Persuasions: Identities, Stereotypes, & Fights

For those of you that don’t know, I joined the radio station at our school. I’m going to be hosting a rock show every Wednesday (either from 3-4 or 4-5, not sure yet.) Anyway, after much consideration, I finally picked a name. I pulled a lyric from the song, “Dead End Justice” by The Runaways and it is………

The Naked City.

Whatcha think!?

About a week ago a mini- hurricane hit my area.  I live in middle village right near queens center mall and this area was torn up by the “ghost” hurricane.  It’s one no one ever saw coming.  No meteoroligist predicted it.  I have not even heard of winds hitting my area until I saw the destruction first hand.  I came out the train station at 9 pm and I walk a couple of blocks to my house and once I turn the block all the trees are down.  The winds hit my neighborhood so hard the cement came off the ground about 10 feet.  Two cars in front of my house were destroyed by these monstrous tree’s.   Power lines were cut throughout by tree’s and firefighters were out all night long.  Woodhaven blvd near the cemetaries where I live was filled with tree’s.  Car’s couldn’t pass by for 2 days.  I heard sirens as I was sleeping and people outside asking questions about when this mess is going to be cleaned.  As of now many people still don’t know about the “ghost” hurricane.  When it hits your neighborhood you will say to yourself ” Is this for real”.

This is my thesis for option 2 (Value):

Something the dictionary is missing when it comes to the word value, is a medium of measurement. Yes, value definitely means relative worth, but more specifically, how one determines this relative worth.

I’m having trouble as far as where I’m going with this essay…any ideas on how to structure it?

Time. I find it amazing how we allow time to control us. The way we allow time to dominate our lives, placing barriers on us, forbidding us from living in true “freedom”. Upon graduating from high school I came to the realization that no matter how much I try to reverse the roles and be the one controlling time for once, this will never be possible. As the last week of school was flying right before me, I realized I couldn’t stop time. I was quietly trying bring time to a pause, in order to be with the men who I came to call my brothers just a few days longer. But time ended up slapping me in my face. Time didn’t wait for me to come to terms with reality, and the only choice I had left was to make the best of what was left of my senior year.

Along with that realization, I also came to find that I couldn’t BEAT time, but I was able to CHEAT time. I wasn’t able to stop time altogether, but i was able to hold on to it. I can now say that moments of laughter can last through days of suffering, just if you hold on to it correctly. There are moments in which we would love to be stuck in, but since this is impossible, we might as well let those moments be stuck to us.

My plan for this semester was to go to Baruch, try to get the highest grades as possible  and then transfer to SUNY Geneseo Spring term. I was guaranteed admissions for Spring term and I accepted it because I thought that it was what I wanted. But now that I think about it I don’t know if I will be able to last in the middle of nowhere. Geneseo is surrounded by farm animals and trees and I have lived in the city my whole life. I love the city and I love walking and shopping around the city. I don’t know if I will be able to adjust living upstate. Also I like Baruch a lot more than I thought I would. I wasn’t expecting to make any new friends because all of my old friends are here but I did. Then there’s the issue with the dorm life…I really want that experience. I feel like you can only have it once and I know that Geneseo will definitely be able to give me that. Also I’m going to miss everyone so much, especially my best friend.

Two weeks ago I told two of my friends that I was set on transferring so they made a bet on how long it would take me to change my mind. One of them bet 3 days and the other bet 3 weeks. I changed my mind after 8 hours. I have no idea what I want.

When I first got accepted to Baruch, I wasn’t too excited and I wasn’t too proud of myself. I was going to a CUNY for financial reasons and I figured it would only be school; I’d deal. I had many people tell me that I was going to hate it there and that I had made a bad decision in choosing to going to a CUNY. I didn’t think anything of it and thought all those people were overreacting. Unfortunately, after my first week at Baruch College, I was already set and ready to transfer out. I saw way too many Asian students for my taste and there was no real campus. I dreaded coming to school every day and I couldn’t wait until the day was over, let alone the week. I counted down my classes and practically flew out the school when my day was over.

