Uncategorized – English 2100 x 81: Fall 2020

Blog Post 11/17

It seems that the appreciation of the positive and the selective forgetfulness of the negative are inevitable actions of human nature. We aspire to the bright spots of humanity, so we praise a loving father, an affectionate husband, an excellent basketball player. We abhor the ugliness of humanity, so normally we would vehemently condemn all rapists. But when those two coincide in one person, as in the cause of Kobe Bryant, fans are rightly overwhelmed. In this case, it seems only natural to forget the stain of the past and embrace the subsequent successes. Just as people often choose to disregard the embarrassing, sinful, and depressing moments in their own lives, they also intend to forget their idol’s past. The truth is that facing the objective truth is not frightening; it is the collapse of faith that is frightening. As in this case, acknowledgment of the fact(sexual assault case) seems to be equivalent to the collapse of faith.

I think the last part of Davis’ article was well written. “A full portrait of life is jagged and messy. It’s incoherent.” she writes. Indeed, that full portrait must contain all elements of life; Light and darkness, life and death, love and hate. All are part of the picture. As Davis stated, ‘Disentangling that(the pieces) is a shared responsibility, that is ’something we owe to each other to get right.’

Social Media and Mental Health

Topic: Social Media and Mental Health

Question: What Impact has social media left on today’s society when it comes to mental health.

I picked this topic since I find it very relevant to today’s times. As a person who’s apart of generation z, I grew up with social media, like instagram and snapchat. The media has had an affect on beauty standards, body standards, etc, which is why it has left such a great impact on people’s thought processes. I believe that I need to do more research and use personal experiences to write this essay.

Research Topic/Question

Topic: The effect of COVID-19 on the world of soccer.

Question: What effect has the coronavirus had on the English Premier League, both economically and in terms of fan dedication.

Extra Information: Coronavirus had massive effects on the world of football as it shut down leagues around the world and even lead to a few rule changes. Not only that but since the reopening of the leagues and the more recent opening of the new season, many players have had issues with the pandemic protocols in place to keep players safe leading to many key players missing games. Many people felt that the way many soccer organizations dealt with the pandemic was very unfair. For example, the Ballon d’Or was not given out despite there being a clear leader as the best player in the world: Robert Lewandowski, who many fans felt was treated unfairly. With all of this in mind, I would like to delve into the effects the virus had on the leagues financially as well as how it has affected the dedication of fans who Amy be frustrated by all of the changes. To study this, I do not think it would be efficient nor fit the parameters of this assignment if I looked at every major league in the world, so I will instead be looking at the English Premier League alone.

Research Process

Topic: Music Industry

Research Question: Do upcoming musical artists benefit more or less from signing with major record labels?

Obviously, this question varies per artist and record label, so I am going to need to analyze multiple cases to get the full picture. This means looking at interviews and reading statements from the labels to grasp the bigger picture. I also have to take in mind the background of the labels themselves, including their introduction and location, as some areas feature more aspiring artists than others, and that can influence the answer to the question.

Introduction to the new Jim Crow

The quote “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it” is saying that we have not ended racial discrimination towards minorities we have just narrowed it down and make it sound less harsh. I think that Now we have just adjusted to what people think is the racial discrimination solution but really we are living in racial discrimination just different. I feel as through out the years people have been brain washed to think that everything is okay and the problem has been solved but clearly it’s not because theirs still people out there who feel like they’re superior to others and are better just because of how they look, they feel need to harm or make someone feel bad about themselves because they think they’re better.

38

After reading the poem, I found it to be a very depressing story, and one that I had never heard of before in any history class. I believe this is due to America’s habit of leaving out the worst parts of our history, such as how they left the hanging of The Dakota men out of the Lincoln movie. I have read poems like this before, as I remember reading several poems about hanging during the times of slavery and the KKK, which is still around, in America. I recall reading a poem about a hanging in my 12th grade AP Literature class, as well as a few poems in my AP US History class. Both of these were as upsetting as 38, yet were told very differently. This poem is read differently, as it seems like I am having a conversation with the author, as they ask questions and reach out for the reader. One example of this is seen when they say, “So it’s possible that you’re asking, “Why were thirty-eight Dakota men hanged?” (Layli Long Soldier) When the author writes that “everything is in the language that we use”, she is talking about how the US government kept changing treaties with the Dakota people, making it harder for them to live. In my understanding, this statement means that the language used in the treaties and everything spoken between the US government and Dakota people was manipulated to trick the Dakota people. Language can be easily changed to go against people, and this is a clear example of that. The author provides proof of this by showing how the Dakota people never got money for the land, and were instead hanged and sent to prisons as a punishment for fighting for their rights and land back.