the stereotypical ideals that are instilled in society that I expected a white, flat chested girl. After I watched her interview, I want her to succeed as well, and I want her to “open the floodgates” for other ballerinas of different shape, size, and color. Hopefully her next interview will be discussing how her title as the first black principal dancer at American Ballet Theater enabled her to help those that feel powerless, just as she did.

I just finished watching the movie Ex-Machina that we saw the trailer for in class. It was an interesting movie, I suggest you guys watch it. I would tell you guys about it, but I don’t want to spoil it.