As the days go on, I’m starting to like it a little more at Baruch. It’s not something I’m very proud to admit, though. I do still want to transfer to another school and get the entire “campus / college-life” experience but to be honest, I’m contemplating it a tiny bit now. I do want to see what Baruch has to offer me and see what I can make of it but a big part of me is doubtful that I will have as good of a time here as I would in a different school.

I’m hoping that after one semester here, I’ll be able to make a final decision and I hope I won’t be too late. After all, I did already buy a Baruch sweatshirt.

“Give me back my slippers, only I know how to use them. They’re no use to you! Give them back!,” said the Wicked Witch of the West to Dorothy but Glinda the Good Witch of the North tells Dorothy, “Keep tight inside of them. Their magic must be very powerful or else she wouldn’t want them so badly.”

Why would the Wicked Witch of the West want the ruby slippers so badly? Why does Glinda the Good Witch of the North tell the Wicked Witch of the West that she has no power “here” and shoos her off? Why does Dorothy attract so much attention after she has them on? What is this magic the Wicked Witch of the West refers to?

Glamour. These questions all point to the fact that Dorothy has something completely different from everyone else in Wonderland. The ruby slippers helped Dorothy have a high status in the town that she was in. They represented her wrecking the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy acquired fame and popularity and with that, she became more outgoing and fearless. This pair of red slippers from The Wizard of Oz can be easily compared to the modern societies’ new technology or fashion. For example, Sneakerheads, person who collects rare sneaker, might buy a pair of Nike Dunks for $2000 and what do you know, just like Dorothy they will gain fame because people will know they’ve got the dough and popularity because again, they’ve got the dough. This boosts the ego of the Sneakerhead causing fearlessness.

In The New Humanities Reader, Virginia Postrel writes in her article, Surface and Substance that, “Status competition is part of human life” and “Fashion itself can, of course, be a source of status, As anyone who has been a teenager knows, the right style can determine who’s in, while the wrong look can mean social Oblivion”. Obviously, from this we can infer that anything abnormal will attract the attention of the norm.

“We’re simply attracted to anything that helps us compete for recognition and dominance,” claims Postrel and that is exactly why the Scarecrow wanted a brain, the Tin Man wanted a heart, and the Lion wanted courage. Little did they know that they’ve always had all they needed inside them but they wanted something to show off that they did have brain, heart, and courage. The glamour of the items that the Wizard gives to them for reaching the Emerald City gives the characters a “lucid glimpse of[their] desire fulfilled”.

With glamour, comes confidence and in modern day society, without glamour, one will feel inferior to those who are wearing the latest seasonal outfits. These outfits provide what Michael Chabon calls “dreams of flight and transformation and escape”. They all help a person become an individual, a person who stands out in a crowd, a person who draws the eyes of people in a room when they walk in. Like a superhero, without their mask [glamour] they don’t have the courage [confidence] to save the day.

http://www.doublex.com/section/arts/secret-glamour-tin-man?page=0,0

After reading two of Virginia Postrel’s works, I have written another mental note and noted the true definition of glamour. Before reading Surface and Subtance I thought that I was a bit superficial and was ashamed of this in a sense. As a student in an all boys high school, after quite a few dress down days my friends started saying that I was “preppy” and the “fashionista” of my inner-circle. I would laugh this off while in the presence of my peers, but go home ashamed of my want to stand out.

Once I had read the first few pages of Postrel’s essay in The New Humanities Reader I thought to myself ” the writers Postrel is referring to would hate me”. But after reading more I found comfort on page 464. It read “..greater aesthetic variety is an equally functional product is an unequivocal improvement..if the goal is happiness..form in itself is a function”. I knew almost immediately that I was reading about myself, not in the case of green pagers, but in the case of what my friends referred to as “preppy” clothing. Dressing like this made me happy, so the form of this clothing was a function.

