Buy Your Identity

So, the obvious theme of this weeks readings is identity.  More distinctly, identity through consumerism.  What is cool? How do we be cool? What can I buy or wear or advertise to stay cool.  It's amazing, once one reflects on the state of attire, nowadays. When I walk along the streets of this campus, or back home      -the halls of my high school- its curious to see how successful the clothing companies.  It has come to the point in modern society that the individuals essentially are walking advertisements. Shirts with giant logos splattered across them can be bought for anything from $10 to $100.  What this does is create a society that spends hours of their lives working, so they can afford to buy a shirt that they can wear, which advertises where they bought it, so that said industry can make more money. We are paying to advertise for the companies. Sit on that.

While the A&E for the homeless video is entertaining and thought provoking to say the least, I do have a problem with it. To be clear, the owner of A&E, aforementioned in the video, is nothing short of a sadistic, self-involved, very wrong, ass. That much is obvious. But the fact that the video maker gave A&E to homeless, believing it would insult the industry, is an insult itself to the homeless society. Doing something in such vain is no way to go about fixing this problem.  I understand that this may not have been the video-creators intention, but it is a consequence. That being said, the video does adhere to our idea of perceived "coolness" through a consumerist society. I argue it should be taken to the next level and address the problem head on. Macklemore's video begins to do this.

Overall, Macklemore's song and video is a great piece of critical perception. Similar to the "Jacket" article, the song and video address the dangerous emotional, physical, and mental affects of the pressures to be cool.  It also shows the consequences of not having the option to purchase such "coolness" in a world that demands such things. Often, young children suffer in many ways because of the way a consumer based society divides such groups.  It's a cruel joke.

I believe this unit is perfect for 6th graders through seniors in high school.  Its simple, its relevant, it is utterly truthful and it teaches children to dig deep beneath the surface of themselves and of society

Natural Compassion

So, of course animals are the component for the 7’th grade unit. At first, I wasn’t sure what the theme between all these pieces was, but I’d have to say it would be about compassion towards animals.  A number of the pieces really stood out to me though:

-          The Scarecrow

I was taken aback by the videos ending and its consequential reveal to be an advertisement for Chipotle.  While the video was heartbreakingly realistic and all too familiar, I don’t know whether the fact that Chipotle funded it is a good thing, or if it takes away from the video’s potential impact. I feel that the basic message of the video was to value organically grown crops without any steroids for size, as well as value the safety of animals and the proper growth and treatment of them.  It seemed to adhere to the vegetarians, vegans, and naturalist of society –with which I fully support- but I know that chipotle sells meat. I’m curious, though, if they’re meat and produce is locally grown and harvested naturally.  I mean, that is a big industry. To have the ability to compensate for such a demand, do they stay organic and natural? Do they not get they’re meat the same as most restaurant chains (as seen in the video).  At what point, the scarecrow peaks inside the broken plank of wood on the “All-Natural” building, only to see them inject the animal with growth hormones.  Similarly to the scarecrows discovery, am I really supposed to take Chipotle’s word that they are safe and all natural, just because they advertise it?

-          And Tango Makes Three

I actually love the idea of this piece.  The fact that it is based on real events is just amazing. For me, this story was simply a message of acceptance, in the simplest of terms. The debates still goes on for whether or not homosexuality is “natural” or not.  The fact that so many people argue about this tells me that society is missing the point.  Figuring out what “causes” homosexuality is not what is important; accepting one another with the notion that we are all unique, we are all different, but equally important and equally human. Candi Cushman is a prime example of this misunderstanding.  The two male penguins formed a bond; they wanted to raise something together because of this bond.  And I am fairly certain that the other penguins didn’t “catch” homosexuality   because of two penguins doing what came naturally.  This one, in my opinion, really stood more on its own as far as relating to the other pieces.

-          A Primal Compassion and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

I really enjoyed this story. So often to people believe that we are more important that any animal or creature.  Just because we may be more evolved, does not mean we have the right to do whatever we want to other animals. Animals have compassion, they have emotions, and they can feel fear and love both, just the same as humans. In my eyes, this gorilla wanted nothing more than to care for an injured child, something she would do naturally in her own habitat with her own children.  The end of the piece could not have a better point; if something seen as “lesser” than humans can show such compassion to something/ someone it knows nothing about, why can’t humans do it to each other? “Riki-Tikki-Tavi” shows this animal compassion as well. 

Of course “Black Fish”, as well as nearly all of the rest of these pieces, really played on the viewers emotions to drive its point.

Man v.s Man v.s Masculinity

This weeks common topic seems to be male violence. Mostly male violence like including football damage to the brain and body as well as gun violence, but also violence fueled by hatred and racism. I feel race in general is just as prominent a topic, though, as male violence.

Male violence is fueled by little more than just simple primitive male competition.  A strive to be dominant, to be powerful. It's an old notion, really. The U.S. has to have one of the worst cultural views of masculinity there can be. Society tells men they must be big, tall, strong (emotionally and physically), they must be able to defend themselves and, above most, they should essentially enjoy violence. That leads us to American Football. What these athletes put themselves through for the sake of glory is more than dangerous, its lethal. But hey, as long as they put on a brave face, then we will cheer them on.  Luckily, this is beginning to change. Research has started revealing the truth, and its an ugly truth. Two of the assigned articles covered the brain damages caused by helmet to helmet contact, such as CTE (thankfully, this information is surfacing more and more often), as well as more tragic incidents, such as neck injuries that can cause permanent damage like becoming paralyzed. Yet, the NFL (despite making UTTERLY RIDICULOUS AMOUNTS OF MONEY, has hardly put any funding in preventative and post treatment research, relatively.

And then there's golf. Chris Rock's video, funny as it was, raised an interesting point.  Communities with people of color as the majority don't seem to view golf as a ligament worthy sport. Perhaps this is because it isn't as "masculine" as football, or maybe its due to an old demon. A lot of the male athletes of color come from broken communities, and because the U.S.'s education system is based more on monetary systems than hard work and dedication, athletic ability is usually the main way of getting away from such a life.

But if Richard Sherman proves anything, its that even national success is still not enough to be accepted. I remember being in middle school and learning about the heinous murders of children by white supremacists. I was taught about them as if it was our past, but clearly it is not. We've just replaced lynching with gun shots and "Stand Your Ground" laws. Not only does white privilege grant one a dismissal of murder charges, but apparently it also allows one to bird watch without being targeted by police. But I digress, violence isn't an act separate from masculinity or the pressures put forth by such a concept. It's directly linked to it.