Discrimination

The experience Jason Hinmon experience after transferring to the University of Delaware from Morehouse College in Atlanta was uncalled for.  Racial profiling should have nothing to do with an individual wanting to receive an education. Hinmon stated, “I came to class and my professors didn’t know how to deal with me. I could barely get them to meet with me during their office hours.”  (Evelyn, 2008).  There should be no reason why they shouldn’t be able to treat and give him the same attention as any other student. 

Dr. Thomas Earl Midgette does make some good point about how students should dress properly, but the way a person dresses, should not indicate what level of education they are trying to achieve. If an educational facility is going use the way a person dresses to evaluate them and their level of seriousness in receiving their education, the school should imply a dress code.

Hinmon should have the right to dress as he does and not feel stereotyped. He dresses that way for a reason. It’s what he feels comfortable wearing.  Everyone has their own style. It would be different if it was a place of employment, but he’s simply just trying to further his education.

Midgette does have a right to his own opinion in thinking that higher education students need to dress and behave differently, but the student should be able to dress as they please. It is a good suggestion for a student to dress and act more appropriate, but it should not be required. It should be a suggestion, and if the student wants to follow it, then they will. Dressing more professionally would help prepare them for their professional lives.

I too used to wear clothing that didn’t fit right. Wearing shirts that were too big, pants below my waste, and I to was somewhat treated differently. I was treated as if I was some kind of trouble maker, but I didn’t care what other people thought of me. As time went on, I took it upon myself to dress more appropriate.  I started wearing the right sized clothing, and starting receiving a little more respect than before.  I never really understood why appearance mattered so much.  Everyone should be able to dress as they please.

REFERENCE

Rosendale, G.R., (2008). Pop perspectives: Readings to critique contemporary culture. McGraw Hill, The Miseducation of Hip-Hop- Discrimination in Education. (pp. 559-566). New York: NY

Bias Of Language, Bias Of Pictures

In the story “The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures”, Postman and Powers claim several differences between stationary pictures, moving pictures, and language.  They mention how stationary pictures represent on in particularities (Postman & Powers, 2008). When describing a picture, the person viewing it is limited to only what the picture shows. There is only so much one picture can display.

When portraying moving images, they display images that change (Postman & Powers, 2008).  Moving images are more entertaining to its viewers.  It depends on what type of moving image is being shown.  Different types of actions such as explosions, fires, and live storms are what catch the viewers’ attention.    

In discussing the differences of language, Postman and Powers explain how there are different levels of language (Postman & Powers, 2008).  The first level of language is to describe an event. The next level of language is to evaluate an event. The final step of language is to infer the event.  With these three levels, it helps to limit the confusion of something that has been said. When three people hear the same event, each person will develop their own picture of that event.

 The difference of stationary pictures, moving pictures, and language are important to the larger part of the essay because it helps explain the different methods that are used in reporting new.  Through stationary pictures, moving pictures, and language news can be altered in many way or misinterpreted.  For instance, “Consider a film clip showing an aircraft carrier at sea. One might be able to identify the ship as Soviet or American, but there would be no way of telling where in the world the carrier was, where it was headed, or when the picture was taken. It is only through language words spoken over the picture or reproduced in them-that the image of an aircraft carrier takes on a specific meaning.” (Postman & Powers, 2008).  SO, depending on which way information is presented it can be interpreted differently.

Powers and Postman’s main claim about newscasters today, is that figuring out what way to imply different types of news requires a lot of thinking.  For instance, when covering a story on television, there is a limited amount of time they have to do their reporting. They have to quickly discuss the points of the story they are covering and then move on to the next story. AS for a newspaper, they can provide as much information as they need and go more in depth with the story. On television, the viewer has no choice but to listen to and watch what is being shown. In a newspaper, the reader can pick and choose what to read and what not to read (Postman & Powers, 2008).

                I completely agree with them about their claims of how stationary pictures, moving pictures, and language differ.  When being implemented, each one of these can be interpreted differently depending on the person.  I also agree with their claim about newscasts today. News reports on television are brief, and leave you to input your own thoughts on the situation, while newspapers provide more details on reporting’s.   

REFERENCES

Rosendale, G.R., (2008). Pop perspectives: Readings to critique contemporary culture. McGraw Hill, The Bias of Language, The Bias of Pictures. (pp. 481-489). New York: NY

Darth Vader's Son in the 21st Century

In this commercial video, the gender representations are both male and female, but mainly male. The genders interact in a family type of role. The interaction between both genders in this video is definitely a traditional interaction.

The representation of the mother and father in their roles in this video is an adequate representation of a twenty-first family. The mother does her daily routine, while her son roams the house in his Darth Vader costume, pretending to use his powers on different things. The mother makes a sandwich for her son and he uses his powers to make it disappear. When the father returns home from work, the son tries his powers on his father’s new car, and while the mother and father are in the kitchen, the father goes along with it to make his son feel like his powers actually worked.

The character Darth Vader comes from a very popular movie called “Star Wars”. This is a must see movie throughout any period of time. It has also been remade to an updated version.  This character is very popular amongst all ages.

This childhood vignette of the twenty-first century reveals how kids have a very broad imagination and how the parents go along with it. Parents are open to helping their children enjoy their childhood and their imaginations. A child can find almost anything and find some way to make an enjoyable time out of it. This can include parents clothing, sheets, pillows chairs, and much more.

Teen/Pop and Rap Collide

In the Justin Bieber video “Baby”, the gender representations that are evident, consist of teenaged girls and boys. The two genders interact in a friendly and competitive manner. It first begins with the usual bowling competition, and then turns into a flirty type of dance competition. This type of interaction between the genders is somewhat traditional. The only thing that throws it off is the dance competition.

            The perception of teenagers in the twenty-first century is the same as it has always been.  The only different prior to the twenty-first century would be that there were not as many places to hang out and socialize as there are now. Depending on the person, this could be a huge change from previous conceptions about teenager’s habits or it could just be an addition to their habits.

            With the merger between pop/teen and rap, the nature of the music industry is changing for the better. Taking two different genres of music and combining them together is catering to more than just one group of fans at a time. It seems like a positive change and gives the fans something new and different to look forward to.

            It really depends on the age of the teens in deciding how steeped in reality this video is. Age truly makes a difference in where teens want to hang out and what they do when they hang out. Usually teens between the ages of thirteen-fifteen would hang out at the mall or school function, then sixteen and up, once they start driving, usually hang out at parties and do things not so innocent. As mentioned before, in reality a dance competition is the last thing you would see happen in a bowling alley.