Then after reading How The Wizard of Oz Is Really About Glamour the pieces of the puzzle in my brain all of the sudden came together. In this article Postrel states “Glamour offers a lucid glimpse of desire fulfilled”. I suddenly realized that I never wanted to dress like the boys in my neighborhood because subconsciously I was associating sagged jeans and baggy sweaters with a bad lifestyle and an even worse future. At the same time I figured that if I dressed like the people in Manhattan I was one step closer to being one of the actual people living in Manhattan.

Being a person in Manhattan used to mean a person who was rich, successful, and worry free. As I got closer to graduating it became clear to me that those people had the same problems I did, and now it makes sense to me why I no longer care if my sneakers match my tee shirts.
Postrel managed to open not only my eyes, and I’m sure the eyes of many others, as she gave the true definition of glamour. I can now define glamour is that which we use in order to attain that which we desire, which in my case was nice clothing. If every definition I learned was as enlightening as the one given to me by Postrel I’d read more dictionaries ;).

http://www.doublex.com/section/arts/secret-glamour-tin-ma

So i was strolling down the street the other day, and i was fascinated at the fact that during my little walk, i ran into a few “celebrities”. Your probably wondering if i live in Hollywood,  or am i just another compulsive liar (too many of those these days). Well you know what, i live in New York and i see celebrities everyday,  i mean look at this picture that i took of … Rhianna?

Face it, 99.9% of the world’s pop. are wannabes’. Everyone tries to relate(act, dress, or look alike) to their own idol, “anything that helps us compete for recognition and dominance.” And there is no problem with that, it’s whatever floats your boat, or help you sleep at night. In Virginia Postrel’s “Surface and Substance”, she explains how “surface” and “substance” influence, everyday life. I translate “surface” directly into ‘looks’ and “substance” into ‘personality’, and in this case I definitely say that “surface” plays a greater role than “substance”. When someone subconsciously impersonates their idol, whats the first thing they try to do? Of course to dress like them, this falls under the category of “Looks”. Maybe its because society “judge people, places, and things at least in part by how they look.” In a work interview, the interviewee would probably have a better impression of someone in a more expensive suit opposed to a cheaper one.

“Surface” Vs “Substance”, which do you think is the more influential force?

Most people ask does aesthetics truly matter? Some answer this question by saying that it does not and the only thing that counts is what is on the “inside”. Meaning, even if something looks bad aesthetically, such as a person or a phone, as long as either his/her personality good and kind or the phone’s technology works the way it looks should not matter. These people are what I like to call “dreamers”. Dreamers are people who believe that we live in a world where no one is superficial and everyone, whether they look good or bad, will mingle. In today’s society this is not the case, believe it or not, looks play the most important role in decision making, as well as life success. We are attracted to things that are appealing and make us feel good. It is an instinct that we cannot help.

In Virginia Postrels article “Mr.Charisma:Obama or Osama?” she says that “Glamour is an imaginative illusion like a literal magic spell.” Obama according to Postrel, has Glamour not Charisma. He is seen as “the fresh young prince onto whom Democrats project their hopes and dreams.” Aesthetics in politics does indeed matter. The democrats chose Obama because he is a good look for them. But according to Postrel what Obama lacks is charisma. Charisma in Postrels definition is having a stage presence, being able to inspire followers, and subjects himself to the same disciplines he expects from others. Having charisma does not mean you must have glamour. Postrel mentions leaders such as Hitler and Osama who had charisma. They were able to inspire followers for a cause that they believed in. Having charisma according to Postrel is not such a good thing at times.

I agree with Postrel because having charisma to commit an act such as 9/11, and holocaust is devastating causes that cost peoples life. However, if charisma is used to garner followers for a good cause such as raising money for cancer research, then yes being charismatic is advantageous. People in today’s society can’t help what they are attracted to. It’s an instinct as I mentioned before. We must find a way to control these instincts and find ways to use them for a better cause.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/books/item_K1JJrjVwwrGiFAyynPBm4L;jsessionid=E38814F08D37457ACCEECFA5DF00191A

Charisma?

Glamour?