Monday, November 16, 2009

iMedia: Jaywalking




"Americans are NOT stupid" (below)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE

**Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, I don't own any of this material.


As hilarious as this all is, it shows how sad reality is. I'm not going to lie and say it's not funny at all, because I can't deny that I find it quite entertaining. However, this illustrates a serious problem in our society. Do people really not know these basic facts? I'm sure some are just trying to be funny, but really, most of these people don't know this information? How does this reflect on our society? As much as I love this, it's really pathetic to watch. I know these people must have learned this sometime in their youth, because it's mostly required in curriculum. It reflects on the education system because people just learn to pass tests and then they forget the facts. I'm guilty of this too, but seeing this makes me realize more and more that we should care about learning so we don't end up being ridiculously unintelligent when we are older. The even sadder part here is that not only do the people not know about history or current events, they don't even know about pop culture. We're notorious for reading tabloids and watching t.v., but apparently nobody learned even from that. The guy wearing the shirt didn't even know what it said. I know that these people may be the exception to the rule, but do we want to end up like that? I certainly don't. We should take this and learn that education and information is valuable and if we don't want to be ridiculed, we should care about it more.

In the "Americans are NOT stupid" video, it comes to show how we are viewed in the world. And to think these people can vote for role models and leaders? What will happen to us when uneducated people take part in current events and politics? Even a slight amount of uneducated individuals bring down the community. It makes our culture look so bad, and causes people throughout the world to think we aren't capable of anything. But if this is what they see about our culture, can we blame them? That's not for me to judge, but what we can and should do to change this is by educating ourselves. People should rather make a conscious effort to better themselves, because not only will they learn something they will carry forward in their lives, but they will feel better and have better esteem knowing that they are smart and are capable. From this media connection, we should just think twice before disregarding events and history, and other knowledge, because who wants to end up being mocked like this?

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Connection: King Lear and Richard III

Richard III and King Lear both relate because they have a character that goes against the natural boundaries. Richard relates to Edmund because both are trying to disrupt social order to be higher up on the hierarchy and to have more power. They are using Renaissance values to be more important individuals compared to their surrounding medieval characters. I think this is really important to understand because it shows how Shakespeare connects characters from two different plays and ties them together with their same values. Both cause physical harm to others. Richard III kills pretty much everyone in the royal family, while Edmund gets Edward banished and eventually lends a major part in Cornwall taking out Gloucester's eyes.

Both characters have to overcome their hardships to come out on top. Edmund is the illegitimate son of Gloucester, which he has to overcome by plotting and scheming. Once he gets Edward out of the picture and into disguise, he is able to be to 'good son.' This especially works since he convinced Gloucester that Edward wanted to kill him. Richard III only had one 'usable hand' in the play. He had to overcome his physical complications and the way people looked at him in order to gain power. I think the complications really shows how the two characters inform each other and the audience/readers because it can open up a new idea. It can cause one to think whether the complications caused them to perform the actions they did to become powerful, or whether they performed the actions in order to overcome their complications. In both though, power is key. It's important to understand this because power was a major motivation and it shows throughout the play what the hunt for more power does to a character and how their morals disintegrate. Therefore, even though Richard III and Edmund are from different plays, they both reinforce the conflict in their power struggle, while comparing their new ideas and way of thought to those around them.

They both inform beyond the obvious so that readers can question what leads to what and they can better understand Shakespeare's style and question his motives for the plots. I find this to be relevant because it makes his works more enjoyable to read because I can understand his style and what goes on, it allows me to make connections, and it resonates with other literature and plays.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

360 Degrees: Leadership

Why does there need to be a leader? I believe that leadership is an important quality because they can guide others and be a role model. What makes leadership such an important quality? What is important in a leader? Can anyone be a leader? What determines who is a leader and what they are made up of? Why do we need leaders? In my opinion, we need leaders for society to function and work the way it does. There are always going to be the people who take action and those who are quiet and reserved. Leaders can help others find the middle ground by helping people take action and become involved. How can everyone be a leader? This is virtually impossible. If everyone is a leader, then who would be a follower? If everyone leads, then there would be too many clashes within and this would create a dysfunctional society. This can really be a dialectic between leaders and followers, but I'll continue asking questions to get the 360 degree view. Leaders need to be responsible, engaging, and should care. This list could really go on forever, but nobody wants to hear that. Why does society see leadership as an important feature? When and why does a leader go too far? I think this is when the power goes to their head and they get caught up in it. They stop caring about others and don't work to make things better. What happens when a leader goes to far? How can this be prevented? Why is it important to be a leader? How can someone find the middle ground between leadership and following? Should they?
 
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